Two sparkplugs are better than one

For four years, A.J. Moye has proven Hoosier fans don't need a mascot to pump them up. They just need a guy who will throw himself all over the floor (or off of it, if need be) and flap his arms around when loud cheering is appropriate. A sparkplug.\nThis year, he has found a protégé for his crowd-pumping skills. If I must make an analogy, a Luke Skywalker to his Obi Wan Kenobi. And that new sparkplug is Patrick Ewing, Jr. (Actually, my analogy works, because there are probably a lot of Pacers and Bulls fans that would consider Patrick Ewing, Sr. to be a Darth Vader of sorts. And Pat Riley does sort of look like the Emperor. But I digress.)\nThe spark provided by both proved to be the difference in Saturday's win over Northwestern. With IU leading 37-31 in the second half, Moye went the length of the floor, did a crazy spin move around Northwestern guard Jitim Young, and somehow laid the ball into the hoop. Needless to say, the crowd woke up and went into a frenzy.\nThroughout the course of the game, Moye also managed to hustle his way into grabbing 10 boards, and he is still the leading rebounder this season for IU.\nFour minutes later, the Wildcats looked poised to mount a run similar to the one that had allowed them to cut an early 11-point IU lead into a two-point deficit shortly after the second half began.\nEnter Ewing. His thunderous dunk increasing IU's lead to 47-38 brought everyone to their feet, and that is exactly where many people would stay for the rest of the game. That was the point where things became hopeless for Northwestern in spite of the fact that the clock indicated there was 9:10 left to play in the game.\nAnd although no one has started a "Patrick Ewing" chant yet, he has certainly displayed the spirit to be worthy of one. He has also displayed the ability to be earning more minutes of playing time.\nEwing only played three minutes against Michigan. With George Leach back in the lineup, it was understandable that Ewing's playing time would go down, especially since Leach has played well. And as a freshman, there is clearly room for him to grow.\nBut it seems like the air of excitement that he brings to the game is better served on the floor than the bench.\nHe's back: Marshall Strickland gave one of his best performances of the season against Northwestern, and if the past two games are any indication, he is ready to have a stellar Big Ten season. Strickland has found his stroke, as he hit three three-pointers on his way to a 15-point effort. Most importantly, he didn't have any turnovers.\nNo points for style: My friend made note of the fact that he had never seen anyone, with the possible exception of me, with an uglier shooting style than Northwestern's T.J. Parker. I nodded my head in agreement. Less than five seconds later, Parker buried a three-pointer. We shut up. \nA lot of people were also wondering how it was possible for Northwestern to be playing with only four guys on their bench. It should be noted that the team's second-leading scorer, Vedran Vukusic, did not make the trip to Bloomington because of an injury he suffered against Illinois.