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(02/26/02 6:39am)
Sunday's game at Michigan State wasn't a must-win. \nIU lost a 16-point lead, the game and sole possession of first place in the Big Ten. \nTonight's game at Illinois is a must-win. \nIU can't afford anything else if it wants to stabilize chances for its first Big Ten title since 1993. The eternally optimistic Hoosiers have accepted that. Whether they come through on the plan will unfold at 7 tonight in Champaign's Assembly Hall when No. 25 IU and No. 15 Illinois tangle for the second time this season. IU routed the Fighting Illini 88-57 in the first meeting Jan. 26 behind a school, and Big Ten-record, 17 three pointers. \nTonight presents a totally different layout. IU (18-9, 10-4 Big Ten) has gone 3-3 over its last six league games after storming to a 7-1 start and let its stranglehold on the Big Ten champion slip away. Illinois (21-7, 9-5) has surged to fourth place in the league, lived up to pre-season hype and opened the possibility that it could tie for its second consecutive conference crown. \nA rowdy senior night crowd in Champaign and a healthy Illini squad will only add to the hurdle in front of IU. But, per usual, the Hoosiers aren't worried. They're determined.\n"We\'re still in first place," junior guard Kyle Hornsby said. "It's not over. We\'re still playing for the Big Ten championship."\nHornsby was one of the Illini killers in the first meeting, hitting five three pointers. Fellow backcourt mates Tom Coverdale and Dane Fife combined to hit 10 threes, as IU stretched and embarrassed the Illini defense. Since then, coach Bill Self has fixed that problem, as evidenced in Illinois' 56-41 win at Northwestern Saturday. In that game, the Wildcats missed all 17 of their three-point attempts. \nThe Illini defense allows opponents to shoot just 33 percent from the three-point line, fourth in the Big Ten. Since the loss at IU, the Illini have allowed just 5.6 three pointers per game and opponents have shot just 30 percent from the three-point arc. \n"(Illinois) had their hands in our faces," Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said. "We did have some open looks that we missed, but when it's that dismal, you have to give Illinois credit."\nThe improved defense has led to six consecutive wins -- five straight in the Big Ten -- and helped the Illini put consecutive losses to IU, Ohio State and Michigan State behind them. But in the final home game of the season and a surprise crack at a Big Ten crown, it's expected the Illini will remember all 17 of IU's three pointers. \n"Going into the last week of the season, I don't know if (the standings) could be any more crowded," Self said. "We're excited and looking forward to (tonight)."\nDavis said he thinks the affect of IU's thumping of Illinois is "overrated." The schedule, he said, is not. For the second time of the Big Ten season, IU will play two games in three days. The first time -- a win Jan. 31 against Purdue and a loss Feb. 2 at Minnesota -- IU blew an 11-point halftime lead and allowed Minnesota to score 51 second-half points, the most the Hoosiers have given up in any half this season. \nDavis said he isn't pleased with the scheduling that slowed IU to a 7-5 pre-conference record, and he isn't happy now. IU returned from East Lansing, Mich., Sunday night, practiced Monday, then boarded a bus to Champaign later that day. The quick turnaround permitted IU time for only a Monday practice and a walk-through at Illinois this morning. \nThe date for tonight's game was left open on the schedule, with ESPN having the option to pick it up for national coverage. ESPN did, and the game is tonight rather than tomorrow night, when it would have been if given regional coverage. \nMaking the turnaround task that much harder is the level of opponents IU has had to play.\n"Here we are competing for a Big Ten championship and TV is involved," Davis said. There's no way we can be at full strength. We definitely won't be fresh. From the standpoint of emotion, our guys are extremely down."\nShould IU's weariness reflect its play, the logjam in the Big Ten will continue to build. There is the outside chance that six teams -- IU, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan State and Minnesota -- could tie for the championship. That would leave a league champion out of a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament, which begins March 7 in Indianapolis. \nIU could eliminate Illinois from the running tonight, and No. 18 Ohio State could put the heat on IU and eliminate Michigan State when the Buckeyes welcome the Spartans tonight. An IU win would put the Hoosiers in a good spot, with their final game Saturday at home against Northwestern. \n"We have a tough week with Illinois and not a lot of rest in between, but it's basketball season and our guys should be ready," Davis said. "Our whole team is fighting. We're still in first place. We control our own destiny"
(02/25/02 6:55am)
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- For IU, this is the one that got away. And Tom Coverdale took the blame. \nAll of it. \nThe junior point guard committed a foul, missed a free throw and missed a potential game-tying three pointer as time expired Sunday. IU coughed up sole possession of first place in the Big Ten, falling to Michigan State 57-54 in front of a Breslin Center crowd of 14,759. \nWith IU trailing by three and 3.6 seconds on the clock, Coverdale caught a pass from senior guard Dane Fife and fired a three pointer from the right wing, but the ball bounced off the rim, sending IU to its ninth consecutive loss in East Lansing. \n"I missed it," Coverdale said. "That's why we lost the game."\nNo. 23 IU (18-9, 10-4 Big Ten) -- now tied with Ohio State on top of the Big Ten -- blew a 16-point first-half lead and an eight-point edge with eight minutes remaining, as Michigan State (17-10, 8-6) closed the game on a 23-12 run.\nCoverdale led IU with 11 points. Jared Jeffries, who sat out 11 minutes of the first half with three fouls and played the final 12 minutes with four, and Fife scored 10 each. Marcus Taylor led MSU with 16. \n"That was an epic Big Ten war," MSU coach Tom Izzo said. "Wow. What a win."\nAfter Jeffries handed IU a 53-50 lead on a spinning bucket with 1:05 left, Spartan forward Adam Ballinger drained a three pointer over IU's Jeff Newton to tie the game and kick-start the Spartan comeback.\nJeffries spun through the lane again on IU's next possession, but his wild shot hit nothing but the backboard, and MSU's Alan Anderson snatched the rebound. \nTaylor, a sophomore, dribbled away time near mid-court, but Coverdale reached for a steal and was whistled for a foul. An 85-percent free-throw shooter, Taylor hit both of the one-and-one shots and put MSU on top for the first time since leading 5-4.\nCoverdale drove the length of the floor after the free throws and drew a foul with 6.8 seconds left. IU's top free-throw shooter at 83 percent, he sank the first one, but the second sailed long, and Anderson again grabbed the rebound. \n"It's just like any other free throw," Coverdale said. "I just missed it. I missed two open looks and made a stupid foul."\nAnderson hit both free throws, putting MSU up 57-54 and making way for Coverdale's last look. \nAfter a timeout gave IU the ball at midcourt, Jeffries took the inbounds pass from Fife and gave it back to Fife, who dribbled right and found Coverdale. But his shot from a step behind the three-point line didn't fall. \nThe play wasn't the one IU coach Mike Davis drew up in the team huddle. That one was supposed to get an open look in the corner for Jeffries or junior guard Kyle Hornsby.\nThe final sequence was indicative of a grind-it-out second half. IU scored only two points over the first nine minutes, then strung together six consecutive points to extend its lead to eight with eight minutes left. From there, the Spartans hit three three pointers and all six of their free-throw tries. Taylor led the charge with eight points. \nDuring the same stretch, IU missed a pair of free throws and committed a costly turnover with 2:35 left and a three-point lead. Coverdale's inbounds pass from under IU's bucket sailed over Hornsby's head, who chased the ball to the other end of the court and tried to call a timeout. He didn't get the call, and Michigan State erased IU's lead just like it did after IU raced to three 16-point leads in the first half. \nIU hit 6-of-11 first-half threes but missed all seven three-point tries in the second half. IU led 30-14 with less than six minutes left in the first half, but MSU closed the half on an 11-2 run. Over the final five minutes of the first half and the first nine of the second, IU scored four points. \n"I knew we wouldn't blow them out here," Davis said. "They made adjustments. They had to make shots, and they made shots"
(02/21/02 6:22am)
The box scores and statistics that chronicle the play of IU's starting five are impressive. That quintet makes up IU's top five scorers and scores 73 percent of IU's points. \nBut the Hoosier bench helped Wednesday against Ohio State. It's happened before -- at North Carolina, where A.J. Moye scored 19, at Northwestern where Jarrad Odle scored 16 and most recently at Michigan Sunday, where Jeff Newton scored 17. \nBig bench production has helped No. 23 IU (18-8, 10-3 Big Ten) surge into first place in the Big Ten and was a primary reason the Hoosiers upended No. 19 Ohio State (18-6, 9-4) 63-57 Wednesday in Bloomington. \nIU used only eight players, but Newton played 28 minutes and scored a team-high 16 points, Moye scored five points and had four rebounds in 10 minutes, and Donald Perry helped solve IU's offensive ineptitude by igniting fast-break chances. \n"You need eight to nine players to be competitive in this league," IU coach Mike Davis said. "Last year, I had to play five or six guys for a long stretch, and they (got) tired at the end of the game."\nMoye dropped in a three pointer in the middle of a 13-0 IU first-half run, then put in a second-chance bucket two minutes later extending IU's lead to eight. Newton rescued IU with dunks and revved up his teammates and the crowd. Perry committed two turnovers in six minutes, but Davis said he helped alleviate IU's offensive problems, most of which stemmed from being stagnant. \n"You can get guys to get different things every night; that's been our story all year," senior forward Jarrad Odle said. "You expect that now from our team."\nLet's get physical\nOhio State entered Wednesday averaging 26 free-throw attempts per game. Of those, they hit an average of 17. IU allowed the Buckeyes just 10 free-throw tries. \n"If you look at our season statistics, we have taken significantly more free throws than our opponents," OSU coach Jim O'Brien said. "We only got 10 free throws tonight -- that hurt us."\nIU hit 15 of 22 from the free-throw stripe Wednesday after shooting 13 of 22 in a loss at Ohio State Jan. 19. In that game, the Buckeyes hit just 12 of 17, but used their dribble penetration and offensive rebounding to upend IU 73-67. \nOSU used the same offensive approach in round No. 2, an equally physical game with a different outcome. \n"(That was) Big Ten basketball," Davis said. "The officials did a great job tonight; they had a great game and really worked hard. They're a very physical basketball team."\nDarby disappointed\nOhio State guard Brent Darby scored only four points Wednesday after scoring 11 in Columbus. The game ended a streak of nine consecutive double-digit scoring games. Darby played through back spasms at Iowa Saturday, but struggled against the Hoosiers, committing four turnovers and tallying only one assist. \n"(IU) was face-guarding (our shooters) and weren't letting us come out," OSU guard Brian Brown said. "That put a lot of pressure on (Darby). His back is getting a little better, but it's still bothering him."\nIU guard Tom Coverdale also bothered Darby. The two exchanged words and ignited a shoving match with 2:54 left in the first half. Darby fouled Coverdale, and Darby followed Coverdale and had some words for IU's point guard when he caught him. \nDarby admitted he wasn't affected by that or an IU crowd that took a disliking to his physical play.\n"That's the way (IU) plays; it's cool," Darby said. "That is the type of style they like to play."\nRandom numbers\nJared Jeffries hit two three-pointers Wednesday, making IU 5-0 when Jeffries hits two or more three pointers. When Jeffries hits a single three pointer, IU is 14-1 this season and 20-4 all-time…Dane Fife collected three steals, edging him closer to all-time IU steals leader Steve Alford. Fife has 155 career steals, behind Alford's 192.
(02/20/02 5:53am)
The Big Ten coaching corps seems confident about the possibilities surrounding how many league teams will earn NCAA Tournament berths. \nHistory is on its side. Critics are not. \nIt's been 18 years since the Big Ten hasn't received at least five NCAA invites, but there is danger that streak could be snapped this season. \nThe Big Ten hasn't ranked lower than third in the RPI since 1995 -- it finished seventh that season -- but is currently sixth, behind the Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Twelve, Big East and Pacific-10. \nEven with the low RPI in 1995, the Big Ten received six bids, but no team earned better than a No. 3 seed. Only one team won a first-round game that season. This season, only three Big Ten teams -- Illinois, Ohio State and IU -- are ranked in the top 25, but all are No. 16 or worse. All three are in the RPI's top 20. \nIllinois, Ohio State and IU are all virtual locks for the tournament. Wisconsin (RPI No. 51) solidified its place with wins at IU and Minnesota last week and is guaranteed to finish at least 9-7 in Big Ten play. Minnesota (RPI No. 55), which has lost two consecutive games, Michigan State (RPI No. 46) and Northwestern (RPI No. 103) all have a shot to finish at least .500 in the league, normally a qualifier for one of the 34 at-large bids. \nThe likelihood that all seven will go isn't good. \n"Six teams still have a good chance," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "I don't think they'll take seven, but they'll take six."\nThe Big Ten Tournament will offer teams the chance to pick up momentum and the favor of the NCAA Selection Committee. Iowa's unlikely run to the title last year gives teams hope, but seven Big Ten representatives still present odd odds. \n"Depending on how things fall, our league will get six teams in," Illinois Coach Bill Self said. "Seven would be a long shot."\nAfter breakdowns at Northwestern and at home against Wisconsin, Minnesota went from potential Big Ten winners to potentially having its NCAA Tournament bubble busted. Most Big Ten coaches concern themselves with the stature of the league, but Minnesota coach Dan Monson doesn't. \n\"I don't know how many wins it's going to take," Monson said. "I'm not really worried about how many teams the Big Ten gets. I'm worried about Minnesota."\nNot so fast\nAfter ESPN's Andy Katz reported earlier this month that Purdue Coach Gene Keady might retire after this season or next, Keady quickly silenced his doubters. \nKeady, who has been at Purdue since 1980, is struggling this season, and his Boilermakers are just one game from the bottom of the Big Ten. \nStill, he's not ready to draw the curtain on his impressive career.\n"Andy Katz, he got that thing out of context," Keady said. "It's not happening, unless my wife tells me to. He repeated what I said, but he didn't put it in the context of the scenarios." \nInstead of saying he planned to retire, Keady, who is under contract through 2005, said he might leave Purdue if the losing continues. \nSome of his fellow coaches don't want him to go.\n"Keady better not be going anywhere," Izzo said. "The conference needs him."\nA lesson learned\nIowa's Reggie Evans watched the Hawkeyes loss to Ohio State from the bench Saturday. The senior forward didn't play a minute after being benched for academic reasons. \n"At the University of Iowa, you are going to be a student-athlete, not an athlete-student," Iowa coach Steve Alford said "That's a message that had to be sent."\nAlford didn't start his normal starting unit and benched senior Luke Recker until several minutes into the first half. The absence of Evans, the Big Ten's leading rebounder, hurt Iowa's chance to upset Ohio State and indirectly damaged IU's shot at a title run. A Buckeye loss would have put IU one game ahead of No. 19 Ohio State, but Alford isn't paying attention to his alma mater or the rest of the Big Ten standings. \n"I don't even think about those things," Alford said. "I have to think about my own program. I'm not concerned with how it affects Ohio State or how it affects Indiana."\nPlayer of the Week\nIllinois' Frank Williams and Wisconsin's Kirk Penney shared Big Ten Player of the Week honors. \nWilliams averaged 20.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals in a pair of road wins at Michigan State and Seton Hall for the 16th-ranked Fighting Illini. It is the second honor of the season for the 2001 Big Ten Player of the Year and the fourth of his career. \nPenney sparked Wisconsin's wins at No. 23 IU and Minnesota. He averaged 20 points and shot 50 percent from the field on the week. He scored 10 points against IU but hit the game-winning three pointer with more than two minutes remaining. \nThe Australia native then scored 30 points on 9-of-13 shooting (six three pointers) against Minnesota. \nIt is Penney's third honor this season, the most in any single season by any Badger in school history.
(02/19/02 6:28am)
Given its history and academic standards, Northwestern has long been a Big Ten cupcake -- frosting, sprinkles, the whole bit. \nIf Northwestern is scheduled twice, that's two victories for whoever plays it. That's been the status quo since, well…just about forever. \nThat history is history. \nThis season, Cinderella is wearing purple. \nThe Wildcats are making noise in the Big Ten, wrecking potential title hopes of several teams that are only three games off the pace of the conference frontrunners. They're within five points of being 8-4 in the Big Ten, if not for a 63-61 loss at Purdue and a 58-57 heartbreaker at No. 19 Ohio State. They've beaten third-place Wisconsin, fourth-place Minnesota and perennial power Michigan State and hung with No. 23 IU. \nAnd all Wildcat coach Bill Carmody wanted to do was compete. \n"What I don't want to have happen is at halftime be down by 17 and you know there's no chance of winning," Carmody said before the season began. "I'd say we play 16 Big Ten games, six of them were like that last year."\nNone have been like that this season for Carmody. The Wildcats (15-9, 6-6 Big Ten) have led at halftime in six of their 12 league games and haven't trailed by more than 11. Their biggest margins of defeat have been a 27-point loss at Wisconsin and a 15-point fall to IU. \nThings began bleakly for Northwestern, and the long seasons of losing were fit for a repeat performance. Northwestern began league play with three consecutive losses, but did an about face. \nThe Wildcats have won six of their last nine, creeping into the middle of the Big Ten, ahead of pre-season favorite Iowa and tied with four-time defending champion Michigan State. \nThey're the talk of the Big Ten. \n"If there's a surprise, it's Northwestern and their resurgence," Iowa coach Steve Alford said. "They're a much more difficult out now than they have been in the past."\nThe past refers to two winning seasons since 1983-1984 -- those were 15-14 finishes. Northwestern has had 24 winning seasons since beginning play in 1904, and all but four of the winning campaigns came before 1960. The Wildcats are guaranteed at least a .500 record this season. \nNU hasn't won a Big Ten title since 1932-1933 and finished last in the Big Ten every season from 1984 to 1997. That stretch of cellar dwelling ate up three coaches before Kevin O'Neill took the Wildcats to the NIT in 1997 and 1999, but O'Neill lasted only one more season, making way for Carmody. \nAfter 18 seasons at Princeton -- four as head coach and 14 as an assistant for Pete Carril -- Carmody made the jump to the Big Ten knowing the problems with reclamation project in Evanston.\n"We knew it wasn't going to happen over night," Carmody said. "You hope for step by step and somewhere along there jump a couple steps."\nSlow steps, that is. As in a slow-paced offense that Carmody learned when at Princeton, the same scheme Carril perfected in leading the Tigers to seven NCAA Tournaments during the 18 years Carmody was there. \nThat offensive approach has made the Wildcats one of the more difficult teams in the Big Ten to prepare for. They average only 61 points per game, but give up just 58, making each possession more important. \nThe constant screening and ball movement force counterparts to tighten up their defense and often revamp their technique.\n"They're getting the system down where they really have confidence in it," Purdue coach Gene Keady said of the Wildcats. "You better really be aware and really play defense at the right level."\nSix Big Ten teams haven't, and Northwestern is on the verge of a post-season berth. The Wildcats have never been to the NCAA Tournament. With home Big Ten games against Purdue and Illinois and trips to Minnesota and IU, they have their chance. Carmody and his troops are aware of the post-season possibilities, but aren't counting on anything. \n"I haven't heard them talking about it, even lately," Carmody said. "We haven't talked about post-season stuff."\nHis players are taking care of that for him, and have the post-season on their mind. Before the season, they hoped for the NIT. Now, that focus has shifted to the NCAA Tournament. \n"We have higher goals than most people think we can accomplish," said senior Tavarus Hardy. "We go out and expect to win. This is a completely different team. We can play with everyone."\nWins in home games against Purdue and Illinois used to seem like a long shot, but the Wildcats are 9-2 at Welsh-Ryan Arena and 4-2 within Big Ten confines. Fan support has never poured out in Evanston, but it's one of the problems Carmody faces in turning around the program and it's one the Wildcats have fought through.\nOnly the IU game -- which often attracts a large core of Chicago-area Hoosier alumni -- drew more than 5,000 fans. Home attendance idles at 4,564, last in the Big Ten and nearly 3,000 per game behind Penn State. \nFor Carmody and Hardy, it's just one more hurdle to clear. \n"I don't think there's any magic things you can do to say 'we're losing here, and let's turn it around,'" Carmody said. "You go to work, pay attention to detail, be precise, work hard. There has to be something about losing a lot of games that plays in your head a bit. Winning, all of the sudden, you say 'wow, is the losing done, and can we be competitive in all our games?'"\nSo far, so good. So long, history.
(02/15/02 5:27am)
The Big Ten couldn't get any more out of whack. \nIU, Ohio State, Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin all have a legitimate chance to win the conference and are all separated by two games or less. Northwestern and Michigan State are both just three games back. \nRoad teams have won just 22 percent of their games, and top-tier teams with chances to pull ahead in the conference standings keep stumbling. \nWednesday was no different, as Wisconsin upset IU 64-63 in Assembly Hall and Northwestern edged Minnesota 58-56 in Evanston, Ill. Ohio State and Illinois watched it all. \n"The parity and the balance is remarkable this year, which creates the wackiness," Illinois coach Bill Self said. "Anybody can beat anybody."\nAnd they have. \nNorthwestern's upset of Minnesota gives it five Big Ten victories. Only once (1998-1999) since the 1983-1984 season have the Wildcats won more than five league games. Already this season, Northwestern has beaten Michigan State, Iowa,Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. \nThe Wildcats have played well in Welsh-Ryan Arena, where they are 9-2 this season, and coach Bill Carmody's Princeton-style offense -- screens and long possessions -- has confused several foes.\n"Our guys understand how to win," Carmody said. "We have a hard time scoring sometimes, so there's not a lot of room for error. But I've been happy with the consistency of play."\nWisconsin has been just as surprising. Coach Bo Ryan said in October he would have six track and field athletes on his team. Whoever is doing the job is playing. The Badgers boosted their NCAA Tournament hopes Wednesday by winning at IU and are guaranteed at least a .500 finish in the Big Ten. \nWisconsin has two of its final three games at home, but Ryan isn't counting on an NCAA berth just yet.\n"If we win every game we play from here on out, I'd feel pretty comfortable," Ryan said before the Badger victory Wednesday.\nMinnesota coach Dan Monson is taking the same approach, saying his Golden Gophers need to finish in the top three to get an NCAA Tournament invitation. The Gophers have beaten Big Ten leaders Ohio State and IU, bolstering their chances, but are just 2-4 on the road in the conference.
(02/14/02 6:22am)
So this is what life is like without Jared Jeffries. \nIU hobbled through Wednesday night's Big Ten matchup with Wisconsin. \nJeffries, who sprained an ankle in a win against Louisville Saturday and bruised his thigh earlier in the week, hobbled through warm-ups. \nThen, the Big Ten's leading scorer sat and stood during the game before somberly walking off the Assembly Hall floor after the Badgers upset No. 22 IU 64-63. Not once did he remove his red warm-up jacket or his candy-striped pants. \nThe result was a Wisconsin win that ended the Hoosiers 10-game home winning streak, put a dent in their Big Ten title chase and ignited second-guessing on whether Jeffries should have been on the floor. \nFor IU coach Mike Davis, the decision was clear cut.\n"There was no sense to play him," IU coach Mike Davis said. "He's hurt. For him to play against Iowa and Louisville was really big. (Even) If we have J.J., (Wisconsin) probably beat us."\nThe game marked the first time in Jeffries 57-game career he didn't start. IU (16-8, 8-3 Big Ten) has battled through stretches in which Jeffries has been saddled with foul trouble and hung with Louisville during the six-minute span in which Jeffries left Saturday's game. \nDavis hoped his players would gain confidence and a win without Jeffries Wednesday, but that plan didn't develop.\nIU shot better than its season average of 45 percent, finishing at 49 percent, but the Hoosiers' normally productive three-point shooting fizzled; IU finished five of 16 from beyond the arc and this time there was no Jeffries to clean up the misses. \n"In our offense, everything runs through Jared," freshman guard Donald Perry said. "So, it's hard playing without him. Without him, we struggled."\nFour Hoosiers scored in double digits, but a tall Wisconsin (15-11, 8-5) squad stretched IU's defense and exploited the IU interior. The Badgers' Mike Wilkinson scored seven straight points in a second-half spurt that enabled the Badgers to fend off any IU rally. In the first half, forward Charlie Wills hit all five of his field goals, helping the Badgers to a 40-35 edge. Wilkinson, Wills and center Dave Mader scored 34 points on IU's big-man combination of senior Jarrad Odle, junior Jeff Newton and sophomore George Leach, carrying that trio away from the bucket.\nWhen the Badgers did go inside, Newton and Leach combined to block eight shots, but the lack of Jeffries' presence could be felt. \nOdle scored 12 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Newton scored eight and Leach added five, all in the first half. \nOdle was the only Hoosier with more than five rebounds and several second-chance buckets by Wisconsin kept IU from evening the score or pulling ahead.\nEven with the box score void of Jeffries' normal contributions, the Hoosiers were steadfast in their belief that the absence of the Big Ten's leading scorer shouldn't have mattered. \n"I don't think it really was a factor," said senior guard Dane Fife, who scored 11 points. "Sure, we definitely could have used him, but we've got the personnel to beat Wisconsin and most of the teams in this league with or without him."\nWisconsin coach Bo Ryan wasn't so sure. \n"I definitely think Jeffries not being in the game was a factor," Ryan said. "They have a good team, and him not being there affected their chemistry."\nSo with IU in a two-way tie for the Big Ten lead with No. 23 Ohio State and the frantic conference race coming to a finale, will Jeffries play Sunday at Michigan, where IU lost last season despite 30 points from Kirk Haston? \n"I hope so," Davis said. "I'm going to go home tonight and say a long prayer that his ankle will heal quickly"
(02/14/02 6:21am)
Coming home isn't a big deal anymore for Charlie Wills. \nWills, an Angola, Ind. native, came back to the Hoosier state Wednesday, content with the thought that coming home again isn't important. \nYou couldn't tell.\nWills, a fifth-year senior, lit up IU for a game-high 17 points Saturday as Wisconsin upset No. 22 IU 64-63 in Assembly Hall.\n"Now that he's in his fifth year, he tempers it pretty well," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. "I didn't think about it."\nWills is good at playing king killer. \nHe scored 21 points in the Badgers' 94-92 overtime edging of then-Big Ten leader Ohio State Feb. 6. He hit all five of his first-half field goals (two of which were three pointers), then hit two of four in the second half. His seven field goals were a career high. \nAnd all of that after the Badgers took a midday trip to College Mall instead of having a shoot-around in Assembly Hall. \n"I didn't let anybody in the gym," Ryan said. "We just went to the mall and hung out."\nIt wasn't the first time Wills ended a team's home-court winning streak. Wills scored 17 when the Badgers stopped Michigan State's 53-game Breslin Center winning streak, a game that ended in the exact score -- 64-63 -- as Wednesday's upset of IU. \nWills played for IU coach Mike Davis on this summer's Big Ten touring team in Europe, and Davis wasn't surprised by Wills' performance. \n"The worst thing I probably did was give him a hug before the game," Davis joked.
(02/13/02 5:52am)
Coach Bo Ryan remembers the last time Wisconsin won in Assembly Hall. \nRyan was a Badger assistant. He was 29 years old and Wisconsin hasn't won in Bloomington since Feb. 24, 1977. \nThat's 22 losing trips, average losses of more than 15 points per game and only eight games decided by less than 10 points. \nRyan hasn't addressed the losing skid, but he'll come face to face with it 8 p.m. tonight in Assembly Hall when his Badgers meet IU. It is the only regular-season meeting between the Hoosiers and Badgers this year.\n"I never said anything when we were going to Michigan State or Iowa," Ryan said. "I don't talk about streaks or records. I've never used that as a motivating factor."\nThat laissez-faire attitude worked at Michigan State, where the Badgers ended MSU's nation-long 53 home-court winning streak, and it's worked much of the season. Wisconsin (14-11, 7-5 Big Ten), picked to finish near the bottom of the league, shook off a 1-4 start and has since surprised Illinois, Michigan State, Minnesota and Ohio State. \nThe latest win, a 94-92 overtime edging of Ohio State in Madison Feb. 6, bumped the Buckeyes from the Big Ten's top spot for the first time this season and allowed IU (16-7, 8-2) to slip into sole possession of first place. Wisconsin sits alone in fourth place, setting up an important mid-week matchup.\n"It seems like every week is a big week for us," IU Coach Mike Davis said. "Ohio State losing Sunday, it's very important for us to win these two games (against Wisconsin and at Michigan Sunday)."\nThe Wisconsin win over Ohio State stopped a two-game losing streak that consisted of losses at Michigan and Northwestern. The Badgers returned the favor to Northwestern Saturday in a 77-43 drubbing of the Wildcats. The Badgers, under their third coach in three seasons, put four players in double figures in that game and have five players averaging more than nine points per game this season. \nOn a team of seven freshmen, Ryan starts two seniors, one junior, one sophomore and one freshman. Ryan, who coached at UW-Plateville for 15 years and UW-Milwaukee for two seasons and has only one losing season in those 17 campaigns, has used the same starting lineup in all 25 of the Badgers' games. \nJunior guard Kirk Penney leads the Badgers with 14.4 points per game, but the most impressive output has come from freshman guard Devin Harris, who scores 11.6 points per game. Penney and Harris have combined to shoot 251 three pointers; six Badgers have attempted 40 or more three pointers, but Wisconsin is shooting a league-low 29 percent from the three-point line in league play. \nThe Badgers have already attempted nearly as many three pointers (475) as they did all of last season (477) under then-coach Brad Soderburg, who replaced the retired Dick Bennett. \nBennett and Soderburg used a grind-it-out tempo that featured long possessions and articulate working of the shot clock. Ryan has tweaked that system. The most notable performance was the 94 points against Ohio State, although Ryan has his theories on that game. \n"What we found out is they put the wrong rims up," Ryan said. "We had bigger rims. That was two games' worth of offense."\nThe Badgers are averaging 67 points per game compared to 59 last season. They're giving up 66 per game this season after yielding 56 last year. \n"I have coached teams that gave up 70-some points a game and 47 points a game, and we've been able to do a little bit of both," Ryan said. "It depends on what each team's going to do. We're not afraid to push it and see what we can get before the defense sets up."\nThe IU win against Louisville, which pressed and played a variety of defenses, gave IU a look at something it hasn't seen. Now, the Hoosiers feel they're ready for anything the Big Ten can throw at them.\n"We're ready to win this thing," IU senior Jarrad Odle said. "We're just trying to do everything we can to continue our success. The (Louisville) game was a good test for us to be able to change our pace of play." \nBesides similar inside-out attacks and mirroring offensive schemes, both the Badgers and Hoosiers are battling for NCAA Tournament bids. With pummelings of Illinois, Iowa and Michigan State and a top slot in the Big Ten, IU has made its case. Wisconsin hasn't just yet and has a chance tonight and a Saturday trip to Minnesota. "I don't know how many coaches would be excited about playing Indiana and Minnesota back-to-back, but that's the task in front of us," Ryan said.
(02/11/02 5:43am)
Jared Jeffries was a game-time decision.\nJarrad Odle was game-time surprise. \nA bruised thigh hobbled Jeffries and forced him out of the game for five minutes in the first half Saturday in Assembly Hall, but IU might not have needed Jeffries to beat Louisville. \nAll the Hoosiers needed was Odle's pinpoint accuracy, physical mentality and a career high 25 points to extend their home winning streak to 10 by knocking off Louisville 77-62 in front of 17,456 fans. \nOdle eclipsed his previous career high -- 16 at Northwestern in the Big Ten opener -- with more than four minutes to play and scored seven consecutive points after Louisville pulled to within six, the closest it got in the second half. The Odle-led charge pushed IU's lead to 12 and helped bury the Cardinals (13-9). \nDespite playing a non-conference game, IU moved into first place because of Ohio State's loss at Michigan State Sunday.\n"I tried to take what they gave me," Odle said. "I took a lot of lay-ups, and when you take lay-ups, it's a lot easier to hit than jump shots. I knew somebody was going to have to step up today."\nOdle did, recording his second straight double-double, finishing with 11 rebounds. He hit 10 of 11 from the floor and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line. And he had help. Tom Coverdale scored 16, and Kyle Hornsby and Jeffries chipped in with 11 each. Reece Gaines led Louisville with 17. \nOdle scored eight points in the decisive Hoosier run, which came at the close of the first half and carried over into the second half. IU (16-7) trailed 30-28 with 5:20 left in the first half, but out-scored the Cardinals 29-10 over a 15-minute stretch, holding Louisville to 3-of-20 shooting and forcing five turnovers. \nSix Hoosiers scored during that spurt, and IU opened a 57-40 lead, its biggest of the afternoon. \nLouisville put together a 15-4 run to respond and cut the lead to 61-55, but Odle hit two free throws to stop the comeback, then picked up a loose ball at mid-court, hit a lay-up and completed a three-point play, then sank a twisting lay-in to give IU a 12-point lead with 4:03 left. \n"Odle is playing great basketball right now," Coach Mike Davis said. "It was an outstanding game for him. He needs to go out with a bang. He's a big part of this basketball team."\nOdle, who led Indiana's high school ranks in scoring during his junior season at Oak Hill Academy and scored 50 points in a game there, said he wasn't surprised by his outburst. Others were. \n"He's the recipient of a lot of attention on Jeffries," Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. "He was terrific tonight."\nLouisville's top scorer, Reece Gaines, wasn't. \nGaines finished with a team-high 17 points, but couldn't shake the defense of IU's Dane Fife and A.J. Moye. Gaines hit only 6 of 19 shots from the field and missed eight of his nine three-point tries. In a second half in which Louisville shot 28 percent, Gaines went 3 of 14 from the floor. Gaines' backcourt mate, Erik Brown, hit 3 of 10 from the field. \n"Reece Gaines got caught up trying to score on skinny, non-athletic-looking me instead of trying to win the game," said Fife. \nFife, who averages nearly 10 points a game, was the only Hoosier starter that didn't score, but his physical presence was enough. \nFife jawed with Gaines and the Hoosiers and Cardinals tangled on several occasions. Odle suffered a bruised thigh and Moye left the game after colliding with Louisville's Ellis Myles in the second half. \nIU and Louisville combined for 43 fouls and 46 free throws and five players finished with at least four fouls. It was a game nothing like IU sees in the Big Ten.\n"I'm glad this game is over," Davis said. "It's a difficult team to play against. For us to get a win today, it was really big. This is the toughest game we've been in defensively. We won with heart. We battled the whole way."\nLouisville's ability to stick around through the second half was something IU hadn't seen since edging Penn State by seven Jan. 5. The Hoosiers are winning home games by an average of more than 16 points, but Louisville kept the lead within sight much of the second half and had the lead in the first half.\nThe Cardinals led by as many as four in the first half, which featured five ties and six lead changes. IU took the lead for good at 34-32 and closed the first half with a 14-2 run to take a 42-32 lead. \nJeffries re-aggravated his thigh with 16:41 left and left the game until the 10:33 mark, but Davis said he didn't think about resting Jeffries until the game was squarely in IU's hands. \nThat happened with just more than one minute left, thanks to Odle, whose reverse lay-up with 1:30 left sealed IU's victory. \n"You really don't want close games, but you need close games to see where you are as a basketball team," Davis said. "When we play hard, we're a very good basketball team"
(02/08/02 5:55am)
Mike Davis is blunt, candid and to-the-point. \nSimply put, he'd rather not play Louisville Saturday for a pair of reasons: Playing a non-conference opponent in the middle of a Big Ten title hunt might provide a distraction, and Louisville's style of play is something foreign to IU and the Big Ten. \nDistraction or not, Davis will see the up-tempo, full-court Cardinals 1 p.m. Saturday in Assembly Hall. The game marks the first time since the 1972-1973 season IU is playing a non-conference game during the Big Ten season. In 1973, IU beat Miami (Ohio) after one Big Ten game. \nIt is also Louisville's first trip to Bloomington since Dec. 23, 1986. IU and Louisville last met in 1993, when IU won 82-69 in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16. \nPitino has brought a team to Assembly Hall only once, when his Kentucky Wildcats fell to IU 87-84 Dec. 18, 1990.\nHis second trip has his counterpart coach showing concern.\n"I really don't want to play Louisville to tell you the truth, because of how they play," Davis said. "They press all over the court for 40 minutes. We're in a situation where we're in a Big Ten hunt for a championship. To play them during our conference is going to be tough."\nAfter Ohio State's loss at Wisconsin Wednesday, IU pulled into a tie for first-place with the Buckeyes. The Hoosiers don't play another Big Ten game until Wednesday against Wisconsin. \nBut Saturday's high-profile contest could help season IU (15-8, 8-2 Big Ten) for the NCAA Tournament. No Big Ten team poses the type of threats Louisville (13-8, 4-6, C-USA) does. The Cardinals rely on outside shooting and high-pressure play. \nLouisville, who beat Ohio State earlier this season, one-upped IU's wild long-range shooting antics. Louisville hit a school -- and Conference USA -- record 19 three-pointers in a win over South Florida Feb. 1, and they attempt 25 three-pointers per game. IU fires up nearly 19 per contest. \n"They have a lot of talent," Davis said. "I don't know why people say they don't have any talent. They have good athletes, speed and quickness. Their guys are strong."\nShooting guard Reece Gaines grabs the spotlight. The 6-foot-6 junior averages 21.1 points per game and scored 37 points -- on 6 of 11 three pointers -- Wednesday in Louisville's 67-64 surprise loss to St. Louis. \nBesides Gaines, the Cardinals have three players -- Gaines, junior Erik Brown and sophomore Luke Whitehead -- who average double digits. \nThe lack of a supporting cast has irritated Pitino. \n"Reece played spectacularly," he said of Gaines' 37-point performance against St. Louis. "He took some bad shots at the end, but that was because his teammates did not play up to his level."\nGaines had help in the three-point binge against South Florida. Both he and Jeffersonville, Ind., native Bryant Northern hit seven three-pointers each. IU has three players -- senior Dane Fife and juniors Kyle Hornsby and Tom Coverdale -- with 40 or more three pointers. \nFor IU, which hasn't played a Pitino-coached team since 1996, Saturday will involve a little guess-work. \n"None of us really know much about them," said Coverdale, IU's second-leading scorer. "But, I'd rather play a non-conference game than have to sit out for a whole week." \nIU hasn't had any hardships since starting Big Ten play, where it has ripped off eight wins in 10 tries.\n"If I had it my way, I would play it in December," Davis said. "But then again, it could really help us. Our main concern is the Big Ten. We'll come in and compete Saturday and definitely try to win the game. But if we lose, it's not life or death"
(02/07/02 5:43am)
When a Big Ten team hits the road for an intra-conference game, the chances of it picking up a victory are about 22 percent. \nGet struck by lightning or win a Big Ten road game? Sometimes, the odds seem nearly even.\nLast season, Big Ten teams went 32-56 on the road during league play -- a winning percentage of .363. This season, things haven't been so simple. \nFour teams -- expected Big Ten frontrunners Iowa and Illinois and bottom-feeders Purdue and Penn State -- still haven't won a road game in the league. Wisconsin, Michigan and Northwestern all have just one road victory, and every Big Ten team has lost at least one road game. \n"You need to be very much on top of your game when you go on the road," Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien said. "If there are any loose ends and slippage, you're probably not going to win on the road in this league."\nOther leagues provide road tests, but the parity and atmosphere circling the Big Ten make it the most difficult. Of the eight top-ranked conferences (based on Ratings Percentage Index), the Big Ten's 11-39 road record (as of Wednesday) is the worst. The Big 12's 16-35 road record (.313 winning percentage) is second from the bottom, and the Mountain West's 10-19 mark (.344) is third. \nOnly one Big 12 team, No. 2 Kansas, is unbeaten on the road, and five Big 12 teams still haven't won a road game. Utah remains the only unbeaten Mountain West road team. \nPac-10 teams have had the easiest time on the road with a 26-31 mark (.456), followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference (17-23, .425) and Conference USA (28-38, .424). \nEvery team in the Pac-10 has at least two road losses, but only two teams -- Washington and Washington State -- are yet to win. In the ACC, every team has at least one road loss. Memphis is C-USA's only unbeaten, while three teams remain winless. \nSitting in the middle of the pack is the Southeastern Conference (18-32, .360) and Big East (26-39, .400), the latter of which often houses games in off-campus arenas and in front of crowds far from those on hand in the Big Ten, ACC and Big 12. \nTherein lies the recipe for road disaster and the secret to home success in the Big Ten.\n"Everybody has a built-in fan base," said O'Brien, who coached at the Big East's Boston College before moving to Ohio State. "A lot of teams play in big cities, where there's competition for entertainment. The atmosphere that surrounds games in this conference really does benefit teams that play at home."\nThe Big Ten averages 13,183 fans per game, while the Big East attracts only 7,178. \nAt IU, wild crowds in games against Illinois, Purdue and Iowa have aided in Hoosier victories. The result is IU's best Big Ten start in nine seasons. \n"(The fans) have been playing a key role for a while in our victories," IU senior guard Dane Fife said after IU pummeled Iowa by 28 points in Assembly Hall Tuesday. \nAnother factor that hasn't escaped coaches and players is the unusual balance of power in the Big Ten this season. \nNearly no one predicted No. 16 Ohio State, IU and Minnesota to man the top three slots in the league, nor did they pick Iowa and No. 21 Illinois to be mired with five Big Ten losses. \nOnly two Big Ten teams are ranked. Five have been ranked during the season, and six were ranked at one time last season. \nThe Big Ten has taken its hits from those inside and outside the conference, and its RPI has provided evidence. It hovers sixth, behind the SEC, ACC, Big 12, Pac-10 and Big East. \n"There's never a down year in the Big Ten," Iowa coach Steve Alford said. "You have great environments, it doesn't matter where you go. But, the parity top to bottom, is a lot greater in my third year than in my previous two years."\nThe result has been cluttered standings and hopes of Big Ten titles still alive, even for teams with four or five league losses half way through the season.\n"(Last season), there was a little bit of a division," Illinois coach Bill Self said. "There's no division this year at all. There's more parity and it will be a harder league to win."\nEspecially if you can't win on the road. Last season's two top teams -- Illinois and Michigan State -- both went 5-3 on the road. The top team this season is Ohio State, which is 2-1 on the road. IU has the most road wins in the league with three, and Minnesota (1-3 away from Williams Arena) would be tied with the Hoosiers or Buckeyes if it could win more consistently on the road. \nIU coach Mike Davis credits his team's success to a rugged pre-conference schedule. Ten games into the conference season, IU has still played only seven games at home all season. In comparison, of Minnesota's 13 wins, 12 have come in Minneapolis. \n"When you struggle and the game is close down the stretch, the home team ends up winning because of the fans," Davis said. "You have to take care of home. If you have 17 games at home, you better win all of them if you want to go to the (NCAA) Tournament"
(02/07/02 5:42am)
Roderick Wilmont is a Hoosier. \nAnd Mike Davis has a few snow flakes and an arena full of rally towels to thank. \nWilmont, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound guard from Miramar (Fla.) High School, visited IU for the Hoosiers' victory over Purdue last Thursday, saw snow flurries and a spirited Assembly Hall crowd and decided a day later to commit to play basketball for IU next season. \nIn doing so, he turned down visits to a crop of schools including Kentucky, Boston College, Florida State, South Florida, Clemson and Georgia Tech.\nWilmont's decision to attend IU comes three months after most top-notch recruits signed because his summer team folded midway through its schedule, leaving him to prove himself in his final high school season. \nHe has, and he's ready for IU.\n"He's real excited," said William Coleman, Wilmont's high school coach. "He's walking around in red heaven. He told everyone how he liked the atmosphere there. He said it snowed and the fan support is unreal."\nWilmont grew up in Texas but spent five years in Alaska, where he became accustomed to wintry weather. When he moved to Florida before his sophomore year of high school, he left the snow. Last week's flurries were the first he'd seen in three years. \nAnd the snow-white rally towels, a one-time special addition to Assembly Hall, stamped about the same impressive impression upon Wilmont. \n"I've been to some (Miami) games, but they're not anything like that," Wilmont said. "It's crazy (at IU). The towels. Everybody had one."\n Wilmont becomes the fourth recruit for Davis and the third perimeter player. IU has also signed guards Bracey Wright (The Colony, Texas) and Marshall Strickland (Mt. Airy, Md.) and forward Daryl Pegram (Worcester, Mass., Academy and San Bernadino, Calif.). \nThat should provide for a cluttered backcourt that is losing only current senior Dane Fife. The returnees next season will include current starters Tom Coverdale and Kyle Hornsby as well as regulars A.J. Moye and Donald Perry. Walk-ons Mark Johnson, Ryan Tapak and Scott May stretch the guard number to 10, which Davis still doesn't consider too many. \n"We don't have that many guards," Davis said. "We could use some more guards right now who could play."\nHe might need some frontcourt help, depending on whether sophomore Jared Jeffries opts for the NBA after this season. Even if Jeffries does stay, IU will lose senior Jarrad Odle and rely on Jeffries, Jeff Newton, George Leach, Mike Roberts and Sean Kline. \nDavis prefers a four-man rotation of post players, but Roberts and Kline are unproven and will be coming off redshirt seasons.\n"(Davis) may be protecting himself from losing firepower," said Mike Sullivan, a recruiting analyst for Rivalshoops.com. "That's the only thing I can see from taking another guard. He has ample firepower coming in in the backcourt. He's giving himself another offensive weapon."\nWilmont is just that. He's averaging more than 32 points per game this season while playing primarily shooting guard. Wilmont, whose mother was a former state record-holder in the Texas high school ranks for girls' high jump, used his leaping ability and range to score a career-high 58 points earlier this season. \n"The basket was like a big, old wastebasket, and everything was going in," Wilmont said. \nColeman couldn't believe the performance from Wilmont, who leads a team that starts three freshmen and a sophomore.\n"He scored from all over," Coleman said. "You name it. He dunked a few, had a few putbacks, hit from 21, 22 feet out. It was a show. He walked up to me and said 'It looks a big basket, just huge. It looks like I'm looking down in it.' It was on."\nWilmont, who met former IU star Isiah Thomas during his visit, said he expects to see his scoring dip at IU, but will be comfortable with the move from shooting guard, Wright's natural position, to the wing, where Hornsby currently starts for the Hoosiers. \nColeman said Wilmont has the skills to shoot, drive and rebound, but Wilmont said he will focus on his defense in preparation for Davis' defense-first scheme. \nWilmont plans to major in business and is set to return to Bloomington this season to discuss the future with Davis. During his first visit, he called Coleman three times over a two-day span. The third call was to inform his coach he settled on IU. \n"He got back in Saturday, and his mom called and told me 'He's a Hoosier,'" Coleman said. "I asked him if he was happy, and he was. He's a very likeable kid"
(02/05/02 5:53am)
Steve Alford has done the homecoming thing before. He's entered Assembly Hall as the enemy. \nLuke Recker hasn't. \nSince transferring from IU to Arizona to Iowa, the Auburn, Ind. native hasn't been back to Bloomington to battle his former school. \nThat will change at 7 tonight when Recker and his Hawkeyes meet IU in Assembly Hall. \nAlford, the former IU All-American and national champion, doesn't have much advice. \n"We're in a little different situations," said Alford, who lost his first and only return to Assembly Hall as Iowa's coach. "It's something that Luke's going to have to handle. It's not going to be easy. He knows there's going to be a lot of adversity in the stands. He has to be tough-minded and control what he can control."\nRecker stumbled against IU (14-7, 7-2 Big Ten) in the first meeting of the two teams this season. IU junior guard Kyle Hornsby shadowed Recker and held him to 12 points of 5-of-13 shooting. Hornsby defended Recker because senior Dane Fife, who IU coach Mike Davis touts as the Hoosiers' top defender, picked up two early fouls. \nFife did the same at Iowa last season, and Recker led Iowa (15-8, 4-5) to a come-from-behind win. \nDavis said he isn't sure who he'll start against Recker, who is averaging 17.7 points per game (15.5 in Big Ten play). \n"Hornsby did a great job on him last time," Davis said. "I don't want Fife to pick up two quick fouls. Fife needs to play a whole half against Iowa one time."\nIn the previous match-up, IU's interior defense nearly shut down Recker's right-hand-man, senior forward Reggie Evans. IU senior forward Jarrad Odle went toe-to-toe with the 6-foot-8, 245-pound Evans, holding him to a season-low seven points and nine rebounds. \nSince then, the Hoosier inside defense has sputtered at times. Against Ohio State, IU allowed the Buckeyes to grab 14 offensive rebounds and shoot nearly 50 percent. In Saturday's loss to Minnesota, the Gophers shot 55 percent and out-rebounded IU 19-16 in the second half on their way to erasing an 11-point halftime deficit. \nOdle has criticized his own defensive performance and is taking it upon himself to pick up the slack against Evans, who averages 16.8 points and 11.3 rebounds per game and has led the Hawkeyes in rebounding in 15 of their last 16 games.\n"I didn't play great defense against Minnesota," Odle said. "I just have to come in and take it to (Evans) just like I did the first game, maybe try to get him into foul trouble and make him work for every point he gets."\nThere's a chance fatigue could hamper IU's efforts, thanks to a schedule that has it playing its third game in six days. IU took Sunday off and worked out for about two hours Monday. Davis said he's been playing his three starting guards -- Hornsby, Fife and junior Tom Coverdale -- too much, and is aiming for 30 minutes or less per game per player. \nFife and Coverdale are averaging just more than 31 minutes per game, and Hornsby is at 24. Coverdale played 39 minutes Saturday and he, Hornsby and sophomore forward Jared Jeffries all logged 35 or more minutes in the first contest against Iowa. \nThat loss sent Iowa on a tailspin toward the bottom half of the Big Ten standings. They now sit tied for sixth with Illinois and Michigan and have back-to-back games against two of the league's top three teams -- IU and Minnesota. \nStill, Davis is concerned and adamant about the potential at Iowa. The Hawkeyes are 0-4 on the road in the conference, but beat then-No. 2 Missouri in Columbia by 18 and are off a 15-point win over Penn State Saturday. \n"Iowa and Illinois are the best two teams in the conference talent-wise," Davis said. "They're a tough team. They're more than capable of coming in here and beating us if we don't play."\nThe spotlight, though, isn't on Iowa's record or their recent road struggles. It's on Recker, and Davis, Odle and Alford all expect a wild atmosphere and rowdy welcome for the former Hoosier, who played his last game for IU in Assembly Hall Feb. 27, 1999, against -- you guessed it -- Iowa. \n"It should be an emotional game for him," Davis said. "He played here and he played well the two years he played here. I'm quite sure he's going to get excited and try to score 25, 30 points in this game. But, he's a smart player. He's not going to come in and force things."\nOdle is just hoping his former teammate doesn't feed off the negative energy.\n"I'm sure he'll come in fired up and ready to play," Odle said. "It seems like any time somebody gets booed like he's going to (tonight)…they're going to play better. We have to make a conscious effort to stop him"
(02/01/02 5:51am)
Four consecutive losses at Williams Arena won't go away. \nIU gets a chance to exorcise the Minnesota demons at 4:30 p.m. Saturday when it invades Minneapolis for the only meeting of the season between the Hoosiers and Golden Gophers. Last season, IU maintained a nine-point lead for much of the second half, then blew a double-digit advantage in the final three minutes. \nThis season, both teams are near the top of the Big Ten standings. IU bounced rival Purdue 66-52 Thursday night in Bloomington. Wednesday, Minnesota turned back Penn State 94-70 in Williams Arena, where the Gophers are 11-1 this season and also where they upset co-Big Ten leader Ohio State nearly one week ago. \nIU (14-6, 7-1 Big Ten) hasn't won in "The Barn," the affectionate name given to the Gophers' home court, since 1996. A Minnesota press and missed opportunities zapped IU last season. Minnesota forced overtime, then hit only one field goal in the extra frame. But the Gophers hit 7-of-8 free throws to steal the win. \n"We were up 13 and just broke down," junior guard Kyle Hornsby said. "I know I missed a little chip shot and I missed a lay-up and I remember how bad I felt going into the locker room. That was even worse than (blowing a 17-point halftime lead at) Iowa."\nThe Gophers (12-7, 5-3) haven't lost much from the team that surprised the Hoosiers, but have added 6-foot-10 freshman Rick Rickert, who scored 26 points against Penn State. He also scored 24 in a come-from-behind win at Purdue earlier this month. \nJunior Dusty Rychart and sophomore Michael Bauer also average double figures for coach Dan Monson. Four Gopher starters are 6-foot-7 or taller, which could pose problems for IU, which starts three guards. \nIt will also mark IU's second game in three days. Ohio State found itself in the same predicament last week when it beat Michigan Thursday and immediately traveled to Minneapolis. The Gophers put together a late spurt and coasted to an 89-71 win. \nIU coach Mike Davis is trying to figure out how to avoid the same scenario.\n"You have to know you're going into hostile environment," he said. "Playing Thursday and Saturday, what you have to do is make sure to play with a will that will enable you to win the basketball game."\nThe game will feature a matchup of the Big Ten's Co-Players of the Week in IU's Jared Jeffries and Minnesota's Travarus Bennett. Bennett scored 21 points in the win over Ohio State and averages 8.7 for the season. He shoots 47 percent from the three-point line. \nMonson is pleased with the development of his squad, which is sitting alone in third place in the league, and Bennett is one of the reasons.\n"Bennett is a sneaky, tough player in that he's quiet," Monson said. "Yet he's around the ball a lot and active."\nStopping the spread-out IU offense is something else occupying Monson's mind. \nIU hit a Big Ten-record 17 three pointers against Illinois Saturday, but reversed the trend against Purdue by attacking the bucket from inside the paint. IU didn't hit a three pointer during the first half\nThursday and didn't attempt one until less than four minutes remained. IU's only three-point bucket came from Jeffries. The lone three tied for the lowest long-range output for IU this season. The Hoosiers also hit just one three-pointer in a 61-54 win over Penn State. \nStill, Monson is concerned.\n"It's going to be tough to defend them," Monson said. "(Outside shooting) gives Jeffries so much room to operate inside. They have so much balance. You can't just go in and say 'We stop Jared Jeffries, and Indiana's going to shut down.'"\nThe Hoosiers are merely worried about fixing the problems they've long had at Williams Arena. The experienced guard play that failed IU in Minneapolis last season has led IU to its best conference start since it last won the title in 1993. They're hoping that quest will continue Saturday.\n"We haven't beat them at Minnesota in a long time," Davis said. "Hopefully, if we're in the same situation, it turns out different. We're ready"
(02/01/02 5:46am)
All Mike Davis heard all week was three-point this and three-point that. \nIU's 17 three-pointers Saturday against Illinois justified the chatter. Thursday, IU provided zero evidence it could hit anywhere close to 17 three-point buckets. \nIt didn't matter. IU rolled to a 66-52 win over rival Purdue in front of 17,456 in Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers did so with one three-pointer. \n"All I've heard since Saturday is '17 three-pointers'," Davis, IU's second-year head coach, said. "Nobody really talked about the defense."\nIU's defense did its job, holding the Boilermakers to 26.9 percent in the first half and 37.9 for the game. But that came as no surprise. The wonder came from the three-point arc. \nJared Jeffries' three pointer with 18:19 left in the game was IU's first and only three-pointer. The Hoosiers attempted eight and missed all but one. Purdue (11-12, 3-6 Big Ten) was nearly as bad, connecting on just 4 of 14. \nThe one three-pointer marked the first time since IU beat Penn State 61-54 Jan. 5 in the Big Ten opener that the Hoosiers (14-6, 7-1) have hit only one three. IU, which began the game with the Big Ten's top three-point shooting percentage at 46.2 percent, has hit at least three threes in every other game. \nThe Hoosiers didn't attempt their first three-pointer until less than five minutes remained in the first half, when Dane Fife, missed his first and only try. \nIU missed three consecutive three-point attempts during a 90-second stretch in the second half, but the damage had already been done, via Jeffries' 26-point effort and the team's 44 points in the paint. \n"They take away our three-point attempts," Davis said. "I just feel like if you take away one, we'll hurt you on the other."\nKeady said he tried to limit IU's three-point looks, but the plan backfired. In fear that IU might get hot from beyond the arc, he didn't focus on Jeffries during the week leading to Thursday's game. \n"We could have zoned," Keady said. "We tried to defend their three-point shots. If Jeffries was going to beat us, beat us on the inside, and he certainly did that."\nThe sophomore hit 11 of 19 shots, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked three shots. The style of play and lack of outside pop had Jeffries believing the Hoosiers can win in more than one way, similar to the grind-it-out manner in which IU dumped Penn State.\n"This team can play inside-out," Jeffries said after recording his fourth consecutive double-double. "Next game, if somebody worries about me, our guards are going to hit 16, 17 threes again."
(01/31/02 6:11am)
When Bob Knight was fired in September 2000, Purdue coach Gene Keady feared he would have a difficult time getting his players fired up for IU. \nHe figured IU-Purdue just wouldn't be the same, at least from the Purdue perspective. Last year, he appeared to be right on, as IU grabbed both games.\nBut things are different this season.\nFor the first time since the 1973-1974 season, IU and Purdue meet only once, at 7 p.m. tonight at Assembly Hall. \nNo chance for a season sweep. No chance for revenge. And this season the Hoosiers -- and not the Boilermakers -- are among the teams perched on top of the Big Ten standings. \n"Both programs have been through a lot the last couple years," IU coach Mike Davis said. "We're in the process of rebuilding and getting back to the national level. This is state bragging rights."\nDavis is on his way. He has guided IU (13-6, 6-1 Big Ten) to second place in the league, one-half game behind league-leading Ohio State. \nPurdue (11-11, 3-5) has done the opposite. The Boilermakers sputtered to five losses in their first six conference games before dumping Northwestern and No. 24 Iowa to record their first two-game winning streak since mid-December. \nTonight's game starts a string of three games in six days for IU, which will leave tomorrow for Saturday's matchup with Minnesota. The Hoosiers then return to Bloomington to play Iowa Tuesday.\nGiven that and Purdue's late surge, Davis said he isn't concerned about a letdown after IU's 88-57 thumping of No. 9 Illinois Saturday. But junior guard Kyle Hornsby said any stumble would jeopardize IU's impressive start and detract from victories over Michigan State, Iowa and Illinois.\n"To have a letdown now would be a major disappointment," Hornsby said. "These are the kinds of games you have to win if you're going to compete for a Big Ten title."\nDavis will try to substitute more to combat both fatigue and a Purdue squad that has battled injuries, inconsistency and soft defense. Junior Willie Deane leads the Boilers in scoring and is second to IU's Jared Jeffries in the Big Ten at 19.5 points per game (in league games only). \nIt's been a Boilermaker defense that is allowing opponents to shoot better than 53 percent and not Deane's scoring that has Keady's attention. \n"Leading scorers don't really turn me on," Keady said earlier this season.\nHe'll face one in Jeffries, but he isn't keying too much on the 6-foot-9 sophomore. Instead, Keady is worried about IU's strong guard play and inside-out attack, which helped put five players in double figures in the victory over Illinois. \n"They're balanced," Keady said. "You can't just stop one person. They do a good job putting pressure on the ball. They had a very good schedule before Big Ten, and it helped gel them."\nTurns out, Keady is worried about IU's backcourt and the Hoosiers are worried about the Boilermaker guards, as well. \nPurdue's quick backcourt features a dribble-drive attack similar to an Ohio State guard trio that gave IU fits in the Buckeyes' 73-67 victory Jan. 19. In that game, OSU's guards combined to score 37 points on 12-of-18 shooting. \nIn Purdue's upset of Iowa, Deane and senior Maynard Lewis scored 36 points and hit 11-of-20 field goals. Deane also leads the league in three-point shots made with 50. \n"They're extremely athletic, especially on the perimeter," IU sophomore guard A.J. Moye said. "We've had trouble guarding dribble penetration, and that should be a good test. It should be a nice, real scrappy game."\nMoye, who attended high school in Atlanta, Ga., said he isn't sold on the rivalry yet, but was impressed with the atmosphere at last year's 66-55 IU win in Assembly Hall. \nThe bitter Boilermaker-Hoosier feud arguably took a hit when IU fired Knight, but Keady and Davis still see the fire. Keady admitted he wasn't happy about not getting two chances and isn't thrilled about the only meeting being in Bloomington. \nAn IU victory would mark IU's first four-game winning streak against Purdue since a six-game winning streak from 1973 to 1976. Purdue has lost two straight meetings in Assembly Hall.\n"It's always been a great challenge to try to go into Bloomington and win," Keady said. "If you get beat by them, you like to get them back at your place if you have the chance. We're trying to stay in the race."\nSo is IU, which has spent interview after interview drumming up ideas of its first Big Ten championship since 1993. That approach has given this year's clash an unusual flavor -- it's not who you play, but who wins. \n"It's a rivalry game, and it's going to be a packed house and loud, crazy-wild atmosphere," Moye said. "Last year, we really looked at teams…but this year, everybody's jersey says 'Big Ten' on it. That's all we care about -- Big Ten victories"
(01/31/02 5:27am)
There's a chance Jared Jeffries won't be in Bloomington next winter. \nIt's certain two of the nation's premier prospects will. IU is trying to add another to that list, and Coach Mike Davis is trying to fill his first recruiting class since taking over the program last season. \nGuards Bracey Wright and Marshall Strickland and forward Daryl Pegram have committed to the Hoosiers. \nAnother guard, 6-foot-4 Roderick Wilmont, should be in Bloomington for tonight's matchup with Big Ten rival Purdue. \nWilmont, a shooting guard at Miramar (Fla.) High School, is averaging more than 30 points per game and scored 58 in a game this season, but surfaced well after most top-notch players were signed. \nIU inked Wright, Strickland and Pegram in November and courted them most of the summer. With the chance that Jeffries, who Davis is touting as the Big Ten's best player, might forgo his junior and senior seasons and enter the NBA draft, IU spent much of its recruiting focus on big men, Rivalshoops.com Recruiting Analyst Russ Blake said. \nThe Hoosiers chased 6-9 Iowa Western Community College forward Jeff Graves, but he decided on Kansas. Fellow prize recruit Sean May chose North Carolina, leaving IU in search of talent rather than size. \n"He's put up big scoring numbers," Blake said of Wilmont. "It is a little surprising (IU isn't going after a big guy). I haven't heard any names on the radar screen for them. But there's not a lot of big guys out there, and most of the better ones signed early."\nIU did just that with Pegram, a 6-9, 185-pound forward at Worcester (Mass.) Academy. Pegram said Monday he's averaging 15 points and seven rebounds per game, but his minutes are sometimes limited by a team that boasts six players who have signed to play basketball for NCAA Division I schools next season. \nPegram, who sees himself playing a style similar to that of current Hoosiers Jeffries and Jeff Newton, leads his team in three pointers and has played primarily small forward. \n"It depends on how hard I work this summer," said Pegram, who plans to arrive on campus in June. "I need to put on 15 or 20 pounds. But I was happy to see IU put up 17 threes (against Illinois Saturday)."\nPegram said he's surprised the Hoosiers are after Wilmont and said he knew of a couple players IU assistant coach Jim Thomas recruited while on a trip to see Pegram play. Despite the exit of senior forward Jarrad Odle and possibly Jeffries, Blake doesn't expect Pegram to make immediate contributions at IU. \n"He's a lanky, tall guy with skills, and you can't have enough of them," Blake said. "In time, he'll be a Big Ten-level player. People shouldn't have any illusions that he will come in and be a dominant player from the get-go."\nThat is a possibility for Wright and Strickland, both of whom are rated among the nation's top 25 recruits by several publications, including Blake's. \nWright said he's brushing up his rebounding skills and is excited about the potential of IU using an up-and-down tempo next season. IU will have the option to play both full-court and half-court styles with Wright and Strickland playing in the same backcourt as current Hoosiers Tom Coverdale, Kyle Hornsby, A.J. Moye and Donald Perry. \nWright has the same can't-wait approach as Pegram when discussing next season. \n"It can't come soon enough," Wright said. "I've wanted it since I was young -- that college scene and the college atmosphere."\nWright's potential backcourt mate hasn't enjoyed the same success this season. He hasn't had one, thanks to a ruling from the Maryland state superintendent of schools. It was ruled that Strickland used his four years of eligibility prior to this season. Strickland did play in two games before handed the ruling, and he averaged 34 points per game for South Carroll (Md.) High. \nStrickland could not be reached for comment, but his sister confirmed he is still practicing with the team. \nDespite Strickland's potential rust and whether IU adds another guard to the mix or not, Blake is impressed with the class Davis has assembled. \n"Bracey (Wright) has the tools and shooting ability to step right in and be an impact player," Blake said. "(Strickland is a) pretty complete player. IU's done well by getting Wright and Strickland and (Pegram). Should they get Wilmont, it will only add to the depth"
(01/30/02 4:57am)
Mike Davis' three-point philosophy has one point: If you're open, shoot it. \nLeft corner, right wing, top of the key. Wherever. \nHeck, the second-year coach whose signature is sticky defense said he doesn't even mind when junior guard Tom Coverdale fires a three-pointer from 24 feet. \nHis approach -- backed by a three-guard lineup that has helped break the school record for three pointers in a game twice this season -- is working. \nIU has hit 10 or more three-pointers in six games -- something it did only three times last season -- and is shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc and a Big Ten-best 46 percent during its blazing conference start. Four different Hoosiers -- Coverdale, junior Kyle Hornsby, sophomore Jared Jeffries and senior Dane Fife -- are shooting the three at better than 40 percent. \nIU has hit 145 three pointers this season after hitting 181 last season. The Hoosiers are on pace to shoot 558 and sink 228 three-pointers and break the school record for three pointers made and attempted in a season. The 1992-1993 squad hit a school-best 197, and the 1998-1999 team attempted a school-high 534. \nThe culmination and coronation came Saturday, when IU broke the school record of 16 three-pointers (set against Alaska-Anchorage Nov. 21) with 17 in the 88-57 squashing of then-No. 9 Illinois. \nThe normally-placid Davis admitted he had a hard time controlling his sideline demeanor at times as IU dropped in one shot after another. But he also confessed he wasn't all that surprised. \n"To me, a good three-point shot is any time they're open," Davis said. "(The guards) can really shoot the basketball. What people witnessed on Saturday is what I witness every day in practice."\nAnd it's happened during games, too. \nIU hit 14-of-26 three pointers in an 18-point win over Michigan State Jan. 8. The Hoosiers drained 11 of 21 in a Nov. 24 victory against Texas. They hit 10 of 16 against Eastern Washington and 10 of 20 at Iowa, both victories. \nIU's offense feeds off Jeffries, who is averaging 17.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and countless double-teams per game. While opposing defenses swarm toward Jeffries, the Hoosiers' guards have set up shop around the three-point arc. Jeffries, meanwhile, is averaging 2.6 assists per game in Big Ten play. \n"Basically, our offense is to get it into (Jeffries) inside, because we know they can't guard him with one guy," Coverdale said. "All three of our guards can shoot the basketball really well."\nAlready early this week, Minnesota coach Dan Monson pondered how to slow down the Hoosier offense. \n"They don't give you a lot of ways to cheat," said Monson, whose Golden Gophers meet IU Saturday. "Their guards spread you out so much."\nThere's a season's worth of evidence.\nFife, Coverdale and Hornsby started all seven of IU's Big Ten games and are averaging more than seven three pointers among them in the conference. That trio is shooting 52 percent from the three-point line in league play. \nThe most glaring contribution has come from Fife, who is shooting 51 percent from the three-point line and hit 6 of 7 against Illinois. The senior guard visited a sports psychiatrist this summer after sputtering through his first three seasons in Bloomington, where he averaged no more than 5.3 points per game and hit a combined 33 three pointers. Already this season, he's knocked down 38, second only to Coverdale for team-high honors. \nFife said before the season started he planned to shoot more, and fellow senior Jarrad Odle predicted Fife would have a break-out year. \n"In practice, he knocks down shots all the time," Davis said of Fife. "It's just a thing with him, taking shots. He only attempted seven shots (Saturday), and that's not a whole lot of shots when you're shooting (51) percent from the three-point line." \nFife brushed off his performance, offering only this: "This is our home floor. We better be able to hit on these rims or we're in trouble."\nHornsby has also taken a while to heat up. His soft shooting touch had been a topic of IU basketball discussion since his freshman season, but he struggled to begin this season. The junior entered the year shooting 41 percent from the three-point line, but was shooting only 34 percent before igniting IU's first Big Ten victory with three second-half three-pointers. \nCoverdale has hit 10-of-16 three-pointers over the last three games and is shooting 56 percent in Big Ten play, good for third in the conference. The two in front of him have attempted only 14 and 15 three pointers. Coverdale has fired up 41. \nAs for those shots from 24 feet with the shot clock evaporating? \n"Coverdale, when the shot clock is going down, he always hits from three or four feet behind the line," Davis joked Monday. \nSo, if Coverdale can get away with that, is there such thing as a bad three-pointer? "I thought any time (sophomore A.J.) Moye takes a three-point shot, it's bad," Davis said with a laugh.\nMoye drained a three-pointer with a hand in his face and the shot clock nearing a buzz Saturday and responded with a smirk and a shrug of his shoulders. \nThe body language is symbolic of IU's explosion, both from beyond the arc and in the standings, where IU sits tied for the league lead. \nThe offense still focuses on Jeffries, but Davis doesn't mind the constant barrage of threes. \n"If you miss two or three in a row," Davis said, "you should try to get the ball inside before you take another (three-point) shot."\nAnd then another. And another…
(01/25/02 5:35am)
Steve Alford isn't big on Christmas break. \nAt least not after Iowa stumbled to four losses in five Big Ten games after returning to Iowa City. \nThe Hawkeyes escaped with a 75-71 victory against Michigan State Tuesday and might have found some breathing room. They head to Purdue at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in search of their first back-to-back wins since early this month. \nBut Alford is anything but happy. \n"Apparently, everybody got a bucket-load of Christmas gifts and got spoiled," Alford said before the Michigan State game. "We have not played the way we're capable of playing since Christmas break."\nAlford had several complaints about his team, which he said wasn't happy with a pre-game meal at Northwestern, a team that beat the No. 24 Hawkeyes (14-7, 3-4 Big Ten) 63-50 and saw them hit just 15 of 32 from the free throw line. \nBut he understands what he's trying to accomplish at Iowa and said the road to get where he wants his program to remain isn't a simple one to navigate. \n"We're battling with some toughness issues," Alford said, adding that he's still trying to figure out how Iowa is ranked. "When you're trying to bring a program to elite status, that climb is very tough. We just have to hope that (we've hit) rock bottom. We can still turn this and get it in the right direction, but we better start working on this in a hurry."\nAlford didn't start guard Luke Recker against Michigan State (11-8, 2-4) in an attempt to stir up momentum, and the approach worked. Recker scored 16 points and got help from forward and fellow senior Reggie Evans, who scored 16 and grabbed seven rebounds. \nIf Iowa can't win Saturday in West Lafayette, Purdue will pick up steam for the first time since conference play began. \nThe Boilermakers (10-11, 2-5) edged Northwestern (10-7, 2-4) by two points Wednesday and got themselves out of the Big Ten basement. Only Penn State (5-12, 1-5) is still stuck on one league victory. The Nittany Lions travel to Wisconsin (11-9, 4-3) Saturday for a 11:15 a.m. tip-off. \nBut coach Gene Keady said the Boilermakers could just as quickly slip down in the standings again if they don't pick up their play on the defensive end. \nNorthwestern shot 56 percent against Purdue but managed only 61 points. Purdue is allowing opponents to shoot a league-high 54 percent in Big Ten play. \n"Not much has changed," Keady said. "We still have our difficulty guarding people. We have trouble getting the right people in there to stop people. We keep working on it in practice, but you certainly can't tell in games."\nMiddle of the pack\nSix of the league's 11 teams have three or four conference losses already, leaving the Big Ten standings clogged and cluttered. \nNone of those six teams play one another this weekend, but there are four intra-conference games slated for Saturday, including one involving the Big Ten leader and another including the league's second- and third-place teams. \nMinnesota (10-7, 3-3) will battle league-leading No. 23 Ohio State (15-2, 6-0 before Thursday's game against Michigan) at 4:30 p.m. in Minneapolis. \nNo. 8 Illinois (15-4, 4-2) travels to IU to battle the Hoosiers (12-6, 4-1) at 1 p.m.\nOhio State's Brian Brown, who scored a career-high 26 points in the Buckeyes' 73-67 victory over IU Saturday, was named the Big Ten Player of the Week. He also dropped in 15 in a win over Penn State. But he'll face a well-rested Golden Gopher bunch Saturday.\nMinnesota hasn't played since losing to Michigan in Williams Arena Saturday and will play an Ohio State squad that played Thursday night, attended classes and took off for Minneapolis late today. \nThe Gophers took Sunday and Monday off and still haven't come to terms with their third league loss. \n"We have a real sour taste in our mouth, and we have to deal with that for a whole week," coach Dan Monson said Monday. "The biggest thing is our consistency. We have been able to stream together good sequences where our offense and our defenses are on the same page."\nOutside the league\nMichigan and Northwestern will play non-conference games this weekend, with the Wolverines (7-9, 3-4) welcoming Vermont and Northwestern traveling to Buffalo. \nMichigan first-year coach Tommy Amaker is both surprised and pleased at his squad's solid start in Big Ten play and is counting on the win at Minnesota to help carry the Wolverines through the guts of the conference schedule. \n"I really think if somebody had told us we'd be .500 in the conference six games into the conference, we'd be pretty pleased," Amaker said. "Our kids are feeling a little bit like that themselves. We feel good about ourselves"