I remember the SATs. No, not the ones that are used to decide the rest of our lives, I'm talking about those old-school SATs; the ones we took in elementary school back in Georgia -- the Stanford Achievement Test. Now that was a test. I remember the questions vaguely, but I can recall something like, "One of these five things doesn't belong, which one is it?"\nThose were always the easiest -- everyone knows a tomato is a fruit and a dolphin is a mammal -- yet they always tried to fool you. Well, here's one, a bit more challenging:
Which one of these teams does not belong atop the Big Ten conference? \nA. Michigan State (12-3)\nB. Iowa (14-4)\nC. Indiana (9-7)\nD. Wisconsin (13-3)\nE. Illinois (19-0)
There they go, trying to fool us again. A third-grade version of myself, a self-proclaimed genius, can't be certain. I can only eliminate E, and C seems too obvious, but then again, I recall the old mantra: "When in doubt always choose C." What am I to do? This might throw me out of the 99th percentile, and I can't have that. \nAs a third grader, all I know of basketball is Michael Jordan and Spud Webb. I know nothing of college basketball. I'm too busy watching "Fraggle Rock" and "He-Man: Master of the Universe." My mind is racing, and the panic begins to settle in.\n"Mom is going to kill me if I don't make the gifted class!"\n"I'll have to go to remedial coloring, instead of playing kickball!"\n"I wonder if it's chicken patty day?" \nI close my eyes and mark my choice.\nWhoops! I bubbled in the margin. OK, eyes open now, here it goes ...\nWinner of seven of its last eight contests, the Hoosier basketball team has awoken, running off four straight conference wins. Wins against Purdue, Ohio State and Michigan don't exactly exude confidence, but even the most pessimistic Hoosier follower looks to the Wisconsin win as a beacon for true hope. A 13-point win against a ranked foe, whose only lead was at 1-0, allowed the Assembly Hall crowd a glimpse of the potential this young Hoosier squad has.\nIt's the end of January and the Hoosiers lie in an enviable position. With four conference wins in five games, IU has erased the scarring from a harrowing non-conference schedule, which saw two current top 10 teams and the defending national champions dispatch of the Hoosiers -- though not with the ease last season's foes hammered IU. \nThis week, the Hoosiers face two pivotal road games -- at Minnesota Wednesday night and at Iowa Saturday -- followed by a winnable home contest versus Penn State. A colleague of mine believes the Hoosiers must win at least one of the road games this week to cement themselves as contenders for an NCAA tournament bid. Road wins are always scarce in conference, but this week offers the Hoosiers an opportunity to snare some vital victories. Minnesota's (13-5) most notable win came at Ohio State, and the Gophers have already lost three home games this season -- Alabama, Florida State and Michigan State -- and are beginning to fall back to earth with an increased level of competition. Iowa (14-4), while impressing in a loss to Illinois last week, continues to battle inconsistency, losing at home earlier this month to Michigan and then falling at Ohio State. \nThe door is open for a Hoosier run. The question now is, will they step up and step through it? This week will go a long way in solving the puzzle that is IU hoops, but at least now, there's hope -- atop the conference.\n... My palms start to sweat as the pencil begins to move. I bubble in my choice: letter C. Indiana.\nLooks like it'll be remedial coloring for me. I'd probably get hurt playing kickball anyway.
