Five takeaways from IU basketball’s win against Oregon

• Josh Pos

• 1h ago

 

IU basketball won its second-straight game on Monday night, beating Oregon 92-74 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Here are five takeaways from the win against the Ducks:

Indiana honors 1976 national championship team

Ahead of the game, Indiana basketball hosted a Q&A with seven players from the undefeated 1975-76 team for the 50th anniversary of the last perfect season in college basketball.

Tom Abernethy, Kent Benson, Quinn Buckner, Jim Crews, Scott Eells, James Roberson and Bobby Wilkerson spoke for 26 minutes and Scott May joined them afterwards.

During the game, the players sat behind the bench and were honored at halftime with the NCAA Championship trophy under the spotlight.

Shortly after the game in Bloomington ended, Arizona – the only undefeated power-conference program remaining – fell to Kansas. Miami of Ohio is the only unbeaten team left, but the players don’t celebrate it.

Darian DeVries expressed his excitement to continue the tradition of welcoming back the team and all program alums.

“I thought that was great. Special night for everyone,” Darian DeVries said. “Had so many of them that were able to make it back. That’s a pretty cool event.”

Lamar Wilkerson notches second 40-point outing

As Indiana royalty watched, Lamar Wilkerson put on a show. The senior guard missed his first six shots of the game, but as soon as he saw one fall, it was time to shine.

Wilkerson, who just two months prior broke a Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall record with a 44-point outburst against Penn State, flirted with a new record, scoring 41 points on Monday night.

“It was easy,” he said. “Everybody kept telling me keep shooting. One fell and then the rest happened.”

The Ashdown, Arkansas, native shot 13-for-20, making six 3s on the way to another standing ovation as he walked off the floor. It’s his fourth-straight game of 20 or more points.

While his output is sufficient as is, the attention Wilkerson draws from opponents allows his teammates to score and affect the game.

“He’s pretty special,” Darian DeVries said. “That was as impressive of a second-half performance as I’ve seen.”

Sam Alexis continues strong play

Fresh off a 19-point performance on Saturday against Wisconsin, forward Sam Alexis stayed white hot on Monday night.

The senior tallied 16 points on a perfect 8-for-8 shooting from the field. In his last five outings, IU’s starting center has made 24-of-25 field goal attempts; his lone miss came on Saturday.

After making his first few shots from inside the restricted area, the 6-foot-9 Alexis showed some prowess in the middle of the lane. His shotmaking over Oregon’s Nate Bittle from eight feet made him more of a threat than he already was.

With Alexis playing the best basketball of his career, he’s getting more minutes over fellow forward Reed Bailey. The Florida transfer played 25 minutes to Bailey’s 15.

Alexis added five rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot playing a pivotal role in the blowout victory.

“He’s given us these last two games some low presence that maybe we haven’t utilized enough to be honest with you,” Darian DeVries said. “Sometimes, as coaches, you’ve got to admit your mistakes.

“Tonight he was able to do it big on big and get to a spot and get into a move.”

Indiana’s poor 3-point start gives way to a hot finish

In the middle third of the first half, Indiana’s offense appeared out of sorts. It had missed six-straight shots from the field – all from behind the arc – and needed an outbreak.

The Hoosiers had, at that juncture, made only two of their 12 attempts from distance. After Wilkerson knocked down a right-wing triple, the lid lifted and Indiana started to make shots.

Indiana converted on eight more 3-point attempts, finishing the game 11-of-27. The Hoosiers shot 40.7 percent, six points higher than their 34.9 percent average this season.

Monday night marked the 17th time the team eclipsed double-digit makes from deep, a feat accomplished twice last season.

In addition to its 3-point prowess, Indiana made all 11 of its 2-point attempts in the second half.

“I just thought we did a good job executing some of our sets,” Darian DeVries said. “We were able to take advantage of that.”

IU gets exactly what it needed from a two-game homestand

Splitting its two games on the West Coast, Indiana put itself in a great position for the NCAA tournament. However, the two home games that followed were just as important.

Indiana entered the weekend absolutely needing a pair of wins in the friendly confines of Assembly Hall before a pair of road games at Illinois and Purdue.

Holding serve in its final five home games was paramount and Indiana passed the first two tests.

Indiana has been a completely different team since the loss at Michigan; the Hoosiers are 5-1, giving themselves breathing room from the bubble for now.

“I think we’ve gotten much better,” Darian DeVries said. “Our floor spacing has been better. The ball movement has been better. I think there is still some work that we’ve got to continue to get better at as we wind down the season.

“You can tell they’re really enjoying being out there and playing for everyone.”

See More: Five Takeaways, Lamar Wilkerson, Sam Alexis