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(03/21/11 2:18am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>While 2011 IU recruit Cody Zeller was preparing for a second consecutive Indiana High School Championship, his big brother was turning heads on the next level.North Carolina junior forward Tyler Zeller saved his best play for the NCAA Tournament, scoring a career-high 32 points in the Tar Heels’ first-round rout of Long Island. He backed that up by scoring 23 points against Washington, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen against Marquette on Sunday.While all eyes were focused on UNC freshman forward Harrison Barnes, it was Zeller who gave the Tar Heels a go-to option in the paint. Using a variety of post moves and beating the Huskies down the floor, Zeller went 8-of-14 from the floor and a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. Defensively, he altered shots, which made for misses or blocks for his teammates.But it doesn’t get any easier for Zeller as he tries to control the paint for North Carolina. Potential Elite Eight opponent Kentucky boasts a string of players — from freshman Terrence Jones to senior Josh Harrelson — who make their living around the basket. Ohio State, meanwhile, only has a Naismith finalist in Jared Sullinger.That didn’t deter Zeller earlier this season, though. In a December win against the Wildcats, he scored 27 points, hauled in 11 rebounds and recorded five blocks in arguably his best all-around game of the season.As current and future Hoosiers watch the elder Zeller lead the Tar Heels, they can only hope the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.Can Jimmer carry the Cougars?College basketball prides itself on teamwork, chemistry and ball movement. Rarely does a team go deep in the NCAA Tournament relying heavily on a single player. Brigham Young’s sensational senior guard Jimmer Fredette is trying to buck that trend. After pouring in 32 and 34 points in victories against Wofford and Gonzaga, respectively, Fredette and the Cougars are in the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1981. Two more wins and Fredette will have BYU in its first-ever Final Four appearance after an NCAA-record 25 tournaments without one. But can he do it without another consistent scorer?In BYU’s two victories in this year’s tournament, only forward Noah Hartsock (10 and 13 points) has scored in the double digits along with Fredette. And Brandon Davies, BYU’s leading rebounder and most efficient scorer in the regular season, was dismissed from the team.An example of a team topping a transcendent individual has already been in the cards in this tournament. Kansas State’s Jacob Pullen had 58 percent of his team’s points (38 total) in Saturday’s matchup with Wisconsin, but the Badgers used a balanced attack with four players in double digits for the 70-65 victory.Next in line for Fredette’s path to greatness is two-seeded Florida on Thursday — the same team he scored 37 points against in an opening round victory in last year’s tournament.
(03/11/11 4:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS — As time expired in the first half of IU’s Big Ten Tournament matchup with Penn State, Nittany Lions forward Jeff Brooks symbolized how the rest of the game would go.The game’s leading scorer followed a miss with a tip-in, counting for two points, an offensive rebound and the halftime lead.It was a lead Penn State wouldn’t let go the rest of the way, as the Nittany Lions dominated the offensive glass during a 61-55 victory Thursday in Conseco Fieldhouse.“We didn’t rebound the ball nearly as well in the second half. But we still played at a very high level of competitiveness,” IU coach Tom Crean said. “When we play that way, we have capabilities. We’ve done that certainly at times this year, and when we have, we’ve been successful. Tonight we weren’t successful obviously with the win, but our guys have a mind-set that’s growing, and I’m proud of what they did.”Limiting Penn State to one opportunity was at a premium for the Hoosiers, who shot 49 percent from the field but struggled from the outside. IU went 4-of-18 from the 3-point line, including four consecutive misses late in the second half as the Hoosiers tried to close four- and six-point gaps.“That’s what was open,” said Watford, who was 1-of-4 from deep and had one of the misses in that span. “We take them with no hesitation at all.”IU all but neutralized PSU’s leading scorer Talor Battle, holding the senior guard to 3-of-12 shooting with four turnovers. Penn State shot worse as a team from the field than IU, but the Nittany Lions tallied 11 offensive rebounds to IU’s four, capitalizing with 17 second-chance points. “I think we had a lot of mental lapses on the rebounding end,” Watford said. “A couple times we didn’t hit guys and a couple times tipped a couple balls out and got long rebounds. It was a battle all game, and they unfortunately won the rebounds.”Watford matched Brooks with 15 points to lead the team, but he was only able to grab four rebounds. Freshman guard Victor Oladipo, who gave the team an early spark off the bench, led the team with six boards. For IU, the season ends on yet another bitter note. The Hoosiers lost their last nine games to close this year, and they lost 12 of their last 13 games last season and their last 10 games two years ago.IU finished with just two more victories than last season and one less win in the Big Ten. One area of improvement Crean said was emphasized in offseason — rebounding — bit the team Thursday as it had all season. IU won just two games when it lost the rebounding battle this year.But Crean said some of the improvements the team made from year-to-year aren’t as easily seen on the court, but he’s seen them in his time around the team.“I’m not sure a year ago guys would have understood playing through some of the pain that they played through this year,” he said. “And I’m proud that they’ve learned how to do that, and hopefully that’s going to help them down the road.”
(03/11/11 12:37am)
The IU men's basketball team hopes to live another day as it takes on Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse. Follow the action live with our reporters by clicking here.
(03/04/11 5:57am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Halfway through the second half Thursday, IU was in a threatening position to pull an upset on No. 10 Wisconsin.Then Jordan Taylor took over the game.The Badgers junior guard went off for 17 consecutive points in a nearly five-minute span to bury the Hoosiers in an insurmountable 13-point hole late in the second half as the Badgers pulled away for a 77-67 victory in Assembly Hall.“Jordan Taylor had an incredible performance,” IU coach Tom Crean said. “Some that he just flat out made shots that maybe they’ve seen in practice, but I haven’t seen some of those in games.”Taylor shot over, around and through Hoosier defenders on his way to a career-high 39 points. IU used a myriad of guards to defend him — from freshman Victor Oladipo to senior Jeremiah Rivers — but the Hoosiers were burned on switches off screens.Taylor shot over IU’s big men from the 3-point line all night as he finished 7-of-8 from beyond the arc. Crean said putting the taller defenders on him after screens was part of the game plan, but Taylor was simply too hot to handle.“When the kid is making shots over 6-8, 6-9 guys, and they’ve got their hands up, then I guess you’ve got to look at him and give him some credit,” he said.The Hoosiers, powered by junior guard Verdell Jones’ team-high 18 points, were able to cut the deficit to two points four times throughout the game. Crean’s squad drew to as close as 46-45 before Taylor’s offensive explosion.IU continued to chip away at the lead as the second half wore on, bringing it down to six with 1:09 remaining. But the Hoosiers made just one field goal the rest of the way as Wisconsin held on. The Badgers made 10 consecutive free throws in the final 1:30 to stifle any late comeback hopes.When IU was still in the game, its defense found trouble in screening situations.As defenders rolled over to help, it left Badgers like forward Keaton Nankivil, who finished with 16 points, with wide-open looks. “The problem with them is they’re so good at dealing with the traps, because they just bait you, whether it’s pick and roll, the trap or a post trap,” Crean said. “There’s probably not another program in the country that has two better all-around players at the four and five position than what they have.”Foul trouble also plagued the Hoosiers early and often. Rivers, assigned from the onset to defend Taylor, tallied two fouls before the 15-minute mark of the first half.Freshman forward Will Sheehey and junior forward Tom Pritchard each fouled out late in the second half, and the Badgers went 20-of-22 from the charity stripe. The Hoosiers were able to get to the line in their own right, getting 26 attempts. But Crean said that is not enough against a team like Wisconsin.“We never want to get in a free throw contest with Wisconsin, but tonight we did,” Crean said. “To have more free throw attempts than them is a small miracle in itself.”Though the loss was IU’s eighth consecutive to the Badgers and its sixth straight overall, the Hoosiers have shown marked improvement against Wisconsin.Last season, IU suffered 28- and 32-point defeats against the Badgers. It’s an improvement the star of the game was quick to point out.“That’s a good team. They’re getting better,” Taylor said. “I was talking to Jordan Hulls, saying when they’re back at the top of the conference, I don’t know if I want to come back to this place. Because it is a loud arena to play in.”
(03/03/11 4:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU’s lone senior, Jeremiah Rivers, will step on McCracken Court in Assembly Hall for the final time tonight.The Indiana Daily Student caught up with Rivers as he reflected on his past with the Hoosiers and looked to his future after college. ?IDS: When you first transferred from Georgetown in 2008, you spent a 6-25 season sitting on the bench. Did you ever think, “What did I get myself into?”RIVERS: Never. I knew it’d be a different opportunity for me. I definitely came from a winning program. I only lost six games my whole career there, so obviously it was different. But at the same time, I felt like it was something I needed and it’s been a blessing. It’s been a journey. My whole college career has been a journey. There have been ups, downs, highs and lows, but at the end of the day, I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’m definitely happy standing here as a man. IDS: Coach Tom Crean talked about how when you first came to IU, you had some academic issues. What were the problems there?RIVERS: My credits didn’t transfer, and I was in a crazy hole. I had to put ungodly hours in school my first semester here. I had to do 18 hours first semester, 18 second semester and then I had to do six or maybe nine in the summer. I was just doing a crazy amount of hours, at least for a college athlete. I know some people do 18 like it’s nothing, but for me it was just a constant grind. IDS: What will be your lasting memory of playing at IU?RIVERS: All the shared memories with my teammates. All the things we’ve enjoyed in the locker room and on and off the court. It’s been real special for me to have such a close relationship with each player here. We have countless memories of laughs and cries and the whole works. IDS: On the flip side, has there been a bad memory you’ll never shake?RIVERS: Just losing in general, it’s just tough. It definitely hurts, but I think it also helps you grow in a lot of ways. It helps you find out who you are as an individual and it helps you to see everybody else grow. Sometimes you’ve got to fall down before you rise. IDS: What’s it been like being the guy who often defends the opposing team’s top scorer?RIVERS: It’s always fun. It’s always challenging. I’ll be looking forward to doing the NBA workouts, and I’ll be guarding the same players. It’ll be the same type of deal. I’m looking forward to each and every challenge, day in and day out. Whether it’s in practice or it’s in the games. I feel like I’ve come a long way with my game on a lot of little things. IDS: What do you see yourself doing after graduation this spring?RIVERS: I’m just going to continue playing basketball. That’s what I do. If you love what you do, you’re not going to give up on it. After the season, I’m going to fly to Boston, sit down with my dad and have a talk about moving forward with basketball, about certain teams in the NBA, workouts and kind of go from there. If I do well, I do well. If not, just keep pursuing it. IDS: What about coaching?RIVERS: Oh yeah, later on. Probably not for another 15 years I would say. I’ve got some music things going on right now that’s making me a little money so I’m going to continue to go with that. IDS: What music things do you have going on?RIVERS: I produce it, so I distribute it to certain artists. Right now I’m in the works with Maybach music, which is Rick Ross’ company. I get signed on, and that’s going to be a big break. It’s looking good. IDS: How did your college career go for you compared to how you thought it would coming out of high school?RIVERS: Definitely different, that’s for sure. Completely different from what I was expecting. But at the same time, a part of me is very humbled and happy it went that way, just as far as my experience as a man and as the way I’ve grown, matured and a lot of the pain, suffering and hardships I’ve been through. It sets an example for the rest of your life moving forward in your future, inside and outside basketball. I feel like I’ll know how to go against the grain when things are tough.IDS: Any preview of your speech you’d like to share?RIVERS: My speech is going to be short and simple. I’m not going to give an Oscars speech or anything like that. I’m just going to definitely give my thanks out to the fans, my family, my teammates and friends — really just the people I love. Hopefully I’ll be real ecstatic from winning, so who knows what I’m going to say.Rivers' IU career at a glanceCareer points per game: 4.8Career assists per game: 2.6?Career shooting percentage: 43 percent?Career minutes per game: 25Career high points: 15, Dec. 22, 2009Career high assists: 10, Nov. 28, 2009Career high steals: 4, Jan. 24, 2010Most improved stat from last season to this season: Free-throw percentage — went from 57.8 percent to 78.4 percent*All stats compiled going into today’s Wisconsin game and account only for time at IU
(02/28/11 5:31am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>COLUMBUS, Ohio — Even with a National Player of the Year candidate spending the majority of his time on the bench, Ohio State didn’t miss a beat.Saddled with early foul trouble, Buckeyes forward Jared Sullinger was held without a field goal for the first time this season Sunday. But the No. 2 team in the nation compensated with a suffocating defensive effort, holding IU to 38.5 percent shooting in an 82-61 victory in Value City Arena.“We had a horrendous shooting day,” IU coach Tom Crean said. “You’ve got to have a lot of things clicking. Almost everything has got to be clicking. You’re not going to play perfect in games like this obviously, but you’ve got to have a lot of things clicking offensively, defensively, the rebounding game. You’ve got to be somewhere close in the free throw shooting game as far as attempts. And we didn’t have enough of that.”The Hoosiers’ shooting struggles began early in the first half, when they missed eight consecutive shots and committed six turnovers in a nearly eight-minute stretch. An 8-7 IU (12-17) lead had grown to a 16-8 Ohio State advantage, and the Buckeyes (27-2) never looked back. The game broke open after consecutive 3-pointers from Ohio State freshman Deshaun Thomas pushed the Buckeyes’ lead to 14 more than halfway through the first.“We got a little too comfortable and let our guard down a little bit,” junior guard Verdell Jones said of the run. “With a team as talented as them, you can’t do that at any point in the game.”Thomas, a Fort Wayne native and Indiana Mr. Basketball in 2010, led all scorers with 22 points on 7-of-9 shooting. It was the most points he has scored in Big Ten play this season and two points away from a season-high. “He was hitting open shots,” Crean said of Thomas. “He really was. Give credit to him. He made good plays. He made some and-1s and he got hot with the 3. He’s one of the all-time leading scorers in the history of Indiana, so he can score.”Jones and sophomore forward Christian Watford were the only two Hoosiers in double digits with 14 and 12 points, respectively. They also led the team at getting to the free throw line, but IU had only 20 attempts as a team. By contrast, Ohio State had 27 free throws made alone. Crean said the difference in the numbers came from the Hoosiers’ unwillingness to attack the basket.“We just weren’t aggressive enough at the rim,” he said. “I think we got back on our heels again. I hate that. Sometimes that happens to us in the second half with the free throw discrepancies, but it shouldn’t be happening in the first half.”While Ohio State scored seemingly at ease from the 3-point shot to alley-oops, IU couldn’t string together an offense run needed to close the gap. The Hoosiers had just one occasion in the second half Sunday when they tallied a field goal on consecutive possessions — a fast break dunk from freshman guard Victor Oladipo.With sophomore guard Jordan Hulls going 1-of-9 from the field and Watford turning the ball over five times, IU’s top offensive threats were held in check. In the process, Ohio State built its lead to as large as 27 points.Crean said that lack of stability among IU’s best scorers puts his team at a disadvantage as it faces the Big Ten’s best teams. “The best teams in this league are getting real consistency in the scoring from their best players. And we’re not there yet,” Crean said. “We’re not getting that right now. We’re not getting enough from other areas.”
(02/24/11 6:13am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Following the Hoosiers’ loss at Purdue earlier this month, IU coach Tom Crean pined for the day when he wouldn’t have to face senior Boilermakers JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore.Unless a date awaits the rivals in the Big Ten tournament, that day has officially come.The forward-guard tandem led the way to a 72-61 Purdue victory against IU on Wednesday in Assembly Hall, the fifth-straight loss for the Hoosiers. Johnson led all scorers with 20 points while Moore followed closely with 17.“Those two make the game so much easier for everybody else,” Crean said of the duo. “They allow people to play over their talent level, and that’s what great players do. We knew we had to be really good at stopping those two, and we weren’t.”It’s no secret why Crean is welcoming the change in West Lafayette. In the three seasons Crean has held the top job at IU, Johnson and Moore have averaged 16.8 and 20.6 points per game against the Hoosiers, respectively. Purdue is 5-0 against IU in that time span, its longest win streak against its biggest rival since a seven-game streak from 1968-1972. “Those guys make the game so much easier for their teammates,” Crean said. “If we weren’t competing against them, it’d be a joy to sit back and watch them.”In their latest episode Wednesday, Johnson and Moore found multiple ways to terrorize the Hoosiers.Johnson opened the game by scoring six of the Boilermakers’ first 11 points, making two baskets, and making two of them with a contesting hand in his face. Facing foul trouble early, he didn’t make another field goal the rest of the first half.But the Boilermakers were still able to build a 10-point advantage at the break, thanks in large part to Moore. The shifty guard burned the Hoosiers with 5-of-6 shooting in the first half for 11 points, while adding a pair of assists and a block. Sophomore guard Jordan Hulls said that those missed defensive assignments were a result of poor transition defense, especially in the first half.“Transition was killer for us,” Hulls said. “They had wide-open threes. E’Twaun got hot a little bit, JaJuan was hitting some of the post moves. But they’re good players, so give them a lot of credit for that.”As Moore cooled in the second half, Johnson took the game back over. Again, he opened the half with the Boilermakers’ first two field goals and had 14 of his points in the second half.As the Hoosiers made valiant runs at a comeback, it was Moore and Johnson who continued to give the momentum right back to Purdue. After IU closed to within three points with 10:22 remaining, the two combined for seven straight Purdue points to extend its lead to eight. The Hoosiers wouldn’t get closer the rest of the way.“We showed a lot of poise with our veterans, and they didn’t let themselves get rattled,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “There were a couple times where Indiana could have pushed the lead but we played our offense pretty well.”Crean said that at one point during the attempted comeback, the Hoosiers missed five consecutive shots from one foot away and closer. It symbolized both how the Hoosiers just couldn’t find that final gear and the resiliency of a Purdue squad led by the four-year players IU doesn’t have. “We couldn’t get over the hump,” Crean said. “When we were missing close shots, they’d come back and they’d make something. But they’re a very good team, and those two are not only All-Big Ten players, but I don’t know how they both don’t make numerous All-American teams.”
(02/23/11 5:12am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>There was a time Jeremiah Rivers didn’t know Purdue was in Indiana. Before the senior guard transferred to IU from Georgetown, Rivers said he was admittedly a novice when it came to college hoops history. As far as he was concerned, West Lafayette was located in North Carolina. Now, before he plays his final regular season game against the No. 8 Boilermakers at 8:30 p.m. today in Assembly Hall, Rivers said he understands the magnitude of the cross-state rivalry.“I didn’t know anything about college basketball, so coming here and seeing how intense a rivalry it is, it’s the most intense rivalry I’ve ever been a part of in college basketball,” Rivers said. “Fans come up to you, and their one wish for the whole year — Christmas wish, birthday wish — is please beat Purdue.” The Hoosiers couldn’t deliver that wish in their last meeting, falling to Purdue 67-53 on Feb. 8. IU was without leading scorer Christian Watford, though, and IU coach Tom Crean said having the sophomore forward in the lineup will create better matchups in the post.But it hasn’t been a seamless transition in the two games Watford’s played since a hand injury forced him to miss three games earlier this month.He has combined for 25 points against Michigan and Northwestern — both losses — while committing four fouls in each game. Yet it’s been his five combined rebounds in that stretch that have drawn the ire of Crean.“He’s got to rebound it, and certainly that has not been anything that he has done yet coming back from that injury,” Crean said. “It’s time tomorrow night to establish that and get rebounds.”Crean added that Watford needs to defend better, a task made all the more difficult by Purdue senior forward JaJuan Johnson. Johnson is second in the Big Ten in scoring at 20.4 points per game and scored 15 points in the first matchup with IU. Rivers, who Crean dubbed the Hoosiers’ defensive captain, said having Watford go toe-to-toe with Johnson could provide the lift needed to pull off the upset.“The biggest emphasis for me is making sure he’s committed on defense for the whole entire team because at the end of the day, he’ll be an X-factor if he can contribute in that area,” Rivers said. “I know he will. I know he’s ready.”Purdue’s other senior, guard E’Twaun Moore, might be entering Wednesday as the hottest player in the conference. In a victory against No. 2 Ohio State on Sunday, Moore scorched the Buckeyes for 38 points on 72 percent shooting. “The zone he was in the other day, he could have easily been on the West Coast in that NBA All-Star game the way he was shooting the ball,” Crean said of Moore’s performance. “He was high-level. And they kept putting different people on him, and it just didn’t matter. I don’t think it would have mattered with anybody that day.”The Hoosiers, one game removed from their third sellout of the season, are expecting another raucous crowd today. Students with seats in the general admission section were already camping outside of Assembly Hall on Tuesday. IU has dropped its last two home games — both sellouts as well — and Crean said there is a sense of playing for more than the team when the stadium is packed.“I think when they lose a game at home like they have in those two games, they feel like they let people down,” he said. “Kids aren’t always going to say that, but I think they get that feeling. I know I have it. I think they realize this is a pretty special deal at Indiana.”
(02/21/11 5:06am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It was a long weekend for the Hoosiers.IU coach Tom Crean was so unhappy with his players’ defensive effort against Northwestern on Saturday, he made it clear they would be right back at it the next morning.“If the rules weren’t set up for it right now for it to be so soft for players after this where you could come back and practice that night or come back and practice at midnight the next day, that’s exactly what we’d be doing,” Crean said. “But we’ll be in here 7:30 (Sunday) morning guarding and continuing to get this thing to where it has to be on the defensive end.”Playing their first game in exactly one week, the Hoosiers saw the Wildcats jump out to a 10-point halftime lead backed by seven 3-pointers. And despite another late comeback attempt, IU dropped its fourth-straight game in a 70-64 decision against Northwestern.The hole created in the first half was, to junior guard Verdell Jones, an inexcusable one.“It looked like guys out there didn’t want to play,” said Jones, who finished with a team-high 18 points. “We just played too lackadaisical to win, and we made too many mistakes at the end of the game to win ... They were back-cutting us at will. We practiced all week to stop their back cuts, and we didn’t do it.”Northwestern guard Michael Thompson did the majority of the damage, scoring 22 points with a 3-of-8 effort from the 3-point line and an 11-of-11 night at the free-throw line. Northwestern forward John Shurna chipped in with 19 points on 3-of-5 shooting from behind the 3-point line, and at times he was able to get to the basket for easy layups.When asked what he saw from the Wildcats tandem, Crean looked internally.“I didn’t see enough of guys coming over trying to get into my face to say, ‘Let me guard him,’” he said. “We had that happen one time all night. That’s the individual responsibility of a defensive mindset that I’m talking about that we’ve got to get to.” Despite the defensive letdowns, the Hoosiers got themselves back into the game several times late.IU tied the game at 52 after a one-handed slam from sophomore forward Derek Elston with 8:20 remaining and drove to within three after sophomore guard Jordan Hulls nailed a 3-pointer with 1:12 remaining.Thompson turned it over on the next possession, but IU couldn’t add a field goal in the final 37 seconds. The Hoosiers never led in the second half.“There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that we’d come back,” Crean said. “That’s what we do. But it should have never gotten to that point.”The Hoosiers will have a shorter layover this week, as they get a rematch with Purdue on Wednesday. Crean said no matter how many times and with what ferocity the corrections are made in practice, improvement will come when players hold themselves accountable.“Defensive-minded players do not accept when teammates on the court are not defending the way that they need to defend,” Crean said. “It has got to be a mindset that players bring to one another. I’m disappointed in our first half defense. I’m disappointed that the sell-out crowd watched us defend so poorly, especially with the 3’s that we gave up.”
(02/18/11 5:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When the Hoosiers aren’t playing well defensively, they usually aren’t winning.It’s a fact of life IU coach Tom Crean has preached since game one and a harsh reality that reared its ugly head again last Saturday at Michigan.In their 73-69 loss to the Wolverines, the Hoosiers allowed a 53 percent shooting effort from the field and a lead as large as 22 points.It wasn’t IU’s first subpar defensive effort, nor was it the worst. That title arguably belongs to the Hoosiers’ Jan. 9 matchup at Northwestern, a game in which IU gave up a season-high 93 points.As his team prepares for its rematch with the Wildcats at 7 p.m. Saturday in Assembly Hall, Crean reiterated that dialing up the defensive intensity will be key.“To be a good team, you’ve got to have a mindset of playing hard all the time. To be an even better team, you’ve got to have a mindset of really stringing stops together,” he said in his Big Ten teleconference Monday. “A term I used with my team and a term I used in the press conference (at Michigan) was to be combative. “When you have a combative mindset on the defensive end, it’s amazing what happens on the offensive end.”The Hoosiers haven’t won a Big Ten game this year when giving up more than 61 points, and they were 1-4 in the non-conference games in that scenario. Part of that, as Crean referred to, is because the Hoosiers’ struggles on defense perpetuate a subsequent struggle on offense.“Our defense is back to a point where we’re only playing as good as the shots we’re making. And that’s the maturity level that we’ve got to get over,” he said.In the loss to Michigan, IU shot only 39 percent before going on a 25-7 run to trim the insurmountably large lead down to a four-point final deficit.The Hoosiers also shot just 35 percent Feb. 8 at Purdue and 41 percent against Iowa nearly two weeks ago, which kicked off their current three-game losing streak. By contrast, IU is ranked second in the Big Ten in season field goal percentage at 47 percent.Crean said the Hoosiers are in need of consistency, and it’s been a difficult thing to accomplish during the last month. With sophomore forward Christian Watford and junior guard Verdell Jones both playing last Saturday, the Hoosiers were the healthiest they’d been since Jan. 20.“With the injuries that we’ve had, with the discombobulated lineups and things of that nature, we’re just not clicking on the cylinders that we need to,” Crean said. “Defensively, we’ve just got to have a better, tougher mindset.”
(02/09/11 5:31am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>WEST LAFAYETTE — On a night of contact drives and no easy shots, JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore reaped the benefits.The Purdue seniors alone more than doubled IU’s free throw attempts in the Hoosiers’ 67-53 loss at Mackey Arena on Tuesday. IU was outshot at the free throw line 24-3 in the second half and 28-7 overall, with Moore and Johnson combining for 18. The Hoosiers racked up 15 fouls in the second half, with freshman guard Victor Oladipo fouling out at the 1:28 mark. But junior guard Verdell Jones, who had 10 points without the benefit of a free throw attempt, said fouls went uncalled on the other end.“When guys are pushing you, poking you, holding you and grabbing your jersey and you can’t get a break, it’s very frustrating,” he said. “But we’ve dealt through that before, so we’ve got to keep fighting through it.”The disparity in numbers didn’t go unnoticed by IU coach Tom Crean. He said he knew his players were going to have to play through some contact, and he was proud of the way they handled it.Still, he said he would have liked to see more of a profit for their efforts.“That’s a tough night in a Big Ten game when the free throw discrepancy is the way it is in the second half,” he said. “That’s life in the Big Ten on the road.”After being held to three field goals in the first half, Johnson’s lone make in the second half came less than one minute in. And after a jumper at the 13:47 mark, Moore had just one field goal the rest of the way.But Johnson and Moore were able to draw fouls and add a combined 13 points from the line to close the game. Moore finished with a game-high 25 points, and even Johnson, Purdue’s second-leading scorer with 15, had more points than IU’s leading scorer.With 14 points in his sixth career start, that leading man was freshman forward Will Sheehey. He said the Hoosiers’ inability to respond to the Boilermakers’ picks made life easier for Moore.“There were a lot of times we got caught up in screens, which we can’t do,” Sheehey said. “He got a lot of open shots off screens. I thought we did really well with on-the-ball pressure on him, but we can’t get caught up. Our big guys need to help a little bit more on the screens getting through. We’re definitely going to correct those things.”Behind their efforts, Moore and Johnson recorded their 100th career win at Purdue and fourth against the Hoosiers under Crean. For him, the time the dynamic duo are done playing against his team can’t come soon enough. “They’re very good players,” Crean said. “I’m looking forward to the day when those two aren’t in there dominating the game for Purdue. And we’ve got to deal with it one more time.”
(02/08/11 7:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>If recent history can tell anything of the future, the IU men’s basketball team matchup with No. 14 Purdue will be a nail-biter. The Hoosiers have had four consecutive games decided by a shot at the buzzer, winning half of them. The Hoosiers were on the opposite end last Saturday, falling 64-63 to Iowa after squandering a late 10-point lead.IU coach Tom Crean said the recent string of close games, win or lose, has created a wiser group of players heading into their tilt with the Boilermakers in a 7 p.m. Tuesday tipoff at Mackey Arena.“I think we have shown great resolve, regardless of the outcome, to recognize that each game following takes on a greater importance and the focus has to be on our ability to come out with the proper mindset each practice,” Crean said. “If we do that, we are having much more success in taking our efforts in practice and applying them to game situations.”Crean expects a hostile crowd in West Lafayette, fed by the intensity of the cross-state rivalry and the emotion of being broadcast on ESPN as part of its “Super Tuesday” schedule. He said it will be imperative for IU to stonewall the Purdue offense and take the energy out of the arena.“Our defense has to become a positive for our offense,” Crean said. “We have to attack and get to the free throw line. Defensively, we have to communicate and help and not allow them to get the type of plays that will raise the intensity of their crowd to another level.”To accomplish that task, the Hoosiers’ attention will be focused on Purdue’s lone seniors, guard E’Twaun Moore and forward JaJuan Johnson."They are both outstanding senior leaders,” Crean said of the duo. “Moore is a player that can get the crowd going very quickly with his shooting. Johnson is playing in the present as well as any senior player in the country.”Johnson leads the Big Ten in scoring at 20.8 points per game and has scored 20 or more points in seven consecutive games. Moore, meanwhile, ranks seventh in the conference with 17.4 points per game.By contrast, the Hoosiers’ leading scorer – sophomore forward Christian Watford – ranks eighth in the Big Ten and will not play Tuesday. Second-leading scorer Verdell Jones has averaged 19 minutes the past two games after missing the previous three due to knee inflammation, but the junior guard was 1-of-9 from the field in the loss to Iowa.After railing off a 10-game win streak starting at the beginning of December, the Boilermakers have cooled of late. They are losers of four of the last seven games, most recently falling at Wisconsin 66-59 last Tuesday.As both the Boilermakers and Hoosiers try to rebound, history sides with Purdue. Crean is 0-3 all-time against IU’s closest rival, and the Hoosiers have lost 13 straight road games. Still, Crean said the hyper-competitive nature of this year’s Big Ten makes any game winnable. “Right now, I would challenge anyone on the quality of play that is taking place in our league,” he said. “Every game is being played like a rivalry game. The coaches and players in the Big Ten all understand the importance of each league game. I would expect more of the same tomorrow night.”
(02/07/11 2:08am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For the fourth game in a row, the IU men’s basketball team took its opponent to the final shot Saturday.For the second time in that span, IU ended on the losing side.Junior guard Verdell Jones’ jumpshot as time expired hit all iron, and a desperation tip came up empty as the Hoosiers fell to Iowa, 64-63, in Assembly Hall. “Any time at the end of the game, you want a chance to make the shot, a chance to get fouled and a chance to rebound it,” IU coach Tom Crean said. “We had all those opportunities, and it didn’t happen.”Crean said on the last play, he tried to get sophomore guard Jordan Hulls open, freshman forward Will Sheehey in the post and freshman guard Victor Oladipo on the back side providing an option.Oladipo nearly tipped Jones’ miss in, but he said he realizes the last attempt wasn’t the entire story.“There are other plays in the game that affect it,” he said. “It shouldn’t have even been in that situation.”The Hoosiers (12-12, 3-8) blew a 10-point lead with 7:47 remaining in the second half and committed two turnovers, two fouls and went 0-of-1 from the field in the next two minutes. Iowa (10-13, 3-8), meanwhile, stormed back with a 4-of-4 effort from the field. Hawkeyes forward Melsahn Basabe, who finished with 20 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, led the charge with six points and a steal.“He dominated us,” Crean said of Basabe. “Whatever we did defensively today, we didn’t win it. But our two freshmen guarded him as good as anybody ... We’re getting better as a team, but maybe (the injuries) caught up with us today.”Early in the second half, Sheehey sparked the crowd with a thunderous one-handed slam over Basabe, which pushed IU to a 15-9 run and a 58-48 lead with eight minutes remaining. Sophomore guard Jordan Hulls tied a career-high with 24 points, but he didn’t score in the final five minutes. Jones, who finished with two points in 21 minutes, had the Hoosiers’ last three field goal attempts and finished 1-of-9.Yet it wasn’t the sudden cold snap offensively, but the porous late defense that worried the Hoosiers following the game. “Coach is always harping about keeping guys out of the middle,” junior forward Tom Pritchard said. “I know (Iowa guard Bryce) Cartwright late in the game got an easy layup in the middle, and that really hurt ... We gave them a lot of offensive rebounds and second chances, and that really killed us.”The Hoosiers are now experienced in both heart-pounding victories and heartbreaking defeats. After surviving a final shot attempt to defeat Illinois 10 days ago, IU had a buzzer beater fall short at Michigan State in an 84-83 overtime loss. IU then responded by stopping Minnesota at the final gun for the victory.But in their recent history with the Hawkeyes, the Hoosiers haven’t had much to hold their breath about. Saturday marked IU’s fourth straight loss to Iowa, but the first one by less than 14 points. Crean credited former Iowa coach Todd Lichliter for bringing in tough players and current coach Fran McCaffery for molding them, and he said IU hasn’t gotten up to par with that mentality.“We have not matched the toughness at the trim and in the lane the way need to with them,” Crean said. “And that’s disappointing.”
(02/01/11 11:23pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Add one more to the injury list.Sophomore forward Christian Watford is out indefinitely after suffering a broken left hand during the Hoosiers’ 84-83 loss to Michigan State on Sunday, IU coach Tom Crean announced Tuesday. Watford had surgery to repair the injury the same day.“We feel for him, because he’s coming off his best week,” Crean said. “He was absolutely relentless on Sunday and was a huge part of why we had the game that we had.”The Hoosiers are already without junior guard Verdell Jones and sophomore guard Maurice Creek, who are both out indefinitely with knee injuries. Jones has knee inflammation which has kept him out since Jan. 23, while Creek fractured his knee on Jan. 15 and will likely miss the rest of the season.Watford said following the game last weekend he hurt the hand after scoring a basket. He said it would be all right, though his hand was protected by a cast.Watford is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 17 points per game. He is also sixth in the Big Ten in free throw percentage at 83.5 percent. He led the team in scoring with 21 points against Michigan State, a game in which he also banged knees with a Spartan.Wednesday’s home matchup with Minnesota will be the first game Watford will miss in his college career. He started all 31 games last season and the first 22 games this season.
(01/31/11 5:41am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>EAST LANSING, Mich. — Following a heartbreaking 84-83 overtime loss to No. 25 Michigan State on Sunday, IU senior guard Jeremiah Rivers was at a loss for words.Standing on the same Breslin Center court he had just played on for 32 minutes, he struggled to explain just how hard the Hoosiers’ 13th straight road loss hit.“It’s just ... I feel like throwing up right now,” Rivers said. “I don’t know what to tell you. We battled hard, everybody bought in and a rebound here, a stop here on defense ... that’s all I can tell you.”Rivers, who scored a season-high 10 points, felt an extra burden because he missed a pair of free-throw attempts late in regulation that could have added cushion to three and two-point leads.“I kind of gave two to them tonight,” Rivers said of the missed free throws. “They both felt great coming off my hand. I guess you just can’t get them all.”IU coach Tom Crean said close losses like Sunday’s hurt more when his team had a strong belief it could win, which IU had until the final buzzer.“When you’re in that locker room and the energy is where it is, and during the game you can feel it, it’s the ultimate,” Crean said. “The only thing that makes it better is when you get a win. And we did everything but today.”It can also hurt more when players walk away battered and bruised.Sophomore forward Christian Watford took two separate blows — one to his knee and another to his wrist — that forced him to be examined by team trainers. But the Hoosiers’ leading scorer Sunday with 21 points scrapped to the very end. With the final seconds ticking, Watford dove for a loose ball and called timeout, an effort that prompted Crean to bear hug him to the bench.Watford said the battling the entire team did and fighting through injuries is a microcosm of the team’s mindset as it bids for upsets.“It shows that we’re a tough team,” he said. “We want to win, that’s the main thing. We believe, we want to win, and we’re going to give it our all every time."After defeating No. 20 Illinois on Thursday, the Hoosiers had a chance Sunday to defeat consecutive ranked opponents for the first time since Feb. 2008. Now as they look to avoid starting a new losing streak, Crean said his players will have to bond and regroup quickly.“We don’t have a lot in the tank in the sense of real confidence from winning numerous games,” he said. “We’re going to have to really get a lot out of one another. It’s not just ‘Hey, good game.’ These guys have to get deep with one another now to help now to help bring them back to really understand there’s a lot of season left.“When you’ve got a lot of guys that have won and have success under their belts, bounce backs are a lot easier. They’re always hard, but they’re easier. And we don’t have that right now.”IU does have experience, though, in playing close games. Sunday marked the seventh game this season decided by nine points or less. Six were IU losses, one of which came at the hands of its next opponent.The Hoosiers dropped a 67-63 decision to then-No. 21 Minnesota on Jan. 4, a game they led by as much as nine points. When the now-No.16 Golden Gophers visit Assembly Hall on Wednesday, Crean said he is counting on the crowd to help give IU another home celebration.“I’m really hoping that when we get home it is packed to the gills again, just rocking like it was Thursday night and certainly like it was in here today,” Crean said. “That will help a lot with these guys.”
(01/28/11 6:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>To get the two points it needed to get over the hump, the IU men’s basketball team turned to its least likely option.Junior forward Tom Pritchard tapped in a loose ball with 38 seconds remaining, serving as the game-winning basket in a 52-49 thriller Thursday against No. 20 Illinois in Assembly Hall. He had the chance to pull down the rebound and go up strong, but at least one teammate preferred the route Pritchard chose.“I was like, ‘Please, just tip it in, Tom. Don’t come down with it, because they’re going to foul you, bro,’” senior guard Jeremiah Rivers said. “That’s what I was thinking. I was like, ‘Please tip it in, T-Bone.’”IU was trailing by one with 1:19 remaining when sophomore forward Christian Watford blocked a Mike Tisdale lay-up attempt. It was then Watford who kept the ball alive looking for the go-ahead basket, and his miss set up Pritchard with the golden opportunity.“Everybody crashed the rebounds,” Pritchard said of the play. “I saw Christian [Watford] running in there, and the middle opened up. I was there for the tip-in, and it went in.”On the Fighting Illini’s next possession, Tisdale threw the ball away and forced Illinois to foul. Sophomore guard Jordan Hulls hit both free throw attempts, and the Hoosiers stopped a pair of Illinois 3-point attempts.But if it weren’t for Hulls’ clutch shooting from just a few feet behind the charity stripe, he might not have been in the position to push the lead in the first place.Hulls, who finished with a game-high 18 points, nailed a 3-pointer with 7:38 to push IU up by two, its first lead in the second half. He added cushion with another long-range bucket at the 5:04 mark, putting IU up by four points.Hulls said bringing the crowd to deafening decibel levels after his clutch shots was a great feeling, but he was more concerned about replicating the high-intensity on the opposite end.“You’ve got to go back down and play some defense,” he said. “That’s something that we were really wanting to do — get good stops and consecutive stops in a row, and we were able to do that.”Illinois built a two-point first-half lead backboned by nine second-chance points off of 11 offensive rebounds. The Hoosiers locked down in the second half, holding the Illini to just five offensive rebounds and one second-chance point to close the game.The game featured 14 lead changes and three ties, but the second half started with a thud for both sides. Neither team scored for nearly five and a half minutes to open the half, and IU didn’t have a field goal until the 12:45 mark. But the Hoosiers mounted series of defensive stops, which Crean said was a must for IU to pull out a victory.“Forty minutes can be broken down a lot of different ways. The most obvious way is to break it down by halves,” he said. “We have not been as good defensively. We put people on the line too much … Tonight that wasn’t the case. It’s a real credit to the way our guys moved their feet, the way they switched defenses. “And they did it with conviction, they did it with communication, and they did it with execution and effort.”The Hoosiers have been in similar close-game positions both last season with Illinois and this season with other opponents. Last year, the Hoosiers blew a 13-point halftime lead and lost at the buzzer to the Illini, and they were 0-5 in games decided by less than 10 points this year.Crean credited breaking past the close-loss barrier to a raucous crowd of 16,000, and he hopes to give them more to cheer about when the Hoosiers return from a road game with Michigan State on Sunday.“I know a few years back, everyone was used to these wins on a regular basis. And we’ll get back to it,” he said. “But tonight, to get it like this, says a lot. I’m really proud of the way our fans have stayed behind us, and the way that they support us and the way that they were there tonight. And I know our players are too.”
(01/24/11 3:45am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IOWA CITY, IOWA — With the IU men’s basketball team in need of direction and production, its floor leader and second-leading scorer sat on the bench in grey sweats.Junior guard Verdell Jones was ruled inactive Sunday due to inflammation in his right knee, and the Hoosiers dropped their 12th straight road game in a 91-77 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday in Carver Hawkeye Arena. “It’s next man up. You adjust,” IU coach Tom Crean said. “I’m not immune to when we have issues in injuries, but I’m pretty numb to it three years in. You can’t spend a lot of time feeling sorry for yourself, and you certainly can’t let your team do that.” To minimize the loss of Jones’ on-floor leadership, Crean said he asked junior forward Tom Pritchard to take the reigns as a vocal leader and keep good communication going. But Crean said the plan did not work as he would have liked it.“If Tom’s talked since we’ve got in the arena, I haven’t heard it,” he said. “That just can’t happen when that’s your most experienced player on the court with Verdell out. You’ve got to step up into the leadership.”Without Jones, who averages 13 points per game this season and leads the team in assists, the IU offense struggled to find its touch.The Hoosiers shot a paltry 37 percent from the field, including 8-of-27 from the 3-point line. Sophomore guard Jordan Hulls, who led the team with 16 points in a loss to Wisconsin on Thursday, didn’t register a field goal until the final 20 seconds and finished with 7 points. Sophomore forward Christian Watford was a lone offensive bright spot for IU, scoring 14 consecutive points in the first half and finishing with a career-high 30. Sophomore forward Derek Elston had the Hoosiers’ only double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.Crean said Jones will miss an indefinite amount of time, and it will be a day-to-day evaluation.“We missed him. There’s absolutely no doubt about that,” Crean said of Jones. “It’s pretty clear for everyone to see. But that doesn’t excuse the way we played defensively.”Iowa came into the weekend ranked 10th in the Big Ten in field goal percentage and last in scoring but shot 58 percent from the field Sunday The 91-point total was the Hawkeyes’ second-largest this season.Four Hawkeyes scored in the double digits, including three who scored 18 points or more. Iowa found easy points in the transition game, out-scoring the Hoosiers 16-2 on the fast break and 46-30 in the paint. Though they had fewer offensive rebounds than the Hoosiers, the Hawkeyes scored after eight of their 10 second chances.Before the game, Crean said the team could not allow Iowa to be as physically dominant as it had been in the two Hoosier losses against the Hawkeyes last season.But that’s exactly what happened Sunday.“I’m ashamed to say they imposed their will on us physically,” Crean said. “And it shouldn’t have been that way. I’m not taking anything away from them ... It’s more us. We were not tough enough around the rim today.”
(01/21/11 5:58am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>MADISON, Wis. — On Wednesday, IU coach Tom Crean stressed how important it was for Jordan Hulls to get his shots.Throughout much of a 69-60 loss to Wisconsin on Thursday, the sophomore guard turned his coach’s wish into a reality. Hulls scored 10 of IU’s first 14 points, showcasing both his ability to set up from the 3-point line and drive the lane. His hot start pushed the Hoosiers to a surprising 34-30 halftime lead against the No. 17 Badgers.He then scored four more points early in the second half to give IU a six-point lead. After Wisconsin fought back to take its first lead since 2-0, Hulls knocked down another jumper to give the Hoosiers a 48-47 lead.But that lead, with 11:32 remaining, would be IU’s last. It would also be the last points of the game for Hulls.Hulls had a season-high 12 shot attempts, eclipsing his previous high of nine, but IU coach Tom Crean said the inordinately high number of shots were simply by happenstance due to the flow of the game.“We don’t come in the game and say, ‘Ok, Jordan’s got to shoot five straight times’ or ‘Jordan shouldn’t shoot until the second half,’” Crean said. “You let your best players play.”Crean added that the 7-of-12 effort from the field says more about Hulls’ development as an attacking scorer than about anything the team did to create opportunities.“I think there’s some growth with him on that part. I don’t think it’s anything special that we’re doing,” Crean said. “I’ve been saying he needs to shoot the ball more since last year. So it’s not like it’s anything different. But he was very aggressive [and] he moved the ball. We wanted to attack from the very beginning and he did an excellent job with that.”Hulls attacked from the opening tip, but it wasn’t with his usual long-range shot. Hulls’ first points came on driving layups, a phase of his game Hulls said has always been there, albeit latent.“That is part of my game. People just don’t see it very often,” he said of the drives. “They just see me spotting up, shooting threes. But I’ve been working on that, and that’s just me trying to be more aggressive on the offensive end.”As Hulls showed as recently as the Hoosiers’ last game, a higher level of offensive aggression does not necessarily correlate with IU success. In the 80-61 victory against Michigan last Saturday, Hulls had just four attempts, but he knocked down all of them.After his last bucket Thursday, Hulls went 0-of-3 from the field, and Wisconsin went on a 22-12 run to close out the game.The loss to Wisconsin — IU’s seventh straight to the conference foe — was another example of the Hoosiers losing despite of Hulls. Only once in IU’s nine losses has Hulls not registered a field goal, and only one other time has he scored less than 10 points.He has now scored in double-digits in seven consecutive games, though the Hoosiers record in that span is 1-6.But that won’t deter Hulls, who said it not only bodes well for him to take his chances but opens opportunities for teammates.“Coaches and the other players have confidence in me to take shots,” Hulls said. “I don’t know how many shots I took tonight, but that doesn’t really matter. If I’m open, I’m going to try to shoot it and be more aggressive.”
(01/20/11 5:39am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Tom Crean isn’t letting his team get too high after its first Big Ten victory.After handily defeating Michigan Saturday by 19 points, the IU men’s basketball coach said he has had no tolerance for complacency as the Hoosiers (10-8, 1-4) prepare for a 9 p.m. Thursday road match with No. 17 Wisconsin (13-4, 3-2) on ESPN.“Any ounce of slippage this week has been addressed abruptly and directly,” Crean said. “They need to understand that they need to play like that consistently. Our biggest problem has not been about players not getting better — it’s been about players getting tougher. You can’t take the next step until your players are getting tougher constantly.”For Crean, building the right toughness it takes to consistently win begins on the practice court.Lack of preparation was not to blame in previous losses to Northwestern and Minnesota, he said. Rather, the team didn’t bring everything it showed in practice to the game like it did Saturday.“The game the other night was a step in the right direction for bringing your practice mentality to the game,” Crean said. “Now we’ve got to do it on the road, in front of a hostile crowd...As much as I’d like to be home tomorrow night, this is going to be a great test for those guys to see if they can carry over that mindset that they’ve been practicing with and what they played Saturday night with to a road venue.”Wisconsin enters Thursday as winners of nine of its last 11 games and fresh off a 76-66 victory against No. 16 Illinois. Senior forward Jon Leuer leads the Badgers in scoring with 19.2 points per game and rebounding with 7.4 boards per game. Wisconsin ranks first in the Big Ten in both scoring defense and assist/turnover ratio, and Crean said both their talent and experience keep the Badgers in the top 25 on a regular basis.“They have the balance of inside-outside, but they also have the balance of ages,” Crean said of Wisconsin. “They never run out of leaders there. They’re always grooming somebody for the next position.”The Badgers have won six in a row against the Hoosiers by an average of 19 points, including a 32-point thumping the previous meeting. IU has not won at Wisconsin since January 1998. Junior forward Tom Pritchard has been a part of three of IU’s nine consecutive losses at the Kohl Center, and he said the challenges of the building are not lost on the team. “Some of the older guys and even the sophomores have been down there and know what it’s like,” he said. “It’s a tough environment down there in Wisconsin, but we came off a good win against Michigan, and we know that we’ve got to stay with our defense.” Will the Hoosiers repeat what they did last weekend and bring their practice mentality against a team no one on the roster has beat? Pritchard said it’s easier said than done, but he expects similar results.“I’m not going to lie, it’s pretty tough to do that,” he said. “But I strongly believe that as long as we have energy and be aggressive, then it will show out on the floor. Everything we’ve been working on offensively and defensively will come through.”
(01/18/11 2:59am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>To help get his team on the board in the Big Ten, IU sophomore forward Christian Watford knew he had to crash the boards. The last time he had 10 or more rebounds was Dec. 22, a loss to Northern Iowa that spawned a six-game losing streak. Before an 80-61 IU (10-8, 1-4) victory against Michigan (11-7, 1-4) on Saturday in Assembly Hall, Watford hoped to flip that script. “First and foremost, I wanted to get a lot of rebounds,” he said. “I felt like I did that. I came out of the jump and got like five rebounds pretty quickly so I did a good job with that.”Watford finished with a game-high 10 rebounds to complement his 17 points, his third double-double of the season, as the Hoosiers dominated the battle on the boards 37-18. “We needed to do a great job on the glass tonight, and our players responded to that,” IU coach Tom Crean said. “It was all of them. They were there and they carved out space. They had five guys in the paint when the shot went up. We were active on both ends. If we’re going to be successful, if we’re going to win games, then you have to win the rebounding game.”The numbers spoke volumes.IU had so many rebounds because it followed through on its game plan of locking down Michigan’s transition offense, which Crean said he considered one of the Wolverines’ greatest strengths.Not only did the Hoosiers hold their opponents to zero fast break points, but they also limited the Wolverines to 36.4 percent shooting from the field as a whole. “We had very good carry-over from a very good week of practice,” Crean said. “Our players understood that it began with what our defensive transition was going to be like because of how well they push the ball up the court and get it up the court. They did an excellent job with that.”With execution came energy. Junior forward Tom Pritchard, who started his first game since Dec. 4 and had seven rebounds Saturday, said hustle from teammates fueled him and the rest of the team to crash the boards harder.“When you see one guy diving on the floor and getting a loose ball, giving all effort, you want to give 100 percent effort and be there for them,” Pritchard said.On the other hand, Michigan had so few rebounds because IU shot lights out. The Hoosiers made seven of their first 10 shots, and the Wolverines went until the 9:24 mark of the second half before they collected a defensive rebound. IU shot 67.4 percent from the floor for the game and made 17 of 24 shots in the second half — and all 10 of its free-throw attempts — to deny Michigan from making a comeback from a 30-15 IU first-half lead. “They only missed 14 shots,” Michigan coach John Beilein said. “So there are not a whole lot of rebounds on 14 shots, and when you have that you are never into your transition. You aren’t able to do a lot of the things that you want to do.”With the dominance on the glass Saturday, IU pushed past its next opponent – No. 17 Wisconsin – for fifth in the Big Ten in rebounding margin. The Hoosiers will be looking to add cushion to that lead and record consecutive Big Ten victories for the second time in Crean’s tenure when they visit the Badgers on Thursday.“We finally got one on the board,” Watford said. “Now we feel like maybe we can run off a couple of them, get on a winning streak and see what happens.”