Indiana Hoosiers upset #22 SMU Mustangs

For the Indiana Hoosiers, and specifically Tom Crean, the off-season went about as badly as it could have. On Thursday night, everything was right again.

The Hoosiers welcomed the #22 ranked SMU Mustangs and Larry Brown in Assembly Hall and sent them home with a 74-68 loss, their second in a row.

Indiana’s diaper dandy James Blackmon led all scorers with 26 points on the night, finishing a perfect 7 for 7 from the line including four big free throws down the stretch to secure the Hoosiers a win. Fellow guard Yogi Ferrell chipped in 13 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds en route to the victory.

The big story of the night, aside from Blackmon’s dazzling shooting display, was the Hoosiers three-point shooting (12-33� from deep) and turnovers. IU committed just seven turnovers, but the Mustangs committed 19 turnovers, which IU capitalized on all night.

Nick Zeisloft was the only other Hoosier in double figures, finishing with 10 points on three 3-pointers, two of them late in the second half igniting the rabid crowd in Bloomington.

Ben Moore led Larry Brown’s crew with 16 points and 7 rebounds while Sterling Brown had 11 points and 9 rebounds. Despite shooting 56.9% from the field on the road, the Mustangs shot themselves in the foot with turnovers and fouls, putting IU on the line 25 times, the Hoosiers making 20 of the shots.

For SMU and Brown, they get a break to right the ship with their next big match-up not until December 20th against Michigan. The Hoosiers will have slightly less time to build on the win with a marquee match-up against Louisville on December 9th. Both school’s next match-ups come Saturday, SMU hosting Eastern Washington and the Hoosiers hosting Lamar.