Thoughts on an 80-61 win against the Cougars:
A season ago, Indiana had issues putting away lesser non-conference opponents.
The closer-than-projected final score margins ultimately hurt the Hoosiers in the computer rankings, one of several reasons they failed to reach the NCAA tournament in the 2023-24 campaign.
Indiana did win by 19 tonight. But for long stretches of the contest, it felt like last season. The Hoosiers didn’t break things open for good until later in the second half, meaning it still had some starters on the floor as the final buzzer sounded, not its deep bench.