By Nick Jenkinson-SCINN Sports Director
Samet Yigitolou scored 18 points and pulled down 6 rebounds as the Indiana Hoosiers beat the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles 90-66 Thursday Night in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The seven foot two big man from Istanbul, Türkiye scored the first six points of the game before being hit in the face and having to leave the game as he was bleeding and received stitches only to return and score 12 more points as the Golden Eagles as no answer for the SMU Transfer. Yigitolou went 9-10 from the field, 0-3 from the free throw line and 1 assist.
The Hoosiers put six in double figures with 15 points off the bench for Bryce Lindsay, Markus Burton with 12 points, 11 points apiece form Jaeden Mustaf and Aiden Sherrell and 10 points from Trevor Manhertz. The Hoosiers finished 24-59 from the field for 53%, 6-20 from three-point range for 30% and 26-36 from the free throw line for 72%. Indiana had 41 rebounds, 15 assists, 4 blocks. 3 steals and 14 turnovers. The Hoosiers had 44 points in the paint, 34 bench points, 12 points off turnovers. 11 second chance points and 11 fastbreak points.
Caleb Sanders scored 16 points to lead Tennessee Tech and Mekhi Turner added 10 points. Indianapolis Native Shaun Arnold won a State Championship at Ben Davis in 2023 played 16 minutes off the bench with 2 points, 2 rebounds and 2 blocks. Tennessee Tech finished 24-70 for 34%, 9-31 from three-point range for 29% and 9-16 from the free throw line for 56%. The Golden Eagles had 35 rebounds, 11 assists, 7 steals, 3 blocks and 15 turnovers. The Golden Eagles had 37 bench points, 28 points in the paint, 14 second chance points, 11 points off turnovers and 8 fastbreak points.
The game was tied four times and had 3 lead changes as the Hoosiers led 41-37 at halftime and outscored the Golden Eagles scored 49-29 in the second half. Tennessee Tech is a team that presses the entire game like the old Nolan Richardson Arkansas Razorbacks teams in 1990’s. Indiana Head Coach Darian DeVries said after the game that these are the type of games “Keep you up at night because you know that they are going to press the entire game and it’s not going to stop”.
Indiana had a size advantage and took advantage of it and worked the ball inside and Yigtiolou was effective for 17 minutes that he played and not even being hit in the face or being taken to the locker room to get stiches could slow him down. The Hoosiers continue to provide balance scoring and get production off the bench with Bryce Linsday and Trevor Manhertz providing the spark. Indiana is 4-0 on the season and will travel to New York City to face the Arkansas Razorbacks on Tuesday evening at 7:30 PM followed by the Kentucky Wildcats next Friday Night at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Tennessee Tech is 2-2 on the season but they will cause fits for any team they play with their defensive style of play, and they love to shoot the three ball and if they are hitting those shots is going to be a long night for the opponent. The Hoosiers lead the all-time series 6-0 and avoided what could have been a trap game with this one being squeezed in the middle of a tough stretch with the Hoosiers coming off a three-point win against Syracuse and Arkansas and Kentucky coming next week.
The Hoosiers played better in the second half and held a high scoring Golden Eagles team to 29 second half points and had several stretches where the Golden Eagles were held scoreless and could not a field goal. Indiana continues to get rebounds, show its size advantage and get points from all over the floor and now they have two tough opponents back-to-back as the Hoosiers look to build on their NCAA Tournament Resume early on in the season.