Indiana men’s basketball Tennessee Tech 90-66: 3 Observations

Indiana men’s basketball survived a tough first half from Tennessee Tech to eventually coast to a 24-point victory that may be the Hoosiers’ most impressive on this young season.

Darian DeVries seemingly entered the game with a keen awareness of Indiana’s size advantage, feeding Samet Yigitoglu inside as much as possible early. At points it almost looked like an over-correction from Indiana’s last game, as the Hoosiers struggled to score without the big man on the floor.

Then Indiana’s backcourt started scoring, the veteran players settled in against the full-court press, and Indiana saw a few shots go down to start the second half. Momentum was slow to build, but by the end of the game, Indiana had a 24-point victory and got to empty the bench for the final minute or so.

Here are 3 observations from the win:

Long way to go

This started as a rant about how poorly Indiana played in the first half before turning into a recognition of the fact that we aren’t even halfway through November yet. Arkansas and Kentucky loom large, but there’s time after those games to solidify the team’s identity before Big Ten play starts.

With the roster DeVries has assembled this year, the biggest thing is going to be just that: establishing who this group is as a team.

In the first half, this team played like it had no idea who it was. Markus Burton and Darren Harris had 20 points a piece against Syracuse, and then combined for zero points in the first half against Tennessee Tech. They looked unsure as to when to press for a shot versus a pass, when to go fast versus slow, or where to move the ball to.

These are things that take time to develop even under the best circumstances, so it makes sense that Indiana didn’t look like world-beaters for 40 minutes tonight. The final result was as good, if not better, than what KenPom and Bart Torvik projected, a good sign for where things are headed.

The bench

While we are still early in the season with the starting lineup presumably subject to change, Indiana has now started the same five players in each of the four games, so some roles are starting to emerge.

One area that already looks like it can be a difference-maker for Indiana this season is its bench play. With Bryce Lindsay and Sam Alexis, DeVries has more experience and college production on his bench than many of his peers. Then there’s Trevor Manhertz – more on him later.

Indiana’s ceiling is a lot higher if the bench as a whole plays more like Lindsay has this season. He had 11 points in 25 minutes off the bench against Syracuse and another productive night tonight, again leading the bench in minutes and points.

If Indiana’s bench plays more like Alexis has the last two games, well, this group might struggle against teams like Tennessee Tech. I say this only because I know Alexis can be better based on what I’ve seen at Indiana, but Indiana simply cannot miss some of the shots Alexis missed tonight, especially at the free throw line.

Trevor Manhertz

In a season when Indiana is, on paper, deep enough that none of the freshman would have to contribute right away, Trevor Manhertz has been playing like a guy that will have a big role this year.

Manhertz entered tonight averaging 6.7 points per game, a total he nearly matched in a matter of seconds Thursday night with a dunk and four-point play in rapid succession. For such a small window of game time – this all happened in under 30 seconds of game time – it was a sequence that showed why he has such a high ceiling as a modern forward.

Encouraging as it may be, Trent Sisley also started last year strong, including a 15-point performance in a blowout win over Marquette before gradually losing minutes as the season went on. That’s not a knock on Sisley or Manhertz, it’s just the reality of a freshman adjusting to college basketball.

With Indiana’s bench poised to play a big part this season, Manhertz’s development could play a big part in how the season shapes up as a whole.

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