Imperfect, but a win

I was really starting to think it'd never happen. After so many terrible performances, I almost gave up. Just when we all thought this season was over, it has been resurrected by a three-game winning streak and -- wait for it -- a Big Ten road win. After beating Purdue 70-59 in West Lafayette last night, the Hoosiers now sit tied for fifth place in the Big Ten at 8-7 and are 16-10 overall. As it stands now, they are an NCAA tournament team -- take a minute to re-read that if you must. \nThough IU came away with a victory, it was anything but a perfect night. \nThe Hoosiers played great defense all night and rebounded well, but they had a few lapses that simply need to get cleaned up if they hope to continue this late-season surge. Marco Killingsworth is still committing too many stupid fouls and needs to control his temper and stop throwing elbows. The Hoosiers also only shot 29 percent from the field in the first half and trailed 27-25. \nEarl Calloway has really started to emerge over the last few games. But of course, the crack production team at ESPN-Plus had to ruin Earl's 11 point, three assist performance by putting "Kyle Calloway" above his stat line ... twice. In spite of that, the big "KC" (yes, he has a new nickname) played a great game and solidified himself as IU's point guard. \nThat wasn't all that bothered me about "The Plus'" game coverage. The announcing team made me long for the Steve Lavin-Brent Musburger connection and it had the production value of a snuff film. Seriously, this is a branch of ESPN. They couldn't throw a little money towards the channel? \nIn the end, it wasn't perfect but IU won on the road in conference, something they hadn't done all year. Marshall Strickland led the charge with 16 points and seven rebounds and seemed to gain confidence with every game. Robert Vaden had 11 points and 12 boards and iced the game with a 3-pointer that put IU up 62-53. His shot capped a 20-10 IU run and essentially ended the game.\nIU showed they don't always have to play their best to win. If they just play defense and rebound, they can beat anybody, regardless of the location. \nIf last night proved anything it's that a win doesn't have to be perfect to feel good.