Five takeaways from IU basketball’s win against Bethune-Cookman

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

IU basketball improved to 7-0 with a 100-56 blowout win against Bethune-Cookman on Saturday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Here are five takeaways from the win against the Wildcats:

Indiana was focused for a full 40 minutes

Coming off Tuesday’s win against Kansas State and the Thanksgiving holiday, it was fair to wonder if Indiana would have a letdown with an early tip against a lesser opponent.

On the TV broadcast, BTN announcers Jack Kizer and Jordan Taylor, a former Wisconsin guard, suggested that IU coach Darian DeVries was concerned entering Saturday’s game against Bethune-Cookman. Although the Wildcats entered the game with a 2-5 record, they also gave Auburn an overtime scare in the season-opener.

There would be no letdown from Indiana in its seventh game of the season.

The Hoosiers only trailed for 27 seconds in a beatdown of Bethune-Cookman in front of 12,192 fans at Assembly Hall.

Indiana was dominant on both ends of the floor, scoring efficiently at 1.41 points per possession while allowing its opponent to score only .79 points per trip.

Tucker DeVries bounces back from a poor shooting night against Kansas State

Tucker DeVries struggled in Tuesday’s win against Kansas State, failing to reach double figures for the first time in six games.

DeVries was just 1-for-6 on 3s in the last outing and IU still won easily, 86-69.

The 6-foot-7 redshirt senior regained his perimeter shooting form on Saturday against Bethune-Cookman. DeVries finished with a game-high 20 points in 28 minutes and earned his second KenPom Game MVP of the season.

DeVries was 5-for-10 on 3s and recorded five or more made 3-pointers for the third time this season.

Through IU’s first seven games, DeVries is 26-for-59 on 3s, good for 44.1 percent.

Nick Dorn is looking more and more comfortable

Junior wing Nick Dorn missed IU’s first two games of the season as he continued to rehab from offseason surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his foot.

The IU staff has been easing Dorn, a 6-foot-7 transfer from Elon, into the rotation.

After scoring a total of 15 points through IU’s previous four games, Dorn had his best game yet in an IU uniform on Saturday afternoon.

He was one of five Hoosiers to score in double figures, finishing with 14 points in 19 minutes. Dorn was 4-for-5 on 3s and is now 6-for-15 from distance in five games.

“He’s getting more and more comfortable,” Darian DeVries said postgame of Dorn. “You can obviously see it today why we’re so excited to have him back, because he does bring a lot of firepower for us right now coming off the bench.”

Turnovers return to normal after 17 against Kansas State

The Hoosiers uncharacteristically committed 17 turnovers in Tuesday’s win against Kansas State. IU’s turnover percentage of 22.4 in that win was easily its highest of the season.

Saturday brought a significant improvement and a return to the standard IU has set early in the season for taking care of the ball.

Indiana committed just seven turnovers against Bethune-Cookman and its turnover percentage of 9.9 tied a season-low, a mark it also set against Milwaukee on Nov. 12.

As of Saturday afternoon, Indiana’s turnover percentage of just 13.6 ranked 24th nationally.

The Hoosiers are averaging only 9.7 turnovers per game.

A big afternoon for IU’s bench

With injuries and limited depth, Indiana has been slowly building its depth through the early part of the season.

Getting Dorn back on Nov. 12 was a positive and the Hoosiers are hopeful to get Aleksa Ristic and Jason Drake, who both participated in warmups on Saturday, back sometime in December.

However, despite the limited number of scholarship players available to start the season, IU’s bench has proven it can be productive. Saturday was the latest example.

In addition to the 14 points from Dorn, the Hoosiers also got 14 points and eight rebounds from Sam Alexis and 14 points and nine rebounds from Trent Sisley.

In total, the IU bench amassed 45 points, a season-high.

See More: Five Takeaways, Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, Nick Dorn, Tucker DeVries