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(07/25/02 8:23pm)
IU probably didn't deserve as many chances as it had to win last night against Wisconsin. The Hoosiers probably had their worst defensive performance of the season, and even though they shot the ball well, IU struggled on the offensive end when it counted.\nStill, in the last two minutes, the Hoosiers had several chances to make up a three-point lead. A 14-foot jumper by Dane Fife with 1:59 left pulled the Hoosiers to within one at 64-63. That was it for the scoring. \nIU had three more possessions to make up the one-point deficit, but the Hoosiers couldn't convert on any of them and after Tom Coverdale's three-pointer at the buzzer missed, IU fell to the Badgers, 64-63 before 17,456 at Assembly Hall.\nCoverdale led the Hoosiers with 17 points. Jarrad Odle had his third straight double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Fife had 11 and A.J. Moye had 10. For Wisconsin, Charlie Wills had 17 points and Devin Harris had 16. \nThe win is the first for Wisconsin in Bloomington since Feb. 24, 1977. The loss snapped the Hoosiers' 10-game home winning streak that started at the end of last year. IU falls back into a first-place tie with Ohio State in the Big Ten standings with the 22nd ranked Hoosiers (16-8, 8-3) hitting the road for three out of their next four before ending the regular season at home March 2 against Northwestern.\nAlthough the loss makes the road to a Big Ten Championship much more difficult, Mike Davis took the game in stride, pointing out his team is still in first place.\n"I told our guys before the game, win or lose, we're still in first place," Davis said.\nOne key that was missing for the Hoosiers last night was Jared Jeffries, who did not play while nursing an ankle injury. It ended Jeffries' consecutive starts streak at 57. Jeffries is probable for Sunday's game at Michigan.\nMore than any offense, IU was in need of more defense, especially in the first half. The Badgers shot over 48 percent from the floor for the game, including 58.6 percent from the floor in the first half.\n"We knocked some shots down," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. "We were more open on the shots. The reads were a little better on the timing of the passes."\nDavis said he was shocked by the first-half defense that allowed 40 in the first half for the second time this season.\n"Our focus in the first half was not where it should have been," Fife said. "They really jumped on us."\nThe Hoosiers trailed throughout before rallying to tie the game at 61 on a three-pointer by Fife with 4:20 to play, tying the game for the first time since 7-7 early in the first half. After misses by both teams, Kirk Penney used a screen by Wills to knock down a three-pointer from the top of the key to give the Badgers a three-point lead with 2:18 lead.\n" We just ran a play that you can get a lot out of. The three was open in my eyes, so I let it fly," Penney said.\nAnother jumper by Fife, this time in the lane, moved IU to within one with 1:59 to play at 64-63. Coverdale was called for a foul, but after Wisconsin inbounded the ball Mike Wilkinson was called for traveling. \nCoverdale missed a shot in the lane on the Hoosiers' next possession but the Badgers couldn't score on their next possession either, giving IU the ball with 43 seconds left. But a miscommunication led to Jeff Newton throwing a pass intended for Coverdale out of bounds.\n"We were playing as hard as we possibly could and giving it our all. Down the stretch we were switching on everything and it worked out," Penney said.\nThe Hoosiers fouled Devin Harris and he missed the front end of a one-and-one with 23 seconds left, but Wilkinson got the rebound and IU now fouled Travon Davis. Davis also missed the front end of a one-and-one.\nOn the Hoosiers' next possession Fife missed a jumper and on the rebound, Newton and Wills got tangled up underneath the basket. Both had their hands on the ball before Newton appeared to be thrown to the ground. Official Tom Rucker, who was on top of the play, didn't make a call. Eventually, possession was awarded to the Hoosiers with 1.9 seconds left.\nAfter two timeouts by Davis, Kyle Hornsby inbounded to Coverdale in front of the IU bench. Coverdale's three-pointer over Wilkinson ricocheted off the backboard as the buzzer sounded.\nDavis said he wanted to get a layup for Newton off the inbounds, but Coverdale was the second option. Obviously, Wisconsin was ready.\n"We tried to take away any easy lob and then fly at the shooter," Ryan said. "With 1.9 it's one dribble and a shot. We figured we'd fly at him. It didn't get touched, but he had to arch it a little more."\nDavis liked the shot and said his team can learn from those types of situations.\n"He got a good look," Davis said of Coverdale. "Wilkinson did a good job of contesting the shot. It should help us in the next situation when the game gets close."\nIn the first half, the Badgers played well and after a couple of 6-0 runs by Wisconsin, the Badgers grabbed their largest lead of the first half at eight with just over 10 minutes left before halftime. IU got to within two at 21-19 two minutes later, but would fall behind by eight again before ending the half trailing 40-35.\nThe Hoosiers stepped up the defense in the second half, but it was too late. Although some calls down the stretch were not well accepted by the home fans, Fife said the Hoosiers have put themselves in a hole on their own.\n"We had the whole game to beat Wisconsin," Fife said. "Now our backs are against the wall as far as the championship in our minds. I guess we just didn't deserve to win"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Before Sunday the Hoosiers had at least four players score in double figures in each of their last three games. \nIU only had three players crack 10 points Sunday against Michigan, but with Kyle Hornsby going for a career-high 17 points, Jeff Newton tying a career-high with 17 points and Jarrad Odle setting a Big Ten career-high with 17 points, the Hoosiers did just fine with only three players in double figures.\n"That's the key for us -- different people stepped up," senior guard Dane Fife said. "Newton was a big surprise today, and that's how we need Newton to play all the time. Hornsby had the hot hand, so we had to give him the ball."\nWith Jared Jeffries held to only 18 minutes, the Hoosiers knew they were going to have to play well offensively. IU coach Mike Davis said Sunday's performance wasn't as good as when IU buried Illinois 88-57 Jan. 26, but the Hoosiers were able to control the pace of the game.\nIU knew it was not up against a superior defensive team Sunday, and the Hoosiers were able to pick Michigan apart to the tune of 54.5 shooting percentage from the field.\n"We knew against this team that if we executed things were going to be pretty easy for us," Odle said. "We came down and ran the plays that we were supposed to run and filled the spots that we were supposed to fill. It just worked out for us."\nSunday was the sixth time Newton was in double figures but the first occasion since he had 10 against Penn State Jan. 5. Newton helped spark the offense Sunday with his three blocks that led to some easy scores. Davis said it was Newton's best game as a Hoosier.\n"We don't put any pressure on our offensive game," Newton said. "We know our offensive game will come along. If we get stops and run in transition, then we'll be fine."\nHornsby was the most effective player on the floor Sunday, missing only once from the field out of seven attempts. He was a perfect 5-for-5 from three-point range. Amaker said Hornsby's shooting was relentless.\n"I don't know if he missed all game," Amaker said. "It didn't seem like it."\nMichigan was not getting such good shots offensively. LaVell Blanchard was just 3 of 13 from the field and had just eight points, almost seven below his season average. Avery Queen was held scoreless in 25 minutes of action and was 0 of 4 from the field, with all four misses coming from three-point range.\nChris Young, who had a game-high 18 points, said the Hoosiers' offense was putting more pressure on Michigan offense.\n"It makes us have to go down and get a good shot every time. You have to go down and have to have a good shot," Young said. "If you don't, they will."\nHornsby was helped by the post presence of Odle and Newton. Combined, Odle and Newton were 14 of 23 from the floor and had 11 rebounds while stretching the Wolverine defense.\n"We're one of the smallest teams in the Big Ten," Michigan guard Leon Jones said. "They just have a lot of big guys catching the ball. That's what they really did against us."\nAfter a scoreless performance against Wisconsin ended a string of three straight games in double figures, Hornsby came out strong Sunday. He had 11 straight points for the Hoosiers to help them put the game out of reach.\nDavis said he never lost confidence in Hornsby.\n"Hornsby can shoot. Sometimes he may go 0 for 4 or 2 for 10 or 8 for 10," Davis said. "He came in and worked extremely hard yesterday. (Sunday) I went out to the shootaround. He was really focused. I called his number, and he knocked them down."\nA big difference between Michigan and IU was the presence of outside shooting. After 26 of a school-record 32 three-point attempts in a blowout loss at Purdue last Wednesday, the Wolverines hit just 4-of-16 three pointers Sunday. And that was after going 0 for 7 in the first half.\nWhile Michigan still looks for shooting and some offensive balance, the Hoosiers continue to attack teams from different angles. Before Sunday, IU had a different leading scorer in three straight games.\nYesterday, the Hoosiers had three leading scorers.\n"Newton played the best game he's played since he's been at Indiana. (Hornsby's) my guy. I love him," Davis said. "We have guys that can shoot the basketball"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - It was a painful lesson Wednesday night, but IU learned it could play without Jared Jeffries. And it was several Hoosiers Sunday who showed they have more confidence as a result of the 64-63 loss to Wisconsin last Wednesday at Assembly Hall.\nJarrad Odle, Jeff Newton and Kyle Hornsby each had 17 points as the No. 22 Hoosiers stormed past the Wolverines, 75-55, Sunday before 11,379 at Crisler Arena. Chris Young led Michigan with 18 points.\nThe win sets up a showdown Wednesday night at Assembly Hall between IU and the team it currently shares first place in the Big Ten with, Ohio State.\nEven without Jeffries for much of Sunday afternoon, the Hoosiers still find themselves right where they want to be.\n"It just shows you that playing Wednesday night without (Jeffries) against Wisconsin has given our guys confidence," IU coach Mike Davis said.\nJeffries started the game and played 18 minutes, but only six minutes were in the second half. He finished with four points and two rebounds, but Newton and Odle were there to pick up the slack in the frontcourt. Both finished the game with four fouls, but were able to slow down Young in the paint.\nOdle said the Hoosiers (17-8, 9-3) probably should have won without Jeffries against the Badgers, but the defensive effort wasn't there. Sunday the Wolverines were held to 37.5 percent from the field.\n"We should have won the Wisconsin game without JJ. That was strictly a defensive flaw in the way that we played that game," Odle said. "We played a little better tonight on defense and defense always carries over to offense."\nThe defense did just that as IU shot more than 54 percent from the field. Hornsby tied a school record by hitting all five of his three-point attempts. He was six-for-seven from the field for the game.\nWhile Hornsby hit outside, Newton and Odle had several easy buckets in the paint. The only player on the floor for the Wolverines taller than 6'7" was Young at 6'9". IU was able to execute at will.\n"I think they are an extremely efficient basketball team," Michigan (10-14, 5-8) coach Tommy Amaker said. "We had a lot of breakdowns."\nThe Hoosiers built an 11-point lead at halftime, 38-27. Hornsby closed the first half with a three-pointer and IU ran out to a 46-30 lead in the second half with two buckets a piece from Newton and Odle.\nThe Wolverines rallied, even though two of their best offensive players, LaVell Blanchard and Bernard Robinson, Jr. were on the bench in foul trouble. A basket by Young cut IU's lead to 49-40 with 12:41 left.\nThat prompted Jeffries to come in on his own volition. Davis said Jeffries told him he didn't want to put him back in.\n"They cut the lead to seven or eight points and Jared Jeffries went in the game and we extended the lead to 16 or 17," Davis said. "I did not put him in the game. He said, 'coach, I'm ready.' He did a great job of stepping up and going in the game."\nJeffries was double teamed the second he touched the ball, but found Hornsby, who hit a three-pointer to start a stretch where he would score the Hoosiers' next 11 points. By the time Hornsby was finished, IU led 60-44 with 7:28 left and Jeffries was back on the bench.\n"The plan was, the whole game, whenever I felt like (I could)," Jeffries said. "We had to get them under control for me to sit down and rest. I would come in for small increments and do what I could."\nThe Wolverines were held in check the rest of the way. Robinson, Jr. had 11 points in the first half, but had none in the second half after picking up four fouls in a little over two minutes early in the second half. Blanchard, who averages nearly 15 points per game, was held to just eight.\n"They just make you pay for everything," Robinson, Jr. said. "Everything we did wrong they made us pay for it. Every mistake on the offensive end and the defensive end, they made us pay for it every time. They just played well today"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Wednesday night, the Hoosiers played zone defense, something they almost never do. Wednesday night, IU used a trapping press to try to disrupt Ohio State, a tactic the Hoosiers almost never use. \nThe Hoosiers were playing for first place in the Big Ten last night, late in February, something it hasn't done for nearly a decade. \nBut a few things that IU did do seems to be developing into a pattern, like having a defense that can keep the Hoosiers in games. Not to mention a bench that seems to have someone come in and spark a rally to help the Hoosiers win rugged Big Ten games.\nIn those respects, Wednesday night was no different from the previous nine conference wins for IU. The No. 23 Hoosiers scratched, clawed, elbowed and fought past No. 19 Ohio State, 63-57 Wednesday night before 17,456 at Assembly Hall, leaving IU all alone on top of the Big Ten standings with three games to go for both teams.\nJeff Newton came off the bench for a team-high 16 points in 28 minutes. Jared Jeffries, Jarrad Odle and Dane Fife each had 10. Brian Brown led the Buckeyes with a game-high 23 points, but nobody else for Ohio State cracked double figures.\nThe Hoosiers (18-8, 10-3 Big Ten) are at Michigan State Sunday afternoon and the Buckeyes (18-6, 9-4) return home after a 1-3 road swing to face Purdue Saturday night. \n"We sit here today in first place," Mike Davis said afterwards. "But we have three games to go."\nEarly on it didn't look like the Hoosiers would wake up this morning in first place. IU opened the game missing 11 of its first 13 shots, including all six of its three-point attempts. Tom Coverdale and Kyle Hornsby each had two open looks at three-pointers, but each shot clanged away after hitting a lot of rim.\n"We were in sync, we were getting open shots, but we just weren't hitting them," said Jeffries, who played 39 minutes on his sore right ankle.\nDavis juggled his lineup until he found what he wanted on the offensive end. Defensively, the Hoosiers continued to stymie the Buckeyes, holding them scoreless for more than four minutes in the middle of the first half.\n"Eventually we were going to hit some shots. As long as we stop them, nobody's gaining a lead," Newton said. "We just wanted to throw them out of their offense a little bit."\nThe Buckeyes shot nearly 47 percent for the game, but had 16 turnovers that led to 25 IU points. Ohio State entered the game shooting 48.7 percent from the field, good enough for eighth in the nation.\nAfter trailing 15-10 with 7:09 left before the half, the Hoosiers ripped off 13 unanswered points to grab a 23-15 lead three minutes later on a dunk by Newton. Davis said the defense early by IU gave the Hoosiers a chance to get on track offensively.\n"Defensively we played well. We weren't hitting shots and they weren't hitting shots. Tonight we played (defense) for 40 minutes," Davis said. "They came out and showed great courage defensively."\nIU held a four-point lead at halftime, but Ohio State grabbed the lead at 36-35 on a pair of free throws by Brown with 14:32 left, giving the Buckeyes their first lead since 6:34 was left in the first half.\nThe teams traded buckets before the Hoosiers found themselves down 41-40 after a three-pointer by Brown with seconds left on the shot clock and less than 10 minutes left in the game.\nAt that time, Davis made an adjustment, switching to a 2-3 zone and using a full-court press. OSU coach Jim O'Brien said the Buckeyes were able to hit a three and crack the press, but Davis was looking to just change the flow of the game.\n"I wanted to change the flow late in the game because Coach O'Brien is so good at drawing up plays that guys can score baskets," Davis said. "I figured that if we could change the rhythm of the game a little bit and what we did was force passes."\nThe Hoosiers again ran off 13 unanswered points, a run that was sparked by two three-pointers by Jeffries and one by Kyle Hornsby. A 15-footer by Newton gave IU a 53-41 lead with 4:09 left. The Buckeyes would get no closer than six the rest of the way, thanks to the Hoosiers' defense.\n"They are a very good defensive team," O'Brien said. "They just had that one stretch in the second half, that one run they made where we had a really hard time scoring."\nIn particular, guard Brent Darby struggled for the Buckeyes. While fighting through back spasms and pressure from Coverdale, Darby had just four points and four turnovers.\n"We didn't do a good job of sticking to our game," Darby said. "I just had a bad game today."\nAs big as a game as it was, both Davis and O'Brien pointed out that there is still a lot of basketball to be played. For Davis and the Hoosiers, that basketball will start Sunday and with the Hoosiers in first place in the Big Ten.\n"Our guys have stepped up," Davis said. "They want to win the Big Ten Championship"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Wednesday night's victory over No. 19 Ohio State, the Hoosiers find themselves in first place in the Big Ten standings with just three games left. \nThat's the problem, though, for IU -- those three games.\nTwo of those three are on the road before the Hoosiers close the regular season March 2 at Assembly Hall against an upstart Northwestern team. No. 23 IU begins the stretch with a noon visit to Michigan State Sunday.\nUntil the Hoosiers have worked their way through this final stretch, that first place label doesn't mean nearly as much as when the season is over.\n"We got three more games. You have to win those, and then we'll be in first place," junior Jeff Newton said after pouring in 16 points Wednesday night.\nBeginning with the game against Ohio State, the Hoosiers (18-8, 10-3) find themselves playing for a Big Ten title against teams that all have equally important things to play for, beginning with the Spartans at the Breslin Center Sunday.\nAfter a slow start in the Big Ten that included an 83-65 loss at Assembly Hall Jan. 8, Michigan State (16-10, 7-6) has rebounded behind the play of Marcus Taylor and freshmen Chris Hill and Alan Anderson. The Spartans have put themselves back in position for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.\nThat type of motivated Michigan State team is reason for concern for IU Coach Mike Davis. At the same time, Davis said that the stiff competition will keep his team on its toes.\n"Coach Izzo will have his guys ready," Davis said. "Everyone that we play now, they're all trying to get in the (NCAA) Tournament and playing for a seed. That's good for us that we don't have an opponent we can relax for.\n"We just are going to take it one game at a time and go to Michigan State and play them."\nTo this point, the Hoosiers have done well, playing well without Jared Jeffries at full strength. IU lost to Wisconsin in the one game Jeffries didn't play, but the Hoosiers won at Michigan and took care of the Buckeyes Wednesday night with Jeffries only scoring 10 points.\nMost didn't expect IU to be in this position at this time of the year, and after Jeffries went down, the doubters probably grew more confident. But the Hoosiers have continued to play well, a stretch that Davis said began against Eastern Washington in the Hoosier Classic in late December.\n"Looking back now, during some parts of our pre-season, you couldn't question (being picked not to win the league). But once the Big Ten started, we've played well," Davis said. "We expected to win the Big Ten from Day 1.\n"If you don't think you can win it, why even play?"\nThe confidence is there now, and so is the level of play, which has the Hoosiers in a position to win their first conference championship since the 1992-1993 season.\n"We're right there," senior Dane Fife said. "The only thing we have to do is win three more games."\nThe first of those three should be hard to come by. The Hoosiers have lost eight straight times at Michigan State. The last time IU went up to East Lansing and got a win was Feb. 28, 1991. That is the Hoosiers' only win in the Breslin Center in 10 tries.\nWith such a chaotic environment at the Breslin Center, the Hoosiers expect a difficult game that will mark the start of a difficult end to their regular season.\n"We've got a heck of a road ahead of us. If we're not completely exhausted after each game, then obviously we didn't win," Fife said. "We have to give our heart and soul to these next three games."\nFor the past five years, it has been the Spartans who have been fighting for a Big Ten title at the end of the season. Perhaps it is only right that the Hoosiers have to face Michigan State and then Illinois, last year's conference co-champions, in order to get the crown they covet.\n"We still have three tough games before we realize our dream," Jeffries said.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Through the first half Sunday at the Breslin Center, it looked as if the Hoosiers had found a way to get past Tom Izzo and Michigan State's trademark defense. Similar to how IU cut through the Spartans at Assembly Hall Jan. 8, the Hoosiers built a large first-half lead behind good shooting.\nBut by the time the second half came, Michigan State figured out the IU offense, and with Marcus Taylor leading the way, the Spartans slipped past the No. 23 Hoosiers 57-54.\nIn the first meeting between the two teams this season, IU hit 14 of 26 three pointers. Junior point guard Tom Coverdale hit 6 of 8 from three-point range in the first half alone, and the Hoosiers coasted to an 83-65 victory. Sunday, the game started down that same road as IU jumped to a 28-12 lead 13 minutes into the game by hitting six of its first 10 three pointers.\n"I thought I was back in Bloomington," Izzo said. "Those were solid (shots). We made some mistakes and didn't do some things right."\nIzzo said sophomore Jared Jeffries' ability to pass out of double teams helped the Hoosiers (18-9, 10-4 Big Ten) find open shots on several occasions. IU led the Spartans (17-10, 8-6) at the half, 32-25, shooting better than 46 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes.\nComing into the game, Michigan State was eighth in the nation in field-goal defense, holding teams to 38.4 percent from the field -- the Spartans' best defense in more than 40 years.\nAfter halftime, Michigan State got back to playing its game.\n"We just decided to play defense," Taylor said. "In the first half we let them get open shots, and they had a lot of offensive rebounds. We had to cut that out and get our fast break going because that's how we get our easy buckets."\nThe Hoosiers were not helped by Jeffries' absence for most of the later stages of the first half. Jeffries picked up his third foul with 8:20 left before the break, leaving the Spartans' defense free to extend on the perimeter shooters without having to worry about too much activity in the post.\nIU coach Mike Davis said the Hoosiers didn't miss Jeffries that much and said the poor shooting after the hot start was more because of Michigan State.\nWhen the Spartans did begin to play defense, Taylor came to life as well. Coverdale had done a good job of quieting Michigan State's leading scorer in the first half, playing good pressure defense on the perimeter and fighting through screens.\nAt halftime, Taylor had only five points, but then Izzo challenged him. \n"When they went up eight (in the second half), the guy I have to give the most credit to is Marcus Taylor," Izzo said. "I told him probably for the first time since I've had him, 'I recruited you to be a superstar. This is your chance.'"\nTaylor embraced the challenge, finishing with a game-high 16 points.\nWith the Spartans trailing 49-44 and 3:56 remaining, Taylor scored six straight points, all on shots of his own creation. He scored eight of Michigan State's final 13 points to end the game.\n"He made some great plays. That's why he's an All-American type player," Izzo said. "Marcus took over like great players can and should."\nTaylor also had eight assists, including a big one to Adam Ballinger on Ballinger's three pointer that tied the game at 54 with just under a minute left. The Spartans committed seven turnovers in the game. Running the point for 36 minutes, Taylor, a sophomore, committed none.\n"I just wanted to come in and run the team as best I could down the stretch," Taylor said. "Whenever I saw an open guy I just wanted to hit him. I did that in the second half."\nAs Taylor warmed up, so did the rest of Michigan State's offense. After hitting just 10-of-32 shots from the field in the first half, the Spartans connected on 11 of their 22 field goal attempts after the break. For the game, Michigan State shot just under 39 percent from the floor.\nMeanwhile, IU was going in the opposite direction, shooting 34 percent in the second half after shooting 46 percent from the field in the first half.\n"We made a lot of open shots at the beginning of the game, and they tightened up their defense," junior guard Kyle Hornsby said. "They played a lot better defensively after the first 10 or 15 minutes."\nWith not enough offense and a defense that couldn't contain Taylor in the second half, the Hoosiers dropped a critical game they had to have. The loss knocked IU back into a first-place tie with No. 19 Ohio State atop the Big Ten.\n"We had open threes in the first half, and they contested every shot (in the second half). They did a great job of stepping out," Davis said. "Every time we caught the basketball they had a guy on us. They made adjustments"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- For the past few weeks, it had been a sprained right ankle that held Jared Jeffries out of the Wisconsin game and a considerable portion of the victory at Michigan eight days ago.\nBut Sunday, Jeffries was held to just 25 minutes of action because of foul trouble that had him playing the last 12:03 of the game with four fouls. It was the sixth time this season Jeffries has finished a game with at least four fouls. In a Dec. 1 loss at Southern Illinois, Jeffries fouled out.\nEven though he never received his fifth foul, Jeffries' absence was felt Sunday when he was on the bench. Jeffries picked up his third foul at the 8:20 mark of the first half on a charge drawn by MSU's Jason Andreas. Jeffries remained on the bench for the rest of the half, and the Hoosiers were outscored 13-7 during that stretch.\n"(Jeffries) got in foul trouble, and that really hurt us," junior guard Tom Coverdale said.\nIt was obvious Saturday that IU runs its offense through Jeffries. The first time he touched the ball, the Spartans didn't double team him and Jeffries quickly hit an eight-footer to score the first points of the game. The first time Michigan State did bring an extra defender at him, Jeffries found Coverdale on a cross-court pass for a three pointer.\nJunior guard Kyle Hornsby scored IU's next basket, a three pointer created by a double team on Jeffries. That presence was taken away by Jeffries' foul trouble, and the Hoosiers struggled to end the first half.\nJeffries said it was a physical game and he wanted to match the intensity of Michigan State.\n"We have to be aggressive," he said. "They were aggressive in certain instances against us, especially with bumping screens and knocking us off the ball. We tried to do the same things."\nFouls or no fouls, IU coach Mike Davis said it was hard to keep Jeffries on the bench after he picked up his fourth with 15:11 left in the game while reaching in on Andreas.\nA little more than three minutes later, Jeffries was back on the floor and would score seven of his 11 points the rest of the way, never drawing a fifth foul.\n"I wanted to be out there and play, no matter how many fouls I have," he said. "I'd rather lose trying than not be out there."\nFree throws\nThis season the Hoosiers have been shooting free throws much better than a year ago. Last season IU shot just 63 percent from the charity stripe. This year the Hoosiers have that number better than 71 percent.\nSunday, though, IU hit just four of its eight free throws in a close game. Jeffries missed the Hoosiers' only free throw attempt of the first half trying to complete a three-point play.\nWith 6.8 seconds left, Coverdale hit the first of two to bring the Hoosiers within one at 55-54, but his second hit the back of the rim. The Spartans got the rebound and got fouled, and IU didn't score again. Michigan State hit 10 of 16 from the line.\nBig Ten update\nOver the past two weeks, the revivals of Michigan State, Wisconsin and No. 16 Illinois have thrown the Big Ten into chaos. The Spartans are playing some of their best basketball of the season and have knocked off both No. 19 Ohio State (19-6, 10-4 Big Ten) and IU in the past two weeks.\nThe Illini (19-7, 9-5) are starting to look like the team that was expected to be on top of the league all season. Suddenly it's a real possibility that the Big Ten regular season could end with four teams tied for the conference lead with 11-5 records. Those teams would be IU, Ohio State, Illinois and Wisconsin (17-11, 10-5).\nThe Spartans get another crack at the Buckeyes Tuesday night in Columbus while the Hoosiers will be at Illinois. Both IU and Ohio State can keep this a two-team race if they win out.\n"It's still on our shoulders just like it was before this game," Jarrad Odle said Sunday. "Four losses is what it's going to have to be, and right now we're at that. We have no room for error now"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Jarrad Odle started his speech like most seniors do on Senior Day at Assembly Hall Saturday, after the Hoosiers clinched a share of the Big Ten regular season title by beating Northwestern 79-67. \nHe had the microphone and thanked his family, teammates, coaches and fans. But Odle kept going, thanking what seemed like everybody he knows, including his academic advisors and his hair stylist.\nIn an emotional speech after Odle's, Dane Fife, the Hoosiers' only other senior, let the home crowd know that all the Big Ten fans who have told him his brother Dugan was better than Fife were wrong.\n"Let me tell you something, Indiana, Dugan is not better," Fife said.\nA guard for Michigan several years ago, Dugan was at Assembly Hall Saturday. Throughout the league, opposing fans have taken to telling Fife he wasn't as good as his older brother, but Fife pointed out after the game that Dugan never won a Big Ten championship.\nFife also said it was only fitting that he be called for a technical foul in his last game in Assembly Hall. Northwestern's Tavaras Hardy and Fife mixed words after Fife pulled down Drew Long late in the second half. It was Fife's first technical foul at home.\nOdle and Fife both thanked former Hoosier coach Bob Knight for bringing them to IU and helping them get their careers going. Both also thanked Mike Davis and assistant coaches John Treloar, Jim Thomas and Ben McDonald.\n"They did a wonderful job with us this year, and they got us a Big Ten Championship," Odle said.\nNow that the duo's careers at Assembly Hall are over, the two seniors both spoke of taking this season further than most expect.\n"We're no longshot; we're for real," Fife said. "Here it is, right here on my (Big Ten Championship) shirt."\nFife approaching record\nAfter the game Fife spoke of how glad he is that he has had the chance this season to hit some jump shots he said IU fans have been waiting for. But Hoosier fans still look for Fife's signature defense and with good reason.\nHaving defended the opposing team's best player for four years, Fife has accumulated 169 steals in his career after two Saturday. That total is second only to Iowa coach and former IU All-American Steve Alford, who finished his career with 178 steals from 1984-1987.\nFree tosses\nIn the first meeting with Northwestern, IU got a big lift from Odle when sophomore George Leach hurt his ankle on the opening tip. Odle had 16 points in Evanston, Ill., but like all the other Hoosiers that day, none of his points came from the free throw line. For the game, IU was 0 for 2 from the charity stripe.\nSaturday, with both teams shooting the ball relatively well from the field, the Hoosiers took advantage at the foul line, hitting 20 of 28. Northwestern was just 12 for 19.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
If you had to label IU men's basketball coach Mike Davis as either a pessimist or an optimist, you would have to go with the latter. In an up-and-down season, Davis has spent much of this year with a positive outlook. He hit a low after the loss to Southern Illinois, but he has been optimistic since.\nAnd Davis' positive thinking is probably needed now more than ever as the Hoosiers try to get rolling for the postseason after blowing chances to win the Big Ten title outright. \nIU (19-10, 11-5 Big Ten) won its first league title since 1993 Saturday after beating Northwestern 79-67 but will have to share it with Wisconsin, Ohio State and Illinois. \nBut Davis will take it.\n"I know some people are disappointed we didn't win it outright, but we have a lot of years to do this," Davis said to the Assembly Hall crowd after the game. "This is one."\nDavis said the Hoosiers had three goals this season. They wanted a Big Ten championship, they wanted to win the conference tournament and they wanted to get to Atlanta, the site of this year's Final Four. \nIU took care of step one, and now the Hoosiers enter the Big Ten tournament as the fourth seed and play fifth-seeded Michigan State Friday morning in the quarterfinals of the tournament.\nDavis said his team is playing well despite losing two of its last three games to end the regular season.\n"I think people have forgotten we had a chance to win at Michigan State," Davis said. "It was a play here, a play there. And we didn't have (sophomore Jared) Jeffries. We also had an opportunity to beat Illinois. If you attended the game at Illinois, you saw we fought hard.\n"I think we're going to win the Big Ten tournament title. I really do."\nA big factor in the Hoosiers' future is junior guard Tom Coverdale. After a couple of average performances, Coverdale had a team-high 20 points Saturday. During the deciding stretch in the second half, he had 10 consecutive points for IU.\nThis season, Coverdale has been up and down. When he has been up, he has been unstoppable. When he has been down, the Hoosiers have lost close games.\nCoverdale began the season by hitting 15-of-35 three pointers in the first eight games of the year. He followed that by hitting just 1-of-17 threes in the next four games. In the next 12 games, he hit 36-of-74 three pointers before hitting just 4-of-21 in the four games before Saturday.\nCoverdale is also second in the Big Ten in assists with 139 this season.\n"He's so important because he is the only guy we have who can handle the ball for us," Davis said.\nStill bothered by a right ankle sprain, Jeffries has been unable to play at the level that had him leading the conference in scoring a few weeks ago. \n"We worked extremely hard to get to the point we're at right now," Jeffries said. "If we play the style of ball we can do we can take three games."\nJeffries didn't think he would play Saturday but was able to get on the floor for 32 minutes. He said it's hard to say just how close he is to being at full strength because he has never had to deal with this kind of injury before.\nJeffries has five days to get ready for the Big Ten Tournament. Five days that he will be happy to spend resting.\n"I think having a solid five days off is going to be what I need to get me back to where I want to play," Jeffries said.\nThere will be no second chances to win a championship this weekend at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, and there will be only one champion by Sunday night. Davis said the Hoosiers are where they want to be and if Jeffries is ready and Coverdale is streaking, IU might turn Davis from optimist to accurate prognosticator.\n"We just have to come out ready to play," senior guard Dane Fife said. "(Big Ten Champions) is the lowest goal we have set. There's two more tournaments that I'd like to get a ring with"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
INDIANAPOLIS- Tom Izzo said he noticed the difference from the opening tip. Spartan Marcus Taylor said the same thing. And even though Michigan State realized it early, they couldn't do anything about it.\nThe Hoosiers were just more intense than the Spartans Friday afternoon at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. That difference, particularly on defense, led to fourth-seeded IU's 67-56 win against the fifth-seeded Spartans in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. \nSophomore forward Jared Jeffries led the Hoosiers with 14 points while junior guard Tom Coverdale and senior guard Dane Fife each had 11 points. Senior Jarrad Odle and junior Jeff Newton each had 10. Taylor had a game-high 20 and Adam Ballinger added 12 for the Spartans.\nThe Hoosiers will meet eighth-seeded Iowa in the semifinals at 1:45 p.m. Saturday after the Hawkeyes beat top-seeded Wisconsin Friday, 58-56. IU (20-10) swept two games from Iowa (18-14) during the regular season.\nFriday, Izzo said the Hoosiers had too much intensity for the Spartans to rally after finding themselves down 33-24 at halftime.\n"We told our players come tourney time, the intensity picks up,"\nIzzo said. "It doubles what it is in the regular season. It's a lot more physical and we didn't rise up to that. They took it to us in every way from the opening play."\nSophomore A.J. Moye, who said the Hoosiers weren't focused when they lost at Michigan State Feb. 24, said Friday that IU was ready for the Spartans this time. The focus and intensity was no more evident than on the defensive end. \nThe Spartans shot 45 percent from the field Friday, but they forced shots and committed 21 turnovers, including 12 in the first half. The Hoosiers had 10 steals.\n"That's the way we have to play to be a really good basketball team and that's the level," IU coach Mike Davis said. "I'm trying to get them to play at every single game all the time."\nIU played with a methodical offense and aggressive defense. The Hoosiers used 10 points from Fife to get a nine-point lead at the half, but the Spartans knew they could come back against IU, having done so in February. \nA 16-footer by Taylor cut the Hoosiers' lead to 35-30 just more than two minutes into the second half. IU went straight to Jeffries, the Big Ten Player of the Year, the next several possessions. Jeffries scored five straight points and the Hoosiers rebuilt their lead to 43-32 on a three-point play by Jeffries with 14:09 left.\nJeffries had 11 of his 14 points after the break. Going 0-for-4 from three-point range in the second half, the Hoosiers proved they can win a big game without having a huge night shooting.\n"I just think the way our system is setup it looks like we rely on the three-point shot, but really we don't," Davis said. "What we try and do is get the ball inside to Jeffries because he's our guy." \nMeanwhile Taylor was trying to rally his team the way he did when the Spartans came from 16 down in the first half to beat IU 57-54 at the Breslin Center less than two weeks ago. But Taylor said IU's defense Friday was too much.\n"They were just way more intense than us. From the opening tip, they were denying everything we were trying to get into," Taylor said.\n"We came out in the second half and tried to run things sharper, but it seemed like we were a step slow on everything."\nCoverdale epitomized the hustle Friday. In one sequence he saved a ball on one end of the floor and brought the ball the length of the floor for a layup that ended with him on the floor again.\nAll this with Coverdale having to deal with a sore back.\n"We know defense is going to win games for us," Coverdale said. "At the beginning of the season that's one of the things Coach Davis talked about. Sometimes we shoot the ball well and people talk about that but we know our defense is what wins games for us."\nFor the game the Hoosiers shot over 52 percent from the field against a Spartan team that led the Big Ten and was eighth in the nation in defensive field goal percentage. But offense wasn't Davis' concern going into Friday.\n"We knew it'd be a dogfight," Davis said. "I thought we came out tonight defensively and really established ourselves. I thought my team fought hard."\nAs much as he hated to see his team go down Friday, Izzo couldn't help but admit that he liked what he saw from IU. Some of those things he saw a reminiscent of his Michigan State teams that have been to the past three Final Fours.\n"I said all along that they don't get enough credit for how good they are defensively. They're just tough," Izzo said. "I complained about a few calls which was probably foolish on my part because I kind of liked the way they were playing and I thought it was great. They were just more aggressive"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
INDIANAPOLIS- Senior Dane Fife sat with a stoic look on his face, looking straight ahead from the seat in front of his locker, and still in his uniform 30 minutes after the game against Iowa ended. Junior Kyle Hornsby was two lockers to Fife's right and in the same position.\nIn an adjoining room, IU coach Mike Davis was sprawled on the floor with his head on his chest and his hands on the back of his head as he and the rest of the IU coaches tried to figure out what had gone wrong.\nWhat had happened was the No. 25 Hoosiers blew another close game, this time in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis Saturday afternoon. A 15-foot, off balance jumper by Luke Recker as time expired sent Iowa into the tournament finals with a 62-60 win against the Hoosiers.\nIU has now lost to Iowa two straight years in the Big Ten Tournament and each loss has been by two points. But the more disturbing trend is how the Hoosiers continue to have trouble closing out tough games. Saturday, Fife had trouble finding an answer after the loss.\n"We have a nice lead going into the last minute, minute and a half and one way or another we find a way to lose games," Fife said.\n"We better learn how to win those games or it's going to be another one and done (in the NCAA Tournament)."\nA day after praising his team for their intensity, Davis said Iowa outworked the Hoosiers, particularly in the second half.\n"I though they out-hustled us to loose balls," Davis said. "They had 17 offensive rebounds. (Iowa coach) Steve (Alford) did a great job getting his team ready to play. They were so physical.\n"I thought we played hard at times. We went for loose balls, they were there before us."\nIU held a 53-45 lead and the momentum with less than seven minutes left before the Hoosiers began to crumble. Recker began to heat up, scoring five straight points for Iowa to get the Hawkeyes to within three with 4:36 left at 55-52.\nIn every timeout Alford exerted his team to stay in the game and Recker did the same, yelling at his teammates to get ready to win the game. After the game, Alford gave the credit to his players.\n"Our kids really showed an incredible amount of courage," Alford said.\n"There were times we were playing basketball but there were a lot of times it seemed like there were a mixture of a lot of sports going on out there. We made a lot of big plays in the last five minutes."\nThis season, the Hoosiers are 1-5 when the game is decided by three points or less. Most recently, IU dropped a 64-63 decision to Wisconsin at Assembly Hall before losing 57-54 at Michigan State Feb. 24.\nIn each game the Hoosiers had several chances to win or tie the game, but could not do so. Saturday, IU had at least three shots on their last possession before Recker's game-winner, but couldn't put the ball in the basket. Also, in the second half IU hit just eight of 13 free throws.\n"You have to have a will to win," Davis said. "You can't coach them or teach them anything like that.\n"After a similar loss to the Hawkeyes last year, the Hoosiers bowed out of the NCAA Tournament in the first round to Kent State. Saturday will no doubt leave a sour taste in the Hoosiers' mouth, but Davis said his team will grow from the loss.\nSophomore Jared Jeffries said the Hoosiers are a different team from last year and a first round loss should not be expected next weekend.\n"Hopefully we're strong enough mentally to put this game behind us and don't worry about it. It's by no means the end of our season," Jeffries said. "I know the coaches aren't going to let this ruin the rest of our season.\n"You have to look within this team and find strength in each other. We're going to be able to bounce back from this and keep playing," Junior Tom Coverdale joined Fife and Hornsby in having a blank stare on his face. Coverdale agreed with Jeffries that IU will come back strong next week. But until the Hoosiers are able to win a tight game in an important situation, Coverdale said IU has to prove itself. "I can sit here and tell you it's not going to happen again," Coverdale said. "But until we can get out there and prove it we can't say anything. We just got to be ready to play"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
INDIANAPOLIS- Luke Recker was definitely the star of Saturday's first Big Ten semifinal at Conseco Fieldhouse. But sophomore A.J. Moye was the star for the Hoosiers.\nIn his usual role of coming off the bench, Moye gave IU a huge lift throughout the game Saturday, scoring 14 points in 25 minutes of action. He also drew an offensive foul and played terrific defense on whomever he was guarding.\nBy the time he was done, Moye had the crowd chanting his name. He also had IU coach Mike Davis smiling. "(Moye) played with a lot of energy," Davis said. Moye has been playing his best basketball of the season for the past month, constantly giving the Hoosiers energy when they need it. Davis said several IU players were not playing with the intensity he wanted.\nIt was a stark contrast to Friday, when the Hoosiers' performance had Michigan State coach Tom Izzo envious of their effort, especially on the defensive end.\n"A.J. came out and set the tone tonight," Davis said. Moye hit five of his six field goals, including both of his three-point field goals. If the rest of the Hoosiers had taken a cue from Moye, IU might have won. But Davis said the intensity just wasn't there. "I was disappointed in how some of our guys played, but overall I thought our guys played hard, but they played harder than us," Davis said.\n"They played the way we played (Friday). They fought like crazy. "They played us extremely physical. They really attacked us on the offensive glass and they went for loose balls like their life depended on it."\nAt the end of a season that has been filled with emotion, Davis isn't worried that his team is running out of gas.\n"Our whole season has been emotional," Davis said. "We have to just grow from this."\nThe other Indiana boy\nBrody Boyd was the star last year when Iowa knocked off the Hoosiers, 63-61, in the Big Ten Tournament Final in Chicago. A native of Digger, Ind., Boyd had 22 points with Recker watching from the bench. Saturday, Boyd came off the bench early in the first half and hit three straight three-pointers on his first three shots, putting Iowa up 17-11 less than nine minutes into the game.\nBoyd scored only one more point on a free throw in the second half.\nEvans shows up\nReggie Evans probably wasn't too excited to see the Hoosiers Saturday. In the three games Evans has played against IU since transferring to Iowa from junior college, he has averaged less than eight points per game.\nSaturday, Evans looked closer to his usual form, getting his normal double-double. He had 11 points and 10 rebounds, but still shot just 2-of-10 from the field.\nStill, Evans performance was good enough to earn the praise of Recker after the game. "Reggie Evans is my boy," Recker joked.\nRandom number\nFor the second straight game, IU sophomore Jared Jeffries finished the first half with just three points. He didn't make a field goal in the first half. Jeffries finished against the Spartans with 14 points, but only had 10 Saturday, hitting just three of 10 field goal attempts" The Hoosiers scored 23 points off 14 Iowa turnovers"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
SACRAMENTO - Sophomore Jared Jeffries joked with freshman Donald Perry, telling him to dive into press row for a loose ball. Senior Dane Fife wildly applauded every made free throw. IU coach Mike Davis' youngest son, Antoine, entertained girls sitting near the court. And Jeffries capped off the 50-minute workout Wednesday night with an alley-oop off the backboard to Jeff Newton for a reverse dunk. Their recent struggles in the post season still fresh in their minds, the fifth-seeded Hoosiers are not about to be intimidated at the thought of another early exit from the NCAA Tournament. Tonight, at a little after 10 p.m. Bloomington time, IU takes on 12th-seeded Utah in an opening round game in the South bracket at Arco Arena in Sacramento.\nThe Hoosiers have not won a game in the NCAA Tournament since 1999, when they beat George Washington before suffering their worst Tournament loss ever against St. John's. IU has since lost to Pepperdine and Kent State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament the last two years.\nSome might have thought the Hoosiers would be sluggish going into this week. IU had another tough loss to end the Big Ten Tournament last weekend in Indianapolis, falling 63-61 to Luke Recker and Iowa at Conseco Fieldhouse.\nStill, the Hoosiers seem relaxed and think they are a different team than they were last year, when they lost to 13th-seeded Kent State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. "Last year was a lot of our players' first year in the Tournament," junior guard Tom Coverdale said. "I think we looked past (Kent State) a little bit. That won't happen again."\nIt will be hard to overlook a Utah (21-9) team that has not lost in the first round of the Tournament in eight tries under coach Rick Majerus. The Utes finished second in the Mountain West Conference. A trio of versatile forwards in Nick Jacobson, Britton Johnsen and Jeff Johnsen leads Utah. All three average more than 10 points per game. Britton Johnsen was the conference's Player of the Year as voted by the coaches. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged more than 15 points per game in conference play.\nThere are some similarities in the way the two teams play. But Davis pointed out that the Utah big men like to shoot the ball but still have a post presence.\n"They're big guys can really shoot the basketball. We have to extend our defense," Davis said. "But they'll try to drive on you if your head it turned to the basket.\n"The thing that concerns me more than anything is their inside game. It's very important our big guys stay alert."\nJarrad Odle, who was hampered with foul trouble against Reggie Evans and the Hawkeyes last week, sees an opportunity to be more of a factor tonight.\n"I really hurt our team (Saturday)," Odle said. "I'm going to take a lot of pride in how I play (Thursday)." Coverdale said his back is feeling much better than it was last week, but it still tightens on him at times. Jeffries said his right ankle still bothers him and probably will until he can rest it for more than five days, which won't be until the season is over. In 2000 it was a first round loss to 11th-seeded Pepperdine. Then it was a loss to Kent State in San Diego in 2001. Davis knows he is 0-for-1 in the NCAA Tournament and that Majerus has an eight-game winning streak in the first round.\nBut Davis said many things are different going into tonight's game. What has happened in the past won't matter.\n"(Majerus') reputation is to win the first game. Ours is to lose the first game," Davis said. "We'll see what happens. I just feel like we're a totally different team."\nDavis suffered disappointing losses to Iowa in the last two Big Ten Tournaments and the loss to the Golden Flashes. 20-win seasons are nice, but he knows what the Hoosiers need to do to be thought of as successful.\n"They judge us now on what we do in the Tournament," Davis said. "(Thursday) is probably the most important game of the season."\nTRAVEL TROUBLES\nJeffries had stories to tell the media Wednesday, entertaining the crowd by explaining how difficult it was for the Hoosiers to get from the airport to the team hotel when IU arrived Tuesday night. Jeffries wasn't too big a fan of the flight either, which had the Hoosiers stopping in Dallas before coming to Sacramento. But Jeffries was able to deal with the delays by watching movies on his portable DVD player he got for Christmas. "If I didn't have movies, it would have been ugly," Jeffries joked.\nPRO TALK\nDavis answered questions about Jeffries' possible entry into the NBA Draft, but didn't have a definitive answer. But Davis did say the decision would ultimately not be his. "We'll sit down at the end of the season. The final decision will be his and his parents, not mine," Davis said. "I think if he stays, we have a chance to be a very good basketball team." Asked if he will take the same approach he did with Kirk Haston last year, Davis joked, "I hope not, because Kirk left"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
SACRAMENTO - IU coach Mike Davis admitted it after the game Thursday night. Truth be told, he didn't have to wait that long to divulge his secret. It was obvious to his players that Davis was nervous before the Hoosiers took on Utah Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Arco Arena in Sacramento. "I was so tight it was unbelievable," Davis said with a laugh.\n"(junior Tom) Coverdale walked over to me today during the shoot around and said, 'Coach, just relax, we're going to win.' I was wound up so, so tight because this game, this game was so important for Indiana basketball, for me, for ourselves and for our team."\nWith so much on the line, Davis was justifiably nervous. But after the Hoosiers whipped Utah, 75-56, Coverdale appeared to know what he was talking about heading into the game.\n"We felt like coming into this game that we could beat them, as long as we played our type of defense and executed and just played well for 40 minutes," Coverdale said. "I think in the back of everybody's mind was that we thought the same thing last year and look what happened.\n"It just feels good to get over this hump." Saturday, the Hoosiers will play 13th-seeded North\nCarolina-Wilmington. The Seahawks upset fourth-seeded USC in overtime Thursday afternoon, one of the biggest upsets of the day. Tip will be around 7:45 p.m. Bloomington time Saturday night.\nLast year the Hoosiers lost in the first round as a fourth seed to Kent State after leading by 8 at halftime. This year, though, IU played well throughout the game. Coverdale led the way with 19 points and eight rebounds. Jeff Newton came off the bench with 15 points and Jared Jeffries added 12 points.\nUtah's Phil Cullen came off the bench to score a game-high 25 points in just 26 minutes. Cullen hit 7-of-8 three-pointers to keep Utah from being completely blown out.\nThe Hoosiers (21-11) played their most complete game in some time. IU shot more than 55 percent from the field and held the Utes (21-9) to 44 percent from the floor despite Cullen's near perfect effort from three-point range.\nThe Hoosiers used their edge in athleticism to slow down Utah offensively. Newton and Jeffries combined to frustrate Britton Johnsen, the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year, to just 2-of-7 shooting and four points. IU outscored the Utes in the paint 36-10.\n"We have just no inside presence," Utah coach Rick Majerus said. "They just whipped us."\nSenior guard Dane Fife had seven points and four assists, but was even more of a factor on the defensive end. Fife slowed down Utah's leading scorer, Nick Jacobson. Although he finished the night with 11 points, most came when the game was out of reach.\nIU jumped to a 7-0 lead early in the game. An 8-0 Hoosier run gave IU a 30-17 lead with 6:14 left before halftime on a three-pointer by Coverdale. The closest the Utes would get the rest of the game was 12 as the Hoosiers protected a 42-27 halftime lead the rest of the way. Utah had a chance to get closer with three minutes left and the Utes trailing by 14. Cullen and Jacobson each missed three-pointers and Cullen missed a 17-footer before he fouled Coverdale. After two free throws by Coverdale, the lead was back to 16 and Utah would never be closer than 14.\nIU never trailed in the game.\nWith the win, the Hoosiers have now won 30 straight when scoring at least 75 points. That steak goes back to the 1999-2000 season.\nA longer streak for IU is its drought in NCAA Tournament wins. \nThe Hoosiers had lost to Pepperdine and Kent State the last two years in the first round and have not been to the Sweet Sixteen since 1994.\nAfter getting what he called a bear off his back in winning his first NCAA Tournament game, Davis canâ^À^Ùt help but feel excited. As he iced his injured left foot after the game, Coverdale reasserted his confidence in his team.\n"We came here to win two games. We have one left to go," Coverdale said. "We're feeling pretty good right now"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
SACRAMENTO - Junior guard Tom Coverdale admits the Hoosiers were surprised when UNC-Wilmington knocked off USC in overtime Thursday night, 93-89, just before IU beat up on Utah. It's only natural there would be a little excitement, too, when you avoid playing the fourth seed and instead play the 13th-seeded Seahawks for a trip to the Sweet Sixteen.\nBut Coverdale and the Hoosiers' thoughts of looking ahead to IU's first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 1994 were stopped when they took a closer look at UNC-Wilmington.\n"There wasn't much reaction because we were trying to focus on Utah," Coverdale said of Thursday night. "I think we we're a little excited at first but then after watching the film we know we're probably playing the better of the two teams because they just totally outplayed USC.\n"We know this is not going to be an easy game at all." In the second round in the South Region, the Hoosiers face the Seahawks at around 7:45 p.m. at Arco Arena with the winner to play the winner of top-seeded Duke and eighth-seeded Notre Dame.\nSome people picked against IU Thursday night, but even more people chose UNC-W to be back home by now. IU coach Mike Davis knows his team will be tested Saturday.\n"I think we messed up a lot of people's brackets," Davis said. "I think people think we're already in the Sweet Sixteen just like they thought USC was already in the Sweet Sixteen. That's not the case. They beat Minnesota at Minnesota and that's enough for me right there to be scared of them."\nDavis has two more reason to be scared. First, Coverdale did not practice Friday afternoon because of his left sprained ankle he injured at the end of the first half Thursday night. He was able to come back in the second half and finish the game with a team-high 19 points.\nCoverdale will probably be listed as questionable, but he sees no way that he would not play.\n"I feel that I'm definitely going to play. It's a lot better than it was (Thursday night)," Coverdale said. "It's gotten a lot better since I've gotten treatment on it. It's not really like a sprain I've had before because I didn't roll it. It's just the ligament on the front of my ankle.\n"It's just a sharp pain when I try to cut off of it. I played through it in the second half (Thursday) so I don't think it's going to be that big of a problem."\nAnother problem for the Hoosiers (21-11) will be a feisty Seahwawk (23-9) team led by Honorable Mention All-American Brett Blizzard, who led UNC-W with 18 points against the Trojans Thursday night. \nBlizzard is known as a lethal three-point shooter, but his coach, Jerry Wainwright, said Blizzard has other aspects to his game as well. "He was classified as a shooter," Wainwright said. "If you look at his overall stats in terms of his rebounds and steals, his minutes played."\nBlizzard is not alone. The Seahawks had five other players in double figures against USC, including Craig Callahan with 18 and Ed Williams with 13. Davis said UNC-W possesses the combination of athleticism and shooting the Hoosiers have not seen too often this season.\nIf Coverdale is unable to play today, Davis said he has no trouble looking to freshman Donald Perry. Davis said he held Perry out early in the season and during the Big Ten tournament, but he has been pleased with how Perry has played down the stretch.\n"I'll go with Perry. He's ready to play," Davis said. "If he needs to play 25 or 30 minutes he can do it. Perry's played well for us the past month. He's really improved."\nTo solve the Seahawks, IU looks to what has worked in the past against any opponent- good defense. That isn't a given against a team that has just knocked off one of the better teams in the country two nights earlier.\nDavis said his team is not in the Sweet Sixteen yet, and it is going to take a big effort to get there.\n"It's going to take 40 minutes," Davis said. "I don't think if they beat us (today) it would be an upset."\nCoverdale said the Hoosiers won't be fooled by the low seed attached to UNC-W's name. "After watching the tape we weren't that surprised because UNC-Wilmington plays so well together and they have great shooters," Coverdale said. "We know they're very deserving to beat USC and they deserve to be in the second round. I think we're going to be ready to play"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
SACRAMENTO - With just over 46 seconds left in Saturday night's game in Arco Arena, junior Kyle Hornsby made a layup and drew a foul, giving the Hoosiers a seven-point lead on UNC-Wilmington. This was after IU had burned two timeouts trying to get the ball past half-court against the Seahawks' trapping press.\nAs Hornsby pumped his fist, IU coach Mike Davis slid down into his courtside chair, legs and arms extended, palms open to the sky and a big smile on his face, as if to say, finally.\nFinally, the Hoosiers had been able to finish out a close game after going 1-5 in games decided by three points or less so far this season. Finally sophomore Jared Jeffries is back to All-American form. \nAnd finally, the No. 5 Hoosiers are going back to the Sweet Sixteen after an eight-year absence after they put away a feisty No. 13 UNC-W team, 76-67.\nWith the win, IU advances to play No. 1 Duke Thursday night at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. in one of the South Regional semifinals. The other game will pit No. 10 Kent State against the winner of California and Pittsburgh.\nJeffries led the Hoosiers (22-11) with 22 points and seven rebounds. Of those 22, 20 came in the second half. Hornsby and sophomore A.J. Moye each had 12 and junior Jeff Newton came off the bench with 11 points. Brett Blizzard had a game and season-high 29 points for the Seahawks (23-10). Anthony Terrell had 13 points and 13 rebounds.\nNothing has come easy for the Hoosiers this season, and that didn't change Saturday night in Sacramento. After building an early lead, IU saw UNC-W come back and close to within six at 31-25 at halftime. \nThe Hoosiers responded by opening the half strong, using a 14-3 run to grab a 49-32 lead at the 12:40 mark on a three-pointer by junior Tom Coverdale. The Seahawks would hang tough, even as Blizzard would suffer a left ankle sprain midway through the second half. He came back a little more than a minute later and would spark an 11-4 run that got the IU lead down to 66-63 at the 2:45 mark. \n"At six points, I thought we were in great shape," UNC-W Coach Jerry Wainwright said. "We were in a position to tie or win the game and that's all you can ask for at this level."\nBy this time, senior Dane Fife had fouled out, unsuccessful in slowing down Blizzard.\n"He hurt his ankle so I thought he would slow down. He got better, that's for sure," Fife said. "He's not necessarily the quickest guy, but he's so clever and crafty and he's got great confidence."\nJust last weekend, at the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis, the Hoosiers had let an Iowa team led by Luke Recker get off the ropes late in the second half and win. But that wouldn't happen in the NCAA Tournament.\nHornsby said IU is sick of blowing games and poise down the stretch is the solution.\n"All week long the coaches have been talking about poise at the end of the game and executing just like it was the beginning of the game, no matter what the score," Hornsby said. "That's what kept going through my mind and I'm sure that's what was going through the guys' minds- just to execute." That involved going through Jeffries, who had 11 points in the last 6:09\nof the game. Jeffries said he felt better than he has for as long as he can remember. Even though he had a bad first half, Jeffries remained confident.\n"In the first half my teammates kept telling me, 'Stay in it. Take over the game.' My teammates and coaches have so much confidence in me it kind of carries me at times even when my confidence is a little shaken," Jeffries said. "In the second half, I just decided that I wasn't going to go out with a bad game and I just tried to take control and everything worked out well."\nWith a three-point lead, the Hoosiers went straight to Jeffries, who spun in the lane for two. Blizzard missed a 16-footer under harassment from Moye before Hornsby hit one of two free throws to give IU a 69-63 lead with 1:51 to play.\nAgain, Blizzard missed a jumped while being bothered by Moye. Hornsby then hit another free throw before Terrell got a layup to make it 70-65 with 57.4 seconds left. But eventually, IU would break the Seahawks' press and the Hornsby layup sealed the win.\nFife gave a lot of credit to Moye for his defense. Moye said he was just doing what he was told.\n"(Assistant Coach John) Treloar told me to shut him down and not give him any looks. And when he does catch it, use my athleticism," Moye said. "That's what I did. He could hardly see the basket."\nA date with Duke looms Thursday, but Davis couldn't help but be proud of his team. Jeffries said the Hoosiers are finally doing some things they haven't done in a while, and it couldn't come at a better time.\n"I think we've accomplished something now, but I also feel like we can also accomplish a whole lot more," Jeffries said. "This team is coming together at the right time"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
SACRAMENTO -- Sophomore A.J. Moye was shouting. Senior Dane Fife was joking about how close his college career came to ending. And junior Kyle Hornsby was talking about how good it feels to be going where no IU team has been since 1994.\nThe Hoosiers are going to play in the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, and an excited locker room after a 76-67 win Saturday night against North Carolina-Wilmington couldn't contain its excitement.\n"When the game was over, me and (junior Tom Coverdale) went over to (IU coach Mike Davis) and had a great hug. It feels good," Moye said. "Tears almost came to our eyes, but the win said it all. We're just happy to win.\n"It's beautiful to be in the Sweet Sixteen."\nIU was a fifth seed in 1994, and after beating Ohio and Temple in the first two rounds, the Hoosiers lost to ninth-seeded Boston College in the Sweet Sixteen in Miami. Hornsby can't believe it has been that long.\n"This is nice. I think this is the type of program Indiana is," Hornsby said. "This is where we should have been. We made mistakes for nine years. It's about time."\nDavis knew pressure was on him to win, saying that expectations come with being the head coach at IU. The Hoosiers came through several times this year when most thought they wouldn't.\nDavis said he hasn't and will not forget that. \n"The whole season our guys have really fought hard," Davis said. "To be able to go to the Sweet Sixteen is a great achievement for this basketball team. Only the team thought that we would be at this point. \n"From preseason conditioning to our 7-5 pre-conference record to our share of the Big Ten Title, we knew that if we continue to play defense that we would give ourselves an opportunity to go to the Sweet Sixteen."\nSophomore Jared Jeffries sensed that same doubt from the skeptics.\n"We didn't do as well in the pre-conference schedule," Jeffries said. "People still kind of doubted us. Then we come out and win a share of the Big Ten title, and then we lose in the Big Ten Tournament and everybody picks us as underdogs the last two games.\n"But if you play defense you always give yourself a chance to be in the game."\nCONTRIBUTIONS\nDavis has had the luxury of getting great support from his bench, including 28 points combined from Moye, freshman Donald Perry and junior Jeff Newton. Moye had great defense on Brett Blizzard down the stretch, Perry spelled Coverdale on his sore left ankle and Newton had 11 points, creating problems for UNC-Wilmington.\n"Good teams make you pick your poison," Seahawks' coach Jerry Wainwright said. "Jeff Newton's 11 and A.J. Moye's 12 points killed us. Perry's five points killed us."\nThe Hoosiers' bench came in averaging 17.6 points per game. After Saturday's performance, IU is now 13-3 when its bench scores 20 or more points.\nINJURIES\nCoverdale played 22 minutes Saturday night, scoring seven points and handing out five assists to his three turnovers. In the middle of the second half, he left the bench for a minute to keep his ankle loose, but he does not see the ankle slowing him this weekend.\n"It's sore, but hopefully it will be a lot better Thursday," he said.\nJeffries said he had more mobility Saturday than he has had since injuring his right ankle Feb. 9 against Louisville. He said he will be ready to go against Duke.\n"I really feel like some of my explosiveness is coming back. I look forward to having a good game Thursday," Jeffries said. "We have time to heal and get better. I think (Coverdale) is getting there. I think I felt better today than I have in a while."\nA CLASS ACT\nAll weekend Jerry Wainwright gave the national media a chance to a laugh with his jokes and stories. Saturday night, he thanked the media for their coverage and for respecting his players. Wainwright also spoke of how proud he was of his team.\n"We did the best we could," he said. \nA junior, Brett Blizzard said the Seahawks will be back next year.\n"They got a taste of what it's like now, so we want to keep climbing the ladder," he said.\nRANDOM NUMBERS\nUNC-Wilmington associate head coach Brad Brownell coached under former IU player and assistant coach Jim Crews at Evansville University. Also, assistant coach Mike Winiecki was a member of the 13th-seeded Richmond team that beat IU 72-69 in the 1988 NCAA Tournament's first round. \nIU is now 7-2 in second-round games since the tournament switched to its current format in 1985. UNC-Wilmington entered the game with the nation's 13th best scoring defense, only giving up 61.1 points per game. \nYes, that is the same Kent State that beat IU last year in the first round that will be in the South Regionals at Rupp Arena Thursday night. \nThe Hoosiers are the only fifth-seed left. In fact, the other three (Florida, Miami and Marquette) lost in the first round.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
SACRAMENTO -- With just more than 46 seconds left in Saturday night's game in Arco Arena, junior Kyle Hornsby made a layup and drew a foul, giving the Hoosiers a seven-point lead on North Carolina-Wilmington. This was after IU had burned two timeouts trying to get the ball past half-court against the Seahawks' trapping press.\nAs Hornsby pumped his fist, IU coach Mike Davis slid down into his courtside chair, legs and arms extended, palms open to the sky and a big smile on his face, as if to say "Finally."\nFinally, the Hoosiers had been able to finish out a close game after going 1-5 in games decided by three points or less so far this season. Finally sophomore Jared Jeffries is back to All-American form. \nAnd finally, after they put away a feisty No. 13 UNC-Wilmington team 76-67, the No. 5 Hoosiers are going back to the Sweet Sixteen after an eight-year absence.\nWith the win, IU advances to play No. 1 Duke Thursday night at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., in one of the South Regional semifinals. The other game will pit No. 10 Kent State against Pittsburgh.\nJeffries led the Hoosiers (22-11) with 22 points and seven rebounds. Of those 22, 20 came in the second half. Hornsby and sophomore A.J. Moye each had 12, and junior Jeff Newton came off the bench with 11 points. Brett Blizzard had a game and season-high 29 points for the Seahawks (23-10). Anthony Terrell had 13 points and 13 rebounds.\nNothing has come easy for the Hoosiers this season, and that didn't change Saturday night in Sacramento. After building an early lead, IU saw UNC-Wilmington come back and close to within six at 31-25 at halftime. \nThe Hoosiers responded by opening the half strong, using a 14-3 run to grab a 49-32 lead at the 12:40 mark on a three pointer by junior Tom Coverdale. The Seahawks would hang tough, even as Blizzard would suffer a left ankle sprain midway through the second half. He came back a little more than a minute later and would spark an 11-4 run that got the IU lead down to 66-63 at the 2:45 mark. \n"At six points, I thought we were in great shape," Seahawks coach Jerry Wainwright said. "We were in a position to tie or win the game, and that's all you can ask for at this level."\nBy this time, senior Dane Fife had fouled out, unsuccessful in slowing down Blizzard.\n"He hurt his ankle, so I thought he would slow down. He got better, that's for sure," Fife said. "He's not necessarily the quickest guy, but he's so clever and crafty and he's got great confidence."\nJust last weekend, at the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis, the Hoosiers had let an Iowa team led by Luke Recker get off the ropes late in the second half and win. But that wouldn't happen in the NCAA Tournament. Hornsby said IU is sick of blowing games and poise down the stretch is the solution.\n"All week long the coaches have been talking about poise at the end of the game and executing just like it was the beginning of the game, no matter what the score," Hornsby said. "That's what kept going through my mind, and I'm sure that's what was going through the guys' minds -- just to execute."\nThat involved going through Jeffries, who had 11 points in the last 6:09 of the game. Jeffries said he felt better than he has for as long as he can remember. Even though he had a bad first half, Jeffries remained confident.\n"In the first half my teammates kept telling me, 'Stay in it. Take over the game,'" Jeffries said. "My teammates and coaches have so much confidence in me it kind of carries me at times even when my confidence is a little shaken.\n"In the second half, I just decided that I wasn't going to go out with a bad game. I just tried to take control and everything worked out well."\nWith a three-point lead, the Hoosiers went straight to Jeffries, who spun in the lane for two. Blizzard missed a 16-footer under harassment from Moye before Hornsby hit one of two free throws to give IU a 69-63 lead with 1:51 to play.\nAgain, Blizzard missed a jumper while being bothered by Moye. Hornsby then hit another free throw before Terrell got a layup to make it 70-65 with 57.4 seconds left. But eventually, IU would break the Seahawks' press, and the Hornsby layup sealed the win.\nFife gave a lot of credit to Moye for his defense. Moye said he was just doing what he was told.\n"(Assistant Coach John) Treloar told me to shut him down and not give him any looks. And when he does catch it, use my athleticism," Moye said. "That's what I did. He could hardly see the basket."\nA date with Duke looms Thursday, but Davis couldn't help but be proud of his team. Jeffries said the Hoosiers are finally doing some things they haven't done in a while, and it couldn't come at a better time.\n"I think we've accomplished something now, but I also feel like we can also accomplish a whole lot more," Jeffries said. "This team is coming together at the right time"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Mike Davis saw the highlights from IU's win Thursday night on "Sportscenter," brief as they might have been. And he also heard what the anchor had to say.\n"She said that my critics can leave me alone now because I've won a game in the NCAA (Tournament)," Davis said, smiling.\nSeveral people and most of the national media said that same thing in Sacramento this weekend, and that might include some Hoosier fans who still might not believe Davis is the best man to coach IU. \nWith two regular seasons gone and one first round tournament loss last year to No. 13 seed Kent State, Davis said he felt the pressure Thursday night before the win against Utah, probably the same pressure he has felt every day since he was given the job at an interim level in September of 2000.\nNow, with a chance to take the Hoosiers to the Elite Eight in front of him Thursday when IU takes on No. 1 Duke, Davis might be feeling some of the pressure relent. Either way, he will just keep doing what he has been doing. He didn't even think he would get this far in the first place.\n"There's pressure all the time. Sometimes it's fair, sometimes it's not," Davis said this weekend. "I never thought that Indiana would really hire me if we didn't have a great year (in 2000-2001)."\nDavis was hired, and with Jared Jeffries leading the way, the expectations began to rise, which is normal at a school that has five national title banners hanging at Assembly Hall.\nUNC-W coach Jerry Wainwright said he doesn't know Davis very well, but he can only imagine what Davis must go through in order to replace Bob Knight.\n"A lot of pressure is self-induced. I heard Coach Davis say that he feels himself try too hard to prove certain things," Wainwright said. "What Coach Davis has to do and is doing right now is one of the most difficult things to do in our profession. His is a unique situation."\nDavis has responded by lending his personality to his team. A four-time winner of the Hustle award in his four years as a player at Alabama, Davis prefers defense to scoring. He doesn't mind a whole lot of hustle either.\nIn trying to get through his first season, he taught his players what he knows best.\n"As a player, I was a defender. The thing I wanted to do was instill my attitude and personality into the team," Davis said. "I know I may not look like or sound like a very aggressive guy, but I am on the basketball court."\nAt the same time, Davis has kept the pressure off his team.\n"Our team that goes out and plays every day is a reflection of him. I think that's why he puts so much pride in us playing hard and competing every game," Jeffries said. "People expect that if you're going to bring in another coach he has to do the same (as Knight). \n"I think Coach Davis did a great job of accepting that role and pushing us to be the best players that we can be. The pressure that he feels, he does a really good job of trying to defer it off the team."\nIt is impossible to have won three national titles in two years. Davis isn't too worried about history, but he does want to win now and with his team playing his style of basketball. \nThe Hoosiers are doing that; IU is winning and opposing coaches, perhaps the best critics of basketball coaches, are impressed.\n"I know one thing, his team is very well coached and his team seems to play together, and that's a tribute to whatever he's doing," Wainwright said.\nAfter getting past the Seahawks Saturday night, Tom Coverdale and A.J. Moye met an ecstatic Davis at mid-court for a hug. Before CBS could pull him away for the mandatory post-game interview, Davis enjoyed the win with his players and his staff, the same guys Davis said were the only ones who believed these Hoosiers would be successful together this season.\n"We just exchange the funniest words during the game and after the game's over we're laughing and having a good time," Moye said Saturday night while icing his left knee and tugging at his shoulder brace. "It means a lot. He's been through a lot. He's a tough-minded person. I just love the guy"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Make no mistake, the Hoosiers know what they are up against Thursday night when they face No. 1 Duke in the South Regional semifinals at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. They will be playing the best team in their region and the Tournament and probably the nation. \nAnd after Blue Devils' guard Jason Williams was named the Naismith Player of the Year Monday, IU will be facing the best player in the nation on the best team.\nHaving said all that, the No. 5 seeded Hoosiers still think they belong where they are, and they aren't afraid to say so.\n"We're probably going to be picked again to lose. We turn that into a positive feeling," Dane Fife said. "Nobody really expects us to win, so what do we have to lose? We feel like we have a ton of business being in this basketball game on Thursday. \n"We'll be nervous, but we'll be ready. We're nervous for every game."\nAlmost every bracket in the nation has Duke (31-3) penciled into the Final Four in Atlanta. Those same brackets probably had the Blue Devils matching up with USC Thursday in Lexington, but the Trojans lost in the first round and the Hoosiers (22-11) survived UNC-Wilmington Saturday night in Sacramento.\nIU is impressed with the Blue Devils, but the Hoosiers aren't just going to take a blowout loss and go home.\n"They're an awfully good team," Kyle Hornsby said. "I look at it as a challenge. We're not going to back down. I believe we have a chance."\nAfter tearing through Winthrop in the first round, Duke received a stiff test from Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish held an eight point lead late in the second half and the game was tied in the final two minutes, but the Blue Devils finished strong at the free throw line to win, 84-77, in Greenville, S.C.\nThe Hoosiers beat the Fighting Irish at Assembly Hall Dec. 4, 76-75. Notre Dame showed that Duke might not be invincible, but that could have its downside for the next team the Blue Devils face.\n"(Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski) is going to have them even more ready knowing they almost lost in the second round," Tom Coverdale said. "They're going to be really hungry."\nMost people might not have expected the Hoosiers to be here, and that is alright with IU. Almost all people had Duke in this game, and they have the Blue Devils going a lot further.\nThe Hoosiers expected both perceptions, but they are right where they thought they would be. This game is not a surprise.\n"I think we expected to play Duke when the tournament seedings were drawn," Fife said. "Everybody has to pick against (us) because of how we've choked recently. I know the guys will be excited."\nIn a press conference Monday, Krzyzewski said he was impressed with the Hoosiers' team defense and expects a tough game.\n"Indiana can beat us, that is the way I approach every game," he said. "Everybody has a different opponent, and it is not about rankings but what that team is accepting. I have seen more teams in this tournament that are not accepting of losing."\nThe Hoosiers aren't about to accept a loss before the game has even begun.\n"I wanted to come out and play this team," Jared Jeffries said. "I feel that if you want to be the best you got to play the best."\nA new Newton\nDavis has been very pleased with the play of Jeff Newton since the middle of the season. Before the win at Penn State Jan. 23, Davis challenged Newton to forget about points and just play with energy. Newton has done just that.\n"He's playing with a lot of energy. He's improved his work habits over the past month and a half," Davis said. "He's the type of player that he's a quiet kid so you tend to overlook him. I don't think Utah had an answer for him."\nDavis can only wonder where the Hoosiers would be if Newton had played so well all year. Davis thinks he will find out next year.\n"I think next year he's going to be one of the best players in the Big Ten," Davis said. "He's going to stay in Bloomington this summer, and he's ready to be a good basketball player."\nDefense, defense, defense\nIf IU wants to win Thursday, the Hoosiers know they have to play well defensively. And that doesn't mean just Fife, the Big Ten's co-defensive player of the year. Nearly every player for Duke has immense offensive ability.\n"We have to defend them really well," Coverdale said. "All five of (us) have to defend well."\nKrzyzewski had high praise for the Hoosiers' defense, which is holding teams to just 61.8 points per game, their best such number since 1983-1984, when IU held teams to 59.1 points per game.\n"The thing that impresses me the most about Indiana is their defense," Krzyzewski said. "They play solid defense, help one another well and work hard on every exchange, it is hard to score against Indiana. They are the top defensive team in their conference."\nCoverdale injury\nCoverdale did not practice Monday. He was relegated to riding a stationary bike while letting his sore left ankle rest. Coverdale hurt the ankle at the end of the first half against Utah after jumping up to make a pass.