Indiana suffers 90-69 upset loss to Indiana State in Miller's debut
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana State Sycamores arrived at Assembly Hall confident and hungry on Friday night.
They took home one of the most memorable opening-night stories in school history.
Brenton Scott scored 24 points, Jordan Barnes added 18 and the Sycamores made 17 3-pointers as they routed Indiana 90-69 in Archie Miller's debut game as the Hoosiers' coach.
"It feels good. It does. I'm not gonna lie," Indiana State coach Greg Lansing said. "I have a tremendous respect for this place. I played for my dad and I always thought he was kind of like a Bobby Knight. I know Coach Knight, I'm friends with Pat (Knight). But this is a good win for the program."
Actually, it was a stunning night for a team that's not even expected to contend for the Missouri Valley Conference title.
It may be time to rethink that after the way the Sycamores (1-0) dominated their in-state rival.
Indiana State shot 59.2 percent from the field, forced 19 turnovers and even outrebounded the bigger, stronger Hoosiers. And they made 17 of 26 from beyond the arc, easily surpassing UNCG's three-year-old record (14) by an opponent on Indiana's home court.
Even Miller tipped his hat.
"I haven't seen 17 3s go in at that rate in a long time," he said. "That was an impressive performance."
The magnitude of Indiana's loss was equally amazing.
Indiana had won 19 straight season openers and 32 consecutive home openers. Miller became the first Indiana coach to lose his first game since Everett Dean in 1924. The 21-point loss marked the second-worst opening night defeat in school history, matching the margin from a 39-18 defeat at home against Wisconsin in 1914.
Only three players reached double figures, led by De'Ron Davis with 14 and Juwan Morgan with 13.
"That's not the team that we are on a day-to-day basis," Indiana guard Robert Johnson said. "And once they punched, we never came together and punched back. I think that was the deciding factor."
Nothing went right for Indiana, and the Sycamores took full advantage.
Indiana State broke to a 22-11 lead, then steadily pulled away in the first half to make it 54-31 in the final minute of the first half.
The scoring barrage didn't stop there. Indiana State opened the second half with baskets on its first four possessions and led by as many as 30.
Indiana couldn't get closer than 24 until just 52 seconds were left on the clock.
"We're all pretty good shooters but 17 of 22, that's pretty amazing," Scott said. "We can't expect to shoot like that every night."
TIP-INS
Indiana State: Senior center Brandon Murphy limped off the court at the 6:49 mark with what appeared to be a lower left leg injury. He did not return. ... The Sycamores won their first season opener on the road since 2014 at IUPUI and won for the first time in Bloomington since 1999. ... Indiana State had five players in double figures and went 15 of 18 from the free throw line.
Indiana: After making 1 of 10 3-pointers in the first half, the Hoosiers finished 4 of 18. ... Freddie McSwain Jr. finished with eight rebounds, the only Indiana player with more than three. ... Johnson had seven points, moving within 15 of becoming the 51st player in school history to score 1,000. ... Curtis Jones scored 11 points.
THEY SAID IT
Indiana State: "We've won at Notre Dame, we've fought Purdue like crazy. Indiana State's won in here before. We're not trying to take a backseat to anybody, and I appreciate Archie doing this. That's a hard home opener for them. It's a new team, a new coach so I get it. But it means a lot," Lansing said.
Indiana: "We're soft," Miller said before elaborating later. "I sort of mean not phsycially soft, not incapable. I think more of a resolve, mental toughness that we have to go harder. We have to play stronger."
SCOTT, THE REVENGE
The Hoosiers have just about enough of the Scott brothers.
Brenton Scott wound going 9 of 14 from the field, 6 of 9 on 3s and had three rebounds, two assists and a steal. Barnes made 5 of 7, all from 3-point range.
But a year ago, it was Scott's twin brother, Bryson, who had 18 points and 12 rebounds in Fort Wayne's 71-68 overtime upset of the Hoosiers.
UP NEXT
Indiana State: Heads to Charleston, South Carolina, on Thursday to face Auburn.
Indiana: Hosts Howard on Sunday.
