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(03/29/02 8:19pm)
ATLANTA -- The lights are getting brighter, but the distractions that have surrounded IU all week are starting to fade away. No more time for ticket requests or other matters not related to basketball.\nIt's time for the Final Four.\nThe fifth-seeded Hoosiers (24-11) out of the South Region are in Atlanta, and so are the second-seeded Sooners (31-4). After a light practice for both teams this afternoon at the Georgia Dome and a session with the media, IU and Oklahoma will be set for their 6 p.m. National Semifinal Saturday night.\nIt has been a busy week for the Hoosiers, having been capped off by a send-off at Assembly Hall by thousands of IU fans. IU was also welcomed to Atlanta by the local alumni association.\nNow, things get serious.\n"I just want to beat Oklahoma," sophomore A.J. Moye said. "Now the aura and the mystique is gone and it's more about getting down to business. Why be satisfied with getting to the Final Four when you can win the whole thing?"\nJunior Tom Coverdale, who continues to nurse a sprained left ankle, will likely be a game-time decision. Donald Perry, the backup freshman point guard, said he is ready if needed, and the Hoosiers said they have confidence in him.\nAgain this weekend, IU seems to be the forgotten team among three squads that were supposed to be here in the first place. If Coverdale is unable to play, some say IU has no chance to win. That suits the Hoosiers just fine.\n"As long as we're down there, we might as well win," junior Jeff Newton said.\nThe Sooners have depth at all positions, but they are led by Hollis Price in the backcourt and Aaron McGhee in the paint. IU sophomore Jared Jeffries will likely have to deal with McGhee, who has the ability to shoot from the outside or be physical down low.\nOffensively, the Hoosiers are shooting better than anyone in the tournament at just under 56 percent in four games. Saturday, IU will see a defense that is as feisty and physical as its own.\nOf course, Sooner coach Kelvin Sampson will have to make the choice that coaches have had to make against IU all season. Will the Sooners leave Jeffries free of double teams and open the paint to protect the perimeter? Or will they do the opposite and let the Hoosiers shoot at will?\nDuke was burned by Jeffries, Newton and senior Jarrad Odle in the paint, particularly in the second half, when IU staged its improbable comeback. Saturday Kent State was just buried from the outside when the Hoosiers hit 15-of-19 three pointers. \nWhat would IU coach Mike Davis do?\n"If I'm Oklahoma I try to take away Jared Jeffries so we can shoot some threes," Davis joked. "They have athletes who run and jump. Whatever they do, we'll counter it. We have a good system, a system that's very difficult to play against."\nAs has been his tendency as long as he has been at IU, Davis will rely on his defense. Price has been almost unstoppable in the tournament. The Hoosiers will have to be on top of their game.\n"I think our defense is going to have to be as good as it has all year with this team being so athletic and talented," Odle said.\nWhile some may say the Hoosiers are fine because they beat No.1 Duke in the South Regional semifinals, others point out Oklahoma might be better. The Sooners own wins against both Kansas and Maryland, who will meet in the second national semifinal Saturday night.\nIU thinks Oklahoma might be the best team in the nation.\n"What Duke did in the first five to 10 minutes gave us some problems. Oklahoma is going to see that and really want to do that for 40 minutes," junior Kyle Hornsby said. "They have a deeper bench, so they're going to be capable of getting people in there to keep that intensity up. \n"Something that we're going to have to really buckle down and focus on is controlling the ball, not giving up steals and turning the ball over."\nGame plans are the focus for the Hoosiers now. After a week of talking, it is time to play basketball on the biggest stage in college basketball. All-time, IU is 5-2 in national semifinals.\nThe Hoosiers say they will be ready Saturday night.\n"It's something we're accustomed to," Odle said of being the underdog. "There's probably going to be a little bit of inexperience. But when you get to the Final Four, you can throw the lines out the window.\n"That's why I chose this University -- I wanted to win championships and make it to places like the Final Four."\nThe Hoosiers are here.
(03/17/02 11:55pm)
SACRAMENTO - Sophomore A.J. Moye was shouting. Senior Dane Fife was joking about how close his college career almost ended. 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 UNC-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. \"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 or 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-W.\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. Jeffries 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. \"They got a taste of what it\'s like now, so we want to keep climbing the ladder,\" he said.\nRANDOM NUMBERS\nUNC-W 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 roundIU is now 7-2 in second round games since the Tournament switched to its current format in 1985UNC-W entered the game with the nation\'s 13th best scoring defense, only giving up 61.1 points per gameYes, 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 nightThe Hoosiers are the only fifth-seed left. In fact, the other three (Florida, Miami and Marquette) lost in the first round, the first time that has happened since the 64-team format was adopted.
(03/17/02 4:37am)
SACRAMENTO - Jerry Wainwright isn\'t afraid to admit it. His players are here to play basketball, but they are enjoying the glitz that comes with being one of the early darlings of the NCAA Tournament this year. That\'s probably because North Carolina-Wilmington is used to being in North Carolina\'s shoes- out of the Tournament before it starts.\nBut after the upset of fourth-seeded USC Thursday night, Wainwright said his team is enjoying the attention, even if it\'s in the Seahawks\' own way.\n\"National spotlight, do I enjoy what\'s happening? In all honesty, we know what I do for a living is very temporary,\" Wainwright said. \"The only thing that matters is the people. We\'re old school. We represent a team. It\'s nice to see them be successful. This is great to see the kids enjoy it.\"\nWith a good deal of attention from the national media on the off-day in Sacramento, the humble and humorous Wainwright reminisced on a career of coaching that has brought him to this point. \nA native of Chicago, Wainwright coached softball, football and other sports before settling on basketball. He also spoke of a former Hoosier coach who had a special influence on him.\n\"It\'s almost a dream come true for me. I grew up in the Midwest in Chicago. I had the opportunity to meet Coach (Bob) Knight at a very early age,\" Wainwright said. \"He had a tremendous effect on Midwest coaches. I worked his camp.\n\"I coached a player named Glen Grunwald who is now vice president and general manager of the Toronto Raptors who attended Indiana University. (Knight) way back when offered me a beginning job on his staff that at that time in my life I didn\'t want to take.\" Wainwright is in his eighth season as the head man at UNC-Wilmington, his first head coaching job. He spent nine seasons before that as an assistant to Bob Staak and Dave Odom at Wake Forest.\nBut this wasn\'t what Wainwright set out to do. He just wanted to coach kids and be free of the politics of high level sports.\n\"I taught kids to shoot free throws underhand in the seventh grade because they couldn\'t hit the rim. I had their parents tell me I was costing them a college scholarship,\" Wainwright said. \"I was told when I was very young in coaching that there are only two good places to coach- one, an orphanage because there\'s no parents and two, a prison because there\'s no alumni. I probably kept that as my credo. I never, ever wanted to be a college coach.\"\nIn 2000 Wainwright got his team to the Tournament for the first time in school history. The Seahawks lost as a 15th-seed, losing to Cincinnati 64-47 in the first round. At the time UNC-Wilmington was so unknown that the charter plane that was supposed to take the Seahawks to Nashville for their Tournament game went to Wilmington, Deleware. This season has been a bit more smooth. UNC-Wilmington earned an automatic bid by winning the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament after winning the conference in the regular season. \nBefore the season began, the Seahawks had the opportunity to be around the Washington Wizards. The lessons learned weren\'t lost.\n\"The first practice Michael Jordan was in, there was no five-on-five. It lasted approximately an hour and a half,\" Wainwright said. \"It was shooting drills and running their offense and during that hour and a half Michael Jordan did not miss one shot.\nHe did everything at game speed. What a great lesson for kids at any age to see that type of talent with that type of practice integrity.\"\nAfter a blowout loss at Ohio State early in the season, Wainwright challenged his team to play harder. They listened, winning 14 of 18 in the CAA.\n\"That was the only game this season coach was disappointed with us because he felt like we quit that game,\" Seahawk Stewart Hare said. \"We didn\'t play hard in the second half. That was a turning point in our season. I think we turned around and got focused and really started playing hard.\"\nThe Hoosiers present a new challenge for the Seahawks. IU has enough athleticism to match up with UNC-W. Wainwright also noticed the Hoosiers\' defense.\n\"When I saw Indiana play (Thursday), the thing that stood out in my mind was how aggressive and how well they play team defense,\" Wainwright said. \"They\'re bulldogs. We\'re going to have to somehow figure out a way that that doesn\'t disrupt what we do.\" Now that the Seahawks are making some noise, Wainwright isn\'t going to change. He still makes jokes and talks about how important the team concept is. National spotlight or not, Wainwright just wants to coach.\n\"I\'m not going to write a book on basketball. People lend me their children,\" Wainwright said. \"I\'m humbled by how much I don\'t know."
(03/17/02 4:31am)
SACRAMENTO - IU coach 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 are saying 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. With two regular seasons gone and one first round tournament loss, Davis said he felt the pressure Thursday night, probably the same pressure he has felt everyday since he was given the job at an interim level in September 2000.\nNow, with a chance to take the Hoosiers to the Sweet Sixteen in front of him tonight when IU takes on UNC-Wilmington, Davis might be feeling some of the pressure relent. Either way, he will just keep doing what he has been doing.\n\"There\'s pressure all the time. Sometimes it\'s fair, sometimes it\'s not,\" Davis said Friday afternoon. \"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 sophomore 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 to 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. \"Our team that goes out and plays everyday 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 job of trying to defer it off the team.\" It 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 teams playing his game. The 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.\nA new Newton\nDavis has been very pleased with the play of junior 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. \"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.\"\nRandom numbers\nUNCW has won five straight and 11 of its last 13. Thursday night was the Seahawks first win against a ranked opponent ever. UNCW is now 1-21 all-time against ranked teams. Of the Hoosiers\'current players, Jeff Newton is the all-time leading scorer in the NCAA Tournament with 35 points. He also leads them with 16 career rebounds and five career blocks. This will be the second meeting between the two teams. IU beat UNC-W 73-72 in the Indiana Classic in 1986. The Hoosiers are 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. Senior Jarrad Odle has scored the Hoosiers\'first basket in 11 of the 18 games he has started this season.
(03/15/02 4:11pm)
SACRAMENTO - Junior Tom Coverdale remembers San Diego. He remembers what happened to him there. He remembers Kent State. And he remembers the final score and what happened to his team in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year.\nSporting their highest seed in eight years, the fourth-seeded Hoosiers lost to Kent State, 77-73, after holding an eight-point lead at halftime. Coverdale suffered a hip pointer at the end of the first half and was limited to 8 points, four assists and three turnovers in 29 minutes.\nThis time around, Coverdale and IU jumped out a nice lead in the first half once again, this time a 42-27 lead on Utah. And Coverdale again went into the break with another injury, this time his left ankle. Naturally, IU coach Mike Davis was concerned.\n\"This time we\'re up 15 at the half and he twists his ankle. It\'s pretty bad, so I\'m thinking about last year,\" Davis said. \"I\'m thinking we\'re in trouble again. I thought it was going to be a repeat of last year.\"\nBut the always gritty Coverdale dealt with the pain and came back to play 15 minutes in the second half and 33 in the game as the Hoosiers glided to a 75-56 win against the Utes at in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.\nCoverdale finished with a team-high 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go with eight rebounds, four assists and a steal. He also finished the game on the court- that is until freshman Donald Perry replaced him with just 1:42 left and the Hoosiers leading by 20.\nFor Coverdale, there was no choice about whether or not he would play the second half Thursday night.\n\"I know I got hurt in the NCAA Tournament last year and it wasn\'t a good feeling to lose, so I wanted to stay on the floor as much as possible,\" Coverdale said. \"Coach Davis has pretty much told me that I have to be on the floor as much as possible.\"\nCoverdale, the team\'s best ballhandler, said he hurt the ankle when he jumped to make a pass near the end of the first half. Davis said that his presence alone makes things work better for IU.\n\"Coverdale was unbelievable in this game, playing on a hurt ankle,\" Davis said. \"Our guys came out and played hard, got a couple of steals and pushed the lead up to 20 points.\"\nSophomore Jared Jeffries said the Hoosiers haven\'t forgotten what happened last year. And with IU holding a 15-point halftime lead this year, the Hoosiers remained focus at halftime.\n\"Our team vocabulary major, A.J. Moye, he made sure we knew about last year\'s game, he gave us the play-by-play,\" Jeffries joked. \"So we knew about it. Coach didn\'t have to say anything.\"\nIn the first half, Coverdale helped the Hoosiers get things rolling, hitting a three-pointer to open the game and finishing a four-point play to start an 8-0 run that would give IU a double-digit lead it would never relinquish. \nCoverdale said he felt the need to get more involved with Jeffries being held in check and picking up two fouls before halftime. \"With (Jeffries) being hurt, I think a lot of guys have taken it upon themselves knowing that we have to step up,\" Coverdale said. \"It\'s nothing we haven\'t been used to down the stretch. We just ran our offense and I think everybody did a good job of just taking what they gave us.\"\nWith ice wrapped around his ankle after the game, Coverdale talked about getting the chance to play closer to home. If the Hoosiers win Saturday against UNC-Wilmington, they play in the Sweet Sixteen in Lexington, Ky. next weekend. \nTry keeping Coverdale on the bench Saturday.\n\"It\'s not like any other ankle injury because it\'s not like it hurts on the side. It just hurts on the front,\" Coverdale said. \"If I can play through it (Thursday), I can play on it (Saturday). \"There\'s no possible way I would be out of this next game. If they have to cut it off I\'ll still play. I\'ll be ready to go.\"\nMAJERUS IMPRESSED\nRick Majerus isn\'t used to losing early in the NCAA Tournament. Before Thursday night he was 9-0 all-time in the first round of the Tournament, including 8-0 as head coach at Utah. But after the Hoosiers blew out his Utes, an obviously exasperated Majerus said IU simply outplayed Utah.\n\"They just stuck it to us,\" Majerus said. \"We had the ball in our hands and they would just strip it. They\'re tough guys, Coverdale and (Dane) Fife and (Jarrad) Odle. I like their team.\"\nWhat\'s been unusual for Majerus and the Utes this year has been losing by a big margin, or just losing period. After starting the season 3-3, Utah won 13 straight. But the Utes ran into a brick wall to end their season.\n\"Every game since Arizona State on Dec. 7th, I think we were right there to win and we didn\'t get beat, we beat ourselves. (Thursday IU) beat us.\"\nLESSONS LEARNED\nObviously the Hoosiers learned from last year\'s first round loss. Now IU is in new territory- the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Before the Hoosiers look past another low seed, they will review their recent past.\n\"We came out in the tournament thinking about last year\'s loss to Kent State. We weren\'t going to let that happen again so we came out and played hard,\" junior Jeff Newton said. \"We just want to take it one game at a time and keep playing our game. Hopefully we\'ll be (in the Sweet Sixteen).\"\nFor Davis it continues to be a year of learning. Thursday night he appreciated the chance to go against another good coach, something he has been doing all season. One thing the good coaches Davis speaks of does is they get their players to play hard defensively. The Hoosiers\nare doing that right now.\n\"I\'ve learned so much this year, especially playing against Rick Pitino at Louisville, (Tom) Izzo at Michigan State, Coach Majerus at Utah,\" Davis said. \"It\'s really helped me as a coach. Right now, I don\'t think there\'s a team out there that\'s playing the way we\'re playing defensively. \n\"They may have better athletes or they may be quicker, but we\'re giving great effort on the defensive end. Everybody that\'s playing is playing well because they are playing with a lot of energy and a lot of heart."
(03/08/02 5:59am)
The first time the two teams met was early in the regular season, but it was still an important game. \nThe second encounter was more relevant, with Big Ten title implications involved. \nThe third takes place today.\nThe Hoosiers beat Michigan State by 18 in January at Assembly Hall, but the Spartans rallied to beat IU 57-54 at the Breslin Center last month, wiping out a chance for the Hoosiers to grab a lead in the Big Ten.\nThe third showdown starts this morning at 11:30 a.m. in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. \nAfter grabbing a share of the Big Ten regular season title last weekend with a win against Northwestern, IU (19-10) starts its postseason against a familiar foe in Michigan State (19-10). The Spartans come in with five straight victories and have won 10 of 13 after a slow start.\nAlthough Michigan State was ranked when IU beat the Spartans in the teams' first matchup, the Hoosiers probably don't remember much before the loss at Michigan State not even two weeks ago.\nIU watched a 16-point first-half lead slip away as the Spartans got back into the game behind the play of sophomore guard Marcus Taylor. Down the stretch IU junior Tom Coverdale missed a free throw and a three pointer in the game's final minute, each of which would have tied the game.\n"After that game, we knew that we'd probably get another chance to play them again," Coverdale said. "They're one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten right now. We had the game won there, and we let it slip away. That's going to be on our minds."\nThe loss wiped out the Hoosiers' one-game lead in the conference, and IU eventually had to settle for a four-way tie for the league title. This adds up to a different mindset for the Hoosiers as opposed to last year, when IU went to the tournament's championship game.\n"We played well right at the end of (last) season," IU coach Mike Davis said. "We won three straight games. This year, we lost two of the last three, so it's different going into the tournament. \n"Our confidence was really high at this point last year. Our guys now have a different mindset because we won the Big Ten, and I'm sure everyone in this system is telling them how great they are. We have to regain our focus."\nWhat's in front of IU Friday is a familiar team that has played as well as anybody in the Big Ten during the last month of the season. Taylor and junior Adam Ballinger have led a number of young players, and Spartan coach Tom Izzo rectified a season that almost seemed doomed.\nTaylor was the main reason for the comeback win by Michigan State last month. Coverdale and senior Dane Fife haven't forgotten.\n"I've already submitted my request to guard Marcus, but we've got some good defenders on this team besides me," Fife said. "Coverdale did OK against Marcus both games in the regular season, so I have complete confidence in Coverdale guarding him. Marcus is hot right now, and it's going to take all five of us to beat Marcus and Michigan State."\nOne constant in this matchup is the quick start IU has gotten off to against Michigan State. Davis said he is worried about the adjustments Izzo will make with nearly a full week to prepare.\nBut Izzo only thinks of one thing when he thinks of IU -- shooting. After the Hoosiers began the game shooting well from the outside in the last meeting, Izzo stopped doubling Jared Jeffries and IU was slowed down. Izzo hopes the same formula will work.\n"Coverdale and Fife have had incredible years. Hornsby can shoot it as well as anybody if he's open," Izzo said. "They can shoot it from anywhere in the state of Indiana. We think we have as tough a matchup as there is in the tournament."\nDavis sees no major adjustments for his team. Now that another championship is on the line, he knows his team will have no second chances or ties.\n"It's going to be about a fight," Davis said. "They're going to come out and fight us, and hopefully, we fight back."\nIf anybody remembers the first two meetings between these teams, it's Coverdale. He had 20 first-half points in the first meeting, hitting all six of his three pointers. Then there was the missed free throw and the missed three pointer at the buzzer in February that would have sent the game to overtime.\nStill, redemption isn't the first thing on Coverdale's mind.\n"Every loss sticks with you. But we have to put what happened last time (against MSU) out of our mind," he said. "Every game from here on out is going to be a tough game"
(03/06/02 5:13am)
Disappointment has run high at Iowa, where the Hawkeyes started the season by playing well enough to be ranked in the top 10 nationally. After the hot start the Hawkeyes folded in Big Ten play, stumbling to a disappointing record in Steve Alford's third year as head coach.\nLuke Recker had a disappointing senior campaign, scoring less than expected even though he had a relatively healthy season. Reggie Evans disappointed, getting shut down at times and being relegated to the bench after Alford said Evans wasn't taking school as serious as Alford thought he should.\nBut if last year is an accurate gauge, the Hawkeyes (16-14, 5-11 Big Ten) just might be right where they want to -- at the Big Ten Tournament with no expectations and a chance to erase any disappointments. The rest of the Big Ten knows they did it last year.\nIowa showed up in Chicago last year under the same circumstances, minus an injured Recker, and won four games in four days to win the tournament and get into the NCAA Tournament.\nIowa is the only team to have won the Big Ten Tournament over four days, and if the Hawkeyes want to win it again, they will have to pull off the same feat again.\nIowa begins play as the eighth seed Thursday morning against ninth-seeded Purdue (13-17, 5-11) at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The winner will play top-seeded Wisconsin Friday.\nAlford knows how hard it was to win four games in four days last year, but now he knows his team can do it.\n"It's very difficult. We're the only team that's been able to do that," Alford said. "You have to be deep, stay healthy. We shot the ball very well. For those four days, we stayed healthy and we guarded and made shots. \n"When you're on a neutral setting, it's important to take care of the basketball, make your shots and prevent easy shots from your opponent."\nLast year the Hawkeyes got some breaks on the way to the championship game by beating Northwestern, Ohio State and Penn State. The Nittany Lions knocked off Michigan State in the quarterfinals, so Iowa didn't have to face either Illinois or the Spartans to get to the title game.\nThe Hawkeyes breezed into the finals against IU. With a lot of help from Indiana-native Brody Boyd, Iowa beat the Hoosiers at the United Center, 63-61. Iowa had entered the tournament on a three-game losing streak, losers of seven of eight and owners of a record (18-11, 7-9) that had them squarely on the bubble.\nBut after beating the Hoosiers, Iowa beat Creighton in the first round of the NCAAs before losing to Kentucky in the second round.\nIn a year where the Big Ten might be nervous that only five or six teams will get in the Big Dance as opposed to the usual seven teams, the tournament is wide open, and a team on the bubble can get an automatic bid by winning the tournament.\n"Without question, we'll have five. If they do well in the tournament, maybe we'll get six," Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien said. "I think we're going to get five teams in for sure, and a lot will be determined with how Minnesota does in the tournament."\nWith four teams sharing the regular season title, this year's tourney seems to be wide open. Michigan State closed the regular season strong, and Minnesota is on the bubble after blowing a lead and losing to Illinois Sunday to end the regular season.\nAlford said both teams can remove any doubts about their postseason future by winning the tournament, and that will motivate every team.\n"If you're Big Ten champ, you know you have games past there," Alford said.\nFor the Hawkeyes, they are almost in the same situation as they were in last year. Iowa has lost six of seven and 10 of 13 to end the season. Recker is ready, and Evans is out of Alford's doghouse.\n"We're starting to play pretty decent basketball. We're starting to do some good things," Alford said. "We still get way too many breakdowns at the defensive end. Our offense has been in a better flow, and a lot of that has to do with taking care of the ball."\nWith such a wide-open league, nobody appears to be safe.\n"Anybody can win it. All 11 schools have a shot at doing it," Purdue coach Gene Keady said. "It's going to be fun, interesting and challenging."\nAlford would have liked to put away any doubts about Iowa being in the NCAA Tournament weeks ago. But there were too many disappointments, and the Hawkeyes are further away from where they want to be than last year. Although the same opportunity to make up for any shortcomings presents itself again this weekend, Alford knows Iowa has a lot of work to do.\n"If you're like us last year, that has its own mental stress to it," Alford said. "We have to win four games in four days. It's a have-to situation, and that's even more mental stress"
(03/01/02 5:29am)
Two weeks ago, senior guard Dane Fife and the Hoosiers methodically picked apart Michigan to set up a game between IU and Ohio State, the then-top two teams in the Big Ten. Although the Hoosiers had to play without Jared Jeffries for much of the game against the Wolverines, IU was determined to get to the game with the Buckeyes tied at 9-4 in the conference.\n"We're fighting for a Big Ten championship," Fife said after the win in Ann Arbor. "That's something we haven't been able to say generally coming into Ann Arbor. This is a very special season for us. That's why we came in and played so hard and played so well."\nMuch has changed for Fife and IU since. The Hoosiers beat Ohio State but have since lost close games at Michigan State and at No. 15 Illinois. Now IU goes into tomorrow afternoon's game against Northwestern at Assembly Hall needing a win to lock up a share of the conference title with Wisconsin and maybe Ohio State and Illinois.\nIf the motivation to win an outright conference title is gone, Fife and Jarrad Odle have the added incentive to go out with a victory on Senior Night at Assembly Hall Saturday. And after seeing how hard the Illini played Tuesday on their senior night, the Hoosiers will be ready to help their seniors.\n"You see how (Illinois) played on senior night; they played hard," junior guard Kyle Hornsby said. "We're going to do the same thing."\nFife will end a career that includes more than 90 starts and a reputation for being one of the best defenders in the Big Ten. IU Coach Mike Davis has said that Fife should be the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.\nThis season Fife helped shut down Iowa's Luke Recker and Illinois' Cory Bradford. What's surprising has been Fife's offensive breakout this season, which is the result of a lot of shooting practice this past summer. Fife had a career-high 20 points against Illinois Jan. 26, hitting 6-of-7 three-pointers and fueling an 88-57 victory. He's averaging 9.1 points per game.\nOdle found his niche in the offense this season as well. He has become a starter after coming off the bench for his first three years. He has been a consistent scorer for the Hoosiers, especially early in games when IU looks for easy buckets in the paint.\nBefore this season Odle had six career starts, but this season, he started 14 Big Ten games. He has also scored more points this year (234) than he had in his previous three seasons combined (228). This season, he averages nine points per game.\nThe Hoosiers' two seniors have had different careers, but on Senior Day, they will be going for something that has eluded them both since they arrived at IU. The best Odle and Fife have ever finished in the Big Ten is 10-6, and they have never even contested for a league crown late in the season.\nOpportunities have passed them by this season, but the two still can leave their mark on IU Saturday.\n"I've been here for four years and really haven't won anything, and I want something to show for myself when I get out of here," Odle said. "I want to go home and be able to say we won a Big Ten championship. I think we are in the best spot we can be in."\nThis will be the last stand for Fife and Odle, and their teammates aim to give them a win for their last home game.\n"At this point, we may not be able to take out our seniors with a regular-season Big Ten championship," Hornsby said. "But we're definitely going to take them out with a win on senior night"
(02/27/02 6:32am)
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- This time it wasn't a second-half collapse and foul trouble for the Hoosiers' best player that did IU in. And it wasn't even close enough for the Hoosiers to have a last-second shot to send the game into overtime. But IU had its chances.\nInstead the only constant the last two games for the Hoosiers is they have found another way to drop another game they desperately needed and could have won.\nThe Hoosiers had to spend most of the evening in rally mode and drew close a couple of times to Illinois in the second half. But with Jared Jeffries shut down and the Hoosiers wasting several possessions to get closer or even grab a lead, No. 15 Illinois got past No. 25 IU 70-62 in front of 16,500 fans on senior night at Assembly Hall.\nThe Hoosiers (18-10, 10-5 Big Ten) have now lost four of their last seven conference games and find themselves knotted in a four-way tie with the Illini (22-7, 10-5), No. 18 Ohio State and Wisconsin for first place in the Big Ten. Illinois has now won seven straight.\nThe four-team tie was caused by Michigan State, who knocked off the Buckeyes 81-76 in Columbus, Ohio, last night.\nIn his final game at Assembly Hall, Frank Williams had a game-high 24 points while Kyle Hornsby led the Hoosiers with 13. Jeffries played 29 minutes and just 11 in the second half. He finished with three points and six turnovers. Davis said after the game that Jeffries' sore right ankle hampered him.\nThe loss comes at a bad time and is the second close call for the Hoosiers as they try to win their first conference title since 1993. IU blew a 16-point first half lead Sunday and lost to the Spartans 57-54 in East Lansing with Jeffries saddled by foul trouble throughout. \nTuesday was another blown chance.\n"Maybe we lost that opportunity tonight," Davis said of winning the Big Ten.\nHornsby doesn't like the idea of sharing a title that the Hoosiers have now had more than one opportunity to keep to themselves.\n"That takes a little bit out of it," Hornsby said. "Sharing with three or four teams takes a little luster out of it. I'll take it right now, though."\nThe Hoosiers had to struggle for most of the game because point guard Tom Coverdale was in foul trouble early. Davis said the lack of another ball handler inhibited IU's offense as the Hoosiers scored just 24 first-half points, their fifth worst output in the first half all season. IU was down 36-24 at halftime.\nAt times Davis turned to Jeffries to run the point, but Brian Cook forced Jeffries into several turnovers and shut him down, something Davis said couldn't be done.\n"I heard (Davis), and it gave me a lot of motivation," Cook said. "It had me pumped up all week. I knew that if we took him out of it, (Illinois head coach Bill Self) said they're a pretty average team. I was just trying to make other people beat us."\nIU had a chance early in the second half to get close for the first time since being tied at 9-9 early on. The Hoosiers were down 36-31 two minutes into the half. Three turnovers and four missed field goals along with an intentional foul on Dane Fife led to a big Illinois run that put IU down 49-35 with just under 11 minutes left.\nDavis didn't help his team by picking up a technical foul with 10:51 left and the Hoosiers down 47-35. Williams hit the two free throws, and the Illini were up 14.\nBut IU would use a 9-2 run to get back in the game, and eventually the Hoosiers found themselves down 57-53 with the ball and 2:39 left after a goal tend by Jeff Newton.\nWilliams fouled Coverdale with 2:14 left, and as Coverdale was on his way to the free throw line for a one-and-one, IU assistant coach Ben McDonald was called for a technical foul for standing up on the bench. Davis was upset, pointing at several Illinois players who were also standing.\n"He stood up. Donnie Gray called it," Davis said. "You can't stand up in the Big Ten."\nCook hit both free throws, and Coverdale missed the his front end of the one-and-one. After Cook scored again, the Illini had a 61-53 lead with just 1:35 remaining.\n"Those were certainly beneficial to us," Self said of the technical fouls. "This is an emotional game. The stakes are so high."\nThe physical game was in sharp contrast to the Jan. 26 contest between the two teams when IU used a Big Ten-record 17 three pointers to whip the Illini 88-57 in Bloomington.\n"It was big, just to come out here and play Indiana," Williams said. "I don't think it was a revenge game. We just know those guys kicked us very hard. It was an intense game."\nAfterwards Davis said he was proud of his players for their grit and staying in the game. But Hornsby said the technical fouls were deflating and helped the Hoosiers blow another opportunity to keep a title they could have had to themselves.\n"It kind of takes the wind out of you," Hornsby said. "About midway through the (second) half I thought, 'We're going to pull this out. We're going to win.' We got it to within two, and it went downhill from there"
(02/26/02 6:05am)
Much has changed for No. 15 Illinois since the Illini were buried by the prolific three-point shooting of the Hoosiers when No. 25 IU beat them 88-57 Jan. 26 at Assembly Hall in Bloomington. And for the Hoosiers, for that matter.\nIllinois (21-7, 9-5 Big Ten) found itself two games behind IU and Ohio State for first place in the Big Ten after losing to the Hoosiers in January. The Illini had opened their Big Ten season by losing two of their first three games.\nAfter a long road to getting back in the race for the league crown, which Illinois was supposed to be in all season, the Illini have a chance to draw even with the Hoosiers at Assembly Hall in Champaign, Ill. at 7 p.m.\nThe turn around for the Illini began with the return of Lucas Johnson and Damir Krupalija from injuries. More bodies gave Bill Self more options, and the two came back in time for the first meeting between the two teams.\n"The main thing is they got some people healed," Purdue coach Gene Keady said. "It was a situation that when they got their full team healthy, they were able to substitute like they like to. When they have their full complement of players, they're a top 10 team in the nation."\nAfter the loss to the Hoosiers, Illinois dropped its next two games before ripping off six straight coming into tonight. While the Illini have been helped by the return of Johnson and Krupalija, Frank Williams has reasserted himself as one of the nation's best guards.\nLast week Williams was co-Big Ten Player of the Week, helping to silence the doubters who have questioned his desire to win this season.\n"It wasn't a health issue, except (Williams) kept saying he was run down and tired," Self said. "He just kept saying 'I don't have any energy.' The media kind of got after him a little bit. Maybe in a weird way, that was a positive for him. I know it was to our whole team because we all took offense to it."\nWilliams is leading the Illini with 16 points and four assists per game. Before this season, Williams, a redshirt junior, said he will bypass his senior season next year for the NBA. Self said that making the decision early only helped Williams this season.\n"He made it clear this would be his last year," Self said. "I'm not that thrilled about Frank leaving and making that decision, but in a weird way, it helped it with recruiting. The biggest upside on Frank announcing early is that he didn't have to deal with any questions any time anyone interviewed him."\nMeanwhile the Hoosiers have overachieved this season, never falling more than a game out of first place and holding first place by themselves Sunday before they fell at Michigan State, 57-54.\nIU's star, Jared Jeffries, has said he will wait until the end of the season to decide what he will do about the NBA and his future. At the same time, he has had to deal with a thigh contusion and a sprained ankle this month. Sunday he was limited due to foul trouble.\nMike Davis said the Hoosiers need Jeffries to have a big game tonight. Although the Illini have some size upfront in Robert Archibald and Brian Cook, Davis said he doesn't think Illinois can matchup with Jeffries, who had 13 points and 11 rebounds in the first game.\n"If Jared Jeffries is not in the game, we're a below average team. We have to have Jeffries on the floor to be a very good basketball team," Davis said. "I don't think anyone on Illinois can match up with him."\nAfter Williams, Cook, Archibald and Cory Bradford all average between 10 and 13 points per game, giving Illinois the same type of balance the Hoosiers have. Bradford and Williams combined for just 15 points in the first meeting with IU.\nThe Hoosiers weren't supposed to beat Illinois the first time, let alone by 31 points. Tonight will be senior night for Williams, Archibald, Bradford, Johnson and Krupalija. Davis said his team will need another performance like the one that saw them hit 17 three-pointers in the first meeting, a Big Ten record. \nRecords might not be needed, but the Hoosiers will have to step up with the conference title on the line this week and Illinois playing some of its best basketball of the year. Davis said his team has stepped up all year and he expects the same thing tonight. "I think my guys really over-achieved this year," Davis said. "It makes you feel good going into a game knowing that your team is going to play hard for you"
(02/20/02 6:21am)
Jarrad Odle said a few weeks ago that after three years of mediocre finishes, he wants to win something in his senior season at IU.\nThis is probably why Dane Fife left Michigan, to play in games like these for the Hoosiers. And this type of late-season showdown is probably why Jared Jeffries turned down every school in America to stay in Bloomington and play at IU.\nThis used to happen a lot more often for the Hoosiers, but not recently. But this season it is happening, and tonight might be the most important Big Ten game for IU in nearly a decade. Tonight the No. 22 Hoosiers get a second crack at No. 19 Ohio State at 7 p.m. in Assembly Hall. \nAnd once again, sole possession of first place in the Big Ten is on the line, with both teams having three games left in the regular season after tonight. IU hasn't been in this position since 1993, and that is why Mike Davis knows his team is anxious.\n"I felt the excitement (Sunday) after we won the game against Michigan," Davis said this week. "Our guys are really excited about having the opportunity to play for first place."\nTonight is probably more important for the Hoosiers (17-8, 9-3 Big Ten) because they have already lost to the Buckeyes, falling in Columbus 73-67 Jan. 19. Back then, the teams were tied for the conference lead at 4-0.\nSince then, both teams have faltered at times but have been able to rebound before ever losing more than two games in a row. The Hoosiers suffered their third conference loss last Wednesday against Wisconsin. The Buckeyes (18-5, 9-3) lost at Michigan State Feb. 10 to drop their third league game.\nNot only are the two teams' records similar, but they also have similar styles. Both rely on their guards to create shots and on a trio of forwards to step in and score when necessary. When the Hoosiers look into the mirror, they see some of the same tendencies of the Buckeyes.\n"They're just a very sound basketball team. They're a lot like us," Fife said. "They play together. They look to get the ball inside. They have a little more penetration from their guards."\nThose guards are Brian Brown, who leads the team with nearly 15 points per game, and Brent Darby, who's second on the team with more than 13 points per game. Both guards gave the Hoosiers fits in January.\nIn that game at Value City Arena, Brown and Darby combined for 37 points, but Fife and Kyle Hornsby combined for just nine points on 4-of-11 shooting.\n"We didn't contain them when we needed to," Davis said. "No one has stopped their guards from penetrating the whole year. We had (Tom) Coverdale and Fife pick up two fouls in the first half, and that really hurt us. \n"We had to bring our big guys to help out more, and our guards didn't really seal the other guys off the glass. It was a combination of us not playing really good team defense."\nSimilarities aside, a big difference between the two will be the status of the Hoosiers' star, Jeffries. He was held to just 18 minutes of action Sunday in Ann Arbor, and Davis doesn't see Jeffries playing a full game on that sore right ankle that he hurt against Louisville Feb. 9.\nAgainst Ohio State in January, Jeffries led the Hoosiers with 22 points and 10 rebounds.\n"Hopefully he can go," Davis said. "Against Michigan he was probably about 70 percent, but 70 percent of Jared Jeffries is pretty good. To have him on the court gives our guys confidence. Hopefully he's able to play for 40 minutes (tonight), but as of now it's doubtful."\nBeyond Brown and Darby, the Buckeyes are a relatively young team like the Hoosiers. Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien said he isn't worried that his team will be too anxious before the game. Instead, O'Brien is just pleased to play in such an important game so late in the season.\n"It's not a must-win game, but it's a very important game," O'Brien said. "Hopefully it'll be good. With four games left, you're tied for first. I don't know if you can ask for much more than that. It's right there."\nThe stage was set this weekend. The Buckeyes won at Iowa in the third game of a four-game road swing that concludes tonight. The Hoosiers won at Michigan, 75-55. Both teams say they couldn't hope for a better situation in late February.\n"We want to win out right now. That's all we're thinking," Jeff Newton said. "As long as we take care of our end, we'll be straight for the Big Ten title."\nHoosier fans and players have been waiting for such an important game so late in the season for years. Fife said Sunday this is a special season, with IU playing for a conference championship rather than for a better seeding in the Big Ten Tournament.\nWith three-quarters of the conference season gone, this is all the Hoosiers could ask for -- a shot to own first place by themselves in a game played at Assembly Hall. \n"We wanted to be in the position where we play Ohio State at 9-3 and 9-3," Davis said. "It'll be a big game"
(02/18/02 5:49am)
ANN ARBOR, Mich -- The people in Michigan still haven't forgotten when Dane Fife left Clarkston and, as the state's reigning Mr. Basketball of the 1998 season, chose to play for the Hoosiers. For the past three years, the Crisler Arena fans gave him a hard time, and the fourth time around was no different.\nBut Fife and IU are in a different spot than in the past. In his senior season, Fife is showing the scoring ability that helped him average nearly 26 points per game as a senior at Clarkston High School in Michigan.\nSunday, Fife was 3 of 5 from the field, including 2 of 4 from three-point range. He finished with his highest offensive output at Crisler Arena: eight points.\n"Eight points. Boy, I really lit 'em up," Fife joked after the game. \nFife dealt with a rowdy group of Michigan fans near the court who let him know that they appreciated the efforts of Fife's older brother, Dugan, when the elder was a guard for the Wolverines from 1992-1996.\nBut for Fife, it was wasn't about the eight points or the chants. He is enjoying averaging almost 10 points per game this season, and he is even more pleased with the Hoosiers' conference position this late in the season.\n"We're fighting for a Big Ten championship," Fife said. "That's something we haven't been able to say generally coming into Ann Arbor. This is a very special season for us. That's why we came in and played so hard and played so well."\nFife had been 1-2 at Michigan in his career at IU. The Hoosiers lost in Ann Arbor last year and in three out of their previous four tries. But Sunday IU had more on the line than in the past.\n"It feels good to have to come in here and put up with the junk the students throw out at me," Fife said. "I take it in stride, and we basically came in and got what we wanted out of this."\nFife only had to take five shots partly because Kyle Hornsby and the rest of the Hoosiers were shooting so well. With Hornsby on the outside and Jeff Newton and Jarrad Odle dominating on the inside, the Wolverines were unable to slow IU.\n"I thought Horny did an excellent job of knocking them down," Fife said. "Our whole team did a good job of finding Horny to get him the shots. We were without JJ's offensive game, but our big guys stepped up."\nThe Ankle\nJared Jeffries did not show many signs of limping Sunday in his 18 minutes of action. Besides taking his shoe off on the bench during the game, he did not seem too bothered by the ankle. \nMore than anything, Jeffries was just looking for a chance to play some basketball Sunday, something he hadn't done since he sustained his ankle injury against Louisville Feb. 9 while playing on a bad right thigh.\n"It's sore right now, but I was glad to get a chance to get out there and play a little bit," Jeffries said. "I hadn't played since the Louisville game."\nThe injury couldn't come at a worse time for the Hoosiers, as they are in the middle of their first serious surge at a league crown since 1993. Jeffries thinks he won't miss too much of the final push.\n"Hopefully I can kind of get through it here and there. I may be healed up completely in about two and a half weeks," Jeffries said. "It's been a week now, so probably another week, week and a half and I'll be all right."
(02/15/02 5:52am)
Things were already going pretty bad for Tommy Amaker and his Michigan Wolverines. They had struggled after a 3-3 start in the conference, but after a tough loss to Illinois and a victory over Penn State last week, the Wolverines seemed to be getting things together.\nThat changed this week. The strain of four games in seven days caught up to Michigan (10-13, 5-7 Big Ten), who dropped an overtime game at Colorado State Monday before getting whipped at Purdue Wednesday, 79-43.\nAmaker said the game with the Rams was going to be played some time in December, but Michigan instead elected to play in the Pete Newell Challenge. That resulted in a 55-47 loss to San Francisco, and the Wolverines still had to play Colorado State, resulting in a hectic schedule this week.\n"We inherited that the fact that we owed a game at Colorado State. It was talked about being played some time in December," Amaker said this week. "This was the only date that worked out for both teams that was fair."\nAmaker said having to travel to Colorado to start the week didn't exactly help his team prepare for the rest of the week, which included the Purdue game and Sunday's 1 p.m. contest with No. 22 IU (16-8, 8-3) at Crisler Arena.\n"It cuts down on our preparation time, which we normally like to have two days for each game,\" Amaker said.\nThe trip also took its toll on the players during the Purdue game, when Michigan shot just 24 percent from the field. The Boilermakers ended the first half on a 32-9 run to take over the game.\nThe Wolverines attempted a school-record 32 three pointers but made only six and just 14 field goals overall.\nJunior forward LaVell Blanchard continues to lead the Wolverines in scoring with 14.7 points per game to go along with his 6.7 rebounds. Bernard Robinson Jr. is averaging just less than 12 points per game.\nAs much as Michigan would like to use Sunday as an opportunity to get back on track to salvage its season, the Hoosiers need to win to gather themselves after a 64-63 loss to Wisconsin at Assembly Hall Wednesday night.\nIU enters the weekend in a first place tie with Ohio State. IU Coach Mike Davis has always talked about taking care of home games as a necessity if the Hoosiers want to win the conference title. Now that IU has faltered at Assembly Hall for the first time this season, the Hoosiers have to make up the loss on the road.\n"We have to regroup," Davis said after the loss to the Badgers. "Hopefully we can go to Michigan and play better." \nThe Wolverines are just interested in getting through this season with a respectable record. Amaker isn't used to losing, having come through the Duke program first as a player and then as an assistant coach.\nNow that Amaker is on his own at his second program after having left Seton Hall last spring, he still keeps some of the lessons Mike Krzyzewski taught him as a Blue Devil.\n"The biggest piece of advice he gave me and I'm sure he will give a lot of his former players and other friends in the coaching profession is to be yourself," Amaker said. "I've always taken that to heart in a great way. That was the biggest piece of advice and the last piece of advice he gave me in terms of when I first left to became a head coach. That gave me confidence."\nDavis can understand Amaker's pains as Amaker tries to get through this difficult week. Davis said the Hoosiers needed to win both games this week, but now IU has to settle for a shot at one victory.\n"Seems like every week is a big week for us," Davis said.
(02/13/02 5:52am)
The pieces of the puzzle are beginning to fall into place. The stars are aligned at just the right time. And so on.\nIn other words, as the second week of February in the Big Ten begins, the No. 22 Hoosiers are in first place, by themselves, and in control of their future.\nThat future becomes the present starting tonight. After fighting past Louisville Saturday, IU begins its final six games of the regular season tonight when it faces Wisconsin at Assembly Hall at 8 p.m.\nThere will be no more out of conference games, and the Hoosiers (16-7, 8-2) wouldn't want it any other way. They appear ready to make one final run at what Mike Davis has been talking about since the first week of January: a Big Ten Championship.\n"I don't know that we can play it any better than we are," Davis said. "If you peak, it better be at a level where you can maintain. Where we are is very good as a basketball team.\n"We've maxed it out."\nAfter surviving a rugged game with the Cardinals Saturday at Assembly Hall, IU got a big favor from Michigan State when the Spartans knocked off Ohio State at the Breslin Center Sunday afternoon, leaving the Hoosiers in first place in the Big Ten by themselves.\nThe play of IU has not gone unnoticed. The Hoosiers have ascended into both polls, and Jarrad Odle became the third IU player to be named Big Ten Player of the Week this season. Suddenly, the Hoosiers are the favorites to win the conference.\nBo Ryan knows it and the Wisconsin (14-11, 7-5) coach doesn't know where to begin when trying to defend the inside-out game that IU possesses.\n"Pick your poison. When they're clicking, the outside can come and go, the inside stays fairly steady," Ryan said. "All you can do is disrupt the rhythm. They're good on the offense."\nIt might be hard for the Badgers to slow down the Hoosiers' offense, considering that Wisconsin is giving up nearly 66 points per game, up from the 56 the Badgers were allowing per game last year.\nBeyond IU's strong offensive production through shooting, Ryan also worries about the Hoosiers' defense. Wisconsin is scoring more than it has in the past, but that could suffer against Davis' aggressive man-to-man defense.\n"We try to get into you and play you as hard as we can. Every shot you take, we make sure we contest it high and hard," Davis said. "We want to block out and limit you to one shot.\n"We have Jeff Newton and Jared Jeffries who can match up with anyone in the country when it comes to inside-out. That hurts a lot of teams." \nThat is what Ryan is worried about more so than Kyle Hornsby, Dane Fife and Tom Coverdale hitting from the outside. With Newton, Odle and Jeffries down low, the Hoosiers have been getting numerous second chances in the last few games.\n"The other part is when they shoot from the perimeter and they get the rebound," Ryan said. "Jeffries, Newton and Odle, they're so active on the offensive boards, they can turn a missed three into a three-point play."\nJeffries has been battling a contusion on his upper right leg for the past week, but should play. Davis said even if Jeffries is limited in what he can do, the Hoosiers have enough firepower to make up for his absence.\n"We never put limits on our guys. When they focus on Jeffries, that's when Newton and Odle have had more opportunities," Davis said.\nTonight marks the conclusion of a three-game home stand for the Hoosiers. After a visit to Michigan this weekend, IU has a showdown with Ohio State at home before road games at Michigan State and No. 14 Illinois.\nWhile the Badgers battle to get a decent shot at a spot in the NCAA Tournament, IU has a different agenda. There's no better time than tonight to start a final push toward the Hoosiers' first conference title since 1993.\n"We're right where we want to be," Odle said.
(02/11/02 5:55am)
Reece Gaines is a pure scorer. That was obvious enough going into Saturday's game. In Louisville's previous two games, Gaines had 30 points against South Florida and followed that with 37 against Saint Louis.\nSaturday Gaines led his team in scoring again with 17 points, but that was on 6-of-19 shooting from the floor that included 1 for 9 from three-point range. Gaines hit double figures, but Coach Rick Pitino commended the Hoosiers defense for its ability to slow Gaines down.\n"You can't stop Reece Gaines or any other great scorer from scoring," Pitino said. "If you're playing great defense you get them to shoot a low percentage because scorers always take a lot of shots. So you have to give them the credit. \n"It's good defense. That's why he shot a low percentage. You have to give all the credit to IU."\nEarly on it looked as if Gaines would have a field day after Dane Fife picked up his second foul less than seven minutes into the game. A.J. Moye stepped in though to help out on Gaines, who came in averaging more than 21 points per game.\nFife took over in the second half, frustrating Gaines at times into taking shots he probably didn't want to take.\n"We had him scouted pretty well. We contested most of his shots," Fife said. "I think he was more worried about lighting me up in a one-on-one game than playing within the team and focusing on what he had to do to beat us. I think we really got into his head."\nAt times Fife and Gaines looked to be talking to each other on the court. Fife said he started talking once Gaines did, but Gaines said there was nothing said.\n"There was no personal interaction. I just missed wide open shots," Gaines said. "He did a good job playing defense, I guess, but I just missed wide open shots."\nThe Hoosiers might not have taken Gaines away completely, but they did enough to disrupt the flow of the rest of the Cardinals' offense. With Gaines being hounded, Louisville had trouble finding another scorer, which has been a problem for them this season. For the game Louisville shot just over 36 percent from the floor.\n"I think we put too much on Reece's shoulders. We expect him to score 30 points a night," Bryant Northern said. "Teams are just really looking to stop Reece. (We're) just going one-on-one too early in the offense."\nThe Cardinals lost to Saint Louis Wednesday night, 67-64. Northern said the Hoosiers probably played more physical after seeing what the Bilikens did to Louisville Wednesday.\n"I think they saw the St. Louis tape," Northern said. "I think a lot of teams are going to play us physical like that."\nInjuries, Injuries\nSince the start of the season the Hoosiers haven't had to deal with too many injuries -- until now.\nJared Jeffries had to leave Saturday's game for six minutes of the first half when he aggravated his right thigh contusion after a collision under the basket following a Luke Whitehead dunk. Jeffries finished the game, playing 32 minutes and scoring 11 points and grabbing nine rebounds.\nA.J. Moye went down at the mid-court stripe after a collision with Ellis Myles at the 7:56 mark of the second half. Moye was motionless for a minute, but walked off the court to the end of the bench. He did not re-enter the game, finishing with six points and four rebounds in 20 minutes.\nJarrad Odle also had a bruise on his left thigh that required some ice after the game. All in all, it was a rugged afternoon, but nothing too serious.\n"I think everybody's alright," Tom Coverdale said.\nFree throws\nLouisville's youth showed not only in their poor shot selection, but also at the free throw line. The Cardinals hit just 10 of 19 free throw attempts while IU hit 20 of their 23 free throws.\nWith 5:36 left, Gaines stepped to the line shooting two and Louisville down just eight. Gaines missed both, starting a stretch to end the game where the Cardinals missed nine of 14 free throws that could have kept them in the game.\n"It's not difficult (to watch) because we've lost so many games. I just go home and want to kill myself," Pitino joked. "It's not unusual for us. That's every night. It's nothing Prozac won't cure."\nA new rivalry\nPitino is thrilled to get back to playing IU, something he did every year when he was coaching Kentucky. Saturday marked the first game in the renewal of what should become one of the better regional rivalries in college basketball.\nHe would like his team to be more competitive in the future, but Pitino is content to be part of the rivalry for now.\n"I think this is going to be a great rivalry," Pitino said. "Hopefully we'll catch up to them in a hurry because they come back to Freedom Hall next year"
(02/08/02 5:55am)
Rick Pitino isn't afraid to throw the word around that strikes fear in basketball fans, especially at a basketball school that expects excellence.\nRebuilding.\nPitino has kept that in mind as he has coached Louisville this season. After a 10-1 start, the Cardinals hit a wall after an 82-62 loss at Kentucky Dec. 29. A stretch of inconsistent play followed and Louisville will come into Assembly Hall tomorrow to take on the Hoosiers having lost five of their last seven games.\nBut for Pitino that's expected, especially when you're rebuilding and the Cardinals have had to hit the road after spending the early part of the season on the road.\n"There's no such thing as a winnable game on the road for a rebuilding program," Pitino said. "Every game is a winnable game at home and every win on the road is an upset. That's how I have always looked at it."\nThis season the Cardinals (13-8, 4-6 C-USA) have lost five of their six road games and Saturday's game marks the start of a three-game road trip. In the middle of the conference season, Louisville will need every quality win it can manage to position itself for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.\nPitino has been here before, leading a little known Providence team to the Final Four in 1986 and rebuilding a Kentucky program in the early 1990s that was under probation when he got there.\nThe only place Pitino hasn't had success rebuilding was with the Celtics in the NBA. He had total control over personnel, but could not win. Now he finds himself at the other big time program in the state of Kentucky and with plenty of work to do.\nAlready, Pitino has been compared to John Calipari and what he did at Memphis over the past year. Both left for the NBA only to comeback to the college ranks. Calipari has Memphis on the national scene in his second season with the Tigers. Pitino doesn't see so much success in the Cardinals' near future.\n"I think we're just a little further behind than Memphis right now," Pitino said. "I think we're a year or so behind that process."\nOne person that has tried to speed up the process has been Reece Gaines, who is averaging more than 21 points per game in his junior season. Gaines typifies the Cardinals' attack, which is quick and likes to shoot three-pointers. He had 37 in a 67-64 loss to St. Louis Thursday at Louisville. \n"Their guys will come down and shoot the three off the first catch," Coach Mike Davis said. "Their big guys are strong and athletic. They play hard. It will be a tough game."\nGaines' play has made the recent losses more bearable for Pitino. Losses aside, Pitino says his team has made great strides since the start of the season.\n"I've seen great improvement in the last two weeks. At the beginning of the year there was tremendous fire but the execution was not there, which is what you expect from a first year team with all new players," Pitino said. "But in the last two weeks, our execution, on both ends of the floor has been significantly better."\nGaines is not alone. Luke Whitehead, a sophomore forward, is scoring nearly 11 points per game in the frontcourt and grabbing more than six rebounds per game. Erik Brown and Ellis Myles have also been consistent scorers for Louisville.\nBut Pitino doesn't have the depth his great Kentucky teams of the mid-90s had. He has had to adjust his game plan since Carlos Hurt suffered an injury and freshman forward Brandon Bender left the team in January.\n"We're going to have to play a lot of people for the rest of the season to stay out of foul trouble and to get people breaks since we are undermanned," Pitino said.\nAt such a critical time for the Cardinals, they probably don't want to have to face a team like IU, especially on the road. But Pitino knows this is part of the process if a team wants to get respect, especially if the team is rebuilding.\n"Although two (of the last three games) were losses, they were three of the better games of the season," Pitino said. "This is the part of the season you want to see that. When teams are evaluated come NCAA Tournament time, one of the things they are evaluated on is how they play at the end of the season."\nTalking this week about his schedule, Pitino pointed to this game as an example of how to get respect not only from the tournament selection committee, but also from the Louisville fan base.\nHe did it at Providence and he did it at Kentucky, advancing to two straight title games while winning it all in 1996. That's the pinnacle, but baby steps come first for Pitino and Louisville. It's all part of rebuilding.\n"That's why I booked Indiana," Pitino said. "It's a big game"
(02/07/02 5:41am)
Mike Davis was still looking for a consistent scorer to complement Jared Jeffries and Tom Coverdale when the Big Ten season started. Davis also needed a second frontcourt player to help Jeffries in the paint.\n"I challenged Jarrad Odle before the Big Ten season began," Davis said. \nBut Odle could only do so much from his spot on the bench and not in the starting lineup. His chance would come, though, right as the Big Ten season began. Literally, right when the Big Ten season began for IU.\nIn the conference opener at Northwestern, George Leach hurt his ankle on the opening tip. Odle came off the bench to spark the Hoosiers to a 59-44 victory, getting 16 points and 15 rebounds, both career-highs.\nOdle said he hasn't changed anything in particular from early in his career but was glad to see his time come.\n"I don't think anything specifically changed," he said. "I kind of focused on my game a little bit more and figured some things out that I needed to do to get the team rolling a little better.\n"I think we're all starting to learn our roles." \nFor Odle, that role has been to be a consistent rebounder and score when he is able to. Through 10 Big Ten games, Odle is averaging 9.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and has started the last nine games for IU (15-7, 8-2), seven of which have been victories.\nBefore this season, Odle had started six games in his career and only one in the Big Ten. The most points Odle had averaged in season was the 3.4 points he averaged last year. That kind of production wasn't what Odle had in mind, especially for a guy who led the state of Indiana in scoring his junior season at Oak Hill High School with 29.4 points per game. That beat out another Indiana prep that season named Luke Recker.\nTo come to IU and be relegated to the bench was hard for Odle. He found solace in his parents, Gary and Beccie, who were back in Odle's hometown of Swayzee, Ind.\n"My mom and my dad have been very supportive and been super proud of me whether I've played minutes or whether I didn't play minutes," Odle said. "It's always nice to call home and talk to somebody who really cares about you no matter what you're doing on the basketball court.\n"Our relationship has gotten a lot closer in the last four years. I think that's another bright spot out of coming here."\nA big-time player in high school, Odle did have opportunities to go to other schools throughout the Midwest. But he said transferring never crossed his mind.\n"I think this was the place for me. I don't think there was ever any doubt. I know I'm not going to be a superstar," Odle said. "I felt this was the best fit, the teammates, the coaches. Everything seemed to really fit my lifestyle and personality."\nOdle began to break through at the end of last season, with a solid performance in IU's upset victory against Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament. He had five points and seven rebounds in a career-high 29 minutes. \nThat performance led Davis to believe Odle could be a factor for the Hoosiers, but only if he worked hard to makeup for his lack of the natural athleticism that is needed in Davis' system, which sometimes calls for quickness over power.\n"He has to work hard because he doesn't have the ability some players do," Davis said. "He has to be in the right position all the time."\nOdle, who goes 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds, agreed. He has gone up against the likes of Brian Cook and Reggie Evans, two of the best big men in the league and the country. Against Evans Tuesday night, Odle had 13 points and 12 rebounds while Evans had just eight points. IU beat the Hawkeyes, 79-51.\nA big thing has been Odle's willingness to work on the blocks. Because he has good footwork and attacks the basket at good angles, he almost always has proper positioning when he gets inside. \n"That's just being aware of the game and educated of the game," Odle said. "With my size and my stature, I sometimes get overwhelmed by the other guys, so I have to do little things to be able to compete and be successful.\n"(Coach Davis) basically just set me down and told me I had to do the things I did in the Big Ten Tournament last year. If I could do that, he would put me on the court as much as possible and give me the opportunity to play."\nOdle has capitalized on the opportunity and has not let go of his starting spot since he started against Penn State Jan. 5. Since he started that game, the Hoosiers are 7-2.\n"He's been the difference for us," Coverdale said. \nNow that the frustration of having to watch from the bench is gone, Odle is enjoying his senior season as the co-captain of a team that is in the hunt for its first conference title since 1993. Although it is nice to have reached some personal goals, Odle prefers to focus on the team and do something he has yet to accomplish at IU.\n"I've been here for four years and really haven't won anything, and I want something to show for myself when I get out of here," Odle said. "I want to go home and be able to say we won a Big Ten championship. I think we are in the best spot we can be in.\n"In the end, it's all worked out"
(02/06/02 6:11am)
By the time the Hoosiers were wrapping up a 79-51 win against Iowa last night in Assembly Hall, the man of the hour couldn't be found on the floor.\nAfter a long and frustrating evening of being hounded by Dane Fife, Kyle Hornsby and most of the 17,456 fans, Luke Recker was buried in the middle of the Iowa bench. With just eight points to his credit, the former Hoosier standout watched as IU put the finishing touches on its 28-point victory.\nThe win moves the Hoosiers (15-7, 8-2) back within one-half of a game of conference-leading Ohio State with the Buckeyes opening a four-game road trip at Wisconsin tonight. The Hawkeyes (15-9, 4-6) have now lost five of their last seven games. Two of those losses have been to IU. \nInstead of Recker playing well, it was one of his former teammates that stole the show. Jarrad Odle, who has been solid throughout the Big Ten season, had 11 first half points before finishing with 13 points and 12 rebounds. \nEqually important were the four fouls he picked up while holding Reggie Evans to just eight points. Evans came in averaging nearly 17 points per game.\n"To come in here and not let him get a double-double really takes a lot of effort and a lot of pride," Odle said. "I didn't want him to come in here and walk all over me. The coaches put a challenge on the table for me to come out tonight and do what I did."\nHornsby had a team-high 15 points. Jared Jeffries had 13 and Tom Coverdale and Fife each had 11. The eight points by both Recker and Evans led the Hawkeyes in their worst loss of the season.\nOdle had just four points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 88-74 loss at Minnesota, but was able to bounce back Tuesday night and set the tone early for IU.\n"He probably took the Minnesota loss harder than anybody," Coverdale said of Odle. "The coaches bounced back and gave him a tough challenge to guard Evans. He stepped up and, I thought, outplayed one of the better big men in the Big Ten."\nWith so much attention on Recker, the Hoosiers jumped to a 40-21 lead at halftime. Much like the first time these two teams met, Recker was held in check in the first half with just three points. IU won on Jan. 13, 77-66 when Recker had just two first half points.\nOdle only had four points that Sunday afternoon, but stepped up Tuesday night against a bigger player in Evans, who has 13 double-doubles this season.\n"Tonight he came out with a lot of energy. To me he was the player of the game," Mike Davis said. "He was great on the offensive boards. We needed that."\nWith Recker and forward Evans both on the bench in the second half, Iowa managed to narrow the gap to 56-41 with just over nine minutes left.\n"I was pleased with the reserves. We got it back to 15," Alford said. "We brought the starters back and it was back to 22 before I could sub."\nTwo three-pointers each by Hornsby and Coverdale put the game out of reach.\nA big reason why IU managed to keep the lead was another terrific defensive effort. The Hawkeyes shot under 33 percent from the field for the game and hit 5-of-14 three point shots.\n"We held them to 51 points. If you can do that to a team, you are going to win a lot of ballgames," Odle said.\nIowa is now 1-7 when it scores less than 70 points and the 51 the Hawkeyes scored last night was their second-lowest point total of the season.\n"Indiana plays hard defensively, and they really get you out of your motion and out of sync offensively," Recker said. "They did that and they were able to attack us offensively."\nWhile the fans were attached to Recker's every move, the Hoosiers held all of the Hawkeyes in check.\n"It wasn't about Recker, it was about us going out and making it tough on all of their players," Davis said. "I thought defensively we played great."\nWith the crowd heckling Recker whenever he touched the ball, the Hoosiers stormed out to an 11-2 lead not even four minutes into the game. The only Hawkeye basket came from Recker on a left-handed layup in the lane.\nIowa pulled to within four two minutes later, but would get no closer the rest of the game.\nWhile the hype surrounded Recker's return, the Hoosiers managed to stay focused enough to win their eighth conference game in ten tries.\nIn the end they didn't have to worry about that guy buried in the middle of the Iowa bench.\n"I think the fans took it to heart a little more than we did," Odle said. "It's just another guy with another uniform on."\nEspecially when he's on the bench.
(02/05/02 5:57am)
This was supposed to be it for Luke Recker. \nThis season was going to be the one where Recker would lead Iowa to the top of the Big Ten. With Reggie Evans, one of the top players in the country, the Hawkeyes had the perfect inside-out game. \nThis would be Recker's first full season of college basketball since 1999, when he was a sophomore at IU and averaged 16.1 points and four rebounds per game.\nLast year was actually supposed to be his rebirth, but by the time Recker had the Hawkeyes on the move in the Big Ten, he suffered a broken kneecap against the Hoosiers on Jan. 27, 2001. While Iowa moved on to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Recker once again waited for his chance.That chance was supposed to be this season.\n"I'm very excited about the prospects. Obviously I would like a storybook ending," Recker said in October. "I just want to get through the year, first of all, healthy, which I don't think will be a problem."\nRecker and Steve Alford have gotten their wish. Recker has had no serious injuries that have kept him out for any considerable time. But that hasn't translated to the winning that was expected.\nTonight Recker leads the Hawkeyes against the Hoosiers at Assembly Hall, the first time he will be a visitor in the building. As much as IU needs a win to stay with Ohio State atop the Big Ten, Iowa needs the win to stay afloat.\nIowa began the season 12-3, including an impressive 83-65 win at then-No. 2 Missouri. Recker had a career-high 31 points and was named Big Ten Player-of-the-Week. The win knocked the Hawkeyes to No. 12 in the polls. They would get to No. 9 a week later before they fell apart.\nFollowing a conference opening win against Wisconsin, the Hawkeyes (15-8, 4-5) lost five of their next seven to fall into a three-way tie for sixth place in the league with Illinois and Michigan. The Hawkeyes have also fallen out of the polls and have gone 0-4 on the road in the Big Ten.\n"The first year we've had the bull's-eye on our chest. This is not an easy league to play on the road," Alford said. "Our league is a lot like a lot of leagues, there's a lot of parity. There are a lot of teams that have a lot of losses in league play much more than usual."\nIowa's 77-66 loss Jan. 13 to IU in Iowa City started a three-game losing streak for the Hawkeyes that included a 13-point loss at Northwestern.\nAs Iowa has struggled, so has Recker. He is averaging 17.7 points to lead the conference in scoring and four rebounds per game, but he has come up short in big games. He was held to 12 against the Hoosiers last month and at Illinois he had 16 points in an 11-point loss to the Illini. In Big Ten games only, Recker's average has slipped to under 16 points per game. He averaged more as a sophomore at IU.\nAgainst Michigan State last month Alford had Ryan Hogan start at shooting guard and had Recker come off the bench after he had just eight points in the loss to the Wildcats.\n"Everyone had to understand their role and they did," Alford said. "It isn't easy to take players out of the game when they make mistakes, but that's what we needed, so I hope we got their attention."\nIn his first shot against his old team this season, Recker got Dane Fife to commit two early fouls, but could not get on track against Kyle Hornsby. Recker shot 5-of-13 from the field including 2-of-6 from three-point land.\nHe sparked a quick burst at the start of the second half, but Recker and the Hawkeyes never got closer than five. Still, Mike Davis is wary of Iowa.\n"I think Iowa and Illinois still have more talent than anyone in this league. Iowa is so good, I'm worried about them," Davis said.\nNow Recker returns to IU to play in front of fans that were not exactly thrilled by his departure after the 1998-99 season. A regular season conference championship is quickly slipping from Recker's grasp. And suddenly, in a year where Recker was lined up to possibly be the conference's Player of the Year, a sophomore forward from IU has himself in position to win the award.\nThe Hawkeyes are likely headed for the NCAA Tournament, and it probably won't take a miracle run in the Big Ten Tournament like it did last year. And this year, as the regular season winds down, Recker is on the floor for the first time since 1999.\nMuch like the pattern of his career overall, the beginning of this season was pretty good for Recker, the middle has been rough and now Recker has a chance to take control of the end of it. Iowa will need him to.\n"He's been through a lot," Alford said. "We need him to contribute on both ends of the floor and he has to let his playing take care of itself"
(01/30/02 5:02am)
The Big Ten Freshman of the Year is supposed to play this good. But sometimes people don't expect Jared Jeffries to be good at so many different things.\nJeffries is leading the league and the Hoosiers (13-6, 6-1) in scoring as of the start of the week with 19.7 points per game. The sophomore forward is also second in the league averaging 8.7 rebounds per game.\nMore than his statistics, Jeffries has opened up more opportunities for his teammates. That was the case Saturday when the Hoosiers hit a school and conference record 17 three-pointers to blowout No. 12 Illinois, 88-57. With the Illini collapsing on Jeffries, Tom Coverdale, Dane Fife and Kyle Hornsby buried open shots.\nMore than anything, the 6-foot-10, 215 pound Jeffries' versatility has been praised by opposing coaches, some of whom have to face Jeffries and the Hoosiers again this season.\n"He's the only player in the Big Ten that can play all five positions. He's very hard to match up with," Iowa coach Steve Alford said. "He's a defensive presence. He can just hurt you in a lot of different ways. He's played unselfishly and moved the ball around."\nPlaying with Kirk Haston last season, Jeffries was the second option. Mike Davis and teammates said Jeffries has hesitated in the past to take charge of the Hoosiers, but now that tentativeness is gone.\n"There are not very many sophomores out there with a veteran ballclub that can get everyone to rally around you and yet you let them be themselves," Illinois coach Bill Self said. "I thought he was good last year, but I don't think his confidence level (was the same) or that he carried himself the same way. \n"He acts like he's been there before and like it's his game. That's what great players do."\nPenn State coach Jerry Dunn probably knows more than anyone else in the Big Ten about how Jeffries can hurt opposing teams in different ways. Jeffries poured in 15 first half points against the Nittany Lions last week, then absorbed the defense in the second half and the Hoosiers' outside shooting finished off Penn State, 85-51.\n"He raises the level of everyone on his team," Dunn said. "He demands an awful lot of attention."\nBUCKEYE UPDATE\nLast night the Illini had a chance to bounce back after what Corey Bradford said was an "embarrassing" loss at IU last Saturday. At the same time, Illinois could have helped the Hoosiers by beating Ohio State Tuesday. Instead, the Illini suffered a second straight double-digit loss, 78-67, in Columbus.\nThe win gives the Buckeyes (16-3, 7-1) a half-game lead over the Hoosiers with the two teams set to play Feb. 20 at Assembly Hall. Some might be surprised that Ohio State and IU are leading the conference, but coaches in the league are not.\n"Some of the media is surprised by Ohio State's record, but I don't know why," Gene Keady said. "They have four starters back. Indiana, we thought they'd be like they are."\nPOLLING\nAfter having several teams splashed throughout the national polls for most of the last several years, the Big Ten has seen the number of conference teams in The Associated Press top 25 drop to two this week -- No. 12 Illinois and No. 25 Ohio State.\nIowa had spent much of the season ranked, but after opening the Big Ten with five losses in eight games, the Hawkeyes (14-8, 3-5) are far from being ranked.\nAt the same time, the Big Ten is getting much respect from the latest RPI Ratings. The Hoosiers have the third-toughest schedule in the country behind Arizona and Kentucky. Illinois is 13th, Purdue 15th and Iowa 16th.\nBACK TO IT\nAfter a week off, defending conference champion Michigan State (11-8, 2-4) will get back on the floor tonight when it hosts Michigan at the Breslin Center. Last week, the Spartans lost a tough game at Iowa, 75-71.\nIn the game, Michigan State was decimated by injuries again. Injuries to Adam Ballinger and Marcus Taylor have forced Spratan freshmen to make 37 starts, which is the highest in the league.\nAdam Wolfe will miss the rest of the season due to a torn hamstring he suffered at Penn State Jan. 19. Wolfe was averaging 9.4 points and five rebounds per game.