POSTGAME: The Hoosiers win going away tonight, 94-63.
The second half sort of devolved into an Assembly Hall love in, with cheers and chants and screaming galore. Each senior was honored with their own individual name chant and each received a standing ovation and a hug from their coach on their way off Branch McCracken court for the last time.
The postgame speeches were emotional, too, but funny and lighthearted at the same time. It's clear this group of seniors remains focused on the task at hand.
That task at hand has become more clear tonight; the Big Ten has just released the seedings for next Thursday's conference tournament. IU is the #3 seed, as expected, and will play Friday night at 8:15 vs. the winner of the Illinois/Penn State first round match up.
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HALFTIME:
IU's seniors are making the most of their last game at Assembly Hall. That goes especially for IU point guard Earl Calloway. If you didn't know any better, you wouldn't be able to guess that Calloway was injured and unable to play for the past few weeks. Tonight, Earl has seven points and (even more impressively) seven assists, and has run the Hoosiers offense with confidence and swagger IU coach Kelvin Sampson says his team so desperately needs. IU leads at the half, 43-31.
Back after the game for more.
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Hello again, people. We're back at Assembly Hall for the last regular season game of the season. Can you believe it? It's hard to fathom that we've already been through almost 30 games with this team. In a lot of ways, it feels like the season should just be really hitting full stride soon. In other ways, it's always a comforting feeling knowing that conference tournaments - and March Madness - are just around the corner.
Anyway, since tonight is the last home game as well, part of the evening will be dedicated to outgoing seniors Rod Wilmont, Earl Calloway, and Errek Suhr. It will surely be sentimental - Rod told us Friday that he would definitely be crying - so keep your hankies handy. In that vein, expect Suhr and Calloway to get a fair amount of minutes tonight. Earl's shoulder might have kept him out of the game if it weren't Senior Night, but Earl's going to play tonight anyway, he said Friday. (UPDATE: We're told that the seniors will be honored with their families at the 13 minute mark, just in case you're wondering.)
Here are your projected starting lineups, according to IU Athletic Media Relations:
PSU: F Jamelle Cornley F Brandon Hassell G Geary Claxton G David Jackson G Mike Walker
IU: F D.J. White F Lance Stemler G Rod Wilmont G Armon Bassett G A.J. Ratliff
