Thoughts on an 83-80 win against the Orange:
Mercy. No one wanted to give this one up.
Back and forth the Hoosiers and Orange went, neither team able to break loose.
Eleven ties. Thirteen lead changes. Indiana led for 16:02, Syracuse for 18:28.
Five points was the biggest lead either team could build in the second half. Indiana seemed to have enough control late, until it didn’t. Up five points with 13 seconds to go after a pair of Bryce Lindsay free throws, Sadiq White Jr. made a second-chance layup after a Gavin Doty missed 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds to play.
On the ensuing inbounds play, Lindsay was called for an offensive foul after pushing off Ryan Moesch while moving left out of the paint to receive the ball from Trevor Manhertz.
Possession to Syracuse.
With no timeouts remaining, Moesch found Kiyan Anthony beyond the left wing on the baseline inbounds. Anthony stepped into a deep 3-pointer near the left sideline hash. It missed, Darren Harris secured the rebound, and Indiana prevailed by three.
It was just that kind of game.
So how did the Hoosiers escape Indianapolis with the win?
A little bit of everything.
Let’s start with this team’s defining characteristic so far: offensive rebounding. On a night the Orange outshot IU (58 to 49 eFG%), the Hoosiers rebounded 40 percent of their misses compared to Syracuse’s 23 percent. That translated into a higher shot volume for Indiana, which attempted seven more field goals than the Orange, 62 to 55. The Hoosiers only won the second-chance points battle by three (12-9), but in a game this tight, it mattered.
The Hoosiers also got to the line at a higher rate (42% vs. 36% FTA/FGA). And they made those opportunities matter, converting at an 85 percent clip (22-of-26). The Orange shot well from the line, too, albeit on fewer attempts and at a slightly lower percentage (16-of-20, 80%). Samet Yigitoglu, a career 52.8 percent free-throw shooter heading into this season, hit two key free throws with under a minute to play to push Indiana’s lead out to five. Harris shot a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line.
The teams had a near-even turnover percentage — IU (16 %), Syracuse (17%). But Indiana made the Orange pay for theirs, as the Hoosiers won the points-off-turnovers battle 20-8, often pushing the pace off a Syracuse miscue to try and score immediately.
Indiana also got some terrific individual performances. Markus Burton scored 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting and led the team with four assists. Harris joined him with 20 points, dishing out three assists. Jaeden Mustaf shot 7-of-11 for 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a team-high 33 minutes of action.
The Hoosiers made 9-of-25 (36%) from 3-point range and just eked out more points on a per-possession basis than the Orange (1.18 vs. 1.14).
At times, especially early, Syracuse’s length and athleticism clearly bothered Indiana offensively. But it wasn’t what ultimately defined this one. The Hoosiers kept at it and found advantages, particularly in a 49-point second half. Indiana’s defense still needs to be better and you’d like to see Aiden Sherrell more involved. He took just two shots, both 3-pointers that he made. Other than that, he had just one rebound and a steal in 18 minutes.
“To be able to come away and get the win, that’s the ultimate way to learn,” Darian DeVries said after the game.
Indiana got pushed in this one. The Hoosiers had to deal with some high-pressure situations. It ultimately may be of more value for this team full of new faces than a comfortable victory would have been — especially with stiffer high-major competition on deck next week.
