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(03/24/03 6:05am)
BOSTON -- When IU failed to score in the final 7:55 during the Feb. 1 loss to Louisville, those numbers became infamous.\nBut they just might have been replaced Sunday when the Hoosiers faced the University of Pittsburgh in the second round of the NCAA tournament.\nSenior guard Kyle Hornsby hit a three-point jumper with 10:18 left in the first half, and then junior center George Leach sank a hook shot with 6:33 left to play. That was the last score of the first half for IU.\nTwo points.\nIn the final 10 minutes of the first half that's all the Hoosiers' offense had.\nWith IU's help, Pittsburgh built a 10-point halftime lead that they didn't relinquish for a 74-52 win. The loss eliminates IU from the tournament.\n"I think we were trying to execute our stuff, but they were just trying to take us out of it," senior guard Tom Coverdale said with tears in his eyes. "Their big guys inside played great post-defense and really took us out of what we did. We have to execute at times like that and we didn't." \nThe Hoosiers (21-13) picked up in the second half where they left off in the first by committing a turnover (they had 16 total) and missing a basket on two consecutive possessions. It was Leach, who finished with a team-high 15 points, who scored underneath to draw IU within 10.\nBut IU had no answers for Pitt's junior Jaron Brown, who was seemingly unstoppable. In the first half, Brown was perfect on a mere two shot attempts, picking up five points.\nIn the second half, Brown had seven more looks at the basket, making all but one to lead Pittsburgh overall with 20 points. Brown scored 12 of those points in the final 10 minutes of the game.\n"Jaron played so well today," Pittsburgh coach Ben Howland said. "I was really excited with how he was playing."\nWhile Pitt executed their offense, IU couldn't get theirs started. The Hoosiers went on a small run at the start of the second half and drew within four with 15:17 to play. But the comeback would end there. Pittsburgh went on a 12-of-13 run, scoring 24 points in the final 12 minutes of the game.\nThe Hoosiers experienced two more scoring setbacks in the second half, going four minutes without a field goal between the 15- and 11-minute mark in the second half, and then finishing the game with six points in the final five minutes.\nCoverdale and Hornsby finished their careers at IU, scoring six and three points total, respectively. Coverdale dished out a team-high six assists. Senior forward Jeff Newton scored 14 points, the second-highest on the team, with a mere three boards in his last game. Wright led the team in rebounds with eight, while picking up 11 points.\nPittsburgh controlled the boards by grabbing 28 total rebounds, 11 more than the Hoosiers. Senior guard Brandin Knight scored 17 points for the Panthers, and had seven assists, five steals and just one turnover to help his team advance.\nBefore the 10 minutes with one field goal, IU managed to keep the score close in the first half. The Hoosiers held the lead twice and trailed by just one or two until Pittsburgh drained three consecutive three-pointers to take a commanding 31-21 lead.\nWhile the IU players were in tears after the game, IU coach Mike Davis sparked speculation in the post-game press conference about the possibility of him leaving before next year. All season, Davis has expressed anger at the lack of response from his team, and said that he would have to talk with his family over the next couple of weeks about future plans. \nDavis talked about the fans of IU basketball, who built up the egos of individual players. As a result, those players stopped listening to him, and started playing for themselves. With an uncontrollable and unproductive team, Davis may be exploring his coaching options at other places. \n"This team has been selfish from the time they were 8-0," Davis said. "I told my guys after the game this is the most selfish team I've been around from the standpoint of not executing what you try to teach them from day one. \n"(Pittsburgh) is a team that understands how to play and they play the way they're coached. My team hasn't done that for a long time"
(03/14/03 5:26am)
CHICAGO -- Before the IU men's basketball team played their first game in the Big Ten Tournament Thursday they gathered to watch a game tape.\nBut this wasn't just any game; it was the IU-Oklahoma 2002 Final Four game. And the purpose of showing this video wasn't just for fun; it was to make an impression on the team. The video was to remind the Hoosiers why they were successful last year and what going to the finals really stands for.\nBottom line, it was to impress team basketball on a Hoosier team that seems to have forgotten exactly what that entailed. Something on the tape must have clicked, as IU routed Penn State, 77-49. IU (19-11) advanced to the second round as the Nittany Lions (7-21) were eliminated.\n"It gave people who weren't here last year an opportunity to see what made us so successful," junior guard A.J. Moye said. "It wasn't individual play. And it gave the guys who forgot what made us so successful an opportunity to remember that and remember what that feeling was like."\nIf IU wanted any reassurance in regards to a berth to join 64 other teams in the competition for a national title, there was arguably no question that they would need to pick up a win in the conference tournament.\nBut the question facing IU before the game was which team would show up to play. Following last Saturday's loss at Penn State, freshman Bracey Wright attributed IU's team woes to the mindset of the players. Some came to play, some didn't, was how Wright described the IU team on any given night.\nIn practice all week, the team concentrated on more passing and less trying to do it all yourself. The Hoosiers combined what they saw in the Oklahoma video and what they learned in practice to get back to the level they had been with the 8-0 start to the season.\n"I would say there was a lot more passion going on and a lot less one-on-one," senior guard Kyle Hornsby said. "Until there is 10 to 15 seconds left on the shot clock, we are going to be passing, trying to get inside or trying to get the wide-open shot. We did a good job of that tonight."\nIt appeared, however, as if IU had forgotten that it was the Nittany Lions who put them back on the bubble in regards to an NCAA tournament berth. The game remained close between the two teams. However, that lasted only until the half.\nA quick second half start has been problematic for the Hoosiers all season, but IU had built a 12-point lead in the first half that they would only build upon the remainder of the game.\nAt the vocal point of the attention last weekend was senior forward Jeff Newton who was uncharacteristically quiet while giving up 25 points on defense in the loss.\nNewton wasted no time making up for that performance by scoring a team-high 23 points in 33 minutes of play. He also led the team in boards with seven and had five assists.\nNewton wasn't the only contributing player for the Hoosiers who as a team dished out 23 assists. \nThree other players, besides Newton, scored in double digits. Junior center George Leach, senior guard Tom Coverdale and freshman guard Marshall Strickland had 11, 13 and 10, respectively.\nIn addition to the passing of the ball, IU also won on the defensive end, picking up nine more rebounds than the Nittany Lions. The offensive end added to the mix as the Hoosiers hit 26 of their 50 field goals, including 7-of-13 shooting from beyond the arc.\nThe team gets to test this newfound winning recipe tonight when they face the Michigan Wolverines in the second round of the tournament. \n"When we play team basketball like we did tonight and we play defense, we're a tough team to beat," Coverdale said. "We realize that. We just have to keep going from here and build on this win today"
(03/10/03 5:59am)
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- It happened to Jeff Newton again.\nThe senior forward suffered early foul trouble, more time spent on the bench and had little impact for the IU men's basketball team that desperately needed him to have any chance of recovery in the 74-66 loss to Penn State.\nInstead, Newton played a mere 23 minutes, 15 less than Saturday's game against Minnesota and just two more than last Saturday's overtime win over Iowa. With 12 seconds left in the game and the Nittany Lions having a solid hold on the game, Newton picked up his fifth foul and was sent to the bench for good.\n"Anytime a player like that gets in foul trouble, it hurts what they do offensively," Penn State coach Jerry Dunn said. "He's their go-to guy, and I think he's come of the poise for their team. It's huge when he is not in there."\nDunn and his team, however, were experiencing an unexpected surprise from one of their big men, sophomore forward Jan Jagla. Jagla, who finished with a team-high 25 points, has been unimpressive as of late.\nThe last time he lead the Nittany Lions in points was the second game of the season, when Penn State lost to the Penn Quakers. He scored 16 points in the 62-37 loss. He's averaging just over eight points per game this season, and hadn't scored 20 points in any game this season.\nJagla, a Germany native, also picked up the most rebounds when he tied freshman forward Aaron Johnson with eight rebounds in 32 minutes of play.\n"He had a good game," senior guard Tom Coverdale said. "We have to figure out a way to stop people who are on their game any given night and we didn't do that."
(03/10/03 5:55am)
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The IU men's basketball team finished its season by reinforcing the on-going theme of not being able to come through on the road.\nThe vintage Hoosier team that on the road comes out flat, digs a hole for itself and spends the entire rest of the time playing catch-up was once again present.\nThat strategy hasn't worked in the past and it didn't work Saturday against Penn State as IU completed its regular season with a 74-66 loss.\n"The problem we have is that if they don't listen to me, we have no chance of winning," IU coach Mike Davis said. "Unless we execute every single play every single possession, we don't stand a chance."\nThe slow second half start the Hoosiers (18-10, 8-8 Big Ten) have been notorious for was also not omitted from this game. IU had a narrow lead following halftime and held onto it for just over four minutes before Penn State (7-20, 2-14) got right back into the game.\nThe Hoosiers started off their second half descent quickly when senior forward Jeff Newton, who led the team in rebounds with 10, missed a jumper. Penn State enjoyed one of its five second half offensive rebounds when sophomore forward Jan Jagla grabbed the board and scored on the putback to put the Nittany Lions within one.\nThe lead eluded Penn State until 15:19 remained in the second half. The Nittany Lions picked up three points after junior guard A.J. Moye, who had five first half rebounds, fouled freshman forward Aaron Johnson, who scored 10 off the bench in the game. Johnson's lay-up counted and he sank his free throw, tying the game at 42.\nThe Hoosiers went up by one less than 30 seconds later when Newton went one-for-one from the free throw line. It was the last lead IU held as Penn State led by as much as 10 in the second half.\n"We talked about not coming out flat like we had in the last couple of games, but we let them make a run on us instead of us attacking them," senior guard Tom Coverdale said. \nThe Nittany Lions quickly grabbed and extended the lead as they went on a 10-2 scoring run that was disrupted when senior guard Kyle Hornsby made a layup to cut the lead to seven. The next two possessions for the Hoosiers sent freshman guard Bracey Wright, who led the team with 21 points, and sophomore guard Donald Perry to the free throw line. Both hit their two shots, which brought IU within five.\nBut the Nittany Lions, who went 7-for-13 from beyond the arc, stopped the Hoosiers in their tracks when freshman guard/forward Deforrest Riley hit a trey to give Penn State an eight-point lead with 6:18 left in the game.\nA scary moment halted the game when Penn State's Brandon Watkins collided with IU's Sean Kline as he drove to the basket. Watkins was flipped, taken off the court and reportedly suffered an injury to his hip.\nThe Nittany Lions had a solid grasp on the game with 2:18 left and leading by 10. But a jumper from Wright, a Hornsby trey and a free throw brought the Hoosiers within four with 50 seconds left to play. But IU finished the game with a turnover; two players, Newton and sophomore forward Mike Roberts, fouled out and four more points scored by Penn State.\n"They continued to score and in clutch situations we couldn't get stops," Roberts said. "They were able to hurt us on the offensive glass, but we weren't able to make stops. That's the way I see it."\nThe Hoosiers started the game in the same slow fashion that usually is reserved for the second half. IU grabbed the lead first after freshman guard Marshall Strickland, who finished with 12, drove the ball to the basket with 18:45 left in the half.\nPenn State answered with two successful free throws from Jagla for the one-point lead, and continued with a 15-4 run for a 10-point lead with just over 14 minutes left to play. IU quickly struck back as Wright hit a lay-up and Strickland sank a trey to cut the Nittany Lion lead in half.\nA jump shot from Perry with 6:13 left in the half put the Hoosiers up by one, and IU regained the first half lead for good when Wright hit a jumper with just under three minutes left to play.\nThis loss doesn't necessarily decrease IU's chances of making the NCAA tournament, but the Hoosiers understand the importance of the upcoming Big Ten Tournament, which starts this Thursday at noon.\n"I don't know. We didn't do anything," Roberts said of the Penn State loss. "We couldn't get stops, we couldn't get shots, we just couldn't get it done"
(03/05/03 6:37am)
All the excitement Tom Coverdale had regarding Tuesday's game was not tucked away. More than once during his last appearance in Assembly Hall, the senior guard was waving his arms to pump up the crowd, and following one adrenaline-filled moment, Coverdale pumped his fist and screamed into the stands before joining his team in the timeout huddle.\nThe IU men's basketball game against Minnesota signaled more than just the end of Coverdale's, senior guard Kyle Hornsby's and senior forward Jeff Newton's careers in Bloomington. It was also crucial for the Hoosiers, who needed a win to help their chances for an NCAA tournament berth.\nIU (18-10, 8-7 Big Ten) not only took care of its seniors and its home court, it also improved its prospects of competing in the tournament by beating the Golden Gophers, 74-70. \n"This was a real big win for us. It was a must win, and we came with that attitude into this game," freshman guard Marshall Strickland said. "We knew that if we lost this game our March was going to be really short."\nThe second half, however, started in an all-too-familiar fashion. The Hoosiers came out of the break with the lead, broke down on both offense and defense and allowed the opponent to get right back into the game.\nBut the newly-refreshed IU team was not backing down with so much at stake. Despite starting the half with a turnover -- a jump ball that went Minnesota's way and a missed jumper by freshman guard Bracey Wright that allowed the Golden Gophers (16-10, 8-7) to tie that game at 43 with 18:06 left to play -- IU recovered.\nCoverdale put an end to the Hoosiers' scoring drought by draining a three-point shot as time expired on the shot clock. The game remained close as both teams matched shot for shot until there was just over 15 minutes left in the game. Following a trey by Wright, who finished with 21 points, giving IU a 52-50 advantage, both teams remained scoreless for nearly two minutes before the Golden Gophers took a one-point lead.\n"That's one thing we definitely have to work on, how we come out in the second half," Strickland said. "They fought and they got a little run early on in the second half, but we were able to collect ourselves and get rolling again."\nThe Minnesota lead was short-lived as the Hoosiers went on an 8-2 scoring run for a six-point lead with just under 10 minutes left to play. \nThe Golden Gophers closed the gap to a mere two, but IU was sent to the line three times in the remaining 50 seconds of the game to secure the win. \nLeading the way for IU was Newton who wrapped up his Assembly Hall career by scoring 22 points and grabbing 16 boards. Coverdale and Hornsby each finished with nine points, and Coverdale dished out eight assists for the night. As a team, IU out-rebounded Minnesota, 45-37.\n"We were just being lazy on defense, especially me. (Minnesota's Jerry) Holman scored six straight points on me, and so coach (Mike Davis) subbed in (junior guard/forward) A.J. (Moye), and he played really hard," junior center George Leach said. "He and Jeff (Newton) played extremely hard on defense tonight."\nThe Hoosiers experienced a sloppy start to the game as the jump ball slipped through Newton's hands and Strickland's hands to give possession to the Golden Gophers. The Hoosiers calmed down after allowing Minnesota to jump out to a quick four-point lead. Led by one of Wright's six three-point jumpers, IU went on a scoring run that was twice disrupted by three-point shots by the Golden Gophers.\nThe lead switched sides nine times before the Hoosiers left the court with a seven-point lead going into halftime. Newton had 14 first half points and eight boards, and Wright was edging in on Newton after making three-of-four treys for nine first half points.\nThe Hoosiers end their regular season Saturday when they travel to Penn State to take on the Nittany Lions. \n"(The) Penn State game is going to be very, very important," Hornsby said. "We're not in a position where we can let down. Hopefully we'll come out and we'll be ready to play, because there is no other choice"
(03/04/03 6:07am)
When Tom Coverdale, Kyle Hornsby and Jeff Newton each arrived as freshman in Bloomington ready to make an impact on the IU men's basketball team.\nThroughout their time as Hoosiers, the men have experienced the striking low of losing a coach and the ultimate high of making it to the NCAA title game. Not to mention all the trying and exciting games smashed in between.\nTonight their eventful careers in Bloomington come to an end as they will take the floor of Assembly Hall one last time when IU faces the Minnesota Golden Gophers at 7 p.m. The game is scheduled to air on ESPN.\n"It's going to be depressing when it's all over," said Coverdale, a guard. "Four great years, but I can't think about it right now. I'm sure I will think about it when it's over."\nShould IU pick up a win against the Golden Gophers, their goal of attaining a spot in the NCAA tournament will be closer to being recognized. The Hoosiers are 17-10, 7-7 in the Big Ten currently, and just one more win would put them above .500 in conference play for the season. \nBut first they have to get past Minnesota.\nThe Golden Gophers enjoyed a 5-2 record throughout the month of February, including the 90-68 trouncing of then-No. 25 Purdue. As of late, the Gophers (16-9, 8-6) won four straight games before losing their last two, at Michigan State and at home against Wisconsin.\nSophomore forward Rick Rickert, who proved to be too much for the Hoosiers in the last meeting between IU and Minnesota, is the leading scorer for the Golden Gophers and ranks seventh in the Big Ten. Rickert averages 16 points per game and is seventh in another category in the Big Ten, this time rebounding, where he is tied with IU's junior center George Leach with 6.2.\nThe Hoosiers are going to have their hands full with Minnesota as the Golden Gophers lead the league in scoring offense with around 75.6 points per game and blocked shots per game (6.7). Minnesota gets just over seven steals per game, and its .407 field goal percentage average earns it the second highest rating in the conference.\nBut the Golden Gophers are coming into an environment where the entire attitude of the IU team has adjusted.\n"We want all the wins. I know we haven't been the best, but trust me we want to win every game, these guys would have done it," junior guard/forward A.J. Moye said. "March is our month, especially mine. I like it."\nThe Hoosiers displayed this new outlook on their season over the weekend when the Hoosiers defeated Iowa in a 91-88 win. Moye said following the game that had IU been placed in the situation of losing a lead and having to play in a close game, the Hoosiers would have lost by 20. Not anymore as IU enters the final stretch of the season.\n"Our tournament starts right now with these three games," freshman guard Bracey Wright said. "Our tournament started early. We're fighting right now. We are fighting to stay alive"
(03/03/03 5:52am)
Where in Assembly Hall was senior Jeff Newton when Iowa went on a 21-6 run to get back in the game Saturday night?\nThe forward was sitting on the bench with a towel over his lap, his jersey untucked, just watching as the Hawkeyes gave the Hoosiers a scare in the waning minutes of regulation.\nIowa had battled back from 15 down and was not far away from taking the lead when, with just more than four minutes left to play, Newton was done sitting the bench. After unsuccessfully trying to get IU coach Mike Davis' attention, Newton stood up and decided he was going to put himself back in the game.\nNot a bad decision, considering Newton almost immediately found himself on the foul line for the first of four times. That and the fact that he was able to hurt the Hawkeyes by getting their big men in foul trouble helped IU (17-10, 7-7 Big Ten) to pick up a 91-88 overtime win.\n"I couldn't wait anymore. I knew I was going to have to wait until the final minutes of the game, but I couldn't sit there anymore," Newton said. "I hate to sit out. That's why I rarely try to foul that quick in the first half, but unfortunately I got quick fouls."\nWith less than three minutes into the game and Iowa (14-11, 6-8) up with a small early lead, Newton picked up his first foul. With 6:28 left in the first half, Newton picked up his second foul and was put on the bench for the remainder of the first half.\nIn 14 minutes of play, Newton had two fouls, one rebound, one turnover, one block and a mere six points. It appeared that Newton was not going to be the dominating player for IU. The lone highlight was that his single first half block made him IU's all-time leader in blocked shot with 214.\n"He walks up and says 'Coach, my fault, I'm not giving you all I have,'" Davis said. "And I'm like 'We only have three games left in the season, and we need all three so I would love you to play the first minute of the game.'"\nNewton only got 11 more minutes of play in the entire game, but that proved to be enough. He opened the second half in a similar fashion as the first by picking up a quick early foul with 19:43. He wasted no time getting a fourth foul, waiting just about a minute until picking up his fourth.\nThe second half was a mere two minutes old when Newton once again returned to the bench. He would not return again until the Hoosiers had let the game get out of their hands, giving the Hawkeyes the opportunity for the win.\nDavis said following the game that he had forgotten all about Newton on the bench. His focus was arguably on the double-digit lead IU had squandered and the possibility of yet another loss. So with 4:44 left in regulation, Newton put himself back on the floor. For a player having a less than spectacular game and spending more time on the bench than the floor, Newton single-handedly led IU into the overtime.\n"He had foul trouble early, so he really wasn't a factor from the beginning," freshman guard Bracey Wright said. "But down the stretch we knew we had to go inside to get their big men in foul trouble, and the last four or five minutes, he was where we wanted to go."\nAnd that's exactly what happened. Newton made seven of his eight free throw attempts, tying the score three times before his miss. In overtime, Newton performed similarly. He was unable to be aggressive on the defensive end but made up for it offensively by picking up seven of his 20 total points. \nEarlier in the day he and teammate junior forward A.J. Moye bought the latest Nike Jordans and wore them in the game. So was it the Jordans that led to Newton's late game resurgence?\n"It might be the shoes," Newton said smiling after the game. "I think it's the shoes"
(02/26/03 6:33am)
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- What the IU men's basketball team didn't need in the midst of three games on the road was exactly what they got -- a six-day break that only helped the Hoosiers forget their revitalizing performance during the win at Iowa last Wednesday.\nGone were the huddles between the teammates on the floor, the energetic IU bench and the giddiness the team displayed after beating the Hawkeyes.\nFrom a contagious high to the all-too-familiar low, IU dropped its seventh conference road game to the No. 18 Fighting Illini, 80-54.\n"I thought we got better over the last couple of days until we came into a situation like this," IU coach Mike Davis said. "I told our guys this would be a good chance to know who we are as a basketball team."\nNot that the odds weren't stacked against the road weary Hoosiers (16-10, 6-7 Big Ten) from the tip.\nIllinois hadn't lost a game at home yet this season. Under third year coach Bill Self, Illinois has a 37-1 record in their Assembly Hall.\nAnd in the past two games combined, Illinois (19-5, 9-5) outscored their opponents 143-101, including the complete shutdown of Michigan State, which scored a mere 40 points in the loss.\n"We were as prepared as we could be," senior forward Jeff Newton said about playing in front of a hostile Illinois crowd. "We were ready. I don't know. We just didn't come out."\nIU trailed by nine points at the break but any hope of coming out and regaining the lead was dashed by Illinois in the first four minutes of the second half. The Illini allowed Newton to find the basket a mere 12 seconds to start the half and lessen the lead to seven.\nIllinois answered that basket by scoring nine points on the next four consecutive possessions. The single-digit lead the Illini held was widened to 16 with 16:25 to play in the game. Newton, who was the only Hoosier in double digits with a team-high 11 points, cut short the Illinois scoring run by driving to the basket for two points.\n"We allowed them to jump out on us at the start of the second half, and it just took off from there," Newton said. "We let them jump out on us and it was downhill from there."\nBut IU couldn't slow down the Illini's scoring and with minimal output on offense, the Hoosiers saw the gap in the score stretch to 21 points with just over eight minutes left. IU's woes were worsened by the lack of defense, magnified most by being out-rebounded 41-24. \nThe Fighting Illini continued their attack as their lead soared to as much as 29 points. Sophomore guard Donald Perry sank a three-point shot to end the game for IU.\nThe unstoppable force for Illinois Tuesday night was sophomore forward Roger Powell, who finished with team-high 22 points, 16 of which came in the first half.\n"They just got open looks, and we took bad shots," senior guard Tom Coverdale, who was held scoreless in the second half, said. "We took like four or five bad shots in a row, and it seemed like they didn't miss all night."\nThe Hoosiers made 11-of-27 shots in the first half, but that number diminished to a mere eight field goals out of 25 tries in the second half. Illinois, whose shooting improved in the second half, finished with 55 percent for field goals. \nDespite letting the Illini jump out to a quick four-point lead in the first half, the Hoosiers answered the early baskets by sinking three consecutive three-pointers. The short scoring run gave IU a five-point advantage, a lead they would hold just one other time in the game.\nAfter five lead changes and three ties, the Hoosiers relinquished their grip on the lead to go down by nine going into the half.\nIU gets another shot to pick up a win this Saturday when the team faces Iowa at home. Despite losing at Illinois, the Hoosiers are still optimistic about their postseason chances.\n"We have to bounce back. We have two home games in a row and it's going to be good to be home again," Coverdale said. "We win our next three and we have the same record we had last year. We just have to bounce back. With three games we can win, we have to come out and do it"
(02/25/03 6:11am)
The IU men's basketball team is set to take the floor at 9 p.m. tonight in Assembly Hall against the University of Illinois.\nUnfortunately for the Hoosiers, it's not the Assembly Hall that is home for them. Instead, IU travels to Champaign-Urbana to face the No. 18th ranked Fighting Illini (17-5, 7-4 Big Ten) in the like-named stadium. \nThe game, which is set to be aired on ESPN, is a rematch between two of the 2002 co-Big Ten season champions. IU and Illinois first faced each other this season on Jan. 18 in Bloomington. At the time, the Hoosiers were ranked in the top-20 and the Illini were enjoying a top-10 ranking.\nBut since upsetting Illinois with the 74-66 win, the Hoosiers won just three of the nine following games. The No. 20 Illini, despite faltering a bit in the polls, picked up a 7-2 record preceding the game in Bloomington. Illinois is perfect at home, which could mean trouble for the Hoosiers who just picked up their first Big Ten road win.\n"They are a real tough team to beat at home and they played great against Michigan State (in the 70-40 Illinois win) the other day at home," freshman guard Marshall Strickland said. "We're just going to go in there and fight. We're getting better too, so it will be a good game."\nThe Hoosiers enjoyed nearly a week off before heading to Illinois. Last Wednesday, IU traveled to Iowa City to face the Hawkeyes and picked up the Big Ten road win that had been eluding them. It was the first time in five tries against conference foes that IU was able to get and maintain a lead for a victory.\nEven with the win against Iowa, the Hoosiers still are in a pressure situation regarding post-season play. The NCAA selection committee stated earlier in the season that teams below .500 in their conference would be quite questionable in terms of being selected, national title game runners up or not. The Hoosiers are 16-9 overall, 6-6 in the conference and have three games left after tonight's. To be in safe standings regarding the NCAA tournament, IU has to win two of the remaining games. \n"We want to be another Final Four team this year," junior center George Leach said. "We worked extremely hard this summer, in Maui, everywhere. We play hard and we don't want to let that get away from us."\nFirst, the Hoosiers have the arduous task of defeating Illinois on their home court, a feat no Big Ten team has been able to accomplish this year. \nThe last time the two teams met, IU was without freshman guard Bracey Wright who was sidelined because of a reoccurring back injury. With Wright out, senior forward Jeff Newton took over the offense for the Hoosiers. \nNewton scored a career-high 28 points, 19 of which came in the second half. Newton also had eight rebounds and five blocks while shutting down Illinois' leading scorer senior forward Brian Cook. Cook, who averages more than 19 points per game, scored 15 points and watched four of his shots get blocked by Newton.\nNearly a week separates last week's win and tonight's game which gave the Hoosiers a chance to rest, but also a chance to forget the intensity they had against Iowa. \nIU coach Mike Davis expressed concern about the six-day break.\n"The way we played the other night, I want to play again quick," Davis said last Friday. "It is tough, but it helps us to be a better team and give us these days to improve. It gives Bracey (Wright) some rest with his back and George (Leach) broke his nose again, so it gives him some rest. It is a good opportunity to get better"
(02/20/03 6:29am)
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The men's basketball team did something a little different Wednesday night. Against Iowa in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the Hoosiers picked up a halftime lead.\nAnd this time, they didn't squander it.\nFor the first time in seven tries, and not since Dec. 31, 2002, IU picked up a road win against the Iowa Hawkeyes, 79-63.\n"You'd have thought we won the Big Ten championship in there," senior guard Kyle Hornsby said, leaving the locker room after the game. "It just feels good to come into someone else's place and get a win."\nDespite having a 10-point lead going into halftime, it appeared as if history was going to repeat itself. Last Saturday in the loss against Wisconsin, the Hoosiers (16-9, 6-6 Big Ten) had an eight-point lead at the half, but the Badgers scored on their first four possessions to go ahead in the game. IU didn't recover.\nPerhaps it was IU coach Mike Davis who spent the week publicly calling out his team to perform better, that affected the Hoosiers, or perhaps it was the must-win situation IU had put itself in. Either way, the Hoosiers regained composure following the initial shock of Iowa scoring the first seven points to start the second half.\nAfter letting the Hawkeyes (13-9, 5-6) close the gap to three in just over a minute, freshman guard Bracey Wright, who finished with a team-high 18 points and nine rebounds, scored on the put-back off a junior center George Leach miss that sent IU on an 8-2 scoring run in the second half.\n"That run just showed how we have learned and changed as a team," said senior guard Tom Coverdale, who finished with 17 points. "That's happened to us two or three times when we've been up at half, and they came right back and we didn't respond. Tonight we responded."\nIU had a 10-point lead once again with 14:40 left in the second half, when the Hoosiers and the Hawkeyes answered each other with back-to-back three-pointers. The closest Iowa came was eight with 14:30 to play. The Hoosiers led by as much as 17 in the game after senior forward Jeff Newton, who finished with 16 points, sank two free throws in the final seconds of the game.\nDespite losing the rebounding game by nine (40-31), IU adjusted offensively by dishing out 20 assists and turning the ball over a mere five times. The Hoosiers ended with just over 55 percent from the field and hit 10-of-21 three-point shots, including 5-for-8 from Coverdale. IU also enjoyed resurgence from Leach, who finished with 14 points, four blocked shots and four rebounds.\n"It's team basketball. We spaced them out, we passed the basketball, we hit the open people (and) we drove in," Davis said. "If you can score 29 baskets with 20 assists that tells you that we played team basketball tonight."\nThe Hoosiers jumped on Iowa quickly to start the game. With just over two minutes into the game, IU had built a six-point lead thanks to scores on three consecutive possessions. The first half lead for the Hoosiers extended to as many as 14 before the Hawkeyes cut it to five with 3:06 left before break. Leach, Newton and Coverdale each scored in the final two minutes of the half to secure a double-digit lead.\n"I feel like we had a lot of energy," Hornsby said. "Everyone was pulling for everybody, (we) had a lot of energy coming from the bench and everybody played hard. We still made some mistakes, but we did better"
(02/17/03 5:10am)
MADISON, Wis. -- There's more than one freshman guard on the IU men's basketball team who is becoming an impact player.\nMarshall Strickland, a newly-named starter for the Hoosiers, made this much apparent when IU traveled to Wisconsin Saturday to take on the Badgers. Strickland played in all but three minutes of the game and picked up the second highest points scored and boards grabbed for the team.\nEven though Strickland bypassed many career statistics, IU lost their sixth road game to Wisconsin, 71-59.\n"He had a great game, and he was tough to handle," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. "He came to play. He is a very, very good player, and he's just going to keep doing good things. He's going to get better."\nIU coach Mike Davis named Strickland, along with junior forward/guard A.J. Moye, a starter prior to last Wednesday's home game win against Michigan. The change put Strickland at the point, moving senior guard Tom Coverdale to the off-guard spot. After picking up a win against Michigan, Davis decided to stick with the newly-conceived winning line-up.\nStrickland quickly jumped on the offensive attack in the first half for the Hoosiers (15-9, 5-6 Big Ten). IU was already enjoying a small lead in the first half when Strickland, who finished with a career-high 17 points, connected with the basket on back-to-back possessions. The first was a short jumper for two, and the next time down he sank a three-pointer. In just over a minute, Strickland had picked up his first five points and gave IU a five-point lead over Wisconsin (18-5, 8-3).\n"Strickland ran the offense great," Davis said. "There were only a couple of possessions where we got into trouble."\nStrickland, a Maryland native, also got into the rebounding game in the first half, picking up six. That was just one less than the team leader in boards, senior forward Jeff Newton. The new point guard also had two assists in the first half and finished with a block and a steal going into the locker room.\nStrickland remained in the game in the first half until there was just over five minutes left before the break. It was the only time Strickland would be on the bench in the game in his 37-minute performance.\nHe reappeared in the game with 2:21 before halftime, enough time to dish out a pass to Newton for a jump shot to extend the lead to four points.\n"Speed-wise, it helps us. We can match up a little bit better with the other team's quickness," freshman guard Bracey Wright said about Strickland as a starter.\nStrickland ended the first half with seven points but was quiet to start the second until he drove to the basket to bring IU back within three of the Badgers with just over 13 minutes left to play. Then at 5:48 Strickland hit his third three-pointer, which closed the Wisconsin advantage to five.\nStrickland bypassed his previous career highs in minutes played, total points and rebounds. His previous scoring-high was 15 points, which occurred twice, against Virginia and at Ohio State. \n"He played with a lot of confidence tonight, and he really helped us out a lot," Wright said. "There were a couple times when he hit big threes that kept us right in the game. His performance was good overall"
(02/13/03 5:32am)
The five-game losing streak was not going to reach six.\nThe Hoosiers made that apparent early in Wednesday's game that the disheartening past three weeks were not going to stretch to four. The team also put an end to accusations that the Hoosier bench provided little inspiration and that the overall attitude of the team was lackadaisical.\nThe Hoosiers outrebounded, outhustled and overall outplayed the Michigan Wolverines on their way to a 63-49 victory. This win puts IU back at .500 in the Big Ten with a 5-5 conference record and a 15-8 overall record. Michigan's record drops to 14-9, 7-3 in the Big Ten.\n"It's great. It's a good feeling (to win), but it's great to see our guys playing hard," IU coach Mike Davis said. "That's the best part of it. I thought we played OK Saturday (against Michigan State); we just didn't finish the game and get good stops and rebounds. Tonight we got 40 rebounds; I couldn't tell you the last time we got 40 rebounds."\nThe attitude adjustment was arguably undeniable throughout the entire game. The Hoosiers went into the locker room with a 14-point advantage after an energy-filled first half. IU wasted no time jumping back on the board in the second, beginning with a Bracey Wright jump shot. \nThe freshman guard, who finished with a team-high 21 points, followed that by sinking a three-point jump shot to give IU a 19-point lead, the largest in the game to that point. The Wolverines helped the Hoosiers get the win, by hitting just 21 field goals out of 56 attempts in the game. Michigan also had nine less rebounds than the Hoosiers with 31.\nFollowing Wright's back-to-back jump shots, the Wolverines answered with a drive to the basket. But senior forward Jeff Newton, who picked up his 18th double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, added two more from under the basket, his shot of choice against the Wolverines.\n"Jeff really came out to play tonight," Wright said. "He's been a little inconsistent like the rest of us, but he really stepped up big tonight."\nMichigan closed the gap to eight with 10:24 left in the game after freshman guard Daniel Horton, who finished with a Wolverine team-high of 16 points, found nothing but net from beyond the arc. With the IU bench on its feet, as it had been throughout the game, the Hoosiers denied Michigan a chance at the basket for almost three minutes, while extending the lead to 14. The Wolverines missed the last eight of their nine shots and didn't hit until a jump shot connected with 14 seconds left in the game.\nPrior to the game, Davis decided to switch the starting line-up around once again. Freshman guard Marshall Strickland started at the point guard position, replacing senior guard Tom Coverdale, who was at the out-guard spot. Junior guard A.J. Moye got the start at the forward position, replacing junior center George Leach, who along with senior guard Kyle Hornsby came off the bench.\n"We knew coming they were going to be very confident about beating us," Wright said. "Everybody had to find out what they do best, and what they had to do to help this team. We got all that established, and we are heading in the right way."\nCoverdale, who finished with seven points, was the first to display the renewed sense of energy at a mere two and a half minutes into the game. He missed a shot under the basket but after Moye bobbled the ball, Coverdale snatched it back and reversed under the basket for two points.\nIt was just one of the many times throughout the first half that the Hoosiers showed a ferocious intensity which had been absent.\nAfter Coverdale's shot, IU enjoyed a 15-5 scoring run that gave the Hoosiers its first double-digit lead of the game. The offensive end was clicking for IU, and for the first time in recent memory, the Hoosiers enjoyed a defensive advantage as well, with six blocks and 23 rebounds in the first half.\n"We had a do-or-die attitude coming into tonight," Newton said. "We had to get this one. Now our plan is to win out, plain and simple"
(02/12/03 5:12am)
The last time the IU men's basketball team experienced a five-game losing streak, a Republican was president and war was a reality.\nPerhaps the national events from 31 years ago are oddly familiar, but the winning drought presently plaguing the Hoosiers is unfamiliar territory for the current team.\nAfter being dealt a tough conference schedule and missing their best shooter for four games, IU finds itself in a slump that even returning to Assembly Hall couldn't fix. Despite losing to Michigan State in overtime on Saturday night, the Hoosiers (14-8, 4-5 Big Ten) maintained they didn't feel their season goals are out of reach.\n"Things happen. We've lost five in a row, but the main thing we can't do is just get down on everybody," freshman guard Bracey Wright said following the game. "Our spirits are still high. We know we can go on a five, six game winning streak at anytime because we've done it before. The main thing we've got to do is keep fighting and put all that pieces together. We'll be fine."\nThe Hoosiers have yet another chance to turn the situation around at 7 p.m. tonight in Assembly Hall. The game, which will be aired by both ESPN2 and ESPN-Plus, matches IU against current Big Ten co-leader, the Michigan Wolverines (14-8, 7-2).\nMichigan has experienced a surprise resurgence this year. The Wolverines started the season 0-6, but after coach Tommy Amaker told the team they were going to start with a clean slate, his team listened to his advice. Following the initial six losses, Michigan went on a seven game non-conference winning streak.\nThe Wolverines barely slipped past Wisconsin in their conference opener, getting the victory by a margin of one point. The non-conference streak carried over to the Big Ten season as Michigan enjoyed seven more wins. But as the rest of the conference has found out, the road is not an easy place to win. The Wolverines were no exception to the rule, losing back-to-back games to Illinois and Minnesota. Michigan had a buffer game, a victory against Iowa, before heading back on the road to face the Hoosiers.\n"Having our previous game against Iowa at home after losing on the road was a pivotal game for our ball club," Amaker said. "Our defense in the second half has given us the opportunity to be in this position. We certainly anticipate that and then some as we head back on the road where not many people have faired very well this year in the conference play." \nThe Wolverines receive leadership from their lone senior starter, forward LaVell Blanchard, who leads the team with an average of 16.4 points per game and just over seven boards per game.\nBut behind this senior, is a starting lineup consisting of one junior and three freshmen.\nSimilar to the Hoosiers, Michigan is enjoying the immediate success of a Texas freshman. Guard Daniel Horton, who has started in all 22 games this season, boasts the second high scoring average with just over 15 points per game and has been the leading scorer in 10 of the Wolverine games. Horton enjoyed a career-high 26 points in the non-conference win against Bowling Green, the game which jump-started the Michigan winning streak.\nHorton hails from Cedar Hill, Texas, and is familiar with IU's Wright, as the two twice faced off in the Texas High School State Basketball Tournament.\n"I do know they know one another, but I don't know the extent of their relationship," Amaker said. "They know one another, and they are familiar with one another, and I know they will surely try to give it their best shot against one another."\nThe Hoosiers started this season by punishing teams with its strong offensive output, but as of late the shots have not been falling as easily as they used to, giving way to a lesser field-goal percentage than other teams around the Big Ten. This includes Michigan who leads IU in total field goals made, total three-point shots made and total free throws made.\nThe other problem area for the Hoosiers has been offensive rebounds, and they trail the Wolverines in this category as well. IU has a commanding lead in the defensive rebound category as well as blocks. The two are head-and-head when it comes to the average score, with IU picking up just two more points. \n"We can't let the negative outweigh the positive, and we have a lot of positive going on for this basketball team," IU coach Mike Davis said, following Saturday's loss. "We're just going to continue to work. I'm gonna bring them back on Monday and work them and get ready for Michigan because I think we can beat Michigan"
(02/10/03 5:44am)
It may not have been too hard to read Daryl Pegram's unhappiness. With just two early season game appearances for the IU men's basketball team to his credit, the freshman forward spent the last couple of months on the bench, dressed in street clothes.\nEven during practice Pegram was attired differently. While the team wore the typical practice jerseys, he was usually dressed in a sweat shirt and gym shorts. And most of Pegram's time lately was spent in the training room rather than on the court. When he did emerge from the trainer's, he headed to the bleachers and watched, with his chin on his hands.\nYet it was still a surprise when IU coach Mike Davis announced Saturday that Pegram had left the team in mid-season and planned to transfer after this semester.\n"Daryl is a mature, hard-working player who has decided that he would like to pursue other options," Davis said in a statement. "We respect his decisions and sincerely wish him the best."\nPegram arrived at IU as a member of a highly anticipated freshman class that also consisted of guards Marshall Strickland, Roderick Wilmont and Bracey Wright. While Davis decided to redshirt Wilmont prior to the start of this season, Wright and Strickland have both made immediate impacts on the team. Wright, who was sidelined briefly because of a back injury, leads the team in scoring with an average of 17.4 points per game. Strickland, who has one start to his credit, has seen action in all 22 games this season and averages just over 20 minutes per game.\nBut while his two roommates, Wright and Strickland, enjoyed first-year success, Pegram's season has been less than satisfying, seeing action in a mere two games and totaling five minutes of court time.\n"I don't think he saw an opportunity here for him," Strickland said. "He did have nagging injuries and he had to deal with all that. It was a choice he had to make."\nThe two games that Pegram played in were the Team Nike exhibition on Nov. 16, where he sank a three-point jump shot and had one block in two minutes of play and the University of Illinois-Chicago game on Dec. 7. Pegram played a mere three minutes in the IU win, picking up two points and one rebound.\nBut thanks to a reoccurring knee injury, Pegram has experienced a limited chance to develop at the same rate as his counterparts.\n"I see him every day and he looks like he's fine with it, but I know deep inside, he's really feeling hurt," Wilmont said. "It's a big decision to do something like that. But we told him if we were in his shoes, we would have just stuck it out because you don't know what might happen over the summer."\nTwo other possible reasons mentioned as to why the 6-foot-9-inch Pegram decided to leave the team included being far from his family during his injury, and not developing his game or bulking up as rapidly as he would have liked.\nThe California native is expected to pick a school in his home state to be closer to his family, especially as he continues rehabilitation on his injured knee.\nPegram arrived at IU after averaging more than 15 points per game and grabbing over nine rebounds at Worcester Academy in Massachusetts. Similar to senior forward Jeff Newton's ability to shoot the long-range shot, Pegram made 42 three-point shots in his senior year. \n"It was something he had to do," Wright said. "He was injured for awhile, so he wasn't playing. I don't think it hurt the team that much, but we lost a good friend"
(02/06/03 7:08am)
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Hoosiers didn't even win the tip.\nNor did the IU men's basketball team get more rebounds or more steals. All it can boast is more turnovers and a fourth consecutive loss.\nRoad games have not been kind to the Hoosiers (14-7, 4-4 Big Ten).\nFor the first time since Jan. 11, 1988, Northwestern beat IU, 74-61. It's been almost a year since the Wildcats have won a game in the conference, the last time being against Purdue last February. But Northwestern (9-10, 1-7) can no longer boast being tied for last place in the Big Ten now it has one conference win under its belt.\n"Northwestern did a good job of running their offense on us, and they scored easy baskets," IU assistant coach John Treloar said. "Defensively, you just have to learn from it. In the first game we played them, I thought we did a good job. Tonight they made a lot of easy baskets."\nIf the second half was going to include any intensity at all, the Hoosiers didn't show it. IU picked up where it left off in the first half by sloppily inbounding the ball, and let Northwestern drive to the basket. Just like that, the Wildcats had an eight-point lead that less than 30 seconds later turned into a 10-point lead. \nThe Hoosiers pulled back to within six points less than two minutes into the half, but at 13:42, Northwestern's senior Jason Burke made a free throw, giving him his only point of the game and giving the Wildcats a double-digit lead they didn't relinquish.\n"We didn't play well at all and haven't for a while," said senior guard Tom Coverdale. "We need to figure things out if we want to make the tournament. I really have no answers right now."\nThe lost tip was an early warning sign of what the Hoosiers had in store for the first half of the game. Northwestern was called for traveling on the first possession of the game and instead of capitalizing on the turnover, IU went right back down the court and did the exact same thing.\nOn the next possession, Northwestern gave the Hoosiers another chance to get on the board first after the Wildcats freshman guard T.J. Parker air-balled on a three-point jump shot. \nBut instead of taking over the tempo of the game, the Hoosiers missed their next four attempts at the basket, which included two Bracey Wright three-point shot misses. The freshman guard was 2-for-7 in the first half from the field.\n"We're terrible right now," senior guard Kyle Hornsby said. "It looks like chaos out there. We're not moving as a unit right now. They back-cut us; they got lay-ups all night long. They dominated us."\nWright's basket sent IU on an 8-2 scoring run that left the teams tied with just over 10 minutes to play in the first half. That tie would become a distant memory to the Hoosiers, whose lackadaisical defense allowed the Wildcats offense to score eight points to IU's one -- a free throw from junior guard A.J. Moye.\nIt wasn't about to get prettier.\nThat run gave the Wildcats a nine-point lead with 7:55 in the first. The Hoosiers, however, heated up for just over a minute to make two consecutive jump shots to pull within four, but Northwestern quickly snuffed that spark by ending the half by scoring eight and leading by as much as 10 to end the half with a 30-24 lead. \n"We've got to put it behind us," Treloar said. "They have the next two games at home. Michigan State is a very tough basketball team, so it will be a challenge. But hopefully they respond"
(02/05/03 4:48am)
Just one more game, and then the IU men's basketball team gets to enjoy the comforts of home. And home has never looked better to the Hoosiers, who are struggling their way through four trying road games. Three of the games have gone the other way and have subsequently dropped IU from the rankings for the first time all season.\nBefore home, however, the Hoosiers (14-6, 4-3 Big Ten) travel to Evanston, Ill., for the 9 p.m. game to take on the Northwestern Wildcats who are experiencing a disheartening streak of their own. The Wildcats are 8-10 for the season and have not picked up a victory since before the start of the Big Ten season, making them 0-7 in the conference. \n"It'll be nice to be home again," Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said. "Our first five out of seven games were away, so it will be nice to shoot on our own court. But to be truthful, in the early part of the season, we hadn't played that well at home, and we're struggling right now."\nJust like the Hoosiers, the road has not been kind to the Wildcats, who have only played two of their last seven games at home. The two home losses for Northwestern include Michigan, which currently occupies second place in the Big Ten, and the Iowa Hawkeyes, who went on a 3-0 conference run, until three recent consecutive losses have plagued them. \nEven though in the away games the Wildcats have lost by a combined score of 361-284, Northwestern has done a better job of keeping the scores close at home. They lost by a mere five to Iowa and dropped the game against Michigan by seven points.\nFor the game against IU, Carmody said the Wildcats will need to pound the ball inside to compete.\n"We have to do something. We are just struggling to get the ball inside, and you are going against an Indiana team that every time you turn around, they are blocking your shots," Carmody said. "But we have to do that somehow ... get into them and draw some fouls."\nNot that the Hoosiers are having much luck pinpointing how they are going to be able to pick up a victory on the road. Following the Purdue game, the Hoosiers knew mentally they needed more intensity and effort. But those factors were absent in the Michigan State loss, when an open State player drilled a three-pointer to bury the Hoosiers.\nThe week following the Spartan loss, IU had admittedly some of the most intense practices in preparation for the tough Louisville team. And for a little over 20 minutes against the Cardinals, it seemed the Hoosiers had overcome their inability to compete on the road. But as IU learned the hard way, a lead means nothing if it isn't maintained for the entire game.\n"Our main goal is to win the Big Ten, and in order to do that, you have to win on the road," senior guard Tom Coverdale said after the 95-76 Louisville loss. "Starting right now, I told the guys, we have to start making a run, and it starts at Northwestern. We have to find a way to win. I thought if we could play the way we played in the first half (against Louisville), and do it for 40 minutes, then we could be a really good team. But until we learn how to do that, we are a long way away."\nIU and Northwestern, which is tied for last place in the conference with Penn State, have already faced each other once this season, when the Wildcats traveled to Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers heated up offensively in the 71-57 win on Jan. 15, shooting just over 60 percent from the field and just under 60 percent from beyond the arc. \nIU also out-rebounded Northwestern by grabbing 14 more boards. The Hoosiers haven't been able to out-rebound a team in its last four attempts on the court. The last time was against Illinois on Jan. 18 in Assembly Hall, when the Hoosiers grabbed nine more in the win.\nBut IU hasn't let the recent losses affect the team's season goals.\n"We're sitting here in a situation where it's a majority of road loses," IU coach Mike Davis said. "We're sitting here at 14-6. Last year, we only had 18 wins going into the Big Ten tournament, and we won one game there, so that gave us 19, and you saw what we did last year. It's not a panic situation. The league is good, (and) it's hard to win on the road in this league"
(02/03/03 5:21am)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Eight minutes of anguish. \nThat was the feeling for the IU men's basketball team and their fans after the No. 19 Hoosiers let a lead as large as 16 points dwindle to zero as IU gave into the No. 8 Louisville pressure in the second half. The Hoosiers lost the lead, their shot and, for the second time that week, the game. Louisville won 95-76.\nThe Cardinals (16-1, 6-0 Conference USA) started slow in the first half, but finally got into their game plan, and prevented IU from scoring another field goal past the 7:55 mark in the game. The Hoosiers (14-6, 4-3 Big Ten), who had won the rebounding game in the first half, let up on defense enough to allow Louisville to go on 17-0 run for the 19-point win.\nEight minutes in hell.\n"Louisville turned around in the second half," IU coach Mike Davis said. "They are very good. They attacked us. (Their defense) never stops. Maybe we were able to overcome it in the first half, and in the first five minutes of the second half, but it never stops."\nThe Hoosiers started the game with the same focus they had shown the previous week during their intensity-packed practices and were determined to end the road game losing streak. For the past three road games, IU has found zero success.\nIn the first half, it appeared the drought would soon be over.\nThe Hoosiers had connected on over 50 percent of its field goals and went 4-for-12 from beyond the arc for an eight-point halftime lead.\nDefensively, IU outshined the Cardinals in the first half by grabbing 22 boards compared to 15 in the first half. Like every other aspect of the Hoosiers' game, however, Louisville put an end to IU's rebounding advantage and picked up 24 rebounds in the second half. The Hoosiers added a mere 11 defensive boards to finish the game but didn't pick up a single offensive rebound after seven in the first.\n"It's been happening to us every game," senior forward Jeff Newton said. "It's just letting up on defense. It's the same story again. We can go through any possible excuse."\nThe Cardinals, who enjoyed a school-record crowd of 20,086, had been in the position of coming from behind before. Six times, to be exact. And each time, Louisville has overcome a double-digit lead for the win.\nDespite throwing the full-court press and fast pace at the Hoosiers early in the game, IU was able to execute its own game plan and shut down the Cardinals. The Hoosiers got the ball to the front-court and found shots for their guards. For some unexplainable reason, that game plan was left in the locker room, along with any calmness IU had prior to the break.\nThe Cardinals capitalized on the Hoosiers breakdown to take their first lead in the game with 7:04 left. The Hoosiers, plagued with a panicked attitude, were unable to make a basket as Louisville heated up.\n"We flat-out got after it in the second half," Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. "I'm really proud of these guys. Their desire to win is tremendous."\nOne of the biggest contributors to IU's loss was the amount of turnovers IU committed. Each Hoosier that took the court had a least one turnover, including a team-high five by Coverdale, who also led the team in scoring with 15. The team finished with 20 turnovers which resulted in 21 points for the Cardinals.\nThe Hoosiers get another chance for a road victory on Wednesday when they travel to Evanston, Ill. to face the Northwestern Wildcats. Regardless of the loss, the players acknowledged that they had more of a fighting attitude than in the previous three games.\n"We just showed ourselves we can play hard and we can be a great team," Coverdale said. "We have to learn to put it together for 40 minutes, and we have to learn to finish games off. We got a big lead, and we let it slip away. Instead of going out to try and win the game, we were trying not to lose it. There's a big difference in that"
(01/31/03 5:41am)
Thursday's practice for the IU men's basketball team was not lacking intensity. Loud vocals from both the players and the coaches could be heard throughout the two-hour practice. And there was enough emotional static in the air that there was almost a fight between two players.\nJunior center George Leach and sophomore guard Mark Johnson exchanged heated words near the middle of Thursday's practice as IU prepared for arguably their most challenging match-up in the Hoosiers' four-game road trip. For IU, the heated practice was the best they could ask for as the Hoosiers search to find an answer to their road-game woes.\n"Our practice today shows we can get to where we need to be, it's just a matter of getting there," said senior guard Tom Coverdale. "It's just a learning process. We've got a lot of young guys, and it's hard to win on the road. It's not going to get any easier for us."\nThe No. 19 Hoosiers (14-5, 4-3 Big Ten), in order to avoid a week-long break from competition, scheduled non-conference opponent, Louisville (15-1, 6-0 Conference USA), for this Saturday. The game tips off at 1 p.m. in Freedom Hall and will be aired on CBS.\nLast year, IU set up the same arrangement with Louisville, playing them in mid-Big Ten season. The game resulted in a 77-62 Hoosier victory. IU, however, had the home-court advantage for that game and was in the midst of enjoying a five-game home winning streak.\nThis year, the Hoosiers have to take on a tough Cardinal defense on the road; a place where IU has found no love. In the past three attempts, IU has lost on the road to Ohio State, Purdue and Michigan State by the combined scores of 211-170.\n"(Louisville) is a totally different team. (They're) 10 times better than last year, because they have been in the system for a whole year now," Coverdale said. "They know exactly what their coach wants them to do."\nThe Hoosiers' struggles have further been intensified by the injuries to the team. On Tuesday, the Hoosiers most emotional player, junior guard/forward A.J. Moye, who had been starting in place of Wright, was on the bench because of an upper respiratory infection. Moye practiced Thursday, complete with a newly shaved head, and is expected to be on the court Saturday.\nFreshman guard Bracey Wright made his first appearance on the court for the Michigan State loss Tuesday night. Wright had missed three previous games because of an irritated nerve in his back but returned to the starting line-up.\nWright's shot was a bit rusty, as he went 0-6 from the field. Although Wright, the Hoosiers leading scorer, only managed to get four points, he grabbed seven boards, had two blocks, two steals and two assists. This was before he was forced out of the game with cramps to his left leg. Wright practiced minimally on Thursday but will play on Saturday.\n"I thought practice was a bit too hard for (Bracey today)," IU coach Mike Davis said. "It was a tough practice. We didn't take any prisoners, so it was a little tough."\nThe Cardinals are enjoying a 15-game win streak this season. Louisville has not lost a game since falling in a close game to Purdue on Nov. 30, 2002. The pair faced each other in the John Wooden Classic in Indianapolis, and the Boilermakers squeaked by with an 86-84 win.\nSince that loss, the Cardinals have been perfect on the road and at home, picking up wins against such teams as Kentucky, where Louisville whomped the Wildcats, 81-63 at the end of December. Not long after, the Cardinals played and beat another Big Ten team, when they traveled to Columbus and edged the Buckeyes, 72-64, in overtime.\nLouisville is enjoying both strong offensive and defensive performances. The team is second in the nation in scoring margin, while also boasting the best perimeter defense in the C-USA conference.\nThe Cardinals edge the Hoosiers in all but two comparable statistics. This includes blocked shots, where IU has a .6 advantage over Louisville. The Hoosiers average 5.7, where the Cardinals have 5.1. Louisville holds its opponents to an average of 64.4 points per game, while racking up an average of 84 points for themselves.\nNot good news for the Hoosiers, who average just over 71 points per game but have been held to 54 and 47 points in the past two road games.\nStill, IU has confidence that this Saturday, they can break the road-game curse.\n"We are playing hard, at times," Davis said. "It's going to be a difficult game for us. If we have any chance of winning this game, it's going to be with the effort we gave in practice today"
(01/29/03 6:17am)
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The No. 19 IU men's basketball team needed two things to happen Tuesday night. The first was that the Hoosiers figure out how to carry their home-court intensity with them to away games. The second was that the starting line-up would include freshman guard Bracey Wright.\nThe Hoosiers showed a higher level of intensity against Michigan State, and IU's leading scorer, Wright, who returned to the court as a starter after a four-game hiatus, contributed to this. But these factors were not enough to boost the Hoosiers (14-5, 4-3 Big Ten) over the Spartans (11-8, 3-4), as Michigan State won 61-54.\nWright, who injured a nerve in his back during the Jan. 11 Ohio State game, didn't score his first basket until 38 seconds left in the first half. He went 1-for-1 from the free throw line, good enough to tie the game at 27.\n"It was good to come back. I felt good out there; it was the best I felt in two weeks," Wright said. "I was in fine game condition, but it took a toll on my body in the last 10 or 11 minutes. I couldn't stand up."\nWright, who finished with four points and seven rebounds, exited the game with just over three minutes left in the second half because of cramps in his left leg.\nAs Wright was getting iced, junior center George Leach, who had 14 points in the game, was at the free throw line, sinking two baskets that brought the game within three for the Hoosiers. The Spartans answered with a jump shot that widened the score to 56-51 with just over two minutes left to play. \nThe closest IU would get in the game was two after senior guard Kyle Hornsby sank a three-point shot with 1:12 left.\nReminiscent of last year, the ball landed in Michigan State's Adam Ballinger's hands with just 30 seconds left in the game. Last year, Ballinger hit a trey with 53 seconds left in the game, which led to a 57-54 Spartan win. This year, IU was down a possession when Ballinger pulled up and hit a three-point shot, sealing the game for Michigan State.\n"That's just me not paying attention to our plays," Leach said. "I thought (MSU's Chris) Hill was going to drive, and I left Ballinger wide open. That's all I have to say."\nIt was IU that got on the board first in the game following a tipped MSU jump shot. Senior guard Tom Coverdale recovered the ball, and brought it down the court where senior forward Jeff Newton, who led the team in scoring with 15, scored on the putback.\nThe two teams traded shots, until the Hoosiers took a two-point lead with just over 17 minutes left in the half. The Spartans answered, going on a 8-4 scoring run which put IU down by four. \nNeither team trailed by more than four throughout the entire first half, and with Wright's free throw, the Hoosiers went into the locker room even with the Spartans.\n"(IU coach Mike Davis) was all encouraging at halftime," freshman guard Marshall Strickland said. "It was a tie game, so pretty much zero-zero. The fight was in the second half. You play teams day in, day out (in the Big Ten), and sometimes you'll fight and you won't win. That's what happened tonight"
(01/28/03 5:52am)
If the past was any indication of what awaits the IU men's basketball team in East Lansing tonight, the Hoosiers may face a repeat of the past two Big Ten road games. \nThe No. 19 Hoosiers have been unsuccessful in the last nine attempts at the Breslin Center, and have not beat a Big Ten team on the road in four tries.\nWith the torturous 69-47 loss to Purdue still fresh in their minds, as well as the lack of promising play on the road, IU (14-4, 4-2) hopes to change their recent trend tonight against Michigan State (10-8, 2-4).\n"We have to fight the whole game instead of just some of it," senior forward Jeff Newton said. "[The Purdue game was] going to be just like our past three games by being a battle from start to finish. We just have to come ready to fight for the next three games."\nThe game, which can be viewed at 7 p.m. on ESPN, pairs two teams each in the middle of a slight crisis. The Hoosiers, who haven't lost more than four road games in a row since the 2000-2001 season, are struggling with player's attitudes and the injury to its highest scorer.\nFollowing the Purdue loss, IU coach Mike Davis criticized the play of Newton, and junior center George Leach, who were both held to less than 10 rebounds and 10 points. Leach didn't score at all, while Newton had a mere 7 points and nine rebounds.\nIn a fashion similar to the post-game press conference at Ohio State when Davis questioned the effort of senior guard Tom Coverdale, he directed his criticism at Leach after the Purdue game.\n"When I say that [George] disappeared, it's like I am picking on him," Davis said. "I should have taken [him] out the game when they announced the players, because I have told him about walking onto the court like he's Shaquille O'Neal. I should have taken him out then. There is no place for that."\nDavis also scoffed at the earlier notion that the Hoosiers were able to compete with or without freshman guard Bracey Wright. Although IU had been on a three-game winning streak, those were home games that Davis said weren't as impressive as they were made out to be. Even Illinois, who had been ranked No. 8 at the time, was in the midst of "finding themselves," Davis said.\nBut now that the Hoosiers were embarrassed against the Boilermakers on the road, Davis said that it is Wright who the team needs. Wright, who has not played in the last four games, still leads the team in points with 19.1, and is in third on the team in rebounds with 5.5.\n"People said we didn't need Bracey; 'the way you are playing, you don't need Bracey,'" Davis said. "The thing you don't understand is that Bracey is the one guy in this whole league that is going to make a shot or create a shot. I just laugh when I heard it because it doesn't make sense to say that you don't need a guy who averages 20 points a game."\nBut the Spartans are experiencing upheaval of their own. Michigan State, who began the season ranked in the top 10, and marked as the favorites of the Big Ten, have a mere two conference victories. The first was an 11-point victory against Ohio State at home, and the other was a 34-point victory against Penn State, once again at home.\nRecently, the Spartans dropped a close game to the Michigan Wolverines, who are first in the Big Ten, losing 60-58.\n"We just have to go out and win some of these road games," Freshman guard Marshall Strickland said. "We've struggled on the road, but I think it's going to be a tough game against Michigan State"