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(01/25/02 5:30am)
Before this week, Bill Self had a problem. \nThe second-year Illinois coach didn't have enough healthy players to play five-on-five. The Fighting Illini were the walking wounded. Some of them could barely walk. \nNow, three weeks into the Big Ten season, Self has a full cast of characters -- "enough to play four-on-four on both ends of the court," he joked earlier this week. \nAfter playing the entire season without Lucas Johnson and six games without Damir Krupalija, Illinois is back. At full force. Kind of. \nJohnson and Krupalija both saw action in Wednesday's 80-48 pounding of Wisconsin. Both will be dressed and ready at 1 p.m. Saturday in Assembly Hall for a matchup of Big Ten frontrunners when No. 9 Illinois (15-4, 4-2 Big Ten) meets IU (12-6, 5-1), but they aren't expected to get major minutes.\nStill, having help for Big Ten Player of the Year Frank Williams and more bodies at Self's disposal is something the Illini are looking forward to. \n"They're almost in place," Self said early this week about the pieces of the Illini puzzle. "We'll be a better team because of it. We still haven't quite had everybody together all the time. We're two weeks away from probably being where we need to be."\nJohnson and Krupalija were a big reason the Illini tied for the Big Ten crown and advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight last season. \nThe 6-foot-8, 230-pound Johnson, who said he is playing at about 85 percent, ripped a knee ligament and had surgery in October. He played his first 12 minutes of the season Wednesday, scoring five points. He hopes to return with the same "reckless abandon" he has displayed in the past, he said. \nKrupalija, a 6-9, 230-pound forward who has had some of his best career games against IU, nursed a sprained foot for six games and has practiced only twice since mid-December. He played 11 minutes without scoring but had two rebounds. \nSelf said he expects the duo to ease its way back into play, and is excited about the depth the Illini have. Ten different Illini played at least 10 minutes Wednesday, and 12 players scored. \nRegardless of who they have on the floor, the Illini have IU's respect. \n"Illinois is the team to beat," IU coach Mike Davis said. "We respect them as the most talented team in the Big Ten. Coach Self is fantastic."\nSo is Williams, Davis said. \nThe dynamic 6-3 point guard scored 14 points in both of the meetings between IU and Illinois last season, helping the Illini upend IU 67-61 in Bloomington in February. Three weeks later, IU upset Illinois 58-56 in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. \nWilliams committed nine turnovers in the two games and showed signs of frustration in the finale in Chicago. He hit just nine of 27 field goals (33.3 percent) in the two games. IU senior guard Dane Fife spent much of the time defending Williams then and will do the same Saturday. \nDavis said he won't change his game plan for one player, a mistake he said he made against Kentucky's Tayshaun Prince. He said his best plan to slow down Williams is "pray he misses shots." \nFife also has unconventional ideas. \n"(Getting under his skin) is the only real way you can probably stop him other than graduation or injury," Fife said. "I don't think we're going to try to injure him, and we can't count on graduation. We're going to do what we can to stop him."\nWilliams scored a mere two points Wednesday and took just four shots. He's averaging 17.1 points and 4.4 assists per game this season and is one of four Illini players averaging double figures. \nWisconsin's plan to guard Williams tightly unraveled when senior guard Cory Bradford dropped in 16 points, senior forward Robert Archibald scored 14 and junior forward Brian Cook added 12. \nThe Illini could pose problems for IU, which has played three guards at most times this season. The addition of Johnson and Krupalija gives Illinois a rotation of five players who are 6-8 or taller. \nSelf said their return will allow him to keep his players fresher and develop the kind of rotation he had last season, when seniors Sergio McClain and Marcus Griffin lead the Illini. Making room for Johnson and Krupalija won't be easy, Self admitted. \n"Some guys will have to swallow their pride," he said. \nDespite the depth, Fife, whose history includes impressive defensive performances against some of the Big Ten's top guards, has faith in his game plan of doing whatever it takes to corral Williams and his resurgent teammates. \nA similar style worked in IU's 81-57 thrashing of Penn State Wednesday when Fife limited Nittany Lion sharpshooter Sharif Chambliss to 11 points on three-of-nine shooting. \n"This is the first time in my four years that I really feel comfortable out on the floor with every guy who's out playing 'D,'" Fife said. "I know that everybody on the floor is going to play defense and play hard."\nSomething will bend -- if not break -- Saturday. The Illini lost back-to-back league games at Wisconsin and Purdue early this month but are hitting stride. The Hoosiers are off to their best Big Ten start in nine seasons and play four of their next five league games in Bloomington. \nAn Illini win would pull them even with IU in the standings. An IU victory could help put space between it, league-leader Ohio State, and the rest of the league. \nDavis admitted prior to Wednesday's game at Penn State that Illinois was creeping into the back of his mind -- as well as the minds of his players. \nNow, the Illini have all of IU's attention.\n"(Illinois) certainly has been the team to beat the last couple of years," Fife said. "We have a rivalry with them dating back to the Big Ten Tournament last year. I know they're definitely wanting to come in and beat us pretty bad. We were circled on their schedule"
(01/23/02 5:52am)
There's a reason why Penn State is hovering near the bottom of the men's basketball Big Ten conference standings.\nThe Nittany Lions just can't shoot.\nThat same reason has led to losses to teams like Yale, James Madison and California. \nAnd things haven't gotten better since they last met IU Jan 5., in a game that ended with a 61-54 Hoosier victory. \nPenn State (5-11, 1-4 Big Ten) will get another shot at rectifying its shooting woes tonight at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Penn., when it meets IU (11-6, 4-1) for the final regular-season meeting between the two schools. \n"We don't put the ball in the basket," Penn State coach Jerry Dunn said early this week. "We've not done that consistently enough."\nAs in a Big Ten-low 40 percent from the field. \nThat's what the Nittany Lions shot in Saturday's 77-65 home loss to Michigan State and just a tad more than what they shot in the loss to IU in Bloomington. \nPenn State has lost five of its last six games and has found it rough in the Big Ten. It has lost two games by seven points or less and just slipped by Wisconsin, 51-49, for its only conference victory.\nPart of the reason, Dunn said, lies in the youth of his backcourt. Last season - when Penn State beat Providence and upset North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament to advance to the Sweet 16 - Dunn relied on seniors Joe Crispin, Gyasi Cline-Heard and Titus Ivory. \nOne member of that trio led Penn State in scoring in each of its 33 games. \nThis season, that burden has fallen on junior Brandon Watkins and sophomore Sharif Chambliss. Both are experiencing growing pains.\nThe evidence is in the numbers. The Nittany Lions are committing 15 turnovers per game, are last in the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio and are struggling to win on the road and at home.\n"When you have guys who are freshmen and sophomores, you're going to be up and down," Dunn said. \nBut Dunn is convinced the playing time -- and time alongside fellow returnee Tyler Smith, who consistently started last season and is third on the team in scoring this season -- is turning his green guards ripe. \nChambliss, who played only 4.3 minutes per game last season and didn't see action in 10 contests, leads the team in scoring at 14.8 points per game. Watkins is second with 13.6. Watkins played in every game last season, but like Chambliss, didn't start in any. This season, the new duo has started every game.\nChambliss has shown the most impressive improvement after taking only 30 shots all of last season. He took eight in the first meeting with IU, and led the Nittany Lions with 20 points. \n"(Chambliss) has played more," the seventh-year head coach said. "He's worked very hard to do the things we've asked him to do, and it's showed in his play."\nIt also caught the attention of IU Head coach Mike Davis, who coached Chambliss on the Big Ten All-Star Tour of Europe this summer. Davis warned his team Chambliss could heat up in a hurry, and his premonition came true. Chambliss hit seven of eight shots and didn't commit a turnover in 37 minutes in Assembly Hall. \nJust minutes after losing to Ohio State Saturday, Davis had already turned his attention toward Chambliss and Watkins. \n"They have two really good guards," Davis said. "What we have to do is keep our composure and stay focused."\nIU didn't do that against the Buckeyes, letting senior Brian Brown explode for a career-high 26 points, helping earn him Big Ten Player of the Week honors, and victimize it via dribble penetration. \nIf Chambliss and Watkins are able to do the same, they could pick up some ground in the league. Currently, Penn State and Purdue are the only teams stuck on one conference win. An IU win could put even more distance between the league's top and bottom teams. \n"You don't want to get two losses that early in the (Big Ten) season," IU sophomore Jared Jeffries said. \nPenn State already has four and doesn't see room for adding a fifth. \nIt looked like it might avoid loss No. 4 Saturday. PSU allowed Michigan State a 20-2 advantage early Saturday before grabbing a three-point lead with 11 minutes to play. But MSU used a 15-2 run to dump the Nittany Lions, who are yet to play in front of a sold-out Bryce Jordan Center this season. \n"We have a big week coming up," Dunn, the fastest coach to gain 50 and 100 wins in Penn State history, said. "We played 25 to 28 minutes well (against Michigan State), but in this league, you have to play 40 minutes, and we don't have a great deal of room for slippage"
(01/22/02 5:29am)
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Jim O'Brien had a plan Saturday: let Jarrad Odle score at will, let Jared Jeffries score every so often and don't let IU's guards get any momentum from the three-point line. \nHis plan worked like a charm in Ohio State's 73-67 victory in front of 19,200 in Value City Arena. \nOdle tied a career high with 16 points, Jeffries scored 22 and IU hit just six three-pointers. The Hoosiers didn't hit their first three-pointer until 2:42 remained in the first half. \nNo. 25 IU (11-6, 4-1 Big Ten) shot two of six from beyond the arc in the first half, far from equaling the impressive performances it achieved in its two previous Big Ten games. In victories over Michigan State and Iowa, IU hit 18 of its 29 first-half three-point tries, but Saturday was a different story. \nAnd O'Brien, OSU's fourth-year head coach, had it all figured out. \n"We were committed to getting them off the three," O'Brien said. "We didn't think we'd be able to beat them if they made a lot of threes, so we extended on the threes and tried to help out on Jeffries whenever we could. You have to pick somebody, and we picked Odle. It's no surprise he had a great game."\nOdle hit seven of his eight shots, including his first three-pointer of the season. Ten of his 16 came in the first half and kept the Hoosiers within striking distance. But outside of Jeffries, who scored at least 20 points for the third consecutive game, and Odle, IU didn't have much punch. \nDane Fife missed both of his three-pointers, and Tom Coverdale connected on two of four. Kyle Hornsby and A.J. Moye hit their only attempts, and Jeffries missed all but one of his five. Jeffries began the game shooting 43.6 percent from the three-point line. \nOn several occasions, Jeffries passed out of double-teams to open IU guards, who passed up solid looks from beyond the arc and attempted to drive toward the bucket. \nThat concerned and puzzled Mike Davis. \n"When (Jeffries) kicked the ball out of the double-team, our guards, instead of taking shots like they normally do, they tried to get closer," Davis said. "And (Ohio State) did a great job defensively."\nTaking it personally\nDespite his offensive production, Odle took the blame for IU's lack of inside defense. OSU grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and out-rebounded IU 34-24 for the game. OSU hit only one three pointer in the second half and attempted only two. Instead, the Buckeyes packed the offense inside the paint. \n"I didn't do my part on the defensive end," said Odle, a senior who has started all five Big Ten games. "I didn't get defensive rebounds that I should've. I didn't hold up my end of the bargain on the other end of the court. Tonight, I didn't play up to par." \nDefensive deception\nPart of IU's problem from the three-point line might have stemmed from O'Brien's defensive schemes, which included mixing up the Buckeye approach. \nOn several occasions, OSU (14-2, 5-0) played man-to-man one trip down the floor, switched to a 1-3-1 zone the next time and then back to man-to-man. Other times, OSU used a soft full-court press.\nThat flip-flopping kept IU from getting open looks from the arc and clogged up the Hoosiers' inside attack. \nIn the previous two games, IU attempted at least 20 three pointers.\n"He (O'Brien) changes his defense and keeps you off-guard," Davis said. "I knew it would be challenge for us, and it was."\nWhere's the bench?\nIn the first half, IU's bench attempted only one field goal -- a miss by junior Jeff Newton. Newton and freshman Donald Perry combined to hit five of eight free throws for the only bench points of the half. \nThe bench scored only three second-half points -- a three-pointer from Moye. \nOSU's bench out-scored the IU bench 19-8. \nWhen IU reserves did play, they struggled.\nPerry committed three turnovers and had no assists in 11 minutes. Newton didn't hit a field goal and didn't score in the second half. Sophomore George Leach played only thee minutes and did not score. Since spraining an ankle on the opening tip of the Big Ten opener at Northwestern, Leach has not played more than four minutes in a game. He is yet to score in the Big Ten, dropping his season average to 3.8 points per game.\nTwo for three ain't bad\nDavis figured no Big Ten team would complete the conference slate unbeaten, so he wasn't devastated by Saturday's loss. \nThe goal remains to win at Penn State Wednesday and meet Illinois and Purdue at home in back-to-back games starting Saturday. \n"I knew it was impossible to go 3-0 (during this three-game road swing)," Davis said. "It we get two out of three, that's super. If we get one out of three on the road, that's pretty good."\nJeffries has the same positive outlook. \n"Good teams go on from this," Jeffries said. "They don't worry about it, and they don't dwell on it"
(01/18/02 5:45am)
Two weeks ago, Saturday's IU-Ohio State matchup seemed like a normal Big Ten game. \nBut since the start of the conference season, the Buckeyes have bounced all four of their foes. IU has done the same. \nSimilarities between the two teams are striking: both have beaten Iowa; both have beaten Penn State; both have beaten Northwestern; both are surprising the Big Ten by gaining the early edge on supposed league favorites, Illinois, Iowa and Michigan State. \nThe first of two meetings between the No. 25 Hoosiers (11-5, 4-0 Big Ten) and the Buckeyes (13-2, 4-0) 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Value City Arena will be a battle for sole possession of first place in the conference. \n"Right now, we're playing good basketball, but the problem we have is we have to go on the road and play a very good Ohio State team," IU coach Mike Davis said. "Defensively, they're doing a great job, and offensively, (Ohio State) is probably second-to-none on getting open shots. It will be a difficult task."\nThe Buckeyes are fresh off Wednesday's 76-57 thumping of Penn State, in which they put five players in double figures and shot 57.8 percent from the floor. OSU leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage, at more than 50 percent. \nSenior guard Brian Brown leads the Buckeye scoring attack with 14.5 points per game, but has plenty of help. Four OSU starters average double digits, a factor that has helped coach Jim O'Brien's squad soar through its pre-conference schedule and continue to roll through the first four conference games. \nSaturday's game is the second in a six-game stretch that has the Buckeyes playing five home games. Ohio State hasn't lost a Big Ten home game since IU escaped with a 70-67 victory Jan. 31, 2001. \nStill, O'Brien isn't making any predictions.\n"For (IU) to come in here and win would be no fluke," O'Brien said. "If we're going to keep our heads above water, we have to have a very good next couple of weeks."\nIn the midst of a three-game road swing, IU is doing more than keeping its head above water. The Hoosiers re-entered the AP Top 25 this week, after back-to-back wins over ranked opponents (then-No. 25 Michigan State and No. 17 Iowa). \nWith wins at Ohio State and Penn State, the Hoosiers could come back to Bloomington unbeaten for a contest with defending Big Ten co-champion Illinois. The five-day break between Sunday's win at Iowa and Saturday's game have helped the Hoosiers prepare for that possibility. \nSophomore forward and Big Ten Player of the Week Jared Jeffries used Monday and Tuesday to nurse a sore knee, and the rest of the Hoosiers should be well rested and ready for Ohio State's demanding defense; one that is holding opponents to a league-low 58.2 points per game and 27.5 percent from three-point range. \n"We had time to go over some things we wouldn't normally have time to go over," Davis said. \n"Sometimes teams can play well and wear themselves out. Five days off gives us a chance to break things down."\nLike the Buckeye's balanced lineup, both in scoring and size. IU -- off to its first 4-0 league start since the 1992-1993 season when Ohio State handed the Hoosiers their only loss -- should match well with OSU, which starts three guards and have recently used 7-foot center Velimir Radinovic to replace graduated center Ken Johnson, who finished his OSU career the Big Ten's all-time leader in blocked shots. \nIU has used much of the same formula all season, with three guards, tight defense and four starters averaging seven or more points per game. \nThose approaches have worked flawlessly for both teams, and they aren't the only ones taking notice. \n"They're both very good teams," Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said. "The only thing that I see that separates them is Jeffries. He can sort of dominate a game. Both teams are veterans teams on the perimeter and both are well-coached and find ways to win." \nO'Brien, who starts a pair of seniors at guard, admitted earlier this week that facing a forward who can play both inside and outside the lane concerns him. \nAlso grabbing his attention is IU's backcourt, which has led a three-point charge in the last two league games. In those wins, IU has hit 18 of its 29 three-point attempts in the first half, racing out to early leads. \nRegardless of personnel, Davis, who called O'Brien one of the top coaches in the country, is confident the Buckeyes will be ready. \n"(O'Brien) doesn't have five McDonald's All-Americans on the floor," Davis said, "but they play really hard and really well." \nDavis' players are confident they will be ready.\n"We're in a great position," senior forward Jarrad Odle said. "This Ohio State game is very important for us. It should be a good battle for us"
(01/17/02 5:35am)
Jared Jeffries was having a hard time adjusting to being IU's go-to guy. \nCoach Mike Davis said it, and Jeffries admitted it. \nThat was before last week. \nThe 6-foot-9 sophomore forward torched Michigan State and Iowa, leading the Hoosiers to back-to-back victories over ranked opponents and carrying them to the top spot in the Big Ten. His efforts earned him Big Ten Player of the Week honors, the conference announced this week. \nIt is Jeffries' second Player of the Week award this season -- his other came Dec. 10, 2001 -- and the second of his career. \n"The coaches have been working really hard with me, and everything is coming together," Jeffries said. \nAgainst then-No. 25 Michigan State Jan. 8, Jeffries came within striking distance of the first Hoosier triple-double since 1971 when he scored 21 points, pulled down eight rebounds, recorded seven assists and blocked six shots to lead IU to an 83-65 win.\nSteve Downing had IU's last triple-double when he collected 28 points, 17 rebounds and 10 blocks against Michigan in February 1971. \nJeffries followed his MSU explosion with another remarkable performance at Iowa Sunday. His game-high 26 points and seven rebounds led IU to a 77-66 victory over the then-No. 13 Hawkeyes. \n"Jeffries played like an All-American," Iowa coach Steve Alford said in the wake of Jeffries impressive performance. "He was a load today."\nDuring the week, Jeffries shot 61 percent from the floor. He has now led IU (11-5, 4-0 Big Ten) in scoring eight times this season and in five of the last six contests. He is now averaging 17.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game; both rank him in the top five in the Big Ten.\nDavis, IU's second-year head coach, is already mentioning Jeffries as a Big Ten Player of the Year candidate. \n"He's the guy that's making this team go from the standpoint of creating opportunities for our guards," Davis said this week. "If Jared Jeffries continues to play the way he's playing he can be the Big Ten Player of the Year. He's playing outstanding right now."\nBack in the top 25 … halfway\nAfter dropping out of both the The Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches top 25 polls after losing to Miami (Fla.) Dec. 15, IU made a return to the top 25 this week. The Hoosiers are ranked No. 25 in the AP poll, but got just seven votes in the ESPN/USA Today poll. \nOhio State, which IU plays Saturday, is ranked 26th in the AP poll. Only three Big Ten teams are ranked: No. 11 Illinois, No. 17 Iowa and No. 25 IU. \nIU topped out at No. 20 in the Nov. 19 AP poll after winning the season-opener at Charlotte and got back in the top 25 by beating up top-25 teams Michigan State and Iowa. \nThree teams IU has played this season -- Kentucky, Iowa and Miami -- are currently ranked. Butler, Ball State, Marquette and Texas, all of which IU played this season, have been ranked at one time.\nIU's Ratings Percentage Index ranking is No. 18 and its strength of schedule is second in the nation. Illinois (No. 9) and Ohio State (No. 13) are the only Big Ten schools with higher RPI ratings than the Hoosiers.\nDown and out?\nAfter dropping its game to IU Sunday, Iowa had just 48 hours to prepare for Illinois Tuesday. \nIt showed. \nNo. 11 Illinois (14-4, 3-2) put four players in double figures and used a second-half spurt to upend No. 17 Iowa 77-66.\n"It's a game I think both schools had circled on their calendars," Illinois coach Bill Self said.\nThe two schools don't meet again on the regular season schedule until next season.\nThe loss leaves Iowa (13-6, 2-3) three games behind conference leaders IU and Ohio State. The Hawkeyes still have trips to No. 25 IU, Wisconsin and Michigan State and home games with Ohio State and Minnesota, both of which are playing well. Iowa has now lost three of its last four. \nIllinois held Luke Recker to 16 points, and kept Reggie Evans, who Self called one of the "nastiest" players in the league, from being a factor. Evans, who scored just seven points against IU, had 12 Tuesday but was limited to a season-low six rebounds. \nIllinois will have its chance to catch the Big Ten leaders, thanks to two match-ups with IU and a trip to Ohio State. The Fighting Illini play at IU Jan. 26 and follow that game with a visit to Columbus, Ohio, to meet the Buckeyes Jan. 29.
(01/11/02 5:46am)
It's inevitable. \nLuke Recker will get the attention. He'll catch the eye of IU players and the ire of Hoosier fans. He'll play an immense role in Sunday's match-up between two early Big Ten contenders when IU and Iowa meet at 1 p.m. in Iowa City's Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hoosiers have lost there six consecutive times.\nAlready, the 6-foot-6 senior forward from Auburn, Ind., who left Bloomington following his sophomore season in 1998-1999, is at the top of discussion. \n"It's a lot of fun," guard Tom Coverdale said. "At the beginning of the year, everybody looks wanting to play (Recker). When you play against people you know, you want to beat them."\nThat's something IU couldn't do last season, when Iowa upended IU in Iowa City and in the Big Ten Tournament championship in Chicago. \nIn the first game, IU blew a 17-point halftime lead, as Recker exploded for 27 points in a 71-66 Iowa victory. Recker re-aggravated a knee injury in that game and didn't play in the Big Ten Tournament, when the Hawkeyes edged the Hoosiers 63-61.\nThe remnants of those two losses still don't sit well with the Hoosiers (10-5, 3-0 Big Ten). \n"That's our motivation," forward Jared Jeffries said. "That team got us twice last year, and it's time for us to go back to their place. Last year, we had them down by almost 20 at halftime, and they came back and beat us. We can't let that happen this year."\nTo do that, IU will focus on No. 13 Iowa's tandem of Recker and power forward Reggie Evans, the Big Ten's top two leading scorers. Evans, also the league's leading rebounder, averages 18.3 points and 11.9 rebounds per game and has attempted a league-leading 161 free throws. Recker pours in 18.8 points per game.\nIn Iowa's 70-60 victory over Northwestern Wednesday, Evans had 21 points and 11 rebounds. Recker scored 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. \nIU defensive stopper Dane Fife picked up two fouls early in Iowa City last season, allowing Recker to erupt for 27. Fife, who coach Mike Davis called IU's "best defender from the guard position," will likely match up with his former roommate Sunday. \n"He's a smart player," Davis said of Recker. "He gets to the free-throw line a lot. Fife picked up two fouls last year early in the game, and that hurt us a lot. All we want to do is go on the road and compete and play hard."\nIU has done that in its first three league games, racing to an early Big Ten lead. The Iowa trip starts a three-game road swing that includes trips to Ohio State and Penn State, which IU beat 61-54 Saturday. \nDefense is expected to play a big role Sunday. Both teams limit their opponents to only 40 percent from the field, but Iowa's high-powered offense scores 78.9 points per game. \nDavis has consistently used a three-guard lineup but might be forced to make match-up changes against the Hawkeyes. Iowa starts four players who are 6-6 and is second to Michigan State in rebounding margin.\nThe Spartans out-rebounded IU 33-20 Tuesday. IU should have 6-11 center George Leach, who sprained his ankle at Northwestern and sat out much of the Michigan State game, back in the lineup. \nThe Hawkeyes are also deep, with three reserves who average more than 5 points per game.\nOhio State slowed down the Iowa offense Saturday -- the Buckeyes held Recker to 11 points on 10 shots -- upsetting the Hawkeyes (13-4, 2-1) 72-62 in Columbus. The Big Ten season has already included a number of upsets, including OSU's victory and a pair of losses by Illinois.\nIowa coach Steve Alford is impressed with the parity among the league's teams and isn't ruling out losing on his home floor, where the Hawkeyes fended off a pesky Northwestern bunch Wednesday.\n"You have to give your 'A' game at home and on the road to win," said Alford, in his third season at Iowa. "You have a group of 11 teams, where anything can happen."\nAnything did happen in IU's 83-65 pounding of Michigan State Tuesday, as the Hoosiers connected on 14 three-pointers and created a stir in the Big Ten standings. An IU victory would give two league losses to three teams -- Iowa, Illinois and Michigan State -- thought to be the frontrunners for the Big Ten crown. \n"We have three tough (road) games," Davis said. "We're just going to go out and compete as hard as we can and see what happens"
(01/08/02 5:38am)
John Treloar knows what IU has to do if it hopes to upend Michigan State at 7 p.m. tonight in Assembly Hall. \nAbout 45 minutes into IU's practice Monday, the assistant coach barked this mind-boggling statistic: Michigan State has out-rebounded its opponent in 115 of its last 122 games. \nWith that, the Hoosiers went to work, blocking out and crashing the glass in preparation for coach Tom Izzo's physical, hard-working Spartans. \n"It's big," IU coach Mike Davis said of rebounding tonight. "We need our guards to rebound the ball. Even if you work hard, (MSU) will probably beat you on the boards. It's a must for us to come out and rebound, all five guys."\nThe No. 25 Spartans (9-5, 0-1 Big Ten) are out-rebounding their counterparts by an average of 10 boards per game this season and average a Big Ten best 42 rebounds (13.8 offensive) per game. \nFour of Michigan State's five starters average more than four rebounds per game. \nIn the win over Penn State Saturday, IU's guards -- Tom Coverdale and Kyle Hornsby and senior Dane Fife -- combined for only seven rebounds, which didn't satisfy Davis. \nThe job will be tougher tonight, and not just for the backcourt. \n"We did a good job of keeping Penn State off (the boards)," forward Jarrad Odle said. "If we don't come out, block out and get on the boards, we'll get beat."\nIU's inside game will get a boost from the return of sophomore center George Leach, who sprained his ankle during the tip-off at Northwestern Wednesday. Leach did not play against Penn State, but Davis said Leach, who ran and moved smoothly at practice Monday, is good to go tonight. \nBut as soon as Leach bounced back, Hornsby went down. The 6-foot-5 swingman sat out Monday's practice after knocking his knee on the floor late in the first half against Penn State. Davis said he wasn't aware of Hornsby's injury until just before practice Monday, but hopes he will be available tonight.\nPersonnel hasn't mattered lately in the series, which has featured some of the league's best games. The home team has won 15 of the last 16 games in the series, and IU has upset the Spartans the last two times they visited Bloomington. \nKirk Haston's three-pointer at the buzzer beat then-No. 1 MSU last January, and a Lynn Washington putback upended the No. 5 Spartans in 2000. Earlier that season, MSU edged IU 77-71 in overtime in East Lansing.\nThe loss of Haston, who entered the NBA draft last summer rather than returning for his senior season, is something the Hoosiers (9-5, 2-0) have seemed to put behind them. Izzo hasn't.\n"(Haston) could stretch the defense," he said. "He was a very good rebounder. You put all those things together and (IU) lost a guy who's in the NBA. I still think they have a very good team, but I think that no doubt that loss hurt them some. Probably a couple of players have to step up."\nLike Odle, who has exploded in Big Ten play, averaging 13.5 points and 12 rebounds per game. He is expected to be back in the starting lineup tonight in what will be just his second start of the season. \nOdle's play has helped relieve pressure on the IU backcourt, which has sputtered of late. Coverdale's three-point shooting has dipped to 32 percent, Fife has missed all 10 of his field goals in the last two games and Hornsby missed all six of his three-pointers against Penn State. \nMichigan State holds opponents to a league-low 39.4 percent from the field and just 27.6 percent from the three-point line. \n"You just have to keep digging in," Davis said of his suddenly cold-shooting guards. "We'll make some shots one day. We haven't had a game yet where everybody was hitting. If it wasn't for our defense, we'd be in serious trouble."\nThat defense has put IU in the position to get off to its best league start since the 1993-1994 season, when it opened the Big Ten 3-0. IU hasn't won three straight games yet this season. The Hoosiers, who will play three consecutive road games after tonight, are sharing the early conference lead with Ohio State and Michigan, thanks to Saturday's upsets of No. 13 Iowa, No. 9 Illinois and Michigan State, which played a portion of the loss at Minnesota without sophomore guard and leading scorer Marcus Taylor.\nTaylor is expected to play tonight and leads a cast of Spartans that are a bit vague, compared to last year's bunch. MSU lost four starters, including junior Jason Richardson and freshman Zach Randolph to the NBA. \nStill, six Spartans average at least seven points per game, and regardless of who's on the floor, Davis is impressed.\n"They are a very good basketball team," Davis said. "Izzo is the best. He gets his guys to play at that level, and it's passed down to each group coming in. They all play hard"
(01/07/02 5:38am)
The hump must have been too big. Too tall. Too steep. \nFor the first 33 minutes of Saturday's Big Ten home opener against Penn State, IU stared deficits and horrid shooting in the face. \nThe Hoosiers erased a double-digit lead, played skin-tight defense and made a season's worth of furious comebacks. But they didn't come all the way back. They couldn't get over the hump.\nEnter Jeff Newton. He plowed right through. \nThe 6-foot-9 junior forward scored 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked three shots in IU's 61-54 victory. And for a stretch in the second half, he took over. \n"Newton was good," IU coach Mike Davis said. "He was the best he's been."\nThis is why: \nAfter Penn State raced to a nine-point edge early in the second half, Newton sank a pair of free throws to pull IU within five. Two possessions later, Newton rolled from the low post to the bucket and laid in an ally-oop pass from Jared Jeffries to trim the Lion lead to one point, the closest IU had been since 2-2. \nNewton went to the bench with four fouls with 13:05 remaining, then replaced Jeffries, who picked up his fourth foul with 10:02 left. \nPlaying in Jeffries' slot with IU needing a boost, Newton responded. \nNewton's three-point play with 6:47 left pulled IU within two, at 47-45. On Penn State's subsequent possession, Newton swatted Tyler Smith's jumper. Newton returned inside, got fouled and drained two more free throws to tie the game. \nNewton then rebounded a miss from Penn State's Kevin Fellows, got fouled and hit another free throw giving IU its first lead since a 2-0 edge 45 seconds into the game. \nFrom there, IU forced five turnovers and hit clutch free throws to notch the victory.\n"I knew if we came in and got a couple stops, we would just roll from there," Newton said. "I was the guy to trigger it. I knew I would trigger it if we got some stops."\nOh, Odle\nFor the second consecutive game, Jarrad Odle sparked the IU offense. \nAfter scoring 16 points and grabbing 15 rebounds -- both career highs -- at Northwestern Wednesday, Odle tallied nine points -- all in the first half -- and 11 rebounds Saturday in his first start of the season. \nThe 6-8 forward, playing in the absence of injured center George Leach, scored IU's first five points, then put in back-to-back buckets, capping IU's 14-2 first-half run. \nOdle didn't get off the bench in the Dec. 29 loss to Butler but is off to a fast start in Big Ten play, averaging 12.5 points and 13 rebounds per game. \nGiven the chance, he said he can maintain that production.\n"I was frustrated at myself a little bit (before the Big Ten season started)," Odle said. "I don't think I was doing the things coach Davis wanted. The last couple games, I've stayed within the offense, and hopefully, I'll keep improving."\nFree-throw frenzy\nIU connected on 32 of 38 free throws Saturday, just four days after going 0-of-2 from the line at Northwestern. \nThe 32 makes and 38 attempts were both season highs. The previous highs were 20 makes (twice) and 27 attempts (three times).\nIU was 25-of-29 in the second half, going 5-of-24 (20.8 percent) from the field in that same stretch. \nAll but four of the Hoosiers' final 25 points came via free throws. \nThe most impressive performance might have come from Newton, who began the season shooting only 53 percent from the line for his career. Newton went 6-of-7 Saturday, making him 24-of-32 (75 percent) on the season. \nOnly Tom Coverdale (93 percent) is shooting a higher percentage. \nThe problem, he said, was mental. \n"I always made free throws, even in high school," Newton said. "I just took the crowd out of the equation. I don't get (nervous) anymore. It's something you get used to."\nFirst things first\nDane Fife's free throw with 3:50 left Saturday marked his first points of the Big Ten season. He was averaging nearly 10 points per game during the pre-conference schedule.\nFife missed all seven of his shots from the field at Northwestern and did not score. The senior guard misfired on all three of his shots against Penn State but connected on five of six free throws in the final 3:50 to seal IU's victory. \nKyle Hornsby's bucket in the first half produced his first career field goal against Penn State. Hornsby entered the game having missed all five of his shots -- he was 1-of-2 from the free throw line -- against the Nittany Lions. After Saturday's 1-for-7 performance, Hornsby is now 1-of-12 from the field against Penn State and 0-of-10 from the three-point line.
(01/07/02 5:34am)
The men's basketball team endured a sub-.500 stretch that evaporated any Top 25 ranking and served as a sideshow at times to the words of coach Mike Davis, who chastised officials and defended his stance in an ongoing lawsuit concerning the firing of former assistant coach Ron Felling. \nBut as quickly as things went sour, they turned around in the first two games of the Big Ten season. \nHere's a look each of IU's games during the break. \nNo. 21 Miami (Fla.) 58, IU 53\nIn the first-ever meeting between the two schools, both the Hurricanes and Hoosiers shot 33 percent from the field and combined to miss all but one of 25 three-point attempts in the Orange Bowl Classic Dec. 15. \nMiami (14-1) survived. IU did not.\n"That was the ugliest game I have ever seen in my life," Davis said.\nJames Jones led three Hurricanes in double figures with 13 points and 13 rebounds. \nGuard Tom Coverdale led IU with 16 points. George Leach recorded the first double-double of his career with 10 points and 10 rebounds. He also had seven blocked shots.\nNo. 6 Kentucky 66, IU 52\nCold shooting and quick UK guards spelled the end of IU Dec. 22 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, as the Wildcats (9-3) rolled to a 14-point lead in the first half and extended it to 17 late in the game.\nIU continued misfiring from three-point land, hitting only three of 17 shots from beyond the arc.\n"We were trying to work inside-out," Hoosier guard Dane Fife said. "We just couldn't hit outside shots, and it killed us."\nIU's starting five shot just nine of 38 from the field (23.7, percent) and committed 12 of the teams 16 turnovers. Jarrad Odle, who picked up a technical foul after kicking UK's Keith Bogans in the second half, came off the bench to lead IU with 12 points. Jared Jeffries was the only other Hoosier in double figures with 10 points and 11 rebounds.\nSenior Tayshaun Prince and sophomore Cliff Hawkins led UK with 17 points each. \nIU 87, Eastern Washington 60\nIU's shooting touch returned at the Hoosier Classic in Indianapolis, as the Hoosiers romped to a 27-point win over Eastern Washington at Conseco Fieldhouse Dec. 28.\nFife and Jeffries scored 23 points each to lead IU. Fife's career high featured five of six from three-point land. Coverdale tallied 11 assists, and A.J. Moye collected a career-high 10 rebounds.\nIU raced to an early 6-0 lead and closed the first half with a commanding 44-25 edge. The Hoosiers hit 10 of 16 three-pointers on the night and shot 57 percent from the floor.\nKyle Hornsby hit all three of his three-pointers to finish with 12 points, and nine different Hoosiers scored.\nNo. 20, Butler 66 IU 64\nButler's Joel Cornette slammed home a miss by Thomas Jackson with less than three seconds remaining in the title game of the Hoosier Classic Dec. 29 to give Butler the 66-64 win and end IU's 29-game unbeaten streak in the tournament.\nIU opened a nine-point lead with less than 12 minutes remaining but Butler (13-1) responded with a 10-0 run of its own to regain the lead and go toe-to-toe with the Hoosiers before finishing them off.\nJunior Jeff Newton's tip-in tied the game with 17 seconds left before Cornette's put-back gave Butler the edge. Coverdale drove the length of the floor before his pass went out of bounds as time expired.\nDavis was called for a technical foul in the final two minutes, giving the Bulldogs a free two points. After the game, Davis chastised the three-man officiating crew and was fined $10,000 last week and reprimanded by the Big Ten.\nButler used only seven players and played much of the second half without leading scorer Rylan Hainje. Jackson scored 14 points to lead Butler.\nJeffries led IU with 18 points. Coverdale, Hornsby and Fife each scored 12.\nIU 59, Northwestern 44\nIn the Big Ten opener, IU allowed Northwestern (8-4 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) to hang around until midway through the second half before going on a 7-0 run to push its lead to nine and put away the Wildcats Wednesday in Evanston, Ill.\nThe game began ominously when Leach sprained his ankle on the opening tip. But forward Jarrad Odle entered and scored a career-high 16 points and collected a career-best 15 rebounds.\n"It always seems like I step up in the Big Ten and tonight I did," Odle said. "I came out tonight and hit my first shot and got the ball rolling from there."\nOdle's inside play allowed for IU's final scoring spurt with about 10 minutes remaining. Hornsby, who missed all of his first-half three-pointers, hit back-to-back bombs before a Coverdale lay-up extinguished any hope of a Wildcat upset.\nJeffries finished with 17 points to lead the Hoosiers and Coverdale scored 13. Jitim Young led NU with 17.\nThe win marked the first time since the 1986-1987 national championship season that the Hoosiers have opened the Big Ten campaign with a road victory.
(12/10/01 5:42am)
Head coach Mike Davis would have bet on IU. \nBall State head coach Tim Buckley acted as if he would have, too.\nDavis said he found it "funny" that fans and critics were picking No. 15 Ball State to upend IU on its home floor Saturday. Buckley said he didn't know who was picking Ball State to win. \nHad they bet, they both would have won. \nIU did win, 74-61 behind a game-high 22 points from sophomore forward Jared Jeffries, 19 from junior guard Tom Coverdale and 11 from senior guard Dane Fife. Chris Williams led Ball State with 18.\nThe in-state foes' rivalry became heated as a result of the speculation in favor of the Cardinals.\n"It blew my mind that people picked Ball State," Davis said. "I couldn't believe it. If I wasn't a head coach, I'd have put everything on this game. We get no respect in our own gym."\nIU earned respect Saturday by shredding Ball State's interior defense, controlling the tempo and revving up a home crowd that by game's end ruffled the Cardinals with an chant of "over-rated."\nIU opened a 10-point lead with seven minutes left in the first half, and used a second half spurt to bury Ball State. \nOne possession after Ball State senior guard Patrick Jackson's three-pointer gave Ball State a 44-43 lead, IU used a 13-4 run to regain that 10-point advantage with 11:24 remaining. \nA George Leach dunk -- one of a handful that swung momentum IU's way -- kicked off the scoring binge. During the five-minute stretch, Ball State missed nine of its 11 shots and watched IU go inside and out.\nFrom that point on, IU contained Ball State's deadly three-point shooting and salted away its second consecutive victory by zapping any Cardinal surge. \nBack-to-back buckets from Jeffries gave IU a 14-point lead -- its biggest of the day -- and scrapped any chance of a Ball State comeback. \nJeffries, who scored a career-high 28 points Tuesday in IU's one-point win over Notre Dame, continued his resurgence with eight of 13 shooting and seven rebounds. \n"I'm trying to assert myself on offense," the sophomore forward said. "It's different being the player that your teammates look at and other teams look at. You have to pick and choose. You have to be patient."\nBall State was not. The Cardinals (5-2), who have attempted at least 20 three-pointers in all seven of their games, his 10 of 21 Saturday, but rarely worked the shot clock or looked for inside scoring. \nJackson, the Cards' leading scorer at more than 20 points per game, fizzled. Jackson hit only three of 11 shots from the field and finished with eight points. In last season's 65-50 IU victory over the Cardinals in Assembly Hall, Jackson hit only one of nine shots. His two three-pointers -- the last of which gave Ball State the lead -- with 17 minutes remaining, were his last points. He didn't score his first point until just seconds before halftime. \nDavis' solution to stopping Jackson was simple: just guard him.\n"Jackson's a really, really good basketball player," Davis said. "He didn't play well, because our guys guarded him."\nAnd while Jackson struggled, his point guard counterpoint went berserk. After checking into the game with 12:30 left in the first half, Coverdale scored 10 consecutive points to bolster IU's lead. The junior then scored five straight points during IU's second half run. He added four assists and three rebounds to his 19 points and he won the respect of Buckley.\n"His toughness is everything," Buckely said. "He's a really tough matchup. He knows how to play the game, and he plays it the way it's supposed to be played."\nCoverdale led an IU offense that ran when it had the opportunity and settled for 30-second possessions the next trip down the floor. Ball State entered the game averaging 88 points per game, but couldn't find the firepower Saturday. \nBoth teams shot over 40 percent from the floor, but Ball State hit only three of 10 free throws and got out-rebounded 43-34. IU had 13 offensive rebounds and 15 second-chance points, and what Buckley called a "strong bench" scored just 12. The Hoosier bench tallied 27. \nIU slowed down Ball State standout Theron Smith, who finished with 13 points and six rebounds. Thursday against IU-Purdue-Fort Wayne, Smith scored 29 and ripped down 21 rebounds. In the Hoosier classic last season, Smith scored a tournament record 40 points. Saturday, he battle foul trouble and Jeffries and was able to hit only five of 13 shots. He also committed a game-high five turnovers. \nBut it wasn't statistics that cluttered the minds of the Hoosier and Cardinal personnel after the game. Instead, it was what has rapidly developed into a battle for state supremacy. \nAnd everyone was talking. \n"If we see them again in March, I'll think we'll be able to prove who's who and who's the best team in the state," Jackson said. "That (over-rated chant) was a slap in the face to me."\nHoosier guard A.J. Moye, who bodied up with all three Ball State guards, said Ball State being the higher-ranked of the two teams didn't sit well with the Hoosiers. \n"We took this personal from the start," Moye said. "You don't want to be an underdog on your home court. It was a must win."\nNow, IU has its third two-game winning streak of the season, is likely to crack the top 25 and heads to Miami to battle Miami (Fla.) in the Orange Bowl Classic Friday. \nDavis figured the miniature winning streak was a formality before tip-off Saturday.\n"A lot of you guys thought that Ball State was going to come in here and beat us, but I think we're a really good basketball team," Davis said. "I felt like we could beat these guys by double digits, and we did"
(12/07/01 6:07am)
Donald Perry is learning how to become a solid point guard. Tom Coverdale is learning how not to sit the bench.\nCoach Mike Davis' no-nonsense approach -- either produce on the floor or make friends with the bench -- is working. \nThe two-man point guard system, which caught many off-guard and blends the talents of a freshman and a junior, has included healthy point production and demanding repercussions. \nFor instance: Coverdale didn't play satisfactory defense in IU's loss at Southern Illinois Saturday, so he began Tuesday night's home-opener victory against Notre Dame on the bench. Perry started in Coverdale's stead, played 21 minutes, scored four points and collected four assists. Coverdale came off the bench to play 26 minutes, score 11 points and hand out four assists. \nThat's been the status quo for the Hoosiers this season -- Perry then Coverdale, or Coverdale then Perry.\n"Overall, (Perry) is playing better right now," said Davis, IU's second-year coach. "We need Tom Coverdale playing harder for us to be good. He's had some great games for us."\nLike last season, when he dropped 30 points on Notre Dame or when he erupted for 24 points and eight assists against Wisconsin. Coverdale started 32 of 34 games last year, quarterbacked the IU offense and averaged 10.7 points and 4.8 assists per game. All that after spending nearly his entire freshman season watching from the bench, a place he has began three of IU's seven games this season. \nStill, he's carried over his success. It just doesn't start in the same place.\nAlready this season, the 6-foot-2 junior has been excluded from the starting lineup more times (three) than all of last season (two). \nIt hasn't mattered, on the court or in his head. \nHe's averaging 11.3 points and 4.4 assists per game in 30 minutes. The new view is something Coverdale has put in the back of his mind. \n"I can't worry about whether I start or come off the bench," Coverdale, the 1998 Indiana Mr. Basketball, said. "I just have to play as hard as I can, because that's what coach wants."\nDavis also wants hard-nosed play and tight defense, something that Davis said Coverdale hasn't consistently done. If Coverdale's efforts didn't satisfy Davis last season, Davis didn't have an option; he had no one to replace Coverdale at the point. \nThis season, things are different, thanks to Perry. \n"The only difference between now and last year, is now I have a guy I can put in," Davis said. "Last year I didn't."\nThe result has been the emergence of Perry, who has been in the middle of close games -- and IU victories -- against Charlotte, North Carolina and Notre Dame. In those three games, Perry committed only one turnover. He's turned the ball over just nine times this season. His 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio is the best on the team. Coverdale is right behind at 1.7. \n Perry said Coverdale's extensive experience is something the duo has used to foster their relationship and performance on the court. Coverdale has helped Perry learn the "little things and tricks," said Perry, who has left the scoring role to Coverdale. \n Perry has taken only 23 shots -- one every six minutes compared to Coverdale's one every 3.5 minutes and sophomore Jared Jeffries' one every 2.5 minutes -- but his ball-handling and ability to scoot the ball up the floor are characteristics that make him difficult to keep off the court.\nThe Tullalah, La., native said his game is slowly progressing, but he's content being quiet. Meanwhile, Davis has called Perry the Hoosiers' best on-the-ball defender and regularly praised the freshman. \nPerry maintains a ho-hum attitude and solemn demeanor.\n"I'm just trying to play defense and run the team," Perry said. "I expected to play. I'm ready for it. But, I'm not really looking for my shot. I have to do the little things."\nLike directing upperclassmen on what to do and where on the floor to be, something Perry has found a little rough. \n"Some of (the older players) are stubborn and think they're right all the time," Perry said, smiling. "It's always hard once you come into a new system and a new coach. But, everything will be alright. I think we play pretty good together."\nTogether, like Tuesday night in IU's 76-75 win over the Irish, when both Coverdale and Perry played down the stretch. The twosome began the season battling for the point guard spot, but lately, both have been in the lineup at the same time, forcing Perry to slide to the shooting guard slot. \nPerry is adjusting, as is Coverdale. And Davis exudes confidence concerning his guard tandem and the ability of both to start or come off the bench on any given night. \n"Perry is playing well. (Coverdale) has to play hard all the time," Davis said. "Coverdale is a good player, we need him, and when he plays well, we're a good basketball team."\nNo matter who runs the offense.
(12/07/01 6:06am)
Under normal circumstances, IU would be heavily favored in Saturday's matchup with in-state foe Ball State. \nBut the No. 15 Cardinals, with wins over then-No. 3 Kansas and No. 4 UCLA, have turned normalcy on its side -- maybe even upside down -- for the 2 p.m. meeting in Assembly Hall. And IU coach Mike Davis knows it. \n"They'll come in here favored," Davis said after Thursday's practice. "Ball State's going to be a tough game. They're a really good basketball team. It's going to be tough."\nRough-and-tumble contests have grown on IU (5-2), which fended off Notre Dame 76-75 Tuesday in its home opener. Things won't be easier Saturday, thanks to an upstart Ball St. bunch that is holding its highest ranking in school history and doesn't rely on a primary scorer. \nInstead, the Cardinals (4-1) use a three-man attack, a solid bench and are full of well-kept secrets that are slowly working their way out of second-year coach Tim Buckley\'s bag. \n"It's good when you have three guys who can score," Buckley said. "Our bench has been a big key to early success. It's played a great role. When we've gone to the bench, we've gotten stronger."\nThe bench hasn't had to work too hard.\nSenior guard Patrick Jackson, whose drive and lay-up in the final seconds sealed Ball State's 93-91 win over Kansas at the EA Sports Maui Invitational, leads the Cardinals with 20.8 points and 4.4 assists per game and shoots 46 percent from three-point range.\nHis backcourt mate, junior Chris Williams, transferred from Loyola-Chicago and is scoring 18 points per game. Current Mid-American Conference West Division Player-of-the-Week Theron Smith is the Cardinals' third-leading scorer at 17.2 points per game. \nThe Cards' guards, similar to backcourts IU faced at Charlotte and against Notre Dame, have IU on edge. \n"They have a lot of quick guards and a lot of good shooters," IU junior guard Tom Coverdale said. "We're going to have to come ready to play, or they're going to beat us."\nMeanwhile, it's Smith, a 6-foot-8 power forward with the ability to shoot from anywhere on the floor, who has Davis' attention.\n"Smith is a good player that causes problems for any (power forward) in the country," Davis said. "He's a really good one-dribble, pull-up shooter. And in the post, he's a good player."\nBall State has shown the ability to run the floor and did so in all three games in Maui. Davis said the tempo of the game doesn't matter to him, but it would appear a grind-it-out style would benefit the defensive-minded Hoosiers. \nNotre Dame forward Ryan Humphrey sliced the IU defense in the second half of Tuesday's game, single-handedly keeping the Irish within striking distance and ballooning Notre Dame's second-half shooting percentage to 62 percent. \n"We give up the post too easy," Davis said. "Our guys can block shots, but sometimes we depend on that more than getting position."\nDavis said the Hoosiers have used this week to improve their interior defense, and the Cardinals' ability to go inside and outside will stretch the IU defense. IU has the talent to return the favor, especially if the Hoosiers can get the same production from forward Jared Jeffries, who poured in a career-high 28 points against Notre Dame. \nJeffries has garnered the majority of the attention of opposing coaches, and Buckley is no different, calling the sophomore "one of, if not the top sophomore in college basketball."\nBall State might double team Jeffries and the rest of IU's interior players once they get the ball, but it's IU's balance that concerns Buckley. Like Ball State, IU has a balanced attack, with five players scoring eight or more points per game.\nBuckley bursts into a laundry list of possible Hoosier snipers when discussing his game plan and the remnants of IU's 65-50 Hoosier Classic victory last season.\n"(Junior Kyle) Hornsby hurt us last year. He can bust game wide open," Buckley said. "(Senior Dane) Fife is playing with confidence, and when you add that to his already tough demeanor, it makes him difficult to compete against. Their depth of size with (sophomore George) Leach and (junior Jeff) Newton can make it tough inside."\nEach of those players is likely to see considerable minutes, although Davis isn't sure of his starting unit. He did say, though, that Coverdale, who began Tuesday night excluded from Davis' top six players but still played 30 minutes, has returned to the top. \nNo matter who plays, Buckley isn't worried about fatigue -- they welcomed IU-Purdue University at Fort Wayne to Muncie Thursday -- is intent on playing "shirts and skins" Saturday and plans to pretend the more than 17,000 fans are clad in red and white on Ball State's behalf. \nIU and Davis have finally caught their collective breath after starting the season with six consecutive games away from Assembly Hall and are trying to mount a two-game winning streak and pick up momentum. \n"They have the same team from last year, and the added Williams," Davis said. "They were good last year. They had to improve and they have. This will be a good measuring stick for us. It's a game we have to win"
(12/06/01 5:54am)
He had his best season -- five wins is far from the word "best" deserves -- and he got fired. \nOr as IU's media relations department and Athletics Director Michael McNeely put it, the program is "changing leadership."\nYeah, he won 18 games in five seasons. No beating around the no-bowls bush here. Cameron got canned. Slashed. Fired. And it's the right move. \nLook, he's nice. He's likable. He's only 40. The upside is there. But the downside is way, way too hard to ignore. When a five-win season nearly saves your job, the program is in dire straits. \nMcNeely addressed those problems during Wednesday afternoon's press conference and foremost was IU's (lack of) attendance. Translation, right now, there are more people tying their socks around their knees and jumping over empty milk containers. \nAttendance averaged 32,605 (last in the Big Ten and more than the 2000 season average of just more than 30,000) and would have been lower if not for the Ohio State invasion that brought more than 47,000 fans. I suppose watching Antwaan Randle El jump over, run around and drop kick opponents isn't much fun. But, it's understandable, seeing IU hasn't experienced postseason success since 1993. \nWhatever the hell the problem is, it needs some fixing, and McNeely knows it. \n"We want someone who has experience in generating a strong support for the program in terms of interest, in terms of coming to the game, in terms of feeling connected to the program," McNeely said Wednesday.\nProblem now is, nearly no one feels connected to the program. People would rather mow their yards and knit sweaters than come to IU football games. \nMcNeely indicated he'd like to begin his search now and conclude it within a month. Vital recruiting time will be sliced, the athletics department needs to hurry, and whoever McNeely and his screening committee decide upon won't have it easy. He'll be starting from square one, without the backbone(s) of IU's previous four seasons -- players like Randle El, Levron Williams, Justin Smith, Craig Osika and Kemp Rasmussen. \nHe'll likely have to scrap the option and figure out who can play quarterback. He'll have to win over fans and get someone in Bloomington on Saturdays. He'll have to win.\nCameron's players backed him after the season-ending win over Kentucky Saturday and did the same Wednesday.\n"I love him," Randle El said of Cameron after what turned out to be the final IU game for both Randle El and Cameron.\n"Whatever happens happens," junior offensive tackle Enoch DeMar said Wednesday after an emotional team meeting at Memorial Stadium. "I wish him the best. I liked him, l liked him a lot. Every coach is going to do something you don't like, but he was a good guy." \nHe was, and he will succeed elsewhere. But five years was long enough. His trial run at IU is over, and it should be. \nMcNeely is pushing toward more attendance -- tying up potential fans and rolling them into Memorial Stadium in Hannibal Lecter's wheely-thing isn't an option -- and a Big Ten championship. The latter wish will take time. We'll see if Hoosier fans have enough patience. They put up with the end of Bill Mallory's career and now they've endured the Cameron era. \nCameron had his chance, and didn't produce. Football is the kingpin behind the athletics department's funding and it needs to be a centerpiece at a Big Ten school, even if basketball is more popular than Harry Potter and his magic stone or whatever the hell that is. \n"Five years is a very good measuring time in football," McNeely said. "It doesn't get real complicated: we either do or we don't. And in our case, we haven't excelled like we should."\nNo, you haven't. It's sad to see an Indiana guy with Hoosier roots pack up his bags, but it's good to see McNeely not standing for five-win seasons. They've been the norm -- or better -- far too long.
(12/04/01 5:10am)
It's all over. And all I have left is an Antwaan Randle El bobble-head doll. \nSaturday's 26-15 victory over Kentucky was boring, ordinary and ... boring. As exciting as trying to decide just how much gigantic Wildcat quarterback Jared Lorenzen weighs. \nLess exciting than discussing bologna sandwiches ... until the final seconds and the tangle of crimson and UK blue that ensued. Some guys threw punches and pushes. Others, like junior Enoch DeMar and freshman Damien Jones, threw helmets. \nIf IU couldn't win the Big Ten in football, it might do so in a bar-fighting contest. \n"We're not going to back down," Randle El said. "You're not going to let guys punch you and kick you."\nSo, some guys punched back. And some fired helmets. \n• Speaking of fired ... Cam Cameron might have saved his job Saturday, nailing down his best season in Bloomington. Cameron is expected to meet with athletics director Michael McNeely within the next week to discuss his future (discussing the past wouldn't involve much other than 38 losses). \nCameron has the support of his players. \n"This is the first time since he's been here that we've had so many big victories in a row," senior Marcus Floyd said. "He's shown great leadership. We learned how to win. This is something the program can build upon."\nIU will have to do so without some building blocks -- eight seniors (three offense and five defense) started the season finale, and the Hoosiers have 16 seniors on the roster. \n"He doesn't give up," Randle El said of Cameron. "He does a lot of stuff for his players, and that says a lot more than coaching. He should be rewarded in a lot of different ways." \nCameron didn't get much of an applause Saturday. In fact, he wasn't even on the field as players and students celebrated IU's victory and Randle El's final game. But he did make this interesting statement. \n"If Indiana University does not want me to be their football coach, they do not owe me a penny," Cameron said. "If the rationale is to keep me to save money, that is not an issue. Indiana University has done more for me than I could ever do for Indiana University."\nIf you're fired, how about a penny per victory? Eighteen cents, coming right up. \nFact is, Cameron is young (40) and can run an offense. But 18 wins in five years -- no matter if you beat Purdue and Kentucky to close the season or if you're coaching Basketweaving State -- is not getting it done, even if you're nice.\n• If Cameron is retained, someone give him a lesson in fashion. The fluffy hair is nice, but those vests? And that paper tucked in the pants? Come on. \n• The shoulder ride for Randle El Saturday was deserving and fitting. So was his piece on ESPN's "College Gameday." Every complement is an understatement, and every criticism is unjust. \n"Whatever anybody says about him, multiply that by three," senior Craig Osika said. "He's unreal." \nRandle El didn't waste his career, nor did he attract near enough national attention. Who else gets his own bobblehead doll? Take that, Heisman Trophy. \n• Students, good job dismantling the goalposts after the Purdue game, but what happened Saturday? Hell, IU won five games. That's the most since 1994. Tear down something. \n• Saturday's attendance (26,449) was horrid. Not sure what else people in Indiana do on fall Saturdays (rake leaves?), but IU football isn't popular. IU deserved better, even if 5-6 isn't a record that should ignite riots. If nothing else, the student body could start ripping up 20,000 Memorial Stadium seats. Just so long as they put them back for Ohio State's next visit. \n• Lastly, football took a back seat Sunday when it was revealed that the mother of senior running back Levron Williams was shot and killed in Evansville Saturday night after watching her son's last football game. It's a horrifying story. I'm just glad she got to see him finish his standout career. Life isn't easy. Or fair. Keep fighting, Levron. Keep smiling.
(11/29/01 6:11am)
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- In the first 20 minutes at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C., Wednesday night, IU couldn't miss from beyond the three-point arc. \nMeanwhile, North Carolina\'s Kris Lang couldn't miss from inside the paint. \nOh what a difference a halftime break can make. A difference of minimal consequence, that is. \nIU used its three-point barrage (nine threes) to take a 40-30 halftime lead, then reverted to inside scoring in the second half (zero threes) to put away UNC 79-66 in front of 18,358 baby-blue clad fans, extending the Tar Heels' Smith Center losing streak to four games, an unprecedented mark. \nSophomore guard A.J. Moye led IU with 20 points. Junior Tom Coverdale came off the bench to score 17, and sophomore Jared Jeffries, who played only 12 minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, chipped in with 11.\n"It really helped us grow up," IU coach Mike Davis said of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge victory. "I think we're a good basketball team. We're not a great, great team, but we come out and play hard."\nIU needed the aggression early, thanks to Lang, who torched IU's man-to-man defense for 18 points. IU used three players - juniors Jarrad Odle and Jeff Newton and sophomore George Leach - to contain Lang, but couldn't until the second half, when the Hoosiers switched to a 2-3 zone. Lang still scored a game-high 27, but IU forced UNC to shoot from outside, which the Tar Heels haven't done well all season.\n"Kris Lang took the game on his shoulders," UNC coach Matt Doherty said.\nAll the while, Davis was watching. Finally, upon some advice from a friend who coaches in the Alabama high school ranks, Davis made the move to the zone.\n"Kris Lang was unstoppable," Davis said. "I thought I was a smart coach, but that was a dumb move of me to play man-to-man. (Lang) was too strong for George Leach."\nToo strong, but not too quick. \nLeach scored six second-half points and blocked four shots to help IU stretch its lead in the second half. The Hoosiers began the half with six of the first eight points, fought off a Tar Heel rally, then used a patient offense to widen the gap to 17 with just less than six minutes remaining. \nFrom there, IU continued to play tight defense and sank 9 of 12 free throws in the final five minutes to preserve the victory. \nUNC (0-3) had not started a season with back-to-back home losses since the 1920's. Now, it has a three-game skid on its hand, something it never did last season on the way to the ACC championship.\n"I'm proud of this team's effort," Doherty said of UNC. "(IU) hit some really tough shots. Coverdale hit some 25-footers in the first half. He played fantastic and George Leach blocked some big shots."\nDoherty's 2-3 zone in the first half didn't come close to stopping IU, which hit nine of 17 three-pointers. In the same span, IU hit only four two-point field goals. \nMoye, whose established a career high with 14 points in the first half, hit four threes, and Coverdale hit three to spearhead the charge. \nDavis employed the same starting lineup he used against Texas at the Great Alaska Shootout, bringing Coverdale and juniors Kyle Hornsby and Newton off the bench.\nHis solution worked again.\nIU opened the game with three consecutive three-pointers and a runner from senior Dane Fife to grab an 11-2 lead and quiet the baby-blue faithful. After a 7-0 UNC run cut IU's lead to two, the teams exchanged buckets until the seven-minute mark, when a four-point play from Tar Heel guard Jackie Manuel sliced IU's lead to 23-20.\nAbout 30 seconds later, IU went back to work - behind the three-point line. IU finished the half with five straight three-point bombs. From the 6:30-mark until the break, all IU did was shoot - and hit - three pointers.\n"We knew coming in they were going to play a zone, and we had to shoot them out of it," Coverdale said.\nIU did, while forcing 18 turnovers (12 in the first half) and holding Lang's partner in crime, senior Jason Capel, to four of 15 shooting. Capel committed seven turnovers in the first half. \n"My goal was to go 4-2 (in the first six games, all on the road)," Davis said. "Now, we have a chance to go 5-1. We're going to get better." \n \nGame Notes: IU announced Wednesday night that the Dec. 8 match-up with Ball State in Assembly Hall will be televised state-wide on ESPN Regional (WTTV-TV Indianapolis). To accommodate for the TV coverage, tip-off has been bumped up to 2 p.m. The game was not originally scheduled to be televised … UNC hit just 5 of 19 three-pointers, making them 17 of 73 (23 percent) on the season.
(11/29/01 6:09am)
Ten games ago, IU looked as if it couldn't beat four pairs of grandparents, two socks and a kicking tee. \nNow, IU still can't kick, but it can beat some formidable foes. To my counterparts and bashers, IU exceeded my expectations, broke even in the Big Ten and just missed a bowl berth. On all three counts, I was wrong. \nBut I won't miss on this one: IU will beat Kentucky Saturday. The season will end just peachy (kind of), with Purdue and UK mad at IU. \nGood.\nNow, on to some random thoughts. \n• First team All-American Antwaan Randle El should be in New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation. He probably won't, thanks to Nebraska's Eric Crouch (who couldn't throw the ball through a 32-foot hoop if he was standing six feet from it), and two other quarterbacks -- Miami's Ken Dorsey and Florida's Rex Grossman -- who could throw balls through Crouch's stomach. \nRandle El has better career numbers through the exact same number (43) of games (7,275 passing yards and 40 touchdowns, 3,853 rushing yards and 44 touchdowns) as Crouch (4,421 passing yards and 29 touchdowns, 3,434 rushing yards and 59 touchdowns). \nCrouch is a tailback playing quarterback for a national power. Randle El is quarterback playing quarterback for an institute of mediocrity. \n• Levron Williams will play in the NFL. Somehow-- running back, receiver -- somewhere. Sure, he's gained a good number of his 3,010 career yards thanks to Randle El and the option (no doubt when Randle El pitches to Williams through his legs with one arm wrapped around his ankle and his helmet twisted sideways), but Williams is slick. His 6-foot-3, 228-pound frame will make NFL teams tingly, and his bash-the-defenders-head-in running style is impressive. If nothing else, Williams is fun. He smiles more than a circus freak who just grew a third nose. \n• Cam Cameron can coach ... Whoa! Hold your horses, all of them, and let me finish. The man can coach an offense. IU scored 120 points in Cameron's first season at IU. In wins against Northwestern and Wisconsin this season, IU scored 119. Yes, Randle El is a jumping bean with an arm and a brain, but Cameron's offensive schemes work.\nOther than that, he's more than questionable. In his 10 seasons as an assistant coach at Michigan, the Wolverines never lost more than six games and earned a bowl bid each season. In his nearly five seasons in Bloomington, Cameron's teams have won 17 games. \nHe's a nice guy, a likeable guy, who deserves success. But five years is plenty to turn around IU's program. It's time for change. Without Randle El next season, whoever coaches the Hoosiers might have better luck deer hunting in downtown Chicago.\n• Please, athletics department, if you do can Cameron, do not hire John Cooper. \n• Randle El will play in the NFL. Somewhere. Maybe he'll be a defensive back. Maybe a punter. Maybe a third-down back. Maybe a surprise quarterback. Maybe a receiver. Maybe a special teams stud. Maybe all of them. Maybe five at a time. He's far too talented to be wasted. \n• Randle El and Williams will have company. Craig Osika, Kemp Rasmussen and Justin Smith all have shots. Jeremi Johnson, the 275-pound wrecking ball who runs a 4.7 40-yard dash, could run over a large camel and around six rabbits on acid. Translation, he's good, and he'll be in the NFL after his senior season. He's only a junior.\n• IU underachieved this season. Four Big Ten victories is solid. A loss to Utah is not. But when IU was busy underachieving (and 1-5), it decided to overachieve and win at Wisconsin and Michigan State and over Northwestern and Purdue. \nFor the first time since 1993, IU will play in December. But it's Dec. 1 and not late December. \nThe 35-14 season-opening loss at North Carolina State was a perfect display of foreshadowing -- get buried early, then salvage the game with a couple of scores in the waning moments. \nIU has salvaged its season. Kind of.
(11/28/01 5:56am)
North Carolina's men's basketball program sits at No. 2 in all-time victories. IU is ninth. \nThe Tar Heels and Hoosiers are two of the most hallowed programs in the nation, yet when the two meet today at 9 p.m. at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C., neither team will be ranked. \nIn fact, North Carolina, which began the season ranked 19th, hasn't won either of its games this season, and IU dropped out of its No. 20 slot after losing to Marquette last week at the Great Alaska Shootout.\nStill, tonight's Big Ten/ACC Challenge meeting carries luster, tradition and history. And more. It offers a chance for both schools to jump-start their seasons. \n"This is going to be a big game for us," IU coach Mike Davis said. "You can forget about that fact that UNC is 0-2. This is a game I am sure everyone in Chapel Hill has had circled on their calendars."\nUNC coach Matt Doherty, who has coaching experience at Kansas and Notre Dame and recruited current IU sophomores Jared Jeffries and George Leach, is in his second season in Chapel Hill. The going hasn't been easy this season -- a 77-69 loss to Hampton and a 58-54 loss to Davidson, both coming in Chapel Hill. \nDoherty voiced more concern earlier this week, saying he plans to shuffle his lineup tonight and isn't quite sure what to expect from the Hoosiers (3-1).\nDoherty is prepared to play against both zone and man-to-man defense, and said his offense has the ability to succeed against either. Doherty was cautious about the difficult task of defending IU's inside and outside attacks. \n"(Jeffries) reminds me of Danny Manning (who Doherty coached while an assistant at Kansas)," Doherty said. "He can do a lot of things. Inside they have some depth, and they can be athletic." \nIn response, Doherty has pulled 6-foot-2 guard Adam Boone from the starting lineup and will start two freshmen, who have combined for only one start. Six-foot-2 freshman Melvin Scott will start at point guard, and 6-foot-8 Will Johnson will play in the post. Scott played only 10 minutes and did not score in UNC's loss to Hampton, but scored 15 points against Davidson. Johnson has come off the bench to score 5.5 points per game. \nFreshman Jawad Williams, a 6-foot-8 forward, is expected to be Doherty's sixth man, despite not scoring and playing only nine minutes against Davidson.\nBut, Doherty's firepower comes from his seniors - Jason Capel and Kris Lang, who are playing well despite the team's first 0-2 start in school history.\nCapel, a 6-foot-8 forward, is averaging 13 points and 11 rebounds per game, and Lang, a 6-foot-11 center averages 12 points and seven boards. The most important contributions from the duo might stem from their leadership, Doherty said. \n"They're not pointing fingers at anybody," Doherty said of his senior duo. "They're taking it on their shoulders and leading us through this difficult stretch."\nIt could get even more difficult should UNC shoot from outside the way it has in its first two games. In those losses, the Tar Heels hit just 12 of 54 three-point attempts (22 percent). Meanwhile, IU hits 46 percent of its three-pointers and broke the school record for three-pointers with 16 against Alaska-Anchorage. \nA lineup mix-up from Davis hasn't changed IU's shooting potency, but it appeared to fire up the Hoosiers after their loss to Marquette, in which Jeffries, junior guard Kyle Hornsby and senior guard Dane Fife all struggled. \nDavis inserted Leach, sophomore A.J. Moye and freshman Donald Perry in the starting five against Texas, a 77-71 IU win that increased the Hoosier bench strength.\nPerry played 38 minutes in the game and has a solution to IU's up-and-down play.\n"We need to play hard the entire 40 minutes," said Perry, who could match up with Scott, a fellow freshman, at the point. "At times we showed what hard work can get you against Texas, now we need to do it for 40 minutes at UNC."\nDavis indicated Monday that he still isn't certain what lineup he will use at UNC, but junior Jeff Newton, who scored 11 points against UNC in 1999 when the two teams met, will be available. Newton fractured his cheekbone against Texas and was thought to be out for at least tonight's game if not more than two weeks. But, the 6-foot-9 forward was cleared to play Tuesday and could help neutralize Capel and Lang. \nWhat could also help IU is that the Tar Heels will be without football players Donald Curry and Julius Peppers, who play their last UNC football game of the season Saturday. \nNo matter the lineup, Davis is counting on depth. IU has six players averaging more than 20 minutes per game, but Doherty has wiped out his bench in the two games, going 10-deep against Hampton and 12-deep against Davidson. \n"We have really developed some depth with nine guys playing for us," Davis said. "If we can continue that rotation of players it will really help us this year."\nMotivating either team shouldn't be difficult, given the circumstances, and IU has become accustomed to playing on the road, having played all four contests either as visitors or on neutral floors. The Hoosiers should also be well rested, after taking Monday off following a late arrival from Alaska Sunday. \n"This is a great college basketball game against two of the most storied programs in history," Davis said. "It is going to be exciting for everyone involved"
(11/26/01 5:28am)
An up and down week for the men's basketball team ended on an upswing late Saturday night as the Hoosiers knocked off Texas 77-71 to finish third in the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage, Alaska. Marquette, which upset IU 50-49 Friday, won the four-day tournament with a 72-63 victory against Gonzaga.
(11/16/01 5:18am)
Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz has a good thing going -- two Conference USA titles in the last three seasons, three consecutive post-season appearances and a NBA lottery pick. \nBut Lutz could have a better thing going, if not for that lottery pick, Rodney White. \nWhite led all freshman in scoring at 18.7 points per game, was an all-conference selection, the C-USA Tournament MVP and the C-USA Freshman of the Year.\nNow, he's a Detroit Piston. \nIn his wake is an un-tested frontcourt that combined to score 12.5 points per game in 43 minutes per game. That trio -- senior Jermaine Williams, junior Cam Stephens and sophomore "Butter" Johnson -- will get its first test tonight against Charlotte's cross-town rival, Davidson. But the first tell-tale test will come at 7:30 p.m. Sunday when the 49ers meet IU at Dale F. Halton Arena. \nJunior Jeff Newton and sophomore All-America candidate Jared Jeffries could expose the 49ers' front line, and Lutz knows it. \n"Our post guys have improved, but we don't have Rodney White," Lutz said, adding that he plans to use a rotation of three post players. "We pride ourselves on being versatile."\nLutz has the ability to use a three-guard lineup to match IU's three-guard set, but is worried about keeping tabs on Jeffries, who scored 19 points against Charlotte in last season's IU 76-72 comeback win. \n"If they let us use six, we will," Lutz joked. "We'll throw a few guys at him and see how the game flows."\nThe flow will likely be up-and-down, thanks to Charlotte's up-tempo style of play and the potential of the 49er guards to dominate and control the game. Sophomore Demon Brown and senior Jobey Thomas run the 49er offense and take the liberty to fire at will from outside the three-point line. \n"They're very good, and their coach has done a great job," coach Mike Davis said. "They have two guards back who can score. We can't let them get 15 to 20 points each."\nDavis said he is confident in the defending ability of only one Hoosier guard, senior Dane Fife, who will match up against Thomas, C-USA's all-time leader in three-pointers and the 49ers' leading returning scorer (14.0 points per game). \nLutz said Thomas has improved his off-the-dribble shooting ability and his physical play. Still, his shooting touch could be the 49ers' trump card all season.\nDavis compared Brown to former Florida guard Ted Dupay, who found cracks in the IU defense Wednesday night on his way to a game-high 23 points in IU's final exhibition game, a 98-76 victory over Nike Elite. \nIU will counter Lutz's backcourt with a formidable one of its own and one that has shot well from three-point range in the Hoosiers' two exhibition contests. Fife and juniors Tom Coverdale and Kyle Hornsby have hit 17 of 30 three-point attempts and combined to score 73 points in the victories against Athletes in Action and Nike Elite. That trio is keeping Lutz on edge. \n"Coverdale is one tough son of a gun," Lutz said. "He makes winning plays and really bothered us last year. Fife does a great job and is a great defensive player. They just make game-winning plays." \nWhat has both coaches a tad worried is the game's proximity to previous contests; IU began preparing for Charlotte Thursday, and Charlotte will have only Saturday to prep for the No. 21 Hoosiers. \nSunday's game was originally slated for Saturday, but Charlotte and Davidson could not reach a mutual agreement for a date for their game before settling on Friday night. Once school officials made that decision, they bumped IU's season opener back 24 hours. \nWhile Lutz said the situation isn't ideal, the Friday-Sunday home games will mark the first time in Charlotte history the team has opened the season with back-to-back weekend home games, something that has the campus and city buzzing, Lutz said. \n"To play a school with Indiana's stature is huge." said Lutz, in his third-year in Charlotte. "It's a great way to kick off the season. IU is by far the best non-conference quality opponent to come into our arena. It's the best non-league game ever in our building without question."\nHalton Arena will be rocking Sunday night and should offer IU a test, helping it prepare for the rigorous Big Ten road schedule that has given the Hoosiers fits in recent history. The Hornets have lost only 10 games in Halton Arena since opening the building in 1996. \nIU freshman guard Donald Perry called Halton Arena, a 9,105-seat venue that is expected to be sold out, "the toughest place to play in Conference USA."\nThat prospect has the Hoosiers ready to go. \n"I like playing in other team's gyms," Newton said. "It's a different atmosphere; you have everyone against you. You want to stick it to 'em"
(11/15/01 5:13am)
Joe Paterno has seen Jesus, Moses and probably helped write the Ten Commandments. \nThe man sidestepped dinosaurs on a recruiting trip to visit Christopher Columbus.\n Along the road, he has racked up 325 victories, 19 bowl wins, six undefeated seasons and two national championships. Cam Cameron -- at his current pace of four victories a season -- would get win No. 325 in his 82nd season. As for the national championship ... well ...\n Paterno has led the Nittany Lions to 11 or more victories in 12 seasons, coached 30 first-team All-Americans and 200 NFL players (Moses opted for Bible school rather than the NFL) and is a four-time coach of the year. \nPaterno's 325-95 record (.773 winning percentage) is nuts. Cameron has lost 36 games in 4-plus seasons. \nIn 52 seasons at Penn State, where he's spent his entire coaching career and was hired as the head coach in 1966, Paterno has been to the Fiesta Bowl six times. IU has been to eight bowl games since it started playing football in 1885. \nSince Paterno began at Penn State in 1966, IU has been through five coaches. Paterno has coached against only Bill Mallory and Cameron, and he's never lost to either. In the six Nittany Lion victories, Penn State has average nearly 40 points per game. Had Paterno faced the Hoosiers while Jesus was quarterback, it's certain the Nittany Lions would have bumped up that 40-point-per-game average.\nPenn State could use Jesus this season. At quarterback. At tailback. Anywhere. Penn State doesn\'t rank in the top 50 in the nation in any team statistic and has already lost four Big Ten games.\nEarlier this season, it looked as if Paterno would use IU as his sacrificial lamb to tie Bear Bryant's coaching victory total of 323. But, Northwestern and Ohio State obliged, leaving IU and Penn State to play a regular, old Big Ten game. \nBut, it's not so regular anymore. Not after IU beat the bejesus out of Northwestern and ripped up Michigan State. Not after IU has proven it can win in hostile environments like Camp Randall Stadium. Not after Cameron acknowledge the Hoosiers can't win playing "normal" football (remember ... NO FIELD GOALS). \nPaterno has seen damn near everything (like missed 21-yard field goals), but IU has him worried. And that's not good for a guy who's been coaching since the fall of Rome. \n"They are a good football team," Paterno said. "It should be an interesting day, I hope."\nI hope? Is grandpa rocking a tad faster in his chair? \nPaterno isn't doing well (3-5 overall, 2-4 Big Ten) to his standards -- funny how IU fans get excited at three wins and Penn State fans are heartbroken -- and Saturday, he might be without starting quarterback Zach Mills, who injured his leg in a 33-28 loss at Illinois last week. \n"I think Cam Cameron has done a good job with them," Paterno said. "They are starting to feel good about themselves. They are a little bit like we are, not that I am doing a good job. I didn't mean it that way. I meant that their kids are starting to feel better about themselves and they are playing good football."\nPaterno is right. IU is playing as well right now as it played poorly against North Carolina State, Utah, Ohio State, Illinois and Iowa. Winning in Happy Valley won't be easy, and beating a man who was friends with three-fourth of the people in the Bible, 11 popes and four T-Rexes won't be simple either.\nBut nothing about this season has been simple. (Remember Antwaan Randle El playing wide receiver?) Cameron said he watches Paterno in an attempt to learn. Saturday, he'd like to watch him lose No. 96, give Cameron win No. 17 and keep bowl hopes on life support. \nOnly 308 more victories to go. And 81 seasons.