Indiana-Syracuse Basketball Draws Sparse Crowd of 5,047

Indiana outlasted Syracuse 83-80 in a tense Gainbridge Fieldhouse matchup on Monday passing its first major test of the college basketball season in front of a sparse crowd of 5,047.

Backcourt Resilience Powers Indiana Past the Orange

The Hoosiers leaned heavily on their starting backcourt to dominate scoring, with Darren Harris and Markus Burton each pouring in 20 points. Jaeden Mustaf added 18 points and seven rebounds as Indiana improved to 3-0 on the young season. The contest represented Indiana’s first high-major clash of the campaign, played at a neutral site in Indianapolis in front of 5,047 spectators.

Head coach Darian DeVries utilized a starting lineup that featured four former Atlantic Coast Conference players: SMU transfer Samet Yiğitoğlu, Notre Dame transfer Markus Burton, Georgia Tech transfer Jaeden Mustaf, and Duke transfer Darren Harris. Burton delivered an efficient performance with 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting alongside four assists, highlighted by a 360-degree, step-back mid-range jumper early in the first half and several momentum-shifting baskets.

Syracuse kept the pressure on throughout a contest that featured numerous lead changes and ties. The Orange bench outscored Indiana’s reserves 40-11, keeping the visitors in contention despite their starting five facing various challenges. First-year head coach Gerry McNamara, a 2003 National Champion player at Syracuse, watched his squad fall to 2-1 on the season.

We talked about it in the huddle. We’re going to have probably 20 more of these. They determine seasons. We could be 3-0 with a Quad 1 win against Indiana. That’s how I look at it. We’re going to have a lot more of these.

Gerry McNamara, Syracuse head coach

Free Throw Execution and Rebounding Edge Secure the Win

Indiana overcame a below-average shooting night on two-point attempts by crashing the glass and capitalizing at the charity stripe. The Hoosiers grabbed 14 offensive rebounds, converting them into 12 second-chance points and winning the overall rebounding battle 37-28. Samet Yiğitoğlu led Indiana on the glass with 10 boards, while Mustaf collected seven and Sam Alexis added five.

Harris anchored the offense down the stretch, sinking all 10 of his free-throw attempts and finishing 4-for-12 from beyond the arc. With the game tied at 74 with under 90 seconds remaining, Harris raced around a screen at the top of the key and launched a three-pointer while drawing contact from Syracuse wing Kiyan Anthony.

The sharpshooter buried all three resulting free throws to give his team a 77-74 edge with 1:14 left on the clock. Mustaf contributed a dunk with 25 seconds remaining, and the Hoosiers converted all six of their foul shots in the final 1:14 to seal the decision.

“We really felt like just our overall physicality needed another step up, another notch,” head coach Darian DeVries said.

Offensively, especially late game execution coming down the stretch last four minutes, I thought the guys did a really good job of executing some things that in a high pressure moments that they did a really good job of sharing the ball, they moved the ball, hit some big shots.

Darian DeVries, Indiana head coach

Indiana Snaps Syracuse Win Streak Through Defensive Improvements

“Defensively right now, we got to get better,” Indiana head coach Darian DeVries said. Syracuse shot 51 percent from the field, marking the third straight opponent to shoot a high percentage from two (55.5%).

“That's probably the biggest takeaway for us,” head coach Darian DeVries said.

The victory marked Indiana’s first head-to-head win over Syracuse since taking the 1987 National Championship Game 74-73, snapping a streak in the all-time series against the Orange.

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