Indiana Basketball: Hoosiers defeat Rutgers in Big Ten Opener

Mackenzie Holmes and Sydney Parrish lead Indiana Basketball to a ten-point win against Rutgers. 

Mackenzie Holmes scored 25 points, and Sydney Parrish had a double-double (14 points and ten rebounds) to lead Indiana basketball to a 66-56 win against the Rutgers Scarlett Knights. Rutgers led 10-9 at the end of the first quarter, but the Hoosiers did not trail again. The Scarlet Knights did their best to keep the game close in the second half but never got closer than five points.

Teri Moren showed her ability to make halftime adjustments once again. The Scarlet Knights did an outstanding job of containing Mackenzie Holmes in the first half, limiting her to four shots. Moren and the Hoosiers used that middle screen, similar to what they used against Maine, to free up Holmes on the low blocks and get her more shots.

Indiana’s ability to score in the paint made up for a poor shooting performance from three-point range. The Hoosiers shot 48 percent from the field but only 18.8 percent from deep. Indiana outscored Rutgers in the paint 44-32. They also had more assists (19-11).

Indiana Basketball Takeaways

This afternoon’s win is Teri Moren’s 100th Big Ten win. Mackenzie Holmes continues to close in on Tyra Buss’s scoring record. She has the record for most field goals made and needs about 300 points to eclipse Buss for the career scoring mark.

If there is one area of concern for the Hoosiers, it is the bench. Indiana had zero points, two rebounds, and two assists off the bench. If they are going to repeat as Big Ten Champions, they need more production off the bench. Indiana did not get much production off the bench against Maine (2 points) or Princeton (0 points).

Rutgers proved that home court matters in the Big Ten. Head coach Coquese Washington and her staff had an excellent defensive game plan for the Hoosiers. The outcome could have been different if Rutgers could have hit more free throws — the Knights went 7-13 from the charity stripe.

Indiana plays Evansville at home on the 18th, while Rutgers travels to Princeton on the 13th.