Morehead State's Mark Freeman Starts Strong, But Indiana Too Much To Handle Inside

Morehead State guard Mark Freeman tied the game midway through the first half, but Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis and Malik Reneau handled the Eagles in the paint to lead the Hoosiers to an 88-53 win on Monday.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Morehead State's upset-minded Mark Freeman torched the Assembly Hall nets from the opening tipoff. He scored 10 points in the first eight minutes, and tied the game on a four-point play with 9:17 left in the first half. 

But from that point, Indiana locked in defensively and went on 13-0 run. Freeman only played 14 total minutes due to an injury, and Morehead State couldn't handle the Hoosiers inside as No. 13 Indiana won its regular season opener, 88-53. 

"Our point guard goes down and that hurts our confidence, our ability to get some easy baskets," Morehead State coach Preston Spradlin said after Monday night's loss. "But it was a good learning opportunity for our guys. 

"We're going to be good enough to beat an Indiana-type team, but we're not at the opening of the season. That was my message to our guys. Credit to them. They're a very good team and very deserving of being a top-15 team right now."

Morehead State guard Mark Freeman (0) celebrates after making a three-pointer and being fouled during the first half at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Monday / Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports

Freeman scored all of his 14 points in the first 11 minutes, and finished 5-for-7 from the field, 3-for-4 from 3-point range and 1-for-1 from the free throw line. A 5-foot-11 transfer from Illinois State, Freeman was named to the preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference team. But after Freeman went down, Spradlin said his team struggled to generate quality possessions, which led to 29 Indiana points off 20 Morehead State turnovers. 

"[Freeman] was on his way to having a big-time game, and he's such a matchup problem for a team like Indiana because of his size and his quickness to combat their size," Spradlin said. "[Indiana is] so good in transition that you have to make sure that your possession ends with a shot on the rim and good floor balance. It's hard to do that when your point guard's on the bench."

Morehead State struggled to handle Indiana's size and athleticism down low, allowing 52 points in the paint. Indiana shot 4-for-11 from 3, and simply didn't need to do much besides dumping the ball inside to Trayce Jackson-Davis, Race Thompson, Malik Reneau and Jordan Geronimo. Jackson-Davis and Reneau led Indiana with 15 points apiece, and these four Hoosiers combined to shoot over 60 percent from the field. 

"They're very good at protecting the paint, keeping their opponent out of it and also very good at getting in there," Spradlin said. "More often than not, they're going to win that battle in the paint with most of the matchups."

Indiana forwards Malik Reneau (5) and Jordan Geronimo (22) combine to block the shot attempt from Morehead State guard Jake Wolfe (24) during the second half / Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports

Despite the loss, Spradlin was proud of the way his team stuck together in a challenging road environment at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Morehead State is no stranger to tough opening tests after playing at Kentucky in Game 1 of the 2020-21 season and beginning last year with a trip to Auburn. 

Spradlin said teams can tend to break apart when the score gets out of hand in a loud arena, but he was encouraged by his team's ability to stick to the game plan on Monday. 

"It's what college basketball is all about," Spradlin said. "It's not a 'deal with it' type situation. You want to play in these types of environments. It's what all of these players, for Indiana and Morehead, both dream about. It's a lot of fun."

Lol, well played #Indiana student section #iubb pic.twitter.com/ILAmmKP5JM

— NoWay (@MikesSide) November 8, 2022

Coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in program history, Spradlin and the Eagles were picked to finish first in the Ohio Valley Conference in 2022-23 in a preseason vote by coaches and media relations personnel. 

While he hoped for closer final score, Spradlin believes his team can still fulfill that goal.

"We've opened the season with a game like this each of the past two years," Spradlin said. "And by the time we get to March, we're competing for a championship, and that's the expectation as I stand here right now, as well."

Related stories on Indiana basketball: 

• INDIANA-MOREHEAD STATE GAME STORY: Trayce Jackson-Davis and Malik Reneau each had 15 points and Jordan Geromino led Indiana's bench on several long runs in the Hoosiers' 88-53 victory over Morehead State on Monday in their season opener. CLICK HERE
• WATCH TAMAR BATES' SLAM DUNK: Indiana Malik Reneau found Tamar Bates for an easy dunk against Morehead State. CLICK HERE
• WATCH MONTVERDE TEAMMATES CONNECT: Former high school teammates Jalen Hood-Schifino and Malik Reneau connected for an easy bucket on Monday against Morehead State. CLICK HERE
• WATCH XAVIER JOHNSON'S FIRST BASKET: Indiana point guard Xavier Johnson drove hard to the basket to score the Hoosiers' first points of the 2022-23 season. CLICK HERE
• 2022-23 INDIANA BASKETBALL SCHEDULE: The 2022-2023 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball scheduled is now finalized with game time and TV information for every matchup. Here is the full schedule, plus links to our stories for the game already played. CLICK HERE