3 Instant Takeaways from Indiana Basketball's 77-47 Win vs Minnesota

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Before the introduction of Indiana basketball's starting five and before he put on a zone-beating clinic, Sam Alexis gave his Hoosier teammates their first reason to cheer in unison Wednesday night.

To end Indiana's pre-game layup line, Alexis squeezed the orange Adidas basketball, leapt from the Branch McCracken Court hardwood and, with two hands, sent a thunderous flush through Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall's south basket.

"HEY," his crimson-clad teammates yelled.

Alexis had already led Indiana out of the locker room and into layup lines. He was the first of six players introduced during the Hoosiers' senior day ceremonies. Wednesday marked Indiana's final home game this season and a chance to celebrate the seniors who wanted to be part of coach Darian DeVries first team.

Alexis made it the showcase for perhaps his finest night in candy stripes — one in which he became the engine to a 77-47 win for Indiana (18-12, 9-10 Big Ten) over Minnesota (14-16, 7-12 Big Ten) on Wednesday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.

Here are three takeaways from the Hoosiers' victory over the Golden Gophers.

Alexis stars against Minnesota's zone

Minnesota chose to play a zone defense, and the Hoosiers found an early answer in Alexis, who scored 17 of the team's first 36 points and spearheaded a 43-28 lead at halftime.

The senior forward from Apopka, Fla., caught lobs and scored on post moves — but he also hit the floor for loose balls, skied for rebounds and served as a disruptive force at the rim.

Alexis, whose season-high entering the night was 19 points, finished with a new season-best 23 points on 9-for-11 shooting to go along with nine rebounds and two blocks.

Minnesota's zone proved largely futile, Alexis aside. Indiana often found the middle of it, and the Hoosiers located shooters at a high clip. Indiana shot 57.4% from the field, went 10 of 24 from 3-point range and averaged 1.328 points per possession.

Sixth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson scored 16 points and hit four triples, while sixth-year senior forward Tucker DeVries and junior guard Nick Dorn also reached double figures — DeVries with 13 points and Dorn with 11.

Indiana avoids second half scare, puts Gophers away

Holding a strong lead at halftime — 15 points after an emphatic dunk from Tucker DeVries in the waning seconds — isn't foreign territory for Indiana. The Hoosiers have been in control at the break several times this season before losing, or narrowly holding onto, their advantage.

No such case of the second-half scaries appeared Wednesday in Assembly Hall.

Indiana's lead never dipped below 14 points, and a 10-0 run in the middle of the period pushed the Hoosiers' advantage to 25 points. Their lead climaxed at 32 points.

IU snaps 4-game losing skid, resets NCAA Tournament hopes

Indiana stormed out of the gates with a 20-6 lead, a start reflecting the urgency of a must-win March bout. The Hoosiers entered Wednesday on a four-game losing streak — three of their defeats were to top 15 teams, the other to Northwestern, which was 3-13 in conference play beforehand — and needed a victory to steady the ship.

The Hoosiers are firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble, projected as one of the last teams in or first teams out by most bracketologists. Beating Minnesota, a Quad 2 opponent, doesn't inherently help Indiana's resume, but the Hoosiers avoided a potentially fatal blemish.

Indiana still has plenty of work to do to secure its spot in March Madness, starting with a 5:30 p.m. tipoff Saturday at Ohio State, but the Hoosiers kept themselves afloat with Wednesday night's victory.