Indiana Basketball Urged Reed Bailey to 'Be Yourself.' He Shined at UCLA

LOS ANGELES — While UCLA’s defense collapsed on Tucker DeVries, the seas parted for Reed Bailey.

Indiana basketball’s senior forward, uncovered on the right wing, watched as DeVries faced three Bruin defenders near the right baseline. Bailey sprinted toward the rim, his momentum unfazed by DeVries’ pinpoint bounce pass.

The only object separating Bailey from late-game glory was the same factor that’s haunted him — and led to plenty of outside criticism — throughout his lone season in Bloomington: Pressure, and protection, at the rim.

As Bailey caught DeVries’ dish, UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau flipped his hips, took his spot in front of the Hoosiers’ basket and prepared for take off.

Bilodeau jumped. So did Bailey. Bilodeau landed on his feet. Bailey landed on his back. The ball, meanwhile, gracefully rolled around the rim and through the net before landing in front of Bilodeau, who palmed it with his left hand and pounded a powerful, frustration-filled dribble.

Bailey didn’t see any of it. After his left-handed layup went through the rim and the nearside official called a foul, he was focused solely on rising to his feet alongside the rest of the crimson-clad army around him.

Most, however, were busy celebrating.

Indiana coach Darian DeVries swung his left arm and spun the other direction. Senior guard Conor Enright emphatically pumped his right arm, a motion junior guard Nick Dorn mirrored — thrice. The Hoosiers’ bench suddenly extended to the court, where several of Bailey’s teammates moved while relishing his and-one.

Bailey stepped to the line, knocked down the free throw and jogged to the other end to play defense. He paid no mind to the moment, no mind to the significance of what he’d done.

The foul shot capped a personal 7–0 run in less than three minutes for Bailey, who’d scored 11 of the Hoosiers’ last 14 points and turned a tied game into a 9-point Indiana lead with just over four-and-a-half minutes remaining in Saturday’s 98–97 victory in double overtime at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.

For Bailey, the sequence not only served as his best in the Cream and Crimson, not only tied a season-high 21 points, but also delivered proof of the strides he’s made — driven largely by listening to the advice of Darian DeVries and the rest of Indiana’s coaching staff.

“We've kept encouraging him, ‘Just be aggressive and go make plays, be yourself,’” DeVries told reporters postgame. “And I think he's doing a really nice job of that. He's trying to find his way around as the season's gone around, too. And I think he's picking those moments.

“He had some really, really big plays for us there on both ends of the floor.”

Bailey finished with 24 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field while going 12 of 13 at the foul stripe. His lone miss came with 8 seconds left, and it proved consequential, as it prevented Indiana from growing its lead to two scores. UCLA’s Trent Perry hit a game-tying triple with 1.1 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.

Still, the 6-foot-10, 230-pound Bailey’s collective performance was his best at Indiana. He led the Hoosiers with 10 points in the first half and scored 14 more in the second. He recorded six rebounds, tied for his fifth-most this season, to go along with five assists, his most in Big Ten play.

Bailey had several impressive rebounds where he skied above UCLA players and snatched the ball. He was more physical around the rim and had an aggressive drive-and-dunk with just over eight minutes remaining in the second half.

Yet after his most productive offensive outing this season, Bailey garnered praise from DeVries for his defensive versatility and proficiency.

“The thing people don’t notice is his defense — his ability to get out there and play in space and switch onto guards and be able to get back to a big,” DeVries said. “I mean, it’s pretty impressive what he does on that side of the ball.”

Indiana has seen this version of Bailey behind the scenes, with the lights off, in practice sessions at Cook Hall and Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. UCLA saw it firsthand Saturday night.

“That’s what he does in practice,” Dorn said. “He drives hard, dunks the ball. So, we believe in him, and he just let it shine.”

The Harvard, Mass., native has battled highs and lows this season. He started the first nine games before being replaced by senior forward Sam Alexis in the lineup, though they often split playing time.

Bailey has scored 15-plus points in six games, including four against Power Four opponents. But he’s scored 6 points or fewer nine times and he’s been held off the scoreboard twice, including in a recent 82–59 win over Rutgers on Jan. 23.

But in the Hoosiers' upset wins over Purdue and UCLA, Bailey has been an integral piece to the puzzle. He tallied 9 points and two rebounds while holding his own inside against a big-bodied Boilermaker frontcourt, and he carried his momentum into a standout effort Saturday night.

“He's been really productive,” said freshman forward Trent Sisley, who hit the game-winning free throw in double overtime. “He had a good game, took what the defense gave him. He's big, but he can handle the ball, too. He gets downhill well and all that, so it's been huge.”

Indiana’s frontcourt has long been considered a limiting factor on DeVries’ first roster in Bloomington, in part because of Bailey’s struggles finishing through contact and imposing his presence on the glass.

Bailey, DeVries said, needed time to find his way. At least for one afternoon in Los Angeles, he did — and the Hoosiers soared behind him.

Indiana doesn’t inherently go as Bailey does, but the Hoosiers’ ceiling may ultimately depend on whether their frontcourt ascends to greater heights than it showed through the season’s first two-and-a-half months.

Bailey’s late-game and-one wasn’t the decisive bucket in the Hoosiers’ dramatic win over UCLA, but the reaction it drew — arm swings, fist pumps, spins, yells and more — underscored the significance of his arrival.

He has the athleticism and defensive flexibility to impact games. Against UCLA, he showed a degree of physicality, aggression and offensive skill that’s largely been buried in the shadows this season.

DeVries knew Bailey had such traits within him. He merely needed to be himself — and Saturday, in the Westwood Village of Los Angeles, Bailey delivered his finest performance in a crucial mid-season act.