Indiana didn’t make it easy on itself, but it did enough at the line to escape Syracuse with an 83-80 win at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The Hoosiers spent much of the first half chasing the game. Outside of an 8-0 run, Indiana’s offense never really found a rhythm, and the Orange controlled the opening 20 minutes.
The Hoosiers were just 3-for-14 from 3-point range in the half and leaned on the offensive glass to stay afloat, grabbing 43 percent of their missed shots. That effort produced only three second-chance points, though, while Syracuse kept the pressure on by hitting 5 of 9 from deep and edging IU by two at the foul line.
Markus Burton was the bright spot early, scoring nine of Indiana’s 34 first-half points as Syracuse took a 38-34 lead into the break.
Indiana came out sharper after halftime. The defense tightened, and the Hoosiers opened the second half with a 14-7 burst over the first five minutes to move ahead 48-45 at the under-16 media timeout.
Darren Harris drove that stretch, scoring Indiana’s first eight points of the half. But the lead didn’t last long.
Syracuse freshman guard Ryan Moesch started slicing into the Hoosiers’ defense, and his 3-pointer at the 8:04 mark put the Orange back in front, 61-59, and sent Darian DeVries to the timeout.
Syracuse pushed the margin to five at 66-61 on three free throws from Kiyan Anthony, but Indiana answered with an 8-2 run to reclaim a 69-68 lead at the final media timeout. The closing minute and change belonged to the Hoosiers at the stripe. With the score tied at 74, Indiana went 7-for-7 on free throws over the final 1:14, with Harris, Samet Yigitoglu and Bryce Lindsay all delivering in the moment to seal the three-point win.
Harris and Burton led the way with 20 points apiece, while Jaeden Mustaf added 18 and Lindsay finished with 11. Yigitoglu also made his presence felt on the glass, leading Indiana with 10 rebounds. In all, four Hoosiers finished in double figures.
The numbers tell the story of a team that could score enough, but still has work to do on the other end. Indiana shot 22-for-26 from the line, 9-for-25 from 3 and finished with 14 offensive rebounds. Syracuse, though, shot 50.9 percent from the field and averaged 1.14 points per possession.
Indiana returns to Bloomington next, hosting Tennessee Tech on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET on BTN.
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