After averaging 99.7 points through its first three games, Indiana men’s basketball has struggled to score in back-to-back games.
The Hoosiers scored 73 points against Lindenwood on Thursday, following a 69-point performance against Incarnate Word on Sunday. IU leaned on defense in the first half to open a double-digit lead despite missing more shots than expected, and left something to be desired again in the second half in a comfortable 73-53 victory.
Indiana shot just 38 percent from the floor and 32 percent from three-point range and Lindenwood had a 48-44 advantage in rebounding despite making just 25 percent of its shots and shooting 3-for-18 (17 percent) from beyond the arc.
Redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries, who led Indiana with 25 points on 5-of-10 3-point shooting and scored 13 straight points in less than three minutes of playing time to push Indiana’s lead to 22 points midway through the second half, said effort has been a focal point for the Hoosiers in practice lately.
“We just have to play harder,” DeVries said. “It’s been an emphasis in practice and we’ll fix it. I think it’s pretty clear we were a little bit flat.”
First-year head coach Darian DeVries said he was a bit alarmed by Indiana’s flat performance against Lindenwood, as a similar lack of consistent intensity allowed Incarnate Word to cut a 16-point halftime deficit to just five points on Sunday. With the same deficit in 20 minutes of play on Thursday, Lindenwood cut Indiana’s lead to six points early in the second half before the Hoosiers pulled away for good.
“I thought (the players) really learned from some of the things that happened in our last game,” DeVries said. “They played hard tonight, there just wasn’t the same juice.”
Indiana has fallen flat after reaching 100 points twice in its first three games, and the recurring sentiment from both Darian DeVries and his players is that there is less intensity when the shots aren’t falling. He said a change in mindset is needed for Indiana to continue pulling away even if the points aren’t coming at a hectic pace.
“It was choppy,” DeVries said. “Learning as a group to really embrace the defensive side and let that be our identity and where (our) enthusiasm comes from.”
DeVries pointed out that Indiana held Lindenwood to 18 points on 18 percent shooting in the first half, which he will accept on many nights. Sam Alexis continued to shine down low, grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds, hitting four of Indiana’s five blocked shots and once again bringing a high level of intensity off the bench.
“I love what Sam is doing,” DeVries said. “He brings the physicality. Even more so is the rebounding energy level (and) enthusiasm. I just like what he’s doing for us right now. That’s the kind of rim protection we need from him and he’s doing a great job with it.”
Lamar Wilkerson was the only Indiana starter other than Tucker DeVries to score in double figures, though his 10 points came on 4-for-16 shooting and he made just one of his seven 3-point attempts. Alexis said one of his goals is to play with the same vigor off the bench, even if Indiana’s usual shot makers are struggling.
“I just want to get on the field and bring energy every time,” Alexis said. “If the starting five starts slow, just come in and bring a different kind of energy.”
Alexis’ high commitment has not gone unnoticed by his teammates.
“It’s so great for us when he comes into the game,” Tucker DeVries said. “It changes the game. The physicality and the excitement he plays with, everyone can see it when he’s out there. He loves to play basketball.”
Indiana will likely need its offense to perform more at the level of the first three games, rather than the final two, when Kansas State visits Assembly Hall on Tuesday.
The Wildcats, led by preseason All-American PJ Haggerty, are averaging over 94 points per game and, like the Hoosiers, are 5-0 to start the season.
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