The Minute After: Bethune-Cookman

Photos of IU basketball's 101-70 win against Milwaukee at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Thoughts on a 100-56 win against Bethune-Cookman:

This game was set up to be sluggish.

Indiana, in recent home wins against Incarnate Word and Lindenwood, has played down to its competition. The Hoosiers were also wrestling with a noon tip two days after Thanksgiving. The students are still on break. The crowd was sparse.

But sluggish they were not this afternoon, far from it. Indiana came out with fire and purpose, setting the tone for a runaway victory. The first half was a masterclass of the Darian DeVries era. The ball moved, the cuts were purposeful, the 3s were falling and the competition shot poorly after being forced into mid-range shots. The numbers tell the tale: 15 assists on 17 made baskets, 7-of-18 from 3-point range (38.9 percent), 10-of-11 from the line (90.9 percent), 1.43 points per possession. The Hoosiers held the Wildcats to an effective field-goal percentage of just 27 and only .61 points per possession.

Indiana also added some great play in transition, scoring 11 fast-break points.

One of the Hoosiers that didn’t have it going in the first half? Lamar Wilkerson. He shot just 1-of-6 from 3-point range. So his second half flipped the script, as he hunted for looks at the rim instead. It started early on Indiana’s first possession, as he scored on a backdoor cut off the right wing for two points. Wilkerson kept it up all half, making 5-of-6 on 2-pointers. Wilkerson finished with 18 points for the game, second only to Tucker DeVries for the Hoosiers. DeVries poured in 20 points, aided by a 5-of-10 mark from 3-point range.

The Hoosiers then had three other Hoosiers in double-figures, as Sam Alexis, Trenty Sisley and Nick Dorn all scored 14 points. Alexis continued his hyper-efficient start to the season (6-of-9 from the field) and added eight rebounds. Sisley remains Indiana’s best floor runner, getting transition opportunities in each half, while adding a 3-point make to boot. Sisley led all Hoosiers with nine rebounds as well. Dorn got hot from deep, making 4-of-5 and added a 2-of-2 mark from the line. Conor Enright led the team with seven assists and made his only field goal attempt, a 3-pointer. Tayton Conerway dished out five assists and made some razzle-dazzle layups early to get the energy up at the start of the contest.

By the time the dust settled, the Hoosiers hit 100 points for the third time in seven games. They scored 1.41 points per possession, the third time they’ve hit or eclipsed 1.40 points per possession this season. Meanwhile, Indiana held Bethune-Cookman to a season-low .79 points per possession.

All early tests have been passed. Bigger ones are on deck. Big Ten play begins on Wednesday night at Minnesota. Then the Hoosiers play Louisville (No. 8 on KenPom) in Indianapolis on Saturday. The next week brings another conference test (Penn State at home on Dec. 9) before heading to Lexington to take on Kentucky (No. 11 on KenPom) the following Saturday (Dec. 13).

Indiana’s proven to be one of the better teams in the country so far this season. But are the Hoosiers an elite team? The jury’s still out. These next two weeks of play will provide more evidence of just where Indiana falls in the national hierarchy.

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