Quick thoughts on a 79-74 exhibition win against Western Kentucky at the Ford Center in Evansville:
Quick game summary
It was a rough first half for Indiana as Western Kentucky was the more physical and aggressive team for the majority of the first 20 minutes. The Hoosiers never led by more than five points in the first half and shot just 36.7 percent from the field and 61.5 percent from the free-throw line on 13 attempts. The Hilltoppers opened a 28-20 advantage at the 5:09 mark before IU answered with a quick 7-0 spurt to make it 28-27. Indiana looked poised to go into the locker room with a 35-34 lead and possession near the end of the first half. But the Hoosiers committed a turnover and Western Kentucky’s Teagan Moore tossed in a 3-pointer from beyond halfcourt to make it a 37-35 advantage for the Hilltoppers at the break. Bryce Lindsay and Jaeden Mustaf had nine points each to lead IU at the break.
Western Kentucky carried the momentum from the long heave from Moore to end the first half into the second half. The Hilltoppers built their biggest lead of 11 points at 51-40 with 14:31 to play. Darian DeVries opted to go deep into his bench just after this and got back-to-back 3-pointers from Trent Sisley and Prince-Alexander Moody. By the under eight-media timeout, the Hoosiers had cut the lead to three at 57-54 on a Trevor Manhertz 3-pointer. A 3-pointer from Lindsay tied the game at 68 just before the under-four timeout. A 7-0 run, which included the aforementioned Lindsay 3-pointer, two free throw from Sam Alexis and a Lindsay layup, gave IU a four-point lead at 72-68, forcing a WKU timeout. The Hilltoppers would get no closer than two the rest of the way as IU wrapped up exhibition play a perfect 3-0.
Standout performers
Lindsay led the Hoosiers with 20 points and Alexis added 15 points, five rebounds and four blocked shots.
Statistics that stand out
It was a rough afternoon for IU from the free-throw line. The Hoosiers shot just 23-for-37 from the stripe (62.2 percent). Indiana had 57 bench points, won the second-chance points battle 12-8 and outscored Western Kentucky 16-10 in fast-break points. None of IU’s starters played more than 10 minutes in the second half.
Up next for IU
The Hoosiers will open the 2026-27 regular season against Eastern Illinois on Monday, November 2 at 7 p.m. ET at Assembly Hall. The game will stream on B1G+.
Final IU individual statistics
Final tempo-free statistics
