IU basketball won its third straight game on Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion. The Hoosiers rebounded from a collapse late in regulation and beat UCLA in double overtime, 98-97.
Here are five takeaways from the win against the Bruins:
Nick Dorn’s propels IU in the second half
Down six at halftime with little going offensively, Indiana needed someone to step up in the second half at Pauley Pavilion.
Nick Dorn, in his third straight game in the starting lineup following an injury to Tayton Conerway, answered the call.
Dorn made half of IU’s 12 second-half field goals, which included five 3-pointers. He didn’t come off the floor in the second half and was 6-for-11 from the field, 5-for-10 on 3s and 4-for-5 from the free-throw line.
His 3-pointer with under two minutes left stretched IU’s lead to 10 points. While that shot ultimately wasn’t enough to put the Bruins away in regulation, the Hoosiers wouldn’t have left Westwood with a victory without Dorn’s brilliant shooting.
He led all scorers with 26 points and is averaging 22.3 points over the last three games. In that stretch, Dorn is 16-for-34 on 3-pointers and he’s shooting 43.8 percent on 3s in Big Ten games, which ranks seventh in the conference.
“He was great. He’s been playing great,” Darian DeVries said postgame. “And he’s really confident. I think he really fits well with what we try to do and the spacing that we have on the floor.”
Reed Bailey delivers his best performance yet in an IU uniform
An up-and-down season for senior big man Reed Bailey had its highest point yet on Saturday against UCLA.
Coming off the bench for the 13th straight game, Bailey scored 24 points in 28 minutes.
His efficiency and ability to draw fouls earned him KenPom MVP honors for the second time this season. The 6-foot-10 forward shot 6-for-7 from the field and went 12-for-13 from the free-throw line.
Bailey drew nine fouls in the win and he’s attempted more free throws this season than field goals, an incredible stat.
Bailey is 95-for-122 (77.9 percent) from the line and 62-for-107 (57.9 percent) from the field this season.
But it wasn’t just the scoring that stood out for Bailey. He grabbed six rebounds, dished out five assists and had a blocked shot before fouling out in the first overtime.
He also played tremendous defense, a facet of his game that DeVries believes goes unnoticed.
“The thing people don’t notice is his defense, his ability to get out there and play in space and switch onto guards and be able to get back to a big,” DeVries explained. “I mean, it’s pretty impressive what he does on that side of the ball.”
Lamar Wilkerson carried IU in the two overtimes
After two costly turnovers late in regulation, Lamar Wilkerson didn’t let the mistakes linger into overtime.
IU’s most consistent scorer all season delivered when it mattered most for the Hoosiers. Wilkerson scored 10 of his 24 points across the two overtimes, including six in the second overtime.
In the decisive period, Wilkerson opened the scoring for the Hoosiers with a pair of free throws to make it 86-84 with 4:41 remaining.
He gave the Hoosiers the lead at 89-88 with a layup at the 2:56 mark and followed that up with another layup with 45 seconds to play to provide IU with a 96-95 advantage.
It wasn’t an efficient performance for Wilkerson – he shot 8-for-22 from the field – but he made winning plays when it mattered most, as he has for most of the season.
Tucker DeVries is contributing in other ways besides scoring
It was a quiet scoring night for Tucker DeVries for the second straight game, but the fifth-year senior continues to find other ways to contribute to winning.
DeVries logged 46 minutes in Tuesday’s win and was just 2-for-8 from the field, finishing with nine points thanks in part to a 4-for-4 mark from the free-throw line.
The 6-foot-7 forward, however, played point guard for parts of the game and finished with seven assists, a season-high.
He also logged his third straight game with 10 rebounds. For the season, DeVries now has five games with 10 or more rebounds.
“I think he had 10 (rebounds) again today, 10 the other night,” Darian DeVries said of Tucker DeVries. “And he’s not 6’11”. So he’s having to really battle and fight in there and he’s giving us all he’s got.
“And his leadership has been a big part of getting through this stretch here with a few wins. I think he’s doing a great job leading the team.”
Trent Sisley stays ready and delivers a game-winning free throw
Trent Sisley’s minutes have fallen in recent weeks but foul trouble and limited depth pushed the freshman into a bigger role on Saturday.
The Southern Indiana native answered when he was needed most.
In a tie game with 1.5 seconds left in double overtime, DeVries found Sisley on an inbounds pass from the baseline. Sisley caught the ball as he was cutting towards the basket and UCLA’s Donovan Dent had no choice but to foul him.
It was a flawless execution by Sisley, who set a screen on Dorn’s man near the top of the key and immediately sprinted towards the rim, where DeVries found him.
There was confusion by UCLA defensively on the play as the Bruins scrambled to account for Dorn and Wilkerson. Wilkerson cut toward the left wing and Dorn went to the right wing, leaving a path for Sisley to cut straight to the basket.
Sisley only needed to make one free throw with .3 seconds left to seal the victory for the Hoosiers. He calmly stepped to the line and made the first to give IU the 98-97 victory.
(Photo credit: IU Athletics)
See More: Five Takeaways, Lamar Wilkerson, Nick Dorn, Reed Bailey, Trent Sisley, Tucker DeVries, UCLA Bruins
