POSTGAME: The Hoosiers got a quality win today, a win that almost feels like a bonus in addition to their recent conference play. There's not much more that can be said about this IU team that hasn't already; they continue to win games and pile up accomplishments that most people probably didn't expect so early in the season (or so early in Sampson's tenure). No more worries about that top-25 rating, by the way. Monday morning, you can bet the Hoosiers will be included.
---------------------------------------------------- Under a minute: Calhoun calls a timeout with UConn down one point.
UConn comes out of the timeout and commits a turnover. Calloway comes back into the game to give the Hoosiers some extra ballhandling. And Calloway comes on the line to shoot two. Makes one. Makes the second. Big shots from Earl.
UConn gets fouled on a putback. The Hoosiers need Adrien to miss these free throws ... and he misses the first and makes the second. IU calls a timeout on the inbound play. I can't take commercials right now.
UConn should have been called for an intentional foul on Bassett there. Armon coolly makes both of his free throws and seals the game for IU ... and that's a quality, quality win right there.
1: And Rod Wilmont just nails a three to put the Hoosiers up one! He is absolutely unconscious right now.
UConn answers with a low pots bucket to go back up one.
And Wilmont comes back with bucket. Unbelievable.
2: IU seems to be stuck trading fouls with UConn at this point, but fortunately IU's made their free throws. Now it appears that Wilmont was credited with the latest foul instead of D.J. White, and when the review was made, the P.A. guy said it was on A.J. Ratliff, even though Ratliff wasn't on the floor. Yep, doesn't make sense to me either.
5: The Hoosiers are keeping this game close, and even better, at a manageable pace here in the final minutes. Joey Shaw just made a fantastic move to finish a drive and put the Hoosiers up 64-62.
8: UConn just tied the game up again after a couple of missed threes by IU. Like I said, those shots have to go down - or DJ has to make post buckets, like he just did to put the Hoosiers up two again - to win.
12: DJ, Rod, and Earl continue to play well offensively for the Hoosiers, but UConn has been able to answer, and they continue to out-rebound IU. IU will need to keep making the shots they're making so far if they want to win without rebounding well. 56-52, IU.
15: And, for the second time in the game, a referee loses the ball for IU on that Wilmont steal. The first time was in the first half, when the ref's foot knocked the ball away from Armon. Guy, stay closer to the sideline, huh?
18: Please, please, if you've seen the missing children detailed in that ticker at the bottom of the screen, please call that number and do something about it. Then we can get back to watching the game across the entire screen, not just the top two-thirds. Thanks.
20: Rod Wilmont will shoot from anywhere, huh? He just hit a three, and then followed up with a transition layup that has the Hoosiers up 44-39. Sampson looked really fired up when the timeout was called - here's hoping his team can match his intensity for 20 minutes.
----------------------------------------------- HALFTIME: Uncharacteristically, IU is getting mauled on the boards today (-10 rebound margin), which might be something the Hoosiers can fix, or it might not. Honestly, UConn just looks that much more athletic. And there's really no antidote for that sort of athleticism. The Hoosiers just have to continue to box out as well as possible and slow the game down when they can ... and pray some of more of those shots fall. One thing's for sure: it's going to take a hell of a second half from IU to get this one done.
---------------------------------------------- Under a minute: Speaking of frenetic pace, the last minute just got out of hand. Joey Shaw just made two huge defensive plays in a row to prevent an easy UConn bucket. It's tied at the half, 39-39. Who knows where this game will go in the second half.
2: UConn's gone up 36-33 thanks to the frenetic pace and Stanley Robinson, who's hit a three and made a couple of athletic plays.
3: IU seems to be getting caught up in the exact kind of game Sampson said he wanted no part of: a track meet. Not only that, but even when settled, the Hoosiers are finding it tough to get points or stops on either end. Case in point: Stanley Robinson's unbelievable block of Mike White's dunk attempt. Unreal.
6: IU played 35 seconds of really tough D, only to give up a putback bucket. UConn is really, really athletic and capable of making plays even when IU plays as well as possible. IU is up 28-24, and Coach Sampson just called a timeout.
10: D.J. is getting the ball down low easily right now, but he looks really tired. After he missed a bucket, he slowly jogged back downcourt as his man, Robinson, finished a wide open dunk. And now Ben Allen is in the game. And now Ben Allen traveled. Kyle Taber, anyone?
13: My roommate just made a great point: I really don't need to narrate the game, because most everyone is probably watching. So from here on out, I'll do less play-by-play and more analysis, hopefully. Ah, student media. We're always learning.
In related news, Marcus Johnson just threw down a humongous dunk over A.J. Ratliff, but WIlmont answered with a three. A bit too much standing around for IU on offense right now; DJ shouldn't be handling the ball at the top of the key under any circumstances. Also, IU's defense is playing well, collapsing on the post well, though the Hoosiers will have to do better in transition from here on out.
14: Marcus Johnson beats IU's zone for a huge one-handed dunk, and DJ White answers with a huge two handed dunk as he's fouled. Again, wow. Clark Kellogg says something about a "windshield wiper game," which no one here understands whatsoever. Something about going back and forth, I guess? Who knows.
15: Ratliff comes off a curl screen and has his shot blocked, but wins it back in the open court, and Wilmont nails a tough three. IU is up, somewhat unbelievably, 16-4. Wow.
UConn calls timeout. Hopefully I can get caught up; all that basketball knowledge I thought my buddies would drop is serving as more of a distraction than anything else.
16: Bassett hits another three, and the Hoosiers go up 8-2. Wiggins drives and hits a two, and Bassett hits yet another three on the wing. The Hoosiers are up 11-4 - someone get ahold of Armon.
Speaking of Armon, he drives and dishes to DJ, who gets rejected by Thabeet, but gets a foul out of the deal. He hits both. 13-4
18:30: Bassett hits the first shot of the day for the Hoosiers, a three. UConn counters, and DJ misses a turnaround low. When I ask who made the first Uconn bucket, my friends say "I don't know, watch the game." Thanks.
Mike White scores a reverse layup. Okay.
GAMETIME: Gus Johnson is calling this one, so you know it will be exciting. Mike White is starting in place of Lance Stemler for the Hoosiers.
UConn wins the tip, and we're off.
------------------------------------------------- IU Hoosiers = International Television Stars: Before we get started on the game, a couple of quick thoughts about the "Inside College Basketball" episode that just featured IU: it was fun to see some of the players when they're not deathly serious, like in the postgame press conferences. For example, Earl "Calloweezy's" introduction of "A-Bizzle" (Armon Bassett) and the IU locker room was hilarious, as was the ping pong game between Lance Stemler and Kyle Taber. Also, a small glimpse of IU's practices was interesting to see, too.
Other than that, there wasn't a ton of fantastic stuff there, except that Rod Wilmont, being a fifth-year senior, has an incredible class schedule (one class). He's my academic idol.
The Texas-'Nova game is winding down, so I'll be back in a few with gametime.
----------------------------------------- Here's the deal: Thanks to various weather concerns and budgetary restraints, your loyal IU basketball beat reporters were unable to organize a Duke-esque trip to Hartford this weekend. Thanks to this handy Internet thingy, though, our coverage need not be limited by geography. I'll be liveblogging the game from my couch, surrounded by an assemblage of some of the best basketball minds in Bloomington: my friends. (Seriously, I pride myself on my knowledge of the game, but these guys teach me something new every time we talk IU hoops.)
Also, columnist Ryan Corazza and I will be chatting via IM throughout the game, and if we say something notably trenchant ... ok, something interesting ... alright, if we string a subject and predicate together, I'll post it to the blog. And, as always, we'll rely on your opinions and observations to help this feel less like a lecture and more like a conversation.
For more game preview-related material, see reporter Matt Mattucci's story from Friday's edition of the IDS. IU's "Inside the Season" episode is set to air on ABC; i'll be back afterward with some thoughts and the start of the game. Enjoy.
