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Indiana men's basketball hosted Marian on Friday night for the Hoosiers' second and final exhibition of the year. The Hoosiers dominated the Knights from start to finish, winning by a final score of 106-64.

Below are a handful of takeaways from Indiana's final preseason tune-up.

After sitting out of Indiana's first exhibition clash with Tennessee on Sunday, true freshman Bryson Tucker made his Indiana debut o Friday knight against Marian. Tucker entered the contest as a 2024 McDonald's All-American and a consensus top-30 recruit. Against the Knights, Tucker looked the part.

The Bowie, Maryland native scored an efficient 19 points, leading the Hoosiers in scoring on the night. He went 9-of-12 from the floor, missing his lone 3-pointer of the night. Throughout the contest, Tucker found it easy to get to his spots from 2-point range, consistently knocking down pull-ups from the mid range.

Perhaps even more importantly, Tucker didn't turn the ball over in the exhibition contest. He found himself with the ball in his hands quite often on Friday night, and he even dished out three assists. His ability to play under control, take care of the basketball and put the ball in the basket with such ease at such a young age impressed his teammates.

"He's just a scorer at heart," guard Gabe Cupps said postgame. "He's always trying to get a bucket and just his confidence. He plays with an ease and a flow that's very rare for somebody as a freshman coming in. The sky is the limit for [Tucker]."

Tucker could quickly find himself in an expanded role off the bench of he continues to play with the confidence, poise and scoring ability that he showed on Friday night against Marian.

Jakai Newton had grown used to watching from the sideline. He spent his senior year of high school, as well as his first year on campus in Bloomington, watching from the bench as he continued to battle back from a knee injury that required multiple surgeries.

On Friday night, Newton made is long-awaited Indiana debut inside of Assembly Hall. Newton didn't stuff the stat sheet, he tallied just two points and went 1-of-5 from the floor, but that wasn't his goal coming into the night.

"It was just great to be out there. It's been so long, just realizing that practice shape and game shape is two different things," Newton joked. "I've got to get adjusted to that. But I feel good from being in practice, and I think it will translate as the season goes on."

Newton's back court partner off the bench Gabe Cupps, a fellow member of Indiana's 2023 recruiting class, echoed that sentiment.

"It means a ton just to see all he's been through, all he's been fighting for however many years," Cupps said on Newton's debut. "I couldn't be happier for him. Just always been rooting for him to try to get back on the court. Try to do his thing because I know he's a great player, and how much he loves the game. It's amazing to see."

When the regular season begins on Wednesday, Newton likely won't factor into the rotation too heavily. As head coach Mike Woodson noted after the game, Newton still isn't 100% healthy. Despite that, Friday night's exhibition marked the next step in what has been a long road back for Newton.

Oumar Ballo and Malik Reneau are just two exhibition contests into playing together this season, yet they already look like they've been sharing the floor for months. On Friday night, Ballo and Reneau combined for 34 points on 15-of-16 shooting from the floor. Granted, Marian is a significantly undersized team, but that's besides the point.

Ballo and Reneau may be the top front court duo in the Big Ten, maybe even the entire country. The two combined for 15 rebounds and nine assists as well, the latter of which may be the most impressive stat of the night, especially considering the two towering big men combined for just three turnovers.

"They both can pass the ball and they both can score down low and they both can handle the basketball," Woodson said. "That's a nice combination."

He and Malik are learning each other more and more that they have been together," Woodson continued. "We're going to need them to continue to grow together, man, if we're going to be a big-time team."

It almost seemed unfair at times on Friday night. Whether it was Ballo or Reneau, the Hoosiers were able to get pretty much anything they wanted inside the paint against Marian. While it's important to take everything in an exhibition with a grain of salt, there's no reason Ballo and Reneau can't dominate the Big Ten this season.

Through two preseason contests, the biggest glaring issue for Indiana is the 3-point shooting -- something that should surprise nobody. Despite brining in a handful of guys this offseason via the portal that have proven to be at least respectable shooters in the past, the Hoosiers struggled from deep in both exhibitions.

Against Tennessee, Indiana started 0-of-11 from distance in the first half. The Hoosiers went 4-for-8 in the second half, but the 4-of-19 (21.1%) performance overall was evidence of an ongoing struggle during Woodson's tenure.

The 3-point shooting was a struggle in Friday night's exhibition too, with Indiana starting 1-of-11 from downtown in the first half. Once again the Hoosiers shot better in the final 20 minutes, 5-for-14, however that did little to improve the Hoosiers' overall performance from downtown. The Hoosiers converted just 24% of their 25 3-point attempts on Friday night.

Despite the cold shooting start to the season, Indiana isn't concerned.

"I'm not concerned with it," Cupps said regarding Indiana's 10-44 start to the season from deep. "We have great shooters on the team. We are going to make shots. We trust it. Coaches trust it. Those are going to fall. We know it will."

While it may not be time to sound the alarms just yet, Woodson and the Hoosiers know the 3-point shots are going to have to start following at a higher rate when the regular season begins on Wednesday against SIU Edwardsville.

"We're not shooting the ball well right now from the three-point line," Woodson said, "and that's kind of disturbing."

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