By Nick Jnekinson-SCINN Sports Director
The Indiana Hoosiers tip-offed the 2026-27 Men’s Basketball Regular Season with a 91-57 win over the Eastern Illinois Panthers Monday Night in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers will host the Bellarmine Knights Thursday at 6 PM with the game streaming on Peacock and simulcasted on NBC Sports Network. Eastern Illinois drops to 0-1 on the season and will face the Iowa Hawkeyes Friday Night in Iowa City at 8:30 PM on the Big Ten Network.
Markus Burton led the Hoosiers with 19 points, Bryce Lindsay added 14 points and Freshman Trevor Manhertz added 11 points. 10 of the 13 Hoosiers that played scored. The Hoosiers were 29-58 from the field for 50%, 9-24 from three-point range for 37% and 24-32 from the free throw line for 75%. Indiana pulled down 34 rebounds, 13 assists, 13 steals, 3 blocks and 11 turnovers. Indiana had 40 bench points, 34 points in the paint, 29 points off turnovers, 20 fastbreak points and 15 second chance points.
Demar Burton led Eastern Illinois with 10 points as 10 of the 13 Panthers that played scored. Eastern Illinois finished 25-50 from the field for 50%, 3-14 from three-point range for 21 and 4-7 from the free throw line for 57%. The Panthers pulled down 26 rebounds, 13 assists, 6 steals, 1 block and 22 turnovers. The Panthers had 36 points in the paint, 31 bench points, 8 points off turnovers, 6 fastbreak points and 3 second chance points.
Jaeden Mustaf hit two free throws as Eastern Illinois picked up 2 fouls in the first 23 seconds into the game. Gavin Welch tied the game 2-2 and that was the only tie of the game as Hoosiers led the rest of the way. Seven foot-two Samet Yigitolou scored 6 straight points for the Hoosiers and a Markus Burton three pointer made it 14-5 Hoosiers. Eastern Illinois pulled with two points at 21-19 as Tanner Vogel hit a three pointer. Indiana went on a 12-0 run and Eastern Illinois was scoreless for 7:35 as the Hoosiers led the Panthers 36-21 with 2:10 left in the first half.
Indiana led Eastern Illinois 44-23 at halftime. IU had a 20-2 run over the last 8:22 and Eastern Illinois no field goals for the last 9:45. The Hoosiers outscored the Panthers 47-34 in the second half as Indiana leads the all-time series with the Panthers 4-0 and have won by an average margin of victory of 36.7 points. Indiana is 53-3 all-time in season openers in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall dating back to the first year of the building in 1971-72. Indiana has won 9 straight season openers at home and Head Coach Darian Devries is 9-0 all-time in season openers in his coaching career at Drake, West Virginia and Indiana.
Freshman Prince Alexnder-Moody was on crutches before the game and according to Head Cach Darian Devries in the postgame press conference “He had suffered a knee injury in practice and will be out for an extended period of time. We will continue to get him evaluated, but don’t anticipate them having him back for quite some time.”
The Hoosiers still have a lot of depth that can go a long way in making the NCAA Tournament. Eastern Illinois gave Indiana a battle in the first part of the first half, but the Hoosiers pulled away and still have a lot of work to go but getting a lot of contributions from a lot of players like Freshman Trevor Manhertz is huge and according to Head Coach Darian DeVries “He has not even stretched the surface” and Jaeden Mustaf says “He is a pro”
For Markus Burton from Mishawaka, Indiana and a Former Indiana Mr. Basketball from Penn High School. He got a big ovation from the crowd after he transferred from Notre Dame in the offseason. “I am Indiana Kid from South Bend, and it means a lot to me and it’s cool that the fans recognized that.” With the way Burton played and could be one of the leaders of this team it’s safe to say that the ovations could be a lot louder as the season goes along as long as continues to deliver for his new team.