Like Butler, ISU not to be overlooked

Hey, are you ready for this one? IU has played the Indiana State Sycamores four times since 1999. The Hoosiers lost three of them and emerged victorious just once.\nThere was the 72-67 fiasco in Terre Haute last year in which former IU player Marco Killingsworth had almost as many turnovers (seven) as points (10). IU squeaked by ISU two years ago with a 56-52 win Assembly Hall. In 1999 and 2000, IU dropped back-to-back games against Indiana State.\nDisheartening? Sure. Pathetic? Maybe a bit.\nFor the players of Indiana State (and Butler as well) that grew up in Indiana and never got so much as a sniff from the coaching staff at IU, playing against the Hoosiers is a big deal. They want to beat the cream and crimson. They want to prove to IU they're worth something.\n'You want to not recruit us? We're going to try and make you pay.'\nIt's perhaps their biggest game of the season.\nButler has six players from Indiana. Indiana State has seven.\nA.J. Graves of Butler proved a threat Monday and Tuesday night in the NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament. Graves hails from Switz City, Ind. and played high school ball for White River Valley High School. He had dreams of playing for the cream and crimson, but, as he was an undersized guard, IU never came calling.\nThe junior poured in 28 points against another big-name in-state school, Notre Dame, Monday.\nTuesday, although IU limited Graves to 4-of-18 shooting during the Hoosiers' 60-55 loss to the Bulldogs, he still found a way to take it to them. Graves tallied 20 points. He was 10-of-10 from the foul line and added the biggest dagger to the Hoosiers' hearts late in the game. As the shot clock buzzed with five seconds to go in the second half, Graves heaved up a desperation 3-pointer. It bounced off the backboard and into the net. 60-55 Butler. IU had no chance for any late-game heroics after that.\nSo how do the Hoosiers go about combating this sort of inspired play tonight?\nWell, they should start with their heads.\n"We just didn't play smart enough. We got to play smarter with the lead," IU coach Kelvin Sampson said after the Butler loss.\nIU's lead spiked to 12 with 11:45 left in the second half. Six turnovers, a few fouls and some rushed shots later, the Hoosiers were down 50-49. They never led again.\nTalent-wise, Butler is not better than IU and neither is Indiana State, however they can both beat the Hoosiers if IU makes mistakes, D.J. White is held in check and their players compete as if beating IU is like winning a national championship.\n"I don't care what I shoot as long as we get the W," Graves said after Tuesday's game against IU.\nPerhaps that's the anthem for every Indiana kid the Hoosiers have ever overlooked.