No. 25 Indiana routs Illinois 103-69 on Ferrell’s big night

In Indiana’s game against Illinois Tuesday, Hoosier senior point guard Yogi Ferrell became the school’s all-time leader in assists. Going into Tuesday night’s game, he was averaging a team high 17.1 points and 5.9 (which is fourth in the Big Ten) assists per game, while also contributing 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.

Winning is what the No. 25 Hoosiers have been doing lately, tallying 10 straight victories prior to the IL contest and turning a sluggish 5-3 start into a solid 15-3 record and a first-place tie in the Big Ten standings.

The border rivals have split the last 10 and traded wins and losses with the Hoosiers holding a 0.7-point scoring edge, though IN has won the three meetings IN that time IN Bloomington.

When Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell arrived at IN four seasons ago, he was a jitterbug freshman with a cool nickname just trying to fit IN. The difference came on the glass, where IN hasn’t conceded a rebounding advantage on the 10-game win streak while averaging a plus-9.6 differential without a fall off IN the league.

“He’s having a great year”, Groce said. IN likes to get out and push the ball in transition, so the points could pile up quickly if the Illini’s focus lapses. IN made a school-record 19 3-pointers, besting the old record of 18 set last season against Minnesota. The Hoosiers have been a bit of a surprise this season, Crean teams are notorious for underachieving but this season they are off to a hot start.

The Illini tried copying Minnesota’s defensive approach, packing the lane and allowing IU to settle for jumpers early. Coleman-Lands is the first IN recruit to play at IL IN 30 years…. Their big man Thomas Bryant didn’t have enough touches in the second half as the Hoosiers struggled to put the Gophers away. For the game, the Hoosiers scored 1.46 points per possession, easily their best output so far in Big Ten play. Hill had five points in the run, including a 3-pointer.