BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Showing some aggressiveness, James Blackmon Jr. got a block and took the ball coast-to-coast for an easy layup with 8:59 in the first half as the Hoosiers made their big run that put the game out of reach.

That was the type of play people want to see the sophomore guard make, and he did just that.

Blackmon shot 9 of 17 for a team-high 24 points to lead Indiana over McNeese State 105-65 Saturday night at Assembly Hall.

The victory improves the Hoosiers’ to 7-0 at home on the season.

Blackmon added five rebounds, two assists and two rebounds, proving that he can make an impact at both ends of the floor.

He thought the team did a good job at spacing and ball movement throughout the game.

“For me, it was spacing,” Blackmon said. “It’s something I like to work on with the other point guards like Yogi and Rob. We try to work on that together. It was ball movement, our whole team was moving the ball well.”

Freshman Thomas Bryant continued to play efficient basketball, as the Big Ten leader in field goal percentage shot a perfect 7 of 7 from the field scoring 18 points on the night, and was only one rebound away from a double-double.

Head coach Tom Crean pointed out that Bryant’s preparation for each game has played a pivotal role in his performance.

“It’s very important for him,” Crean said.” He’s worked hard. We got some extra work done with him today, which was his afternoon walkthrough, which was good.”

In the first half, the Hoosiers forced the Cowboys into turnovers on 24.7 percent of their possessions, which is an impressive number considering the fact McNeeese State came in turning the ball over only 18 percent of the time.

Indiana scored 30 points off McNeese State turnovers.

On the other hand, Indiana, who averages turning the ball over on roughly 21 percent of its possessions, only had turnovers 11.8 percent of the time on Saturday.

That’s the type of improvement that the Hoosiers need to continue if they want to make a serious run at the tournament.

Max Bielfeldt’s presence was felt throughout the game, as the redshirt senior proved to be more valuable to Indiana than once thought.

Crean explained just how important the transfer is to the team.

“He’s playing with a lot of confidence,” Crean said. “He’s getting better all the time. He can shoot and he can defend. We’re excited about Max, and he’s going to have to have a huge role for us moving forward.”

Everyone knows Indiana is an offensive machine and this matchup was no exception, as the Hoosiers shot 51.3 percent from the field, including 46.4 percent from beyond the arc.

Even though he scored only two points, Crean was glad to have Juwan Morgan back.

“We were glad to have him back,” Crean said. “We need every bit of help we can on defense and he can defend in a lot of different ways. We need that help on the front line, no doubt.”

Looking forward, Blackmon said that the victory over McNeese State was the spark the team wanted.

“We feel like we just want to keep it up,” he said. “The coaches talked to us about how this is practice for Notre Dame, so we wanted to come out and make a statement.”

Up next, the Hoosiers will take on Notre Dame as part of the Crossroads Classic as the two teams square off at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Dec. 19.