Davis tweaking lineup in hopes to free Vaden

Senior guard Marshall Strickland  will move back to point guard tonight against Northwestern after having spent all season playing on the wing. Strickland played point guard in his first three seasons as a Hoosier, but saw increased scoring and 3-point production after moving to his more natural off-guard position.\n"I know the system, so it's not a challenge for me," Strickland said. "I think just giving guys different looks and different matchups, it's going to be good for us."\nDespite the adjustment's obvious effects on Strickland, the primary reason for the change is to open up sophomore guard/forward Robert Vaden. The Hoosiers tried to force matchup problems by playing Vaden at power forward, but recent opponents have responded by assigning their forwards to senior guard Lewis Monroe, who doesn't offer the same scoring threat.\n"We have to have it where they have to guard our point guard," Davis said. "There is no need to play Vaden at the four if a guard can guard him. You can't have your four man guarding our one man."\nDavis also decided to turn his sixth man into a third man, as junior guard Rod Wilmont will start tonight as IU's third guard with Vaden playing the traditional shooting guard spot. \nThe only question remaining before game time is: Who will play the position of the "other big man?" Davis wants another forward to complement senior Marco Killingsworth inside, but he's not sure whether to choose the offensive range of freshman Ben Allen or the experience and leadership of senior Sean Kline.\nThe color purple isn't the only thing that separates Northwestern from the rest of the Big Ten.\nThe Wildcats run a very distinct offense, unlike any other program in the traditionally hard-nosed, scrappy Big Ten. Instead, Northwestern has become synonymous with quick cuts, avant-garde passing lanes and crafty international players with the skill sets to make it all possible.\n"Their system is different than anybody you play against," Davis said. "Defensively, your rules are really out the door because if you overplay their wings, they're going to back-door cut you. You can't play soft, but you can't overplay things either."\nNo player better represents Northwestern's style of play than 6-foot-8 sharp-shooter Vedran Vukusic. The Croatia native leads the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 20.5 points per game -- scoring from any point on the floor. \n"You've got to get up on him," Killingsworth said. "You've got to make him put it on the floor because he's a real good shooter and he can post up."\nThere are certain things IU coach Mike Davis feels a player should never say after a loss: "They had more emotion than us," "They wanted it more than us" and "We overlooked them." \nAfter a 61-42 loss to Minnesota -- which hadn't won a conference game all season -- sophomore A.J. Ratliff broke rule No. 3 when he spoke to the media.\n"A lot of guys might have thought they're 0-6 and even though it was on the road, we were easily going to get a win," Ratliff told the media after the game.\nDavis said at practice Tuesday he didn't know why somebody would say that. He said the team never overlooked Minnesota -- the Gophers simply won the game on their own by outplaying IU. \n"A coach can say that because a coach is not playing," Davis said. "A coach can look out and see the effort and the energy (the team) is playing with. But a player should never say that because he's the one on the court giving the effort. So I was very disappointed in that comment"