Not much had gone right for Darian DeVries’ Indiana Hoosiers over the last four games, during which they went 0-4 and lost the last three games by 10 points or more. DeVries desperately needed a good game to keep his first season at Indiana from being derailed heading into Friday night’s game at Rutgers.
DeVries needed more from his upperclassmen in particular, so it was a good sign when his son Tucker nailed a 3-pointer on Indiana’s first offensive possession. Tucker had struggled as of late, being held under 10 points in losses to Iowa and Michigan State.
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The version of Tucker DeVries that Indiana got tonight was the one it will need for the rest of the season if it hopes to make the NCAA Tournament. He finished with 22 points, the first time he crossed the 20-point mark since December 6 against Louisville.
DeVries was one of three Hoosiers to reach 20 points tonight for the Scarlet Knights. Lamar Wilkerson, who finished with 27 points, led Indiana in scoring, but the real story was Nick Dorn, making his first start as a Hoosier tonight.
Dorn made a career-high six 3-pointers on the night en route to a 23-point performance in 36 minutes of action. With Tayton Conerway still recovering from an apparent leg injury (despite still being available for a limited number of minutes), this was the shot in the arm Indiana needed to end its losing streak.
Rutgers isn’t one of the strongest teams in the Big Ten this year, but Indiana’s defense managed to outplay their Kenpom showings on both ends of the court, putting together a blast in what should have been a 77-70 game.
More importantly, Indiana avoided the bad loss. He wasn’t able to do it on the road in Minnesota, so tonight represents some growth from earlier in the season.
