How Indiana basketball ‘took a big step’ to close exhibition games unbeaten

EVANSVILLE — The run had everything coach Darian DeVries desires from his team.

Ball protection. Rebounding. A Bryce Lindsay flurry and “quality” bench play.

Indiana basketball was down 68-65 with 4:17 left after Western Kentucky’s layup. It took Lindsay eight seconds to come down the court and hit a pull-up 3. It started an 8-0 IU run over the next 2:48.

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Indiana won a 79-74 game in its final preseason exhibition game Sunday at the Ford Center. The brief late-game stretch exposed why the latest polls ranking the Hoosiers outside the top 25 may be flawed.

How one run fulfilled Darian DeVries’ demand

Indiana trailed for nearly 28 minutes. Turnovers haunted the Hoosiers and kept them from flowing on offense for most of the game.

Indiana committed eight first-half turnovers against WKU, with the final one leading to a half-court buzzer-beater by Hilltoppers guard Teagan Moore. The Hoosiers had 12 turnovers in their win against Butler on Oct. 11 and 15 against Mike Malone’s North Carolina team on Oct. 18.

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Indiana committed one turnover during its second-half stretch run.

“I thought we took a big step in the turnover department,” DeVries said. “In the North Carolina game, we took (a step) backward. The turnovers in all three games have been a massive emphasis in practice for our guys. Not taking care of the ball is a killer for a defense. No. 1, we don’t get a shot on goal, and then we don’t get a chance to get an offensive rebound.”

They got both late. Three of the eight points came off second-chance free throws. Indiana grabbed three offensive boards during the stretch, including two by fifth-year forward Sam Alexis. Alexis finished with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting.

In addition to retaining Alexis, DeVries added 7-footers Aiden Sherrell and Samet Yigitoglu to address the rebounding issue.

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Publish date : 2026-10-26 08:41:00

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