Indiana spent the first half sorting out Tennessee Tech’s chaos, then spent the second half turning the game into a comfortable 90-66 win.
That opening stretch told the story of a matchup between two very different teams. The Golden Eagles came in undersized, quick and disruptive.
Indiana answered with size, talent and versatility. For a few minutes, the Hoosiers made the mismatch look obvious by feeding 7-foot-2 Samet Yigitoglu, who scored the team’s first six points in less than two minutes.
Then the game got messy.
At the 17:21 mark, Yigitoglu took a shot to the face while going up for another basket and came away with a bloodied eyelid. He left to get cleaned up, and Tennessee Tech started leaning into the style that makes it annoying to play against.
The Golden Eagles pressed full court, trapped, and kept Indiana uncomfortable. Without Yigitoglu on the floor, the Hoosiers’ edge inside wasn’t as clear, and Tennessee Tech even grabbed two short-lived leads in the middle of the half.
The Golden Eagles also did damage on the glass, especially on strange rebounds off missed 3-pointers, and for stretches they were winning the possession battle. Indiana did get some relief at the line, though. After taking 26 free throws against Syracuse earlier in the week, the Hoosiers went to the stripe 23 times in the first half alone and made 16.
That helped Indiana take a 41-37 lead into halftime despite a 46% effective field goal percentage and just 3-of-11 shooting from 3-point range.
The second half belonged to Indiana.
The backcourt finally got going, and that changed everything. Markus Burton and Darren Harris, who were scoreless before the break, got the Hoosiers started after halftime.
Burton finished the possession with a driving lay-up, and Harris split a pair at the line. Burton went on to score 12 points after halftime, hitting 4 of 7 shots.
Indiana looked far more settled from there. The offense became more balanced, more efficient and much easier to watch.
Ten Hoosiers scored in the second half, and the team jumped from 1.04 points per possession in the first half to 1.34 after the break. That pushed Indiana to 1.19 points per possession for the night.
Bryce Lindsay added a spark of his own, knocking down two 3s and scoring eight points. Yigitoglu stayed efficient after returning, going 4-for-4 from the field in the second half to finish with a game-high 18 points on 9-of-10 shooting.
Indiana also improved on the offensive glass, grabbing 49 percent of its misses in the second half and finishing at 35 percent for the game. Overall, the Hoosiers shot 18-of-27 from the field after halftime, good for 66.7%.
Tennessee Tech kept pressing and forced some turnovers, but Indiana otherwise controlled the game and held the Golden Eagles to .87 points per possession.
It wasn’t the toughest week Indiana will face, but it was still useful. Syracuse tested the Hoosiers with length and athleticism, and Tennessee Tech hit them with relentless pressure.
That kind of two-game stretch should help set the table for next week, when Indiana lines up against No. 19 Arkansas and No.
24 Kentucky.
In Other News...
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The availability report still leaves Indiana with a few notable absences, though, including running back Turbo Richard and EDGE Kellan Wyatt, while quarterback Josh Hoover remains unavailable and backup Grant Wilson is coming off the previous games action. USC has its own injury concerns entering the matchup, but Indianas challenge is clear enough: protect the reshuffled front, hold up on defense, and find a way to keep the trip from turning into a depth test. [Read more 🡒]
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Tony Petitti has already pushed for a 24-team playoff as a way to blunt some of those concerns, but the broader debate keeps circling back to power, perception and who gets the benefit of the doubt. With ESPN carrying the playoff and the SEC tied closely to its media arrangement, the optics are not going away anytime soon, which leaves Indiana in the familiar position of having to make its case on the field while the argument around it keeps getting louder. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Faces Two Huge Problems Before Its Biggest Game Yet
With No. 18 USC coming to Bloomington in a game with major playoff implications for both teams, Indiana is staring at one of its biggest tests of the season at exactly the wrong time to be sorting through issues. Curt Cignetti made it clear the Hoosiers still have work to do on tackling, a concern that becomes even more pressing against an offense that can stretch a defense in a hurry.
The matchup also carries another layer of uncertainty for Indiana, with the starting quarterback job still not fully settled. USC brings a dangerous passing attack led by Jayden Maiava and fueled by Trent Mosley and Mark Bowman, which means Indiana will need answers on both sides of the ball before Saturday turns into a defining night for its postseason hopes. [Read more 🡒]