Sampson or Dakich, IU will win

At a glance, this game seems \na given.\nIU enters Saturday’s contest after two convincing home victories over conference contenders Michigan State and Purdue, riding two consecutive home victories over conference contenders No. 19 Michigan State and No. 14 Purdue, while Northwestern is still looking for its first Big Ten win (although they had several chances at stealing a win against Iowa last Tuesday).\nThe Wildcats gave IU’s defense fits for the first 30 minutes the last time around before the Hoosiers switched to a zone defense and pulled away late in the second half. Northwestern is one of the worst rebounding teams in the country, but every Wildcat on the floor can shoot, and teams are sometimes slow to adapt to their Princeton offense. To borrow a phrase from Kelvin Sampson, the Hoosiers “out-athleted” the Wildcats last time around. It may take a more comprehensive game plan this Saturday.\nThe million-dollar \n question, though, is who will be coaching on the Hoosier sideline this weekend? IU President Michael McRobbie is expected to address the findings of the University’s second internal investigation of the men’s basketball program today, and Sampson is expected to be suspended or worse. Assistant coach Dan Dakich is the most likely successor should Sampson be shown the door, but the player’s response to losing their coach midseason will play a pivotal role in how this team performs over the final month.\nDakich is a capable coach, and he’s an IU guy. Plus, D.J. White has worked too hard and has too much pride to allow this team to give up during the final days of his collegiate career. It doesn’t matter who carries the clipboard this weekend. The Hoosiers win.