IU basketball survives a cold 3-point shooting night, beats Incarnate Word 69-61

Photos of IU basketball's win against Incarnate Word at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Over the course of a 31-game regular season, every team struggles to shoot on certain nights.

IU men’s basketball got its first taste of an off shooting night in its 69-61 win on Sunday against Incarnate Word.

The Hoosiers made just five of their 24 3-point attempts (21 percent) and 18 of their 26 free throw attempts (69 percent) after shooting 48 percent from outside the arc and 82 percent from the line through their first three games. Absent a frenetic barrage of scoring, the Hoosiers leaned on their defense and a strong performance from forward Sam Alexis to stave off a late Incarnate Word comeback.

Alexis led all Indiana players with 16 points and eight rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench, soaring high for four dunks. Senior forward Tucker DeVries sang Alexis’ praises postgame.

“Without him, we weren’t winning that game today,” Tucker DeVries said postgame. “He was a beast down low and that’s where it starts.”

Alexis is one of five Indiana players averaging over 11 points per game through the Hoosiers’ first four games.

The other four – Lamar Wilkerson, Tayton Conerway, Reed Bailey and DeVries – are all starters. Alexis credited Wilkerson and DeVries for clearing up space on the floor and creating numerous scoring opportunities at the basket.

“When you’ve got guys like Lamar and Tuck, other guys on our team that can shoot it so well, it gives me opportunities to slip and get easy, wide-open dunks,” Alexis said. “Thankful for those guys who can make threes.”

Indiana’s defense stood out alongside Alexis’ post play, holding Incarnate Word to 19 points on 6-for-29 shooting in the first half and opening up a 16-point lead. The Cardinals, who entered Sunday’s game averaging 92 points per game on 49 percent shooting, heated up in the second half, but the Hoosiers got key stops when they needed to and escaped with an eight-point win.

Indiana coach Darian DeVries, who coached West Virginia to a top-15 KenPom defensive rating in 2024-25, said Indiana can take a lot from a game where shots don’t fall easily.

“You’re going to have off shooting nights,” Darian DeVries said. “That’s where you’ve got to rely on your defense and rebounding to take care of the ball.”

Darian DeVries noted that even on veteran teams, energy levels can drop when nobody is shooting well.

“That’s where the learning comes in,” Darian DeVries said. “Tonight, it’s not going perfectly for us as an offense. We’re missing the shots we normally make. You’ve got to continue to fight. In the first half, we guarded them really well.”

Alexis’ intensity amidst the missed shots stood out.

“Sam is playing great,” Darian DeVries said. “He really brought some good energy, some good physicality. I thought he was terrific.”

The first year IU coach added that the second half, during which Incarnate Word outscored Indiana 42-34 and cut the Hoosiers’ lead to as little as five points, is something to learn from.

“You built this lead because your defense was still really good,” Darian DeVries said. “That energy is something we have to play with. We’ve got to be a spirited, physical, tough-minded group for 40 minutes every night. That’s how we’re going to win.”

Indiana is top-30 nationally in 3-point percentage, but the Hoosiers now know what it looks like to win when they shoot under 25 percent, which should serve them well in upcoming non-conference games against Kansas State, No. 12 Louisville and No. 9 Kentucky.

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