On a Night of Cold Shooting, Indiana Basketball Battled Its Own Nature Against Incarnate Word
Indiana coach Darian DeVries finally reached his breaking point Sunday night. Despite holding a 39–24 advantage over Incarnate Word with 17:30 to play, he watched his offense stumble through a lethargic possession that ended in a shot-clock violation, coming right after the Cardinals drained a 3-pointer.
As his players trotted back on defense, DeVries stepped to the edge of the coaching box and let loose.
“Wake up,” he barked — loud enough for fans several rows back to hear.
The Hoosiers had built a 35–19 halftime cushion but sleepwalked through much of the second half, ultimately doing just enough to grind out a 69–61 win at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
“Even veteran teams struggle when shots aren’t falling — your energy dips,” DeVries said afterward. “That’s human nature, and we have to fight it. Things weren’t going smoothly offensively. We missed looks we usually hit. You have to keep competing.”
Indiana did that early.
Although the Hoosiers entered the game ranked seventh nationally in three-point percentage (47.5%) and ninth in scoring (99.7 points per game), they opened the night cold. They went 13-for-30 overall and 3-for-13 from deep in the first half, but their defense held Incarnate Word to 6-for-29 shooting, creating the double-digit halftime lead.
The second half was a different story. The Cardinals shot 54% from the field and hit six of their 13 3-point attempts, outscoring the Hoosiers 42–34. Indiana went 10-for-23 from the floor and only 2-for-11 from beyond the arc over the final 20 minutes.
As the misses piled up, Indiana’s energy dipped. The defensive intensity that defines DeVries’ system faded, allowing more penetration and cleaner looks for Incarnate Word. A once-comfortable lead shrank to five points with one minute left.
DeVries hopes the lesson sticks.
“You built that lead because your defense was really good,” he said. “That energy has to be there for 40 minutes. We have to be a spirited, physical, tough group — that’s our formula.”
Indiana’s first three wins came through blistering three-point accuracy, but DeVries has repeatedly warned that some nights the shots simply won’t go. Sunday was one of those nights: the Hoosiers shot 5-for-24 from deep. Senior guards Lamar Wilkerson, Tayton Conerway and Conor Enright combined to miss all eight of their attempts, and forward Tucker DeVries went 3-for-11. Freshman Trent Sisley made two of his four tries.
Incarnate Word’s 1-3-1 zone slowed Indiana’s tempo, and though the Hoosiers had prepared for it, DeVries said it still disrupted their rhythm and produced stagnant possessions. Without consistent ball movement, Indiana was forced into more isolation play than usual, contributing to the offensive struggles.
Still, DeVries believed the team generated some quality looks that simply didn’t drop.
“I think we had some good threes that we missed,” he said. “But a lot of them probably weren’t as clean as we normally get because the ball wasn’t moving the way it needed to.”
While Indiana’s perimeter game faltered, senior forward Sam Alexis thrived inside. He finished with a team-high 16 points and shared the rebounding lead with Sisley at eight.
“Without Sam, we don’t win tonight,” Tucker DeVries said. “He was a force down low.”
His coach echoed the praise.
“Sam is playing terrific basketball,” Darian DeVries said. “He brought energy and physicality. There were several possessions where he switched onto a guard and defended as well as anyone. He was outstanding.”
The Hoosiers aren’t concerned about long-term shooting issues. The roster was built with shooters, and Indiana had made double-digit threes in each of its first three games. The bigger question was how the team would respond when the shots didn’t fall — a test they had already passed in an exhibition win over Baylor.
They cleared it again Sunday, though not gracefully.
“It wasn’t pretty, but learning how to win when shots aren’t dropping is huge,” Tucker DeVries said. “There’s plenty we can take from this when we look at the film.”
Indiana (4–0) hosts Lindenwood (2–3) at 6 p.m. Thursday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
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