Turkeys await hungry Hoosiers

While most students will be stuffing their faces with food this week, the IU men’s basketball team will be stuffing their record with lopsided wins like their Nov. 18 100-49 roasting of the Longwood Lancers in the first round of the Chicago Invitational Challenge.\nThe Hoosiers made quick work of the Lancers, leading by 24 at the half. The outcome of the game was as about as uncertain as the football team’s likelihood of making a bowl game after seizing the Bucket on Nov. 17. OK, maybe a little more certain, but Lynch’s lads WILL make a bowl game. \nIU is scheduled to play three more games in the holiday tournament which – contrary to its name – shouldn’t pose much of a challenge at all for the No. 8 Hoosiers. UNC-Wilmington (1-1), Illinois State (3-0) and either Kent State (2-1) or Xavier (1-1) will be served to the Hoosiers in the next week.\nAfter seeing IU rack up points against the likes of UNC-Pembroke and Tennessee-Chattanooga in the first weeks of the season, it’s hard not to wish the Hoosiers were playing in a more prestigious preseason tournament like the Maui Invitational or the Great Alaskan Shootout (Nothing beats those 1 a.m. tip-offs) where we could see how this team stacks up against some of the big boys of college basketball. Heck, even the Old Spice Classic would be an upgrade from the Chicago Invitational Non-Challenge. \nIU-Longwood was a mismatch along the lines of Charlie Weiss-Oscar Mayer weiner. You almost felt sorry for the Lancers during their nine-minute scoring drought. The key word being “almost.”\nIU coach Kelvin Sampson seems to like the tournament arrangement of having two games at home and two guaranteed games at the Sears Center in Chicago. With seven newcomers on the team, Sampson isn’t looking to rush this group into any early clashes against top-ranked opponents.\n“We have so many new players that they are going to make mistakes, and we just have to be patient with them,” Sampson said. “But you can tell that every time we hit the court, we are improving.” \nIU’s Nov. 20 opponent, UNC-Wilmington, lost to the Illinois State Redbirds by 16 points Nov. 18. The Redbirds are 3-0 for the first time since the 1996-97 season, having beaten the likes of Missouri-St. Louis and Southeast Missouri State. They boast a talented guard in last season’s Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, Osiris Eldridge. \nEldridge has poured in a Gordon-esque 27 and 30 points in the Redbirds’ last two games. The last time IU faced a team with a talented guard, Eric Gordon latched onto him like Chad Ford was in the crowd with a notebook, barely allowing him enough room to breath, let alone shoot.\nThe one team that might push IU in Chicago is Xavier, should the two meet in the tournament final. The Musketeers nearly dethroned Ohio State in the second round of the NCAA tournament last year, losing to Greg Oden’s Buckeyes in overtime. Guard Drew Lavender, who once played under Sampson at Oklahoma, leads a team that returns three starters. Xavier, however, recently dropped a game to Miami University \nof Ohio 59-57 in the \nclosing seconds. \nYou have to think the Musketeers will bring their “A” game should they have the opportunity to knock off a Top 10 team like IU. If that happens, maybe the Hoosiers will get a chance to burn off some holiday calories.