Hoosiers hold on to upset No. 25 Butler 82-73

Coach Tom Crean and Indiana hadn't enjoyed much success inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse in recent years, but Saturday brought a welcome – and needed – win.

The Hoosiers (9-2) defeated No. 25 Butler (8-3) 82-73 behind 22 points and 11 rebounds from sophomore forward Troy Williams and a huge second half from junior guard Yogi Ferrell.

Indiana controlled most of the first half, gearing up its 3-point shooting and, crucially, keeping Butler off the glass.

No one Hoosier was more instrumental than Williams, who scored 12 points in the opening 20 minutes. His relentless attacking style characterized Indiana's first-half performance, with Butler largely unable to slow him – or the Hoosiers – down.

Yet Butler rallied, thanks to Kellen Dunham's 18 first-half points. Indiana kept the swing man in check early in the half, but he came alive eventually, at one point scoring seven-consecutive points to draw the Bulldogs level at the break, 38-apiece.

Butler improved out of halftime, hitting the boards harder and forcing Indiana into more mistakes.

IU countered with Yogi Ferrell, who was held scoreless in the first half but put up 11 in the first 10 minutes of the second. Alex Barlow, Butler's tough-defending point guard, spent the half saddled with foul trouble, opening the door for Ferrell to get aggressive. He would finish with 20, all in the second half, as he broke the 1,000-point barrier for his career.

The Bulldogs stood firm, matching Indiana bucket for bucket through most of the second half. But Dunham, so prolific in the first half, couldn't find his shooting boots in the second. Indiana kept Ferrell, its best defender, off of him until the end, putting relatively fresh legs on tired ones.

Dunham never caught fire, and IU closed the game out at the free-throw line.

Zach Osterman writes for the Indianapolis Star, a Gannett company.