IU basketball won its second straight game Monday night, defeating Oregon 92-74 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Here are five takeaways from the win against the Ducks:
Indiana honors the 1976 national championship team
Before the game, Indiana Basketball hosted a question-and-answer session with seven players from the undefeated 1975-76 team to mark the 50th anniversary of the last perfect season in college basketball.
Tom Abernethy, Kent Benson, Quinn Buckner, Jim Crews, Scott Eells, James Roberson and Bobby Wilkerson spoke for 26 minutes and Scott May joined them afterward.
During the game, the players sat behind the bench and were honored with the NCAA Championship trophy under the spotlight at halftime.
Shortly after the game ended in Bloomington, Arizona – the only undefeated power conference program left – fell to Kansas. Miami of Ohio is the only undefeated team left, but the players aren’t celebrating that.
Darian DeVries expressed his excitement to continue the tradition of welcoming the team and all program alumni.
“I thought that was great. Special night for everyone,” Darian DeVries said. “There were so many that were able to make it. That’s a pretty cool event.”
Lamar Wilkerson posts second 40-point performance
As Indiana royalty looked on, Lamar Wilkerson put on a show. The senior guard missed his first six shots of the game, but once he saw one go down, it was his time to shine.
Wilkerson, who just two months earlier broke a Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall record with a 44-point outburst against Penn State, flirted with a new record, scoring 41 points Monday night.
“It was easy,” he said. “Everyone kept telling me to keep shooting. One fell and then the rest happened.”
The Ashdown, Arkansas native shot 13-for-20 and made six threes en route to another standing ovation as he walked off the floor. It is his fourth game in a row with 20 or more points.
While his output is already adequate, the attention Wilkerson draws from his opponents allows his teammates to score and influence the game.
“He’s pretty special,” Darian DeVries said. “That was as impressive a second-half performance as I’ve ever seen.”
Sam Alexis continues strong play
Fresh off a 19-point performance on Saturday against Wisconsin, forward Sam Alexis remained white-hot Monday night.
The senior scored 16 points on perfect 8-for-8 shooting from the field. Over his last five appearances, IU’s starting center has made 24 of 25 field goal attempts; his only miss came on Saturday.
After hitting his first few shots from the restricted area, the 6-foot-4 Alexis showed some ability in the middle of the court. His shots from 8 feet over Oregon’s Nate Bittle made him an even bigger threat than he already was.
Now that Alexis is playing the best basketball of his career, he’s getting more minutes than fellow forward Reed Bailey. The Florida transfer played 25 minutes to Bailey’s 15.
Alexis added five rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot and played a crucial role in the victory.
“He’s given us a low presence the last two games that we maybe didn’t utilize enough to be honest,” Darian DeVries said. “Sometimes as coaches you have to admit your mistakes.
“Tonight he was able to execute big time and get in a spot and take action.”
Indiana’s poor three-point start gives way to a hot finish
In the middle third of the first half, Indiana’s offense looked out of sorts. It had missed six straight shots from the field – all from behind the arc – and needed a breakout.
The Hoosiers had made just two of their 12 attempts from distance at that point. After Wilkerson knocked down a right triple, the lid lifted and Indiana started shooting.
Indiana converted on eight more three-point attempts and finished the game 11 of 27. The Hoosiers shot 40.7 percent, six points higher than their average of 34.9 percent this season.
Monday night marked the seventeenth time the team has eclipsed double figures from deep, a feat accomplished twice last season.
In addition to its three-point ability, Indiana made all 11 of its two-point attempts in the second half.
“I just thought we executed some of our sets well,” Darian DeVries said. “We were able to benefit from that.”
IU gets exactly what it needs from a two-game homestand
By splitting the two games on the West Coast, Indiana put itself in a great position for the NCAA Tournament. However, the two home games that followed were just as important.
Indiana entered the weekend definitely needing a few wins in the friendly environment of Assembly Hall before a pair of road games at Illinois and Purdue.
Holding serve in the final five home matches was paramount and Indiana passed the first two tests.
Indiana has been a completely different team since the loss to Michigan; the Hoosiers are 5-1, giving themselves breathing room from the bubble for now.
“I think we’ve gotten a lot better,” Darian DeVries said. “Our floor spacing has been better. The ball movement has been better. I think there’s still some work we need to get better at as we close out the season.”
“You can tell they really enjoy being there and playing for everyone.”
See more: Five Takeaways, Lamar Wilkerson, Sam Alexis
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