BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana hadn’t played a basketball game in 13 days, but the Hoosiers quickly put to rest any talk on whether they might be rusty. They were on fire offensively right out of the gate and rolled to a 90-80 win over the Washington Huskies on Sunday night.
Indiana is now 10-0 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall this season, and 11-3 overall. They are 2-1 in the Big Ten, and got the new year off to a hot start.
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Lamar Wilkerson led the way with 22 points and Tayton Conerway had 20, including 18 in the first half, when he made three three-pointers in the first three-plus minutes. Conor Enright had 12 points and nine assists.
Indiana had 35 points in just 10-plus minutes and never trailed after that. They were precise in attacking the basket and getting good looks. All that went into the long break — some rest, some individual work, some team growth — paid off in a big way.
“Yeah, we got to go home for Christmas, so we got a good break there,” Enright said. “I thought we came back really prepared in practice every day. We had some time where we could clean stuff up and we weren’t focusing on preparing for necessarily a team right away. Then we got some days to prepare for Washington.
“I think we’ve been having a great approach. If we keep that, it will help us throughout.”
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Conerway led the Hoosiers early, stretching the lead to 43-33 with 5:22 to go. It got as high as 14, and Indiana led 52-40 at the break.
Washington made a run to start the second half and cut the lead to four at 54-50 within four minutes. But they would get no closer. Indiana went on a 13-5 run, with true freshman Trent Sisley scoring eight points. WiIkerson had 18 points in the second half, and his two free throws gave Indiana a 78-63 lead with 7:43 to go.
Washington ran off nine straight points to get within six, but Wilkerson hit a three and a layup to get the Hoosiers comfortably ahead again. Wilkerson has scored 20-plus in three straight games, the first IU player to do that since Trayce Jackson-Davis in 2023
For the game, the Hoosiers hit 12-of-28 threes, the ninth time they’ve made double-digits threes in a game. They did in only twice all year under Mike Woodson in 2024-25. Indiana has 150 threes already this less than halfway through their schedule. Indiana made 203 threes all year a season ago.
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Washington (9-5, 1-2 in Big Ten), a top-40 ranked defense, tried to shut down Wilkerson and forward Tucker DeVries early, but the Hoosiers had other answers. They also had just four turnovers in the game.
“We’re a deep team. I think it was great for our confidence to show we got other guys that can step up,” Enright said. “If they want to play like that, we’re going to have other guys step up every night.
“The way they guarded me and (Conerway), they kind of helped us start the game. They did similar with Trent. We were able to step up with confidence and knock down those shots.”
Washington sophomore Bryson Tucker, who played at Indiana a year ago before transferring, played 28 minutes and scored 11 points. He got a cool reception from fans at Assembly Hall, with a sprinkling of boos when he first entered the game.
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With the long layoff behind them, the Hoosiers now step into the Big Ten grind, with a game every three or four days, and six of the next nine on the road. DeVries feels comfortable with where they’re at, and they are ready for the nightly Big Ten tussles.
“Yeah, I think the guys prepared well. I mean, every night’s going to be a different game, a different night, different opportunity. You just focus on that next one,” DeVries said. “Now our focus is on Maryland. Get some rest tonight. Get a good two days of practice together, get ready to go on the road.
“Every night (in the Big Ten), it’s a rock fight. We know that, and we have to be ready for that. I think our guys understand that. The nonconference season has gotten us ready. The few conference games we’ve had have gotten us ready. Now it’s about going out and doing it.”
The Hoosiers are tied with seven teams at 2-1 in league play, and only three teams — Purdue, Michigan and Nebraska — remain perfect in the Big Ten. Maryland, the Hoosiers’ opponent on Wednesday night, is one of four teams that have yet to win a conference game.
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