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(01/08/12 4:53pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU men’s basketball team came into Sunday as the nation’s leader in three-point field goal percentage at 45.6 percent.They lived up to their billing.IU (15-1, 3-1) struck fire from the outside, knocking down 16 three-pointers on Sunday to propel an 88-82 win at Penn State (9-8, 1-3).The 16 three-pointers fell one short of the school record, 17, which was set in 2002 against Illinois and matched in 2007 against the same Nittany Lions.The first half outburst was led by IU junior guard Jordan Hulls, who made five three-pointers to give IU a 42-37 halftime lead.The second half however, was a different story. IU senior guard Matt Roth matched Hulls’ first half three-point total of five to help distance the Hoosiers in the second half.Sunday also marked the first time that IU won a Big Ten road game since Jan. 21, 2010, when IU beat Penn State, 67-61. Before Sunday’s win, IU was 1-27 in Big Ten road games under IU Coach Tom Crean.
(01/06/12 5:46am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It’s another ranked opponent and another tally in the win column.The IU men’s basketball team took down its third ranked foe of the season, knocking off No. 13/16 Michigan (12-3, 2-1) 73-71 on Thursday night at Assembly Hall. IU is now 11-0 at home and will look to go undefeated at Assembly Hall for the first time since the 2006-07 season.“This was a big-time win tonight,” IU Coach Tom Crean said. “That’s a really good team, and we didn’t play great. But we found a way, and we gritted it out. I don’t mean just gutting it out. I mean grit it out. We were gritty.”The Hoosiers (14-1, 2-1) were paced by junior forward Christian Watford, who delivered a season-high 25 points, and freshman forward Cody Zeller, who finished with 18 points.The performance by Watford was one that Crean said they expected from the three-year starter.“I thought the way Christian Watford played tonight was phenomenal,” Crean said. “I thought the togetherness of Christian and Cody was the biggest part of the game plan.”Besides pacing the Hoosiers’ scoring attack, Watford also chipped in seven boards and four assists. Watford’s ability to fill out the stat sheet was something Crean said IU needed to take down the Wolverines.“It’s consistency,” Crean said of Watford. “There’ll be a game where he may not play well, but right now, he’s doing a lot of different things.” Watford helped the Hoosiers jump out on Michigan early, as IU took a 17-6 advantage into the second media timeout. But a few late 3-pointers by the Wolverines narrowed the gap to 39-32 going into the half.“Any time a team can shoot like that, they always have a chance to be in it or win the game,” said senior guard Verdell Jones III. “The three ball is a special weapon, and they hit a lot of big shots.”Michigan carried that momentum into the second half.The Wolverines came out of the gate connecting from long range and shortened the IU lead to just one at the first media timeout of the half.Enter Zeller.The freshman big man kept the Hoosiers ahead by knocking down a few quick buckets. Zeller chipped in six points in less than four minutes to dig IU out of its offensive rut.But Michigan wouldn’t back down.Though they never led in the game, the Wolverines tied it up with 3:12 to play on a breakaway dunk by sophomore guard Tim Hardaway, Jr., who led Michigan with 19 points on 7-of-19 shooting.“We could never get separation the way that we needed to,” Crean said. “Some of that was us. Some of that was them. But the bottom line was this team gritted it out again.”Unlike the first 37 minutes of the game, IU relied on Jones down the stretch. Jones knocked down two free throws to give IU the lead and then knocked down a critical baseline jumper to give IU a four-point lead in the final minute.Though he led IU in turnovers and failed to finish in double digits, Jones said he redeemed himself down the stretch.“They made a lot of runs, and we just kept fighting tooth and nail to get back in it,” Jones said. “They made some big plays at the end, but we stayed focused, and we stayed hungry.”For IU, it’s another Big Ten win at Assembly Hall, which is exactly what Crean said he envisioned his team doing.“I’m really, really proud of our team,” Crean said. “They have won 14 games 14 different ways with a lot of room for improvement. I’m excited about them.”
(01/01/12 1:29am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU men's basketball team pulled off another upset, this time it was a No. 2/2 Ohio State 74-70 at Assembly Hall.After defeating then-No. 1 Kentucky Dec. 10, the win over the Buckeyes marked the first time in program history in which the Hoosiers have taken down the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country.IU was led by an offensive outburst by junior guard Jordan Hulls, who led all scorers with 17 points. Besides Hulls, every other IU starter finished the game in double-figures.The Hoosiers held on to the lead without leading scorer freshman forward Cody Zeller, who fouled out with just under three minutes to go.The win comes after a game in which the Hoosiers suffered an 80-65 loss at Michigan State to open up Big Ten play, which was the Hoosiers first loss of the season.Now the Hoosiers will enter 2012 looking to earn their first spot in the top ten in the AP poll since 2008.
(01/01/12 12:06am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After a late surge, the IU men's basketball team is leading the Ohio State Buckeyes 33-32 at the half.No. 13/15 IU trailed the No. 2/2 Buckeyes for much of the first half but sparked a run when preseason All-American Jared Sullinger picked up his second foul.Ohio State had its largest lead of the game up 19-9 but without Sullinger, the Hoosiers went on a 16-6 run to tie it at 25-25. After Sullinger went out, IU forced eight Ohio State turnovers to lead them to a one-point lead at halftime. Leading the way for the Hoosiers is senior guard Verdell Jones with 12 points and freshman forward Cody Zeller with eight points and four rebounds.Despite shooting just 41 percent, the Hoosiers are ahead of the No. 2 team in the country.
(12/29/11 2:45am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In a game of runs, Michigan State ran the most.The Spartans handed the IU men’s basketball team its first loss of the season in an 80-65 shootout Wednesday night in East Lansing, Mich.In a game where the No. 13 Hoosiers (12-1, 0-1) trailed by as many as 18 in the first half, they also led by as many as nine points in the second half. But a 20-0 run by No. 16 Michigan State (12-2, 1-0) turned a nine-point IU lead into an 11-point deficit.Leading the way for IU was junior forward Christian Watford, who paced the Hoosiers with 26 points and nine rebounds.IU’s leading scorer, freshman forward Cody Zeller, was limited in his first Big Ten game, scoring four points. The output was a career low for Zeller, who was in foul trouble for most of the contest.The Hoosiers got to line just nine times (5-of-9) and shot 56 percent while the Spartans shot 77 percent (17-of-22) from the charity stripe.IU will face another ranked Big Ten foe Saturday night when it takes on No. 2 Ohio State at Assembly Hall.
(12/20/11 3:57am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU men’s basketball team had a season high in points, assists and players scoring.But lost in the hoopla of IU’s best offensive effort of the year was a defensive performance that resulted in a season-low 15 points allowed in the first half.That defensive lockdown helped lead the No. 17 Hoosiers (11-0) to a 107-50 victory against Howard University (3-9) on Monday night at Assembly Hall.“Pretty much everything was working because our guys were so locked in to each other,” IU Coach Tom Crean said. “They were locked into communication. Their deflections were up. The transition defense was good. They weren’t giving up the dribble, and they were challenging shots.”While IU was able to limit Howard offensively in the first half, the Hoosiers only led 8-5 at the first media timeout of the game. Whatever Crean said in that first timeout worked for IU. In the final 16:27 of the first half, Howard was held to 10 points.“Tom must have gave his team one heck of a speech,” Howard Coach Kevin Nickelberry said.IU sophomore forward Will Sheehey said a change in defensive mindset is what allowed the Hoosiers to see a change in the results.“It was just picking up the intensity,” Sheehey said. “Coming in, we knew their sets, and we knew that we had to be active on defense with our hands and talk.”In addition to putting up just 15 points in the first half, Howard shot 19 percent (6-of-32) percent from the field. There wasn’t a single Howard player that had more than one shot made. Another area IU was successful in was limiting Howard from scoring on the interior. Howard had six first half points in the paint and attempted two free-throws. Crean said that was a product of denying Howard’s entry passes.“Our digs were good were off the ball to go into the post,” Crean said. “We didn’t have any breakdowns.” The defensive effort came after IU’s 69-58 against Notre Dame on Saturday in which the Irish only made four shots in the first half. IU senior guard Verdell Jones III said IU’s ability to close out on shooters stemmed from a major emphasis in practice.“It’s what the coaches have been preaching about in the last few games,” Jones said. “We’ve got to get on the shooters — no short close-outs. Make them drive, and make them put in on the floor and make shots that way. We’re just working hard, and we’ve got to continue to do that.”IU continued the defensive success in the second half, forcing 11 second-half turnovers and limiting Howard to 1-of-4 from beyond the arc. By night’s end, Howard shot 31 percent from the floor and only got to the line 13 times. The Hoosiers outscored Howard 27-4 in points off of turnovers. Not a single Howard player with more than four attempts shot above 50 percent in the game.Crean said it was exactly the defensive effort he was looking for.“We wanted to play a 40-minute game, especially on the defensive end, and I think these guys did it,” Crean said. “They came back in the second half, and although the team scored more points obviously than they did in the first, our guys continued to play at a really high level.”
(12/20/11 3:50am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU men’s basketball team cruised to a 107-50 win against Howard University on Monday night at Assembly Hall.Leading the six Hoosiers in double figures was IU junior guard Jordan Hulls, who poured in 16 points, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.IU rode the momentum of a 52-15 advantage at halftime, its’ largest first-half lead of lead of the season. Not only were the 52 first-half points the most by an IU team in the first half but the 15 points marked the fewest allowed of the season.Though IU only made one second-half three-pointer, offense was plentiful as IU outscored Howard 55-35 the rest of the way.In addition to setting a season-high with 104 points, the Hoosiers also dropped a season-high 27 assists on 35 made baskets.The win improves the Hoosiers to 11-0 and marking the first time they have started off with the record since the undefeated season of 1975-76.
(12/18/11 2:28am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It wasn’t pretty.The IU men’s basketball team had its lowest offensive output of the season, shot 34 percent in the first half and didn’t make a 3-pointer until nearly 26 minutes into the game.But the No. 18 Hoosiers (10-0) put the clamps down on defense to lead them to a 69-58 win against Notre Dame (7-5) on Saturday at Conseco Fieldhouse in the Crossroads Classic.“A very, very good win for us,” IU Coach Tom Crean said. “We hadn’t experienced getting a win like that this season and one probably in the past that we might not have been able to get because it was a very, very physical game, and our guys did a great job of responding to that.”For an Irish team that came in averaging just shy of seven 3-pointers per game, Crean said limiting that would be a key for IU.“They’re taking a lot of pride in their defense, and this will only help and hopefully springboard them to more things because the number one key all week with Notre Dame was defending the three-point shooting,” Crean said.Early on, the Hoosiers didn’t do that.Notre Dame sophomore Alex Dragicevich got the Irish going early, knocking down three 3-pointers in the first 5:13 of the game. Dragicevich’s quick start put the Hoosiers in a nine-point deficit, their largest of the season.“They screen a lot, so you’ve got to be aware, and if you’re not aware, then they’ll back-door you too,” IU junior guard Jordan Hulls said. “We just had to be very conscious of what they were doing, and I felt like our team defense really picked up, and that’s what we had to do.”IU made the defensive adjustments and didn’t allow the Irish to score another field goal in the half. Crean said the defensive turnaround in the first half was more mental than physical.“Our guys never wavered when we got down because we made too many mistakes,” Crean said. “A lot of our mistakes were communication mistakes, and we were waiting for someone to help us out of a situation rather than being a participant in our own rescue in that situation.”Even though the Hoosiers held Notre Dame to 20 first-half points — a season best for IU — they led by only six. The 26-point first half output was also IU’s lowest offensive output of the season.While IU was led by freshman forward Cody Zeller’s 14 first-half points, they shot 34 percent (11-of-32) as a team.“The shots weren’t falling for us, and we weren’t able to get as many easy buckets, but we just had to do the little things,” Zeller said. “We can always play good defense and rebound, so we had a big emphasis on that.”That mindset carried over into the second half, where IU continued to prevent the Irish from getting open looks from beyond the arc. After Dragicevich’s 3-pointer at 14:47 in the first half, the Irish did not make another 3-pointer until the 1:41 mark in the second half.“For them to go 32 minutes without a three-point field goal says a lot about the way our defense rose to the challenge of guarding a team that shoots as well as they do,” Crean said.While the Irish struggled to establish any sort of offensive rhythm on the perimeter, the Hoosiers found their rhythm on the interior. IU scored 54 of its 69 points either in the paint or at the free-throw line.It was a win that didn’t exactly match the way Crean said he drew it up.“The pace was not exactly where we would’ve liked it,” Crean said. “But it was never at a point where we felt we had to do something to change it. We just knew we were going to have to be really, really good in the half court.”Any way you want to draw it up, it’s a 10-0 start for IU. Not only is it the first 10-0 start for IU since the 1989-90 season, but an Illinois loss to UNLV Saturday afternoon made the Hoosiers the last undefeated team in the Big Ten.However, Crean said that hasn’t crossed his mind.“That doesn’t figure into our thought process,” Crean said. “The fact that these guys have found ten different ways to win and have built on momentum is most important.”
(12/17/11 10:30pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU men’s basketball team currently leads the Notre Dame Fighting Irish by a score of 26-20 at the end of the first half in the Crossroads Classic at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.It’s been all about freshman forward Cody Zeller in the first half, who currently leads all scorers with 14 points.The Irish have been led by sophomore guard Alex Dragicevich, who currently leads Notre Dame scorers with nine points.Despite the lead, the Hoosiers have been held to 32 percent (11-of-32) shooting and have been held to their lowest first half point total of the season.But while the Hoosiers have been limited offensively, so have the Irish, who shot 20 percent (4-of-20) in the first half.
(12/16/11 7:07pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>How does a team respond after upsetting the No. 1 team in the country on a buzzer-beater for the ages? How does a team try and have a normal week of practice with final exams clogging the usual schedule? How does a team not overlook its next opponent after becoming ranked for the first time in four seasons? “My big thing to them after the game was, when you get a win like that, the attention that it receives, there’s going to be so many more people wanting answers from you, and the bottom line is you’ve got to continue to have even more questions,” said IU Coach Tom Crean. The No. 18-ranked Hoosiers will look to avoid a hangover when they take on Notre Dameat 4:15 p.m. Saturday at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis in the inaugural Crossroads Classic. Crean said to downplay the significance of last Saturday’s 73-72 win against No. 1 Kentucky would be foolish. “I don’t want them to put it behind them,” Crean said. “I want them to build on it. I think it could be a springboard to future opportunities. I think it would be very stupid, and it wouldn’t make much sense for us to come in here and try and downplay that it happened. It wouldn’t make any sense.” IU senior forward Tom Pritchard said the mindset following the win was dictated early in the week. “We took it in that night, and we’re all moving on,” Pritchard said. “The coaches and the players all said on Monday’s practice that we were going to move on and still focus on what we need to do later in the season.” For Pritchard and the rest of the seniors, Saturday’s game has a different significance to it. The last time IU faced Notre Dame was in the Maui Invitational when the Hoosiers lost 88-50 to the No. 8-ranked Irish, marking the first loss of the Crean era. The 38-point drubbing was one Pritchard said they haven’t forgotten. “For the guys who played against them our freshman year, the game didn’t go so well, so we’ve got an extra chip on our shoulder, and we’ve been remembering how bad we want to beat Notre Dame,” Pritchard said. But unlike the 2008 Irish squad, the 2011 bunch does not boast scoring threats like Luke Harangody and Kyle McAlarney. Notre Dame has had to deal with a slew of injuries this season, including an ACL tear to senior guard Tim Abromaitis, who averaged more than 15 points per game last season. There are only four players on Notre Dame’s roster who have played in all 11 games this year. One of those players is sophomore guard Jerian Grant, who played on the same DeMatha (Md.) High School team as IU sophomore guard Victor Oladipo. According to Oladipo, he and Grant have remained close friends since the two left Maryland to play their college ball in Indiana.“Going back home and working out with him, I know how much hard work he puts in and how much he really wants to be good,” Oladipo said of Grant. “But at the same time, guess what? He can’t be good on Saturday.” Grant has been one of the lone consistent scorers for the Irish, averaging 12.4 points per game this season. For an Irish team that is 0-3 against major conference teams, the newly ranked Hoosiers present a new challenge. And for an IU team hoping to respond after an emotional win against then No. 1 Kentucky, the Irish will pose another test. But with finals week over, Crean said Saturday is a test the Hoosiers cannot afford to fail. “If we spend time worrying about the fact that okay, they’ve had a really long week with exams, and they’re mentally challenged a little bit because of how much work they’ve had to put into academics, and we’ve got this preparation, and they’re coming off this incredible win with all this hype, then we’re setting ourselves up for failure,” Crean said.
(12/12/11 5:25am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Christian Watford and Cody Zeller were up against two consensus NBA lottery picks. One, Kentucky freshman forward Anthony Davis, is projected as the No. 1 overall draft pick on ESPN.com. The other, sophomore forward Terrence Jones, was an Associated Press preseason All-American.IU (9-0) was able to keep the frontcourt duo to a combined 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting and came away with a 73-72 win against No. 1 Kentucky (8-1) Dec. 10, at Assembly Hall.“Job number one, outside of getting back on defense, was how we played Davis and Jones,” IU Coach Tom Crean said. “We had to be physical.”Jones was kept to career lows in points (4), field goal attempts (3) and rebounds (1). Jones had six turnovers, more than his point and rebound total combined.Though Watford will likely be remembered more for his game-winning buzzer-beater, he was the one keeping back Jones all night. Watford said he had a game plan to shut down Kentucky’s leading scorer.“I just wanted to limit his touches more than anything,” Watford said. “I wanted to make it tough for him and not let him get to his spots.” Watford’s containment of Jones forced Kentucky to look for other options, Kentucky Coach John Calipari said.“We did it without Terrence Jones,” Calipari said. “He absolutely gave us zero today.”While Jones was limited on the floor, Davis was limited because he was off the floor. The freshman forward found himself in foul trouble for most of the game. Instead of shying away from the highly touted freshman, Zeller said the plan was to go at him.“We wanted to attack him,” Zeller said. “He’s a great player and a great shot blocker. On both ends, he’s a great player and a difference maker. We wanted to take it at him and get him in foul trouble.”When Davis picked up his third foul and was forced to the bench with 17:35 to go in the second half, IU went on a 10-0 run to take a 10-point lead.“He’s definitely a difference maker on the defensive end,” Zeller said about Davis. “He’s got great length, and he’s a great shot blocker. I think our sets were just working better without him in there.” Though Davis never fouled out, he was held to just two second-half points. Jones also tallied two points and played only 11 minutes in the second half. Zeller said IU knew coming in what to expect out of the Kentucky duo.“We all knew that we had to bring our best game, me as well as Christian and some of the other guys,” Zeller said. “We had all played against a lot of them before, so it wasn’t too much of a shock, I don’t think.”By game’s end, the Hoosiers ended up tied in the rebounding battle. The effort on the glass was one Crean said changed the game. “To tie Kentucky in the rebounding and to have 14 offensive boards, that’s a victory in itself with what they’re doing on the backboards and especially the way they’ve handled us the last couple years,” Crean said.Unlike the last two years, IU walked away from Kentucky with a win. They keep back two players who figure to be lottery picks if they choose to enter the upcoming NBA Draft. For Zeller, it was a game that was won on the glass.“They crashed the boards hard, and we struggled with that a little bit early in the season,” Zeller said. “We knew that we had to do that to win, and it just showed.”
(12/11/11 2:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It was a moment for IU sophomore Victor Oladipo to forget.The ball was in his hands with IU down a point against No. 1 Kentucky with five seconds left. He had a chance to be a hero. He had a chance to give IU its first win against a No. 1 team since Kirk Haston's game-winning shot to beat No. 1 Michigan State in 2001.But the ball rolled off his foot. Kentucky sophomore Doron Lamb took the ball the length of the floor and was fouled, seemingly ending IU’s chances of pulling off the improbable upset.Then destiny struck in favor of the Hoosiers.All was forgotten when IU junior forward Christian Watford hit a game-winning three to give IU the 73-72 win.“We drew up a play at the end, and I kind of turned the ball over, and I kind of dropped my head a little bit,” Oladipo said. “Christian was the first one over there telling me to get back on defense and to go to the next play.“It’s funny how God works,” Oladipo said. “He’s my brother and he’s my roommate, so I look up to him. I was just glad it happened to him, and hopefully he can continue to do this during the season.”An emotional Oladipo went from the goat to celebrating the victory on the scorer’s table, surrounded by thousands of IU students on the Assembly Hall floor. But before he embraced his fellow student body, Oladipo had to find a special someone.“I went up to go see my mother. She’s my everything,” Oladipo said. “She’s the reason I’m in this world.“From the jump, I didn’t know if I was going to play basketball,” Oladipo said. “She wanted me to, and she’s the reason I played today. She’s my biggest fan, and she’s the number one woman in my life. Without her, I wouldn’t be successful, and I was just glad she was here.”Oladipo’s mom made the trip halfway across the country to witness her son pull off the historic upset. He admitted coming in that his mom’s presence was going to be special.“It’s crazy because I had a good feeling when she told me she was coming to this game,” Oladipo said. “I didn’t know what it was. It was just a surreal feeling when she told me she was going to this game of all the games in the season because it’s hard for her to get up here. I’m just so happy she came to this one.”For Oladipo, it was a game in which he wasn’t the leading scorer. He shot a mere 33 percent from the floor (4-of-12). His last touch was a turnover that prevented IU from taking a lead in the final seconds.It wasn’t a career game. But Oladipo said this is exactly what he signed up for.“This is the reason I came to Indiana,” Oladipo said. “I’m from Maryland and people always ask me why I came to a farm town or something like that. It’s not a farm town first off. It’s Indiana, man. I know it’s kind of getting old, but it’s the truth.“Did you see how many people were in there today?” Oladipo said. “I was looking up and I couldn’t even see my mother. I couldn’t see nobody. It was crazy. It was so loud my head still hurts. I need ibuprofen or something. It’s crazy, but this is the reason I came to Indiana.”An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified Kirk Haston. The IDS regrets this error.
(12/09/11 5:23am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Fans camped out four days in advance, ESPN college basketball analysts picked them to pull off the upset and students are fantasizing about the possibility of rushing the Assembly Hall floor. To say there is hype for the IU men’s basketball game against No. 1 Kentucky at 5:15 p.m. Saturday at Assembly Hall might be an understatement.“Everyone’s really pumped up for this game, of course,” IU junior guard Jordan Hulls said. “They’re ranked No. 1 in the country, and they’re coming into our hometown, and people are really excited about it. But it’s just a basketball game, and we’re really excited to get this going.”The Hoosiers will have had a six-day layoff when they tip off Saturday, with their last game having come in an 84-50 win against Stetson. With the building hype of this game percolating through campus, IU Coach Tom Crean said his players haven’t shown any effects. “They’re well aware of the vibe and the buzz of this game,” Crean said. “They’re well aware that people were camping outside, but that’s not what they’re focused on.”What the Hoosiers will be focused on Saturday is a Kentucky squad that has already knocked off the likes of then-No. 11 Kansas and then-No. 5 North Carolina. The Wildcats boast a frontcourt of sophomore forward Terrence Jones and freshman forward Anthony Davis, who have combined for an average of 27.3 points, 16.6 rebounds and 7 blocks per game. Crean said they will have to find new ways to score against the Kentucky frontcourt.“To think that it’s going to be conventional basketball and we’re just going to go up and shoot over the top of this team, that’s unrealistic,” Crean said. “Hopefully, our guys are astute enough to understand that. They have to be.”Though the Hoosiers have faced Kentucky in each season during the Crean era, both teams have had multiple personnel changes even since last year. While it is a new season for both teams, Hulls said IU can take something away from trailing by one at halftime in each of the last two meetings.“Being able to play and hang with those guys the last couple years was good, and we had lots of chances, but we didn’t execute some things, which led to us losing,” Hulls said. “But I feel like if we do the things we’re capable of doing and preparing and having the will to prepare, which is what we have right now, I think we’re in good shape.”How will IU match up with the likes of Jones, Davis and Teague? How much of a factor will the Assembly Hall crowd be for a Kentucky team full of underclassman playing in their first true road game? How will IU fare against its first No. 1-ranked opponent in the Crean era?“We’ll tell you after the game Saturday,” Zeller said.
(12/08/11 4:25am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Pitching tents wasn’t the only thing taken away from the IU students who camped out at Assembly Hall on Tuesday. They now have no reason to even stand in line.The students were given a voucher that will allow them to enter the General Admission doors first when they open at 3:45 p.m. Saturday for the IU vs. Kentucky men’s basketball game at 5:15 p.m.“We had to draw a very fine distinction to make sure that these students who were out there were adequately recognized for what they were doing and because these are some of the most hardcore fans we have, and they deserve to be up front,” said IU Student Association President Justin Kingsolver.The policy was drawn up by Kingsolver in cooperation with University officials and IU Athletics. IUSA Vice President of Administration Kevin Courtney said the policy is one that was designed for the students.“I think we have a nice solution, especially for how quickly we’ve come up with an interim policy,” Courtney said. “I think the students, and coming from a student perspective, will be happy with the end result for the Saturday game. “Luckily for the students already camping out, they didn’t lose anything, and they got vouchers for their time, which was extremely generous on the athletic department’s side.”While the students had different motives from the current Occupy Bloomington movement, the campus policy was the same for both parties. However, Occupy Bloomington is not taking place on University property, which meant allowing students to set up tents on campus would allow Occupy Bloomington participants to follow suit.“We didn’t just want to say, ‘Yes, you can camp,’” Kingsolver said. “I would love to say that, but that’s very hard to restrict that to just the athletic facilities. If we would’ve said, ‘Yes, you can camp,’ that would’ve also extended to all the Occupy Wall Street people, and they could’ve camped anywhere on campus.”In addition to the current Occupy movement factoring into the new policy, academics played a part. Encouraging students to forgo important classes and studies was not a measure they could endorse, Courtney said.“Having students have to camp out all week, miss class time and potentially miss study time for their finals next week is not something that anybody within the University and most students would want to do,” Courtney said. “I thought it was pretty unfair that students would have to choose between sleeping and studying for finals or waiting in tents in the cold for the game on Saturday.”Plus, a bunch of tired students would not create the atmosphere hoped for at Saturday’s game, Courtney said.“Students will be able to be rested for the actual game, which is one thing the athletic department pointed out that I thought was a great point,” Courtney said. “If students are out there all week, they most likely are not going to feel that great and that spirited come game time.” Courtney said all parties have looked into the policies by other schools, and the one in place for Saturday could become a permanent option. For those without a voucher and seats in General Admission, lining up can begin at 7 a.m. on Saturday. However, students will not be allowed to remain in line until then.It’s a situation that went from a dire display of fandom to a campus controversy and concluded with a new policy. But at the end of the day, Kingsolver said the situation is a win.“In the grand scheme of things, yes, this is a problem,” Kingsolver said. “But this is probably the best problem we’ve had this year.”
(12/08/11 4:24am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Pitching tents wasn’t the only thing taken away from the IU students who camped out at Assembly Hall on Tuesday. They now have no reason to even stand in line.The students were given a voucher that will allow them to enter the General Admission doors first when they open at 3:45 p.m. Saturday for the IU vs. Kentucky men’s basketball game at 5:15 p.m.“We had to draw a very fine distinction to make sure that these students who were out there were adequately recognized for what they were doing and because these are some of the most hardcore fans we have, and they deserve to be up front,” said IU Student Association President Justin Kingsolver.The policy was drawn up by Kingsolver in cooperation with University officials and IU Athletics. IUSA Vice President of Administration Kevin Courtney said the policy is one that was designed for the students.“I think we have a nice solution, especially for how quickly we’ve come up with an interim policy,” Courtney said. “I think the students, and coming from a student perspective, will be happy with the end result for the Saturday game. “Luckily for the students already camping out, they didn’t lose anything, and they got vouchers for their time, which was extremely generous on the athletic department’s side.”While the students had different motives from the current Occupy Bloomington movement, the campus policy was the same for both parties. However, Occupy Bloomington is not taking place on University property, which meant allowing students to set up tents on campus would allow Occupy Bloomington participants to follow suit.“We didn’t just want to say, ‘Yes, you can camp,’” Kingsolver said. “I would love to say that, but that’s very hard to restrict that to just the athletic facilities. If we would’ve said, ‘Yes, you can camp,’ that would’ve also extended to all the Occupy Wall Street people, and they could’ve camped anywhere on campus.”In addition to the current Occupy movement factoring into the new policy, academics played a part. Encouraging students to forgo important classes and studies was not a measure they could endorse, Courtney said.“Having students have to camp out all week, miss class time and potentially miss study time for their finals next week is not something that anybody within the University and most students would want to do,” Courtney said. “I thought it was pretty unfair that students would have to choose between sleeping and studying for finals or waiting in tents in the cold for the game on Saturday.”Plus, a bunch of tired students would not create the atmosphere hoped for at Saturday’s game, Courtney said.“Students will be able to be rested for the actual game, which is one thing the athletic department pointed out that I thought was a great point,” Courtney said. “If students are out there all week, they most likely are not going to feel that great and that spirited come game time.” Courtney said all parties have looked into the policies by other schools, and the one in place for Saturday could become a permanent option. For those without a voucher and seats in General Admission, lining up can begin at 7 a.m. on Saturday. However, students will not be allowed to remain in line until then.It’s a situation that went from a dire display of fandom to a campus controversy and concluded with a new policy. But at the end of the day, Kingsolver said the situation is a win.“In the grand scheme of things, yes, this is a problem,” Kingsolver said. “But this is probably the best problem we’ve had this year.”
(12/05/11 4:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It was a first half to forget for IU.The Hoosiers were out-rebounded, out-shot from three-point range, out-shot from the free-throw line and were subsequently up only four points to Stetson going into halftime.The second half followed a different script.IU (8-0) outscored Stetson by 30 points in the second half to close out the Hatters (4-4) for an 84-50 win Sunday at Assembly Hall.Senior guard Verdell Jones III said the Hoosiers didn’t need to be reamed by IU Coach Tom Crean at halftime.“He never said anything,” Jones said. “We knew coming into the half what we had to do. We came out too lackadaisical, too lazy, too laid back, and that’s not us. That’s not who we are this year.”Crean said a high-tempered halftime speech was not what his team needed at halftime.“I had no interest in getting my blood pressure up at halftime because we were in a situation where we needed to win the game,” Crean said. “I was thinking, ‘Let’s get the right personnel on the court right now,’ and that’s where my mind was.”Crean did exactly that. Instead of starting junior guard Jordan Hulls, junior forward Christian Watford and sophomore guard Victor Oladipo, Crean switched the game plan.IU senior guard Daniel Moore, junior forward Derek Elston and sophomore forward Will Sheehey started the second half.“It could’ve easily backfired,” Crean said. “But it worked out.”A three-pointer from Elston and two quick layups from Sheehey gave the Hoosiers an 11-point lead two minutes into the second half.Meanwhile, Moore did the dirty work for the Hoosiers, earning an assist, a rebound and two steals in that two-minute stretch.“We were obviously a little flat,” Moore said. “That’s the majority of my role is to come in and pick up the tempo and pick up the energy, and that’s what Coach asked me to do at halftime. Everybody picked it up, and we had a great start to the second half.”IU rode that momentum to a 33-5 run to start the first 11:24 of the second half. Oladipo, who started the second half on the bench, had nine second-half points, including an alley-oop dunk at 8:36 on a pass from Moore.Oladipo said his first-half performance was flat.“I came out slow in the first half, and I had to pick it up in the second half,” Oladipo said. “But when we have slow starts, we have enough depth, like Daniel just showed y’all, for other people to step up and bring up the tempo.”By night’s end, the Hoosiers tallied 59 second-half deflections, per Crean.“Again, I’m just blown away by their defensive effort,” Crean said. “I want to get a little more blown away in the first half, though.”Though the Hoosiers came off an emotional 86-75 win at NC State on Wednesday, Jones said it wasn’t an excuse for the slow start.“We didn’t show any sign of a hangover in practice,” Jones said. “We had one of our best practices this year the next day. Like I said, we just came out real sluggish.”Slow start aside, it goes down as a win for the Hoosiers. It’s an 8-0 start for the first time in the Crean era. But as Crean said, it’s not how you start — it’s how you finish.“We did not have a 40-minute game. That’s obvious,” Crean said. “We had some stretches in the first half that were good. We had some stretches that were not up-to-par or at the standard they needed to be. But in the second half, it’s hard to find much fault with that.”
(12/02/11 4:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>What do Eric Gordon, Tom Pritchard and Cody Zeller have in common? All three were IU’s leading scorers as freshmen after their first seven games.Gordon was drafted No. 7 overall in the 2008 NBA Draft and has averaged 18.1 points per game in the NBA. Pritchard developed into a defensive role off the bench and is averaging 1.3 points per game as a senior.What Zeller will do remains to be seen, but here’s a look at how his start compares to Gordon’s and Pritchard’s through seven games.Gordon26.6 points per game3.7 rebounds per game1.86 steals per game0.86 blocks per game(54-of-99) 55 percent from the field35.3 minutes per gameTeam record 6-1Pritchard14.1 points per game7.6 rebounds per game0.71 steals per game0.86 blocks per game(36-of-61) 59 percent from the field29.1 minutes per gameTeam record: 4-3Zeller15.4 points per game7.6 rebounds per game2.4 steals per game1.3 blocks per game(37-of-54) 69 percent from the field27.1 minutes per gameTeam record: 7-0
(12/01/11 5:45am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Cody Zeller’s parents missed a lot Wednesday night.The Zeller parents were in attendance, sporting T-shirts that were half IU colors for Cody and half North Carolina colors for Cody’s brother Tyler. Unfortunately for the Zellers, they left Cody’s game too early for Chapel Hill, N.C., to see Tyler play Wisconsin.“Maybe they shouldn’t have come at all,” Zeller joked. “We might’ve won by 20.”They missed their youngest son closing the door on N.C. State to win 86-75, marking the first time in the Tom Crean era that the Hoosiers won in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.A total of 13 of Zeller’s 19 points came in the second half, as IU was able to outlast the Wolfpack in the final minutes.Zeller’s game-high five offensive rebounds helped keep possessions alive for the Hoosiers down the stretch. While the true freshman fell a rebound short of notching his second career double-double. Zeller helped get the IU offense going with four points in the first 5:21 of the first half to give the Hoosiers a 19-9 lead. The Wolfpack responded and kept Zeller at two points in the last 14:39 of the half. The true freshman said he needed to make some halftime adjustments.“The offensive rebounding was a real good indicator that we weren’t playing real tough in the first half, and I think everyone stepped it up another level,” Zeller said.As he did in the first half, Zeller got the second half started with two quick buckets to get IU the lead back. But just like in the first half, the Wolfpack was able to limit Zeller after those two quick buckets.Hulls said they needed to make a better effort to try and get Zeller the ball inside.“We just got to throw it in there,” Hulls said. “Sometimes we don’t throw it in there all the time when he is open or we miss him late or whatever the case may be. But I think our timing was a lot better in the second half.”This time, Zeller went nearly 12 minutes without a basket. IU trailed by five with 6:19 to go when Zeller broke his scoring drought with a dunk off a feed from senior guard Verdell Jones.A Zeller layup a minute later trimmed the lead to one. Then, a Zeller tip-in just 36 seconds later tied the score at 68 all. Zeller’s six points in less than two minutes erased an IU deficit the Hoosiers would never look back at.“It was just a gut check for us,” Zeller said. “We weren’t playing as hard as we should’ve in the first half getting into people. I think we played a lot harder in the second half, and that’s why we got the win.”This article previously stated that Zeller's parents were wearing North Carolina State's colors. The Zeller's wore North Carolina colors, for their son Tyler's UNC game. The IDS regrets this error.
(11/30/11 3:28am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When the IU men’s basketball team took on Evansville in its first and only road game this season, red shirts filled the Ford Center.When the Hoosiers (6-0) travel to Raleigh, N.C., to take on North Carolina State (5-1) in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at 7:15 p.m. tonight, they’ll see even more red shirts, but they won’t be the same ones they saw in Evansville.“I don’t think we’re going to have 2,000 people from Washington, Ind., at this,” IU Coach Tom Crean said. “It will be different.”Tonight will mark not only the first time IU faces a team from a BCS conference but also the first time it will play a game outside of Indiana.“We’re looking forward to being able to go on the road (tonight) and play a real road game and see what it’s like and see how we match up,” senior guard Matt Roth said.IU will match up against an NC State team that boasts six players averaging double-digit points. One of them is junior forward Scott Wood, who comes into Wednesday averaging 11.4 points per game for the Wolfpack.Crean said Wood has a knack for hurting teams with the deep ball.“They have Scott Wood who is shooting as well, maybe, as anyone in the country right now at 58 percent from three-point range,” Crean said. “He is certainly one of, if not the best shooters that we will see all year.” In addition to having a guy that can stretch the floor, NC State also has guys that can score in the post. Sophomore forward C.J. Leslie is leading the Wolfpack in scoring at 16.7 points per game while junior forward Richard Howell is averaging 13.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.Despite early season injuries to both Leslie and Wood, the Wolfpack suffered only a seven-point loss to No. 20 Vanderbilt and beat Texas at a neutral site. “The fact that C.J. Leslie was out for some time and that Scott Wood was out a little bit with an ankle injury, they really look like they’re hitting their stride right now,” Crean said.The Hoosiers were the ones hitting their stride coming into the Big Ten/ACC Challenge last year, having gotten off to a 6-0 start. But an 88-76 loss at Boston College curtailed into a 3-8 stretch that washed away IU’s undefeated start.Senior forward Tom Pritchard said they’re determined not to let this game be a turning point as it has been in years past.“Us five seniors have never won any of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge games, so we’re going to lay it in there when we’re in the game,” Pritchard said.In the Crean era, the Hoosiers have won true road games at Penn State on Jan. 21, 2010, and at Evansville on Nov. 16, 2011. It’s a hurdle that Crean said will not be an easy one to get past.“When you go on the road to begin with, your margin for error is slim to begin with,” Crean said. “But when you’re going against athletes and very talented individuals like this from top to bottom with a lot of length, they can really, really cause problems.“It will be a major challenge for us tomorrow night, no doubt about it.”
(11/28/11 5:59am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Butler’s defensive prowess took it to the national championship game for the last two seasons.On Sunday night, the Hoosiers beat the Bulldogs at their own game. The IU (6-0) defense propelled a 75-59 victory against Butler (3-3) to claim the Hoosier Invitational title at Assembly Hall.IU Coach Tom Crean said the defensive performance left him impressed. “I’m truly blown away by our defensive effort,” Crean said.Per Crean’s count, the Hoosiers ended the night with a total of 74 deflections, which Crean said was the highest he had ever seen. Sophomore forward Will Sheehey, who took home MVP honors after a career-high 21 points, said preparation earned the Hoosiers’ win. “We just had to match their intensity,” Sheehey said. “We knew that they were a hard-playing, scrappy team, and that’s what we had to come and do and match that today, and I think we did.”IU was forced to rely on its defense after shooting 32 percent (8-of-25) in the first half. But the Hoosiers were able to cling to a three-point lead because they kept Butler at 36.7 percent (11-of-30) shooting in the period.One Bulldog the Hoosiers weren’t able to cage in the first half was sophomore guard Chrishawn Hopkins, who torched IU for 13 points.“We were giving him too much room on the perimeter, where he could get a jab stab and take two dribbles and take a pull-up jump shot,” Sheehey said. “A lot of times our big guys switched, and that means a lot that our big guys can (go) onto a two-guard like that.”The halftime adjustment paid dividends for the Hoosiers, as they were able to limit Hopkins to six points in the second half. One of the post players responsible for that turnaround was senior forward Tom Pritchard, who provided an instant defensive spark. Crean said the vocal leadership he saw from the senior was critical for IU.“Tom Pritchard was just a gazelle,” Crean said. “It was hard to hear anything, but I could hear him all the way down by where we were.”The second-half lockdown propelled the Hoosiers to an 11-2 run starting at 12:15 to go in the second half. One of those keys was shutting down Andrew Smith. The Bulldog center was kept scoreless in the second half and finished the game with three points on 1-of-7 shooting.By game’s end, only Hopkins and forward Khyle Marshall finished in double figures. Hulls said IU’s ability to lock down the Butler offense grew stronger as the game developed. “They have a lot of sets, but I think we just turned it up,” Hulls said. “We knew rebounding and defense was going to get us a win, and that’s what happened.”For IU, it was a win against an in-state rival. The win marked the second straight season in which the Hoosiers have started 6-0. But for Crean, the 16-point win against the reigning NCAA Tournament runner-up represented a certain maturation that he said he saw in his team Sunday night.“As I told the team, ‘I think you got better in the game, but I know you got tougher in the game,’” Crean said. “That’s a big, big deal.”