Indiana basketball faced Conference USA preseason favorite Western Kentucky on Sunday evening in Evansville in its final tune-up eight days before the regular-season opener.
The Hoosiers got slow offensive nights from Markus Burton and Darren Harris, tried out a new frontcourt pairing and more in a narrow win over the Hilltoppers to close out the preseason slate.
Here are four observations from Indiana's 79-74 exhibition win over Western Kentucky.
Markus Burton and Darren Harris figure to be two of Indiana's primary scoring options this season. With both struggling Sunday, Bryce Lindsay again showed how valuable his scoring can be.
Burton and Harris combined for seven points on 1-of-11 shooting in the first half. Lindsay helped keep Indiana close with three first-half 3-pointers, then remained a key source of offense as the Hoosiers mounted their comeback.
He finished with 20 points, following his strong performance against North Carolina with another game in which Indiana needed much more than a few relief minutes from its backup point guard.
Burton finished with six points on 1-of-11 shooting, while Harris added just one point on 0-of-5 shooting.
Indiana still needs more consistent production from its starting backcourt. But Lindsay's scoring through three exhibitions suggests the Hoosiers have someone capable of taking on a larger offensive burden when those starters don't have it going.
Aiden Sherrell's first-half foul trouble gave Indiana a reason to try a different frontcourt pairing on Sunday. Yigitoglu and Sam Alexis shared the floor for two stretches totaling 9:24, their first extended look together this preseason.
Indiana made good use of Yigitoglu as a distributor during the pair's time on the floor together.
When Western Kentucky doubled him on the catch, Yigitoglu used his eight to see over the pressure and find the opening more often than not. He connected with Alexis for easy finishes in high-low action and found a cutting Jaeden Mustaf at one point, collecting four first-half assists.
Yigitoglu had recorded just one assist in each of Indiana's first two exhibitions.
Sunday offered a look at how his passing could help the Hoosiers generate offense when their guards aren't creating themselves enough.
With Indiana searching for a spark, Darian DeVries turned to Prince-Alexander Moody less than two minutes into the second half.
Fellow freshman Vaughn Karvala followed around the 15-minute mark. DeVries had previously noted that Karvala was dealing with a minor injury during the preseason.
Sunday offered both an opportunity to influence a competitive game.
Moody brought some added defensive pressure and knocked down two of his three 3-point attempts, although that defensive aggression also came with a couple of fouls. Karvala, meanwhile, added an important putback with under 60 seconds to play.
DeVries kept Moody and Karvala on the floor late in a tight game Sunday. Trusting both freshmen in those possessions, albeit in an exhibition setting, says more than simply giving them an early second-half opportunity.
Freshman Trevor Manhertz appears further along in establishing a regular role than either of his first-year counterparts. But Moody and Karvala don't have to earn major minutes immediately to become useful options.
If either can provide five or six productive minutes when Indiana needs energy or a different look, that gives DeVries another reason to trust his bench. Sunday was a chance for them to start earning that trust.
Indiana entered Sunday having made 32 of its 44 free throws through two exhibitions, a 72.7% mark that left room for improvement.
The Hoosiers then went 23-of-37 against Western Kentucky, closing out three preseason exhibitions shooting 68% at the charity stripe.
Three exhibitions don't establish how Indiana will shoot from the line all season. But the misses become more costly when the offense is already struggling to manufacture points.
As it was Sunday, getting to the line should offer a way to steady an uneven offensive performance. Indiana needs to capitalize on those opportunities more consistently before leaving points there becomes a regular-season problem.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/indiana as Instant Observations From Indiana's Exhibition Win vs. Western Kentucky .
