BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) James Blackmon Jr. scored 24 points and Robert Johnson added 20 Wednesday night as No. 16 Indiana blew out Austin Peay 97-62.
Indiana (10-2) extended its home-court winning streak to 26 games - the fifth-longest in school history.
Josh Robinson had 21 points for the Governors (4-9), who have lost seven straight.
Austin Peay kept the score close - until the Hoosiers figured out how to beat their zone defense.
Center Thomas Bryant started a flurry of three straight 3s that extended Indiana’s 17-15 lead to 26-18 midway through the first half. The Hoosiers pulled away by making 11 of 18 3s in the half including a half-court buzzer beater.
They finished 15 of 26 from beyond the arc.
Johnson’s first 10 shots all were 3s and he wound up making a career high six. Josh Newkirk had 11 points and a career-high 11 assists for Indiana.
John Murry had 18 points for Austin Peay, which trailed 48-31 at halftime and never got any closer in the second half.
BIG PICTURE
Austin Peay: The recent struggles have been mostly a result of shoddy defense and against the Big Ten’s top scoring team, those flaws were glaring. The Governors have one more chance to find a solution before starting Ohio Valley Conference play.
Indiana: The soft part of the schedule is over and now the defending Big Ten champs’ margin for error shrinks. But in the process, they have put together a solid resume that includes two wins over opponents ranked No. 3 (Kansas and North Carolina), a loss to No. 18 Butler and the inexplicable overtime loss at Fort Wayne.
UP NEXT
Austin Peay: Has its final non-conference tuneup Wednesday at Western Kentucky.
Indiana: Begins defense of its conference title Wednesday when Nebraska visits. The Cornhuskers are 1-5 all-time in Bloomington.
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