At the bell: Indiana 66, Wyoming 58

Quick thoughts on the 66-58 win over Wyoming:

how did that happen: It was an ugly first half of basketball at the University of Dayton Arena in the first four on Tuesday night. Indiana shot 11 of only 34 in the first half and Wyoming handed them 13 times. The Cowboys had foul troubles with Hunter Thompson committing three while Graham Ike, the team’s top scorer this season, got two. The Hoosiers used a late 13-4 to claim a 30-25 lead at the end of the first half. Trayce Jackson-Davis was impressive for the Hoosiers, scoring 14 games in the first half and playing excellent defense in the paint. Despite managing only .85 points per possession in the first half, Indiana’s five-point lead felt comfortable due to Wyoming’s meager .71 points per trip.

By the under-16 media deadline, Indiana was only 38-35 ahead as Wyoming found his offensive footing early in the second half. During the first 5:25 of the second half, the Cowboys scored 1.43 points per possession. Jordan Jeromeno took the next stretch to give Indiana its biggest lead at a 45-37 timeout for the U12s. Geronimo scored seven points in the first nine minutes of the second half. Indiana led 49-40 with 8:53 to play on Treasure Jackson-Davis, but Wyoming answered substitutes from Ike and Hunter Maldonado to make it 49-44 with 7:18 to play. AEK made his fourth foul with 6:39 to play, forcing him to the bench.

Bucket of Jackson Davis gave Indiana an eight-point lead with 4:43 to play, but Maldonado answered Lacon 52-46 with 4:29 to go. After an offensive foul against Race Thompson, Jeronimo Maldonado fouled and Wyoming’s point guard split the line to make the score 52-47 with 4:04 to play. Indiana extended the lead to seven over Jackson Davis’ dunk with 3:49 to play. Out of 4 timeouts, Maldonado made his 10th spin and Jeronimo reached his career high with 15 points with 3:11 to give the Hoosiers a nine-point lead. Brendan Wenzel fouled on the 3-pointer with 2:45 to go and made two to make it 56-49. Jackson-Davis extended the difference to nine with a dipping with 2:33 to play. Parker Stewart gave Indiana a 10-point advantage with 1:48 to go with a bucket, but then Maldonado missed on a three-pointer with 1:30 to play. Maldonado made the free throw to make it 60-54. Jackson-Davis gave the Hoosiers an eight-point lead with 1:04 to play and the Cowboys didn’t come close to six points the rest of the way.

Outstanding performanceJackson-Davis finished with 29 points and nine rebounds and was the best player on the planet right from the start. Geronimo’s career height after 15 points from the bench was instrumental in IU’s first NCAA tournament win since 2016.

The statistic that stands out: Indiana beat her defense, limiting Wyoming to 89 points per possession per win.

IU’s final individual statistics: