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‘Lid Off’ – Tucker DeVries Regaining Shooting Prowess a Key
1/23/2026 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The signs are there that forward Tucker DeVries' nearly month-long shooting slump might be over. If it is, when it is, Indiana could regain its winning ways, perhaps as soon as Friday night when the Hoosiers (12-7 overall, 3-5 in the Big Ten) play at Rutgers (9-10, 2-6) at Jersey Mike's Arena.
Tucker DeVries made four of his last five shots, all in the last seven minutes, during Tuesday night's loss at No. 3/2 Michigan, to finish with a team-high 15 points.
"He's been through a pretty good shooting slump here, and the guys have been great coaches," coach Darian DeVries said. "He's been working hard at it. He's been shooting it great in practice, so it was good to see some of those go down in a game and hopefully take the lid off of it."
Tucker DeVries averaged 17.3 points in nonconference play, then hit a Big Ten wall. In conference play, he averages 9.6 points to drop his overall average to 14.2.
Still, the former two-time Missouri Conference player of the year, remains a big-game threat. He had 17 points against-then No. 10 Nebraska, 26 against Louisville, and 15 against Kentucky.
"He's putting in the work," Darian DeVries said. "He's got to get it going, and we've got to continue to find those better looks and opportunities that we can get him free a little bit more."
As a team, the Hoosiers seek to snap a four-game losing streak that reflected grueling competition against No. 7/7 Nebraska, No. 10/10 Michigan State, Iowa and Michigan.
"I thought there was a lot of really good stuff," Darian DeVries said about the Michigan performance. "We got off to slow starts at the beginning of both halves, and those were killers for us.
"I thought in both halves, our guys really fought to try to get back into the game. Even in that second half, there were opportunities."
The key, guard Nick Dorn said, is to keep playing hard.
"We see what a very good team like Michigan looks like," he said. "We see that we have some improvements we need to make. We're going to make those improvements and try our best to get it back on track."
The potential is there, Darian DeVries added.
"We've got great guys. They're continuing to work. They're continuing to prepare at a high level. We haven't had the wins that we've wanted to, we've had a couple there that we felt we could have gotten.
"But this is a long season. You're going to have a stretch or two sometimes like this. Our thing is, and why I feel so good about us, is that our locker room is great. We've got guys that want to continue to compete, they want to continue to get better. We're just going to keep working. That's the only way you get yourself back out of it."
It will help if guard Tayton Conerway is available. He sprained an ankle in last Saturday's loss to Iowa, then played only two minutes against Michigan. His status for Friday is uncertain. He averages 11.5 points and leads the team in assists (81) and steals (27).
Guard Lamar Wilkerson continues to lead IU in scoring (19.0 points) and 3-point baskets made (62).
Rutgers has lost two straight since a home win against Northwestern, losing to Wisconsin and Iowa. It is led by junior guard Tariq Francis, who averages 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.0 steal per game. Forward Dylan Grant averages 11.5 points and 4.8 rebounds.
IU has won two of the last three games in the series.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The signs are there that forward Tucker DeVries' nearly month-long shooting slump might be over. If it is, when it is, Indiana could regain its winning ways, perhaps as soon as Friday night when the Hoosiers (12-7 overall, 3-5 in the Big Ten) play at Rutgers (9-10, 2-6) at Jersey Mike's Arena.
Tucker DeVries made four of his last five shots, all in the last seven minutes, during Tuesday night's loss at No. 3/2 Michigan, to finish with a team-high 15 points.
"He's been through a pretty good shooting slump here, and the guys have been great coaches," coach Darian DeVries said. "He's been working hard at it. He's been shooting it great in practice, so it was good to see some of those go down in a game and hopefully take the lid off of it."
Tucker DeVries averaged 17.3 points in nonconference play, then hit a Big Ten wall. In conference play, he averages 9.6 points to drop his overall average to 14.2.
Still, the former two-time Missouri Conference player of the year, remains a big-game threat. He had 17 points against-then No. 10 Nebraska, 26 against Louisville, and 15 against Kentucky.
"He's putting in the work," Darian DeVries said. "He's got to get it going, and we've got to continue to find those better looks and opportunities that we can get him free a little bit more."
As a team, the Hoosiers seek to snap a four-game losing streak that reflected grueling competition against No. 7/7 Nebraska, No. 10/10 Michigan State, Iowa and Michigan.
"I thought there was a lot of really good stuff," Darian DeVries said about the Michigan performance. "We got off to slow starts at the beginning of both halves, and those were killers for us.
"I thought in both halves, our guys really fought to try to get back into the game. Even in that second half, there were opportunities."
The key, guard Nick Dorn said, is to keep playing hard.
"We see what a very good team like Michigan looks like," he said. "We see that we have some improvements we need to make. We're going to make those improvements and try our best to get it back on track."
The potential is there, Darian DeVries added.
"We've got great guys. They're continuing to work. They're continuing to prepare at a high level. We haven't had the wins that we've wanted to, we've had a couple there that we felt we could have gotten.
"But this is a long season. You're going to have a stretch or two sometimes like this. Our thing is, and why I feel so good about us, is that our locker room is great. We've got guys that want to continue to compete, they want to continue to get better. We're just going to keep working. That's the only way you get yourself back out of it."
It will help if guard Tayton Conerway is available. He sprained an ankle in last Saturday's loss to Iowa, then played only two minutes against Michigan. His status for Friday is uncertain. He averages 11.5 points and leads the team in assists (81) and steals (27).
Guard Lamar Wilkerson continues to lead IU in scoring (19.0 points) and 3-point baskets made (62).
Rutgers has lost two straight since a home win against Northwestern, losing to Wisconsin and Iowa. It is led by junior guard Tariq Francis, who averages 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.0 steal per game. Forward Dylan Grant averages 11.5 points and 4.8 rebounds.
IU has won two of the last three games in the series.
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