BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — At its most fundamental level, Bob Knight’s famed motion offense was based on player movement, floor spacing, passing, cutting, and screening. On Friday night, Mike Woodson’s Hoosiers exhibited many of those qualities, if not all of them, at a high level to clinch a second easy exhibition win.
The Indiana Hoosiers defeated the Marian Knights, 94-61, during a friendly exhibition at Assembly Hall on Friday night. Two days after Coach Knight’s passing, the Hoosiers played a series of tribute videos throughout the game, sharing a moment of silence, and debuting an “RMK” patch on the jersey.
Indiana comfortably outscored the Knights, but it was not without a few preseason jitters. The Hoosiers started with the same lineup as the preseason opener, with Xavier Johnson, Trey Galloway, Mackenzie Mgbako, Malik Reneau, and Kel’el Ware.
Indiana struggled to get hot early, leading the Knights 5-3 at the first media timeout. They forced the ball into the paint, but the Knights seemed to read what IU wanted to do early.
Eventually, IU found its rhythm and broke away from the Knights, leading by double digits midway through the half. Reneau served as a deep threat, shooting 2/2 from three, while newcomer Ware showed how dominant he can be by throwing down an electric dunk.
There was a healthy rotation of players throughout the contest. Jakai Newton and Payton Sparks were unavailable, but Gabe Cupps and CJ Gunn made an immediate impact that started with a Cupps steal and ended in an acrobatic Gunn finish.
