IU, Oladipo gives ‘bad’ performance

The rumor at Assembly Hall before the IU men’s basketball team took on North Carolina was that 26 NBA scouts were in the crowd around Branch McCracken Court.

Victor Oladipo must have known.

The junior guard exploded with 19 points, including 13 in the first half, to go along with a thunderous dunk and block that kept the energy high in IU’s 83-59 victory against the Tar Heels in Assembly Hall.

After sophomore forward Cody Zeller supported IU’s offense during the first three minutes of the game, scoring seven of his team’s first 11, Oladipo took control.

He scored 11 of IU’s final 25 points of the half, a span in which the Hoosiers lengthened their lead to nine points from just two at 21-19.

Both teams had traded baskets midway through the first 20 minutes, with UNC even taking a brief lead at 19-18, but Oladipo’s energy helped IU’s transition offense to match the Tar Heels brisk offensive pace.

With just more than two minutes left in the first half, Oladipo helped continue a string of three-straight IU fast break dunks when he slammed one home off a steal from senior guard Jordan Hulls, finishing with his signature yell, chest pound and stare into the Hoosier crowd behind the basket.

Oladipo’s slam followed an equally thunderous dunk from Zeller, both of which brought the packed house in Assembly Hall to its feet and continued a 28-6 IU run.

At halftime, Oladipo tied Zeller to lead all scorers with 13 points, and though he didn’t quite keep up the same scoring pace in the second half, finishing with 19 points, he certainly left his mark.

Oladipo opened the second half for the Hoosiers with their first bucket after he missed a layup to begin the half just 12 seconds in.

Both the Hoosiers and Tarheels missed their next three baskets before Oladipo got IU out of a mini slump, stretching IU’s lead to double digits for the first time in the game.

Minutes later in the half, after the Hoosiers had stretched the lead to 56-37 coming off an Oladipo tip-in, he jumped high to deny UNC forward James Michael McAdoo a bucket, sending the blocked shot into the stands and the fans in the crowd to their feet.

Fellow junior, forward Will Sheehey, said with that block, along with Oladipo’s dunks and energy, the win against UNC was all his.

“If you go back and watch the game film of this game, there was one guy that brought it tonight, and that was Vic,” Sheehey said. “From the get-go, he was going to the boards, he was getting deflections, he was getting stops. When you see one guy out there bringing it, you’ve got to bring it too.

“When you remember this game, it was Vic’s game. He played phenomenal and really brought the energy on both ends of the floor and set the tempo for the game.”

IU Coach Tom Crean took Oladipo out with four minutes remaining in the game to a standing ovation from Hoosier crowd. Before he took a seat, he had a message for Tar Heels and Hoosiers alike.

“We some bad boys, we some bad boys,” he said.

Oladipo said after the game that he always tries to be a positive person, and when he gets pumped after having a game like last night’s, he’s not afraid to let it show.

“I was just so hyped,” Oladipo said. “Sometimes the juices get going, and the adrenaline is running, and things come out of your mouth you don’t even realize you’re saying.”

He said it wasn’t just about his confidence, but boosting the confidence of his teammates.

“We some bad boys, we some bad boys. Whatcha gonna do?”