At the Buzzer: Indiana 91, Eastern Illinois 57

Quick thoughts on IU basketball’s 91-57 win against Eastern Illinois:

How it happened

It took Indiana a while to get going in Monday’s season opener against Eastern Illinois. The Hoosiers led by only three points at 24-21 with 9:45 to play in the first half. The defensive intensity from IU was good to start the game, but waned for a good portion after the Hoosiers led 14-5 at the start. That allowed the Panthers to get comfortable and remain in the game. But once IU picked up the intensity defensively in the final eight minutes of the half, the Hoosiers quickly took control. IU closed the half on a 20-2 run for a comfortable 44-23 lead at the break. IU scored 1.16 points per possession in the opening 20 minutes and was led by eight points and five assists from Markus Burton.

Indiana’s defensive intensity went through ebbs and flows in the second half before the Hoosiers took control with a 7-0 run to claim a 74-47 lead by the under-eight media timeout. Still, Darian DeVries won’t be happy when he reviews the second half film to see how many easy layups Indiana gave up before pulling away for good. IU stretched the lead to 35 points at 86-51 by the final media timeout before the Hoosiers emptied the bench to close out the season opening victory.

Standout performers

Burton led the Hoosiers with 19 points and five assists. He shot 7-for-8 from the field, including a 3-for-3 mark on 3-pointers. Bryce Lindsay added 14 points for IU and Trevor Manhertz had 11. Samet Yigitoglu finished with eight points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots.