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Indiana was back in action one more time before the Christmas holiday and that came on Wednesday with a 79-61 win over Northern Kentucky.

The Hoosiers led for all but 19 seconds and were up by double-figures for the majority of the night.

IU has just one more non-conference game before heading into Big Ten play for the remainder of the season.

Here are the main takeaways from IU's win last night.

Rob Phinisee continues solid play: After a shaky start to the season, fourth-year guard Rob Phinisee has now strung together back-to-back solid performances. His 10 points on Wednesday was a season-high and he's now gone 4-of-6 from three over the last two games, compared to a 3-of-17 showing on the season coming into those matchups. If Phinisee can continue to provide an offensive boost and play with the newly found confidence he has right now, it greatly improves IU as a whole, especially that backcourt.

IU's bigs dominate: To no surprise, the Indiana big men dominated from start to end on Wednesday. Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson combined for 35 of Indiana's 48 points in the paint and shot 16-of-20 from the field. Over the past three games, Race Thompson has a 17-of-19 stretch. Michael Durr chipped in six points and Jordan Geronimo added eight.

Defense struggles in second half: After holding NKU to 14 points on 5-of-32 shooting in the first half, the Hoosiers had one of their most inefficient halves defensively in the second 20 minutes. They allowed NKU to shoot 59.3 percent (16-of-27) while hitting seven 3's. In total, Northern Kentucky scored 47 points after the half. It all started with weak perimeter defense and a lack of aggression on close outs to shooters. Not too much to worry about, but something to make sure doesn't roll over into the first half next week.

Miller Kopp still finding his way: Northwestern transfer Miller Kopp has struggled with consistency this season and Wednesday was no different. He was just 1-of-5 for three points in 25 minutes. He is now averaging 7.8 points on 39.2 percent from the field this season. After his 28-point career-high against Syracuse, he has totaled just 23 points in the last five games, going 9-of-27 from the floor in that span. Kopp is still shooting 39 percent from deep and hit at least one three in nine of the last 10 games, but it looks like he is forcing shots early in games to try to 'force' getting into a rhythm.

Parker Stewart's first-half absence: There is no doubt that the biggest story to come out of Wednesday's win was the absence of Stewart in the starting lineup and the first half. A guy who started the first 11 games of the season and became one of the league's best shooters doesn't just sit unless there was something that happened. While Coach Woodson declined to comment postgame, it looks like a one-half suspension for Stewart and look for his minutes to get back to normal next time out.

Hoosiers look ready for Big Ten play: In some of these non-conference matchups, IU has looked uninterested and mentally checked out. There haven't been a ton of high profile matchups early on this season and even in the two Big Ten games, IU was checked out at times. It's time for the Hoosiers to face stiff competition and show people who they really are.

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