Crowd keeps team fired up

Mike Davis tries to stay calm when his team is doing well, but it was a little harder than usual Saturday with a raucous crowd at Assembly Hall.\n"I was excited, and I always try to keep my composure. The fans were unbelievable," Davis said.\nIt might not be the most punctual group in the country, but when the crowd at Assembly Hall does arrive, its presence is felt. And the noise created Saturday in IU's 88-57 victory over No. 9 Illinois was well appreciated. \nAfter thunderous dunks by Jeff Newton and Jared Jeffries, the crowd seemed to gain more steam. And with the rain of three-pointers continuously pouring down on the Illini, the fans grew louder.\n"I can't say enough about our crowd and our fans," Davis said. "This is what Indiana Basketball is all about -- guys coming out defensively giving it everything they have, offensively executing and getting open shots and a crowd like this today. Our fans deserve the game ball today.\n"If you couldn't come out and give everything that you have in you and play with a lot of pride and passion for Indiana today, you don't deserve to be on this basketball team."\nThe crowd moved from cheering the Hoosiers to jeering the Illini early in the second half. With IU up by 17 and three minutes into the second half, the fans began to chant 'overrated,' in reference to Illinois' national rankings.\nMidway through the half and with the Hoosiers up by 23, the crowd managed to keep entertained by performing the wave during a television timeout.\nThe Hoosiers have played 19 games this season, and only five of them have been played at Assembly Hall; IU will play only 10 of its 28 regular-season games at home. All-time, IU is 367-51 at Assembly Hall.\nThe Hoosiers will play five more times in front of the home crowd, and if the fans are as involved as they were Saturday, Jared Jeffries doesn't see why they can't win all five games.\n"When the crowd comes out and gets into it like that, I feel like we could beat anybody in Assembly Hall," Jeffries said. "There's no arena in the country that gets as loud as Assembly Hall, especially the way we were shooting the ball and playing defense."\nCRASHING THE BOARDS\nThe Hoosiers shot the ball well and defended well Saturday. They put forth such a complete effort that they even rebounded the ball well. IU out-rebounded the more physical Illini 42-34.\n"If they wouldn't have hit threes, they would have kicked our butt on the glass. It was just a total domination by Indiana," Illinois coach Bill Self said.\nThe Hoosiers did have 14 turnovers, but only five of those came in the second half. For the game, IU had 23 assists to Illinois' eight. Those numbers are indicative of how the Hoosiers thoroughly outplayed the Illini, something Self wasn't afraid to admit.\n"We could have brought our best game over here and Indiana, the way they played today, it would have been a monumental task to beat them today," Self said.\nThe two teams will meet again Feb. 26 at Illinois.\nDEFINING MOMENT\nAlthough the game was a blowout, Self said there was one play that seemed to demoralize his team early, and the Illini were never able to mentally or physically regain their focus.\nWith 7:06 left in the first half and the Hoosiers up 28-25, Cory Bradford sprang free at the top of the key and knocked down a three-pointer that would have tied the game. But Damir Krupalija was called for an offensive foul while screening Dane Fife to get Bradford open. Fife hit the free throws, and the Hoosiers went on a 14-4 run to grab a 44-29 lead.\n"That play did not have anything to do with the outcome, but we were not effective from that point forward," Self said. "That was not a defining moment in who won the game, but that was a defining moment in our performance today."\nPRO TALK\nWith his recent play, there has been more speculation of Jared Jeffries going to the NBA draft this summer. ESPN analyst Dick Vitale has gone so far as to call Jeffries the best second-year player in the country.\nJeffries is more interested in enjoying his team's recent success.\n"It's been wonderful, the way my team's playing, the way I'm playing. This is the way I wanted to play all season," Jeffries said. "People are going to say 'He's not ready,' and I'm not ever sure I'm ready.\n"But as long as I keep playing like this, I give myself an option at the end of the season to do what I want to do."\nBIG TEN UPDATE\nWith Ohio State falling at Minnesota Saturday night, the Hoosiers find themselves in a tie for first place in the Big Ten with the Buckeyes. Both teams are 6-1 in the conference and are the only teams that don't have at least three conference losses.\nOhio State will host Illinois Tuesday and Northwestern Saturday, while the Hoosiers will play Purdue at home Thursday before going to Minnesota Saturday to play the Gophers.\nThis past weekend, the Boilermakers gave Iowa, a pre-season conference favorite, its fifth league loss. The Hawkeyes are now 3-5 in the conference.