Indiana men’s preserved its perfect season with an imperfect win over Syracuse in Indianapolis, holding on to a game that came down to the final seconds. After not being challenged in its first two contests, Indiana started to look like a team that has a lot more to put together as the season goes on.
The half court offense got off to a clunky start, as Indiana went nearly three minutes before reaching the scoreboard. With the size this roster has, Indiana was able to dominate the glass, but the team
had a hard time converting looks to points all day.
After the offseason additions Darian DeVries made ahead of this year, Indiana’s inability to get easy buckets was a bit of a surprise. Samet Yigitoglu, the only seven footer to see minutes for either side today, had just eight points while Indiana’s other forward, Aiden Sherrell, had six – all of which came from behind the arc.
With the front court struggling, Indiana’s backcourt answered the bell. Jaeden Mustaf and Markus Burton each had 20 points, with Jaeden Mustaf’s 20 points not far behind.
Indiana was hurt by its lack of playmakers as much last year as it was by the lack of interior scoring, so it’s good to see this group of guards address that. Not only were they creating shots for themselves, they were also getting to the line when tougher shots weren’t falling. Harris went a perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe.
While Indiana’s weren’t scoring like expected, they impacted the game through their rebounding. Yigitoglu led Indiana with ten boards, followed by Mustaf with seven, then Sam Alexis with five.
By the end of the game, Indiana had out-rebounded Syracuse 37-28, with 14 of those 39 coming on the offensive end. The result was a difference in seven extra field goal attempts for Indiana, each being so important in what wound up being a one-possession game.
It was a sloppy game on both ends, one that each group will look to move on from. And for the first time since 1987, Indiana men’s basketball has beaten Syracuse.
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- Improved notifications system!
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
Download the SB Nation app on iOS or Android.
