Indiana basketball is now 2-0 on the season, with both wins coming in dominant fashion.
Indiana basketball defeated the Bellarmine Knights 92-69 in Assembly Hall on Thursday night. The Hoosiers boasted yet another convincing win in their second game of the season.
The Indiana offense continues to be a constant for this team. In their first two games of the season, they have had three or more players score in double digits. Against Bellarmine, Darren Harris led the way in scoring with 23 points.
“I mean it starts with my teammates, setting me up, keeping confidence in me,” Harris said. “I didn’t really shoot well the last couple of games, so I just really looked at film…and it worked.”
Through their exhibition play and first two games, the team has begun to build a strong offense. In their first two wins, they have scored 90 or more points against their opponent with multiple players who can score, including players off the bench. However, there are still some inconsistencies, one of them being Notre Dame transfer Markus Burton.
Last season at Notre Dame, Burton averaged 18.5 points for the Fighting Irish and has already shown that he can provide these points for the Hoosiers. In their last game against Eastern Illinois, he led the way in scoring with 19 points along with two rebounds and five assists. However, against Bellarmine, he played 25 minutes and had only two points after shooting 2-for-2 from the free throw line. He was 0-for-7 from the field and 0-for-2 from beyond the arc.
Another area of inconsistency was the defense. If it had not been for the 24-point differential at the end of the first half, the game would have been a lot closer into the second half of the game. With just under 12 minutes to play, Bellarmine was out-scoring Indiana 18-15. The Knights finished the second half out-scoring the Hoosiers 43-42. Defensive struggles in the second half have been a common theme for Indiana through their first two games.
“I feel like we’ve gotten away from our bench and the communication has dropped defensively, especially in both the games,” head coach Darian DeVries said. “For us, maintaining that focus when you have a lead is a quality you have to have too. I didn’t think our intensity in both the second halves defensively was up to our standard.”
This marks the end of Indiana basketball’s two-game home stand to start the regular season. The Hoosiers will have the chance to continue their strong offense and improve upon their defense as they look to what will be the toughest match so far of their regular season. They will travel to Indianapolis to play Syracuse in Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Monday at 6:30 p.m.