Conor Enright Stars as Indiana Basketball Tops Washington: 'All He Cares About is Winning'

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — While fans inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall grew restless, Conor Enright stayed composed.

The shot clock dwindled inside five seconds. Indiana men's basketball's lead, likewise, had trimmed from 52-40 at halftime to 54-50 less than five minutes into the second half.

Tension, and pressure, climbed. Soon, so did Indiana senior forward Reed Bailey, who leaped and caught a lob from Enright and finished a layup at the rim, turning an anxious moment into a pivotal inflection point in the Hoosiers' 90-80 win over Kansas State on Sunday night at Assembly Hall.

Enright's pass and Bailey's finish jumpstarted an 18-9 run for Indiana, which led by at least 6 points the rest of the way en route to its second Big Ten win this season. During the Hoosiers' surge, they made six consecutive shots. Enright assisted on five of them, including three to freshman forward Trent Sisley, who scored 10 straight points.

"I got guys like Trent (who) make some shots for me," Enright said postgame of his five-assist-in-six-shot sequence. "Lamar (Wilkerson), Tucker (DeVries), Tayton (Conerway). It is pretty easy for me. I just got to go down there, read the floor, and these guys make those shots look really easy, so it helps me out."

Enright may be surrounded by shooters — the Hoosiers were 12-for-28 shooting from 3-point range, their ninth time this season making double-digit triples — but the Mundelein, Ill., native facilitated passes at a high-level Sunday night.

After his lob to Bailey, Enright scrapped for a defensive rebound, looked ahead and dished an under-hand bounce pass to Wilkerson, who knocked down a 3-pointer and helped the Hoosiers seize momentum.

By night's end, Enright dished nine assists, six of which came in the second half, and he didn't have a single turnover.

Indiana coach Darian DeVries attributed part of Enright's success to his experience within the system — he played under DeVries from 2021-24 at Drake — and the rest to his basketball character.

"I think Conor, he just understands what we're trying to do," DeVries said postgame. "The things he does, they lead just to winning. There's a spot, Lamar just hit a three. Maybe a couple possessions later, Conor has the ball in transition. He finds him.

"He just knows how to hunt those guys down so they can stay in the zone and find those shooters. He just has such a great feel and understanding of the game."

Enright's night comprised more than just dishing passes, though. His season high entering Sunday night was 7 points. He needed only three shots in less than eight minutes to eclipse the mark, knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers before the first media timeout and hitting a layup with just under 13 minutes remaining in the first half.

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Enright finished a tough layup through contact late in the first half for an and-one, which prompted Tucker DeVries to wave his arms and generate an outpour of applause for Enright, who'd reached double digits for the first time since Jan. 25, 2025, while he was at DePaul.

Enright added a free to finish with 12 points, a mark he's hit or exceeded only 13 times in 105 career games. But Enright, ever the pass-happy, team-first point guard, took greater pride in his nine assists.

"Because two people are happy from that," Enright said. "I love sharing the ball. The way they guarded me and T.C., they kind of helped us start the game. They did similar with Trent. We were able to step up with confidence and knock down those shots."

Enright's skill set has never been predicated on scoring. He merely does what's necessary to win. On Sunday, that meant scoring when opportunity presented itself.

Washington began the game in a triangle-and-two defense designed to take away Wilkerson and Tucker DeVries, effectively forcing Conerway, Enright and senior forward Sam Alexis to make shots.

With eight minutes left in the first half, neither of Indiana's two leading scorers — Wilkerson and DeVries — had scored. They were a combined 0-for-4 shooting while the rest of the team, led by Enright and Conerway, was 12 for 12.

Enright confidently shot 3-pointers. He didn't force any shots but let them come through the flow of the game, and he capitalized.

Yet it's only fitting on a night where Enright spearheaded a strong offensive start and enjoyed his most productive offensive outing of the season that the conversation around him, again, came back to his principles: Energy, effort and a team-oriented mentality that rubs off on teammates.

"Conor, he brings it every day," DeVries said. "He plays the game with great enthusiasm, great energy, great passion. I love that about him. Your team needs a guy like that. Obviously, fans love having a guy like that, as well. It's what he does every day. Every day in practice, as well. He's a guy that hardly ever gets to sit out.

"He's always giving that max effort defensively. Doesn't matter how many days in a row we practice, he's going to bring it. That just raises the standard for everybody else to try to match."

Enright's efficient performance drove an impressive offensive output against the Huskies, who entered Sunday ranked No. 53 in the NET, giving Indiana its best win of the season.

The Hoosiers shot 51.7% from the field, 42.9% from distance and went 16 of 20 at the foul stripe while averaging 1.48 points per possession. They dished 16 assists and, aided by Enright's cleanliness as the primary ball handler, committed a season-low four turnovers.

Enright will never be the focal point on an Indiana offense armed with potent scorers and quality shooters. His job requirements — play tough defensive and get the ball to the aforementioned scorers — won't soon change.

But on Sunday night, Enright had his shiniest moment yet in Bloomington — which, to him, matters only because he helped Indiana emerge victorious.

"All he cares about is winning," DeVries said. "That's what makes him so special."