Rapid Reaction: Indiana cruises past Western Illinois in season opener

A healthy Al Durham pushed the pace for the Hoosiers, scoring 21 points to lead IU to an easy victory on opening night.
Rapid Reaction: Indiana cruises past Western Illinois in season opener
Rapid Reaction: Indiana cruises past Western Illinois in season opener /

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — When Al Durham said Monday that he was 100 percent and ready to go, he wasn't kidding. Indiana's junior captain had a big night in the Hoosiers' season opener, scoring 21 points to lead the way to a 98-65 win over Western Illinois.

Durham was literally 100-percent perfect Tuesday night. He was 7-for-7 from the field, and that included a perfect 4-for-4 mark from 3-point range. He also made all four free throws.

That's perfect.

Junior forward Justin Smith also had a huge night. He scored 24 points and got free several times for breakaways, and even had one highlight reel reverse dunk. Smith is a barometer guy on this team, and the nights he plays well, Indiana will usually play well right along with him.

Western Illinois, which ranks No. 295 out of 353 teams in the kenpom.com national rankings — Indiana is 34th — hung around for the first nine-plus minutes, actually leading 15-12 with 10:35 to go in the first half.

But then Indiana coach Archie Miller juggled his lineup to go small, with freshman Trayce Jackson-Davis at the 5-spot, with Jerome Hunter and Smith on the wings, and Durham and sophomore Rob Phinisee at the guard spots. The smaller lineup started forcing turnovers and getting easy runouts, going on an 18-0 run in just over four minutes to take a 30-15 lead.

It was a fast explosion.

The Hoosiers never looked back from there, continuing to pile it on through the first half. They led 46-25 at the break, scoring 34 points in those final 10-plus minutes.

Phinisee, the sophomore from Lafayette, Ind., finished in double figures as well, which was a good sign. He scored 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting and moved around well even though he's been battling a lower abdominal injury throughout training camp. 

Joey Brunk, the transfer from Butler, had 11 and was the only other Hoosier in double figures.


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Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as a reporter and editor, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the Indianapolis Star and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered college sports in the digital platform for the past six years, including the last five years as publisher of HoosiersNow on the FanNation/Sports Illustrated network.