Three Keys For Indiana In Crucial Game Against Minnesota

Wednesday marks senior night for Indiana at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, where six Hoosiers will be honored during a ceremony ahead of the scheduled 6:30 p.m. ET tipoff.

That includes much of Indiana's rotation in year one under coach Darian DeVries: Tucker DeVries, Conor Enright, Lamar Wilkerson, Reed Bailey, Sam Alexis and Tayton Conerway.

"Incredibly grateful for this group," Darian DeVries said during Monday's radio show. "When you're committing to something that's basically invisible, it says a lot about their belief in our coaches, this school and this program and wanting to be a part of it. For myself and our staff to have these seniors want to spend their last season with us, we're really grateful for that opportunity."

"They've been a really fun group to be around and coach. They've really tried to give us everything they've had. I'm looking forward to them being honored on Wednesday night, and hopefully our fans will be grateful for them being here and all their efforts this year."

In addition to the sentiments of senior night, it's also a vital game for Indiana's NCAA Tournament hopes. ESPN's Joe Lunardi considers the Hoosiers the last team in as of Tuesday morning, with just two regular season games to go.

Here are three keys to an Indiana victory.

1. Exploit Minnesota's lack of depth

Niko Medved Minnesota Basketball — Minnesota Golden Gophers coach Niko Medved against the Illinois Fighting Illini at State Farm Center. | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Minnesota was limited to a six-man rotation on Saturday against UCLA due to the absence of starting forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson. He's been out indefinitely since Feb. 8 with a foot injury, a major blow as the team's second-leading scorer (13.4 ppg), leading rebounder (6.8) and leading shot blocker (1.0).

The Golden Gophers were okay without Crocker-Johnson their last time out, defeating UCLA 78-73 at home. But at some point, three straight games with five players logging 37-plus minutes is going to translate to tired legs.

The Hoosiers can use this to their advantage by getting Minnesota into foul trouble, pushing the ball in transition or giving Sam Alexis a few early touches against a depleted front court.

2. Defense against Cade Tyson

Cade Tyson Minnesota Basketball — Minnesota forward Cade Tyson rebounds against Oregon at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tyson, a transfer from North Carolina who began his career at Belmont, is now Minnesota's leading scorer at 19.6 points per game. At 6-foot-7, he scores all over the floor in an efficient manner, shooting 42.1% on 5.4 3-point attempts per game and 55.6% on 6.4 2-point attempts per game.

Indiana's Tucker DeVries likely draws the matchup against Tyson, but Minnesota has also been forced into playing smaller lineups due to Crocker-Johnson's absence, so Nick Dorn and Jasai Miles could spend time on Tyson, too.

Tyson has a somewhat similar game to Nick Martinelli, whose 28 points led Northwestern to an upset win at Assembly Hall on Feb. 24. Indiana can use that crushing loss as a lesson on what it needs to do better against Tyson this time around.

3. Nick Dorn breaks out of slump

Nick Dorn Indiana Basketball — Indiana's Nick Dorn (7) celebrates against Oregon at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

When Indiana picked up its only Quad 1 wins of the season against Purdue and UCLA in late January, Nick Dorn's emergence was a big reason why. During a five-game stretch that included those wins, Dorn averaged 20.3 points and made 20-of-43 (46.5%) 3-point attempts.

It was unlikely Dorn would keep up that level of production the rest of the season, but he's been close to a non-factor ever since. Over the last seven games, he's averaged 4.3 points and made 7-of-39 (17.9%) 3-point attempts.

Dorn was so crucial to the Hoosiers earlier in the season because he provided a third scoring option on the perimeter, which took some pressure and attention off of Lamar Wilkerson and Tucker DeVries. But now that Dorn has gone ice cold, Indiana's offense is far too one-dimensional.

So if he's ever going to find his shooting stroke again, it has to start Wednesday with the Hoosiers' NCAA Tournament hopes on the line.