It was a bit sloppy at times, and Indiana didn’t shoot the ball well, but they were still able to dig deep and find ways to win the game. Indiana was led by a three-headed-horse scoring attack of Jaeden Mustaf, Markus Burton, and Darren Harris, who all scored 18 points or more.
It was only Indiana’s third game of the season, and it was the Hoosiers’ first time facing a high-major opponent. This makes what they were able to accomplish here a whole lot more impressive, as there is still so much time for this team to grow and improve.
Most of the off-season, it has been expected that it would be Indiana’s front-court that leads them to victory in games, but this game told a different story. Samet Yigitoglu, Aiden Sherrell and Sam Alexis only combined for 14 points. Yigitoglu had a solid performance on the glass with 10 boards, but Indiana’s backcourt, for the most part, had to pick up the slack.
Burton had his best, most complete game of the season with 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting and four assists. He hit several well-timed, clutch shots as well.
“Burton’s a handful,” Syracuse head coach Gerry McNamara said postgame. “You saw the individual play he makes early in the first half”.
That was in reference to a 360, step-back mid-range jumper that Burton hit early in the game.
Indiana trailed by five in the game with five minutes left, and Burton was able to make a three-pointer in response immediately. His 20 points weren’t just efficient, but they were effective momentum swings for the Hoosiers.
Mustaf also had his top performance of the season, scoring a season-high 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting, while also grabbing seven boards, three of which were offensive rebounds that turned into points.
Mustaf played 32 minutes in this game, and it was because he was effective every second he was on the court. His hustle and ability to put his head down and make plays shone, as well as his ability to knock down threes when needed.
“I need to be a leader on defense. Someone who comes in and brings energy,” Mustaf said postgame. “Then use my athletic ability to my advantage, going in there and getting rebounds”.
He also had a dunk with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game that put IU up by five. He made clutch plays and was extremely effective.
“He brings that physicality; he guards whatever player we want him to guard,” DeVries said about Mustaf. “His offensive rebounding, he had some great ones tonight”.
Harris had an individual 8-0 run to open off the first half. He ended with 20 points, but his behind-the-arc presence all game really helped Indiana. He stretches out defenders as they have to guard him everywhere, and he has such a fast release that he is able to draw fouls on these attempts. He had six free throws made from just three-point shots.
“He’s doing a really good job,” Indiana basketball head coach Darian DeVries said postgame. “10-for-10 from the line, 4-for-12 from three… Just the gravity that he draws… opens things up for driving lanes, opens things up for post-up opportunities”.
Indiana played in a tight game, but was able to execute down the stretch.
“Coming down the stretch, the last four minutes, I thought the guys did a really good job executing in a high-pressure moment,” DeVries said.
Indiana was able to be better at executing in this game, and that is why they won. They had that moment where they went down five, but nobody panicked. They believed in each other and pulled out the victory. They managed to get the ball inbounds and knock down clutch free throws. They were able to play tough defense down the stretch, giving the Orange nothing easy. They ultimately were able to fight together, even when a lot of things didn’t go as expected.
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