By Matt St. Charles
Curt Cignetti’s team wasn’t the only Indiana squad this weekend to sense its dominance over an opponent and squash any chance of an upset right from the jump.
The sign of a strong, experienced group, the Hoosiers didn’t play with their food against Bethune-Cookman, and an early lead continued to grow as they won 100-56 on Saturday.
It was a complete team effort on both sides of the ball, with five players in double figures while holding the Wildcats to 31% from the field and 20% from 3, and winning the rebounding battle 43-29. Tucker DeVries led the way with 18 points, Lamar Wilkerson had 18, and Sam Alexis, Nick Dorn, and Trent Sisley each added 14.
“I felt the guys did a great job today, just playing within the offense and really moving it and sharing it and getting into actions,” Darian DeVries said. “They’ve been doing a great job of that all year. We got up there in the turnovers in the Kansas State game, but outside of that game, we’ve really taken care of the ball. Again, I think the guys are just unselfish. They really have a good understanding of what we’re trying to do on offense, and they really move it and share it.”
Tucker DeVries got back to his elite offensive ways after scoring just nine against Kansas State, shooting 50% from the field and from outside, hitting five of his 10 3s. He also added five assists as the offense flowed through him and Tayton Conerway (five assists, zero turnovers) all afternoon.
Wilkerson showed some resiliency today, as his jumper from outside continues not to fall. After going 5-17 from deep in the last three games, he finished just 1-8 against Bethune-Cookman.
But he adapted his game, becoming an active cutter and driver to get dunks and tough layups at the rim, going 6-7 from inside the arc.
“Yeah, we ran a couple things to try to get him something easy, something at the rim, opening up the second half to try to get him started, and were able to get him a lay-up and get things going,” Darian DeVries said. “We’re not worried about it, just keep shooting. But I thought overall, he continued to play. He had a good floor game on the defensive end, as well.”
Dorn, Alexis, and Sisley highlighted 45 bench points, and Indiana scored 48 points in the paint and had 27 assists on 36 made baskets. Those are the kind of stats that make a head coach like Darian DeVries smile, regardless of the opponent.
A tune-up game like this is always helpful, especially heading into a four-game stretch against Minnesota, Louisville, Penn State, and Kentucky, with three of those games away from Bloomington.
“We’ve been able to work on a lot of things, see a lot of different things, different types of defenses, different types of offenses, and that will continue to be the case as we move forward, too,” DeVries said. “This group just continues to–and it will be that way throughout the whole rest of the year, –where every game is a new game, and it never goes away. You plan it perfectly. I think these guys have done a great job of being able to adjust as things get thrown at them in a short period of time.”
The Hoosiers will be tested in the next two weeks, and a little confidence never hurt anybody for a slate like this.