POSTGAME: Well, it stayed interesting for a bit, didn't it?
The fouls continued and D.J. White remained out of the game, but, spurred on by Earl Calloway high screen after Earl Calloway high screen, the Hoosiers finished with their first win of the Kelvin Sampson era.
Leading scorers were Rod Wilmont and Calloway, who finished with 24 and 22, respectively. We'll have a full wrap posted later tonight (ahem, this morning), but for now, two quick notes:
* In his postgame press conference, Sampson recognized that foul calls - as well as all sorts of illegal screen, blocking, hand-checking, and carrying calls - were, shall we say, a bit numerous, but he didn't blame the referees.
Early in the season they're going to call everything. I don't know that that's anyone's fault. Because all summer and off-season, those guys get killed on that. They have practices too, with points of emphasis. Early in the season, there's going to be games like this all over the country. But as the season rolls on, we'll wear them down.
* On what IU will need to pay attention to tomorrow night vs. Butler:
Defending the dribble and defending the ball screen. Those are the two things Butler's always good at. They're a team that is good at accentuating their strengths and creating shots. They will double down hard on D.J. White. We have to bounce back and play again tomorrow night.
* The crowd, almost entirely in favor of IU, had plenty to say about the referees tonight, both in loud, collective roars and in quick, clever one-liners delivered via Conseco's echo. My personal favorite: near the end of the second half, when D.J. finally re-entered the game and the crowd quieted down, one fan yelled: "D.J.! Don't breathe!" Ah ... an oldie, but a goodie nonetheless.
* One more note about the crowd: attendance was announced at 8,037, which looked about right from where we were sitting (the ghetto upper-deck press area). That's a relatively small number. Where was everyone? There were plenty of seats left, especially in the middle and upper bowls but even scattered throughout the lower areas. You'd have to think, with hometown Butler and state basketball hegemony IU squaring off tomorrow, that attendance number will jump quite a bit. You'd hope so, anyway.
Is anyone planning to attend tomorrow night? If so, where will you be sitting? Also, if you have any thoughts to share on A.J. Graves - we'll admit, we're woefully ignorant, and he seems a bit like an Indy-area cult hero - please do so.
And make sure to check for a full game wrap in tomorrow's edition of the IDS.
UPDATE: Here's the story.
------------------------------------------------------------- HALFTIME: Spell it out with me now. F. O. U. L. S. Fouls.
It's as easy as that. There were too many of them - too many called on IU (15), too many called on Lafayette (11) and most importantly for IU, too many called on D.J. White (3). The Hoosier center played only three minutes in the half, in fact, thanks to picking up two quick fouls at the start and another as soon as he reentered the lineup.
Perhaps not surprisingly, then, IU is holding on to a relatively narrow margin, 42-37. Back to the press area for more Mountain Dew and Hoosier Hoops.
UPDATE: Just as I write this, White just picked up his fourth foul. And Lafayette cut the margin to 2 at 42-40. This could be a much more interesting second half than anyone anticipated.
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PREGAME: Well, the game's about to start, and since we can't update live - stupid Conseco Fieldhouse wireless access - we'll try and stop by at halftime to leave some quick impressions and such.
In-state students, especially those from the Indy area, had to be a bit tickled to see Butler take down Notre Dame early today. We barely caught the end of it, but three words: A.J. Graves.
Enjoy the big night. Conseco is rockin'. Back at halftime. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, the day is here. The first game of the season. The final release of pre-season tension. The time to get out the basketball shoes and hit the HPER to prove you can, in fact, shoot more effectively from the field than Donald Perry. The time for the ironic realization that as the weather outside approaches its slow death, college ball-heads are elated at the birth of a new season. Yes, it's that time.
And the big moment? The Lafayette College Leopards.
OK, so it's a bit anticlimactic. Nonetheless, it's here, it's the Preseason NIT Tip-off and it's televised (ESPN2, 9 p.m. EST). If you're yet to venture out to Assembly to get a look at the team, well, here's your chance to get a look at Kelvin Sampson's first Hoosier team.
As for Lafayette, well, here's what we know: They won their first game 76-70 over Wagner, and their sophomore guard Andrew Brown seems to be a relative threat from outside. He hit five threes on the way to 15 points and five assists vs. Wagner.
In reality, though, the Leopards should be a quick pit stop on the way to Tuesday's matchup with Notre Dame. We'll post a separate thread then, but for now, let's hear your predictions. Think IU will blow it out? Think Rod Wilmont will top 20 points? Let us hear your thoughts, as well as your observations throughout the game, below.
