By Matt St. Charles
In the midst of a four-game losing streak, it was no secret that the Indiana Hoosiers desperately needed to handle Rutgers to get back on track before things went completely off the rails. Especially with a matchup with Purdue lingering for early next week, another loss was not an option.
With that in mind, the Hoosiers showed up in New Jersey with a sense of urgency, got off to a fast start, and cruised to an 82-59 win to get back on track.
“We’ve had a couple games here recently where we, you know, really struggled to get out of the gate in a strong way, but thought the guys did a great job tonight with their actions,” Indiana coach Darian DeVries said. “I thought their cutting was much crisper and cleaner tonight. The guys did a good job of finding, and then you’ve got to make them, and I thought guys did a great job of taking advantage of the opportunities when they presented themselves, and you know, multiple different guys that we had during different stretches of the game.”
“Overall, I just thought our ability to take care of the ball, too, was a big part of it,” he added. “Only one turnover at half and five for the game is a good night. You’re going to give yourself a chance on most nights.”
On Friday night, Indiana looked like the team that started the year 12-3–constantly moving on offense, hunting great looks, and punishing the mistakes of the other team on any action. That all started when, for the first time in a few games, the Hoosiers felt like they got their feet under them right from the beginning.
They started 5-8 from the field, and there was intentionality from the first set they ran. A flare screen on the right wing got Tucker DeVries open, and he nailed the opening 3 of the game. From there, every action was designed to get DeVries or Lamar Wilkerson going. While Wilkerson started 0-3 from 3, he drove to the basket with purpose, getting layups and mid-range jumpers to go.
The result? DeVries finished with 22 points on 9-20 shooting, and Wilkerson scored 27 on 11-17 shooting while going 5-11 from outside.
“I thought our passing was pretty good,” Darian DeVries said. “I thought the guys did a good job of knowing how Rutgers tries to defend, and they’re able to try to, okay, here’s where they’re really good, and here’s where we maybe can try to find some advantages. And I thought they did a good job of finding those guys when those opportunities presented themselves as well…We were able to feed them, kind of keep them hot, and then the next guy kind of got going a little bit.”
All the offensive activity in the opening minutes of the game set the Hoosiers up for success. They capitalized on Rutgers’ defensive miscues with backdoors or slips to the rim, and they established a rhythm they haven’t had in a couple of weeks.
As a team, Indiana shot 50% from the field, 43% from 3, and made all seven of its free throws. Nick Dorn, who made his first start of the season in place of Tayton Conerway (ankle), was a huge part of that efficiency. The junior guard scored 23 on 6-10 shooting from 3, and the spacing he provided opened up the floor for everyone.
“Nick’s a really good shooter and very confident,” DeVries said. “[He] doesn’t need a lot of time and space to get it off, but you’ve still got to find him, and I thought the guys did a really good job of finding him a lot of times in those corners and things. And Nick was able to get them off and covert on a lot, a good high percentage of them.”
Defensively, Dorn, who had two steals, gave IU more length and may see himself as a more integral part of the lineup going forward. Sam Alexis, despite scoring just four points, controlled the paint with 10 rebounds and six blocks in his season-high 30 minutes.
Not to look past any Big Ten game, but Rutgers is a young team, and Indiana ranks first in Division I experience on KenPom with an average of 3.10 years. This was a game the Hoosiers had to not only win, but rediscover their identity in. With No. 4 Purdue coming to Assembly Hall on Tuesday, IU had to find a groove against the Scarlet Knights–and Wilkerson, Dorn, and DeVries did just that.
All that experience and swagger will have to stay with Indiana as its biggest matchup of the season approaches, but for now, regrouping with this win has to feel good.
“Our mindset game to game is always the same,” DeVries said. “Your approach is your approach, and to make sure we go home and be very intentional with the details of the game prep and understand what we need to do to win that next game. We’ll get started with that as soon as we can.”