- The Field of 68 Daily
- Posts
- Indiana first impressions
Indiana first impressions
Hoosiers played their first exhibition on Wednesday under new coach Darian DeVries, who's largely relying on mid-major transfers and floor spacing. Plus: Five SEC matchups we love from their conference schedule announcement, Illinois lands a '26 recruit, and much more.
Samuel Lance
August 07, 2025
In partnership with
Good morning! It’s hard to know if college basketball exhibitions in August are a good thing or just a tease.
Receive Honest News Today
Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.
1. Does Indiana have enough for Big Ten run?
It’s early August, but the Hoosiers are hooping. The program is on a summer tour in Puerto Rico and played the first of three games on Wednesday.
It was a successful first showing, with Darian DeVries’ squad dominating Universidad de Bayamon, 98-47, and the hometown freshman Trent Sisley stealing the spotlight with a team-high 21 points in his debut.
Most importantly for us, we were given a look at how Indiana may function in 2025-26.
The Hoosiers, with a new head coach having to build an entirely new roster, are comprised of mostly mid-major transfers. The question is, how will they all mesh, and how will they all adapt to playing up a level? Rob Dauster and Jeff Goodman outlined the roster construction and season outlook below.
What we learned on Wednesday: DeVries might be settled on a two point guard lineup, tabbing Conor Enright (DePaul) and Tayton Conerway (Troy) for starting roles along with highly-touted wing Lamar Wilkerson (Sam Houston), Tucker DeVries (West Virginia) and stretch big Reed Bailey (Davidson).
A big question mark brought up in the offseason grades was the five spot. The Hoosiers just picked up international 6-foot-11 prospect Andrej Acimovic, but he’s still figuring out his visa and is unable to play in Puerto Rico. However, Florida transfer Sam Alexis showed out with a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double to supplement Bailey’s 10 points and eight boards. The five spot may be a strength.
It was also encouraging to see international addition Aleksa Ristic put up numbers with six points, three rebounds and two assists. He and Jasai Miles will be the first two guards off the bench as it stands. North Florida forward Josh Harris impressed as a reserve too, posting 13 points and 10 rebounds.
We’ll get a better idea of how Indiana’s pieces fit on Saturday when the Hoosiers play Serbian program Mega Superbet.
2. Five best matchups on SEC conference slate
The SEC was the top college hoops conference last season, bringing a record 14 teams into the NCAA Tournament, getting four programs in the Elite Eight and crowning the eventual champion, Florida.
This season, the conference is loaded once again, and the race to the regular season crown should be a treat. We now have an idea of the road to Nashville. The SEC released its full conference schedule on Wednesday.
But what are the best matchups? What games have caught my eye? We’ll be going over five to know below:
