Indiana men’s basketball has scored 100 or more points on four occasions in its first 12 games of the season. Since Darian DeVries took over as head coach, the Hoosiers’ offensive identity has shifted from methodical and post-heavy to high-octane and 3-point focused.
As such, the Cream and Crimson have averaged 28.4 attempts from beyond the arc per game, ranking top 50 nationally. But the excess attempts didn’t yield excess points Saturday.
DeVries’ Hoosiers were outscored 29-26 by Chicago State University in the second half as Indiana earned a 78-58 victory over the Cougars on Saturday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
After the first half, it appeared Indiana was on its way to its fifth 100-point outing. But the second half told a familiar story.
Much like its second half collapse against the University of Kentucky on Dec. 13, Indiana found itself unable to score after the halftime break. But unlike against the Wildcats, the Hoosiers’ first half was enough to carry them to a win.
Indiana raced out to a large lead in the early stages of its matchup with Chicago State on the heels of a lights-out shooting start from fifth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson. The Hoosiers made each of their first five field goal attempts, including three Wilkerson 3-pointers.
The long-range barrage continued throughout the half as Indiana drained 14 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes to take a 52-29 lead into halftime.
But it didn’t take long for the Hoosiers to cool down. Indiana missed each of its first four shots to start the second half. It also missed its first 16 3-pointers. However, DeVries believes the opportunities to score against the Cougars remained the same.
“The shots we got in the second half were the same ones in the first half,” DeVries said postgame. “We were getting really good, clean looks by some of our best shooters so it was one of those halves where you go 1 for 20.”
When the 3-pointers weren’t falling, Indiana turned to the interior at times for offensive production. Senior forward Reed Bailey scored 17 points without attempting a shot from beyond the arc.
Bailey — who stands 6-foot-10 — is the tallest Hoosier in DeVries’ rotation and the tallest player to enter the game against Chicago State. Still, Indiana only notched 22 points in the paint to the Cougars' 30.
Indiana added just one 3-pointer in 20 tries in the second half as it attempted a program record 46 shots from beyond the arc. The Cream and Crimson converted just eight field goals in the final 20 minutes.
The lack of paint scoring isn’t necessarily a product of poor execution. Rather, it’s an effect of DeVries’ vision for his team. Bailey emphasized his squad's philosophy postgame.
“We just take them when we're open,” Bailey said. “Take them when you're open, shoot them with confidence and they're going to go in. That first half, you see what we're capable of, so it's always going to even out.”
While the Hoosiers’ confidence endures, it hasn’t always translated into positive results. Indiana’s tendency to fire at will has enabled performances like its 113-point outburst against Penn State on Dec. 9, but it also gives way to inconsistency and slumps, as was the case against Kentucky.
DeVries inserted senior forward Sam Alexis into the starting lineup for the past three games but has remained hesitant to shift any offensive focus away from 3-point range.
“It's like, the easy thing to do is say ‘Hey, let's get more paint touches, go drive it,’” DeVries said. “It's finding that balance of I don't want them to hesitate, so you want them to stay confident.”
Indiana has one more nonconference game left on its schedule before opening Big Ten play against Washington on Jan. 4. The Hoosiers will take on Siena University at 6 p.m. Monday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
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.
