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INDIANAPOLIS—In Indiana’s 2025 Big Ten Tournament opener, it defeated No. 8 seed Oregon 78-62 to advance to the quarterfinals against USC. Indiana started and ended this one with impressive runs, going on a 20-5 stretch in the first quarter and a 15-2 run late in the fourth.

Oregon was competitive with the Hoosiers in both the second and third quarters, but it wasn’t enough, as the Ducks couldn’t contend with IU in the end.

Indiana shot 25-for-56 from the field and 11-for-25 from 3-point range, with its perimeter shooting propelling it to victory throughout the contest. Yarden Garzon and Shay Ciezki were particularly on point from deep and finished as Indiana’s two leading scorers.

Garzon put up 18 points on 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range, while Ciezki scored seven and went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. Chloe Moore-McNeil had 13, and Sydney Parrish added 10, giving Indiana four double-digit scorers.

Peyton Scott led the Ducks with 16 points, but the combination of Ciezki and Garzon was too much for Oregon to handle.

With this second-round victory, Indiana is surely in the NCAA Tournament field and should avoid the play-in games.

From Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, here’s how it happened:

Just like in its final regular-season game, Indiana wasted no time out of the gate and jumped out to a large lead in the first quarter. While Oregon scored the first basket of the contest, the Hoosiers responded with a 20-5 run, making it a 20-7 ballgame before the Ducks could even settle in.

In that stretch, the Hoosiers shot 7-of-11 and made four of their five 3-point attempts, truly scoring at will. But that wasn't all—Indiana's defense also began the game firing on all cylinders, forcing seven Oregon turnovers before the first media timeout.

The Ducks began the game shooting just 3-of-8, finding themselves in a 13-point hole less than eight minutes into the game. Oregon wrapped up the first quarter shooting 4-of-11 from the floor and without a 3-point attempt, while Indiana shot a solid 8-of-17 from the floor and an even more impressive 5-of-10 from beyond the arc.

Ciezki was responsible for three of those five made 3-pointers and totaled 11 points in the first 10 minutes, matching Oregon's total first-quarter scoring. She was simply sensational, as she was creating offense for herself, but also distributed two assists while not turning it over once in the opening 10 minutes.

The Hoosiers looked extremely strong to begin this one, doing it both with sound offense and stifling defense, though Oregon wouldn't falter for a second straight quarter.

IU pushed its lead up to 14 midway through the quarter, but Oregon hung tough and was extremely efficient from the free-throw line, allowing it to cut the deficit to just 10 when the halftime buzzer sounded.

The Ducks made all eight of their free-throw attempts in the second quarter, accounting for almost half of their scoring in the period. UO shot 5-of-9 in the second and made its only 3-point attempt of the first half.

The Ducks turned it over three times in the second for a much-needed improvement, though Indiana still maintained a double-digit lead.

IU shot 7-of-12 and made 1-of-3 3-pointers in the quarter, converting both of its free-throw attempts. Both Karoline Striplin and Lilly Meister had to be sidelined toward the end of the quarter, resulting in Faith Wiseman entering the game, something she's done just 10 times all season.

After the first two quarters, Indiana maintained a 40-30 lead, giving it a solid advantage as it entered the final 20 minutes of play in the Big Ten tournament second round.

With the Hoosiers leading 40-30 entering the final 20 minutes, Oregon gave IU all it could handle in the third quarter, but Indiana pulled away with ease in the fourth. IU wasn’t great on either side to start the second half, but it more than made up for it in the final 10 minutes, leading to the lopsided final score.

The third quarter saw Indiana’s worst stretch of the afternoon, as the Hoosiers shot just 5-of-14 from the field—though four of those makes came from 3-point range. With Emily Striplin and Lilly Meister on the bench due to foul trouble for most of the period, IU had no presence in the post, making it difficult to generate offense outside of perimeter shooting.

Oregon took advantage, going 7-of-14 from the field in the third quarter, with just one of those baskets coming from beyond the arc. The Ducks made a strong push to cut into Indiana’s lead and had some success, but IU never let them get within four.

Oregon did trim the deficit to five with less than a minute left in the period, but Garzon’s 3-pointer with 20 seconds remaining gave the Hoosiers an eight-point lead heading into the fourth.

Up 56-48 entering the final 10 minutes, all Indiana needed to do was hold off the Ducks—and it did exactly that. Oregon stuck with its physical, two-point-oriented style of play, but Indiana held firm and pulled away late.

The Hoosiers led by eight with 6:15 left in the game before going on a dominant 13-0 run, extending the lead to 21 points and effectively sealing the victory.

Despite Indiana’s strong 3-point shooting throughout the game, that late run didn’t include a single basket from deep. Nine of the 13 points came from the free-throw line, while the other four were inside the arc.

Indiana finished the fourth quarter 5-of-13 from the field and just 1-of-4 from 3-point range, but it capitalized at the free-throw line, making 11-of-12 attempts to secure the win. Oregon shot 6-of-20 in the period and went on a scoring drought of more than two minutes while IU pulled away.

The Ducks scored seven of the final nine points to cut the margin slightly, but Indiana’s lead was never in danger. When the final buzzer sounded, the Hoosiers had secured a 78-62 victory to move on in the Big Ten Tournament.

With the win over Oregon, Indiana will face No. 1 seed USC tomorrow at noon. It will be played at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indiapolis as a part of the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.

The Hoosiers met USC at Assembly Hall back in January when the Trojans were ranked No. 5 in the country. IU couldn't pull off the upset and fell 73-66. Indiana was ahead 55-51 with 8:13 left in the game, but JuJu Watkins and company avoided the loss—similar to how they’ve done it all year.

The Trojans have lost just two games all season and were defeated only once in Big Ten play, doing so behind Watkins' stardom and 24.4 points per game. Kiki Iriafen has also been great, averaging 18.1 points per game.

With a solid win against Oregon in its pocket, Indiana will look to continue its momentum against the Trojans, who like the Ducks, half to travel over halfway across the country to meet the Hoosiers, who are less than an hour away from the tournament site.

The Hoosiers kept it close in the first meeting, so it'll certainly be a game to watch when the No. 2 team in the nation meets a hungry and skilled Indiana team.

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