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Indiana men’s basketball moved to 2-0 on the season with a 92-69 win over Bellarmine on Thursday evening at Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
There was plenty to like from this one but more than a few nitpicks. The margin of victory probably could’ve been bigger even in spite of Darian DeVries sending out an end-of-the-bench lineup with multiple minutes left in the second half.
In total, a really good effort from Indiana with some roughness on the edges. Here’s a few thoughts:
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- Darren Harris looked great. The Duke transfer entered the college ranks thanks to his reputation for sharpshooting at the high school level. He looked the part against Bellarmine, finishing 5-10 from 3-point range and scoring 23 points in the process. He looks confident when the ball reaches his hands, releasing without hesitation if he gets any bit of room to do so. That’s from DeVries’ coaching and Indiana’s going to need him to play like that in the future.
- Some really strong passing led to good looks. Indiana finished with 16 made field goals on 11 assists in the first half, with six different Hoosiers finishing the game with an assist. This went away some in the second, with the Hoosiers dishing out just five assists to nine turnovers. That first half play is going to be a necessity with all of the versatility on the roster, guys are going to have to know one another’s strengths and how to spread the ball around in those advantageous situations.
- Markus Burton has to fix the fouling issue. Burton fouled out of this one entirely with a few minutes to go in the game. It’s become a trend for him that dates back to the preseason exhibition slate. He has to compensate a bit for his lack of size with more physicality, but he can’t risk hurting the team in the process. He averages around 3 fouls per game for his career, so it’s not necessarily a new issue, but one he shouldn’t be committing with a pair of 7-footers behind him to protect the rim.
- Aiden Sherrell shrugged off game one. Sherrell looked great in this one, finishing with an efficient 12 points on 5-6 shooting with six rebounds and two assists while picking up just a single foul. Those are pretty solid numbers for him in a vacuum and you know there’s even more potential there.
- The offense sagged some in the second half. Indiana scored 50 points in the first half while shooting 57.1% from the field and followed it up with 42 points in the second on a much rougher 44.1% from the field. Sure, that’s fine on a night like this, but the foot has to stay on the gas starting on Monday against Syracuse. Other, more capable teams than Bellarmine could’ve used that as an opening to make this a game.
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