Indiana men’s basketball has amassed an impressive list of accomplishments so far in its first season under head coach Darian DeVries.
DeVries began his tenure 7-0, marking the best start for an Indiana men’s basketball coach since Branch McCracken in 1938. The Cream and Crimson have reached triple digits four times, and became the first team to score 100 points on Marquette University head coach Shaka Smart since he became an NCAA Division I head coach 17 years ago.
Fifth-year senior Lamar Wilkerson set the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall scoring record with 44 points and broke the Hoosiers’ program record with 10 3-pointers in a game against Penn State on Dec. 9. The Hoosiers’ 30 assists against the Nittany Lions were their most in a game since 2001.
But there remained a glaring omission from the first-year Indiana head coach’s resume: a road win.
After losing each of its first two road contests, the Cream and Crimson took control of Maryland in the second half Wednesday to earn their first true road victory 84-66 inside XFINITY Center in College Park, Maryland.
The Hoosiers are a perfect 10-0 in Bloomington, but struggles manifested elsewhere. Indiana’s eighth contest was its first true road matchup. The result was a loss to Minnesota on Dec. 3. Its next chance came in the first game of a renewed rivalry series against the University of Kentucky on Dec. 13. The Hoosiers lost again, crumbling in the second half.
“We know we didn't maybe, you know, perform as well as we would have liked in those two games,” DeVries said postgame Wednesday. “But there was also, you know, learning opportunities for us in those losses that I think we adjusted nicely to.
Against Maryland, shades of those efforts were visible throughout the first half. Indiana fell behind early and started the game 1-11 from beyond the arc. But this time, the Hoosiers bounced back.
“We got off to a slow start tonight,” DeVries said. “And I thought we took some of the things that maybe hindered us from coming away with a win in our first two road games, and were able to fix it, which is great to see, a sign of a veteran group.”
For the past two games, the Cream and Crimson’s offense has been jumpstarted by the most experienced player on the team. Sixth-year senior guard Tayton Conerway scored 18 first half points against Washington on Sunday and followed up the effort with 13 against Maryland.
While the team is known for its ability to knock down shots from long distance, Conerway makes a concerted effort to utilize his explosiveness and soft touch to drive past defenders and score on the interior. The easy buckets were particularly valuable as Indiana went cold from 3-point range early in the game.
Conerway’s production combined with 16 makes at the free throw line gave the Hoosiers a 5-point advantage entering halftime.
Coming out of the break, Indiana was a different team. Redshirt senior guard Conor Enright drilled two 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the second half to kickstart a reinvigorated Cream and Crimson offense.
The next Hoosier with the hot hand was Wilkerson. After scoring just 6 points in the first half, the Ashdown, Arkansas, native took full control of the game. With Indiana up three, Wilkerson scored the Cream and Crimson’s next 16 points. During the stretch, Wilkerson drilled three shots from beyond the arc, including an and-one.
By the end of Wilkerson’s outburst, Indiana’s lead had swelled to 15 points with just over 12 minutes remaining. The Hoosiers never looked back, carrying the lead all the way to the end of the game.
After his less involved first half, DeVries said they were able to get Wilkerson “a little bit more on the move” in the second half. He said the movement Wilkerson created enabled the Hoosiers to run counter plays to get him free more often, and that Wilkerson “took advantage of it.”
Wilkerson reached 20 points for the fourth consecutive game after putting up an 18-point second half to end the game with 24 points. Additionally, Enright set a second straight season-high, tallying 16 points after scoring 12 against Washington.
DeVries’ veterans face a tougher test Saturday, as undefeated No. 10 Nebraska comes to Bloomington. The Hoosiers will look to maintain their undefeated home record and hand the Cornhuskers their first loss of the season at noon inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
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.
