IU travels to another Assembly Hall

It’s the game everyone has been waiting for.\nSure, the IU men’s basketball team has faced opponents with better records than Illinois and certainly there will be more crucial games down the stretch in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments, but no game has been anticipated by fans on both sides of the Wabash River more than freshman guard Eric Gordon’s first trip to Champaign.\nGordon de-committed from the Illinois program and head coach Bruce Weber in October 2007 - just months after Kelvin Sampson became IU’s head coach. The Indianapolis native’s decision became national news when Gordon became a hero in his home state and a villain in the “Land of Lincoln.”\nGordon said he isn’t going to let the off-court distractions take away from his performance on the hardwood against Illinois.\n“You just have to follow the game plan,” Gordon said in a statement. “I know there is a lot of history between me and them, but we just have to follow the game plan to get a win.”\nSampson and the No. 14 Hoosiers (18-3, 7-1) need a win to keep pace with Big Ten leader Purdue, who boasts a 9-1 conference record. IU has struggled to play up to its potential, Sampson said. After losing two consecutive games to Connecticut and Wisconsin, the Hoosiers bounced back last Sunday with a victory over Northwestern.\n“During a basketball season there are so many peaks and valleys and right now we are not playing as well as I think we are capable of playing,” Sampson said in a statement. “I saw some better things (Sunday) against Northwestern but we just have to keep playing better.”\nTonight kicks off a five-game stretch for the Hoosiers that includes big games against Purdue, Michigan State and Wisconsin – all contenders for the Big Ten championship.\nThe Hoosiers will have to address issues on both ends of the court to improve and compete for the Big Ten title, according to Sampson. Outside of the duo of Gordon and senior forward D.J. White, the Hoosiers have struggled to find consistent offensive production. On the defensive end, IU does not have the intensity it showed last season.\n“We have had stretches this year where we have done it well, we just have not been consistent in that area in terms of being more hard-nosed and tougher,” Sampson said.\nIU won the first meeting against the Illini in Bloomington, 62-58, with Gordon and White leading the way, scoring 17 and 15 points, respectively. It was one of Illinois’ best performances of the Big Ten season as the Illini have stumbled to a 2-8 record in conference play.\nDespite Illinois’ struggles this season, White expects the game to come down to the wire just as the first matchup did.\n“Every game I can remember playing against Illinois has gone down to the final seconds,” White said. “I expect the same (on Thursday), that it will come down to the end.”