Indiana didn’t need long to show it could rattle Tennessee Tech, but the real separation came after halftime.
The Hoosiers beat the Golden Eagles 90-66 on Thursday night in Bloomington, and the second half turned into a clear statement on the defensive end. Indiana forced two shot-clock violations in the first four minutes, then tightened the screws even more after the break. By the 5:34 mark of the second half, the Hoosiers had stretched the lead to 28 points, while Tennessee Tech had managed just 15 second-half points on 23% shooting and had coughed it up six times since halftime.
That mattered because Tennessee Tech came in with the kind of profile that can make a game messy. The Golden Eagles played fast, launched from deep and had enough spacing to drag Indiana’s bigs away from the rim.
They also created long rebounds and second chances, which is why the first half was not clean for the Hoosiers on the glass. But once Indiana settled in after the break, it took away the easy rhythm Tennessee Tech wanted.
The offensive side had its own storyline. Markus Burton, Jaeden Mustaf and Darren Harris combined for just five first-half points and went 1-of-7 from the field, yet Indiana still found scoring.
The Hoosiers earned trips to the foul line when the shots weren’t dropping, and then Bryce Lindsay provided the burst that pushed the game open. He scored eight early second-half points and gave Indiana the cushion it needed.
That’s what makes the defensive progress so worth watching. Indiana has enough firepower to score even when several of its best options are quiet. The bigger question is how often it can defend at a level that changes the game, and Thursday’s second-half swing offered a pretty clear example of what that can look like.
Samet Yigitoglu set the tone inside early. He scored at the rim on Indiana’s first three possessions and finished with 10 points in eight first-half minutes.
After having trouble getting going against Syracuse, he looked decisive against Tennessee Tech, getting quick moves off before help could arrive. When Indiana fed him near the basket, the Golden Eagles didn’t have much of an answer.
Still, the size advantage didn’t show up everywhere. Indiana went just 5-of-11 on layups in the first half and trailed Tennessee Tech 20-17 on the boards at halftime. The Golden Eagles also grabbed six offensive rebounds to Indiana’s three, a reminder that the Hoosiers’ length can be a weapon, but not automatically a solution.
With Indiana’s bigs pulled out toward the perimeter, missed shots turned into sprints for loose balls. Yigitoglu showed how dangerous the matchup can be when Indiana gets him the ball early and close to the rim. The rebounding numbers, though, pointed to the work still ahead, especially against teams that force big men to defend away from the basket.
Trevor Manhertz also gave Indiana a useful response after a rough outing against Syracuse on Monday. He came off the bench and immediately played with the same quick-trigger confidence that has earned him minutes as a freshman.
On his first possession, he attacked the catch and found Sam Alexis with a bounce pass in midair for an assist. Later, he drove from the same left corner for a dunk and then hit a 3-pointer through contact from that spot.
In the second half, Manhertz used a ball fake to get into the lane and stopped for a floater before help arrived. Four games into his college career, the encouraging part was how little the previous game seemed to linger. He kept making quick decisions, ready to shoot, drive or pass as soon as the defense gave him a crack.
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The larger debate around Indiana has only grown louder as Notre Dame and UCLA moved up in the rankings and the Big Ten and Big 12 continue to jockey for playoff representation. Meyers comments fed right into the skepticism around Indianas rsum, with unimpressive wins and a shaky strength of schedule becoming the central sticking points in how the Hoosiers are being judged. [Read more 🡒]