Hoosiers need stronger overall effort

Nice win Tuesday guys -- I guess.\nThe Hoosiers win against a Notre Dame team that entered Assembly Hall with a perfect 7-0 record was gratifying, kind of. The Irish had three players score 17 or more points, and freshman guard Chris Thomas led the team with 24. But the Hoosiers won, and that's what matters. I suppose.\nI am hesitant to praise the team after Tuesday's performance and even more hesitant to predict any type of stellar performance against a dangerous Ball State team. With 17,000 fans behind them, the Hoosiers should have finished the Irish midway through the second half. Instead, the Irish nearly tied the game when Matt Carroll's tying three-pointer defied physics and rattled out. \nTuesday's victory saw Jared Jeffries score a career-high 28 points, and the team continued its dominance over the Irish. But regardless of the 5-2 record, Tuesday's win or the outcome of tomorrow's game with the Cardinals, the result of last Saturday's 72-60 loss to Southern Illinois thrashed my confidence in this team's capabilities. That loss was unacceptable.\nIU violated the most basic rule of college basketball. Teams with the tradition, fan support and recruiting options such as IU, Duke, UCLA or Arizona should never -- ever -- lose to a school with a direction preceding the state where the school is located (excluded are states in which the nature of the state name violates this principle, i.e. North Carolina). For example, IU should never lose to Southern Illinois, Central Michigan, Western Kentucky (despite its ranking) or South Florida. \nI don't care if SIU Arena is a hostile environment. I don't care if cheerleaders are setting up trip wire to take out Hoosier point guards. I don't care if some crazy Saluki stole Tom Coverdale's shoes and he was forced to play in his thick, Indiana farmboy socks -- IU should never lose to Southern Illinois by 12 points and get dominated in virtually every category.\nUnfortunately, the loss didn't hurt the worst. How the team lost was more traumatizing.\n Let's say the game was a total fluke, the referees blew the game or IU's starting five were drunk. Perhaps I could understand. But the Hoosiers were out-hustled, out-toughed and intimidated. And the players will be the first to admit it.\n The Hoosiers need to dominate Ball State tomorrow and prove that they can make a run at a conference title this season. The Hoosiers are fortunate the Big Ten conference is slumping, with only three teams ranked in the AP Top 25 and Michigan State near dropping out after getting beat by Florida Wednesday night.\n Ball State enters Assembly Hall ranked No. 15. The Hoosiers face the danger of falling to their third mid-major program after the one-point loss to Marquette and the Southern Illinois catastrophe. IU will be in the comfort of its own court and owes the fans a spectacular game. Not a spectacular first half, as against Notre Dame, or a spectacular individual performance, such as A.J. Moye's at North Carolina, but a solid overall effort.\nAfter the loss to Southern Illinois, head coach Mike Davis asked his players if they can't beat a team such as the Salukis on the road, what are they going to do against Big Ten teams such as Illinois and Michigan State during Big Ten road battles?\nA valid point.\nBut why look that far in advance? First, what are the Hoosiers going to do tomorrow afternoon?\nThis team has already established itself as a rule-breaker. Maybe IU faithful should be concerned about the team's matchup December 28 in the Ameritech Hoosier Classic at Conseco Fieldhouse.\nThe Hoosiers will take on Eastern Washington.