Indiana coach Darian DeVries extended his winning streak with a 100–56 rout of Bethune-Cookman, the Hoosiers’ seventh straight NCAA win. After the game, DeVries spoke about Indiana’s crisp ball movement and the night’s standout, Nick Dorn, who delivered a season-high 14 points while also dealing with getting back into his form.

Dorn had missed a few of the early matches because of injury, but slowly found his way back into the team.

“Yeah, I think our training staff has had a really good plan, Nick’s been great about it too. He understands this is a process as he is making his way back, and he’s been terrific about that, too. Sometimes you can get a little anxious. I think Nick’s done a really good job of understanding I have got to build myself back up when you’ve been out that long.”

“You don’t want to put yourself at risk. So he’s getting more and more comfortable. You can obviously see it today why we’re so excited to have him back, cause he does bring a lot of firepower for us right now coming off the bench,” DeVries said about how Dorn is slowly rehabilitating in the squad.

The injury in question was a foot fracture from the previous season, one that forced Dorn to undergo two surgeries. He did travel with the Hoosiers to Puerto Rico in August, but didn’t play in any of the three games, nor did he appear in Indiana’s exhibition wins over Maran University and Baylor University. Fortunately, he eventually received encouraging medical reports and was even expected to suit up for the opener.

That didn’t pan out, but that turned out to be a good thing. The coaching staff and players took a cautious approach, choosing patience over risk, the kind of restraint that pays off later. After all, foot fractures aren’t something you rush. Just ask Max Strus of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who’s been sidelined since his surgery in late August.

So, Darian DeVries has refused to rush the process. Instead of throwing Dorn back into full-speed action, he’s eased him in step by step. In Dorn’s return against Milwaukee, DeVries played him only seven minutes. Against Incarnate Word, it dropped to four. Then came a 15-minute outing versus Lindenwood, where Dorn chipped in six points.

After another short, 11-minute game with just one point, the breakthrough arrived. Nineteen minutes against BCU, where Dorn exploded for 14 points and went 4-of-5 from deep.

“It was just doing a lot of work with Coach Horn and just staying consistent with it, and throughout the week’s getting better and better, and also getting game reps, which was a big part too. So even getting in games leading up to this point has been helping me get back to that speed, just get back flowing,” said Nick, stressing how the slow and steady hard work pays dividends over time.

Indiana is rising in the ranks

Indiana men’s basketball showed up in the AP top-25 for the first time under Darian DeVries last week, slipping in at No. 25 after opening the 2025–26 season 5-0, highlighted by a 100–77 neutral-site win over Marquette. They didn’t stay there for long, though.

This week, the Hoosiers moved up to No. 22, landing between No. 21 Kansas, which has been climbing, and No. 23 St. John’s, which has dropped a bit. The Big Ten is crowded at the top: Purdue sits at No. 1, Michigan at No. 3, Michigan State at No. 7, Illinois at No. 14, and USC at No. 24. Iowa and UCLA are both hovering just outside the rankings.

Indiana now gets two chances to climb even higher: a road matchup with Minnesota on Wednesday, followed by a semi-home game against No. 6 Louisville on Saturday, one of the toughest opponents on their schedule.