Six Score in Double Figures in Thursday Victory

Thursday, November 12

Bloomington, Ind.

6:30 PM

Indiana University

4-0,0-0Big Ten

Tennessee Tech

2-2,0-0SoCon

Team	1	2	F
Tennessee Tech	37	29	66
Indiana	41	49	90

Box Score (PDF)

11/12/2026 8:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Relax? Not on Thursday night. Not with Tennessee Tech committed to chaos and pressure, again and again and again, airballs and fouls be darned.

Indiana (4-0) weathered that storm, and everything else, in a 90-66 victory at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. For coach Darian DeVries, even with second-half leads as large as 29 points, uncertainty never left.

"This was one of those games you don't sleep well because you're preparing for 40 minutes of pressure," DeVries said. "You know what the game is going to be like. They were never going to stop. So you don't get to relax."

Tennessee Tech (2-2), which came in averaging 100 points and 15 made 3-pointers a game, turned its small, quick roster into a weapon by forcing a frenetic pace in which it swarmed, pressured, harassed … and fouled, 28 for the game. For most of the first half, it worked despite the Hoosiers' attacking counter.

In the second half, IU took control it never lost, ratcheting up the defense and rebounding while winning the final 20 minutes, 49-29.

"Coach talked to us at the half," forward Aiden Sherrell said, "and gave us a message. It was like, 'We've got to pick it up.' We went out there and executed what he told us to do -- get back to our principles, continue to communicate on defense and it will work out."

It certainly worked out offensively. IU shot 67 percent from the field in the second half, after shooting 41 percent in the first half. It also was 26-for-36 from the line for the game.

"We just had to give each other a window to get open," Sherrell said. "They were pressing the whole game. We had to be strong, get open and just move the ball."

IU finished with 14 turnovers, but only five in the first half. It had a 12-11 edge in points off turnovers.

"Whatever we were up by," DeVries said, "we had to break the press every time. We talked about 40 minutes of focus to do that. You can't give into it. I thought we did a good job with that."

Center Samet Yigitoglu exploited his 7-foot-2 size against the smaller Golden Eagles for a 6-0, game-opening, two-minute start before a cut by his eye bloodied his face and forced him to the locker room for stitches. He returned with seven minutes left in the first half and finished with 18 points and six rebounds.

There was never a thought, he said, about not returning.

"Even when I was in the locker room and it was bad," he said, "I was thinking, 'I'm going to be back.' It was like, I'm not quitting the game. I was ready to go back."

Yigitoglu was 9-for-10 from the field for his best game as a Hoosier after transferring from SMU.

"He's not always scoring, but he did tonight," DeVries said. "He's still a force down there. He's drawing fouls. Our bigs have physicality. They're impacting the game, not just by scoring and rebounding, but by drawing fouls."

Yigitoglu was an inside catalyst that helped produce balanced scoring. Five Hoosiers reached double figures. Guard Bryce Lindsay came off the bench for 15 points and three 3-pointers. Guard Markus Burton had 12 points and seven assists. Sherrell and guard Jaeden Mustaf each had 11 points. Sherrell added eight rebounds. Forward Trevor Manhertz had 10 points and five rebounds.

"I can bring double teams in the post," Yigitoglu said, "so somebody will be open on the perimeter. I'm just creating space for them."

IU rallied to win the rebounding battle for the fourth straight game, 41-35. Seven Hoosiers had at least three rebounds.

"We just needed to bring more effort," Sherrell said. "Sometimes we didn't crash (the boards). Coach gave us a message – crash every time and with a lot of effort.

"It was lackluster before and we just picked it up."

*****

A pick and roll set up Yigitoglu for a game-opening layup. A Burton feed produced his second layup a minute later. Thirty seconds after that, he powered in a hook shot for a 6-0 IU lead.

Seconds later, Yigitoglu suffered a cut by his eye and was led into the locker room.

A Manhertz offensive rebound and basket put the Hoosiers ahead 10-5 after six minutes. Tennessee Tech shot its way to a 13-12 lead two minutes later with a 12-6 rebounding advantage.

Back came Sherrell from a brief rest. Manhertz drove for a dunk, then hit a 3-pointer, was fouled and made the free throw for an 18-13 IU lead.

A pair of Sherrell free throws gave the Hoosiers a 26-23 as Yigitoglu returned. Lindsay's 3-pointer came off a Yigitoglu assist. Indiana's 8-0 run built a 34-24 lead with five minutes left in the half.

A Yigitoglu layup helped IU lead 41-37 at halftime. The Hoosiers converted Tennessee Tech's 17 fouls into 16-for-23 free throw shooting. Yigitoglu led IU with 10 points.

One statistic DeVries wanted to change -- the Golden Eagles had a 21-18 rebounding advantage.

IU fed Yigitoglu for a couple of layups and a 48-40 lead in the opening minutes of the second half. Mustaf's layup and a Lindsay 3-pointer made it 57-44 five minutes into the second half. Lindsay added his third 3-pointer. Forward Trent Sisley defended Tennessee Tech into a three-second's-in-the-paint turnover. The lead swelled to 17, then 19, then 21, then 25.

The Golden Eagles were finished.

IU next heads to New York City and it plays Arkansas at Madison Square Garden.