Hoosiers escape emotional contest in Evanston

EVANSTON, Ill. – After a week of turmoil, Saturday night’s game against Northwestern almost seemed like an afterthought.\nWith just a half-day of preparation because of the controversy surrounding former coach Kelvin Sampson’s resignation, IU interim coach Dan Dakich and the No. 15 Hoosiers (23-4, 13-2) defeated the Wildcats 85-82 in a hard-fought road contest that came down to the final \nseconds.\nSix Hoosier players did not attend practice Friday afternoon following Sampson’s buyout agreement. The decision drew criticism on some IU fan message boards, but Dakich said he understood the emotions surrounding the situation.\n“They are 18- to 22-year-old kids, and I am having a hard time with it and I have been through some things,” Dakich said. “I knew they would be back. Anybody that has coached, been around kids, you understand.”\nThe Hoosiers started the game like a team that had not practiced in a while, falling behind by nine points early in the first half thanks to sloppy play that led to 10 first-half turnovers. On the defensive end, IU could not contain the Princeton-style offense, centered on cutting and backdoor passes. IU clawed back in the final minutes of the first period to cut the Wildcat lead to two points.\nDakich said the events surrounding the program had taken a toll on his players. Normally a loud and playful bunch, Dakich said the team was quiet on the plane ride and most of the members slept.\n“I knew it was going to carry over, quite frankly,” Dakich said. “I think when the plane took off, you know how you get just drained? I felt that is what happened today on the plane. Been a tough week on these kids.”\nLess than two minutes into the second half, Northwestern stretched its lead to eight points until a 16-8 Hoosier run tied the score at 52-52, setting the scene for a back and forth battle for the rest of the game.\nThe game was emotional, with a majority of the crowd supporting the visiting Hoosiers. Those emotions spilled over at the 14:21 point in the second half when freshman guard Jordan Crawford got into a scuffle with a Wildcat player. While senior forward and team captain D.J. White pulled Crawford aside, junior guard/forward Jamarcus Ellis picked up a technical foul.\nIU ran several defenses, but the Hoosiers could not stop Wildcat sophomore Kevin Coble, who scored 37 points on 12-16 shooting from the field.\n“We knew how good their offense was,” Crawford said. “We couldn’t really stop them, so we had to go down and score too to stay in the game. We just had to grind out the win.”\nThankfully for the Hoosiers, IU had its own offensive fire power, with four players recording 16 or more points, led by sophomore guard Armon Bassett’s 24 points. White recorded his 17th double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Crawford scored a career-high 21 points and freshman guard Eric Gordon, the team’s leading scorer, chipped in with 18.\n“It was just one of those nights that I had to step up and play good for the team,” Crawford said.\nNorthwestern had a chance to win the game – most notably when Gordon turned the ball over on a traveling violation with 13 seconds remaining and IU leading by just one point. Wildcat guard Michael Thompson missed a layup that would’ve given Northwestern the lead. The guard also missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime.