More of the same

A 90-80 loss to Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA Tournament was more of the same. IU struggled all night and battled back but simply came up short against another great squad. \nThe two types of teams that baffled the Hoosiers all season were those with size and those that possessed good free-throw shooters -- Gonzaga had both.\nThe Bulldogs' roster contained five players standing 6-foot-8 or taller who ended the regular season shooting 78.3 percent or better from the free-throw line. \nThe Hoosiers spent most of the last five months in foul trouble and Saturday was nothing out of the ordinary. \nWith 16:28 remaining in the game and the Hoosiers trailing 40-37, Marco Killingsworth grabbed what appeared to be an errant pass. He was whistled for a touch foul on Gonzaga center J.P. Batista, but he reacted by slapping the ball and yelling something at the official who made the call. He was immediately nailed with a technical foul, giving him four fouls on the night. \nNow that call would have been fine if Gonzaga's Adam Morrison didn't do the same thing every time he touched the ball. He literally did not stop talking or yelling throughout the game and at least half of his on-court commentary was directed at the officials, yet he never got whistled for it. And that made the call on Marco simply unacceptable. Morrison and his moustache -- which looks like it could turn into a cocoon and hatch a butterfly at any time -- should not get a benefit others don't receive. By the way, was I the only one who thought I was watching peripheral characters in a "Starsky and Hutch" rerun every time they showed Morrison and Earl Calloway next to each other?\nThe Bulldogs ended up shooting 41 free throws compared to just six for IU. The Hoosiers were called for 29 personal fouls while Gonzaga tallied only 14. Now I realize the Hoosiers weren't aggressive on offense and settled for too many jumpers, but Gonzaga bumped, banged and slapped almost as much as IU did. The officiating in college basketball simply needs to be more consistent. While it did not change the outcome of the game, it basically eliminated any opportunity IU had to win it. \nWhat Saturday's game proved was what real Hoosier fans have known all along -- this team had heart. It never gave up. Even playing without Killingsworth for most of the second half, it kept fighting. It held Morrison and his ridiculous 'stache to just 14 points (14.2 below his season average) and continued to show it could compete with the best in the nation. It played close with three of the top five teams in the land this year, even without D.J. White.\nRod Wilmont's shot looked terrible all night but he was all over the floor the way he had been all season. The same can be said for Errek Suhr, Marshall Strickland, A.J. Ratliff and even Robert Vaden, who mixed it up with Morrison a bit. They all played as hard as they could.\nCan you really ask any more out of a college athlete?