IU Rolls in Tuesday Tilt Against Kansas State

Tuesday, November 25

Bloomington, Ind.

8:00 PM

Indiana University

6-0,0-0Big Ten

Kansas State

5-2,0-0Big 12

Kansas St.

Indiana

11/25/2025 10:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana roster says Reed Bailey is a 6-foot-10 forward, but point guard Tayton Conerway sees the lie in that, saw it big time during Tuesday night's 86-69 win over Kansas State at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

"He's just a big old guard," Conerway said. "He knows what he's doing. He plays the five (center), but he can dribble. He can shoot. He can pass. He's a Swiss Army knife. There's nothing he can't do."

Reed led the way with 21 points, 14 in the second half, while making 13-of-15 free throws.

"All the credit to my teammates and their belief in me to do what I can do," he said. "It was going in there with the mentality that I'm just trying to get the ball and offensive rebound and whatever aspect that helps our team. I'm trying to find a way to win."

Reed's production centered on a more aggressive approach encouraged by coach Darian DeVries.

"He took the challenge," DeVries said. "That's by far the most aggressive he's been. He's shown it in practice. This was a time everybody got to see some of the things he's capable of. He can drive it with speed. He gives us the opportunity to create some mismatches."

During one stretch, when Bailey lost that aggression, DeVries was animated in reminding him.

"I told him to be more aggressive," DeVries said with a smile. "He did. Good job, Reed."

The No. 25/24 Hoosiers (6-0) defended Kansas State guard PJ Hagerty, who entered the game leading the nation in scoring at 28.0 points, into irrelevance. Hagerty finished with 16 points on 7-for-17 shooting.

"We wanted to do it as a team," Conerway said. "We wanted to build walls and make sure we got back. We knew they played good in transition so if we could slow them down and make them have to run their sets and make somebody else beat us we knew we would have a good chance."

IU guard Conor Enright bore the biggest burden in defending Hagerty with full-throttle energy.

"A lot of people just see it during the games," Conerway said, "but he's like that in practice. He's like that everywhere.

"I told him on the bench, 'You're one of my favorite players to play with. You make basketball so much easier. Just putting him on somebody like PJ, and he didn't back down. He wanted all the smoke. He's been talking about it three days ago. He was excited for this game. He wanted to show what he could do. He stepped up to the challenge and executed, so it worked out."

Added DeVries: "He's so valuable to a team. That's all he cares about. He loves that (defensive) challenge. He's been that way his whole life. Just let me go guard him. Let me dive on the floor. Let me take charges. Let me do all the scrappy things that impact winning. He doesn't care about scoring. He can score but he doesn't care. He just wants to win. That's why he's the ultimate team guy.

"I love having him out there. You can see why watching him against a guy that's averaging 28 points. He did an unbelievable job."

IU did the same to all the Wildcats (5-2), holding them to 24 points below their 93-point average.

The Hoosiers have dominated two of their four marquee non-conference games, including the 100-77 win over Marquette in Chicago earlier this month. Still ahead are December games against No. 6/5 Louisville in Indianapolis and at No. 19/18 Kentucky.

"We proved we can hang with the best of them," Bailey said. "It shows that we're just scratching the surface. We're here to stay for sure. We just want to keep playing our basketball."

The Hoosiers had a 35-28 rebounding edge and held Kansas State to nine offensive rebounds, 10 fewer than they had allowed against Lindenwood five days earlier. DeVries had made that a point of practice emphasis.

"We had some spirited practices," DeVries said. "Our guys did a good job of understanding what we have to improve on. It was a little more body-on-body stuff. The guys embraced it. We have to continue to make that our mindset. We have to defensive rebound if we're going to be good."

The Hoosiers rocked Kansas State with an 8-0 opening run and three forced turnovers. It built leads as large as 16 points in the first half before the Wildcats rocked back by making five straight shots to close within two points.

An 18-3 run spanning the last three minutes of the first half and the first three minutes of the second gave the Hoosiers a 20-point lead and control they never lost.

IU launched 33 3-pointers -- just the second time it has taken at least 30 in a game in the last five years -- and made 10.

IU guard Lamar Wilkerson broke out of a shooting slump by making 4-of-7 3-pointers for 14 points. Freshman forward Trent Sisley added 12 points and five rebounds.

Conerway entered the game with two 3-pointers all season. He had two in the first seven minutes. He finished with 19 points, four rebounds, three steals, one assist, and seven turnovers.

IU opened with a Conerway layup and a Wilkerson three-pointer seconds into the game. Conerway added a 3-pointer a minute later as IU jumped ahead 8-0. An Enright 3-pointer made it 12-4. Sisley and Conerway 3-pointers gave the Hoosiers a 20-4 lead after seven minutes. At that point, the Wildcats were 1-for-9 from the field with seven turnovers.

Four straight IU turnovers helped Kansas State cut the lead to two with seven minutes left in the half.

Triples from Wilkerson and Enright, and then a Sisley fast-break dunk off a Tucker DeVries assist pushed the IU lead to 36-26 with 2:22 left in the half. The Hoosiers reached halftime with a 39-27 advantage. Wilkerson, Conerway, and Sisley each had eight points.

The Hoosiers pushed ahead 49-29 three minutes into the second half on a Bailey three-point play, and then a layup off a Tucker DeVries assist.

Kansas State made eight straight baskets to close within 10 before a Conerway three-point play and then a Sisley dunk off a Conerway pass restored Hoosier momentum.