Until Friday, the Battle 4 Atlantis was a beatdown in the Bahamas for Indiana.
After absorbing consecutive routs at the hands of Louisville and then-No. 3 Gonzaga, the Hoosiers finally resembled the ranked team they were for the first month of the season, as they dispatched Providence 89-73 for seventh place.
Indiana hopes to carry over that form into a Tuesday meeting with Sam Houston in Bloomington, Ind. The Hoosiers are unranked this week after they sat at No. 14 in the AP Top 25 last week.
The Hoosiers (5-2) went from playing poorly on defense in the two losses to playing well enough on that end of the floor against Providence. They limited the Friars to 39.1 percent shooting from the field, including a 10-of-30 mark from 3-point range.
However, Indiana coach Mike Woodson sounded at least a little skeptical that a corner was turned in the triumph.
“When you get your butt beat like we did for two games,” Woodson said, “you better be connected.”
Aside from the one-sided margin, the best news for Indiana on Friday was the return of Trey Galloway to the starting lineup. The guard started 31 times last season but was a reserve in 2024-25 before Friday as he worked his way back into fitness following offseason knee surgery.
Replacing Kanaan Carlyle (undisclosed injury), Galloway went for 18 points, five rebounds and five assists against the Friars, canning three 3-pointers.
Woodson limited Galloway’s minutes in the first six games of the season.
If the Bearkats (4-4) are to pull off an upset, they will have to play stouter defense than they have in the first fourth of the season. Opponents are scoring 77.5 points per game vs. Sam Houston, which ranked 303rd in the country through the weekend.
However, the Bearkats are coming off an 82-78 victory over Colgate on Saturday at the Live Oak Bank Holiday Classic in Wilmington, N.C. Lamar Wilkerson led a balanced attack with 17 points, while Kansas State transfer Dorian Finister and Brennen Burns each scored 15 points.
Wilkerson, a first-team All-Conference USA pick last season, is averaging 19.6 points per game and sinking 45.3 percent of his 3-point attempts.
“It’s amazing what having other guys around him does for the other guys’ motivation and toughness and focus on detail,” second-year Sam Houston coach Chris Mudge said of Wilkerson. “He just really likes to play basketball a lot.”
