IU basketball: Indiana 83 Syracuse 80 — Three keys, highlights, final stats

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana defeated Syracuse by a final score of 83-80 Monday evening at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The three keys to the game, highlights and stats are below.

Syracuse led 38-34 at halftime. The Hoosiers were led in the game by Markus Burton and Darren Harris with 20 points each.

For Darian DeVries and Jaeden Mustaf postgame, GO HERE.

Indiana (3-0) returns to action on Thursday against Tennessee Tech in Bloomington (6:30 p.m. ET, BTN).

THREE KEYS TO THE GAME

1. Massive backcourt production. Indiana starting guards Markus Burton, Darren Harris and Jaeden Mustaf combined for 58 of IU’s 83 points. That trio made 5 of 8 from three in the second half. Bryce Lindsay chipped in another 11 points off the bench. Burton and Harris led the way with 20 each for IU. All three hit important shots late in the second half to close out the Orange. Harris had 14 of his 20 in the second half.

2. Fast second half start changes tone, second half response seals it. Syracuse led for most of the first half and by four points at the break. But led by an 8-0 personal run by Harris, Indiana took the lead and held it for a while in the second stanza. The Orange came back and took a 66-61 lead with 6:24 remaining. But IU responded with an 8-2 run of its own. The Hoosiers also made seven free throws in the final 1:14.

3. Hoosiers strong on the glass. Indiana expects to be a strong rebounding team, and that includes the potential to control the glass against most high major foes. In their first high major test, IU outrebounded Syracuse 37-28, including a 14-7 edge on the offensive glass. The Hoosiers scored 12 second chance points. Samet Yigitoglu led IU with 10 boards, and the 6-foot-6 Mustaf had seven, including three offensive rebounds.

HIGHLIGHTS