Over the course of a 31-game regular season, each team struggles to score on certain nights.
IU men’s basketball got its first taste of off-shooting night in its 69-61 win against Incarnate Word on Sunday.
The Hoosiers made just five of their 24 three-point attempts (21 percent) and 18 of their 26 free throw attempts (69 percent) after shooting 48 percent from beyond the arc and 82 percent from the line through their first three games. Lacking a frenetic barrage of goals, the Hoosiers leaned on their defense and a strong performance from forward Sam Alexis to prevent a late Incarnate Word comeback.
Alexis led all Indiana players with 16 points and eight rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench, rising high for four dunks. Senior forward Tucker DeVries sang Alexis’ praises after the game.
“We wouldn’t have won that game today without him,” Tucker DeVries said after the game. “He was a beast and that’s where it starts.”
Alexis is one of five Indiana players averaging more than 11 points per game through the Hoosiers’ first four games.
The other four – Lamar Wilkerson, Tayton Conerway, Reed Bailey and DeVries – are all starters. Alexis credited Wilkerson and DeVries for opening up space on the floor and creating numerous scoring opportunities at the basket.
“When you have guys like Lamar and Tuck, other guys on our team who can shoot so well, it gives me an opportunity to slide out and make easy, wide-open dunks,” Alexis said. “Grateful for the guys who can make threes.”
Indiana’s defense stood out next to Alexis’ post game, holding Incarnate Word to 19 points on 6-of-29 shooting in the first half and opening a 16-point lead. The Cardinals, who entered Sunday’s game averaging 92 points per game on 49 percent shooting, heated up in the second half, but the Hoosiers got key stops when needed and escaped with an eight-point victory.
Indiana coach Darian DeVries, who coached West Virginia to a top-15 KenPom defensive rating in 2024-25, said Indiana can get a lot out of a game where shots don’t come easily.
“You get free recording nights,” Darian DeVries said. “That’s where you have to rely on your defense and rebounding to take care of the ball.”
Darian DeVries noted that even on experienced teams, energy levels can drop if no one is shooting well.
“That’s where the learning comes in,” Darian DeVries said. “Tonight things aren’t going well for us offensively. We are missing the shots we normally make. You have to keep fighting. We guarded them very well in the first half.”
Alexis’ intensity between the missed shots stood out.
“Sam is playing great,” Darian DeVries said. “He really brought some good energy and good physicality. I thought he was great.”
The first-year IU coach added that the second half, in which Incarnate Word outscored Indiana 42-34 and cut the Hoosiers’ lead to just five points, is something to learn from.
“You built this lead because your defense was still very good,” Darian DeVries said. “That energy is something we have to play with. We have to be a tough, physical, tough group for forty minutes every night. That’s how we’re going to win.”
Indiana ranks in the top 30 nationally in three-point percentage, but the Hoosiers now know what it looks like to win when they shoot under 25 percent, which should serve them well in the upcoming non-conference games against Kansas State, No. 12 Louisville and No. 9 Kentucky.
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