MINNEAPOLIS — Indiana basketball's seven-game win streak to open the Darian DeVries era came to an end at Williams Arena on Wednesday night.
Things fell apart for the No. 19 Hoosiers (7-1, 1-1 Big Ten) in the second half of a 73-64 loss against a Gophers team (5-4, 1-0) that it hadn't lost to since 2018-19.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIndiana was looking to match its best start in six seasons, but shot 33% from the field and was 4 of 15 from 3-point range. Coming out of halftime, they only scored 31 points.
Tayton Conerway led the Hoosiers with 18 points as one of three players in double-digits.
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Indiana basketball can't find an alpha in Big Ten opener against Minnesota
Minnesota tried to gift Indiana the game early in the second half.
The Gophers picked up six fouls on IU's first five possessions coming out of the break and sent them into the bonus with more than 12 minutes to go in the game. They sent the Hoosiers to the free-throw line and also turned it over four times during that stretch.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIndiana went cold from the charity stripe (3 of 10) and didn't play with the same type of swagger on the offensive end that helped the team put up more than 100 points three times in seven games.
The Hoosiers leading scorers, Tucker DeVries and Lamar Wilkerson, couldn't get going as Minnesota went on 13-2 run to take a 53-45 lead with 9:23 to go in the game — DeVries only had one shot attempt in the half at that point and Wilkerson was 1 of 4 — and everyone else seemed to be waiting around for them to get hot.
There was a brief moment where it looked like that might happen.
After Darian DeVries called a timeout to slow Minnesota's momentum. Wilkerson hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key right as the shot clock expired, and Tucker DeVries followed that up with one of his own on a fast break off a Gophers turnover.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut Indiana wasn't able to build on that moment and fell behind by double digits against a Gophers team that came into the game shooting 31% from 3-point range, going 5 of 9 in the second half.
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Dec 3, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Indiana Hoosiers guard Lamar Wilkerson (3) works around Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Bobby Durkin (3) during the first half at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn ImagesIndiana basketball's deeper bench still a work in progress
Indiana found itself trailing for the first midway through the first half after turning it over three times. It came at a time when DeVries tried to go deeper into his bench — Aleksa Ristic was on the floor in his season debut alongside Nick Dorn — than he had all season.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt was a short-lived experiment with DeVries going right back to his starting five once they fell behind.
Outside of Sam Alexis, who basically splits time at the five 50-50 with Reed Bailey, the bench struggled for much of the night. He helped Indiana match up with Minnesota's big-bodied frontcourt and was once again a constant source of energy, leading to multiple putbacks.
Alexis accounted for 10 of IU's 13 points off the bench.
Indiana freshman Trent Sisley, who is playing more than 20 minutes a game as a true freshman, showed his age. He had three fouls in less than two minutes of playing time in the first half and picked up two of those in the span of two seconds.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDorn was a non-factor — the only shot he attempted was an off-balance 3-pointer from the corner — and Ristic didn't get into the game in the second half.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana basketball suffers first loss of season at Minnesota
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