1st place Hoosiers back on the road

Wednesday night's victory over No. 19 Ohio State, the Hoosiers find themselves in first place in the Big Ten standings with just three games left. \nThat's the problem, though, for IU -- those three games.\nTwo of those three are on the road before the Hoosiers close the regular season March 2 at Assembly Hall against an upstart Northwestern team. No. 23 IU begins the stretch with a noon visit to Michigan State Sunday.\nUntil the Hoosiers have worked their way through this final stretch, that first place label doesn't mean nearly as much as when the season is over.\n"We got three more games. You have to win those, and then we'll be in first place," junior Jeff Newton said after pouring in 16 points Wednesday night.\nBeginning with the game against Ohio State, the Hoosiers (18-8, 10-3) find themselves playing for a Big Ten title against teams that all have equally important things to play for, beginning with the Spartans at the Breslin Center Sunday.\nAfter a slow start in the Big Ten that included an 83-65 loss at Assembly Hall Jan. 8, Michigan State (16-10, 7-6) has rebounded behind the play of Marcus Taylor and freshmen Chris Hill and Alan Anderson. The Spartans have put themselves back in position for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.\nThat type of motivated Michigan State team is reason for concern for IU Coach Mike Davis. At the same time, Davis said that the stiff competition will keep his team on its toes.\n"Coach Izzo will have his guys ready," Davis said. "Everyone that we play now, they're all trying to get in the (NCAA) Tournament and playing for a seed. That's good for us that we don't have an opponent we can relax for.\n"We just are going to take it one game at a time and go to Michigan State and play them."\nTo this point, the Hoosiers have done well, playing well without Jared Jeffries at full strength. IU lost to Wisconsin in the one game Jeffries didn't play, but the Hoosiers won at Michigan and took care of the Buckeyes Wednesday night with Jeffries only scoring 10 points.\nMost didn't expect IU to be in this position at this time of the year, and after Jeffries went down, the doubters probably grew more confident. But the Hoosiers have continued to play well, a stretch that Davis said began against Eastern Washington in the Hoosier Classic in late December.\n"Looking back now, during some parts of our pre-season, you couldn't question (being picked not to win the league). But once the Big Ten started, we've played well," Davis said. "We expected to win the Big Ten from Day 1.\n"If you don't think you can win it, why even play?"\nThe confidence is there now, and so is the level of play, which has the Hoosiers in a position to win their first conference championship since the 1992-1993 season.\n"We're right there," senior Dane Fife said. "The only thing we have to do is win three more games."\nThe first of those three should be hard to come by. The Hoosiers have lost eight straight times at Michigan State. The last time IU went up to East Lansing and got a win was Feb. 28, 1991. That is the Hoosiers' only win in the Breslin Center in 10 tries.\nWith such a chaotic environment at the Breslin Center, the Hoosiers expect a difficult game that will mark the start of a difficult end to their regular season.\n"We've got a heck of a road ahead of us. If we're not completely exhausted after each game, then obviously we didn't win," Fife said. "We have to give our heart and soul to these next three games."\nFor the past five years, it has been the Spartans who have been fighting for a Big Ten title at the end of the season. Perhaps it is only right that the Hoosiers have to face Michigan State and then Illinois, last year's conference co-champions, in order to get the crown they covet.\n"We still have three tough games before we realize our dream," Jeffries said.