Indiana defeated Gannon, 84-54, in its second live-action game of the preseason, giving the public its first glimpse at what the 2019-20 Indiana team might look like.

These are five takeaways from the exhibition win Tuesday in Bloomington.

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Injuries to guards Rob Phinisee and Devonte Green rattled around the Indiana program in the day following Archie Miller’s last press conference before playing in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Tuesday night against Gannon. Miller said he didn’t expect either guard to play in the exhibition, but Phinisee was, in fact, available and did make his way onto the floor.

Miller said after the game that he didn’t anticipate having Phinisee for more than 8-to-12 minutes Tuesday, and the sophomore guard played 14. In those 14 minutes, Phinisee recorded five points on 1-of-4 shooting and vaguely ran the offense, even though he didn’t appear to be 100-percent or conditioned after missing so much time in October.

Miller said Phinisee had only practiced once since Oct. 4, and that practice was Monday, where he had “very little restriction.”

“If Rob doesn't play tonight or get a little bit of action, we're really starting to set him up where he's – we're not going to know how he feels after a game or whatnot,” Miller said.

The first aspect of the night that Miller and Justin Smith mentioned was that there were several new faces in different or unusual situations. Smith called the feeling “awkward,” which seemed intended on Miller’s part but also not so intended, as injuries have the backcourt on thin ice at the moment.

“Everyone early on kind of realized, ‘Boy, there's a lot of new guys out there,’” Miller said. “Even for myself, being from the sideline looking out there, at times I was seeing Trayce (Jackson-Davis) and Joey (Brunk) and Armaan (Franklin) and Damezi (Anderson) and Jerome (Hunter), and those guys are relatively really new to what we're doing and what's going on in terms of the game.”

There were several different groups on the floor at different times, so much so that Smith said it felt like the players on the floor were playing together for the first time. Some groups looked more raw than others, and perhaps the most green group on the floor together was after the first media timeout, when Indiana finished the window between media timeouts having scored as many points as Gannon (6-6).

That group involved Armaan Franklin, Rob Phinisee, Race Thompson, De’Ron Davis and Jerome Hunter – a lineup that should rarely see the court at the same time if Indiana gets healthier.

That’s not an uncommon strategy for coaches to get players into awkward situations in games that are either easily won or don’t count, but Miller’s hand was also forced with injuries in the backcourt.

Freshman guard Armaan Franklin had a 14-point game in the closed scrimmage against Marquette and saw plenty of playing time, as he was on the floor for 29 minutes. The same performance was required of him Tuesday night, as he logged 34 more minutes and put together a quality stat line – 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.

“Armaan's the one guy that even surprises me a little bit,” Miller said. “He's been very, very good in our two live-action games. And he's played out of position, tonight for 30 minutes, and he hasn't learned one play at playing point guard, but he started the game at point guard tonight due to what we have kind of endured here in the last 48-some hours.”

Miller said he sees Franklin as an off-ball guard with point guards like Phinisee or Al Durham running the offense, which would keep his role simple for thim in his first year. But there were certainly flashes of ability, particularly in passing, that could translate to the point guard position. Those attributes and his spacial awareness should prove useful as he grows in his current role, though.

Freshman forward Trayce Jackson-Davis also flashed some potential Tuesday, as he played 23 minutes and scored 12 points with nine rebounds and three blocks. One sequence that stood out for Jackson-Davis was when he blocked a ball in transition and then drew a foul on a dunk inside – and also hit the free throw.

Smith said he felt Jackson-Davis was aggressive, and it was clear he could run the floor well for his size.

The freshmen logged the first- and third-most minutes on the team Tuesday and have gotten significant reps in the two live-action games, Miller said after the game. The head coach also mentioned that they have been “very, very good” since getting to campus.

There have often been times when forward Damezi Anderson has seemed out of place or lacking a role within the offense at Indiana, but he seems to be taking on some semblance of a role within the offense and defense now.

He logged 31 minutes and recorded 10 points, including two three-pointers, four rebounds and three assists.

The sophomore also played many reps with the new players and the awkward lineups, as he logged the second-most minutes on the team.

Junior forward Justin smith quietly scored a game-high 18 points Tuesday, and, despite not bringing down a rebound in the first half, looked involved on the offensive side of the ball. He finished the game with 18 points on 5-of-5 shooting and 8-of-9 from the free throw line.

“I would say justly letting the game come to me,” Smith said about the key to his performance. “Not trying to force anything, really just letting my teammates play, just get open, not -- really, honestly, just not forcing anything, when it comes down to it. The way our offense is organized it's very free flowing, just if it happens, it happens and it just worked for me tonight.”

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