Davis says fans key to team's loss

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Before the season began, Mike Davis said if the Hoosiers could end their stretch of six road games to start the season with a 4-2 record, he would be happy. \nAfter Saturday's 72-60 loss at Southern Illinois, IU is 4-2, but Davis isn't happy.\n"I'm disappointed tonight, because we were 4-1 and I just feel like (SIU) bullied our guys," Davis said after the game. "Just flat out, street fight, took their hearts.\n"We're not tough. People in Indiana get upset when I say that. You saw the game. They took balls from us."\nDavis said the chaotic, circus-like atmosphere at SIU Arena had an effect on the Hoosiers and their concentration. The fireworks that accompanied the Salukis' starting lineups and the national anthem likely diminished some of IU's concentration.\n"I knew we were in trouble when they were shooting fireworks," Davis said. "Un-freaking believable. I thought we were playing the Lakers or somebody. \n"I look at our guys and they're standing around like, 'what's going on?'"\nThe introductions under dimmed lights and fireworks were out of the ordinary. But Davis said the Hoosiers should be used to playing on the road and in a hostile environment after five games away from Assembly Hall.\nIU was able to come back from a 12-point deficit in the season-opener at Charlotte to win, 65-61. The Hoosiers also won last Wednesday at North Carolina. But Davis said IU didn't have the intensity it had against the Tar Heels.\n"We played like the first time we played in front of a crowd, and we've had nothing but road games," he said. "I'm not making any excuses about the pre-game ceremonies. If I'm a basketball player and I see that, I'm really ready to play."\nThe players agreed about Davis' grades on the Hoosiers' performance. \n"This was our worst game of the year," junior guard Tom Coverdale said. "We have been playing well, but we just didn't show up tonight."\nThe biggest disappointment for Davis was the defense. After holding the Salukis to 26 points in the first half, Southern Illinois came out and shot 63 percent from the field in the second half. \nDavis singled out Kent Williams' 17 second half points as inexcusable by the Hoosiers' standards.\n"It was just bad, and our defense is pretty good," Davis said.\nSophomore guard A.J. Moye, who had 17 points to lead the Hoosiers in scoring for the second straight game, agreed. Even though he scored in bunches to keep the Hoosiers close, Moye was disappointed with the IU defense and the Hoosiers inability to deal with the crowd.\n"You got to kind of channel that out. You just got to be ready to play, and we weren't ready to play," Moye said. "(Davis) doesn't care about points or whatever. All he cares about is effort. None of us really set the tone. We weren't ourselves."\nThe Salukis were more aggressive than the Hoosiers, outrebounding IU 45-38 and forcing 14 Hoosier turnovers. \nWilliams said Southern Illinois was primed to win Saturday, especially after the Salukis' three-point loss to No. 2 Illinois on Nov. 24.\n"We had to beat somebody real big, and this was the game for us," he said. "It's huge for this program. Beating a Big Ten team, that means something."\nWhile the Salukis were up for what was their first home sellout since 1990, the Hoosiers were not. Sophomore forward Jared Jeffries summed up the effort Saturday.\n"We played in spurts and were really weak," he said. "We played like crap."\nIn the end, Davis said the Hoosiers are going to have to get better on the road, especially in the Big Ten.\n"I told our guys this," Davis said. "If we can't beat this team here, than how are we going to beat Illinois, Michigan State and those people on the road? It's going to be impossible"