Ruling the road

CARBONDALE, Ill. – A year after finishing 3-8 on the road, the IU men’s basketball team won its first road game of the season Saturday night against a tough Southern Illinois squad 64-51.\nThe win snapped Southern Illinois’ 15-game home winning streak.\nWith seven newcomers to this year’s team, including five freshmen, many members of the No. 15 Hoosiers had never played a true road game in Division I basketball. However, the Hoosiers gained some experience playing in front of a hostile Xavier crowd during the finals of the Chicago Invitational Challenge.\nThe 9,345 Saluki fans waiting for the Hoosiers at SIU Arena were a bit rowdier than the crowd in Chicago, senior forward D.J. White said.\n“We sort of had an away game against Xavier, but it was nothing like the environment here,” White said.\nSaluki fans booed and jeered IU during warmups 30 minutes before tip-off and continued throughout the game. The crowd’s favorite targets: IU coach Kelvin Sampson and freshman guard Eric Gordon.\nThe team faced some early trouble, falling down by four which got the home crowed excited for the upset. White, one of two senior captains on the squad, said the veterans told the younger players that they would have to play through adversity on the road.\n“Just stay poised,” White said he told his teammates coming into the game.\nThe Hoosiers listened to their leader’s advice, settled down offensively and took a six point lead into halftime.\nComing out of the half, the Hoosiers had the chance to take control of the contest, but went on a three-minute scoring drought which included three turnovers from sophomore guard Armon Bassett.\nAt the first timeout, Sampson took Bassett aside, telling his point guard to be patient on the offensive end.\n“I was pretty mad about those (turnovers),” Bassett said. “But it happens, and I can’t let it get to me.”\nThe Hoosiers primarily played a 2-3 zone in the second half, which held Southern Illinois to only nine points in the first 16 minutes after intermission, deflating the home crowd in the process and giving the Hoosiers a 14-point lead.\nIU played tough defense during those 16 minutes, forcing turnovers and blocking shots. \nThe Salukis helped the Hoosier cause, shooting 32 percent from the field in the second half and missing several open shots. \n“Sometimes the ball just doesn’t go in,” Sampson said. “But I thought that our kids played hard enough and tough enough together to win the game. That is good for us.”\nSampson said he was proud of the way his team bounced back from the Xavier game with two wins. The Xavier game exposed a lot of the Hoosiers’ weaknesses and gave the team a chance to improve, he added.\n“I think we learned a lot of lessons from that game,” Sampson said.\nWith five consecutive home games to close out the year, it is very possible for IU to be 11-1 heading into the Big Ten season. For Sampson though, it is improvement each game for which he is striving.\n“Our team is getting better,” Sampson said. “We are learning to play with each other. It takes time to do that.