Indiana University Athletics
Friday, October 17
Bloomington, Ind.
7:30 PM
Indiana University
0-0,0-0Big Ten
107
vs
46
Marian (Exhibition)
0-0
1
2
F
Marian (IN)
22
24
46
Indiana
67
40
107
Indiana Handles Marian, 107-46, in Exhibition Tilt
10/17/2025 10:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Sam Alexis dunked. Boy, did he dunk. He rebounded. Boy, did he rebound. Indiana's 6-9, 240-pound senior transfer forward also defended the perimeter, ran the floor, protected the rim, and offered exhibition evidence that the Hoosiers are poised for significant basketball impact.
Friday night's 107-46 victory over Marian University at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall was a mid-October indication of what IU will do under new coach Darian DeVries once the season begins. Alexis did his off-the-bench part with 13 points and 10 rebounds in 18 minutes.
"He gives us that physicality," DeVries said. "We don't have lot of big, girthy guys. He brings that physical presence and shot blocking. We like we can throw it in there to Sam and can get a basket."
But dwelling on Alexis's stats misses the point, which is he didn't leave Florida's national championship team to endure team struggles. He sees the Hoosiers under DeVries as capable of big things.
"I'm optimistic," Alexis said. "This is my last year. I want to do something special. Hopefully, we win the Big Ten and make a run in the (NCAA) Tournament."
Optimism comes in part from August's pair of comeback victories in Puerto Rico when Indiana twice overcame 20-point deficits against a Serbian pro team.
"I learned this team won't back down," Alexis said. "Certain teams would give up being down 20 points in the first half. We kept fighting.
"We have a lot of older guys. We know what it takes."
IU returns zero points and zero players from last year's team, but has a ton of experience from 10 college transfers, including Alexis, forward Tucker DeVries, a West Virginia transfer who had 23 points, five rebounds, and six assists against Marian; guard Tayton Conerway, a transfer from Troy who had 10 points, six rebounds, and four assists; and forward Reed Bailey, a transfer from Davidson who had 10 points.
Alexis earned All-Southern Conference honors at Chattanooga (averaging 10.8 points and 9.1 rebounds as a sophomore) before transferring to Florida, where he was a solid reserve, averaging 4.7 points and 3.5 rebounds in 11.9 minutes.
Given Coach DeVries' 3-point-shooting emphasis -- IU was 15-for-30 beyond the arc Friday night -- Alexis is working on his perimeter game. He made 4-of-20 3-point attempts last season at Florida.
"I'm working on being able to stretch the floor and hit 3-pointers consistently," he said. "Being able to guard every position and being a better shot blocker. We have a lot of rim protection here."
Alexis, who shot 46.5% from the field last season, does have an inside turnaround shot that, when it's on, he says with a smile, goes in nine out of 10 times.
"It's a tougher shot," he said. "Coachers might not like it as much, but I go to it when I need to go to it."
There was no need to go to it against Marian, an NAIA team out of Indianapolis coached by Pat Knight, the former Hoosier player and assistant coach and the son of Hall of Famer Bob Knight.
Tucker DeVries scored IU's first seven points in just over two minutes. Then heralded freshman Trent Sisley scored on a tip-in to jump start his 23-point, seven-rebound night. Guard Lamar Wilkerson hit a 3-pointer. After six minutes, IU led 14-4. That was part of a 26-0 run that gave the Hoosiers total control. By halftime, they led 67-22, and cruised from there.
Twelve Hoosiers played -- Sisley's 26 minutes were the most by any player -- and 11 scored. IU shot 58.2% from the field and totaled 27 assists against 10 turnovers.
"We wanted to play hard," Alexis said. "We were excited to play someone besides us. We attacked the game."
The 30 3-point attempts, Sisley said, weren't out of character for the team.
"We work a lot on them in practice. We get good 3s off a lot of motion. We shoot them well in practice. That can translate well in games."
Added Coach DeVries: "We played the way we've been practicing. You never know if that will continue in games, the unselfishness and ball movement.
"We took what the defense gave us. We have a lot of guys who can shoot it. The assists show a team that's really sharing the ball."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Sam Alexis dunked. Boy, did he dunk. He rebounded. Boy, did he rebound. Indiana's 6-9, 240-pound senior transfer forward also defended the perimeter, ran the floor, protected the rim, and offered exhibition evidence that the Hoosiers are poised for significant basketball impact.
Friday night's 107-46 victory over Marian University at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall was a mid-October indication of what IU will do under new coach Darian DeVries once the season begins. Alexis did his off-the-bench part with 13 points and 10 rebounds in 18 minutes.
"He gives us that physicality," DeVries said. "We don't have lot of big, girthy guys. He brings that physical presence and shot blocking. We like we can throw it in there to Sam and can get a basket."
But dwelling on Alexis's stats misses the point, which is he didn't leave Florida's national championship team to endure team struggles. He sees the Hoosiers under DeVries as capable of big things.
"I'm optimistic," Alexis said. "This is my last year. I want to do something special. Hopefully, we win the Big Ten and make a run in the (NCAA) Tournament."
Optimism comes in part from August's pair of comeback victories in Puerto Rico when Indiana twice overcame 20-point deficits against a Serbian pro team.
"I learned this team won't back down," Alexis said. "Certain teams would give up being down 20 points in the first half. We kept fighting.
"We have a lot of older guys. We know what it takes."
IU returns zero points and zero players from last year's team, but has a ton of experience from 10 college transfers, including Alexis, forward Tucker DeVries, a West Virginia transfer who had 23 points, five rebounds, and six assists against Marian; guard Tayton Conerway, a transfer from Troy who had 10 points, six rebounds, and four assists; and forward Reed Bailey, a transfer from Davidson who had 10 points.
Alexis earned All-Southern Conference honors at Chattanooga (averaging 10.8 points and 9.1 rebounds as a sophomore) before transferring to Florida, where he was a solid reserve, averaging 4.7 points and 3.5 rebounds in 11.9 minutes.
Given Coach DeVries' 3-point-shooting emphasis -- IU was 15-for-30 beyond the arc Friday night -- Alexis is working on his perimeter game. He made 4-of-20 3-point attempts last season at Florida.
"I'm working on being able to stretch the floor and hit 3-pointers consistently," he said. "Being able to guard every position and being a better shot blocker. We have a lot of rim protection here."
Alexis, who shot 46.5% from the field last season, does have an inside turnaround shot that, when it's on, he says with a smile, goes in nine out of 10 times.
"It's a tougher shot," he said. "Coachers might not like it as much, but I go to it when I need to go to it."
There was no need to go to it against Marian, an NAIA team out of Indianapolis coached by Pat Knight, the former Hoosier player and assistant coach and the son of Hall of Famer Bob Knight.
Tucker DeVries scored IU's first seven points in just over two minutes. Then heralded freshman Trent Sisley scored on a tip-in to jump start his 23-point, seven-rebound night. Guard Lamar Wilkerson hit a 3-pointer. After six minutes, IU led 14-4. That was part of a 26-0 run that gave the Hoosiers total control. By halftime, they led 67-22, and cruised from there.
Twelve Hoosiers played -- Sisley's 26 minutes were the most by any player -- and 11 scored. IU shot 58.2% from the field and totaled 27 assists against 10 turnovers.
"We wanted to play hard," Alexis said. "We were excited to play someone besides us. We attacked the game."
The 30 3-point attempts, Sisley said, weren't out of character for the team.
"We work a lot on them in practice. We get good 3s off a lot of motion. We shoot them well in practice. That can translate well in games."
Added Coach DeVries: "We played the way we've been practicing. You never know if that will continue in games, the unselfishness and ball movement.
"We took what the defense gave us. We have a lot of guys who can shoot it. The assists show a team that's really sharing the ball."
Team Stats
Marian
IND
FG%
.293
.582
3FG%
.227
.500
FT%
.583
.609
RB
21
54
TO
13
10
STL
8
6
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
3
Pts
23
FGM
7
3FGM
5
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's BasketballForward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballForward
/ Men's BasketballForward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
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MBB: Marian (Exhib.) - Postgame Press Conference
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