INDIANAPOLIS — Winning isn't easy.
It takes unmitigated commitment, fully focused effort and the patience to bring it all together. Most importantly — in the case of team sports — it takes everyone.
A roster full of players bought into the mindset of victory tends to outshine an absentminded group headlined by a brighter star.
However, when you have a collection of scorers as Indiana men's basketball does, it just takes one catching fire to triumph.
Throughout the Hoosiers' 76-58 exhibition win over the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Sunday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, it was senior guard Bryce Lindsay.
Lindsay hasn't started in either of Indiana's first two exhibitions of the year. Head coach Darian DeVries has kept the Villanova University transfer on the bench, starting senior guard Markus Burton and junior guards Jaeden Mustaf and Darren Harris instead.
Lindsay's response? A 26-point outburst.
"I have no problem with coming off the bench," Lindsay said postgame. "All I want to do is win."
From the looks of it, his play will be a significant part of the Hoosiers' forthcoming victories this season. And when he has a game like Sunday, wins will follow.
His performance earned a ringing endorsement from Tar Heels head coach Michael Malone.
"Hell of a night... he put his fingerprints all over the game," Malone said postgame. "He can shoot the ball, but he can get his own shot. He's got a really tight handle."
Anytime you can get a glowing review from a former NBA championship-winning head coach, that's a successful night.
Despite Lindsay's effort, Burton is still Indiana's most gifted scorer. However, he's shown an early inability to stay on the floor. Against Butler University on Oct. 11, he came out hot and scored 11 of the Hoosiers' first 13 points. Later in the first half, he picked up two fouls in a one-minute stretch, forcing DeVries to pull him for Lindsay.
Against North Carolina on Sunday, that stretch came right away. Burton was called for two fouls in the first 68 seconds of action. DeVries had to put in Lindsay again.
However, that's not a weakness. Lindsay has already averaged double-digit points and multiple 3-pointers per game in two different conferences. Even though he's not in the starting lineup, giving him the ball doesn't slow down Indiana's offense.
In fact, it kickstarted the Hoosiers' attack against the Tar Heels. Seventeen seconds after checking in, he was already at the free throw line scoring Indiana's first two points of the game. Twenty-three seconds later, his first shot of the game was the Hoosiers' first made field goal.
"He had to play a lot of point, had the ball in his hands a lot," DeVries said of Lindsay postgame. "I thought he also did a good job getting downhill, getting to the free throw line."
Lindsay's 3-point efficiency was the catalyst for his standout night. From beyond the arc, he shot 4 for 9. The rest of the team was 5 for 18. The difference — along with the Hoosiers' edge in rebounding and points off turnovers — was enough for a relatively smooth 18-point win.
With Burton — a former Atlantic Coast Conference scoring leader — and Lindsay at the Hoosiers' disposal, they won't often lack explosiveness. Indiana will also get bursts from Harris, Mustaf and its starting frontcourt: junior forward Aiden Sherrell and junior center Samet Yigitoglu.
It's clear one player catching fire can lift a team. Indiana's strength on offense is its luxury of not having to rely on any particular option.
The Hoosiers can beat you 30 feet from the basket. They can also beat you in the paint. The team's synergy and flexibility will fuel the offense throughout the season.
"I feel like I'm great at playing on and off the ball," Lindsay said. "It's hard to guard if you can do both."
If one scorer emerges from the pack on a given night, opposing defenses will struggle to guard the Hoosiers. And more nights like Sunday could be in store for Indiana.
Follow reporters Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) and Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki87731 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) and columnist Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
