Five takeaways from IU basketball’s win against Washington

Photos from IU basketball's 90-80 win against Washington at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

IU basketball returned from a 13-day break with a 90-80 win against Washington on Sunday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Here are five takeaways from the win against the Huskies:

Conor Enright and Tayton Conerway set the tone early offensively

Washington’s defensive strategy from the opening tip was clear. Coach Danny Sprinkle was willing to let anyone but Lamar Wilkerson and Tucker DeVries beat the Huskies.

In the opening four-plus minutes, Washington decided to leave Conor Enright and Tayton Conerway completely open on the perimeter.

Conerway and Enright responded by splashing in five consecutive 3-pointers to begin the game, setting the tone for another strong perimeter shooting performance by Indiana.

The Hoosiers went on to make 12 3-pointers in the win, their ninth game of the season with 10 or more made 3-pointers.

Through three Big Ten games, Indiana leads the league in 3-point shooting percentage (43). The Hoosiers are scoring 41.6 percent of their points in conference games from the perimeter, second in the Big Ten.

Lamar Wilkerson took over in the second half

A talented scorer like Lamar Wilkerson can only be slowed down for so long.

After the Huskies threw everything at Wilkerson in the opening 20 minutes to slow him down, he got going in the second half when IU needed him to shine.

Wilkerson shot just 1-for-6 in the first half and got to the free-throw line for two attempts, finishing with four points before intermission.

But in the second half, he didn’t come off the floor and poured in 18 points. He was 5-for-11 after halftime, including a 3-for-7 mark on 3-pointers.

More importantly, Wilkerson kept the defense honest by using his size and strength to get to the rim and draw fouls. He was 5-for-6 from the stripe in the second half and is now 43-for-51 on free throws this season (84.3 percent).

Trent Sisley provides a lift off the bench

After a recent slump that saw him go seven straight games without reaching double figures in scoring and a 2-for-12 mark on 3-pointers in that stretch, freshman Trent Sisley played one of his best games yet against Washington.

The 6-foot-8 freshman from Santa Claus, Indiana, went on a personal 10-point scoring run in the second half.

The outburst featured two straight 3-pointers, a nifty hook over Washington big man Frank Kepnang and a beautiful backcut along the baseline where Conor Enright found him for a reverse layup.

Sisley also had a strong night on the boards, grabbing four defensive rebounds in 15 minutes.

“I got great faith in Trent,” Darian DeVries said postgame. “He continues to get better and better. Some nights there’s going to be more opportunity than other nights.

“I thought tonight he gave us a huge lift. We rode him for as long as we could there, until I think he got a little gassed. We had to give him a little rest. That’s great for him. I think that says a lot about him, too. He’s continued to stay confident throughout it. He’s put in the work, too.”

Hoosiers win the battle on the glass

Washington entered Sunday’s game with an offensive rebounding percentage of 37.4, the 35th-best mark nationally.

The Huskies feature two of the nation’s best offensive rebounders in Kepnang and freshman star Hannes Steinbach.

The Hoosiers limited Washington to eight offensive rebounds and an offensive rebounding percentage of 26.7, the second-lowest in a game for the Huskies this season.

“We spent a lot of time on it during this break in our practices of increasing our physicality and doing a better job there,” Darian DeVries said.

More importantly, Indiana grabbed 11 offensive rebounds of its own and scored 13 second-chance points.

The Hoosiers grabbed 34.4 percent of their missed shots, a season-high. It was the second-highest offensive rebounding percentage a team has posted against Washington this season through 14 games.

Indiana returns to early-season form in limiting turnovers

As mentioned in our game preview over the weekend, turnovers had been creeping up in recent weeks for Indiana.

Entering Sunday’s contest, the Hoosiers had a turnover percentage of 18.9 or higher in three straight games.

Indiana had just four turnovers in the Washington win, posting a season-low turnover percentage of 6.3.

Through 14 games, Indiana’s turnover percentage of 14.9 ranks 55th nationally.

See More: Five Takeaways, Conor Enright, Lamar Wilkerson, Tayton Conerway, Trent Sisley, Washington Huskies