BLOOMINGTON — One of Indiana men’s basketball’s most valuable players has found himself in an extended shooting slump.
Fifth-year senior Tucker DeVries, who followed his father, coach Darian DeVries, from West Virginia to Indiana for the 2025-26 season, had a strong start in a Hoosiers uniform.
He averaged 17.3 points per game throughout nonconference play, melding into the 3-point heavy team Darian DeVries wanted to build.
But as conference play started, his numbers have dwindled in coordination with a major shooting slump. Tucker DeVries is averaging just 9.6 points per game in the Big Ten, shooting 24% from 3-point range. His season average in points has dropped to 14.3.
There have been some small glimpses of Tucker DeVries returning to form: he nailed his first 3-pointer at Michigan State, giving Indiana a lead at the time. Then, he went 0 for 6 the rest of the game, ending with a 1-for-7 mark from 3-point range in what became a 20-point loss.
“He hit that first one, (I) thought, you know, maybe that would be the start of it,” Darian DeVries said following that game at Michigan State. “But it’s got to happen. He’s got to find his way back out of it.”
This is Tucker DeVries’ first time playing heavily in a high-major conference, too. He was two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year at Drake, but missed most of the Big 12 season at West Virginia after having shoulder surgery.
But Darian DeVries is confident that his son will find his way out of this slump; the same as he hopes his team will turn the corner after three-straight conference losses.
“He’s certainly in one of those shooting stumps that, you know, everybody goes through at some point in time, but … (his) has been an extended one here for a good, good chunk of time,” Darian DeVries said following Indiana’s loss to Iowa, dropping the Hoosiers to 3-4 in Big Ten Conference play. “He’s certainly been putting in the work in our practices and stuff, he’s shooting the heck out of it. So it’s just one of those things. He’s got to get it going, and we’ve got to continue to find those better looks and opportunities that we can get him free a little bit more.”
Want more Hoosiers coverage? Sign up for IndyStar’s Hoosiers newsletter. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Tucker DeVries shooting slump hurts Indiana basketball offense, stats
