Indiana men’s basketball started the season with three straight games scoring 98 or more points. In game four, the Hoosiers ended with 69.
In its first three games, Indiana knocked down 38 total 3-pointers. Against the University of the Incarnate Word on Sunday, the Cream and Crimson shot 5 for 24 from deep.
The Hoosiers were led by a team-high scoring effort from senior forward Sam Alexis. In 27 minutes off the bench, Alexis put up 16 points. Of those, 13 came in the first half as Indiana built a lead off a 20-2 run late in the half.
Despite strong starts to the season from fifth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson and redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries, the pair was a combined 6 for 19 from the field. Without major production from their stars, the Hoosiers struggled to get their offense going all throughout the game.
Incarnate Word cut the lead all the way down to five in the closing minutes, but Indiana was able to fend off the Cardinals and hold on for an 8-point victory.
While Alexis totaled the most points, sixth-year senior guard Tayton Conerway also had a big impact on the game. Conerway tallied 9 points and seven assists. He was also active on the defensive end, collecting three blocks and creating multiple turnovers.
Freshman forward Trent Sisley added 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench and was one of two Hoosiers to connect from beyond the arc — DeVries made three 3-pointers.
In the absence of offensive firepower, Indiana was forced to turn up its defensive intensity. The Hoosiers totaled four blocks and four steals while outrebounding the Cardinals 42 to 29. The Cream and Crimson allowed only 24 points in the paint.
Coming off an underwhelming win over Incarnate Word, Indiana still boasts an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.53, the third best in the country. The Hoosiers look to return to form against Lindenwood University on Thursday.
Meet the Lions
Lindenwood enters its matchup with Indiana with a 2-3 record on the season, with two of its losses coming in dominant fashion. The Lions began their season with a 38-point loss to then-No. 10 Texas Tech University on Nov. 4 and later lost by 43 to Saint Louis University on Nov. 10.
Lindenwood destroyed the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis 116-51 and beat Charleston Southern University by 6 points. The Lions are coming off a 9-point loss to Alabama A&M University, a team that Indiana blew out by 47 points in its season opener.
Under head coach Kyle Gerdeman, the Lions transitioned into the NCAA Division I level, joining the Ohio Valley Conference ahead of the 2022-23 season. In its first three seasons at the Division I level, Lindenwood has a record of 36-60.
In 2024-25, the Lions went 16-17 led by a quartet of guards averaging between 12.2 and 12.8 points per game. Of the four, senior Anias Futrell and sophomore Jadis Jones were the only players to return for 2025-26.
So far this season, Jones has stepped up to lead the team in scoring, averaging 17.3 points per game on an impressive 82.4% shooting. Futrell adds 11.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, and he’s hit a team-high seven 3-pointers.
Behind Jones, Abilene-Christian University transfer and sophomore guard Dontrez Williams adds 12.7 points and nearly two steals per game. Joining Jones, Williams and Futrell in double figures are sophomore guard Clayton Jackson and graduate center Milos Nenadic, with 10.8 and 12.4 points per game, respectively.
Free throw shooting has been a weak point for the Lions, as they’ve only converted on 64.1% of their attempts from the line. Jackson’s 81.3% is the best of any Lion with 10 or more attempts.
Indiana enters the matchup against Lindenwood with a perfect 27-0 record all time against teams competing in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Hoosiers will take on the Lions at 6 p.m. Thursday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Coverage will be available on the Big Ten Network.
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.
