UPDATE: I was approached after the game by Athletics Director Rick Greenspan, who wanted to convey a message to the students in regards to some of the chants they threw down at Assembly Hall tonight.
I don't have Mr. Greenspan's message on tape, so I'd feel shaky attempting to quote it verbatim, but our conversation went like this:
Rick pulled me aside and asked if I could put this in my story: the IU athletics department appreciates the student fans and the atmosphere they create for home games, but it hopes that the fans will cheer "with class" in the future. I asked him if he was referring to the "Stand Up Old People" chant the students formulated Wednesday night. (For those that don't know, in the first half, the entire student section chanted "stand up, old people" at the opposite section, which comprises mostly alumni. The chanters loved it; the chantees [the alumni] responded relatively well; on the second time, most of them even stood up.)
Mr. Greenspan responded that yes, that was the chant he was referring to, and then gave me permission to attribute him. I mentioned that it probably wouldn't go in my story in Thursday's edition, since it was just about the game, but that I would make mention of it on this here blog thingy. So there you have it: the athletics department is not all that pleased with that chant, and hopes for better in the future. If I would have been thinking (and less startled), I would have ventured to ask Mr. Greenspan if he received any complaints from the so-called "old people" tonight, but, alas, I wasn't thinking.
Anyway, feel free to leave your opinions, comments and questions below. More on this if it becomes anything more.
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POST GAME:
Not much changed in the second half - unless you consider IU's lead constantly rising as a change - and IU rolled tonight at Assembly Hall, 85-58.
IU's offense struggled slightly in the first half, but experienced no such struggles in the second half. A.J. Ratliff led the way, hitting a perfect 6-6 from the floor for 16 points and Joey Shaw led all IU scorers with 19.
The entire way, the Hoosiers had the advantage in nearly every element of the game: rebounding, defense and, finally, offense. Not only that, but IU's effort was there for 40 minutes. Purdue's - at least at times - seemed nonexistent.
The crowd's crowning moment in the second half? No, not chanting "Mrs. Kramer," Purdue freshman Chris Kramer's mother's name (a bit classless, I guess, especially since Chris' mom was probably in attendance). No, the crowd seemed at its most giddy when chanting "Kelvin Sampson," possibly the first such chant we've heard since Midnight Madness.
Post game press conferences are set to begin any time now, so I need to close this off, but expect another post tomorrow. There's plenty to discuss about this IU team as they go forward and compete for a Big Ten title.
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HALFTIME:
What a half for the Hoosiers.
They might only have scored 34 points, but they held Purdue to 22 by forcing bad shots, turnovers, and winning every loose ball on the court. They're flying.
Bassett led the Hoosiers with 11 (including a nasty crossover three) and Earl Calloway keyed the defensive effort with his typical pressure. And though he didn't have contribute much offensively (two points), D.J. White had five blocks in the half, tying his career high.
A couple of quick things you might not know if you're not in the building:
Purdue is basically the poor man's Indiana. Seriously: they defend well and rebound OK, but they don't have the offensive talent to match up. Not only that, but their personnel even seems similar. Landry is a smaller, much less talented D.J. White, and Teague is some weird amalgamation of IU's guards. Just ... not as good.
The IU crowd is great tonight ... particularly, the student crowd. On a couple separate occasions, the students organized a "Stand Up Old People" chant that slowly roused some such "old people" out of their chairs. When the Hoosiers extended their lead late in the half, finally, the old people didn't seem to need a reminder.
Earl Calloway made Purdue coach Matt Painter REALLY angry. After Calloway hit a three in front of the Purdue bench, he turned and said something - or maybe just stared - at Painter. Painter wigged; he yelled down the bench at Sampson, who didn't seem to hear him. When a timeout was called on the same possession, Painter glared at the IU bench until it became clear he wasn't going to get anyone's attention. We'll see if anyone is willing to comment in the post game or not, and we'll update as soon as we can. Either way, with the crowd and the stares and the actual play on the court, it sure feels like a rivalry again.
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We're here, we're blogging, get used to it.
It's about half an hour until tip-off here at Assembly Hall, and we're ready to go. Since the game is on ESPNU, if you have tickets, you're probably coming tonight (and thus will not be reading here) but for those of you stuck without ESPNU, under 21 and unable to go to a sports bar, or stuck studying in the library on the first week of classes (ouch, bro), we're here at halftime and post-game with quick observations and updates.
Here's a guide to our preview stories from today's edition of the IDS:
Rivals both use similar style - Eamonn Brennan Unrivaled history - Matt Mattucci
Also, since we can't be with you during gametime, here's a link to ESPN's Gametracker home page. That ought to help.
Feel free to leave questions and such in the comments, and we'll see you at halftime.
