Indiana basketball returned from an uninspiring week in The Bahamas and hosted the Sam Houston State Bearkats at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Tuesday evening.
The Hoosiers scored 42 first-half points and took a commanding 17-point lead into the locker room.
Four different Hoosiers reached double figures en route to an 97-71 victory over the Bearkats.
With the victory, Indiana improved to 6-2 on the season and will host Miami (Ohio) on Friday night in its final game before a week of conference play.
Here's how it happened on a chilly evening in Bloomington.
LUKE GOODE PUTS ON A FIRST HALF SHOW
There weren't many highlights in last week's trip to The Bahamas, but Illinois transfer Luke Goode's confidence was trending upwards after a relatively productive week in paradise.
The confidence Goode gained at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament carried into Tuesday's game in Bloomington.
After missing his first three-point attempt, Goode rattled home four consecutive makes on the way to a 13-point outburst in the first half.
For the first time this season, Indiana was running plays in hoping to find the sharpshooter open, and more times than not, the shots fell for Goode.
The Fort Wayne native finished the game with 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
INDIANA TAKES AND MAKES HIGH PERCENTAGE LOOKS
Indiana's disastrous showing in The Bahamas was spearheaded by an inability to make layups. They were wildly out of-control layups in transition, leading to fast-break opportunities the opposite way.
Tuesday night provided a much different look for Mike Woodson's squad. Not only were the Hoosiers taking higher percentage shots, they were converting at a stellar rate.
Indiana converted on 18-of-24 layups, most of which were high percentage looks within the offense. As a team, the Hoosiers finished the game shooting 62% from the field and 7-for-15 from deep.
The combination of taking and making the right shots within the offense was a recipe for offensive success all night for Indiana.
MIDDLE TEN CONTINUE TO PLAGUE HOOSIERS
With just over five minutes remaining in the first half, Indiana held a 22-point advantage, and it appeared that the Hoosiers were in for a rout of Sam Houston State.
Less than ten minutes later, the lead had evaporated to 9, and the momentum was on the Bearkats side.
Far too often in the early season, Indiana has collapsed in the middle portion of the game, and it cost them against both Louisville and Gonzaga last week.
After the lead dipped under double-digits, Indiana hit the gas again, ultimately winning the game a comfortable 26-point margin.
FINAL STATS
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