POSTGAME:
Eeeeek. Not quite the outcome Coach Sampson and the Hoosiers were looking for out of tonight's game. It looked like IU was about to pull away as its lead grew to 12 midway through the second half, but Butler stormed back on a 9-0 run to get back in the game. With IU down two and less than 10 seconds left in the game with the shot clock winding down, A.J. Graves of Butler heaved up a desperation three which banked off the backboard and into the net to seal the game 60-55 for the Bulldogs.
The foul calls ran rampant again in the second half with D.J. White, Earl Calloway and A.J. Ratliff spending significant time on the bench with four fouls each.
Here's what Coach Sampson said after the game:
It was a disappointing loss. I thought our kids, our defense was great. I thought our rebounding was great. The game came down to two things. We put them on the line too much. Twenty-six times on the line is too much. Twenty turnovers are too much. I thought our defense was great. Our rebounding was great. We just have to play smarter.
How many great defensive posessions did we have and then we wind up fouling? And those kids are great free throw shooters. You hold a team to 33 percent from the floor and out rebound them by 15, you probably should win. But you know what? Tells you how important intelligence is in this game. You got to play smarter. When you have a lead, that's where you have to value posessions and get the ball to the right place. We made some mistakes. This will be a good experience and we'll learn from it.
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HALFTIME:
The refs, much like last night, are really calling this tournament tight. There are a total of 26 fouls between Butler and IU at halftime (14 for the Hoosiers, 12 on Butler). Because of the officiating, it's been tough for either team to establish any sort of a rhythm offensively.
And again, much like last night, there are a TON of turnovers so far. IU has 12, while Butler has tallied eight. It's been a tough game to watch as a spectator, with the fouls and turnovers making it a rather sloppy affair.
D.J. White stayed out of foul trouble for the most part (although he sat for a good chunk of time before halftime with Earl Calloway, as they both had two fouls). He had a couple quick turnaround baby jumpers and a dunk. He has 10 points at the half.
IU has done a good job locking down Butler's star from last night, A.J. Graves. He's only 2-for-11 from the field but has tallied seven points.
While I post this, I unfortunately missed the halftime entertainment - a dance troupe called 'en2raj.' I'm thinking if I'd stayed out on the floor and watched, I'd still probably much prefer the HBO show to the dance troupe.
See you after the game.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PREGAME:
Hello, friends. We're coming to you live from Conseco Fieldhouse, about a half hour before game time. Notre Dame just handled the Lafayette College squad that IU, well, handled last night. The final score was 92-60.
With a win tonight, IU becomes Midwest Champions of the NIT Season Tip-Off and advances to Madison Square Garden in New York next week for the final round of the tourney.
It will be interesting to see what IU will look like tonight if D.J. White can stay out of foul trouble and put in a solid 30 minutes or so. A.J. Graves of Butler scored 28 points last night, including eight 3-pointers, in the Bulldogs' win against Notre Dame. So, look for him and Earl Calloway to duke it out a bit tonight.
Coach Sampson is going with the same starting lineup as last night with Ben Allen, White, Rod Wilmont, A.J. Ratliff and Calloway getting the nod.
See you at halftime.
(UPDATE: Lance Stemler started in place of Ben Allen.)
