Indiana’s exhibition win over Butler gave Darian DeVries a chance to show his hand, and the opening lineup answered a few questions right away.
The Hoosiers rolled past Butler 96-68 on Sunday, pulling away with a 52-27 second half. Indiana also controlled the glass in a big way, outrebounding Butler 53 to 26, and the starting group offered an early look at how DeVries may want to balance defense, size and shooting.
Indiana opened with Markus Burton, Jaeden Mustaf, Darren Harris, Aiden Sherrell and Samet Yigitoglu.
Burton at point guard was always a safe bet. The bigger unknown was how DeVries would sort out the rest of the backcourt rotation, especially with Bryce Lindsay in the mix. On Sunday, Lindsay came off the bench, though he still tied for the team lead in minutes played with 22.
The frontcourt pairing of Sherrell and Yigitoglu looked like the easy part of the puzzle, even after Sam Alexis announced his return. That duo brings immediate value on the boards, and Sunday’s rebounding edge backed that up.
What stood out most about the starting five was the defensive shape of it. Burton can hound the ball.
Mustaf brings length and elite athleticism. Harris may not be the biggest or the most explosive athlete, but he brings enough smarts and toughness to hold up on the ball and in help.
Put those three together, and Indiana may have its best perimeter-defending trio.
There’s a reason DeVries may have preferred Mustaf over Lindsay in the starting group. Burton and Lindsay would have given Indiana a more dangerous offensive pairing, but it also would have been smaller and easier to target defensively.
That choice comes with a clear sacrifice, though: spacing. Indiana shot it well overall against Butler, finishing 13-for-33 from three, and the starters did their part at 8-for-17. But Harris and Burton were the biggest reasons why, combining for six of those makes on just 11 attempts.
The issue is that the rest of the group doesn’t stretch the floor nearly as much. Sherrell has knocked down 41 threes in 70 career games and has hit 33.6 percent from deep, so he has to be accounted for.
But he’s not the kind of shooter that bends a defense on his own. Mustaf’s numbers are similar enough on paper - 32 made threes in 55 games and 37.2 percent from deep - yet he still isn’t considered a real shooting threat, especially with free-throw numbers that sit at 72.2 percent and mechanics that don’t exactly quiet concern.
Yigitoglu has only tried six career threes.
None of that mattered much against Butler, because Indiana scored freely anyway. The bigger question is how this lineup looks when the competition tightens. Illinois will bring size and length that Butler didn’t have, and Michigan State under Tom Izzo could decide to load up and dare Sherrell and Mustaf to prove they can make defenses pay.
Maybe they do. Sherrell and Mustaf both went 1-for-3 from deep on Sunday, and they could settle those questions quickly once the 2026-27 season starts. If they don’t, this lineup may have a harder time creating easy offense when the halfcourt gets cramped.
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Indiana May Have Found An Early Frontcourt Strength Fans Will Notice
Indianas preseason exhibition at Hinkle Fieldhouse offered an early look at a roster still taking shape, and the most encouraging signs may have come from the interior. In a 96-68 win over Butler, Markus Burton, Samet Yigitoglu and Darren Harris each finished with 13 points, but the frontcourt also gave the Hoosiers a stable foundation with Aiden Sherrell pulling down a team-high nine rebounds.
Sherrells activity around the glass and the way he and Yigitoglu worked together inside stood out as Indiana tried to establish some early balance. Trevor Manhertz also played a useful role in the rotation, giving the Hoosiers another option as they sort through the best combinations up front. [Read more 🡒]