Indiana University Athletics
11/2/2026 9:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Eastern Illinois at Indiana
November 2nd, 2026
Darian DeVries | Indiana Head Coach
On the offensive flow in game one...
DD: There were some really good moments throughout the game offensively. I thought some of our transition was pretty good. I thought Markus [Burton] and Bryce [Lindsay] did a good job of getting downhill. I thought [Jaeden] Mustaf got downhill. There were times where we got a little stagnant.
Again, I thought their aggressiveness to continue to get in the paint, press their defense a little bit, get to the free-throw line. There was a lot of good things there in the big picture that's going to be something we're going to need is though type of paint touches.
The threes, I don't worry about. We've got to continue to shoot and make sure we're taking the right ones and get good opportunities there.
Overall I was really pleased with the offensive stuff. Again the offensive rebounding, we finished at like 38 percent from an offensive rebounding rate. It's something we talk about every day. It's got to be a strength of ours and I thought it was again today.
On the defensive effort...
DD: I thought midway through the first half our defense really, really turned up. I thought we weren't aggressive enough early in the game. I thought our ball pressure and activity really picked up in the second part of the first half.
We had 14 turnovers we had created in the first half, 22 overall, so it's still good. They lived in our paint way too much in the second half. We got messed up on some switches and some things we were working on there.
Overall, it was good, but you can't allow a team just to parade right to the rim. We did it way too many times in the second half.
On the playmaking of Markus Burton...
DD: He's had a really good couple of weeks. His aggressiveness has really cranked up. It's not just scoring. He's being aggressive and making plays. Sometimes that's with him finishing it with a shot attempt. There's other times he's getting in there and getting everybody to collapse and then he's spraying it out.
That's exactly what we want from him. Five assists, one turnover, great stat line. And he was 7-of-8 from the field. Overall, just a great night.
I thought even defensively we've got to keep him from fouling, picking up a cheap one every now and then, but overall I thought his tenacity on the ball was really good tonight too. He did some good things there, especially late in the first half.
On the trust in the guards...
DD: Yeah, to have two guys like that, and they've both different in how they attack and what they bring on the offensive end, but they're both incredibly efficient with it.
I like having both out there, one out there. It's just if you need to sub one, you just know there's not going to be a dropoff. I can put the other one in, and we just keep rolling. Those guys are going to be critically important to us all year.
On this year's rotation...
DD: I'd love for it to stay that way. There might be nights where maybe you go with a guy or two a little longer because they've really got it going and you want to keep them out there, but I love being able to continually sub. Those guys, their versatility, their ability to go out there, I know what I'm getting. They've proven that all summer and fall. I trust those guys when they're out there.
Again, it's a luxury to have. Foul trouble, whatever it is, where we can stay deep in our bench. I thought the end of the first half and a good part of the end of the second half, I thought our depth really wore into the game. That was certainly a positive for us.
On the play of Trevor Manhertz...
DD: Trevor did some good things. I thought he got comfortable there late. He hit a couple of shots and things. He's very confident, and he's shown that throughout our practices. Like a lot of new guys, he's still learning some things too.
He's going to continue to get better and better, and that's what I love about him. He has upside, and he's not even close yet to scratching it. He's long, and he's got a great feel and IQ. He's going to continue to get better and better.
Fourth-Year Guard Markus Burton | Third-Year Guard Jaeden Mustaf
On the offensive flow...
MB: Like I said, it's a lot of new guys obviously. It's going to take time for us to just come out and be efficient like out of the gate. I feel like today was just a learning experience. Obviously the outcome was the outcome that we like, and I feel like we competed and played hard at a high level. So that was all that mattered.
On getting challenged defensively from the staff...
JM: I think we felt like at the beginning of the second half they kind of got a few layups at the rim. Stuff that we can control. In the first half, they went like eight, nine minutes and they didn't score a bucket. So we know what it looks like when we fully lock in, being the lead on defense.
He just challenged us to be at that standard at all times.
On getting out in transition...
MB: What we can do, obviously we've got a lot of talent and a lot of speed. A lot of the things Coach DeVries preaches is just getting out and going fast. We've got a lot of guys that can get out in transition and push the ball. That's what he preaches, but it's just things we can continue to keep getting better at. Obviously those things will get better as the time and as the season goes on.
On the playmaking of Markus Burton...
JM: A lot easier. I've known him since we decided to come here. Me knowing he was coming here is another big reason why I'm here.
You know how great of a scorer he is, but I don't think he gets enough credit for as much of a playmaker he can be as well. He makes it a lot easier for us.
On the scoring edge off turnovers...
JM: Like we were just talking about in transition, we're athletic. We're fast. We're big. We can run. So when we create those turnovers and just getting out and pushing and running on our side and try to limit our turnovers and try to limit it as much as we can, yeah, when we get steals and stuff and get out in transition, we're hard to stop. So just keep getting better at that.
