Kentucky Outmuscles Indiana in Second-Half Surge to Take Rivalry Showdown at Rupp
LEXINGTON, Ky. - For 20 minutes, Indiana looked like the tougher team. They were crashing the glass, defending with purpose, and playing with the poise of a group that had something to prove in one of college basketball’s most storied venues. But then the second half happened - and Kentucky flipped the switch.
In front of a raucous crowd of 20,061 at Rupp Arena, the Wildcats stormed back from a nine-point deficit to hand Indiana a 72-60 loss in their first regular-season meeting since 2011. What started as a promising road effort for the Hoosiers unraveled into a frustrating collapse - one that left head coach Darian DeVries and his players searching for answers.
“They certainly cranked it up a notch in that second half,” DeVries said afterward. “I thought their aggressiveness on the offensive glass was ultimately the factor.”
That second-half surge from Kentucky didn’t just swing the scoreboard - it swallowed Indiana whole.
The turning point came just two minutes into the half, when Indiana’s anchor, Lamar Wilkerson, was forced to the bench with his fourth personal foul. At that moment, the Hoosiers were still in control, leading 42-35. But without Wilkerson’s presence - his physicality, his leadership - Indiana lost its grip on the game.
Kentucky pounced. The Wildcats ripped off a 17-2 run, seizing their first lead since the early minutes and igniting the Rupp Arena faithful. The crowd, which had been relatively subdued in the first half, suddenly found its voice - and didn’t let up.
During that stretch, Indiana’s offense stalled. The Hoosiers struggled to initiate sets, couldn’t find rhythm, and turned the ball over with increasing frequency. By the time Wilkerson checked back in, the damage was already done.
“During that little stretch that he wasn’t out there, that’s when the turnovers started to happen,” DeVries said. “We weren’t able to get into some of our actions the way we needed to.”
Indiana’s second-half numbers tell the story. The Hoosiers shot just 27.3% from the field and went 1-for-10 from three. They committed 12 turnovers in the final 20 minutes - 18 total - giving Kentucky all the extra possessions they needed to extend runs and control the tempo.
And it wasn’t just the shooting woes or the giveaways. It was the loose balls, the hustle plays, the moments that define rivalry games.
Kentucky won nearly all of them down the stretch. One sequence in particular - when Mouhamed Dioubate beat Tucker DeVries to a loose ball off a missed free throw and bounced it off his leg out of bounds - summed up the second half.
Indiana looked frustrated. Kentucky looked relentless.
The Hoosiers’ offensive issues weren’t new. This game followed a similar pattern to recent losses against Minnesota and Louisville, where Indiana’s attack turned stagnant and breakdowns became contagious. On Saturday, the ball stuck, movement stalled, and possessions ended with desperate heaves as the shot clock expired.
Tayton Conerway, tasked with running the show, couldn’t find his footing. He committed four turnovers, each one more costly than the last. Tucker DeVries, Indiana’s top perimeter threat, couldn’t get anything to fall from deep - finishing just 1-for-9 from beyond the arc.
“We just got on our heels a little bit and didn’t play as disciplined as we needed to,” DeVries said. “We didn’t do a good enough job of creating space.”
It’s not that Indiana came into this season expecting to out-talent opponents. That wasn’t the plan.
DeVries built this roster with a different identity in mind - one rooted in grit, toughness, and effort. The idea was to outwork teams, to win the 50-50 balls, to make up for any talent gap with sheer will.
But 11 games into the season, that identity hasn’t fully materialized. And with just two buy games left before Big Ten play resumes, the clock is ticking.
Indiana still has time to find its footing, to rediscover the edge that’s been missing in these tough road environments. But until that happens, nights like Saturday - where a promising start fades into a frustrating finish - may continue to tell the story of this team’s season.