Written by: TJ Inman
A late-season slide has left IU needing a winning streak to have any hope of reaching the NCAA Tournament but the task on Wednesday evening was much more straightforward. IU needed to find some confidence and avenge a December defeat by putting 40 good minutes on the floor.
On Senior Night in Bloomington, the Hoosiers responded with one of their better performances of the season as they dominated the Minnesota Golden Gophers 77-47 and gave themselves some hope before the regular season finale on Saturday against Ohio State in Columbus. The victory is a Quad Two win for the Hoosiers and snaps a four-game losing streak. IU got a season-high 23 points from Sam Alexis and racked up 40 points in the paint as they punished the porous Minnesota zone defense. Tucker DeVries (13 with 9 rebounds and 5 assists), Lamar Wilkerson (16) and Nick Dorn (11) joined Alexis in double-figures at IU improved to 18-12.
Sam Alexis quickly asserted himself on the interior, setting the tone right away as he drew a foul, slammed home a dunk and had a layup before the first media timeout. Lamar Wilkerson and Nick Dorn picked apart Minnesota’s zone defense with open triples and the Hoosiers sprinted to a 20-6 lead with a 16-2 run. The Gophers found some momentum when IU went to the bench as Tayton Conerway turned the ball over twice and Cade Tyson warmed up with a flurry of points.
Minnesota trimmed the advantage to just three points with a 13-2 run. Indiana responded to the adversity with six straight points from Sam Alexis and a Nick Dorn three-pointer to seize momentum back and then Lamar Wilkerson and Tucker DeVries both knocked down triples before Reed Bailey connected with a cutting DeVries for a dunk at the end of the first half to send the Hoosiers to the locker room with a 43-28 advantage. Sam Alexis had 17 at halftime and an impressive 24 points in the paint in the first 20 minutes.
IU has had a tendency to stall for long stretches during the second half of games but they ensured that would not be the case tonight. The Hoosiers continued to attack the basket get open looks and Indiana’s defense was fantastic, holding the Gophers without a field goal for nine minutes of game action. By the time Minnesota broke their drought, Indiana was up by nearly 30 points and firmly in cruise control. The Golden Gophers were held to just 19 points in the second half as the Hoosiers had 40 points in the paint and outrebounded Minnesota by 13.
IU now has a Quad One opportunity against fellow bubble team Ohio State in Columbus on Saturday evening. A win would set Indiana up with a real chance to squeak into the NCAA Tournament with a victory or two in the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago.