INDIANA WINS EXHIBITION AGAINST NORTH CAROLINA

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Sometimes a guy has to take charge. Sometimes, if you’re Indiana guard Bryce Lindsay and opportunity arises, you push and push and push some more.

On Sunday, Lindsay pushed and North Carolina blinked at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. His 18 first-half points, and 26 total, combined with ruthless Hoosier rebounding, helped deliver a 76-58 exhibition victory, a follow up to IU’s 96-68 win over Butler last Sunday.

It was a significant upgrade from Lindsay’s six-point, three-assist effort against Butler, and he did it while coming off the bench when point guard Markus Burton got into early foul trouble.

“He did a great job,” coach Darian DeVries said. “He had to play a lot of the point. He had the ball in his hands a lot. He made some really good plays.”

Lindsay, a Villanova transfer, started 31 times last season and 44 times in three college seasons. Coming off the bench, he said, was no problem.

“All I want to do is win. If that’s what it takes for winning, I’m fine with that.”

Lindsay was 4-for-9 on 3-pointers and 6-for-6 from the line. He added three rebounds and two assists in 28 minutes.

“Some of the 3s and things,” DeVries said, “we see that a lot. He also did a great job of getting downhill and getting to the free throw line. Make them have to respect his ability to get in the paint. He did some really good things on the offensive end.”

As far as his game, Lindsay said he’s good at playing on and off the ball.

“I can show my versatility that way. With me and Markus Burton, if he has the ball, I can be off the ball. He can be off the ball as well. The best part of my game is I can do both. You’re hard to guard if you can do both.”

North Carolina coach Michael Malone was impressed.

“It was a hell of a night. He’s a good player. Markus went out early and right away (Lindsay) put his fingerprints all over the game.

“He’s poised to have a helluva season. To have a weapon like that off the bench is big for them.”

Burton played 13 second-half minutes and finished with 11 points, four rebounds, and two assists. Guard Darren Harris also had 11 points. Forward Sam Alexis added 10.

The Hoosiers finished 9-for-27 on 3-pointers. They held North Carolina to 35 percent shooting.

“In general, we did a good job defensively,” DeVries said. “Our activity was good. We tried to make things hard on their dribble handoffs.”

For North Carolina, which beat USC in its exhibition opener, it was enlightening.

“Getting out butts kicked was great,” Malone said. “It’s a hell of a learning experience if you take ownership of it.”

*****

IU’s veteran guard depth with Lindsay, Burton, Harris, and Jaden Mustaf offers plenty of lineup options. For now, DeVries said, it’s all about mixing and matching to see what works best.

“We’ve got a really good idea of what each guy brings,” he said. “They all bring a unique kind of skill set to what our team needs.”

While Burton, a former Notre Dame standout, projects as the main point guard, the others can handle that and other roles.

“Bryce does a really good job,” DeVries said. “He can play the one. He can play the two. He’s really good in ball screens. He can shoot behind it. What’s been really encouraging is how well he passes. Playing in ball screens, he has a good feel for that.

“With Darren, he’s more the guy who’s going to hit five, six or seven 3-pointers on any given night. He’s certainly going to demand a lot of attention.

“And then Mustaf brings us that physicality, both defensively and offensively. He’s a straight-line driver, a powerful finisher, defender, rebounder.

“All those guys complement each other in different ways. We’ve got great versatility in having different lineups and what those lineups can do while they’re on the floor together.”

The potential surfaced early against North Carolina. Those guards combined for 19 of IU’s first 23 points, pushing the Hoosiers to 41-29 halftime lead.

Then there was the rebounding dominance. IU had a 53-31 advantage, including 20 offensive boards. That’s been a big point of emphasis for DeVries and his staff. The Hoosiers had a 17-7 edge in second-chance points.

Samet Yigitoglu, a 7-foot-2 center, led with 11 rebounds. Aiden Sherrell, a 7-foot forward, added 10 rebounds, plus seven points.

“Any time you get out rebounded 53-31, that’s a crazy number,” Malone said. “To give up 20 offensive rebounds … that was a point of emphasis in preparation for this team knowing how big they are. To be manhandled and outworked like that was disappointing.”

DeVries, as you might expect, was thrilled with the rebounding, a follow up to IU’s 53-33 rebounding edge against Butler.

“We’ve been talking about it all summer and fall. This is our identity. This is who we are going to be, so embrace it because we’re going to stay on it.

“I thought that eventually broke the game open.”

*****

Even with early foul trouble limiting Burton to four points in five first-half minutes, IU’s backcourt versatility quickly surfaced.

Consecutive Harris 3-pointers, and then one by Lindsay, shot IU to a 17-12 lead fueled in part by the Hoosiers’ early 10-7 rebounding advantage.

Alexis muscled in a layup off a rebound to give IU a 21-17 advantage as the clock ticked under 10 minutes. Lindsay’s long jumper and then a Sherrell 3-pointer off a Lindsay assist followed by a Sherrell layup off an offensive rebound made it 32-21 with 2:47 left in the half.

The Hoosiers kept up the pressure for a 41-29 halftime lead. Trevor Manhertz was the only freshman to play in the first half. Yigitoglu had six rebounds in 10 minutes. Sherrell had seven points and four rebounds.

Burton opened the second half with a 3-pointer as the Hoosiers surged ahead 46-29. North Carolina surged back to trail 54-45 with 10 minutes left.

A Sherrell putback and consecutive Lindsay 3-pointers boosted IU to a 67-46 lead with six minutes left. The Hoosiers cruised from there.

In the aftermath, DeVries pointed to the 15 turnovers, which led to 11 North Carolina points.

“We’ve got to get that cleaned up,” DeVries said, “and we know that.”

The final exhibition is next Sunday against Western Kentucky at Evansville’s Ford Center.

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