After starting the season 12-3, Indiana men’s basketball dropped four games in a row ahead of its road matchup with Rutgers. But that wasn’t the only streak the Hoosiers were looking to snap Friday night.
The Cream and Crimson entered the contest with five straight losses against the Scarlet Knights in Piscataway, New Jersey. While former Indiana head coach Mike Woodson never defeated Rutgers on the road, it only took first-year Hoosiers head coach Darian DeVries one try.
Indiana played a clean and efficient game, never giving up the lead in an 82-59 victory over the Scarlet Knights inside Jersey Mike’s Arena. It was the Hoosiers’ first win at Rutgers since 2018.
With the dominant victory came multiple breakout performances and a resurgent defensive effort. Indiana held the Scarlet Knights to just 59 points, the lowest point total the Hoosiers have allowed in Big Ten play this season.
Ten of the Cream and Crimson's 13 wins have come inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, but the win over Rutgers marked Indiana’s second victory in a true road contest.
Three Hoosiers reached 20 points in the win. Fifth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson led the team with 27 points, junior guard Nick Dorn poured in 23 points off six 3-pointers and redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries broke out of his shooting slump and added 22 points. Unlike in recent contests, Indiana got the ball moving early, consistently creating open looks.
“Yeah, I thought our passing was pretty good,” Darian DeVries said postgame. “I thought the guys did a good job of knowing how Rutgers tries to defend, and they were able to try to, you know, okay, ‘Here's where they're really good, and here's where we maybe can try to find some advantages,’ and I thought they did a good job of finding those guys when those opportunities presented themself, as well.”
The Hoosiers began the game making six of their first 10 shots, led by a revitalized Tucker DeVries. With 16 points in just the first 20 minutes, DeVries surpassed his scoring totals from five of his last six games.
As sixth-year senior guard Tayton Conerway remains limited with an ankle injury, Dorn joined the starting lineup for the first time this season. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native took advantage of his added minutes, notching 14 points in the opening frame.
While Indiana entered halftime with a 15-point lead, the Hoosiers were up 20 points after five minutes of second half action. Facing its largest deficit of the night, Rutgers subbed in its leading scorer, junior guard Tariq Francis. Francis scored 21 points in the first half before sitting to start the second. In just four minutes with Francis back on the court, Rutgers cut the Hoosiers’ lead to 12.
“He's (Tariq Francis) a hard guard,” Darian DeVries said. “You know, he's so dynamic with the ball. He can score at all three levels. So he puts a lot of pressure on your defense because he is so good in isolations, even just creating his own and makes it tough on you.”
After the brief Rutgers run, Indiana’s veteran leadership snatched the momentum back. Conerway drove past defenders and scored on the interior in back-to-back possessions before Wilkerson raced through a hole in the defense for a dunk to put the Hoosiers back up 18 points.
“Yeah, it was a big stretch,” DeVries said. “They were on a little bit of a run there. I thought our defense had lacked maybe quite the tenacity that we had had for most of the game for a few possessions there. They were just attacking downhill, downhill, downhill, getting to the rim, and then had a transition three in there. But Tayton coming in, giving us a couple of big layups there.”
For most of the game, Indiana’s defense didn’t allow Rutgers much space to operate. The Hoosiers were quick to the ball and collapsing on the Scarlet Knights in the paint. The Cream and Crimson tallied four steals, and senior forward Sam Alexis rejected six Rutgers shot attempts as Indiana notched a season-high seven blocks.
The Hoosiers’ active defense resulted in their best result in conference play thus far. Wilkerson, Dorn and Tucker DeVries became the first Hoosier trio to each score 20 points since 2021 — Trayce Jackson-Davis, Miller Kopp and Parker Stewart against Syracuse University.
Indiana turned the ball over just five times, including an intentional shot clock violation in the final seconds. The Cream and Crimson also outrebounded the Scarlet Knights 40-27 and shot 50% from the field while draining 15 3-pointers.
“I love the energy that we came out with,” Darian DeVries said. “I love the offensive, you know, kind of identity that we were trying to get on that side of the ball as well. And then to be able to control it for a whole game and sustain it, that was probably even more important.”
Next for the Hoosiers is a matchup with No. 4 Purdue (17-2, 7-1 Big Ten) on Tuesday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. While the contest looms large for many Hoosier fans, DeVries preached consistency ahead of the rivalry game.
“Yeah, our mindset game to game is always the same,” DeVries said. “You know, your approach is your approach. And to make sure we go home and be very intentional with the details of the game prep and understand what we need to do to win that next game.”
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.
