Instant Observations As Indiana Defeats Butler in Exhibition Clash

Indiana basketball opened its preseason exhibition schedule Sunday night with a showdown against Butler in Indianapolis.

Markus Burton supplied some early scoring, the frontcourt made its size felt and a freshman showed he might be in line for meaningful minutes.

Here are four observations from Indiana’s 96-68 exhibition win over Butler.

Markus Burton can score in a hurry

Burton wasted little time showing what Indiana has in its new point guard.

He made his first three 3-pointers and scored 11 of Indiana’s first 13 points, also getting downhill in transition to finish through contact for an and-one. Burton finished with 13 points despite foul trouble limiting him to 15 minutes.

Indiana won’t need that kind of opening burst every night. But having a guard capable of supplying one gives the Hoosiers someone to turn to when the offense needs a lift.

Advertisement

Bryce Lindsay looks like the second unit’s lead guard

One of the biggest rotation questions entering Sunday was how Indiana would deploy Darren Harris, Jaeden Mustaf and Bryce Lindsay.

Harris and Mustaf started alongside Burton, Aiden Sherrell and Samet Yigitoglu. Lindsay came off the bench, where he took responsibility for running the offense.

That arrangement makes sense if Darian DeVries wants both Burton and Lindsay on the floor as much as possible. Starting Lindsay would put both together immediately; bringing him off the bench gives Indiana another option to organize the offense when Burton sits.

Burton’s foul trouble provided an extended look at Lindsay in that role. He finished with six points, three assists, and just one turnover.

Mustaf also appeared comfortable handling some of the secondary creation duties. But Sunday suggested Lindsay has the early trust to lead a unit himself.

Coming off the bench could say more about how Indiana needs to use him than where he ranks among its guards.

Advertisement

Indiana’s size already makes a difference

Indiana matched last season’s single-game high of 12 offensive rebounds before…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/instant-observations-indiana-defeats-butler-093741520.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-10-12 09:37:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.