Bloomington, IN – Jordan Hulls hit on 6-of-9 attempts from 3- point range as part of a 20-point night as fifth-ranked Indiana overwhelmed Jacksonville, 93-59, at Assembly Hall.
The Hoosiers canned 11-of-25 shots from beyond the arc en route to the rout, with Will Sheehey and Victor Oladipo each going 2-for-3 from long distance as each finished with 14 points. Cody Zeller poured in 16 points in 19 minutes for Indiana (12-1), which closed out its non-conference schedule and will travel to Iowa to begin Big Ten play on Monday.
"I like that we have gotten better each game and have definitely learned from our loss," Oladipo remarked. "We came together and realized what we had to do to improve and recognized the things we need to get better at. I think we are ready going into Big Ten play."
Dylan Fritsch was the lone player to score in double-figures for Jacksonville (5-8), netting 15 points while knocking down five of his seven 3-point tries.
The Dolphins went 10-of-17 on 3-pointers for the game, but still shot just 39.3 percent overall from the field.
Jacksonville jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead as Indiana misfired on its first four shots, and owned a 13-11 advantage after Fritsch buried a trey just over six minutes in.
The Hoosiers responded with eight consecutive points, with Oladipo starting the burst with consecutive triples, but the Dolphins stayed within striking distance and were down just 21-17 just past the midway stage of the first half.
It was all Indiana from there, however.
Hulls drained a 3-pointer to ignite a 9-2 run that pushed the Hoosiers' advantage to double-digits, then connected twice more from deep later on as Indiana built a 43-31 lead in the final minute of the opening period. He would finish the half with 17 points as the Hoosiers went into the break up by a 48-33 score.
Indiana then used its defense to pull away, with Jacksonville failing to make a field goal for a 4 1/2-minute stretch in the second half. The Hoosiers outscored the Dolphins by a 10-1 margin over that span to extend the differential to 25 points at 67-42.
Another large run by Indiana, this one a 13-0 tear in which Sheehey recorded five points, put the contest out of reach as the Hoosiers opened up an 80-44 lead with six minutes to go.
"I think their guys came out with a little bit more energy than our guys," Jacksonville State coach Cliff Warren admitted. "We started the game with energy, but they started the second half with more energy."
Game Notes
Indiana, which entered the game second nationally in free throws made per game and free-throw attempts, went 24-of-31 from the foul line compared to just 5- of-13 makes for Jacksonville ... Indiana is now shooting 50.8 percent (31- of-67) from 3-point range over its last four outings ... The Dolphins fell to 0-8 when trailing at halftime this season ... The programs had faced one another just once previously, a 69-59 IU win in Jacksonville on Dec. 27, 1977.
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