Game 1: Indiana vs. Bryant Bulldogs

Hoosiers Rout Bryant University in First Game of the Season

By Ryan Bramwell

     Bryant    28 26    54  (0-1)
#1 Indiana   48 49    97  (1-0)

Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana


Individual Performances:

• Cody Zeller finished with 18 points (8-10 FG) and 10 rebounds
• Christian Watford scored 15 points and grabbed a career high 15 rebounds
• Yogi Ferrell finished with 10 points, seven assists and five rebounds
• Remy Abell was a force off the bench, scoring 12 points on perfect FG and FT shooting
• Jeremy Hollowell racked up a dozen points, two offensive boards, a block and a steal
• Will Sheehey scored 10 points in only 12 minutes of action due to fouling out
• Jordy Hulls knocked down three 3-pointers and dished out five assists
• Mo Creek was finally back in action and hit a pair of threes in his anticipated return

Team Effort:

• Zeller and Watford combined for 33 points and 25 rebounds
• Indiana did a great job gettting Bryant's big men into foul trouble; Both Scocca and Kondratyev fouled out
• The Hoosiers got to the line often and made the most of their opportunities (29-of-34)
• Indiana outperformed the Bulldogs in rebounding (46 to 27), assists (16 to 10), steals (12 to 8), blocks (6 to 1), as well as FG%, 3PT%, and FT%
• The most impressive team stat may be Indiana's 55.6% FG shooting (30-of-54) while holding their opponents to 32.3% (20-62) shooting

Thoughts:

• It was a solid performance by the Hoosiers in their first regular season game.  There is a lot of pressure to blow out opponents like Bryant coming into the season because of all the hype and expectations.  Like the exhibition game against Wesleyan, the team started slow and wasn't hitting shots right out of the gate.  With veterans and freshmen both expected to make significant contributions, it will take some time for them to mesh and form a smooth all-around game. 
• The turnovers were high (17), but that is to be expected with a fast-paced, offensive squad like th Hoosiers.  Although we shouldn't be satisfied with this many turnovers against a subpar opponent no matter up-temo we play.  But I do assume a couple more games into the season the team won't be committing as many turnovers as they did in this one. 
• Overall, the Hoosiers looked quite good and did exactly what they were supposed to do, which was to win handily.  I am, however, afraid that having only three 'big' men (Zeller, Watford, Hollowell) will pose a problem at some point in the first third of this season.  Let's hope we win the appeal and get our freshmen big men back on the court ASAP.  

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