Written by: TJ Inman
The Indiana Hoosiers got back to winning with a decisive victory over the Chicago State Cougars on Saturday afternoon in Assembly Hall. After struggling on offense last week against Kentucky, the Hoosiers knocked in 14 three-pointers in the first half and assisted on 17 of their 18 made baskets as they built the 52-29 cushion at intermission. Lamar Wilkerson led the way with 15 points and Nick Dorn came off the bench to add 12 in the first 20 minutes.
After a red-hot shooting first half, Indiana was ice cold to begin the second half, missing their first 16 three-point attempts and struggling to build the lead in a sloppy and sleepy stretch of basketball. Nick Dorn ended the slump with a triple from the corner with just over eight minutes remaining but the Hoosiers failed to knock down any more from beyond the arc. The 46 attempts from three were the most in program history as each game hammers home just how different this brand of basketball is from predecessors Mike Woodson and Archie Miller’s styles. After making 14 threes in the first half, the Hoosiers connected on just one in the second 20 minutes and mostly flailed on the offensive end in the 78-58 victory.
Lamar Wilkerson led the Hoosiers with 21 points and he was joined in double-figures by Nick Dorn with 15 and Reed Bailey with 17. The second half was a rough watch but Indiana was dominant on the glass against the smaller Cougars (44-33) and had 24 assists on 26 made baskets. Reed Bailey paced Indiana with eight rebounds while Conor Enright led the way with seven assists.
The victory improves Indiana to 9-3 and they will conclude the non-conference portion of their schedule on Monday evening against a very solid Siena Saints squad before a long holiday break.