The education of a basketball team

Sometimes it takes a proverbial slap in the face to teach a young team what it takes to win at the highest level of collegiate basketball. After Saturday’s ego-deflating 80-65 loss to Xavier in the championship game of the Chicago Invitational Challenge, consider the Hoosiers slapped silly.\nAgainst a gritty, more experienced Musketeer squad, the Hoosiers’ 3-point shooting failed them for the first time this year, and phenom Eric Gordon could only muster 20 points on 4-of-12 shooting after sitting out seven minutes of the first half with three fouls. It’s funny how a bad day for Gordon is like a field day for anyone else.\nThe only spirited game play of the day came from D.J. White, who recorded his first double-double of the season. \nOn defense, the Hoosiers struggled to stop Xavier’s penetration and never really got back in the game after being down 11 points at halftime. The Musketeers exposed IU for what it really is at this point in the season: a team hyped on potential with a lot of learning to do in the upcoming months. Saturday’s loss was lesson No. 1.\nHere’s the beauty of the Hoosiers’ early season thumping: They get a chance to show their mettle in a nationally televised home game against Georgia Tech as part of the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Not only will we see how this team responds from a loss, but also how this team reacts to the national spotlight. Something tells me a few more Gordon YouTube clips might be hitting the Web tomorrow.\nIU – and the Big Ten as a conference – has struggled since the Big Ten/ACC Challenge began in 1999. The Hoosiers haven’t won a game since beating Maryland in 2002, and the Big Ten has never bested the Atlantic Coast Conference in the Challenge. Georgia Tech, however, is a far cry from North Carolina and Duke, IU’s ACC opponents the last three years.\nThe Yellow Jackets, who dropped contests to UNC-Greensboro and Winthrop earlier this month, present a very winnable game for the Hoosiers. Since its run to the Final Four in 2005, Georgia Tech has developed a reputation for possessing talented players that underachieve on the court. \nLast season, the Yellow Jackets produced two first-round NBA draft picks despite finishing 8-8 in their conference. This season, led by senior guard Anthony Morrow and a pair of seasoned forwards in Alade Aminu and Jeremis Smith, the Yellow Jackets are capable of toppling the country’s best, but also susceptible to some pretty demoralizing losses. Sound like anyone familiar?\nThe key for the Hoosiers will be to get off to a good start and ride the support of the frenzied crowd in Assembly Hall, which shouldn’t have an empty seat in the building for the first time this season. The opening minutes of games have been brutal for the Hoosiers in the season’s first month, and IU will most likely be at a disadvantage when it comes to rebounding – Georgia Tech grabbed a higher percentage of offensive rebounds than all but two teams in the country last season, according to Basketball Prospectus, and they get forward Zach Peacock back from injury today. A hot shooting start could make the boards irrelevant and allow the Hoosiers to learn lesson No. 2 of this young season: Losing can make winning that much sweeter.