Published Nov 22, 2021
Quick Hitters: Takeaways from IU's win over Louisiana
Alec Lasley  •  Hoosier Huddle
Senior Writer
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@allasley
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Indiana improved to 4-0 on the season with a 76-44 win over Louisiana on Sunday night.

The Hoosiers received great play from its entire roster, most notably Parker Stewart and Khristian Lander.

Indiana led the entire game and will now turn its attention to Jackson St on Tuesday night.

Here are the main takeaways from IU's win.

Khristian Lander takes full advantage of opportunity: With Rob Phinisee and Trey Galloway hurt, Lander was expected to get some additional minutes on Sunday... and he took full advantage. He scored nine points, six rebounds and six assists in 24 minutes. He was a bit shaky at times with some poor decisions on the break, but overall, it was a very good performance for someone who is starting to carve a role out in the rotation moving forward.

Parker Stewart comes alive: Stewart was just 3-of-13 from the field and 3-of-11 from three in three games this season but on Sunday had 16 points and was 6-of-7 from the field. He went 4-of-5 from deep and had two really solid mid range pull up jumpers in the first half. His shooting ability is something IU needs and this was a very good step in the right direction to get him out of his early slump.

Turnovers are an issue: Indiana won by 32 but committed 27 turnovers. Moreover, the Hoosiers had a turnover rate of 37 percent on 73 possessions. Most of them are coming in transition or the secondary break with guys just trying to make the home run pass instead of the right pass. It should get ironed out, but Indiana is now averaging 16.5 turnovers per game.

IU defense is looking legit: A game after holding St. John's to 33 percent shooting in the first half and 30 points less than its normal game point total, IU backed it up with an even better outing. It held Louisiana to 11.8 percent shooting in the first half (4-of-34) as it went through an 0-for-26 spurt at one point. For the game, Louisiana shot just 19.2 percent from the field and made just two 3's.

Bench contributions: One thing IU lacked in recent years was a bench unit that could come in and produce. We already mentioned Lander last night, but Tamar Bates added 10 points in 24 minutes while Jordan Geronimo added three points and six rebounds. In total, every player who played minutes, scored. When Rob Phinisee and Trey Galloway return, that bench unit will be extremely competitive.

Race Thompson's importance: Thompson added eight points and eight rebounds last night and is now shooting 58.3 percent from the field with a terrific 81.3 percent on his 2's -- now 13-of-16 from two. He’s also averaging 8.3 rebounds per game and his defensive rebounding percentage (28.1) leads the Hoosiers.

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