Saturday Setback in Indianapolis

Saturday, December 6

Indianapolis, Ind.

2:15 PM

Indiana University

7-2,0-1Big Ten

Louisville

8-1,0-0ACC

Indiana

Louisville

12/6/2025 4:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

INDIANAPOLIS -- Darian DeVries paced the Gainbridge Fieldhouse sidelines with hands on hips, seeking an early Indiana basketball solution against No. 6 Louisville that seemingly wouldn't come.

And then it did.

A first-half surge brought hope. A second-half run delivered momentum.

DeVries coached to the opportunity. He responded to guard Lamar Wilkerson's second-half banked-in jumper and follow-up 3-pointer with a series of left and right fist pumps. A Hoosier rally was underway. Would an upset victory follow? Could they sustain the intensity and playmaking?

They could not.

Not during Saturday afternoon's 87-78 defeat. Not against a Louisville team in full attack mode after a Wednesday night loss at No. 25 Arkansas.

And yet, a late-game, we-ain't-quitting run (IU won the second half 51-46) brought optimism.

"There were plenty of positives," Darian DeVries said. "Our ability to continue to fight was good because if you don't, if you give into it at all, you're down 30 to 40 points. They can do that to that to you. We continued to battle and chip away.

"We just could never quite get over that hump."

A second straight loss ripped the luster from IU's 7-0 season start, but not the determination to get things right.

"Our approach was great," Darian DeVries said. "We competed hard. Were we prefect? No. It's like I told our guys, every night you give it everything you've got. There will be nights it's not good enough.

"We left it out there. I liked our mindset, toughness and physicality."

Louisville's 16-0 start set a tone Indiana never overcame.

"They came out ready to play," forward Tucker DeVries said. "We played hard. It wasn't a lack of effort or physicality. We had mistakes we have to clean up. As we settled in, we played better after that first run."

Tucker DeVries led IU with 26 points and five rebounds. Wilkerson added 12 points and four assists. Junior forward Nick Dorn came on strong late to finish with 15 points and five rebounds.

The No. 22/19 Hoosiers did have the edge in second-chance points (18-5) and offensive rebounds (10-7).

Foul trouble limited point guard Tayton Conerway to 21 minutes. He had five points, one assist and five turnovers.

"I don't know if he ever got into the flow of the game," Darian DeVries said. "He got those early fouls and we had to sit him. He's the guy who has the ability to get downhill and get to the rim."

Louisville (8-1) opened with offensive and defensive ferocity Indiana struggled to counter. The Hoosiers committed four turnovers, missed two shots and gave up a layup and a dunk in just over three minutes. The deficit quickly swelled to 16-0.

Darian DeVries burned a pair of timeouts to help settle the Hoosiers, and it worked. A Wilkerson drive and alley-oop pass to forward Sam Alexis for a dunk, followed by guard Conor Enright drawing a Louisville foul and turnover. Then came consecutive Tucker DeVries 3-pointers and two more Cardinal turnovers to cut the lead in half with 11 minutes left in the half.

A Wilkerson 3-pointer cut the lead to 19-14. The Cardinals surged ahead 27-16 with seven minutes left in the half.

Forward Trent Sisley converted an Enright steal into a layup, before a Louisville 3-pointer capped its 41-27 halftime lead. The Cardinals led for all but 27 seconds of the first 20 minutes. Tucker DeVries paced IU with nine points.

The Hoosiers second-half goal was simple – win the first five minutes half to give themselves a chance.

Conerway drove into a defense that refused to yield. The Cardinals converted a three-point play. Tucker DeVries countered with a pair of free throws, and then another. Then came a Conerway basket, and then his steal and score, then a Wilkerson pass to Bailey for a basket and then a Tucker DeVries 3-pointer. The lead was down to 49-39 five minutes into the half. Wilkerson banked in a jumper and then hit a 3-pointer. The lead was down to eight.

A Dorn-led surge got IU within seven points with 33 seconds left, but no closer.

"(Dorn) is a good shooter," Darian DeVries said. "He's working his way back. He hasn't practiced that long, maybe the last two to three weeks. His game legs are starting to come. He did a good job of staying with it and give us a fighter's chance."

The next chance comes Tuesday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall against Penn State (8-1, with its only loss at Providence).