Tamar Bates breaks out & more Indiana basketball takeaways vs. Jackson State

No. 11 Indiana basketball took on Jackson State on early Friday afternoon and dominated from the start, winning 90-51 thanks to a breakout game from Tamar Bates. 

Just two days after Jackson State challenged Michigan in Ann Arbor and only lost by 10 points, the Tigers traveled to Bloomington to take on a depleted Indiana basketball roster. And, unfortunately for Jackson State, the Hoosiers dominated them from the jump.

Tamar Bates and Xavier Johnson were the clear standouts from the game, as Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jalen Hood-Schifino were both really struggling from the floor, and Bates and Johnson both knocked down four three-pointers each.

As a team, the Hoosiers made 10 three-pointers in the game, already the second game this season with 10 or more made threes. All of last season, Indiana basketball made 10+ three-pointers in just four total games. Through six games, Indiana is shooting 38.3 percent from beyond the arc, which ranks second in the Big Ten.

Here are my takeaways from the Hoosiers’ 39-point over Jackson State on Friday:

Six takeaways from Indiana basketball win vs. Jackson State

#6. Jordan Geronimo and the bench continue their strong play

Jordan Geronimo has been dominating the defensive end of the floor and has totaled 11 blocks in his last three games. Over the past five seasons, only two Indiana basketball players have reached 11 blocks in a three-game span — Trayce Jackson-Davis (twice) and Juwan Morgan. Pretty good company for Geronimo.

The bench unit as a whole has been very strong all season long. In Friday’s win against Jackson State, the Hoosiers’ bench outscored Jackson State’s bench 49-10 and Indiana’s bench outscored their starters 49-41. That’s something that we haven’t seen in recent seasons.

Through six games this season, Indiana basketball leads all major conference teams in bench scoring per game at 36.3, with the next closest major conference team being Kentucky at 34.2 points per game from the bench. Those statistics alone give a great reason why the Hoosiers are still the favorites to win the Big Ten.