Sam Alexis shines in IU basketball’s season-opening rout of Alabama A&M

Photos of IU basketball's 98-51 win against Alabama A&M.

The flashiest players in Indiana’s 98-51 season-opening win against Alabama A&M were the starters.

Reed Bailey scored a game-high 21 points, Tucker DeVries surpassed 2,000 career points and led all players with 11 rebounds and Lamar Wilkerson scored 19 points while racking up three of Indiana’s seven steals.

Sam Alexis, Indiana’s second man off the bench Wednesday night, flew comparatively under the radar amid a flurry of high-flying dunks and 3-point baskets.

The Florida transfer scored 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting to go along with eight rebounds, three assists and the Hoosiers’ only two blocked shots.

Alexis had an immediate impact: Indiana led 14-5 when he entered the game with 15:07 left in the first half. He subbed out just over three minutes later following a 9-0 run during which he had a dunk, an assist on a Wilkerson 3-pointer and blocked Alabama A&M’s Sami Pissis, which led to another Wilkerson 3-pointer to force a timeout. Alexis’ off-ball movement led to multiple open dunks while his defensive prowess helped Indiana pull away in the first half.

“Sam is an awesome player,” Bailey said postgame. “He can change the game with the way he can play under the rim, play strong and attack the basket, as well as space the floor. I’m excited to see what he does this year.”

Alexis averaged 10.8 points, 9.1 rebounds and a Southern Conference best 2.1 blocks per game during the 2023-24 season at Chattanooga, starting in 32 of 33 games and seeing the floor for over 26 minutes per night. He was one of five Division I players to average at least 10 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots, earning Southern Conference All-defensive team and third team All-conference honors.

The move to high-major hoops last season at Florida brought with it a decrease in production and injury troubles.

His scoring numbers were cut more than in half – he averaged 4.7 points per game – and his rebounding numbers decreased nearly threefold to 3.5 per game in his lone season at Florida. The Gators won the national championship, but an ankle injury sidelined Alexis for the last seven games of the regular season and limited him to one minute of postseason play.

While he was the lone Indiana reserve in double figures on Wednesday night and only Tucker DeVries outrebounded him, Alexis’ intangibles are just as important as his play on the floor.

“I think Sam plays the game with a little fire in his belly,” Darian DeVries said earlier this week. “That joy for the game is something that’s contagious. That’s one of those that doesn’t show up on a stat sheet that, as a coaching staff, I know we really appreciate about him.”

As a team, Indiana played with high intensity on Wednesday, especially in the first half. It held Alabama A&M to 29 percent shooting in the first 20 minutes, forcing the Bulldogs into numerous bad shots. The Hoosiers led 58-22 at halftime. Alexis and Wilkerson led all scorers with 15 points each in the first half, while Alexis contributed five rebounds to Indiana’s 26-8 rebounding advantage.

Just as his impact off the bench may have raised the eyebrows of those in attendance for Indiana’s season opener, Alexis surprised some of his teammates during the offseason, including Conor Enright.

“His motor has come on really strong,” Enright said on Inside Indiana Basketball on Nov. 3. “I think he’ll be really good for us.”

Indiana’s strong shooting performance in the season opener – it finished the night 10-for-24 from beyond the arc – opened up more opportunities to get into the paint. Alexis took advantage on multiple occasions.

“We were able to get some slips and some rolls to the rim,” Darian DeVries said postgame. “I thought the guys did a good job of taking what the defense gave them tonight.”

The quality of the opponent must be taken into account early in the season, but Alexis will get plenty of chances to make a big impact in Indiana’s more challenging non-conference games. IU’s first non-conference test is this Sunday against Marquette at the United Center in Chicago.

If early returns are any indication, Hoosier fans have a lot to look forward to.

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