IU's numbers, play surging toward season's end

When the Hoosiers belted out "Auld Lang Syne" on New Year's Eve, they did so as one of the nation's top-scoring teams. They paced the Big Ten in assists and even led the nation in shooting percentage for a spell. \nBut since conference play began, IU has ranked last in only two categories -- field goal percentage and assists. \nThe plagues of coaching change turmoil are evident in the stat book, but the past three games reflect a team reborn. IU has turned back the clock by shooting 45 percent from the field, 41 percent from three and averaging more than 15 assists per contest.\n"When we played well early in the season, we averaged 17 assists per game," IU coach Mike Davis said. "For some reason we got away from that, and now we're getting back into that rhythm."\nBesides the recently acquired clarity about their coach, the Hoosiers can attribute their recent upswing to the emergence of three players. Senior guard Marshall Strickland has become a consistent scoring threat, junior guard Earl Calloway has cemented his role as starting point guard and freshman Ben Allen has kept the Hoosiers from regressing when senior Marco Killingsworth takes to the bench.\nAllen has increased his minutes in each of the past three games, and contributed with timely shots. Calloway has vastly upped his floor time as well as his production -- scoring a season-high 11 points against Purdue Wednesday.\n"If everybody is collapsing down on Marco we, as guards, have to be ready to score," Calloway said. "That's the main thing I've been trying to prove to the people -- that I can score."\nStrickland best embodies the IU resurgence, joining Killingsworth and sophomore Robert Vaden as the team's top scoring threats. In the past three games Strickland has \naveraged 18 points per game on 57 percent shooting and 67 percent three-point shooting.\n"I think I'm playing well," he said. "I think I'm getting better. I think the key, this time of season, is to keep improving."\nSaturday's game against Michigan offers the last opportunity for IU to improve itself offensively, as the Wolverines rank last in scoring defense, three-point defense and second to last in field goal defense during conference play. Both teams stand at 8-7 in the Big Ten, and the game's winner will secure a first round bye in the conference tournament.\nBut after fighting through all those numbers, allow coach Davis to nullify the numerics. \n"We're not going to put numbers on it," Davis said. "We're just going to stay focused."\nThe final number of interest is 2:30 p.m., when IU takes the court Saturday in Ann Arbor.