After trailing behind the Baylor Bears midway through the first half, Indiana men’s basketball came back to rally to a two point, 76-74 victory over Baylor on Sunday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Here were the biggest takeaways from their impressive win this weekend over Baylor
Adjusting to playing together as a new unit:
Baylor like Indiana had a ton of new transfers this off-season which included fifth-year senior guard Obi Agbim (Wyoming), junior center Juslin Bodo Bodo (High Point), sophomore guard Cameron Carr (Tennessee), senior center Caden Powell (Rice), senior guard Michael Rataj (Oregon State), senior guard Daniel Skillings (Cincinnati), fifth-year senior guard JJ White (Omaha), and sophomore guard Isaac Williams IV (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi). Baylor's 2025-26 portal class ranked 22nd according to 247Sports.
Indiana also had 13 new transfers that have never played together so for them to adjust on the fly like with with transfers from all over the country is damn impressive.
A full new 2025-26 team, with key additions including Lamar Wilkerson from Sam Houston, Reed Bailey from Davidson, and Conor Enright from DePaul where huge this off-season. Other big name trasnfers were Sam Alexis from Florida, Nick Dorn of Elon, Jasai Miles of North Florida and Tay Conerway of Troy.
Not to mention the overhaul of the coaching staff which includes new hire Darian DeVries from West Virginia.
Tucker DeVries is the most versatile on the team:
A two-time Missouri Valley Conference player of the year at Drake, Tucker DeVries has it all. The talent, the experience, he can shoot from anwhere on the floor, play defense, pass and rebound. He is the true defintion of a "coaches son" with his high basketball IQ and leadership as well.
The 6-foot-7, 220-pound guard/small forward got a NCAA waiver to get an extra year of eligibility due to his injury last year at West Virginia. DeVries has already played four seasons at the collegiate level under his father Darian, making this his fifth.
Tucker DeVries has 1,986 career points and has averaged 17.7 points in his career. He also averaged 5.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals in 32.9 minutes per game. DeVries is a career 43.5 percent shooter from the field, a 36.7 percent 3-point shooter and an 81.3 percent free-throw shooter.
DeVries was second on Indiana in scoring against Baylor with 18 points and added six rebounds, five assists, two blocked shots and two steals in a team-high 38 minutes.
Hoosiers overcome another double-digit deficit:
This was the third time in five exhibitions including their trip to Puerto Rico in early August that IU found a way to erase a double-digit deficit and win.
Indiana trailed by 13 points on twice in the first half of Sunday’s exhibition win, but stayed in it and came back within four at halftime.
“I think it’s a great quality. I hope it continues,” DeVries said to Inside the Hall. “It is something that matters.”
The Hoosiers showed veteran savvy, protecting the ball with only nine turnovers and shooting 20 of 21 from the free-throw line. IU did struggle with Baylor's defense, length and athleticism which is a cause for concern but a win is a win. On to the next....
Indiana will tip-off the regular season against (Alabama A&M) Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University at 8 p.m. November 5th at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.