How it Happened: Indiana dominates Marian 107-46 in exhibition matchup

Game one of the Darian DeVries era is in the books. Yes, it was an exhibition, but Indiana impressed in a 107-46 win over NAIA-level Marian.

This was the fourth straight season that Indiana and Marian met in an exhibition before the regular season. The last two meetings have featured Pat Knight, son of Indiana coaching legend Bob Knight and IU basketball alum, as Marian head coach.

On both sides of the ball, the Hoosiers were dominant for the vast majority of the ballgame. They were able to shoot the ball at a phenomenal clip while holding the Knights to an extremely poor shooting percentage from the field.

Indiana shot 39 of 67 from the field and 15 of 30 from 3-point territory, with Marian shooting a measly 17 of 58 from the field and 5 of 22 from deep.

Tucker DeVries and Trent Sisley led the Hoosiers with 23 points apiece, DeVries doing so with a 5-for-7 mark from 3, while Sisley made all four of his attempts from beyond the arc. These two were critical in building the mammoth lead that Indiana had all game long.

It was a similar result as last season, but the Hoosiers seemed to have a different energy around them this time. It’s easy to overreact to a matchup with an NAIA school, but Indiana checked off every possible box in its first game of the 2025-26 season.

With that, here’s how it happened:

Indiana gives a glimpse of possible rotation

With the matchup against Marian being the first time the Hoosiers have faced outside competition since their Puerto Rico trip, it’s notable to take a look at how coach DeVries aligned his rotations throughout the game.

The starting five for the Hoosiers consisted of DeVries at forward, with Reed Bailey joining him at the position, while Lamar Wilkerson, Tayton Conerway and Conor Enright all started at guard.

Enright and Conerway did most of the ballhandling, bringing it up the floor, as there wasn’t necessarily a designated point guard throughout the game. Even Bailey, as the de facto center, brought the ball up a few times, showing that anyone on the roster is capable of handling the ball.

Sisley, as well as Sam Alexis, were the first two Hoosiers off the bench, as they replaced Bailey and Conerway as the first two players off the floor. Jasai Miles was third off the bench, replacing DeVries when he came in.

Alexis and Bailey, the two big men for Indiana, rarely shared the floor. The two-big lineup wasn’t used often, answering another burning question many fans had ahead of the season.

The starting five, plus these three off the bench, made up the rotation for the majority of the contest. Andrej Acimovic, Tryce Grensing, Drew Snevely and Ian Stephens all got into the ballgame, but their minutes were extremely sparse. Nick Dorn, Jason Drake, Josh Harris and Alex Ristic were all unavailable dur to injury.

While the rotations will definitely change as the season progresses, the Marian lineup gave everyone a look at what DeVries’ substitutions might look like this year.

3-point shooting shines early and often

3-point shooting has, to say the least, been the most frustrating aspect of Indiana basketball’s on-court performance over the past few seasons, but this year’s Hoosiers put those concerns to rest against Marian.

Indiana’s first basket came from deep, and the Hoosiers kept on shooting all game long. In the first half, Indiana shot 12-for-20 from 3-point range, with DeVries making 5 of 7 from 3 in the first 20 minutes.

The second half saw the Hoosiers keep shooting, but they didn’t have as great of a mark from 3-point land. IU went 3-of-10 from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes, as the Hoosiers didn’t stay red hot after the half.

Even though it was against a lackluster opponent in an exhibition, what Indiana displayed from 3-point range was a great sign if you were hoping for a more explosive offense. Coach DeVries made it clear that 3-pointers were going to be a priority this year, and IU proved that without skipping a beat against the Knights.

Defense shows energy throughout

Another major point of emphasis by coach DeVries was his defense playing with energy, and the Hoosiers certainly showed that against Marian.

In the first half, Indiana put on a defensive clinic. It held Marian to just 22 points on 9-of-26 shooting while dominating the Knights on the boards. Marian didn’t have a single offensive rebound in the opening half, with Indiana grabbing 26 total rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

The second half saw more of the same, as the Hoosiers were playing excellent defense and ended up totaling 13 turnovers when it was all said and done. Marian couldn’t do anything it wanted to on offense, and that was because of how impressive the Hoosier defense was.

IU won big, and while its offense and 3-point shooting were flashier than its defense, what we saw energy- and effort-wise on the defensive end was just as impressive in the Hoosiers’ exhibition victory.

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