Indiana men’s basketball played three contests during an August trip to Puerto Rico and later an intrasquad scrimmage Oct. 3.
But Friday night, the Hoosiers, led by first-year head coach Darian DeVries, donned their famed candy-striped pants and warm-up shirts as they took the floor ahead of their first of two exhibitions this season.
Indiana dismantled Marian University inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, earning a dominant 107-46 victory. Redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries and freshman forward Trent Sisley led all scorers with 23 points apiece. DeVries drained five 3-pointers while Sisley went 8 for 10 from the field.
DeVries scored the Hoosiers’ first 9 points of the contest in all different ways — a 3-pointer, a 2-point jumper, a dunk and two free throws. Indiana went on a 26-0 run over eight and a half minutes to take a 27-point advantage.
Of the nine scholarship players that took to the court in the first half, eight scored as the Hoosiers held a 45-point advantage at halftime. In its 20 minutes of game action under Darian DeVries, who said Oct. 9 that shooting 3-pointers is “philosophical,” Indiana went 12 for 20 beyond the arc.
The Hoosiers got out to a slower start to begin the second half; however, they went on a 13-0 run over nearly two and a half minutes. They led by 56 points at the under-12-minute timeout.
For much of the final 10 minutes of the contest, the Hoosiers’ starters sat while the lineup on the floor consisted of three walk-ons and two bench players. After scoring 67 points in the first half, Indiana notched 40 in the second to secure the win.
The Cream and Crimson shot 58.2% from the field in the matchup, going 15 for 30 from 3-point range. They scored 1.574 points per possession compared to the Knights’ 0.657.
The Hoosiers will close their exhibition slate against Baylor University at 1 p.m. Oct. 26 inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
