Continued from Post #2637. 

Bob Knight’s son, Patrick, the new coach of Marian University in Indiana, ironically named the Knights, brought his NAIA team to Bloomington for the last exhibition game, Exhibit B. He spent the last 10-years as a scout for the Indiana Pacers after head coaching jobs at Lamar University and Texas Tech, where he replaced his father. He also played for Indiana from 1990-1995, so it was a fitting return to his alma mater. However, the warm welcome quickly turned into an expected 106-64 rout. 

The Hoosiers jumped to a 9-2 lead before Pat Knight had to use a timeout less than two minutes into the contest. The lead quickly stretched to 26, as Indiana shot a blistering 65.7 percent from the field despite a poor 1-for-11 performance from beyond the arc, a gnawing concern. IU had a similar 0-11 start from deep against Tennessee in Exhibit A. There was hope that this fatal flaw that had haunted us over the past few years had been fixed. They did find more success from the perimeter in the second half, sinking five of their 14 attempts from beyond the 3-point line, but 6-25 overall is hardly encouraging. 

Malik Reneau had 18 points and eight rebounds, while Oumar Ballo totaled 16 points and seven rebounds for the Hoosiers. Freshman Bryson Tucker, who missed the first exhibition against Tennessee, led the IU scoring attack with 19-points. By the six-minute mark of the second half, Indiana led by 45, easily surpassing the magic 60-mark. Mike Woodson brought on walk-on Jordan Rayford and Dallas James, a transfer from South Carolina State, scoring their very first Hoosier points, as well as Jakai Newton after recovering from injuries. 

There were only four-days to prepare for the season opener against SIU-Edwardsville at Assembly Hall. Hopefully, some of that time is spent practicing free-throws after a dismal 8-14 performance, not to mention 3-pointers. At least, the team showed better ball control with just 10-turnovers, compared with 13 against Tennessee. Let the season and its magic begin!