Instant Observations From Indiana’s Exhibition Win vs. Western Kentucky

Indiana basketball faced Conference USA preseason favorite Western Kentucky on Sunday evening in Evansville in its final tune-up eight days before the regular-season opener.

The Hoosiers got slow offensive nights from Markus Burton and Darren Harris, tried out a new frontcourt pairing and more in a narrow win over the Hilltoppers to close out the preseason slate.

Here are four observations from Indiana’s 79-74 exhibition win over Western Kentucky.

Bryce Lindsay delivers again as Markus Burton and Darren Harris struggle

Markus Burton and Darren Harris figure to be two of Indiana’s primary scoring options this season. With both struggling Sunday, Bryce Lindsay again showed how valuable his scoring can be.

Burton and Harris combined for seven points on 1-of-11 shooting in the first half. Lindsay helped keep Indiana close with three first-half 3-pointers, then remained a key source of offense as the Hoosiers mounted their comeback.

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He finished with 20 points, following his strong performance against North Carolina with another game in which Indiana needed much more than a few relief minutes from its backup point guard.

Burton finished with six points on 1-of-11 shooting, while Harris added just one point on 0-of-5 shooting.

Indiana still needs more consistent production from its starting backcourt. But Lindsay’s scoring through three exhibitions suggests the Hoosiers have someone capable of taking on a larger offensive burden when those starters don’t have it going.

Samet Yigitoglu offers another way to run the offense

Aiden Sherrell’s first-half foul trouble gave Indiana a reason to try a different frontcourt pairing on Sunday. Yigitoglu and Sam Alexis shared the floor for two stretches totaling 9:24, their first extended look together this preseason.

Indiana made good use of Yigitoglu as a distributor during the pair’s time on the floor together.

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When Western Kentucky doubled him on the catch, Yigitoglu used his eight to see over the pressure and find the…

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Publish date : 2026-10-26 00:30:00

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