The Minute After: Marquette

Lamar Wilkerson celebrates a made 3-pointer.

Thoughts on a 100-77 win against the Golden Eagles:

First test passed.

Indiana entered this contest as a slight favorite in both the betting markets and computer projections. By game’s end, the Hoosiers had blown the doors off the two-to-three points they were laying, cruising to a 23-point victory in Chicago. The 100-point mark IU hit is significant. According to Jared Berson, Indiana is the first team to score 100 points in regulation against a Shaka Smart-coached Division I team. It’s also the first time the Hoosiers have scored 100 points against a high-major team since January 19, 2016, vs. Illinois.

A victory wasn’t always assured, however.

To begin the game, IU struggled to contain Marquette, as the Golden Eagles drove downhill and drew numerous fouls, with the referees following their usual early-season call-everything routine. The Hoosiers were forced into a 10-second call due to some backcourt trapping, a staple of a Smart-led squad. And Marquette also did a solid job of making things uncomfortable for Indiana in the halfcourt, making their catches in the high post harder and pressuring the Hoosiers just enough to make them use more of the shot clock.

Thank goodness for Tucker DeVries.

DeVries went on an absolute heater in the first half, breaking the game open, and Marquette really never recovered as Indiana held a double-digit lead for the last 22.5 minutes of the game. DeVries scored in every which way – on the backdoor, on the drive, moving without the ball, on-ball and at the line. By the time the halftime buzzer sounded — after a Conor Enright halfcourt heave dropped to put the Hoosiers up 18 heading into the break — the senior scored 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field, including a 5-of-7 mark from deep.

“Just got us going,” his father, Darian, said of his son’s performance in the post-game press conference. “That’s a little bit how our team is built. Just having different guys that can always get in one of those zones a little bit and Tucker certainly had it in the first half. And then in the second half, Lamar (Wilkerson) got going. That’s something that I really like about this team is we have a lot of different guys that are capable of having moments like that throughout the game.”

Wilkerson’s outburst occurred at a crucial moment. DeVries picked up three quick fouls in less than 1:30 of game action and was forced to go to the bench at the 13:15 mark of the second half with four fouls. Those three fouls also happened during a Marquette run that cut Indiana’s 18-point halftime lead to 10. But by the under-8 timeout, the Hoosiers had doubled that lead up to 20 points, primarily based on Wilkerson’s stellar play. He hit three 3-pointers and assisted on two baskets during that stretch with DeVries on the bench.

Wilkerson went 5-of-7 from deep after the break, with all 15 of his second-half points coming from beyond the arc. DeVries ended with 27 points. Wilkerson had 23. Trent Sisley also found his way into the offensive mix in this one, scoring 15 points on a 7-of-12 performance from the field, which included one 3-pointer. Sisley was opportunistic on cuts as Marquette keyed on Indiana’s ball handlers, but also made some things happen for himself on the drive. It was another stellar offensive performance for the Hoosiers, as they scored 1.32 points per possession, hit 14-of-28 (50 percent) from 3-point range and made 20-of-24 (83.3 percent) from the line. They had 27 assists on 33 made baskets.

And while the defense struggled at times and some of Marquette’s miscues were self-inflicted, the Hoosiers were opportunistic on takeaways, turning the Golden Eagles over on 20 percent of their possessions and scoring 15 points off those turnovers.

It’s hard to know right now just how much this game will matter for Indiana’s NCAA tournament resumé. Just how good is this Marquette team actually going to be as it mixes in some young players and tries to replace its production from a season ago? But you can only play what’s in front of you on the schedule.

And so far, Indiana is passing the test with flying colors.

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

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