The priorities for Indiana coach Darian DeVries seemed clear ahead of Saturday’s home game against Chicago State at Bloomington, Ind.
The Hoosiers (8-3) are coming off a 72-60 loss to Kentucky on Dec. 13 in the first regular season meeting between the teams in 14 years. Indiana had 18 turnovers that led to 23 points and saw Kentucky grab 14 offensive rebounds that led to 18 second-chance points.
That was enough to offset an otherwise solid defensive showing that saw the Wildcats shoot 37.9 % from the field.
“Those turnovers created too many opportunities for them,” DeVries said. “We got them to miss enough. We need to secure those rebounds and go the other way.”
The Hoosiers average 85.6 points per game, while allowing 67.4. The average 10.5 turnovers, while their 36.3 rebounds are 203rd in the nation.
Lamar Wilkerson, the co-Big Ten Player of the Week after scoring 44 points in a Dec. 9 rout of Penn State, leads the team in scoring at 18.5 per game. Tucker DeVries adds 17.0 points and Tayton Conerway chips in 12.2.
While Indiana has worked on its shortcomings, the Cougars (2-10) are trying to find any strengths to lean on before Northeast Conference play. They are coming off a 76-55 loss at Bowling Green on Tuesday despite 19 points off the bench from Doyel Cockrill III.
Cockrill has been their most consistent source of offense, leading the team with 15.1 points on 48.5 % shooting. Alcorn State transfer Marcus Tankersley is adding 14.7 points and CJ Ray is contributing 10.8.
Chicago State has struggled to score, managing only 66.9 points as a team and connecting on just 39.6 % of its shots, which ranks 349th out of 361 Division I squads. The Cougars also rank near the bottom of Division I in rebounding at 33.3 per game and assists (9.8)
Chicago State is in its first season under former Alcorn State head coach Landon Bussie.
–Field Level Media
