INDIANA GETS BY SYRACUSE 83-80
INDIANAPOLIS — Adversity hit hard Monday night and Indiana hit back harder.
Fall behind Syracuse (2-1) by five points with six minutes left at Gainbridge Fieldhouse?
Fight through it.
Get outscored 40-11 from the bench?
No big deal.
Watch the Orange win the shooting battle overall (51 to 42 percent) and from 3-point range (42 percent to 36)?
It didn’t matter.
The Hoosiers (3-0) got clutch down-the-stretch plays outside and inside — executing under extreme pressure in a game that featured 13 lead changes and 11 ties — for an 83-80 victory that bodes well now and for the future.
“That’s probably the biggest takeaway from a coaching standpoint to see that response,” coach Darian DeVries said. “The guys did a great job.
“It was late in the game, we’re down by five and I liked the communication. There wasn’t a lot of panic. It was very much the next play.”
Consider the way guard Darren Harris wiped out IU’s four-point halftime deficit in 82 second-half-opening seconds with his own 8-0 run to set a tone.
Focus on how 6-foot-6 guard Jaeden Mustaf’s physical defense on 6-foot-8- Sadiq White Jr. drew a foul and led to guard Markus Burton’s three-point play to set another tone.
Then there was Harris passing up a good inside-the-3-point line shot for a better 3-pointer opportunity for Burton, who buried it.
It reflects a team that has won every competition it’s faced — summer international event, exhibitions, and now regular season.
“It’s the fact we’ll fight every time no matter the circumstance,” Mustaf said. “We have a great bond with each other.”
Bonding includes balance. Harris and Burton each scored 20 points, with Harris going 10-for-10 from the line. Mustaf had 18 points and seven rebounds. Guard Bryce Lindsay had 11 points. Center Samet Yigitoglu had eight points — including a pair of crucial crunch-time free throws — and 10 rebounds.
Indiana was 22-for-26 from the line, including 17-for-18 in the second half.
“That’s huge,” Mustaf said. “We shoot a lot of free throws. It’s everybody trusting the process and staying together. Everybody knows free throws are what wins games.”
So does elite guard play. IU is loaded with veterans who rise to the challenge.
“They are talented and tough to guard,” Syracuse coach Gerry McNamara said. “Mustaf and Burton shoot the blood out of it from the perimeter. I thought Lindsay had played the best of all of them. It’s a good backcourt. They’ll be a handful for a lot of teams.”
The frontcourt with 7-foot-2 Yigitoglu and 7-foot Aiden Sherrell (six points, 2-for-2 on three-pointers) is equally imposing. They led IU’s 37-28 rebound advantage.
“We knew rebounding would be an issue,” McNamara said. “These guys are big and physical around the rim. They are tough to keep off the glass.”
As for Yigitoglu and Sherrell, McNamara added, “They are different. Yigitoglu is as big as a human being as there is in college. He’s a load down there.
“Sherrel can stretch and pick and pop. They are two tough players to deal with. They complement one another.”
Victory wasn’t without concern, especially on defense.
“We’ve got to get better,” DeVries said. “We have to take some steps there. That’s something that has to happen, and happen quickly.”
That’s especially true with games against Arkansas in New York City and Kentucky at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium coming in the 10 days.
“We try to reinforce that confidence to not be afraid of the moment and just trust it,” DeVries said. “I like the way the guys are functioning on offense, the way they’re sharing it, moving it, playing the way we want them to play.”
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Syracuse attacked the paint to open a 5-0 lead after two minutes. A Burton jumper ended the shutout. Sherrell followed with a 3-pointer. Yigitoglu dunked off a missed shot for an 8-7 Orange lead after five minutes.
A big problem — Sherrell picked up two fouls and only played one more minute the rest of the half. Syracuse inched ahead 18-11.
With Yigitoglu and Sherrell on the bench, Mustaf scored five straight points. Burton followed with a steal and a layup to tie the score at 18-18 after 10 minutes. Lindsay added a free throw to give IU its first lead.
Burton’s 3-pointer, a pair of Harris free throws, and a Mustaf layup pushed IU ahead 26-24 with seven minutes left. A Yigitoglu dunk and a Harris layup kept up the Hoosier pressure.
Missed free throws and layups contributed to IU’s 38-34 halftime deficit. Its 3-for-14 3-point shooting also was a problem, as was its overall 37 percent shooting. Still, it only committed five turnovers. Burton and Mustaf led with nine points each.
Harris opened the second half with a 3-pointer, then three straight free throws and then a steal and a layup for a 42-38 IU advantage in less than two minutes to force a Syracuse timeout.
The Hoosiers surged ahead 48-43 on Sherrell’s second 3-pointer. A Harris 3-pointer pushed IU to a 59-56 lead with nine minutes left.
Five straight Syracuse free throws opened a 66-61 advantage. Burton and Mustaf 3-pointers, followed by Lindsay’s two free throws pushed the Hoosiers ahead 69-68 with 3:52 left.
IU took a 72-70 lead with 2:36 left on a Burton 3-pointer off a Harris assist. Lindsay drove for a layup. Harris’ three free throws made it 77-74 as the clock ticked under a minute. Yigitoglu grabbed a rebound and made two free throws for a five-point lead. A Mustaf dunk and two free throws from Lindsay provided just enough of a cushion.
Next up — Thursday’s home game against Tennessee Tech.
“You’re going to have a lot of games like this, high-level, Big Ten games,” DeVries said. “You’re going to have games decided by two or three possessions. You’ve got to find ways to win them. Every night is going to be different, and you have to respond to that. We did that.”
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