IU mens basketball team to play 3 games in Chicago Invitational Challenge

The 100-49 victory on Nov. 17 over Longwood put the No. 8 IU men’s basketball team one step closer to claiming its first hardware of the season in the Chicago Invitational Challenge.\nThe Hoosiers will play one more game at Assembly Hall on Nov. 20 against UNC-Wilmington, before heading to Chicago for the semifinal and finals of the second-year tournament. The Hoosiers play Illinois State in the semifinals on Nov. 23 regardless of the outcome of the Nov. 20 game.\nThe winner of the IU-Illinois State game faces the winner of the Kent State-Xavier game on Nov. 24 for the title. All games will be shown on the Big Ten Network.\nJunior forward DeAndre Thomas said having games on consecutive days does not make too much difference for players.\n“I just come ready to play every time I get on the floor,” Thomas said.\nIU coach Kelvin Sampson said he likes the setup of the Challenge in comparison to the Maui Invitational or PreSeason NIT, where teams do not have any home games.\n“I’d much rather play in this tournament than that (Preseason NIT),” Sampson said. “Any exempt tournament that we are playing two games at home and two games on a neutral court is a good deal, if you are playing two at home.” \nIn addition, the Challenge consists of four guaranteed games, something the Maui Invitational or Preseason NIT cannot promise. With seven newcomers to the Hoosiers, Sampson said the extra game is valuable for coming together as a team. \n“I like the four games; they still count the same,” Sampson said “I like the idea of four games versus three, especially with our team. We have so many new guys.”\nBut before making the trip up I-65, the Hoosiers will celebrate Thanksgiving.\n“The good thing about having a program like ours is we are like family,” Sampson said. “Karen and I’ve been married for 28 years. In those 28 years, I don’t think we’ve ever spent a Thanksgiving without our team. So our team is our family and they are our family. We’ve always been close-knit off the court.”\nWhile some of the players have the ability to go home, others are unable to get home and will spend the holiday in Bloomington with the Sampson family.\n“The guys who can get home, we like for them to go home and spend Thanksgiving with their family,” Sampson said. “If they can’t, they know they are going to be at \nour house.”\nOnce classes end on Nov. 20, the team is no longer limited by the NCAA on practice time. With a few days off from school and two games to play, the extra time will be spent on making improvements, Sampson said.\n“We aren’t going to practice any more, but we may watch more film,” Sampson said. “It gives us a chance to go back to the North Alabama and Pembroke games to break down our mistakes, contrasting those to what we are doing better now.”