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(02/07/14 5:32am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU men’s basketball team (14-8, 4-5) travels to Minneapolis, Minn., Saturday to face the Minnesota Golden Gophers (15-8, 4-6).Minnesota enters the contest on a three-game losing streak, with the most recent loss Wednesday at Purdue. The Golden Gophers and Boilermakers played three overtime periods before Purdue pulled out the win, 77-74.Minnesota’s leading scorer, junior guard Andre Hollins, returned from a three-game absence against Purdue. Hollins, who had been sidelined with an ankle injury, wasn’t expected to play Wednesday. Barring any setback, he will almost certainly suit up against the Hoosiers.So far this season, the Golden Gophers are 12-2 at home. That includes victories against Ohio State and Wisconsin, who they defeated by double-digit points.Indiana enters the contest coming off one of its biggest wins of the season, a 63-52 win against No. 10 Michigan. Sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell had a game-high 27 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the field. After that game, IU Coach Tom Crean said for Ferrell and Indiana to be successful on offense, Ferrell has to be in constant movement.“So he’s got to be in movement, and I thought that’s what he did well,” Crean said. “Whether it was zone, whether it was the break, whatever it was, he was really, really good in movement, and his teammates continued to move and cut. We stood around a little bit the other night (against Nebraska), and some of that was him, some of that was us, some of it was just not continuing to flash into the gaps that are there, man or zone, and today we didn’t have that issue.”Minnesota leads the Big Ten in steals per game with 8.3. Senior guard Austin Hollins led the team with 2.1 steals per game.Indiana, which ranks sixth in the Big Ten in steals per game, has had trouble throughout its season with turnovers. The Hoosiers are last in the conference in turnovers per game, averaging 15.4. The next closest team to that figure is Iowa, which averages 12.1 turnovers per game.After the Michigan game, Ferrell said Indiana is starting to execute better offensively, working the shot clock and not forcing anything.“We may not get something in transition, but we set a play and run it,” Ferrell said. “I felt like we ran our plays very well to perfection, sprinting to our spots, setting great greens, getting Noah (Vonleh) and other guys open for open shots. “We’re coming along with that, being more patient. Even when we’ve got to take it down in the shot clock and get the best available shot that we can.”In Indiana’s two most recent wins, against Illinois and Michigan, they have given up 46 and 42 points. Crean said after the Michigan game it’s important for his team to maintain its focus defensively the entire game.“So I think the difference is the energy of the hands, talking and really just staying committed to what we needed to do in that game,” he said. “These guys are learning, and this is the hardest for young guys defensively. The hardest thing for any of them is that you’ve got to continue to play through it when you’re not having a great game offensively or you’re not getting that confidence from your shot. The hard part defensively is that every game is different, and you have to understand how that other team wants to win. Against Nebraska the other night we understood it pretty well in the first half, we got away from it in the second half. Today we understood it for the entire game, and we were successful.”Follow reporter John Bauernfiend on Twitter @JohnBauernfeind.
(02/05/14 4:55am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell — the sophomore point guard who wasn’t asked to do much last year, and who has been asked to do everything this year — leads the Big Ten in made 3-pointers.Ferrell has made 60 3-pointers thus far this season. That’s 23 more than Minnesota’s Andre Hollins, 14 more than Michigan State’s Gary Harris and 10 more than Michigan’s Nik Stauskas have made this season. Only Stauskas is shooting better than Ferrell’s 44.1 percent from beyond the arc in the Big Ten.Ferrell, a one-time five-star recruit from Indianapolis, was recruited by IU Coach Tom Crean and his staff to do exactly what he is currently doing. Last year, however, Ferrell mostly played the role of a contributor on a team that started four 1,000-point scorers and two lottery picks in the 2013 NBA Draft.Ferrell played in all 36 games last season. He averaged 28.1 minutes per game, which was on par with how much playing time Indiana’s other starters received. He averaged 7.6 points and 4.1 assists per game.In the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Ferrell showed his vast potential against the No. 16 seed James Madison Dukes. He scored the game’s first nine points and tallied 14 points during the first six minutes en route to an 83-62 Hoosier rout.After IU defeated Temple to move on to the Sweet Sixteen, where they would fall to No. 4 seeded Syracuse, Ferrell struggled mightily. Ferrell, who failed to score against Temple, struggled against the Orange as well. He went 0-of-2 from the field, recorded one steal, one assist and four turnovers.After that game, Crean said that Ferrell would learn from his freshman year experiences.“Yogi is a great player,” he said. “That’s the first time he’s seen that kinda zone and length.”In the press conference, Crean discussed Syracuse’s zone defense and how difficult it was for the team to prepare, finishing his answer with a declaration that Ferrell would be better for it.“So he will learn from it,” he said. “He will be a great learner from it.”On Dec. 3, 2013, Ferrell and his teammates traveled to Syracuse, N.Y., as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge to play the team that ended their season a year ago.At the time, Syracuse was the No. 4 team in the country, playing better basketball than the Orange team that reached the Final Four the year prior. No one expected the Hoosiers to offer much resistance to C.J. Fair and company, but Indiana went toe-to-toe with the Orange for a half before falling off in the second. Ferrell fared better against the Orange the second time around, scoring 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting, but his team fell, 69-52.After that game, the media sought out Ferrell to ask what he thought of his team’s second half collapse. “We’re just gonna go back to Bloomington and get better,” he said.Right now, the Hoosiers have an overall record of 14-8 and are tied for seventh in the Big Ten with a 4-5 conference record. Entering conference play, the Hoosiers had no noteworthy wins to their name. Nine games later, they have two — a 75-72 victory against then-No. 3 Wisconsin and, most recently, a 63-52 win against No. 10 Michigan. In both of these games, Indiana’s two best wins this season, Ferrell paced his team.IU ended Wisconsin’s 16-game winning streak to start the season behind Ferrell’s 25 points, 19 of which came in the second half. Though he struggled from beyond the arc — he went 1-of-8 from 3-point range — Ferrell consistently got to the basket, leading the Hoosiers to 41 second-half points.Against Michigan, he went 7-of-8 from 3-point range on his way to a 27-point performance and an Indiana victory. Ferrell also shut down Stauskas, Michigan’s leading scorer, by holding him to six points and one made field goal.Ferrell was calm and composed in both postgame press conferences. After he let himself celebrate with fans that stormed the court against Wisconsin, he was all coach-speak when talking with the media.“We’ve come very far,” he said. “Had a lot of early losses, but I felt like we learned from that just watching film. We’re going to take this win and be grateful for it.”Ferrell said practically the same thing after the Michigan victory, just in different words.“You know, that’s what’s great about our team. We may not get something in transition, but we set a play and run it.”This is Ferrell now. He is no longer the role player he once was, but is the face of this year’s team. He scored more than 15 points in 14 games this year and scored 20 points or more seven times. In those games, the Hoosiers are 6-1.It’s more than his scoring, though. Crean said Ferrell has evolved into a leader, that his potential is endless.“Yogi Ferrell is playing at an extremely high level,” Crean said. “The approach that he takes to it, the leadership that he’s displaying over the last couple weeks — the improvement has been some of the best I’ve been around. If he continues to keep that up, sky’s the limit for him.”Ferrell’s performance against Michigan came after a disappointing loss three days prior at Nebraska. The Hoosiers led by as many as 16 points, and entered halftime with a 32-19 lead. Ferrell led all scorers at the break with 11 points, going 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.During the second half, however, the Hoosiers collapsed, eventually losing 60-55. Ferrell had a lone 3-pointer with less than a minute remaining. The made trey brought the Hoosiers within three, but it was too late for a trying Indiana squad.After the Michigan game, Ferrell, without being asked about the Nebraska letdown, brought it up himself, saying he and his teammates were intent not to have back-to-back second half letdowns.“It just shows how well we’ve been practicing from the loss to Nebraska,” he said. “We were very disappointed in the way that we came out the second half, so we didn’t want to have that same letdown, so we wanted to have the same energy for all 40 minutes.”Once a highly-touted freshman, Ferrell is now fulfilling predictions once made by recruiting experts in his sophomore season. He is averaging 17.8 points per game this season, and is shooting above 40 percent from the field and from 3-point range. He’s also efficient at getting to the foul line and finishing there: he’s made 83.2 percent of his 107 free throw’s this season.This is Ferrell’s team now. After the Michigan game, as Vonleh and Evan Gordon were asked about particular things that happened during the game, it was Ferrell who was asked to summarize the game’s significance for his team.“This is a great win because Michigan is such a great team,” he said. “But we got this win with our resilience on defense, and especially the fans definitely cheering us on. I felt like they helped us a lot, too.”Ferrell has led IU to its two biggest wins of the season. With Ferrell at the helm, the sky is the limit, Crean said.Follow reporter John Bauernfeind on Twitter @JohnBauernfeind.
(02/03/14 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The unpredictability of the Hoosier’s Big Ten play continued Sunday, as the IU men’s basketball team (14-8, 4-5) stunned the No. 10 Michigan Wolverines (16-5, 8-1) 63-52. It was Michigan’s first conference loss of the season, and it ends their 10-game winning streak.There were two stories that played out in Assembly Hall, one of which involved Indiana’s defense and the other Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell.The latter scored a game-high 27 points on 8-for-10 shooting. Ferrell also made a career-best seven 3-pointers, shooting 7-for-8 from beyond the arc. The sophomore guard, by himself, made four more 3-pointers than the entire Michigan team that, entering Sunday’s contest, led the Big Ten in 3-point field goals made and 3-point field goal percentage. Three of Ferrell’s made 3-pointers came when there was less than five seconds left on the shot clock.Ferrell said he felt good about his shot after his first few went in.“You know, once I hit the first couple, they all felt good,” Ferrell said. “Once I had an opening, I wasn’t really going to force it. Once I had an opening I was just going to let it fly.”Michigan Coach John Beilein said Ferrell’s play was about as good as a point guard can play.“He’s terrific,” Beilein said. “He only took 10 shots, had 27 points, and ran his team.“We had no answers for Yogi.”Ferrell also led Indiana’s defensive charge, which held the Wolverines to 18 made field goals and 40 percent shooting, nine percent below its season average. Ferrell played 37 of 40 minutes, and spent the majority of his time defending Michigan’s Nik Stauskas.Stauskas, who had scored in double-digit points in 12-straight games, was limited to six points on 1-for-6 shooting from the field. Stauskas was also held without a 3-pointer, and his lone basket of the game came on a layup late in the first half.IU Coach Tom Crean said Ferrell’s level of play and his leadership have taken off this season.“Yogi Ferrell is playing at an extremely high level,” Crean said. “The approach that he takes to it, the leadership that he’s displaying over the last couple weeks, the improvement has been some of the best I’ve seen around.”Michigan’s 52 points Sunday was its lowest offensive output of the season. Beilein said he had never seen anything like Indiana’s defensive strategy in his seven years at Michigan.“Tom and his staff did a really good job,” Beilein said. “The defensive game plan was outstanding. We have never seen anything like it since I’ve been here and we ended up trying to adjust on the fly and we’ve got to learn from it.”In addition to Ferrell, Indiana had solid contributions from the rest of its team. Freshman forward Noah Vonleh recorded his Big Ten-best ninth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds.Vonleh helped put the game away in the final minute, scoring four points and pulling in three rebounds. He also showed off his athleticism by jumping up and grabbing a Caris LeVert jumper right out of mid-air, to the delight of the home crowd.With Sunday’s win, Indiana has now won 10 games against Top-10 teams in the last three seasons, tied for most in the country. Three of those wins have come against Michigan, who is 16-1 at Assembly Hall dating back to 1996.The Hoosiers are now tied for fifth in the Big Ten with Ohio State, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Ferrell said afterwards that this win was great for the Hoosiers, especially moving forward in nation’s premier conference.“This is a great win because Michigan is such a great team,” Ferrell said. “But we got this win with our resilience on defense, and especially the fans cheering us on. It just shows how well we’ve been practicing from the loss to Nebraska. We were very disappointed in the way that we came out the second half, so we didn’t want to have that same letdown, so we wanted to have the same energy for all 40 minutes.”This game, like seemingly every Big Ten conference game this year, could have gone either way. Graduate student guard Evan Gordon wasn’t cleared to play until Sunday morning. Senior wing Will Sheehey fouled out after captaining Indiana’s defense all game. Crean said afterwards that his team had good contributions from the entire unit.“We got a lot of great efforts from a lot of really good young men,” he said. “People that came in the game continued to play hard, impacted the game, so we’re proud of it.”Follow reporter John Bauernfeind on Twitter @JohnBauernfeind.
(02/02/14 6:59pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The unpredictability of the Big Ten continued Sunday, as the IU men’s basketball team (14-8, 4-5) stunned the No. 10 Michigan Wolverines (16-5, 8-1) 63-52. It was Michigan’s first conference loss of the season, and it ends their 10-game winning streak. There were two stories that played out in Assembly Hall, one of which involved Indiana’s defense and the other Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell. The latter scored a game-high 27 points on 8-for-10 shooting. Ferrell also made a career-best seven 3-pointers, shooting 7-for-8 from beyond the arc. The sophomore guard, by himself, made four more 3-pointers than the entire Michigan team that, entering Sunday’s contest, led the Big Ten in 3-point field goals made and 3-point field goal percentage. Three of Ferrell’s made 3-pointers came when there was less than five seconds left on the shot clock. After the game, Ferrell said he felt good about his shot after his first few went in. “You know, once I hit the first couple, they all felt good,” Ferrell said. “Once I had an opening, I wasn’t really going to force it. Once I had an opening I was just going to let it fly.” Michigan Coach John Beilein said Ferrell’s play was about as good as a point guard can play. “He’s terrific,” Beilein said. “That’s as good of point guard play, he only took 10 shots, had 27 points, and ran his team. “We had no answers for Yogi.” Ferrell also led Indiana’s defensive charge, which held the Wolverines to 18 made field goals and 40 percent shooting, nine percent below its season average. Ferrell played a game-high 37 minutes, and spent the majority of his time defending Michigan’s Nik Stauskas.Stauskas, who had scored in double-digit points in 12-straight games, was limited to six points on 1-for-6 shooting from the field. Stauskas was also held without a 3-pointer, and his lone basket of the game came on a layup late in the first half. IU Coach Tom Crean said Ferrell level of play and his leadership have taken off this season. “Yogi Ferrell is playing at an extremely high level,” Crean said. “The approach that he takes to it, the leadership that he’s displaying over the last couple weeks, the improvement has been some of the best I’ve seen around.” Michigan’s 52 points Sunday was its lowest offensive output of the season. Of Indiana’s defensive strategy, Beilein said he had never seen anything like it in his seven years at Michigan. “Tom (Crean) and his staff did a really good job,” Beilein said. “The defensive game plan was outstanding. “We have never seen anything like it since I’ve been here and we ended up trying to adjust on the fly and we’ve got to learn from it.” In addition to Ferrell, Indiana got solid contributions from the rest of its team. Freshman forward Noah Vonleh recorded his Big Ten best ninth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Vonleh helped put the game away in the final minute, scoring four points and pulling in three rebounds. He also showed off his athleticism by jumping up and grabbing a Caris LeVert jumper right out of mid-air to the delight of the home crowd. With Sunday’s win, Indiana has now won 10 games against Top-10 teams in the last three seasons, tied for most in the country. Three of those wins have come against Michigan, who is 16-1 at Assembly Hall dating back to 1996. The Hoosiers are now tied for fifth in the Big Ten with Ohio State, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Ferrell said afterwards that this win was great for his team, especially moving forward in nation’s premier conference. “This is a great win because Michigan is such a great team,” Ferrell said. “But we got this win with our resilience on defense, and especially the fans cheering us on. It just shows how well we’ve been practicing from the loss to Nebraska. “We were very disappointed in the way that we came out the second half, so we didn’t want to have that same letdown, so we wanted to have the same energy for all 40 minutes.” This game, like seemingly every Big Ten conference game this year, could have gone either way. Graduate student guard Evan Gordon wasn’t cleared to play until this morning. Senior wing Will Sheehey fouled out after captaining Indiana’s defense all game. Crean said afterwards that his team got good contributions from the entire unit. “We got a lot of great efforts from a lot of really good young men, people that came in the game continued to play hard, impacted the game, so we’re proud of it.”
(01/29/14 3:51am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Austin Etherington smiled into the camera. His team had just earned its first Big Ten conference win of the season, a 79-76 victory that wasn’t decided until the game’s final minute. His team was trailing 72-70 against Penn State Jan. 11, and Etherington, a sophomore forward, hit a 3-pointer with little more than a minute remaining in the game.The Hoosiers never relinquished the lead after his shot.In the concourse of Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center after the game, a reporter asked Etherington what was going through his head as he unleashed the shot. Etherington said he had no doubt it was going in.“I just let it fly, you know,” Etherington said. “Just shoot the ball like we do every day. It felt pretty good.”After the game, IU Coach Tom Crean described Etherington’s shot as monstrous.“He’s a battler,” Crean said. “He’s scrappy, and really because he hasn’t played a lot the confidence is going to go one way or the other in a game.“The fact that he went in and his confidence grew like it did to the point where he could knock down that shot in the corner was huge.”It wasn’t always so easy for Etherington, who has fought his way into the rotation of the Hoosiers’ lineup this season.In Etherington’s collegiate debut against Stony Brook on Nov. 11, 2011, he went 3-for-3 from the field, making both of his 3-point attempts. His eight points that game remain his career high. In his freshman year, Etherington averaged 4.8 minutes and 1.3 points per game.At the start of his sophomore campaign, Etherington began to see more playing time. In his first three games last year, he averaged more than six minutes per game for the No. 1-ranked team in the country. Etherington saw his season end after just nine games, though, fracturing his kneecap on Dec. 9, 2012, during a game against Central Connecticut State.Then-senior forward Christian Watford said it was difficult for him and the rest of the team to see a teammate get injured.“It was a very tough moment,” Watford said. “When you have a guy that’s been through a lot with the program, it’s tough. He’s a teammate but also a friend of mine, so it’s always tough seeing a comrade go down like that.”With three freshmen coming into the next season playing the same position and role as Etherington, his future with the team was uncertain.Then came Indiana’s 79-72 loss to Notre Dame on Dec. 14. Etherington played 11 minutes and scored five points. He went 1-for-1 from the field and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line in the game. It was a solid performance, but there was one particular play he didn’t make.Early in the second half, with Indiana trailing, Etherington received a pass at the top of the key with no defender near. He pump faked, and still no defender challenged him. The Hoosiers fans in attendance yelled in unison, “Shoot it,” yet Etherington passed on the wide-open shot attempt.He didn’t try the shot.Etherington played 13 minutes in Indiana’s next game against Nicholls State, his longest yet. His minutes, however, tapered off in the Hoosiers’ next three games. Etherington played six minutes against Kennesaw State, three minutes against Illinois and “DNP” in Indiana’s Big Ten home opener against Michigan State.Since not playing against Michigan State, Etherington has played in each of Indiana’s past five games, seeing 17, 18, 19, 19 and 21 minutes — the latter a career high against Illinois. And with the absence of senior wing Will Sheehey at Michigan State on Jan. 21, Etherington made his first career start.For the season, Etherington is averaging 2.4 points and 1.6 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per game. During his last five games, though, he averaged 4.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in 18.8 minutes per game.Even though he doesn’t attempt many shots per game, Etherington is shooting 58.3 percent from the field. He also doesn’t turn the ball over. Despite a four-turnover performance at Michigan State, Etherington has committed only eight turnovers this year.Against Illinois Sunday he was the first player off the bench. With Indiana’s top three leading scorers with just four points among them in the first half, it was Etherington who stepped up. He scored seven points on 2-for-2 shooting from the field to lead the team in points after the half.“I know that my role is to come in and try to bring as much energy to the game,” Etherington said. “You know, sometimes right after the start of the game. It’s like a slow game at some point, so I just come in and play my hardest and play with heart and try to feed some energy to these guys.”Etherington is playing confidently, and it would seem that his confidence stems from his made 3-pointer against Penn State. If Indiana had lost to Penn State, the team would have started Big Ten play 0-3, and an NCAA Tournament bid would’ve begun to look bleak.After the Hoosiers defeated Illinois Sunday to improve to 3-4 in the Big Ten, Crean praised how far Etherington has come.“I have to manage the game based on who is trying to do that inside of the game and keep the competition really high in practice so that we have another Austin Etherington that, three weeks ago, didn’t get in the game against Michigan State, and now he’s playing major minutes and he’s a very valuable guy for us,” Crean said.Follow reporter John Bauernfeind on Twitter @JohnBauernfeind.
(01/27/14 5:12am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In a game that saw the IU men’s basketball team shoot below 70 percent from the free throw line and miss the front end of three one-and-ones, it was sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell who iced Indiana’s 56-46 win against Illinois.Ferrell went a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe in the game’s final one minute and six seconds. For the game, Ferrell went 8-for-8 from the free throw line, while the rest of the team shot a porous 5-for-11. Ferrell’s perfection from the free throw line was the most attempts without a miss by an IU player this season.Ferrell, who scored a career-high 30 points at Illinois on Dec. 31, totaled a team-high 17 points Sunday, 15 of which came in the second half. After the game, Ferrell said he had to find better opportunities for himself in the second half.“(I’m) picking my spots a little better,” he said. “I know I had a bunch of turnovers to begin the game. They kind of boxed me in a little bit. They played great help side defense so I would just drive and pretty much kick.”Ferrell’s 17 points came off an efficient 4-for-7 shooting from the field. After IU struggled to find a scoring groove in the first half, Ferrell played a massive role in a 12-0 run early in the second.After Illinois Jon Ekey connected on a 3-pointer with 17:37 remaining in the second half, Ferrell scored six straight points to start the scoring run.With Indiana up 34-39, Ferrell found senior wing Will Sheehey for a 3-pointer. To cap off the run, Sheehey returned the favor by assisting on a 3-pointer made by Ferrell on the next Indiana possession.After the game, IU Coach Tom Crean said Ferrell’s play opened up the game for Indiana’s other players, specifically freshman forward Noah Vonleh.“The fact that Yogi just continued to play like an outstanding point guard throughout the game freed it up for him,” Crean said. “Yogi in the first half managed the game at a high level and in the second half was able to take it over at certain points.” Crean said that’s what he wants to see in players.“You want somebody that’s always looking for ‘what is the game giving you,’ not ‘what do I want to bring to the game,’” he said. “And I thought Noah and Yogi did a tremendous job of that and the rest of the guys played off of that.”Despite three turnovers, Ferrell, who played in the game’s final nine minutes and 52 seconds, guided the Hoosiers to zero turnovers committed in the last four minutes and 25 seconds. He also had five assists to go along with four rebounds and a steal.This was the 13th time this season Ferrell scored more than 15 points in a game. Ferrell said afterward that IU needs to improve upon its turnovers and defensive mindset to make it to the NCAA Tournament.“You know, probably the main thing is cutting down on turnovers,” Ferrell said. “We want to get 10 or less a game. I felt like that will come with playing a lot of games really. Us being young isn’t a factor at all. It just comes down to us being patient, really.“We’ve got to have more of a defensive mindset. We can’t have miscommunications on defense like we did a few times in this game.“I think we get those two things down, we’ll be okay.”Follow reporter John Bauernfeind on Twitter @JohnBauernfeind.
(01/24/14 7:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In the aftermath of the IU men’s basketball team’s 83-80 overtime loss during its first Big Ten conference game of the season at Illinois, much of the talk centered on players and things not named Noah Vonleh.There was sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell’s career-high 30 points. The Hoosiers turned the ball over 23 times that game, compared to Illinois’s 10. There was graduate student guard Evan Gordon’s game-winning baseline jumper at the buzzer that came up just short.Not to be forgotten was freshman forward Vonleh, who scored 16 points and came up one rebound shy of posting a double-double in his first Big Ten game.Despite his impressive stat line, it was a tale of two halves for Vonleh. After posting 13 points in the first half--including going 2-for-3 from 3-point range--he scored just three second-half points, all on free throws.Vonleh said it was beneficial for him playing against Illinois’s Nnanna Egwu.“It’s a great experience,” Vonleh said. “It’s probably the best league in the country. Playing against guys like Egwu that are real physical, strong. So it’s gonna be a battle every night.”Vonleh and Egwu guarded each other when they were both in the game, playing one another to a draw. Egwu scored eight points, but it took him 11 shots to do so. He also managed only two rebounds the entire game. Vonleh, on the other hand, was held without a two-point field goal.The two big men enter Sunday’s contest in different runs of form. Vonleh is fresh off two consecutive double-double’s, while Egwu has been held to 10 points in his past three games.Still, Egwu--who is listed at 6’11, 255 lbs.--is a presence in the paint, blocking 1.8 shots per game in Big Ten play. Despite Egwu’s size and defensive capabilities, Vonleh said he felt free to unleash his shot when the junior didn't play him out on the 3-point line.“Egwu didn’t want to come out and play me all the way, so when I caught it, he didn’t respect it, I took the shot,” Vonleh said. “I’m just gonna keep doing that if they don’t come out there and guard.”In six Big Ten games played, Vonleh is shooting 75 percent from beyond the arc. After Indiana’s 71-66 loss Tuesday to Michigan State, IU Coach Tom Crean said Vonleh is always improving.“He’s got a tremendous percentage from the 3-point line, and you’re not really stopping him down low without a double team,” Crean said. “I think he’s very selective, he doesn’t hunt those three’s.”Crean said Vonleh is the type of player that can hurt opponents inside and from 3-point range.“He’s a mutli-dimensional player, that’s what we recruited him to be,” Crean said. “That’s what he’ll be long after he leaves us. That’s what he works very, very hard to be. He’s really learning a lot about the game and improving all the time.”Follow reporter John Bauernfeind on Twitter @JohnBauernfeind
(01/23/14 5:51pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In the aftermath of the IU men’s basketball team’s 83-80 overtime loss during its first Big Ten conference game of the season at Illinois, much of the talk centered on players and things not named Noah Vonleh.There was sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell’s career-high 30 points. The Hoosiers turned the ball over 23 times that game, compared to Illinois’ 10. There was graduate student guard Evan Gordon’s game-winning baseline jumper at the buzzer that came up just short.Not to be forgotten was freshman forward Vonleh, who scored 16 points and came up one rebound shy of posting a double-double in his first Big Ten game.Despite his impressive stat line, it was a tale of two halves for Vonleh. After posting 13 points in the first half — including going 2-for-3 from 3-point range — he scored just three second-half points, all on free throws.Vonleh said it was beneficial for him playing against Illinois’s Nnanna Egwu, one of the Big Ten’s best defensive centers.“It’s a great experience,” Vonleh said. “It’s probably the best league in the country. Playing against guys like Egwu that are real physical, strong. So it’s gonna be a battle every night.”Vonleh and Egwu guarded each other when they were both in the game, playing one another to a draw. Egwu scored eight points, but it took him 11 shots to do so. He also managed only two rebounds the entire game. Vonleh, on the other hand, was held without a two-point field goal.The two big men enter Sunday’s contest in different runs of form. Vonleh is fresh off two consecutive double-doubles, while Egwu has been held scoreless in his past two games.Still, Egwu — who is listed at 6-foot-11, 255 pounds — is a presence in the paint, blocking 1.8 shots per game in Big Ten play. He also leads the conference with 3.2 offensive rebounds per game.Despite Egwu’s size and defensive capabilities, Vonleh said he felt free to unleash his shot when the junior didn’t play him out on the 3-point line.“Egwu didn’t want to come out and play me all the way, so when I caught it, he didn’t respect it. I took the shot,” Vonleh said. “I’m just gonna keep doing that if they don’t come out there and guard.”In six Big Ten games played, Vonleh leads the conference in 3-point percentage, shooting 75 percent from beyond the arc. And even though he’s taken only 12 3-pointer’s in conference play, Vonleh is tied for 12th with nine 3-pointers.After Indiana’s 71-66 loss Tuesday to Michigan State, IU Coach Tom Crean said Vonleh is always improving.“He’s got a tremendous percentage from the 3-point line, and you’re not really stopping him down low without a double-team,” Crean said. “I think he’s very selective. He doesn’t hunt those threes.”Crean said Vonleh is the type of player that can hurt opponents inside and from 3-point range.“He’s a mutli-dimensional player — that’s what we recruited him to be,” Crean said. “That’s what he’ll be long after he leaves us. That’s what he works very, very hard to be. He’s really learning a lot about the game and improving all the time.”Follow reporter John Bauernfeind on Twitter @JohnBauernfeind.
(01/22/14 5:45am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU men’s basketball team (12-7, 2-4) will be kicking itself after Tuesday’s 71-66 loss to the No. 3 Michigan State Spartans. The Hoosiers led by one at halftime, and after weathering an early second half run by the Spartans, held a five-point lead with 10 minutes and 37 seconds remaining in the game.After Michigan State senior guard Travis Trice hit a jump shot to give the Spartans a 41-40 lead with 13 minutes and 45 seconds left in the second half, the Hoosiers went on a 6-0 run. The scoring was capped off by a layup from freshman forward Troy Williams, which prompted Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo to call a timeout.A foul on graduate student guard Evan Gordon sent the game into its second media timeout of the half, but it was clear that Indiana had taken control of the game. With senior wing Will Sheehey not playing after injuring his ankle against Northwestern, other Hoosiers stepped up in his place.After the game, IU Coach Tom Crean said he was proud of how his team performed under the circumstances.“I’m proud of my team because I think we did a great job the last couple days of establishing even more togetherness,” Crean said, according to an Associated Press report. “I’m proud of the way we played without Will. Everybody that went into the game impacted the game.”Sophomore forward Jeremy Hollowell, seeing his first minutes since Jan. 4, played 15 minutes and scored eight points on 2-of-3 shooting. Hollowell’s return-to-game action was punctuated by a breakaway dunk off a steal and outlook pass from freshman guard Stanford Robinson.Williams, who had scored 14 points total in his previous four games, had nine points on 3-for-7 shooting from the field. Williams entered Tuesday’s game averaging nearly two turnovers per game and did not turn the ball over once. He managed to grab six rebounds to go along with two assists. Robinson and sophomore forward Austin Etherington started in their first collegiate games of their careers. Etherington hit an early 3-pointer, but fouled out with a game-high four turnovers.Robinson played a season-high 27 minutes, totaling nine points on 4-for-10 shooting. The freshman from Maryland connected on a layup with 10 minutes and 10 seconds left in the game.It would take the Hoosiers more than seven minutes to make another field goal.Coming out of the under 12-minute media timeout, however, the Spartans would score 11 points in one minute and 21 seconds. Michigan State sophomore guard Gary Harris scored five points in a frame of 19 seconds during this stretch, and Harris would eventually go on to score 20 second half points.Despite Harris’s efforts, what arguably doomed the Hoosiers were its self-inflicted mistakes. The Hoosiers turned the ball over nine times against both Wisconsin and Northwestern last week.On Tuesday, they turned the ball over 18 times.To go along with this, ESPN reported the Hoosiers missed nine layups during the second half.The Hoosiers were led in scoring by sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell, who ended up with 19 points on 4-for-13 shooting. Freshman forward Noah Vonleh had another stellar game, recording his second consecutive double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.The Hoosiers and Spartans both had 30 points in the paint, and were nearly even in points off turnovers.The Spartans scored 15 points off 18 Indiana turnovers, and the Hoosiers scored 14 points off 14 Michigan State turnovers.Where the Spartans held a decisive edge were fast break points, outscoring the Hoosiers 22-8 in that regard. Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo said after the game he thought the Hoosiers played harder than his team.“Indiana, I thought, outplayed us — and we found a way to win,” Izzo said, according to an Associated Press report. “Those young guys played well, played hard.”Follow reporter John Bauernfeind on Twitter @JohnBauernfeind.
(01/22/14 5:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU men’s basketball team (12-7, 2-4) will be kicking itself after Tuesday’s 71-66 loss to the No. 3 Michigan State Spartans. The Hoosiers led by one at halftime, and after weathering an early second half run by the Spartans, held a five-point lead with 10 minutes and 37 seconds remaining in the game.After Michigan State senior guard Travis Trice hit a jump shot to give the Spartans a 41-40 lead with 13 minutes and 45 seconds left in the second half, the Hoosiers went on a 6-0 run. The scoring was capped off by a layup from freshman forward Troy Williams, which prompted Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo to call a timeout.A foul on graduate student guard Evan Gordon sent the game into its second media timeout of the half, but it was clear that Indiana had taken control of the game. With senior wing Will Sheehey not playing after injuring his ankle against Northwestern, other Hoosiers stepped up in his place.After the game, IU Coach Tom Crean said he was proud of how his team performed under the circumstances.“I’m proud of my team because I think we did a great job the last couple days of establishing even more togetherness,” Crean said, according to an Associated Press report. “I’m proud of the way we played without Will. Everybody that went into the game impacted the game.”Sophomore forward Jeremy Hollowell, seeing his first minutes since Jan. 4, played 15 minutes and scored eight points on 2-of-3 shooting. Hollowell’s return-to-game action was punctuated by a breakaway dunk off a steal and outlook pass from freshman guard Stanford Robinson.Williams, who had scored 14 points total in his previous four games, had nine points on 3-for-7 shooting from the field. Williams entered Tuesday’s game averaging nearly two turnovers per game and did not turn the ball over once. He managed to grab six rebounds to go along with two assists. Robinson and sophomore forward Austin Etherington started in their first collegiate games of their careers. Etherington hit an early 3-pointer, but fouled out with a game-high four turnovers.Robinson played a season-high 27 minutes, totaling nine points on 4-for-10 shooting. The freshman from Maryland connected on a layup with 10 minutes and 10 seconds left in the game.It would take the Hoosiers over seven minutes to make another field goal.Coming out of the under 12-minute media timeout, however, the Spartans would score 11 points in one minute and 21 seconds. Michigan State sophomore guard Gary Harris scored five points in a frame of 19 seconds during this stretch, and Harris would eventually go on to score 20 second half points.Despite Harris’s efforts, what arguably doomed the Hoosiers were its self-inflicted mistakes. The Hoosiers turned the ball over nine times against both Wisconsin and Northwestern last week.On Tuesday, they turned the ball over 18 times.To go along with this, ESPN reported the Hoosiers missed nine layups during the second half.The Hoosiers were led in scoring by sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell, who ended up with 19 points on 4-for-13 shooting. Freshman forward Noah Vonleh had another stellar game, recording his second consecutive double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.The Hoosiers and Spartans both had 30 points in the paint, and were nearly even in points off turnovers.The Spartans scored 15 points off 18 Indiana turnovers, and the Hoosiers scored 14 points off 14 Michigan State turnovers.Where the Spartans held a decisive edge were fast break points, outscoring the Hoosiers 22-8 in that regard. Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo said after the game he thought the Hoosiers played harder than his team.“Indiana, I thought, outplayed us — and we found a way to win,” Izzo said, according to an Associated Press report. “Those young guys played well, played hard.”Follow reporter John Bauernfeind on Twitter @JohnBauernfeind.
(01/22/14 1:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU men’s basketball team (12-7, 2-4) will be kicking itself after Tuesday’s 71-66 loss to the No. 3 Michigan State Spartans. The Hoosiers led by one at halftime, and after weathering an early second half run by the Spartans, held a five point lead with 10 minutes and 37 seconds remaining in the game.After Michigan State senior guard Travis Trice hit a jump shot to give the Spartans a 41-40 lead with 13 minutes and 45 seconds left in the second half, the Hoosiers went on a 6-0 run. The scoring was capped off by a layup from freshman forward Troy Williams, which prompted Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo to call a timeout.A foul on graduate student guard Evan Gordon sent the game into its second media timeout of the half, but it was clear that Indiana had taken control of the game. With senior wing Will Sheehey not playing after injuring his ankle against Northwestern, other Hoosiers were stepping up in his place.After the game, IU Coach Tom Crean said he was proud of how his team performed under the circumstances."I'm proud of my team because I think we did a great job the last couple days of establishing even more togetherness," Crean said. "I'm proud of the way we played without Will. Everybody that went into the game impacted the game."Sophomore forward Jeremy Hollowell, seeing his first minutes since Jan. 4, played 15 minutes and scored eight points on 2-of-3 shooting. Hollowell’s return to game action was punctuated by a breakaway dunk off a steal and outlook pass from freshman guard Stanford Robinson.Williams, who had scored 14 points total in his previous four games, had nine points on 3-for-7 shooting from the field. Williams, who entered Tuesday’s game averaging nearly two turnovers per game, did not turn the ball over once, and managed to grab six rebounds to go along with two assists. Robinson and sophomore forward Austin Etherington started in their first collegiate games of their careers. Etherington hit an early 3-pointer, but fouled out with a game-high four turnovers.Robinson played a season-high 27 minutes, totaling nine points on 4-for-10 shooting. The freshman from Maryland connected on a layup with 10 minutes and 10 seconds left in the game; it would take the Hoosiers over seven minutes to make another field goal.Coming out of the under 12 minute media timeout, however, the Spartans would score 11 points in one minute and 21 seconds. Michigan State sophomore guard Gary Harris scored five points in a frame of 19 seconds in this stretch, and Harris would eventually go on to score 20 second half points.Despite Harris’ efforts, what arguably doomed the Hoosiers were its self-inflicted mistakes. The Hoosiers turned the ball over nine times against both Wisconsin and Northwestern last week; on Tuesday, they turned the ball over 18 times.To go along with this, ESPN reported that in the second half the Hoosiers had missed nine layups.The Hoosiers were led in scoring by sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell, who ended up with 19 points on 4-for-13 shooting. Freshman forward Noah Vonleh had yet another stellar game, recording his second consecutive double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.The Hoosiers and Spartans both had 30 points in the paint, and were practically even in points off turnovers, with the Spartans getting 15 points off 18 Indiana turnovers, and the Hoosiers getting 14 points off 14 Michigan State turnovers.Where the Spartans held a decisive edge were fast break points, outscoring the Hoosiers 22-8 in that regard. Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo said after the game he thought the Hoosiers played harder than his team."Indiana, I thought, outplayed us and we found a way to win," Izzo said. "Those young guys played well, played hard."
(01/21/14 5:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For the second consecutive week, the IU men’s basketball team (12-6, 2-3) will face the No. 3 team in the country.The Hoosiers will travel to East Lansing, Mich., to play the Michigan State Spartans (17-1, 6-0) at 7 p.m. today.Michigan State enters tonight’s contest on a 10-game winning streak.The Spartans’ most recent victory was against Illinois, whom they defeated by 16 points Saturday night.The Hoosiers, on the other hand, are coming off a week that included a win against then-No. 3 ranked Wisconsin and a loss to a Northwestern team that has 10 losses and 9 wins.IU and Michigan State played each other earlier this month, with the Spartans taking down the Hoosiers 73-56 with sophomore guard Gary Harris’s career-high 26 points.IU Assistant Coach Tim Buckley said Michigan State dictated much of what went on during the first matchup.“We’ve got to do a better job of decision making and taking care of the ball,” Buckley said. “They did a good job of shooting the gap at times, and coming up with steals and scoring points in situations where we weren’t able to get our defense set.”Harris leads Michigan State in scoring with an average 17.9 points per game.He ranks second in the Big Ten behind University of Michigan’s Nik Stauskas, who averages 18 points per game.Harris has played three games against the Hoosiers in his career, during which the Fishers, Ind., native averaged 22 points.Sophomore forward Austin Etherington recognized Harris, whom he played against in high school at Hamilton Heights (Ind.), as a strong competitor.“He’s a great player, you know — he’s one of the best guards in the country right now,” Etherington said. “There’s nothing really that’s changed from his game. He’s a great player, he hits shots and he does what his team needs.”Crean reiterated the importance of slowing down Harris, but acknowledged that his team had difficulty with the matchup.“We really let Gary Harris get far too comfortable and loose in the game and he did a phenomenal job,” Crean said. “And now he is playing even better than he was then.”Michigan State will likely be without one of its top players Tuesday.Senior forward Adreian Payne has missed his team’s last three games and is doubtful for tonight’s matchup.Picking up his play in the absence of Payne is senior guard Keith Appling.Appling averages 16.1 points per game, and, with 4.6 assists per game, ranks third in the Big Ten.He is also second in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage, shooting 45.3 percent from behind the arc.His stat line against the Hoosiers earlier this month was efficient.The Detroit, Mich., native tallied 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting while holding himself to no turnovers.For the season, the Spartans average 80.4 points per game, while limiting its opponents to just 63.8.They rank second in the Big Ten in both field goal percentage offense and field goal percentage defense.On average, Michigan State shoots the ball at 47.9 percent and holds its opponents to just 37.7 percent shooting.Buckley said the Hoosiers prepared well during the past two days, adding what they learned from the previous two games.“Making good decisions, trying to open up the lane a bit more with ball reversals,” Buckley said. “But obviously a lot of things that we can point to and a lot of areas that we’ve worked on in the past couple of days.“Some of it’s just getting in the gym and getting ready to shoot the ball and getting good repetitions in that regard.”Follow reporter John Bauernfeind on Twitter @JohnBauernfeind.
(01/21/14 2:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For the second consecutive week, the IU men’s basketball team (12-6, 2-3) will face the No. 3 team in the country. The Hoosiers will travel to East Lansing, Mich., to play the Michigan State Spartans (17-1, 6-0) at 7 p.m. today.Michigan State enters tonight’s contest on a 10-game winning streak. The Spartans’ most recent victory was against Illinois, whom they defeated by 16 points Saturday night.The Hoosiers, on the other hand, are coming off a week that included a win against then-No. 3 ranked Wisconsin and a loss to a Northwestern team that has 10 losses and 9 wins.IU and Michigan State played each other earlier this month, with the Spartans taking down the Hoosiers 73-56 with sophomore guard Gary Harris’s career-high 26 points. IU Assistant Coach Tim Buckley said Michigan State dictated much of what went on during the first matchup.“We’ve got to do a better job of decision making and taking care of the ball,” Buckley said. “They did a good job of shooting the gap at times, and coming up with steals and scoring points in situations where we weren’t able to get our defense set.”Harris leads Michigan State in scoring with an average 17.9 points per game.He ranks second in the Big Ten behind University of Michigan’s Nik Stauskas, who averages 18 points per game.Harris has played three games against the Hoosiers in his career, during which the Fishers, Ind., native averaged 22 points. Sophomore forward Austin Etherington recognized Harris, whom he played against in high school at Hamilton Heights, as a strong competitor.“He’s a great player, you know — he’s one of the best guards in the country right now,” Etherington said. “There’s nothing really that’s changed from his game. He’s a great player, he hits shots and he does what his team needs.”Michigan State will likely be without one of its top players Tuesday. Senior forward Adreian Payne has missed his team’s last three games and is doubtful for the matchup.Picking up his play in the absence of Payne is senior guard Keith Appling.Appling averages 16.1 points per game, and, with 4.6 assists per game, ranks third in the Big Ten. He is also second in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage, shooting 45.3 percent from behind the arc.His stat line against the Hoosiers earlier this month was efficient.The Detroit, Mich., native tallied 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting while holding himself to no turnovers.For the season, the Spartans average 80.4 points per game, while limiting its opponents to just 63.8. They rank second in the Big Ten in both field goal percentage offense and field goal percentage defense.On average, Michigan State shoots the ball at 47.9 percent and holds its opponents to just 37.7 percent shooting.Buckley said the Hoosiers prepared well during the past two days, adding what they learned from the previous two games.“Making good decisions, trying to open up the lane a bit more with ball reversals,” Buckley said. “But obviously a lot of things that we can point to and a lot of areas that we’ve worked on in the past couple of days. Some of it’s just getting in the gym and getting ready to shoot the ball and getting good repetitions in that regard.”Follow reporter John Bauernfeind on Twitter @JohnBauernfeind.
(01/18/14 11:16pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In the wake of the IU men’s basketball team’s 54-47 loss to the Northwestern Wildcats, the lone bright spot for the Hoosiers was freshman forward Noah Vonleh. Vonleh finished the game with a double-double, posting 17 points on 5-for-15 shooting while pulling down 12 rebounds. This was Vonleh’s first double-double in Big Ten play, and his first since Dec. 7 against North Florida. After the game, Vonleh said at halftime it was emphasized to the guards to feed the ball inside. “Coach brought that up and told the guards to get the ball inside because they (Northwestern) always send guys,” Vonleh said. “If I can’t score, I’ll be able to kick it out, and I kicked it out to Yogi (Ferrell) at the top a couple times. We just didn't convert." Dishing it into Vonleh in the paint for him to make plays would’ve worked if not for IU’s poor shooting, which saw it go 15-for-60 from the field. Sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell and graduate student guard Evan Gordon combined to go 5-for-26 from the field. Indiana’s scoring woes were evident from the start. After Vonleh got the scoring started for the Hoosiers, knocking down a 3-pointer one minute and 41 seconds into the game, Indiana would go nearly nine minutes between made baskets. A Hanner Mosquera-Perea layup with nine minutes and 34 seconds remaining in the first ended the scoring drought. Vonleh would end the game 2-for-4 from behind the arc against Northwestern. He was the only Hoosier to make more than one 3-pointer, and in Big Ten play Vonleh has made 8-of-11 3-pointers. IU Coach Tom Crean said Vonleh is getting better and developing as an all-around player.“He’s playing in a lot of crucial situations," Crean said. "He’s very good around the bucket. I think he’s developing just fine, and I think he’s developing in a lot of ways.”Exactly half of Vonleh’s rebounds were offensive, and as a team, IU recorded 13 offensive boards, seven more than the Wildcats. Still, Northwestern, which had been getting outrebounded by nearly nine rebounds per game in Big Ten action, lost the rebound battle by one to the Hoosiers, recording 40 boards to IU’s 41. Vonleh and Northwestern senior guard/forward Drew Crawford tied for the game-high in points at 17. Like Vonleh, Crawford also pulled down 12 rebounds while playing a game-high 39 minutes. The Naperville, Ill., went 7-for-15 from the floor and was a matchup problem for most of the game for IU’s lineups. Vonleh and graduate student guard Evan Gordon led the Hoosiers in minutes with 32. After the game, Crean said it’s sometimes difficult to remember that Vonleh is a freshman playing significant minutes for his team.“Some days we have to remember that he’s a young 18 year old, and other days we look at him like he’s been around for 17, 18 games in college,” Crean said. “But the bottom line is he’s in his first year, and he’s got a lot to learn. The good news is that he wants to learn.”
(01/17/14 5:42am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With a signature win on its résumé after Tuesday night’s victory against Wisconsin, the IU men’s basketball team (12-5, 2-2) will look to raise its winning streak to three against the Northwestern Wildcats (8-10, 1-4) on Saturday.After the upset, IU Coach Tom Crean said he has seen improvement in his young team.“They’re just getting better,” Crean said. “I’m not ready to quantify that and say something miraculous has happened. It hasn’t. There is a lot of room for improvement.”Crean will put that growth to the test against the Wildcats, who enter the contest coming off a home loss to the Michigan State Spartans, 54-40. It was the fourth time this season Northwestern has failed to score more than 50 points, and its record in those games is 1-3.The Wildcats’ lone Big Ten win was when they didn’t reach the half-century mark. Last Sunday they beat Illinois 49-43 at Welsh-Ryan Arena.Northwestern Coach Chris Collins is in his first year with the program. Before arriving in Evanston, Ill., Collins had served on Mike Krzyzewski’s coaching staff at Duke since 2000, and since 2008 he was the Blue Devils’ associate head coach.Collins was named Northwestern’s head coach last March, and is the son of Doug Collins, last season’s head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers’.On the season, Collins’ Wildcats average 62.4 points per game as a team, but that figure drops to 51.2 points per game in Big Ten play, where they rank last in the conference.They allow opponents to score an average of 68 points per game, and their scoring margin of minus 16.8 points in Big Ten play is 4.8 points worse than the next closest team, Nebraska.On the season, Northwestern is taking more than 21 3-pointers per game. In Big Ten play, however, the Wildcats are shooting just 24.3 percent from beyond the arc. IU has been the best 3-point shooting team percentage-wise in Big Ten play at 40.9 percent.The Wildcats also struggle on the glass. In Big Ten play, they rank last in rebound margin per game, getting out-rebounded by almostnine rebounds per game. In contrast, the Hoosiers rank third in rebound margin in Big Ten games, pulling in an average of five more rebounds than its opponents.Northwestern’s top scorer is senior guard/forward Drew Crawford, who averages 15 points per game, which ranks 12th in the conference. IU sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell leads the Big Ten in points per game with 17.9, edging out the likes of Illinois’ Rayvonte Rice and Michigan’s Nik Stauskas, who both average 17.7 points per game.Crean said anything can happen in Big Ten play, even against the conference’s lower-level teams.“But we’ve got to come back, and if we’ve any different level of feel for Northwestern, they just beat Illinois.,” Crean said.
(01/17/14 3:22am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With a signature win on its résumé after Tuesday night’s victory against Wisconsin, the IU men’s basketball team (12-5, 2-2) will look to raise its winning streak to three against the Northwestern Wildcats (8-10, 1-4) on Saturday.After the upset, IU Coach Tom Crean said he has seen improvement in his young team.“They’re just getting better,” Crean said. “I’m not ready to quantify that and say something miraculous has happened. It hasn’t. There is a lot of room for improvement.”Crean will put that growth to the test against the Wildcats, who enter the contest coming off a home loss to the Michigan State Spartans, 54-40. It was the fourth time this season Northwestern has failed to score more than 50 points, and its record in those games is 1-3.The Wildcats’ lone Big Ten win was when they didn’t reach the half-century mark. Last Sunday they beat Illinois 49-43 at Welsh-Ryan Arena.Northwestern Coach Chris Collins is in his first year with the program. Before arriving in Evanston, Ill., Collins had served on Mike Krzyzewski’s coaching staff at Duke since 2000, and since 2008 he had been the Blue Devils’ associate head coach.Collins was named Northwestern’s head coach last March, and is the son of Doug Collins, last season’s head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers’.On the season, Collins’ Wildcats average 62.4 points per game as a team, but that figure drops to 51.2 points per game in Big Ten play, which ranks last in the conference. They allow opponents to score an average of 68 points per game, and their scoring margin of minus 16.8 points in Big Ten play is 4.8 points worse than the next closest team, Nebraska.On the season, Northwestern is taking more than 21 three-pointers per game. In Big Ten play, however, the Wildcats are shooting just 24.3 percent from beyond the arc. IU, despite the notion it’s not a good shooting team, has been the best three-point shooting team percentage-wise in Big Ten play at 40.9 percent.The Wildcats also struggle on the glass. In Big Ten play, they rank last in rebound margin per game, getting out-rebounded by nearly nine rebounds per game. In contrast, the Hoosiers rank third in rebound margin in Big Ten games, pulling in an average of five more rebounds than its opponents.Northwestern’s top scorer is senior guard/forward Drew Crawford, who averages 15 points per game, which ranks 12th in the conference. IU sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell leads the Big Ten in points per game with 17.9, edging out the likes of Illinois’ Rayvonte Rice and Michigan’s Nik Stauskas, who both average 17.7 points per game.Last season, the two teams faced each other only once, with IU winning at Northwestern 67-59. This season they will play each other twice, with IU also traveling to Northwestern in late February.Crean said anything can happen in Big Ten play, even against the conference’s lower-level teams.“But we’ve got to come back, and if we’ve any different level of feel for Northwestern, they just beat Illinois. I mean any night — not on any given night, but any night you go into any game — anybody can win these games.” Follow men’s basketball reporter John Bauernfeind on Twitter @JohnBauernfeind.
(01/15/14 5:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After ending No. 3 Wisconsin’s 16-game winning streak Tuesday night with a 75-72 victory, the Indiana men’s basketball team (12-5, 2-2) has found its footing after opening conference play with two consecutive losses.Sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell had a game-high 25 points, 19 of which came in the second half.But it was freshman guard Stanford Robinson who provided the Hoosiers with a relentless offensive approach to attacking the rim.Robinson came off the bench to score a career-high in points with 13 on 6-for-10 shooting from the field. For the entire game, Robinson did not attempt a 3-pointer or a jump shot, which was just fine with him.“Well, Yogi and Will (Sheehey) told me in the beginning of the game that the lanes were open and they told me to just keep going because that’s one of my strong points,” Robinson said. “So two of my leaders telling me to just keep going, I felt like I had the freedom to just be me.”Robinson played 24 minutes while coming off the bench. He scored six points in the first half on 3-for-4 shooting, and it was constant driving toward the rim that kept the Hoosier offense from becoming complacent.During his postgame press conference, IU Coach Tom Crean said he thought his team did a good job of getting to the hoop in the first half.But during the second half, especially early on, he said he thought his team stopped driving and began settling for jump shots.Once he entered the game with 15 minutes and 41 seconds remaining in the second half, Robinson went to work. In addition to his seven second-half points, Robinson also grabbed four rebounds and drew three free throw attempts on a Wisconsin defense that allowed IU only 10 free throws the entire game.With a raucous crowd back for the first home game of the spring semester, Robinson said the energy in Assembly Hall gave him and his teammates an extra boost.“For me, being the first time in Assembly Hall with that atmosphere, I know that helped me personally and the team as well,” Robinson said. “It joined us together down the stretch.“Because I mean, I’m sure everybody was tired. Just hearing that crowd go crazy like that, I know I got a lot of energy. I wasn’t tired after that one.”Robinson was one of four Hoosiers to score in double figures, along with Ferrell, Sheehey (13) and Vonleh (10). Graduate student guard Evan Gordon threw in a game-high six assists, a season best for him.Still, it was Robinson who, along with embracing his role as the de facto attacker on offense, embraced the Hoosier faithful. After a Wisconsin timeout late in the second half, Robinson turned to the crowd and raised his arms, giving Indiana fans reason to prolong its cheer.Crean said Robinson is a natural when it comes to driving and finishing at the rim, and that the freshman played a pivotal role in the Hoosiers’ upset victory against the Badgers.“He’s natural at that. He’s got a gift at that,” Crean said. “And he’s gotten better with his right hand. If you could’ve seen him at the beginning, I mean he didn’t trust his right hand at all. It wasn’t good enough. Now it’s a lot better.“But he’s got a lot of fight in him. I thought it was a change when we put him in, and put him on (Traevon) Jackson. He was a big part of all of that.”
(01/14/14 5:35am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After earning its first conference win of the season Saturday against Penn State, the Indiana men’s basketball team (11-5, 1-2) will face the No. 3 ranked Wisconsin Badgers (16-0, 3-0) tonight at 7 p.m.Indiana’s struggles against Wisconsin have been well documented. Last season, the two teams faced each other twice, with the Badgers emerging victorious both times. Wisconsin has won 12 straight games against Indiana, and the last time the Hoosiers defeated the Badgers was Jan. 31, 2007.In the non-conference portion of their schedule, Wisconsin tallied victories against St. John’s, Florida, Saint Louis and Marquette. In Big Ten play, the Badgers edged out Iowa at home later drubbing Northwestern and Illinois.In each of its 16 games, Wisconsin has used the same starting lineup of junior guard Traevon Jackson, junior guard Josh Gasser, senior guard Ben Brust, sophomore forward Sam Dekker and junior forward Frank Kaminsky. Wisconsin’s starting five scores almost 80 percent of its team’s points.IU Associate Head Coach Steve McClain said the Badgers’ experience makes Wisconsin Coach Bo Ryan’s players a team poised for success in the Big Ten.“When you’re in the Big Ten and you put five veterans on the court, who have played in this league and been through the battles, you’re going to have an opportunity to be as good as you can be,” McClain said.“They’re a tough basketball team that passes the basketball and shares the ball. They’ve got a team that Coach Ryan likes to have.”Dekker leads the Badgers in points per game with 14.3, as well as rebounds, with 6.3 per contest. The versatile wingman shoots 51.5 percent from the field, and his name has been brought up in NBA Draft talks.Wisconsin enters tonight’s game making 8.4 3-pointers per game, while limiting its opponents to just 4.5. On average, the Badgers are outscoring their opponents by 15.3 points per game, and by scoring almost 12 more points from beyond the arc than their opponents, the Badgers shoot and defend the 3-pointer well.Wisconsin has seven players who have taken at least 23 3-pointers on the season, in comparison to the Hoosiers’ four. That includes Dekker and Kaminsky, who shoot 34.6 percent and 47.7 percent from 3-point range, respectively.Freshman forward Noah Vonleh, who likely will guard Kaminsky, said it will be important not to lose Wisconsin’s big men on defense.“They have a lot of older guys on their team, Kaminsky and Dekker, they can step out, shoot,” Vonleh said. “We gotta communicate well on defense and stay with those guys.”In addition to its offensive success this season, which, according to Kenpom.com, ranks fourth in the nation in offensive efficiency, Wisconsin is allowing opponents to score 61.1 points per game against them.Wisconsin holds its opponents to 40.5 percent shooting from the floor, and 30.9 percent from the arc. The Badgers do this without fouling, as opponents average more than 14 free throws per game. The Hoosiers, in contrast, are averaging almost 31 free throw attempts per game.Wisconsin’s reputation as a defensive team is matched by its ball protection — for the season, the Badgers turn the ball over on average 8.2 times per game. McClain said it is vital for the Hoosiers to control the basketball and make shots rather than turnovers.“You can’t have empty possessions against Wisconsin,” McClain said. “They don’t turn it over. It becomes a bigger priority every game that we’ve got to take care of the basketball and we did a better job at Penn State.”He continued by saying the Hoosiers did a good job of taking care of the basketball against Penn State.“In the last eight minutes we had one turnover,” he said. “You saw a team starting to understand this is how you win. This is how you come back. We’ll continue to get better at it.”Follow reporter John Bauernfeind on Twitter @JohnBauernfeind.
(01/14/14 2:46am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After earning its first conference win of the season Saturday against Penn State, the Indiana men’s basketball team (11-5, 1-2) will face the No. 3 ranked Wisconsin Badgers (16-0, 3-0) tonight at 7 p.m.Indiana’s struggles against Wisconsin have been well documented. Last season, the two teams faced each other twice, with the Badgers emerging victorious both times. Wisconsin has won 12 straight games against Indiana, and the last time the Hoosiers defeated the Badgers was Jan. 31, 2007.In the non-conference portion of their schedule, Wisconsin has tallied victories against St. John’s, Florida, Saint Louis and Marquette. In Big Ten play, the Badgers edged out Iowa at home while throwing in drubbings of Northwestern and Illinois.In each of its 16 games, Wisconsin has used the same starting lineup of junior guard Traevon Jackson, junior guard Josh Gasser, senior guard Ben Brust, sophomore forward Sam Dekker and junior forward Frank Kaminsky. Wisconsin’s starting five scores nearly 80 percent of its team’s points.IU Associate Head Coach Steve McClain said the Badgers’ experience makes Wisconsin Coach Bo Ryan’s players a team poised for success in the Big Ten.“When you’re in the Big Ten and you put five veterans on the court, who have played in this league and been through the battles, you’re going to have an opportunity to be as good as you can be,” McClain said.“They’re a tough basketball team that passes the basketball and shares the ball. They’ve got a team that Coach Ryan likes to have.”Dekker leads the Badgers in points per game with 14.3, as well as rebounds, with 6.3 per contest. The versatile wingman shoots 51.5 percent from the field, and his name has been brought up in NBA Draft talks.Wisconsin enters tonight’s game making 8.4 3-pointers per game, while limiting its opponents to just 4.5. On average, the Badgers are outscoring their opponents by 15.3 points per game, and by scoring nearly 12 more points from beyond the arc than its opponents, the Badgers shoot and defend the 3-pointer well.Wisconsin has seven players who have taken at least 23 3-pointers on the season, in comparison to the Hoosiers’ four. That includes Dekker and Kaminsky, who shoot 34.6 percent and 47.7 percent from 3-point range, respectively.Freshman forward Noah Vonleh, who in all likelihood will spend time guarding Kaminsky, said it will be important not to lose Wisconsin’s big men on defense.“They have lot of older guys on their team, Kaminsky and Dekker, they can step out, shoot,” Vonleh said. “We gotta communicate well on defense and stay with those guys.”In addition to its offensive success this season, (which, according to Kenpom.com, ranks fourth in the nation in offensive efficiency), Wisconsin is allowing opponents to score 61.1 points per game against them.Wisconsin yields its opponents to 40.5 percent shooting from the floor, and that number dips to 30.9 percent from 3-point range. The Badgers do this without fouling, as opponents average a shade over 14 free throws per game. The Hoosiers, in contrast, are averaging nearly 31 free throw attempts per game.Wisconsin’s reputation as a defensive stalwart is matched by its ability to hold on to the ball — for the season, the Badgers turn the ball over on average 8.2 times per game. McClain said it is vital for the Hoosiers to control the basketball and get shots up rather than turnovers.“You can’t have empty possessions against Wisconsin,” McClain said. “They don’t turn it over. It becomes a bigger priority every game that we’ve got to take care of the basketball and we did a better job at Penn State.”He continued by saying the Hoosiers did a good job of taking care of the basketball against Penn State.“In the last eight minutes we had one turnover,” he said. “You saw a team starting to understand this is how you win. This is how you come back. We’ll continue to get better at it.”Follow reporter John Bauernfeind on Twitter @JohnBauernfeind.
(01/13/14 1:06am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In its first two Big Ten games of the season, the IU men’s basketball team let its opponents’ leading scorers run amok.Illinois’ Rayvonte Rice and Michigan State’s Gary Harris both scored well above their season averages when they played the Hoosiers. Rice’s season average of 18.8 points per game was bested by 29 against the Hoosiers. Harris totaled 26 points after averaging 17.4 entering the Spartans’ game against IU.That was not the case in State College, Pa., Saturday, as the Hoosiers won their first conference game of the year 79-76 against the Nittany Lions. IU (11-5, 1-2) held Penn State’s (9-8, 0-4) leading scorer, Tim Frazier, to 10 points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field. Going into Saturday’s game, the graduate student guard was averaging 17.1 points per game, and he had scored 20 points in his previous game against Minnesota. However, where the Hoosiers really limited Frazier was his assist mark. Frazier entered the game against IU averaging 6.9 assists per contest, the best average in the Big Ten and fourth best in the nation.When he left the game after fouling out late in the second half, Frazier had no assists. Although Frazier’s assist numbers were down to 4.67 assists per game in Big Ten play, he managed 8 assists in his most recent game against Minnesota.Frazier entered the game fifth in steals in the Big Ten at 1.8 per game. Again, Frazier did not record a steal against the Hoosiers. In all, Frazier was below his season averages in points, assists, steals and rebounds.After the game, Penn State Coach Pat Chambers spoke about Frazier’s performance and his last two fouls.“He’s a fifth year senior,” Chambers said of Frazier. “He has to know better ... he has to be smarter than that. We need him on the floor.”IU sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell spent time guarding Frazier in his team’s victory. Though Ferrell’s 15 points were a tad below his season average of 17.5, he dished out 7 assists to lead all players.Ferrell said his team never wavered or got down on itself, despite trailing by as many as 15 points in the first half.“We felt like we made a great stretch at the end of the first half,” Ferrell said. “You know, in fact, we weren’t playing so great. Especially those last couple minutes, I felt like we got crucial stops.”Ferrell finished by saying that if the Hoosiers play together, they will be OK.Ferrell was also able to hold on to the ball against Penn State, committing just one turnover. In his previous two games against Big Ten foes, Ferrell had turned the ball over six and five times, respectively, in losses. Frazier, meanwhile, turned the rock over three times, and IU scored nineteen points off turnovers to Penn State’s 14. After the game, IU Coach Tom Crean complimented Frazier’s skill set and compared him to IU senior forward Will Sheehey.“Tim Frazier is not just a veteran in college basketball,” Crean said. “I would imagine coaching him is a lot like Will Sheehey. They have a tremendous mind for the game.”IU overcame Frazier and his basketball prowess en route to its first true road win and first conference win of the year.“They really earned the victory today,” Crean said. “When two teams fight like that you can’t say that you deserved it, but when you get it the way we did you can say that we earned it. I think that’s important.” Follow men’s basketball reporter John Bauernfeind on Twitter @JohnBauernfeind.