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(12/30/12 11:56pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Freshman forward Jeremy Hollowell will suit up and is expected to play for IU against Iowa in the Big Ten Opener for both teams on Monday. He has missed the last three games as the team investigated his family's possible connection with an agent.It could be the first game this season in which all four of IU's freshmen play.Hollowell is averaging 5.7 points per contest.IU Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Fred Glass issued a statement on Sunday regarding the issue and said IU has self-reported the incident as a secondary violation and has reinstated Hollowell immediately.The extent of the statement is as follows."Earlier today we were advised by the NCAA that they have accepted our self-reported secondary violation involving Jeremy Hollowell and, consistent with our proposal, immediately reinstated his eligibility. He will travel with the rest of the team to Iowa and be eligible to play in that game and all other games going forward. I would like to thank the NCAA for its assistance and responsiveness, especially during this holiday season when their office is officially closed. I also thank Jeremy Hollowell and his mother Chandra Lockett who raised this issue and have continued to be forthright and forthcoming throughout this matter. Finally, I thank our athletic department and men's basketball staff who worked diligently and professionally to help bring this to a positive conclusion. I am proud of how Indiana University has handled this situation. We will release the details of this matter later this week. Until then we will have no further comment."
(12/22/12 12:57am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The tale of Indiana's 88-52 win against Florida Atlantic can perhaps be best exemplified by two basketballs bouncing high above the court.In the first half, freshman guard Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell launched a jump shot that deflected off the rim to the top of the glass before rolling forward and through the net.In the opening seconds of the second half, however, FAU's Pablo Bertone found his shot in the same spot before the ball fell backward off the glass and out of bounds.Friday night saw nearly every facets of the game go in IU's favor as the team trounced FAU in Assembly Hall."We have different players that can do a lot of different things," junior guard Victor Oladipo said. "When we play good defense and get out on break and get points off of turnovers, that's when we shoot well."Sophomore forward Cody Zeller led IU with 24 points, scoring on everything from tip-ins to and-one baskets in triple coverage after running the floor off his own steal. He was just two points short of his career-high and shot 12-of-13 from the foul line."I did want to be aggressive and drive more on their personnel," Zeller said. "I need to be more aggressive overall."Crean said Zeller has gone through extra practice for his free throws recently and sank 34-of-35 earlier Friday in practice."Cody's a very hungry player and works very hard on what he's good at and also works very hard on what he need to improve at," IU Coach Tom Crean said.Three more Hoosiers joined him in double figures, led by senior forward Christian Watford's 17.Despite size comparable to the Hoosiers and a noteworthy coach in Mike Jarvis, the Owls were outmatched throughout the game.The Hoosiers outshot the Owls 50.9-33.9 from the field, outrebounded them 41-28 and missed only one of 27 free throws for the fourth best foul shooting performance in team history. The Owls had more turnovers and more fouls as IU hit the double bonus early in the second half.Points of the paint, points off turnovers and second chance points all went IU's way.The teams traded baskets at the outset, with FAU scoring first and owning a 6-4 advantage about three minutes in.The Hoosiers then went on 20-2 run that pushed their lead well into double digits. Early on in the scoring spree, the team resorted to half court plays and crisp passing to counter the Owls fairly comparable size.As the lead grew, though, IU returned to its familiar up-tempo transition attack, many possessions starting off of FAU turnovers.As IU padded its lead, a number of reserves entered the mix, including
freshman forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea
in his most significant playing time to date. He made his
largest contribution in a game thus far with 4 points, a team-leading 10 rebounds and 2 blocks in 14 minutes.He had an opportunity to attempt one of the highlight reel dunks he became known for as a recruit at one point, but missed the pass to him down low. Both he and his coach joked that he was getting ahead of himself on the play."I thought he played well," Crean said. "I reminded him that you actually have to catch it before you dunk it. He had a couple SportsCenter plays in mind before he caught the ball. He's still working through things, but to get 10 rebounds in that amount of time is pretty impressive."Late in the first half, freshman center Peter Jurkin made his IU debut, putting to rest rumors of a possible redshirt season."Coach Crean doesn't treat them like freshmen," junior guard Victor Oladipo said. "They don't play freshmen minutes, and they don't practice like they're freshman. They continue to keep playing at a high level."The second half saw some of both styles of offense form IU, but neither were as successful due to a combination of sloppy passing, a more physical FAU defense and less playing time for starters.FAU's Greg Gantt tried to keep his team afloat by himself with 25 points. He was the only Owl in double figures and had more than half his team's points for the vast majority of the game."Players like him, you have to slow them down," Oladipo said. "Make him tired. Get him exhausted. He's a good player. He's got a nice release and a nice jump shot. He made a lot of tough shots tonight, but I think we did a good job on wearing him down."Players are off for several days starting Saturday, with the team returning to practice next Tuesday. A home game against Jacksonville looms on Dec. 28."They really deserve a break, and the great thing about it is they're not playing like they need one," Crean said. "Some teams, this time of year, play like they need that break. Our team doesn't look like that at all."
(12/20/12 12:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After being outmuscled in its Dec. 15 loss to Butler, IU looked to rebound Wednesday against Mount St. Mary's.They did so in several senses.Led by their forwards, balanced scoring and a renewed tenacity on the boards helped the Hoosiers roll to a 93-54 victory against an undersized and overmatched Mountaineers squad Wednesday evening in Assembly Hall."We wanted to come out with good energy," sophomore guard Remy Abell said. "What happened in the past is in
the past. We have to look forward to next game. We wanted to make the
extra pass, move the ball, reverse it, get the ball to the other side of
the floor, not just keep it on one side of the floor. When we did that
we started getting easy buckets."After never leading in rebounding against Butler, IU consistently
controlled the glass against Mount St. Mary's by a 41-18 margin. Senior
forward Christian Watford led with eight boards. The Mountaineers' 18 rebounds were the lowest total by an IU foe this season. Butler remains the only team to outrebound IU."I think we needed to fix some technique things and I think we did a
better job tonight," IU Coach Tom Crean said. "It's really about making the first contact."We were
a lot better in a lot of areas rebounding wise, but we were especially
better in our free-throw rebounding. There are a lot of things that you
can constantly improve on but there are certain things that you really
pinpoint, and I think keeping our feet moving on our block-outs was
really important."Junior forward Will Sheehey and sophomore forward Cody Zeller paced IU with 16 points each. Five Hoosiers reached double figures for the seventh time in 11 games this season.IU shot 70.6 percent from the field, the fourth-best single game mark in program history.Helping on a number of those scores was freshman guard Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell, who dished out nine of his team's 27 assists. The entire Mountaineers squad had only six.
"He just does a fantastic job of finding people," Crean said. "He has been incredibly
consistent in his 11 college games and his demeanor, his attitude, his
improvement level, his becoming a two-way player have all been great
while never getting away from being able to find the open player."Guard Rashad Whack led Mount St. Mary's with 17 points.IU jumped to a quick 7-0 lead, but 3-point shots and free throws kept the Mountaineers within striking distance. The first five fouls of the game went against IU, and the visiting team was a perfect 8-of-8 on the ensuing free throws.At the half, only six of Mount St. Mary's 29 points had come on two-point field goals."We played a team that stayed true to form: shooting a lot of threes," IU Coach Tom Crean said.
"They lead the country in percentage of points coming from the three and
they've got some guys that can really play on the perimeter. It was a
good win for us."The extra points allowed the Mountaineers to keep the game as close as 30-26 with 5:39 left in the period. However, IU rode its fast break and some 3-point shots of its own to give the Hoosiers their largest lead of the game up to that point.Indiana edged Mount St. Mary's 23-2 in fast break points.It was more of the same to start the second half. IU scored the first 11 points of the period, part of a 45-11 run spanning both halves. At one point in that run, during a combined 7:40, IU outscored Mount St. Mary's 20-0."We started getting out in transition a lot," Watford said. "We started to knock down some threes."In front of a of different sort of crowd that was mostly devoid of students, several new faces debuted in Assembly during Wednesday's first half. Freshman forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea was an early substitute in his first home game of his college career.He and freshman center Peter Jurkin each served 9-game suspensions. Jurkin warmed up Wednesday, as he did Saturday before IU's loss to Butler, but has yet to see any game action.Senior forward Derek Elston entered the game to a standing ovation later in the first half for the first time this season after suffering a torn meniscus in October. He played nine minutes total with a two points and two rebounds.Crean said he did not decide if Elston was ready to play until Wednesday morning. Though his conditioning is not yet back to his standards, Elston told his coach he was ready to go."I've been on the bench for so long that if I could have had the opportunity to go out there and wipe down the floor when guys were sweating, I would have," Elston said. "When Coach Crean asked me, no matter what I was going to say yes."In the second half, he made his presence felt with a clean block from behind on a seemingly open Mountaineer jump shot attempt.When Elston exited the game for a breather several minutes later, he received an emphatic back pat from Crean."You can only go through so many practices before you want to actually
get out there in front of a crowd and see what you can do," Elston said. "The standing
ovation just showed that people haven't forgotten about me. It shows
that I matter to this program. Sometimes when you get hurt like that and
you're out for so long you feel like people forget about you."
(12/19/12 9:58pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Junior guard Maurice Creek injured his right foot in practice on Sunday, according to a press release from the IU Athletic Department.He is out indefinitely.“Maurice has been doing so much to improve and help our team,” IU Coach Tom Crean said. “Hopefully this is just a temporary setback.”He is averaging 3 points per game and has appeared in all 10 of the team's games thus far this season.Creek has missed time due to injury in every season since arriving on campus in 2009, including all of last season. He averaged 16.4 points as a freshman in 2009 before suffering a season-ending injury.
(12/18/12 9:44pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After being stymied by Butler’s slower, methodical pace in its Dec. 15 loss in Indianapolis, IU returns home Dec. 19 to face a first-time opponent with a familiar gameplan.No. 6 IU takes on the Mount St. Mary’s at 7 p.m. Wednesday evening at Assembly Hall in the first ever meeting between the two teams.“They are a team that is going to play fast,” IU Assistant Coach Kenny Johnson said. “They are going to shoot 3-pointers in transition. They are going to be in a diamond trap defense a majority of the game… They present a number of different challenges for us and we have to constantly be aware of where the 3-point shooters are on the floor."The Mountaineers are led by first year head coach Jamion Christian, a 2004 graduate of and former player for Mount St. Mary’s. Prior to his appointment at his alma mater, Christian spent last season at Virginia Commonwealth and was on the sidelines when VCU narrowly lost to IU in the third round of the 2012 NCAA tournament.“They have done a lot of things, in watching them on film, very similar to what VCU tries to get accomplished, not only from their set plays but from their style of play as well,” Johnson said. “They are built on pressure defense in the full court and half-court.”Through eight games, Mount St. Mary’s has maintained a rather balanced offensive attack. Three players, led by Rashad Whack, average between 11.5 and 10.2 points per game. Each attempts at least 6 3-point shots on average per contest.Though the Mountaineer’s speedy tempo is a departure from the Butler gameplan that troubled the Hoosiers on Dec. 15, IU has spent much of its recent practices correcting issues from that game that could carry over, namely the rebounding drills IU Coach Tom Crean promised.“They have gotten real intense over the last couple days,” junior guard Victor Oladipo. “It is one thing that we need to work on and it has been a big emphasis. I think we did a pretty good job of going at each other and making that a big emphasis for our team."If there was a silver lining to IU’s first loss of the season, it was the college debut of freshman forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea after a nine game suspension. Freshman center Peter Jurkin is also now eligible to play, and senior forward Derek Elston is expected to soon return from a torn meniscus that has sidelined him.Mosquera-Perea played only three minutes against the Bulldogs, but could be in line for more playing time in the remainder on IU’s nonconference slate. "I try to bring energy, and I try to be active all over the floor on defense and offense,” Mosquera-Perea said. “I try to rebound the ball and help the team wherever they need my help."
(12/16/12 12:49am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS—A shell-shocked expression plastered across his face, the typically talkative Cody Zeller was at a loss for words after Saturday’s 88-86 Indiana overtime loss to Butler, never more so than when trying to explain how Butler’s big men dominated him around the basket.“I don’t know,” the sophomore forward said. “We’ve got to figure it out.”Later, IU Coach Tom Crean had no such hesitations when he took the podium, hoarse from an overtime game’s worth of exuberance.“We didn’t rebound for 45 minutes the way we needed to rebound,” Crean said. “When you’re the aggressor for the entire game, especially on the glass, you’ve got a tendency to get more of those 50-50 balls to bounce your way. Sometimes that’s all it is, just a bounce. It’s not necessarily a positional thing. We weren’t nearly good enough on the backboards today.”As Saturday’s game wore on at Banker’s Life Fieldhouse, the lead swinging from one team to the other, IU continuously found itself lacking in one particular statistic: rebounds, a hallmark of physical play.The Bulldogs, though mostly undersized compared to their No. 1-ranked foe, outmuscled the Hoosiers all afternoon, never trailing IU in boards and ultimately prevailing 40-38 in that category.Butler forward Roosevelt Jones, only 6-foot-4 but bulky, led the way for the Bulldogs with 12 rebounds. Center Andrew Smith was close behind with 9 and consistently outmaneuvered Zeller in the post.Afterward, Crean said Smith’s combination of size and scrappiness could land him in the NBA one day.“He got garbage baskets, and I don’t mean that in a negative term. I mean that in a positive term. I don’t mean that as a negative at all,” Crean said. “He got some loose ball baskets. I don’t think it was a game where he beat us with post moves or things like that, second shots or loose rebounds.”During the game, former Hoosier Verdell Jones tweeted ominously that he knew what rebounding drills Crean would put his players through at the next practice. Cream himself alluded to those after the game as well.“I’m excited about getting to practice, and I’m excited about the rebounding drills we’re going to do,” Crean said. “I’m not sure many people will be sharing that joy with me, but I’m excited about it because right now that’s an area that we’ve really go to shore up for ourselves.”At the same time, Crean said he felt his squad struggled to make plays in the crowded low post.“We’ve got to do a better job of making pressure layups,” he said. “We’ve got to do a better job of making contact layups. We’ve got to do a better job of exploding through the contact – because we knew there would be contact, and there was plenty—and make those shots. They did a better job of that than we did.”Physical games often breed fouls, and Saturday’s contest was no exception. Three Bulldogs fouled out, including Jones and Smith.The fouls, of course, gave IU free throws, 38 in all, but the team was unable to capitalize on the early opportunities at the line to pull away before overtime.Junior forward Will Sheehey, at 3-for-6, and Zeller, at 10-for-14 struggled in particular, and Zeller was again lost for an explanation for these issues in the loss.“I don’t know,” he said. “I wasn’t shooting it high enough. Little things.”
(12/10/12 5:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU neutralized the nation’s top scorer Saturday evening, and even a superhero effort by his sidekick could not stop IU’s fast break attack.Junior guard Victor Oladipo and sophomore forward Cody Zeller landed dunk after dunk as IU once again outran an overmatched nonconference foe, coming away with a 100-69 home victory against Central Connecticut State.“They were absolutely locked in, and our play showed it,” IU Coach Tom Crean said. “They just played at a very high level. We got up. We continued to play hard. We created things off of our defense. We were getting some offense from the guys that were in.”Senior forward Christian Watford led the team with 21 points, while Zeller had 19 points and 19 rebounds. His rebound total was a career high.CCSU’s Kyle Vinales entered the contest averaging 25.9 points per game, but was kept at just seven points as he missed numerous jump shots and finished 3-for-15 from the field. It broke his streak of six consecutive games with more than 20 points.“It was a full team effort,” Oladipo said. “(Junior forward) Will (Sheehey) was on him, (sophomore guard) Remy (Abell) was on him, and we all did a pretty good job of not letting him get comfortable out there, not letting him get to his sweet spots and making him use his off-hand.”Matt Hunter picked up the slack, though, going off for 40 points. His effort included six three-pointers and perfect 8-for-8 shooting from the foul line as he accrued more than half of his team’s points.The Blue Devils won the tipoff and struck first, keeping the game close for the opening few minutes. A Blue Devil free throw after the first media timeout tied the game at 9-9 4:06 in.Then, IU ripped off a fast break-fueled run that largely put the game to bed early.IU outscored CCSU 35-9 in the next 10:01, with many of the points coming off fast breaks and ending in dunks, including three thundering jams by Oladipo.Against the undersized Blue Devils, the Hoosiers consistently attacked the paint, even with smaller players such as Oladipo and freshman guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell. All told, the flurry of dunks and layups gave IU 56 points in the paint.IU was aggressive on defense early and came away with several steals to start breaks. As CCSU’s deficit grew, though, it resorted to launching more and more three-pointers rather than attacking the basket against the larger Hoosiers.IU adjusted accordingly and focused on the rebounding battle, which it won 53-31 in large part due to Zeller’s 19.The news was not all good for IU in the first half, though.Sophomore forward Austin Etherington went down under the CCSU basket with 2:28 left, clutching his knee. He was taken off on a stretcher amidst crowding teammates and cheering fans.Etherington was taken to the hospital shortly after halftime and diagnosed with a fractured patella. He had surgery Sunday morning. A full recovery is expected, but his season is finished.“Any time you lose a valued member of your program it not only hurts the team, but also everyone’s hearts,” Crean said in a press release Sunday. “Austin has been doing an excellent job improving, and now we have to help him overcome this setback and move forward.”The second half saw IU quickly build its lead back up to 25 and keep it in that vicinity for much of the period.IU continued to employ the fast break, while CCSU slowed the game down somewhat and worked more out of the half court on offense.Eventually, the fast break wore down the Blue Devils as IU utilized its reserves for energy off the bench and pushed the lead past 30. IU reached triple digits with 1:14 remaining, the second such feat this season.“We came out with a lot of energy tonight, which was big for us,” Zeller said. “That’s good because we can never come out slow. We will get right back to the drawing board and figure out where we messed up and where we can get better.”
(12/09/12 12:08am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The nation's top scorer was in Assembly Hall Saturday evening, but as he has done several times this season already, Victor Oladipo stole the show.The junior guard landed dunk after dunk as the Hoosiers once again outran an overmatched non-conference foe, coming away with a 100-69 home victory against Central Connecticut State.The Blue Devils won the tipoff and struck first, keeping the game close for the opening few minutes. A Blue Devil free throw after the first media timeout tied the game at 9-9 4:06 in.Then, as has frequently happened during IU's non-conference home slate, Indiana ripped off fast break-fueled run that largely put the game to bed early.IU outscored CCSU 35-9 in the next 10:01, with many of the points coming off of fast breaks and ending in dunks, including three thundering jams by junior guard Victor Oladipo.Against the undersized Blue Devils, the Hoosiers consistently drove the lane, even with smaller players such as Oladipo and freshman guard Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell.IU was aggressive on defense early and came away with several steals to start break. As CCSU's deficit grew, though, they resorted to launching more and more 3-pointers. IU adjusted accordingly and focused on the rebounding battle.The news was not all good for IU in the first half, though.Sophomore forward Austin Etherington, one of a number of reserves in by the half's last few minutes, went down under the CCSU basket with 2:28 left, clutching his knee. He was taken off on a stretcher amidst crowding teammates and cheering fans.IU players were visibly somber and dazed as IU Coach Tom Crean rounded them up to resume play, and the Hoosiers essentially traded baskets with the Blue Devils the rest of the way.The second half saw IU quickly build its lead back up to 25 and keep it in that vicinity for much of the period, sloppy ballhandling preventing it from stretching further.IU continued to employ the fast break, while CCSU slowed the game down somewhat and worked more out of the halfcourt on offense. The Blue Devils were also noticeably more physical in the second half as the referees proved reluctant to call fouls.Eventually, the fast break wore down the depth-challenged Blue Devils as IU utilized its reserves for energy off the bench and pushed the lead past 30. IU reached triple digits in scoring with less than a minute remaining, the second such feat this season.
(12/03/12 4:38am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Sloppy play in the first half gave way to the expected fastbreak battle Saturday evening in Assembly Hall as IU outraced Coppin State in a 87-51 win.Victor Oladipo led the charge.The junior guard had 14 points, six assists, six rebounds and was the catalyst for a second-half run that put the game to bed after a first half that was close at times.“We’re human,” Oladipo said. “We’re not perfect. We didn’t have a great start, but I thought we played well defensively the whole game. We did a good job of turning it up in the second half.”Starting with a layup by sophomore guard Remy Abell 4:29 into the period, Oladipo either scored or assisted on 14 consecutive IU points. By the end of the run, IU led 56-31.Even on the basket before that trend began, it was Oladipo’s miss at the rim that set the stage for a dunk by junior forward Will Sheehey seconds later.The shots were not falling for the Hoosiers early, though. They did not score a field goal until 5:33 into the game, missing their first nine shots from the field, five of which came from 3-point range.Meanwhile, the Eagles cruised to a 9-2 lead, with IU’s only points coming from free throws by sophomore center Cody Zeller. IU finally broke the drought on a contested layup by senior forward Christian Watford that netted the team a successful and-one opportunity.“Even at the beginning when shots weren’t going and we were having some turnovers, they were playing extremely hard,” IU Coach Tom Crean said. “There were no concerns.”IU produced a 17-4 run in the 7:18 after its seven-point deficit. Watford and Sheehey produced 13 of the 17 points in that span.The Eagles came within three points of the Hoosiers, but IU showcased its athleticism in building the lead up to a 14-point halftime margin. The team did not commit a single turnover in the half’s final 10:32 as it adjusted to the zone defense employed by Coppin State Coach Ron “Fang” Mitchell.“Before we started, we were concerned with their transition and how they get up and down the floor,” Mitchell said. “We had control early, but we’re a young team, and it’s hard to keep that going and maintain that tempo.”Crean instituted some defensive nuances of his own as the team switched to a nearly full-court press defense late in the first half.At halftime, the team changed to a more free-flowing overall gameplan. Crean said the team had practiced such tactics before, but they walked through it in an Assembly Hall hallway at halftime as a refresher.“We cleared out the hallway instead of going back to the gym because it would have taken too long and walked through what we wanted to do,” Crean said. “They were very alert and attentive, and it was quick.”The teams largely traded baskets in the second half before Oladipo led the scoring spree to put the game out of reach for the Eagles.After its 0-for-9 start, IU shot 31-of-51 the rest of the way. Oladipo and Sheehey led the Hoosiers with 14 points apiece as both scoring and rebounding efforts were balanced across the team.Near the forefront of both, though, was Oladipo. In addition to his points and rebounds, Oladipo set a benchmark in deflections, a favorite statistic of Crean, with 20. It was the highest mark posted by a player in the Crean era at IU and second only to Dwyane Wade among Crean-coached players.“It started in the beginning with Vic, who ended up having 20 deflections tonight, which is a high for us at Indiana and an individual high for him,” Crean said. “But our guys just never stopped competing.”
(12/02/12 1:27am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Sloppy play in the first half gave way to the expected fastbreak battle Saturday evening in Assembly Hall as Indiana outraced Coppin State in a 87-51 win.Victor Oladipo led the charge.The junior guard had 14 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds and was the catalyst for a second half run that put the game to bed after a first half that was close at times.Starting with a layup by sophomore guard Remy Abell 4:29 into the period, Oladipo either scored or assisted on 14 straight IU points. By the end of the run, IU led 56-31.Even on the basket before that trend, it was Oladipo's miss at the rim that set the stage for a subsequent dunk by junior forward Will Sheehey.The shots were not falling for the Hoosiers early on. They did not score a field goal until 4:33 into the game, missing their first nine shots from the field, five of which cam from three-point range.Meanwhile, the Eagles cruised to a 9-2 lead, IU's only points coming from free throws by sophomore forward Cody Zeller. IU finally broke the drought on a contested layup by senior forward Christian Watford that also netted the team a successful and-one opportunity.IU did not take its first lead of the game until more than halfway through the first period. With 9:25 remaining in the half, Watford drilled a three-point shot, making the score 14-11, to finish off a possession that began with his interception of a Coppin State inbounds pass and included a number of passes and deflections.IU produced a 17-4 run in the 7:18 after its seven-point deficit. Watford and junior forward Will Sheehey produced 11 of the 17 points in that span.The Eagles came within three points of the Hoosiers off of timely jump shots, but IU showcased its athleticism in building the lead up to a 14-point halftime margin.The teams largely traded baskets in the early minutes of the second half before Oladipo led the scoring spree to put the game out of reach for the Eagles.IU's 36-point margin of victory was just two points off its game-high of 38 even with primarily walk-ons and underclassmen playing the game's final minutes.
(12/01/12 1:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The danger of a big win – IU’s Tuesday triumph against North Carolina, for instance – is the ever-present possibility of a letdown in the first game after celebration.For the Hoosiers, this comes in the form of the Coppin State Eagles, a speedy Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference team led by freshman guard Patrick Cole and his 15.3 points per game.The Eagles land in Assembly Hall Friday for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.“We are approaching every game the same way,” senior guard Jordan Hulls said. “We are going to get everybody's best shot, and they're going to get our best shot as well, so we can't afford to play bad."Granted, Coppin State is not North Carolina. The Eagles are 1-5 on the season, with three losses coming by double-digits.Still, Coppin Sate has put up several notable numbers thus far in the still-young season.The Eagles average better than 27 attempts per game from beyond the three-point arc. Even with only a 26.8 shooting percentage on those attempts, it still equates to nearly a third of the team’s points each game coming from long range.“We know they shoot a lot of threes – I think they're fourth in the country on three point attempts,” freshman guard Kevin ‘Yogi’ Ferrell said. “We know we are going to have to get out on shooters and make sure to keep our guy in front of us."Additionally, the Eagles force more than 21 turnovers per game, their 11.2 steals per contest often serving as the start of a fast break attack.“They start with ball pressure,” IU Assistant Coach Kenny Johnson said. “They aren't always in a full-court, man-to-man, type of look, but they do a good job of scrambling and helping. In the passing lanes they are aggressive, they are overplaying so they are forcing you into unforced turnovers at times.“Other times, they are just always going to be there. You're not going to have any space to operate. They are going to be constantly moving their feet and communicating, and they are playing 10-11 guys as well, so they are able to stay fresh."
(11/28/12 6:42am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For about 17 minutes Tuesday night, IU-North Carolina was every bit the fast-paced, up-and-down battle of college basketball heavyweights it was billed to be.Then a combination of speedy dunks and timely free throws gave the Hoosiers a ten-point halftime lead.After the break, IU delivered the knockout.IU scored the first 13 points of the second half to claim a double digit lead it never came close to relinquishing as IU defended its No. 1 rank with a 83-59 beatdown of No. 14 UNC.“We played well in the first half, but in the second half we realized that the game wasn’t over with,” junior guard Victor Oladipo said. “We had to be on too, on our A-game.”Sophomore forward Cody Zeller led the Hoosiers with 20 points, while junior forward Will Sheehey and Oladipo were close behind with 19 points each.Senior guard Jordan Hulls added 13 points and neared triple-double territory with eight assists and seven rebounds.As both players and IU Coach Tom Crean said, they expected an up-tempo affair coming into the contest. IU attempted 74 shots in the game while UNC took 69 shots.“You look back at Kentucky’s numbers, Duke’s numbers, Carolina’s numbers, those guys get a lot of shots,” Crean said. “They get it because they defend well. We want to be able to get easy baskets and the way we get easy baskets and the better we can defend well and get up the court and run, the better for us.”IU staked an early lead with seven of its first 11 points supplied by Zeller.The teams essentially traded baskets for several minutes to make the score 18-13 in IU’s favor before North Carolina rode a six-point run to its first and only lead of the game at 19-18.The Hoosiers quickly responded with a three-point shot from senior guard Jordan Hulls and never trailed after that, though the Tar Heels did tie the score at 23, 25, 27 and 31 at various points.Despite a nifty backdoor move for a basket by Oladipo and a block by Zeller that swatted the ball into the stands, IU still could not pull away until a pair of free throws by Oladipo – due to a Dexter Strickland flagrant foul – followed by a Zeller dunk tied what had been the Tar Heels’ biggest lead of the night at six points.From there, the Hoosiers began to pile it on to end the half. Oladipo contributed another foul shot and a dunk as IU ran its lead to 44-35.All in all, four straight IU field goals were dunks as the Hoosiers closed the first half on a 15-6 run.Several scoreless minutes started the second period before IU broke the drought with a dunk by Oladipo. From there, the Hoosiers made shot after shot, be it a Hulls jumper, Oladipo slam or anything in between.Meanwhile, UNC made just one of its first 15 shots in the second half.IU pushed its lead well into double figures and above 30, only dropping below that mark late in the game when the Hoosier lineup consisted mostly of second-string underclassmen and walk-ons against a ranked foe.“We knew that we were playing against a great team, the kind of team you’ve got to be able to look at and say, ‘you could see a team like that down the road,’” Crean said. “I hope we both do.”
(11/28/12 3:29am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For about 17 minutes Tuesday night, Indiana-North Carolina was every bit the fast-paced, up-and-down battle of college basketball heavyweights it was billed to be before a combination speedy dunks and timely free throws gave the Hoosiers a none-point halftime lead.After the break, IU delivered the knockout.Indiana scored the first 13 points of the second half to claim a double digit lead it never came close to relinquishing as IU defended it's No. 1 ranking with a 83-59 beatdown of No. 14 UNC.Sophomore forward Cody Zeller led the Hoosiers with 20 points while juniors forward Will Sheehey and guard Victor Oladipo were close behind with 19 points each.IU staked an early lead with 7 of its first 11 points supplied by sophomore forward Cody Zeller. The teams essentially traded baskets for several minutes to make the score 18-13 in Indiana's favor before North Carolina rode a six-point run to its first lead of the game at 19-18.The Hoosiers quickly responded with a three-point shot from senior guard Jordan Hulls, and never trailed after that, though the Tarheels did tie it at 23, 25, 27 and 31 at various points.Despite a nifty backdoor move for a basket by Oladipo and a block by Zeller that swatted the ball into the stands, IU could not pull away until a pair of free throws by Oladipo - due to a Dexter Strickland flagrant foul - followed by a Zeller dunk tied what had been their biggest lead of the night at six points.From there, the Hoosiers began to pile it on to end the half. Oladipo contributed another foul shot and a dunk as IU ran its lead to 44-35. All in all, four straight IU field goals were dunks as the Hoosiers closed the first half on a 15-6 run.Several scoreless minutes started the second period before Indiana broke the drought with a dunk by Oladipo. From there, the Hoosiers simply made shot after shot, be it a Hulls jumper, Oladipo slam or anything in between.Meanwhile, UNC made just one of its first 15 shots in the second half.IU pushed its lead well into double figures and above 30, only dropping below that mark late in the game when the lineup consisted mostly of second-string underclassmen and walk-ons.
(11/27/12 5:24am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU Coach Tom Crean is not worried about the quick two-day turnaround between Sunday’s 101-53 dismantling of Ball State and today’s tilt against No. 14 North Carolina.“We’re playing North Carolina,” Crean said. “That takes care of itself.”As with IU hoops, North Carolina basketball tends to speak for itself. The Tarheels boast decades of history, a pair of championships under current Coach Roy Williams and a 5-1 record this season as they enter Assembly Hall at 9:30 p.m. today as the first ranked foe to face the Hoosiers this season.All of that matters little to sophomore forward Cody Zeller. “We attack every game the same, we game plan the same, we do the scouting reports the same every game,” Zeller said. “We will come out the same way whether we are playing Ball State or North Carolina. Our coaching staff does a really nice job of preparing us the same way no matter who we are playing.”Still, this is a different breed of opponent from the crowd of mostly mid-major opponents IU has faced thus far, and nowhere will that be more evident than on the UNC fastbreak offense, Crean said, speaking from personal experience.“Their transition is second to none. It really is,” Crean said. “It always is with Roy Williams teams. We saw it firsthand when we were at Marquette and he was at Kansas and we made the Final Four. As hard as we prepared for it, it was unlike anything we had seen. I think that’s the way they are right now.”Both Crean and Zeller pointed to the simple relentlessness of the Tarheels’ fastbreak, a hallmark of Williams’ teams that often sees players set up for long range jump shots off of breaks, not just the standard layups and dunks.“They want to get out and push the ball up the court whether it’s a miss or a make,” Zeller said. “Off turnovers, they score and score quickly. It’s going to be a big part of our game, and we’re going to have to get back on defense, and we can’t turn it over. We know they like to run, so that’s definitely something we’re going to have to pay attention to. We have to slow them down a little bit.”Given the up-tempo tendencies of both squads, though, a speedy game up and down the court seems inevitable. Zeller was careful to say “slow,” not “stop,” regarding his team’s plan against North Carolina and its star sophomore forward, James Michael McAdoo.McAdoo, who leads UNC in scoring with 16.8 points and 8.8 rebounds, is typically the start of the team’s fastbreak, and at times, the finish of them, as well.“McAdoo is unlike anything we’ve seen with his ability to rebound on the break,” Crean said. “They are not only a transition team but a transition rebounding team, and McAdoo leads the way with that.“It’s never over. It’s never over. If they don’t score quick, if they don’t lay it with an open three, you have to guard against the second shot, because McAdoo is the trailer with a full head of steam.”As with the North Carolina fastbreak, Crean said McAdoo’s danger lies in his versatility, and close, man-to-man defense on him is key.“You’ve got to have a body on him,” Crean said. “He can’t fly around untouched, because he can score in the perimeter. Obviously, he can score in the block. He can drive the ball. He is a high high-level player.”Having a solid supply of players to guard McAdoo could be an issue, though, Crean said. Freshmen forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea and center Peter Jurkin continue to serve nine game suspensions, while senior forward Derek Elston is still out with a torn meniscus.“We’re going to give up size for a while,” Crean said. “We’ve got guys who have a lot of size and length who aren’t playing for us right now. We’re definitely going to give up that size, but as we remind ourselves, they’re going to have to guard us, too. They’ve got to guard us on the other side, too, so what we give up in size on one end, we need to take advantage of on the other end.”Word broke Monday that UNC will be hampered by an injury of its own. Guard P.J. Hairston, the team’s third-leading scorer with 10.8 points per contest, will not make the trip due to a sprained left knee.Crean and his team need only look right up the highway for a blueprint on how to beat the Tarheels. UNC’s only loss of the season came a week ago in Maui as they were unable to come back from a substantial early deficit and fell to Butler 82-71.“Butler got off to a great start,” Crean said. “They were very physical with them. They made shots and they did a really good job in transition.“The other thing that Carolina is, and I think Coach Williams has always been this way, is it’s truly never over ’til it’s over. They are one of the great teams at coming back. The pressure is phenomenal. I thought their full-court pressure really bothered Butler in the second half, and we can learn from that.”
(11/26/12 5:32am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Even before tipoff in Sunday’s 101-53 shellacking of Ball State, the crowd roared for Jordan Hulls.The senior guard from Bloomington High School South stood at midcourt of the wooden floor he knows so well as IU Coach Tom Crean raised Hulls’ hand high above him and turned him to face the clapping crowd.His last time out on this floor, in front of these fans, Hulls scored his 1,000th point as a Hoosier, and this was his moment of recognition.Once the action commenced, it took a little bit of time – 14:25 to be specific – but Hulls came through with an encore.After not even attempting a shot until 5:35 remained on the clock in the first half, Hulls was a perfect 5-5 from the field in the remainder of the half and entered the break with a team-leading 12 points.“I just wasn’t trying to push anything,” Hulls said. “We were getting inside to (sophomore center) Cody (Zeller) and (senior forward) Christian (Watford), and we were just doing different things. I just let it come to me.”Hulls finished as the team’s second-leading scorer in the blowout with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting. His point total matched his season-high.“I was just trying to be more aggressive and do whatever the team needs me to do,” Hulls said. “I was waiting to get in the flow. I didn’t really shoot early in the first half. I was able to hit a couple of shots and then continue to be aggressive and then that’s just how it went.”All in all, the last 11 days have been pretty good to Hulls.On Nov. 15 against Sam Houston State, he became the 44th player in IU history to score 1,000 points, joining Watford in that club among legions of past Hoosiers. Hulls said after that game that he did not even realize the milestone at the time.He now has 1,048 points, good for 41st on the team’s all-time scoring list after surpassing Jay Edwards on Sunday.Then, during Thanksgiving break, Hulls stuffed the statistics sheet, pouring 31 points during the course of IU’s two games at the Progressive Legends Classic in Brooklyn, N.Y. IU won the tournament, and Hulls took home MVP honors.Which brings the team back to tonight, with Hulls standing on the court, his arm raised by his coach, as he held a special commemorative basketball for his achievement.“He has worn that swipe card out, coming into Cook Hall, from the first day he ever came here,” Associate Head Coach Tim Buckley said. “Jordan Hulls, he does things behind the scenes that you get to see on game night, but he works every single day.“It might be two, it might be three times that he goes in there every single day and works. That’s what really got the culture going, and then that comes about on game night.”
(11/21/12 6:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On Monday, against Georgia, IU trailed in the second half for the first time all season.Tuesday, against Georgetown, brought an even closer call.Georgetown forward Otto Porter tied the game at 64 on a jump shot with six seconds left in regulation, forcing overtime before IU prevailed 82-72 to win the Progressive Legends Classic Tuesday evening at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.“This was going to be an epic battle, and we hadn’t been in a lot of those in November,” IU Coach Tom Crean said. “We were ready for one, and so was Georgetown.”The Hoosiers scored the first six points of the overtime period to take a commanding lead as they pulled away, eventually earning their biggest lead of the game on a three-pointer by freshman guard Kevin 'Yogi' Ferrell that narrowly beat the shot clock.“When I was coming off, I heard one of the coaches say ‘shoot it,’” Ferrell said. “I knew the time was running down. I didn’t have no time it, so I knew coming off that screen I had to pull, and I shot it.”The run continued on a theme of scoring sprees that kept the team in the game in both halves even before the extra time.IU trailed during much of the early going in the first half, at one point down 23-18. Following that moment, though, the Hoosiers put together a 15-3 run - including a quick pair of three-point shots by senior forward Christian Watford - to take a lead despite a Hoya rally late in the half.They did not relinquish it until more than eight minutes into the second period.Shortly after Georgetown took its biggest lead of the second half, 49-45 with 10:31 remaining on the clock, IU embarked on another scoring spree, this one a 14-2 run that gave IU the lead until Georgetown snagged the tie with six seconds to go.Sophomore forward Cody Zeller bounced back after a sub-par performance on Monday to lead IU with 17 points along with senior guard Jordan Hulls, the tournament MVP. Five Hoosiers reached double digits in scoring.“I was just trying to be aggressive,” Zeller said. “You have bad games, just naturally being a basketball player. You just try to come back, working hard, and do whatever it takes for the team to win.”Markel Starks had 20 points to pace the Hoyas before fouling out.Both teams were justifiably trigger-happy in the first half, especially early on. IU was 6 for 10 while Georgetown went 8 of 14. In the second half, though, neither team relied on the long ball as much, despite continued efficiency.Appeal rulings were not handed down Tuesday in the NCAA cases of freshmen center Peter Jurkin and forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea and neither played. The two players did not originally make the trip with the team, but when it became apparent that appeals could happen soon, they flew up before IU's Monday game.“As we get deeper, as we get more frontline guys back, that will help us, but there’s nothing we can do about that right now,” Crean said. “Our guys just went out and played a high level team in a high level way.”
(11/21/12 3:54am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On Monday against Georgia, IU trailed in the second half for the first time all season. Tuesday brought an even closer call.Georgetown forward Otto Porter tied the game at 64 on a jump shot with six seconds left in regulation, forcing overtime before IU prevailed 82-72 to win the Progressive Legends Classic Tuesday evening at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.The Hoosiers scored the first six points of the overtime period to take a commanding lead as they pulled away, eventually earning their biggest lead of the game on a three-pointer by freshman guard Kevin 'Yogi' Ferrell that narrowly beat the shot clock.The run continued on a theme of scoring sprees that kept the team in the game in both halves even before the extra time.IU trailed during much of the early going in the first half, at one point down 23-18. Following that moment, though, the Hoosiers put together a 15-3 run - including a quick pair of three-point shots by senior forward Christian Watford - to take a lead despite a Hoya rally late in the half.They did not relinquish it until more than eight minutes into the second period.Shortly after Georgetown took its biggest lead of the second half, 49-45 with 10:31 remaining on the clock, IU embarked on another scoring spree, this one a 14-2 run that gave IU the lead until Georgetown snagged the tie with six seconds to go.Sophomore forward Cody Zeller bounced back after a sub-par performance on Monday to lead IU with 17 points along with senior guard Jordan Hulls, the tournament MVP. Five Hoosiers reached double digits in scoring.Markel Starks had 20 points to pace the Hoyas before fouling out.Both teams were justifiably trigger-happy in the first half, especially early on. IU was 6 for 10 while Georgetown went 8 of 14. In the second half, though, neither team relied on the long ball as much, despite continued efficiency.Appeal rulings were not handed down Tuesday in the NCAA cases of freshmen center Peter Jurkin and forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea and neither played. The two players did not originally make the trip with the team, but when it became apparent that appeals could happen soon, they flew up before IU's Monday game.
(11/20/12 3:08am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Perhaps it was the metaphorical bright lights of New York City that kept shots from falling for Indiana in the first half, but as the team came back to win by double figures, a familiar sight greeted the Hoosiers.The Barclays Center was far from capacity Monday as IU defeated Georgia 66-53, but those who did populate the new $1 billion home of the Brooklyn Nets were largely crimson-clad.“It was kind of a road game, really, with all those IU fans,” Georgia Coach Mark Fox said.Technically a neutral site game and not an away contest, it was nonetheless IU’s first competition of the year away from Assembly Hall and home crowds.“We pretty much got the gist of it and the hang of it after today, after the one game,” junior guard Victor Oladipo said. “Those fans came in and basically turned it into Assembly Hall.”Senior guard Jordan Hulls, a veteran of plenty of road games, said the crowd support was no surprise to him and the Indiana fanbase historically travels well.“It’s always been good for us no matter where we’ve gone,” Hulls said. “I thank everybody for coming out. It got pretty loud once it got going, so that was pretty cool.”Hulls has played several neutral site games, including a Madison Square Garden upset of Pittsburgh as a freshman, but for freshmen guard Kevin ‘Yogi’ Ferrell and forward Jeremy Hollowell, Monday’s was a first.“It was really good for us to get on the road and get a win against a good team like Georgia,” Hulls said. “I thought Yogi came in and played like he has been here for a long time.”The atmosphere was also altered by the presence of someone who certainly was not wearing cream and crimson. Former IU Coach Bob Knight was calling the game for ESPN’s broadcast, his closest contact with IU since his firing in 2000.“We shook hands and Coach Knight said ‘good luck,’” IU Coach Tom Crean said. “I just wanted to make sure that I did that. We just happened to have him. He’s working and we’re working and I just wanted to make sure that when they were walking off I had a chance to shake his hand.”Crean said there were also NBA scouts in attendance to see players on the four tournament teams, though he dismissed any thought of their presence as a distraction to players such as sophomore forward Cody Zeller, who struggled with six points.But Knight is just one man, and the NBA scouts just a smattering among a crowd that was largely mobilized IU fans. Oladipo said that was ultimately the biggest factor of the environment Monday evening.“Hopefully they’ll come out tomorrow night, because we’ll need them,” Oladipo said. “It was great support. Without them, we probably couldn’t have won this one. I’m glad they came out and showed us some love, and hopefully they continue to keep doing that.”
(11/16/12 4:58am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For the second time in his 99 games in cream and crimson, senior forward Christian Watford began the game on the bench Nov. 15. Once he was in the game, though, he quickly made up for lost time.Watford led IU with 23 points as the Hoosiers rode strong runs to begin each half to a 99-45 blowout win against Sam Houston State at Assembly Hall in their second of four games in the Progressive Legends Classic. The 54-point win was the fourth-largest margin of victory in school history.“We just wanted to make a little energy change, and he played with as much energy as anyone on the court tonight,” IU Coach Tom Crean said. “I think it showed up in his numbers. I’ve got to think he feels good about the way he played.”The lineup switch worked out rather well for the man replacing Watford as well.Junior forward Will Sheehey, in his 19th career start and first of the season, chipped in 18 points, the next most on the team after Watford.“I look at Will as a starter whether he’s starting or not,” Crean said. “I think Will’s the kind of guy that he can do whatever you ask him to do.”Sheehey had the first score of the game with a fastbreak dunk off a steal by junior guard Victor Oladipo that brought the crowd to their feet. It started a 16-2 run by the Hoosiers to open the game.“The defensive energy really picked it up for us, and we were able to get a couple of buckets and an and-one at the free throw line,” senior guard Jordan Hulls said. “It is definitely something we’ve been focusing on, playing 40 minutes.”Six points in that opening spree came off a pair of three-point shots by Hulls. His third three-pointer of the night came with 7:02 remaining in the second half and made him the 44th player in IU history to score 1,000 career points. Watford is also in that group.Crean, already planning to take the guard out of the game for rest, raised Hulls’ hand in front of his teammates as the crowd cheered the Bloomington native’s name.“I had no idea what was going on when Coach raised my hand up,” Hulls said. “It’s pretty cool, and I couldn’t have done it without my teammates. I’m not really into personal accolades, but it’s a pretty cool club to be a part of.”Already leading 52-25 at the half, IU went on another run, this one 19-5 to start the second half.“We can’t just play 20 minutes,” Hulls said. “We’ve got to go out and be focused and with as much energy as we did in the first half.”To counter the uptempo nature of the Bearkats, IU employed smaller lineups — units without sophomore center Cody Zeller, who Crean said has battled illness all week — for several stretches of the game, particularly when SHSU’s 6-foot-11, 255-pound center Michael Holyfield was on the bench. Even when in the game, he was a non-factor, scoring only a single point.SHSU was led by guard Paul Baxter’s 9 points as the Bearkats did not have a single player in double-figures. The Hoosiers had five.Each team took 53 shots from the field. IU made 30 to SHSU’s 16.SHSU did lead IU in foul shots though, 31-12, as IU attempted 44 free throws on the night. Watford was a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe.IU has now won three consecutive games by 25 points or more for the first time since the 1979-80 season.“You work hard to have fun in games like tonight,” Sheehey said. “We all enjoy it obviously. We have more energy than usual, and I think tonight we did.”
(11/16/12 12:57am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Beating Sam Houston State at its own uptempo game, IU cruised to a 99-45 home victory Thursday evening.As if a 27-point halftime lead was not enough of a safety net, IU began the second half with a 19-run stretch that pushed the lead to 41 early in the second half.The Hoosiers also began the game on a 16-2 run.Junior forward Will Sheehey started the game instead of senior forward Christian Watford. It was only the second time in 99 career games for Watford at IU that he has played but not started.Once he was in the game, though, Watford contributed a quick 7 points while playing all around the court on defense. He finished with 24 points to lead IU.Fellow senior Jordan Hulls joined the 1,000 career points club with a three-point shot in the second half. The crowd chanted the Bloomington native's name moments later. The guard finished with 10 points.To counter the uptempo nature of the Bearkats, IU employed a smaller lineup -- one without sophomore forward Cody Zeller -- for several stretches of the game, particularly when SHSU's 6-foot-11, 255 pound center, Michael Holyfield, was on the bench. Even when in the game, he was a non-factor.