Hoosiers face rough road ahead

There's an old coaches cliche, especially when conference play begins, that goes "you've gotta take care of home and maybe steal a couple on the road." While coach-speak can sometimes border on the generic (eg "take it a game at a time"), this statement is used so often in college basketball because it is a genuine truth. And the Big Ten is no exception to the rule.\nThe No.14 Hoosiers (14-3, 4-1 Big Ten) will soon experience the tough atmospheres of their conference foes' arenas and, quite possibly, learn how tough they themselves are in the process, playing seven of their next nine games on the road. The only break they will get from their midwest tour comes on Feb. 8 and 12 when they host Michigan State and Michigan respectively.\nIU played five of their first seventeen games on neutral courts, two of which were in Indianapolis, hosted eight teams at Assembly Hall, and played five games on the road, of which they lost three. One of those losses came to Kentucky at Freedom Hall in Louisville, which was considered a neutral court. But anyone who was there knows the Wildcat crowd far outweighed the IU fans.\nThe Hoosiers were able to enjoy so many pre-conference games at home this year because they faced a grueling road schedule in both of the past two seasons, which is something junior guard A.J. Moye explained will help them now. He also added that the pressure of playing for a national championship last year has given IU poise.\n"We had a preseason schedule like that the last two years so we're used to it," he said. "We know what it's like to play on the road so it's not a problem. We've seen a lot. Once you go to a championship game, nothing creeps you out."\nThe Hoosiers' road trip begins Saturday against Purdue at Mackey Arena, where the Boilermakers will be intent on avenging their pre-conference 66-63 loss to IU in Indianapolis. Purdue (11-3, 3-0) is one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten at the moment, having won six straight games.\nIt won't get much easier next Tuesday, when IU heads to East Lansing to square off with Michigan State. The Breslin Center, which the Spartans call home, is traditionally one of the most difficult venues in the Big Ten for a visiting team to get a win. The MSU student section, the "Izzone", wraps all the way around the court and puts crazed fans within spitting distance of the players.\nAfter that, the Hoosiers will shoot back down Interstate 65 to Freedom Hall to face the No.9 Louisville Cardinals in a non-conference showdown. The four-game road stretch concludes with a visit to the Northwestern Wildcats in Evanston, Ill.\nJunior guard Kyle Hornsby said the Hoosiers main focus is on this Saturday's contest, but recognizes the importance of playing well over the upcoming nine games. \n"We're going at Purdue, that's the only thing we're worried about (but) we've got to win some away games," he said. "It helps that we've played well these last two or three games (at home)."\nAfter the Michigan and Michigan State games in mid-February (the Hoosiers only two home games for the entire month) IU will head to Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois.\nThe Hoosiers experienced a bit of turmoil due to their road loss to Ohio State at Columbus on Jan.11, and senior point guard Tom Coverdale said the team worked through those problems during their three game homestand. But he added that a three-game home winning streak doesn't prove much in the Big Ten. \n"I don't think we've sent any message yet," he said. "We're doing what every other team is doing as far as winning at home. But I think our confidence is up. After we played at Ohio State we felt like we weren't a team, everybody started blaming everybody. But I think we're more of a team now. And we're ready to play on the road now, and we weren't a couple weeks ago"