IU suffered its first loss of the season in the Big Ten opener at Michigan State which exposed a few of IU's strengths and weaknesses.
In case Avi didn't give you enough on Michigan State, I decided to take a look at the four main players for the Spartans along with some other interesting tidbits about Tom Izzo's tenure in East Lansing. Senior forward Draymond Green was 2nd in scoring last year and led the team in rebounding and assists, leads the team in all three categories this year. Green lost 25 pounds in the off-season and with Delvon Roe hanging up the cleats due to constant knee injures, he has been the consistent threat down low for the Spartans. Former McDonald's All-American guard Keith Appling slides over to point guard with Kalin Lucas graduating and Korie Lucious having transferred to Iowa State.
Per IU Athletics: Tom Crean On Playing Michigan State "They have three guys in the top 15 in offensive rebounds in the Big Ten.
No. 16/17 Michigan State 6th in the nation in rebounds, 1st in Big Ten, 41.9 per game 44th in the nation in scoring, 4th in the Big Ten, with 76.9 ppg 42nd in the nation in scoring defense, 4th in the Big Ten, allowing 59.4 ppg Shoots 34.3% from beyond the arc (72-of-210) Limits opposition to 29.7% 3-point shooting (79-of-266) Shoots 68.2% from the free-throw line On average, out-rebounding opponents by a +10.8 margin Draymond Green: 15.5 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 72.7 FT%, 13-of-42 from 3-point territory Three players averaging in double figures Have won 11-straight games after losing to UNC and Duke in the first two games of the season Kenpom: Ranked 13th overall, 33rd AdjO, 11th AdjD Game info: Who?
For IU fans Feb. 4 might mark the date circled on the calendar for the Hoosiers traveling up to West Lafayette to try and earn their first win over Purdue in the Tom Crean era. However for those always looking towards the future, seven future Hoosiers will hit the court over four games that same day at Lawrence Central High in Indianapolis. The action gets underway at Noon with the only team not having an IU commit, Detroit Country Day, taking on La Lumiere with Hanner Perea.
IU jumped a few more spots in this weeks polls, climbing to No. 13 in the AP and to No. 15 in the Coaches'. The bump in the rankings came after a couple of blowout wins at home.
After shooting just 2-of-14 from three-point range in the first half Thursday evening, IU responded with a 9-of-13 effort in the second half as the Hoosiers beat UMBC 89-47 at Assembly Hall. IU played without injured forwards Derek Elston (nose) and Will Sheehey (leg). Senior guard Verdell Jones III left the game late in the first half with an apparent hip injury and did not return. Replacing Jones in the starting lineup in the second half was senior guard Matt Roth.
After overcoming a slow start in its final tuneup before Big Ten play, IU went on a 25-4 run in route to a 37-23 lead at halftime against UMBC. The Hoosiers have scored 24 points off 14 UMBC turnovers and have outscored the Retrievers by 14 points from the free throw line. Leading the Hoosiers in scoring is Jordan Hulls with 9 points, Victor Oladipo with 8 and Cody Zeller with 7. Coming in as the nation's best three-point shooting team, the Hoosiers are just 2-of-14 in the first half with both makes coming from Hulls. Hulls school record free throw streak of 58 consecutive makes did come to an end in the first half. The Retrievers closed the half on a 9-0 run as the Hoosiers are playing without the injured Derek Elston and Will Sheehey.
A source confirmed to IDS men's basketball columnist Avi Zaleon Wednesday that IU sophomore forward Will Sheehey has sustained an injury and will likely not be able to play against UMBC Thursday. According to IU Athletics, Sheehey "has a left lower leg injury that he sustained in practice Wednesday and his status will be evaluated each day." According to the source, Sheehey thinks he "will be out for awhile." Stick with the IDS as this story progresses.
To say IU had to go back to the drawing board after a 57-point win against Howard Monday night might be a little unfair. But the squad has gone about business as usual to prepare to take on the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Thursday night at Assembly Hall. "Our thing tomorrow night is, let's not come out here to get through it and have a workman-like attitude," IU Coach Tom Crean said.
Everyone was filing out of Assembly Hall, Gus Johnson and Quinn Buckner had already pronounced the game over and us media members were getting a head start on our deadlines. Let's face it.
IU junior Amy Cozad and sophomore Laura Ryan won synchronized platform dive title at the 2012 USA Diving Winter National Championships on Monday, Cozad's second national title of the season and Ryan's first since the 2010 USA Diving Summer National Championships, when the same duo won gold at the competition. In today's competition, Cozad and Ryan finished first in preliminaries with a score of 311.16, 13.86 points ahead of 17-year-old Jessica Parratto and 16-year-old Anna James.
The IU men's basketball team cruised to a 107-50 win against Howard University on Monday night at Assembly Hall. Leading the six Hoosiers in double figures was IU junior guard Jordan Hulls, who poured in 16 points, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. IU rode the momentum of a 52-15 advantage at halftime, its' largest first-half lead of lead of the season.
Behind nine three-pointers in the first half, IU has its largest halftime lead of the season as they are up 52-15 against the Howard Bison. Five different Hoosiers have knocked down three-pointers led by Jordan Hulls with four including a desperation left-handed one as the shot clock was expiring. Hulls leads the way with 12 points and Christian Watford and Verdell Jones III both have 8. IU is 9-of-14 from three-point range and has 14 assists on 18 made field goals. The school record for three-pointers in a game is 17 set in 2002 and 2007.
After dusting off the ranking cobwebs last week and earning their first ranking in four seasons, the Hoosiers climbed to No.
In case you haven't noticed, this Cody Zeller guy is pretty good. The IU freshman had another stellar game yesterday, dropping 21 points and picking up eight rebounds to lead the Hoosiers to a 69-58 win against Notre Dame in the Crossroads Classic at Conseco Fieldhouse. The reality is that these types of games have already become the usual for a freshman.
