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(11/12/12 5:37am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Even before the IU men’s basketball team tipped off against Bryant Friday night in Assembly Hall, Hoosier fans already felt like they had won.Before the Hoosiers took the court, Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Fred Glass grabbed the microphone and told the 17,472 fans in attendance that he and IU Coach Tom Crean had worked out terms for a two-year extension on Crean’s contract, meaning the coach will be in Bloomington until at least 2020.IU basketball fans took to their feet in approval, overjoyed that the coach who had taken the Hoosiers from the depths of the Big Ten to preseason No. 1 was in it for the long haul.But Crean said his new contract came about because of more than just conversations between him and Glass.“It wouldn’t be possible without the players who have persevered and who have been here,” Crean said. “Without their resiliency and toughness and their desire to win and compete and do things the right way...they’ve helped us try to get this to be as model of a program as it can be.”Off the momentum of the Crean announcement, the Hoosiers took down Bryant in the team’s first regular season game, 97-54.The Hoosiers stormed out to an early 7-0 lead, initiated by a 3-pointer from senior guard Jordan Hulls.It appeared as though the Hoosiers had learned from their slow start in the team’s only exhibition game against Indiana Wesleyan the previous week, but Bryant began to creep back.With the help of three 3-pointers, Bryant outscored the Hoosiers 15-7 during the next two minutes and 25 seconds to take the team’s first lead of the game, 15-14.But it would be Bryant’s last lead.The IU offense, sparked by seven rebounds in the first half from senior forward Christian Watford along with freshman guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell’s 10 points in his first half of college basketball, the Hoosiers took a 48-28 lead into the locker room at halftime, even with IU’s nine first-half turnovers and junior forward Will Sheehey in foul trouble.Both teams traded 8-2 runs to open the second half, and the Hoosier lead still stood at 20 points, 58-38, with 13:22 left in the game. Just seconds later, though, Bryant’s Andrew Scocca fouled out. Vlad Kondratyev, the second of the Bulldogs’ three 6-foot-8-inch players, would foul out as well, leaving Bryant simply unable to size up with the Hoosiers as the IU lead continued to grow.With 9:06 remaining, off a Watford three-point play, the IU lead grew past 30 off a Watford three-point play and it didn’t dip under 30 for the rest of the game as the Hoosiers cruised to their first win of the season.Yet even with the seemingly easy win, Crean said he felt like the Hoosiers made great strides while taking down the Bulldogs by more than 40 points.“It’s one thing to win, but it’s a whole other thing to improve while you’re winning, and I think we improved inside this game tonight,” Crean said. “The key is that we continue to improve inside every game and between those games.”Though he only shot 33 percent from the floor, Watford made his presence known Friday, setting a career-high of 15 rebounds to go along with 15 points as one of six Hoosiers in double figures.Zeller added a double-double as well, leading the team with 18 points to go along with 10 boards.Sophomore guard Remy Abell and freshman forward Jeremy Hollowell each added 12 points. Ferrell tossed in 10 points to go along with his game-high seven assists, and Sheehey scored 10 as well before fouling out midway through the second half.Several players echoed that although Zeller and Watford’s performances were special, it was the Hoosiers’ depth that stood out Friday and hopefully will continue the rest of the season.Abell, who only averaged three points a game last season, said that he made it a point in the offseason to consistently contribute in IU’s rotation. Friday was only the second time he has scored in double-digits in his career at IU.“I just want to play my role,” Abell said. “Everybody has a role on the team, and whatever they need me to do, I want to do it and help my team. I’m a winner, and I want to win, so whatever it takes, that’s what I want to do.”
(11/09/12 4:55am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU men’s basketball team can put the preseason hype to rest Friday night.No longer do the Hoosiers have to battle the uncertainty of living up to the preseason No. 1 team in the nation, while having the preseason No. 1 player — sophomore center Cody Zeller — and two John R. Wooden Preseason Top 50 nominees — Zeller and senior forward Christian Watford — on their team.About eight months after the team’s 102-90 loss to Kentucky in the Sweet 16, the Hoosiers can now battle more than just the expectations the media has had over their heads this offseason.Bryant becomes their opponent.And in front of a sold-out Assembly Hall crowd, IU Coach Tom Crean and his squad will get their first real chance to see how they match up this season against NCAA competition.The Bulldogs, though, come off a season last year where they saw only two wins, while losing 19 games by double-digits.This offseason, the Hoosiers have faced off several times in inter-squad scrimmages, including the 15-minute game at the culmination of Hoosier Hysteria. IU also played its only official exhibition game of the season last Thursday against Indiana Wesleyan, winning 86-57.But Zeller said just the change of pace in not going against his teammates in practice and playing in a meaningful game will help prepare the Hoosiers for what the rest of this season has in store.“We’re definitely very excited for it,” Zeller said. “It’s a different test for us. We haven’t played a game in so long, it feels like. We’re finally to the day where we can see where we’re at.”The Hoosiers haven’t lost a season-opener since the 1997-98 season when former IU Coach Bob Knight and his players fell to No. 24 Temple 59-53.Crean said there isn’t any one thing the Hoosiers will be focusing on to avoid an early loss this season, but he added the one thing he wants his players to focus on is getting better, game by game.“We have to keep improving on a daily basis, and each game is no different,” Crean said. “But there are so many things that go into it, and it would be too simple to say ‘Let’s go out and play hard, let’s go out and compete.’ There are a lot of things that go into it, and we want to keep advancing constantly.”IU Associate Head Coach Tim Buckley said the Bulldogs pose a strong threat with their speed and may challenge the Hoosiers with communication at the start of the season, but that he believes it will be a good team to start the season off with.“They’re a very good transition offensive team,” Buckley said. “They really try to push the pace off the make or the miss. We’ve got to do a terrific job of communicating, shrinking the floor, talking to each other and really executing our coverage in that regard, and it’s going to really force us to sprint back and get set.”Yet even with the Bulldogs’ speed, the Hoosiers boast a much larger lineup, which Buckley said will play to the Hoosiers’ advantage. The team, though, will have to play with a thinner lineup for several games due to the injury of senior forward Derek Elston and the suspensions of freshmen forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea and center Peter Jurkin.But Crean said even though the team will have to play with a bit smaller lineup Friday and for the next several games, he doesn’t plan on trying any experimenting with lineups Friday night.“We’re trying to win, and we’re trying to win big,” Crean said.
(11/02/12 4:32am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It took just three seconds, a couple dribbles, and the Hoosiers were already behind.Sophomore center Cody Zeller lost the opening tip to Indiana Wesleyan’s Jordan Weidner who drove to the basket unattested and rolled in a bucket. 2-0 Wildcats.The Hoosiers would continue to trail Indiana Wesleyan and fell behind as much as nine points at 13-4 until, with 6:59 to go in the first half, junior guard Maurice Creek hit a deep 3-pointer, sending the Hoosiers ahead for their first lead of the game.After a Wildcat basket to respond, the Hoosiers took the lead for good after a dunk from junior forward Will Sheehey, leading 29-28 with 6:03 left in the first half. IU would continue to build on this lead during the remainder of the game to take the game 86-57 in the team’s only exhibition match of the season.But after the game, Sheehey said he was less than impressed with how the Hoosiers started, getting behind nine points early.“I think our guys are going to notice that and work on our starts,” Sheehey said. “We weren’t a quick-starting team last year, and I think we’re going to put a lot of emphasis on that going forward.”IU Coach Tom Crean said in their first competitive action against another team, his Hoosiers have yet to develop an identity this early on in the campaign. But he expected that.“You don’t just walk into the season with an identity, and its not necessarily the one you had the year before,” Crean said. “You’ve got to work into it.”After struggling to find much momentum early, the Hoosiers seemed to pick it up when, with 10:57 left in the first half, Creek came in off the bench to a standing ovation from Hoosier fans throughout Assembly Hall. He went 3-3 in the first half for eight points, including a 3-pointer to give IU a late offensive burst after the team started off slowly.This was Creek’s first appearance in competition since Jan. 15, 2011, when he suffered a season-ending stress fracture in his knee against Michigan. Creek also missed last season after rupturing his Achilles heel during practice last fall.The junior said receiving a standing ovation when he came into the game for the first time was unlike anything he had ever experienced as a Hoosier.“Standing ovation — that’s big time,” Creek said. “That’s love right there.”He finished the game with 12 points, a team-high.On the momentum of Creek’s return, the Hoosiers ended the first half on a 14-2 run and had a 41-30 lead at halftime.IU wouldn’t look back.With the large lead for the entire second half, reaching as many as 30 points, Crean was able to shuffle around his lineup early and often, giving 11 guys the chance to play at least 11 minutes in the game.Creek said with all the guys the Hoosiers have who can come off the bench and bring something productive, the team is deeper than he’s ever seen it.“We’re a deep team, and I could see that tonight,” Creek said. “We had multiple lineups, and when your number is called, you want to do everything possible to help the team.”After Creek, Watford followed with 11 points along with six rebounds. Both Zeller and Sheehey scored 11 points to go along with five boards, and Oladipo led the Hoosiers with seven boards to go along with 10 points.Crean said he has seven or eight guys he can see carrying the starting load as well, but in the end, it just comes down to being consistent with any set of his guys out on the court.“If you’ve got guys who are that good, that means they can impact the game on both ends of the floor, and you shouldn’t miss a beat when they’re in the game,” Crean said.
(11/01/12 3:55am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Bring in one of the top recruiting classes in the nation. Check. Take the top ranking in every important national preseason poll, along with every preseason national player of the year award. Check. Sell out Assembly Hall for Hoosier Hysteria. Check.But tonight, the IU men’s basketball team will have its first chance to back the hype, in an exhibition game against Indiana Wesleyan, that has surrounded Bloomington and the IU campus since the Hoosiers made it to the Sweet 16 last season for the first time since 2002.Junior guard Victor Oladipo said that after the excitement surrounding this freshman class and the rest of the team, he’s looking forward to seeing his new teammates in their first game as Indiana Hoosiers.“You just tell them they’re going to have a little nerves at first — it might be a shock to them at first — but at the end of the day, you’re still just playing basketball, doing what they love to do,” Oladipo said. “It’s an honor and a privilege to play in front of all those fans on that court and to put on those candy stripes, to play for their school, and they know that.”Freshman guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell, though, was particularly touted as an impact player who could lift the Hoosiers to the next level after he committed to IU as a junior at Park Tudor High School. After Oladipo practiced with his fellow guard for a month and had to guard him during practices and scrimmages, he said he thinks Ferrell is ready to play in front of the sold-out Assembly Hall crowd tonight.“Now he’s ready to put on the candy stripes, take them off and see how he does when the lights are on,” Oladipo said.But tonight’s game will be more than just a showcase of the freshman class IU Coach Tom Crean was able to attract during the past few years. The Wildcats come to Bloomington as the No. 4 ranked team in Division II of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.Although it doesn’t pose an NCAA Division I threat on paper, IU Associate Head Coach Steve McClain said Indiana Wesleyan plays at a pace very similar to the Hoosiers and carry a lot of the same strengths that IU used to get to the Sweet 16 last season.“They have a clear plan of how they want to play,” McClain said. “They take good shots. They share the basketball.“You’re not playing a team that has just one or two good players. They have four returning starters that are juniors or seniors, so they have a good feel for their system and how they want to play.”Earlier this week, the Wildcats defeated the NAIA’s No. 14 St. Xavier 91-74, and Ferrell said he thinks that’s all the proof his players need to come out and play a tough game — exhibition or not.“Now we get a chance to go up against some other competition, so we’re not going to take this very lightly,” Ferrell said. “We’re going to go out there from the get-go and hit them in the mouth first before they hit us and go out and give it our all.”
(10/26/12 5:55pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On Friday, the AP Poll was released, and the IU men’s basketball team was once again ranked at the top of the college basketball world.The Hoosiers, who received 43 first-place votes, sit atop Louisville (No. 2) and Kentucky (No. 3) who received 20 and two first-place votes, respectively.Two other Big Ten teams, Ohio State (No. 4) and Michigan (No. 5) took spots rounding out the top five. The rest of the top 10 was identical to the USA Today Coaches Poll, which came out last week, including North Carolina State (No. 6), Kansas (No. 7), Duke (No. 8), Syracuse (No. 9) and Florida (No. 10).The Big Ten led all conferences with five teams ranked in the top 25, with Michigan State at No. 14 and Wisconsin at No. 23. Minnesota also received votes outside of the top 25.IU Coach Tom Crean’s squad begin its quest to keep its top rankings this Thursday when the team plays its only exhibition game of the season against Indiana Wesleyan at Assembly Hall at 7 p.m.
(10/26/12 4:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On Thursday, the Big Ten announced that a panel of conference media had named the Hoosiers as the Big Ten favorite heading into the 2012-13 season. Michigan and Ohio State followed Indiana in the conference preseason rankings as second and third, respectively.Sophomore center Cody Zeller received another stream of awards, being named the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year by the same panel. He also was a unanimous choice for the preseason All-Big Ten Team, joined by Michigan’s Trey Burke, Ohio State’s Aaron Craft and Deshaun Thomas and Penn State’s Tim Frazier. IU Coach Tom Crean said even with all of Zeller’s awards and praises during the offseason, the sophomore has been able to keep a level head.“Cody Zeller epitomizes so many things about the program, and number one is the humble spirit he has,” Crean said. “He’s confident, but he has a humbleness, and he has a desire to improve.”IU senior forward Christian Watford said these new team and individual accolades, along with several others the Hoosiers have grabbed this preseason, show just how far the program has come since Crean came on board in 2008.“It was a great step, ‘cause we’ve finally gotten some respect over the last couple years, ‘cause we’ve been picked at the bottom, but we’ve moved up the ladder, and it shows that our hard word really pays off,” he said.A day after news broke of his torn left meniscus, senior forward Derek Elston was present at the media day and confirmed once again that the root of the ailment dated back to high school. His surgery is scheduled for Friday.Crean said they cannot fully predict a timetable for his return until after the procedure, but reiterated that Elston is fully expected to see the court this season.“The disappointment is for him in the sense that he’s been playing at a good level, working hard, improving,” Crean said. “I don’t see this taking away a season or anything like that.”During Thursday morning’s press conferences, a handful of photographers snapped photos of the conference’s coaches sitting onstage answering questions.New Nebraska Coach Tim Miles decided to flip the script.After about 10 minutes of fielding questions, Miles ended his press conference by whipping his iPhone out from a pocket and taking a panorama photo of the assembled media before him. The photo was on his Twitter page within minutes.It was far from the only moment of Miles’ press conference that drew puzzled reactions. The first-year Cornhuskers leader unleashed a number of one-liners from the podium, clearly enjoying his first moment in the Big Ten spotlight.From the moment he sat down and commented that the media looked in need of some coffee to noting that the Big Ten was on one of the two television channels he got growing up in South Dakota, no one was safe from his humor, not even himself.Miles, already at his fifth head coaching stop at the age of 46, said his rise through the ranks of rebuilding programs, most recently Colorado State, directly contributed to his graying hair.In between the humor, though, the coach unveiled parts of his plan to put the Huskers back on the basketball map for the first time in years, including his recruiting Texas and Colorado for hidden gems and the team’s new training complex.Even then, though, he could not resist a joke.“We would invite you all to come, but then you might,” Miles said. “So I’m not going to.”Even though his team struggled last season, going 12-20 — including a 4-14 record in the Big Ten — Penn State men’s basketball Coach Patrick Chambers was able to stay out of the critical spotlight because of the events that surrounded the school’s football program.But Chambers said he knows it’s been on the mind of every recruit, as well as their family members, and Chambers has decided to take the issue head-on.“I talk to the parents about it and the kids about it, and I don’t want it to be the elephant in the room,” Chambers said. “If they’re okay with it, then you are going to get amazing kids that are serious about getting degrees, that are winners and that want to help build this program.”Frazier said the situation has brought the whole athletic program together as they rally around the football team this fall.“We’re truly sorry for the victims and everything that happened, and as far as everything that happened to the university, but we just have come together as a family and move on and move in the right direction,” Frazier said.
(10/26/12 4:32am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>At Thursday’s Big Ten Media Day, coaches weighed in on everything from preseason expectations to creative solutions for rebounding issues.“Our team has had to deal with a lot of other hype that wasn’t necessarily positive.”IU Coach Tom Crean about past preseason expectations“The fact that four of our brethren are ahead of us, that’s OK. There’s a lot to play before December and early January.”Wisconsin Coach Bo Ryan about the Big Ten“Everything they’ve so far been able to accomplish, they’ve earned and they’ve done it the hard way.”Purdue Coach Matt Painter about IU“As far as his team, his players, he needs to be patient, go through it one time — he’s a great coach but knows it’s difficult on the road here.”Penn State Coach Patrick Chambers about new Nebraska Coach Tim Miles“Winning on the road in the Big Ten might be the most daunting task in college basketball.”Ohio State Coach Thad Matta about the Big Ten“Just throw out some raw steaks on the court.”Northwestern Coach Bill Carmody about improving rebound tenacity“I would like to thank Rick (Boyages) and the Big Ten for starting us at home against Michigan State ... Thanks, Rick. Santa is going to give him some coal.”Nebraska Coach Tim Miles about his team’s conference schedule“There are a lot of things that he had to deal with last year, and I think he has that under control, both mental and physically.”Minnesota Coach Tubby Smith about Trevor Mbakwe’s legal and injury woes“I knew somebody would ask that. Why ruin a good day?”Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo about the number of highly-ranked teams in the Big Ten“I think the biggest obstacle is the other teams aren’t going away.”Michigan Coach John Beilein about the new Big Ten teams emerging“The ones that excel are oftentimes not necessarily the ones that are the most talented. They’re the ones that are the most mature.”Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery about player development“Coaches will take consistency over greatness any day of the week.”Illinois Coach John Groce about guard Brandon Paul
(10/22/12 4:17am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Though she tries to hide it, even SportsCenter co-anchor and IU alumna Sage Steele can’t help but embrace her Hoosier pride.“College basketball is better when Indiana is in the picture,” Steele said. “It just is.”After JD Campbell, assistant athletic director for media relations, called Steele months ago and asked her to emcee Saturday night’s Hoosier Hysteria at Assembly Hall, Steele said she couldn’t wait to come back to her alma mater.“I started seeing on Twitter the pictures of the kids that were out here and saw that (IU Coach) Tom Crean was here with his wife, and I was thinking ‘Are you kidding me?’” Steele said. “There’s people who make me look young, and I’m not young anymore, lined up out there. Fifty, 60-year-old people, so that’s the neat thing.”Steele walked to center court to start the events, dressed in a Hoosier Hysteria T-shirt and candy stripe sweatpants, and introduced the women’s team and new IU Coach Curt Miller.Miller, who previously spent 11 seasons at Bowling Green, led the Falcons to a 258-92 record and took six Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year honors in the process, said what the team needs most now is support.“One of the things that we did at Bowling Green was we protected home court,” Miller said. “We were 60-4 in our last 64 games at Bowling Green.”Following Miller’s introduction, the men’s team danced on the court led by junior guard Victor Oladipo.Oladipo stole the show Saturday, offering colorful commentary during the Long Shot Tournament and going back and forth with Steele.Sophomore center Cody Zeller did not participate in the team’s skit, and as the players were announced, he was the last to make his way onto the court as all 17,472 fans stood on their feet and cheered.Following player introductions, the men’s team took part in the Long Shot Tournament.Senior guard Jordan Hulls was the No. 1 seed, but he fell in his first matchup to sophomore guard Jonny Marlin. Even in defeat, Hulls gave a small tribute to his father, JC Hulls, who was in attendance and is battling cancer.Marlin challenged Zeller in the finals, an unlikely matchup given Zeller’s size and Marlin’s second opponent. Zeller continued to knock down baskets and took home the title.The seven-foot sophomore said he didn’t surprise himself with his rhythm from beyond the arc Saturday night.“I worked on it a lot this summer,” Zeller said. “I shot threes in high school a bit. I know I have to shoot outside more this year, to make it more difficult for teams to double-team me.” After Zeller appeared to steal the show for a few moments, Oladipo took all the attention, winning the dunk competition in just one round. The judges, which included former Hoosiers Tom Pritchard, Daniel Moore and A.J. Guyton, unanimously gave Oladipo the title.Oladipo earned a perfect score of 70 after his two dunks. After, he was able to showcase a few more, including a feed off the back of the backboard from Hulls before Oladipo slammed it down.After the “O-la-di-po” chants began to subside, the men’s team, except for fellow forwards junior Will Sheehey and freshman Hanner Mosquera-Perea who were both out with injuries, split into red and white teams for a inter-squad scrimmage.Though some fans began to exit as the 15 minute scrimmage continued, the remainder of the crowd erupted when freshman guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferell dished an alley-oop pass to Zeller, who finished it with a two-handed dunk, bringing Hoosier fans to their feet.In the end, the red team pulled out a narrow victory 40-39 against the white squad. The red team was led by Zeller’s 16 points. Hulls led the white squad with 12.The scrimmage ended the night’s events, but even as Steele thanked the crowd one last time, it was clear her Hoosier pride will continue.“Go get ’em in 2012,” she said. “IU, baby.”
(10/19/12 4:20am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Saturday evening, Hoosier basketball fans throughout IU’s campus, Bloomington and the country will have a chance to see the men’s and women’s basketball teams in-person. IU Coach Tom Crean’s men’s team is ranked preseason No. 1 in polls across the country. The women’s team enters its first season under new head coach Curt Miller. Both coaches will address the crowd.The event is a week later than it traditionally has been so as not to coincide with fall break. Potential recruits for both the basketball and football teams are expected to attend.“It’s always been exciting, going back to year one, but I’ve never heard it talked about like it is right now,” Crean said. “I think it will be huge for recruiting, I don’t think there’s any question about that. We moved it back a week with one goal in mind: to give every student at Indiana the opportunity to be at it because of the fall break (last week). I think we’ll have a lot of fun.”Here are a few tips to ensure IU basketball fans have a chance to enjoy Hoosier Hysteria to the fullest.Arrive earlyAssembly Hall’s doors will open at 4 p.m., and tickets are free. Fans will be admitted until all seats in the arena have been filled. The IU-Navy football game will be screened on the video board.Although the event is free, fans are encouraged to bring a canned food item to benefit Hoosier Hills Food Bank.AutographsHoosier fans can bring one item they wish to have signed by players during an open autograph session from 5 to 6 p.m. before the official event begins at 7 p.m.Sage Steele as emcee ESPN SportsCenter co-host and IU alumna Sage Steele will serve as emcee for Hoosier Hysteria, announcing activities including a dunk contest, a three-point contest and men’s team scrimmage. Participants for the dunk and three-point contests have not yet been announced.Student contestsBefore the event officially begins at 7 p.m., students will be encouraged to register for a Big Head contest and the Craziest Fan contest. The Crimson Guard will select students to compete and bring them onto the floor. The lists will be narrowed down for the finals, which will take place between the dunk and three-point contest. Winners will be awarded IU Varsity Shop gift certificates.
(10/04/12 4:00am)
Take a look at the results of Homecoming football games since 2008.
(10/03/12 3:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Monday night, after Jack Nicklaus served as the inaugural speaker in the Wilson Delta Gamma Lectureship in Values and Ethics at the IU Auditorium, he sat down with members of the press, including Indiana Daily Student reporter Nathan Brown. Nicklaus talked further on why he decided to speak at IU, Team USA’s collapse in the Ryder Cup, Midwestern values and his last trip to Bloomington.Q: Why did you decide to speak in this series?A: Well, that would be my wife, who is good friends with Amy (Wilson) who said, ‘Will Jack do that?’ and Barbara said, ‘Jack, you will do this,’ and I said, ‘Okay.’ They asked me to do it, and I was going to be in Columbus anyways. I came up to do the Ryder Cup television yesterday, and tomorrow we are doing a breakfast and press conference for the President’s Cup, which is a year from now. We’re doing that tomorrow morning, so the captains are coming to Columbus. So I was here, and it worked out well.Q: Since you mentioned the Ryder Cup, talk a little bit about the finish there.A: I think the Americans played pretty darn good golf the first two days, but the Europeans are a good bunch of players, and they finally got on their game yesterday. They got into a roll, and they did it, and America didn’t finish very well. All they had to do was put away a few matches early — (Europe) won the fuckin’ first five matches, didn’t they? — and you win the first five matches when you’re behind 10-6, and all the sudden you’re ahead 11-10.Q: You talked about Midwestern values, growing up in the Midwest. The topic, I guess the theme, in the speech was sort of that. The discussion was integrity and ethics ... Why do you think Midwestern values instill so much of that in people?A: Most of the people that come to the Midwest have come from some European background. I think people came to this country to get away from oppression in Europe and for religious freedoms, and I think that a lot of those people settled in the Midwest, and so I think the family values in the Midwest are pretty good.Q: Can you compare and contrast trying to improve as a golfer to improving in another field, course design, which you apparently have taken to really well?A: When I first started working, I sold insurance. I didn’t believe that my fraternity brothers needed insurance, but I was trying to sell it to them. But when I started playing golf, it was something I had a goal for because I really liked it. It was something I really wanted to do. The goal in golf was to be the best I could be. I didn’t really care about being an insurance salesman, but I was actually making a fairly decent living out of it. I didn’t decide to golf because of a financial standpoint because I was a 21-year-old kid making $30,000 a year in 1961. I wasn’t sure I could make more money than that playing golf, but that was my interest. My interest was to be the best I could at what I wanted to do, so any kid no matter what field they pick, should be the best they can in that field. If you do, that’s your best chance to succeed. You’ll go through some years when it’s not comfortable, but if you really believe that and believe that’s what you really want to do, you’ll succeed. Just keep after it.Design is the same thing. I really got interested in taking what I learned and putting it on a piece of ground that will be here long beyond my golf game and my lifetime. I thought that was fun, to promote the growth of the game I love, but I knew someday I wouldn’t be able to play. But I would still have a field that I could stay into, which was something I really liked. And I still like it. I mean, I’m 72 years old, and I love to go out and see a piece of ground, and to me, the most fun is what I call unlocking that ground and helping it reach its potential.Q: Going back to the last time you said you were in Bloomington, when you won your Big Ten championship your senior year ... just talk a little bit more about that experience, how you were able to win by so many shots and what it was like to help your team win?A: I wish I knew that. All I know is that when my coach asked me, I just put my nose to the grindstone and shot a lot of low scores. When I got done, I said, ‘How did we do, Coach?’ and he said, ‘You won by a lot, and we won by one.’
(10/02/12 4:11am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The last time Jack Nicklaus stepped foot in Bloomington, he won a golf tournament.During the Golden Bear’s senior year playing No. 1 on Ohio State’s golf team, his coach, Robert Kepler, knew he didn’t have a very strong team behind Nicklaus. Kepler asked Nicklaus to “spread eagle the field” and win by as many strokes as possible to give the Buckeyes a shot at making it to the NCAA tournament.Nicklaus won by 23.His team won by one shot and went to the tournament.But since then, Nicklaus has won a record 18 major tournaments on the PGA Tour, nearly 120 professional golf tournaments and started an international golf design company, all while staying married to his wife Barbara for 52 years.Nicklaus didn’t come to Bloomington Monday night to blow the field away in another golf tournament or participate in the Nearly Naked Mile, he joked. IU’s Theta chapter of Delta Gamma brought Nicklaus to the IU Auditorium as a speaker in the Lectureship in Values and Ethics series. Born in Columbus, Ohio, Nicklaus and his wife both grew with a set of “Midwestern values” he said reach from western Pennsylvania to Denver, encompassing his alma mater at Ohio State as well as IU.“The values we have in the Midwest are really great,” Nicklaus said. “To come to IU, such a great school, it was a real privilege and pleasure to be here.”After leaving Ohio State with a Big Ten championship, a wife and a baby on the way, as he and Barbara were married during his junior year, Nicklaus pledged to his family that he would never be apart from them for more than two weeks.Some Fridays, he said, after his five kids, Jackie, Steve, Nancy, Gary and Michael, were out of school, Barbara packed up the kids and drove to wherever the Golden Bear was playing that weekend, stay for Saturday’s round and drive home Sunday.If that’s what it took for the kids to see their dad, Nicklaus said he and Barbara would make it work.“We both knew it wasn’t easy, but we thought it was important,” Nickalus said. “I wanted to make sure that when my kids went off to college that they knew who their father was.”The talk’s moderator, Inga Hammond, a sports journalist and IU alumna, said during his whole career, Nicklaus never was known to swear or throw a club, pointing at the ethics he developed while growing up in Ohio.Nicklaus said with journalists a little more laid back during his career and the lack of social media and the Internet, his actions simply weren’t monitored as closely.“We never had any of the social media, and thank goodness,” Nicklaus said. “I go to airports now, and they follow my plane in the air. You really can’t go anywhere.”Nicklaus, linked to Tiger Woods as he continues to chase Nicklaus’s illustrious 18 major titles, said he couldn’t imagine trying to play and win with today’s media as obtrusive and over-bearing as they are.“Everything he says and does is in the newspaper every day,” Nicklaus said. “When I played, you had trouble finding the recap of the golf tournament.”Even after Tiger’s personal struggles off the golf course, while dealing with a more critical media, Nicklaus said Tiger could still challenge his major championships.“Tiger has taken on my record and had it posted on his closet all his life, and so I wonder what kind of pressure he’s had on him to perform,” Nicklaus said. “Now he’s won 14 majors but hasn’t won any in four years. Tiger is an awfully good player, but he has to win five more majors. If he does, I want to be the first one to shake his hand.”Looking past all of Nicklaus’ wins throughout his career on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, he said he was drawn to golf because of its ethics. He said he didn’t want someone throwing the ball back at him because whatever effort he put into his game, like his life as a father and golf designer, he wanted to receive back.“It’s just finishing and knowing you’ve done it properly, that you can sleep at night,” he said. “I knew I could go out and practice, even if others didn’t want to play, and I could still go out and work on what I needed to work on.”
(04/30/12 4:08am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In late November, the IU men’s soccer team did not know it would face and fall to the No. 1 team in the country. When the time came, the Hoosiers never achieved control against the Tar Heels when facing them on their home ground in Chapel Hill, N.C.Both teams totaled only five shots on goal — all from UNC — during the match that went into overtime tied 0-0. A single ball that rolled by IU junior goalkeeper Luis Soffner during overtime was all that separated IU from the end of a season and the defeat of the eventual national champion.On Sunday, IU faced a similar fate as the Mexican U-20 national team, a collection of Mexico’s finest young professionals, faced Indiana at Jerry Yeagley Field in an international friendly match. Indiana took a 1-0 lead early into the first half and kept going into the second, but the Mexican national team controlled the pace for much of the game’s 90 minutes and capitalized on two IU defensive lapses, leaving IU on the wrong side of a 2-1 defeat.After the game, both players and IU Coach Todd Yeagley agreed that with its professional experience, the Mexican team was simply on another level.“This is a different class,” Yeagley said. “It’s amateur versus pro. They are playing for their first team in Mexico and have had international experience at high levels.”IU freshman forward Eriq Zavaleta has had some international experience. During his sophomore and junior years of high school, Zavaleta left his home in Westfield, Ind., for the U.S. Soccer U-17 National Team Residency Program, for which he helped the United States advance to round 16 at the 2009 U-17 World Cup. He was named a Parade All-American twice, as well as a National Soccer Coaches Athletic Association All-American his junior year.This past season, Zavaleta was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and was part of several all-freshman teams across the country. He led the Hoosiers in scoring with 10 goals. But Zavaleta is one of few Hoosiers with much international experience, and as Yeagley said, the Mexican team’s whole bench is filled with international talent from around their home country.“We had some tired legs out there, and when they get changes, they’re bringing on another pro, so they don’t drop much,” Yeagley said. “If anything, they had a few in their back pocket that they brought in who were as good as anything. When they make changes like that when they’re six or seven deep, it really challenged us physically.”Even before the two teams began their match, the fans who filled the stands — those decked out in cream and crimson and those in their green Mexican jerseys, running around the stands waiving the Mexican flag — had turned the game into a different atmosphere the players said was unlike any college soccer game they had played in the fall.But aside from the Mexican National Anthem, the huge flags and rowdy, chanting away crowd, Zavaleta and his teammates knew they were up against a different task. Although IU ended on the wrong side of the result, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year said he was proud of his team for keeping its composure in such a crazy atmosphere.“What I was really pleased with was that from the beginning of the game, especially in the first half, we didn’t seem scared,” Zavaleta said. “We seemed like we wanted to take it to them.“Quite frankly, we have some players on our team who have some experience there, and that showed. But they’re a great team, both technically and tactically. They’re some of the best players we’ll ever play against, and I thought we took it at them.”Yeagley echoed his star freshman, saying although a loss might not look as great on the team’s record, his players had something to learn from the defeat.“There are so many nuances that our guys can walk away saying, ‘Yeah, I got something out of this game,’ but until you play against it, you can’t understand that fully,” Yeagley said. “You can talk about it, but until you feel it, it’s different.”Zavaleta said, in the end, the game simply came down to the teams’ different natures. He and his Hoosier teammates play soccer for fun, some to try to get a chance to move on to the next level, but soccer for a Mexican national player is much more serious.“It’s a completely different thing in this country,” Zavaleta said. “You can see that experience there, and that’s why they win games, and that’s why they won today.”
(04/27/12 3:12am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After going 3-1-1 against college soccer talent from around the country, the IU men’s soccer team will prepare to face some of the best soccer talent Mexico has to offer. The Hoosiers and the Mexican U-20 National Team will square off at 2 p.m. Sunday at Jerry Yeagley Field as Indiana finishes its spring schedule.Since 2005, the Hoosiers and Mexico have played five international friendly matches with Indiana holding a 2-3 record against the Mexican national team.The teams last faced off in the spring of 2010 when IU pulled off a 2-0 victory off of goals from then-fellow sophomores midfielder Tyler McCarroll and forward Will Bruin. Indiana’s only other win in the series was another 2-0 shutout during the 2006 spring season against the defending FIFA U-17 World Champions.This spring, the Hoosiers are 1-1-1 in Bloomington, including shutouts against in-state rival Butler and Lindsey Wilson College. The team’s only loss came in a 5-3 shootout against Bradley at home. — Nathan Brown
(04/17/12 3:41am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As Bill Naas’ three young boys flip through a book titled “101 Cool Science Experiments” and pick out a way to entertain themselves for the afternoon, Naas isn’t worried. He’s received reassurances that his curious trio of young scientists isn’t attempting to construct a bomb. He knows that with a little guidance from him, his children can follow directions to their simple goal: imploding a Diet Coke can by boiling water in its interior. Naas is their coach.About 60 miles away inside the towering brick house on Third and Hawthorne in Bloomington live the Kappa Kappa Gamma cyclists who also call Naas their coach. After two years of racing in the IU Little 500 for Sigma Alpha Epsilon in the mid-1990s, Naas had run the fastest qualifications lap in Little 500 history, yet he left without a championship to his name. After bitter disappointment from his racing days, Naas reluctantly dove into coaching his future wife’s KKG team. He has produced five championship teams since 1996 but none since 2006. Even with the men’s single-lap qualifications record, along with six total titles as a coach, Naas continues to seek more success in the realm of the Little 500, and he hopes his experiences as a racer — both triumphs and hardships — will take his riders to the checkered flag April 20.***After Naas’ bike slid out from underneath him in turn three during SAE’s first attempt to qualify for the 1995 Little 500, Naas refused to slow down. After tossing his shattered helmet and borrowing one from a Dodd’s House rider, Naas got back on the bike for the team’s second attempt, riding as both the first and last leg for his teammates. Even after the crash, which was one more mishap putting the team’s entry into the race in jeopardy, Naas flew across the finish line for a 31.3-second last lap — good enough to put SAE on the outside of row one for race day.It wasn’t until race day that Naas — as he, his brother Jeff and their other teammates strolled around the track in the third position, bike in tow — learned of his accomplishments during his qualifications run. As he was introduced, the words “...and the men’s single lap qualifications record holder, Bill Naas...” reverberated throughout Bill Armstrong Stadium. A surprised Naas looked at Jeff, smiled, then refocused on the task at hand. Although the record was an honor, Naas could only focus on hoisting the Borg-Warner replica trophy after a Little 500 victory, which he hoped was just a few hours away.But even his new record couldn’t prepare Naas for what the race had in store for him that April day. After a Sigma Chi rider flew off his bike and rolled down the cinder track, Naas found himself in first place with enough energy to distance himself from the defending champion and the rest of the pack. Without a coach that day, though, Naas had no clue what to do.“I remember thinking to myself, ‘Oh my God, do I go?’” Naas said as his eyes widened. “I wanted to go, but I didn’t know if that was stupid. I remember going by the pit saying, ‘What do you want me to do?’”Instead of breaking away, Naas sat up and let the others reel him back in.“I was the fastest bike on the track, and so this is where not understanding racing at the time, for the lack of a better word, screwed us because you might be the fastest sprinter, but ultimately you don’t want to have to sprint to win the race,” Naas said.That year, Naas and his teammates would have to settle for third place and wonder what help an experienced coach could have brought them.***Naas now tries to be exactly the coach he needed 17 years ago.“Part of me believed that during my last two years of racing, even though we did okay, I really think we had a shot to win,” Naas said. “Physically, we could have, but we lacked on the strategic side. So part of me felt like, ‘Hey, if I could give a team a little bit of that so they don’t have to worry so much about the race strategy and can just be out there racing,’ I wanted to do just that.”Junior Megan Gruber and sophomore Jackie Stevens said Naas has provided that and much more. Even though both Naas’ coaching role and riding time is constricted because of his job as assistant principal at Westfield High School in Westfield, Ind., he’s instilled a few important teachings that he followed in college that they take with them every practice on the track and every ride on the road.“He would just go out and ride as hard as he could because he knew it wasn’t all about doing all these intricate, crazy workouts,” Stevens said. “It’s just about putting all your heart into your ride — it’s about putting everything you have, every inch of your body into what you’re doing and not half-assing it because that’s how you’re going to win the race.”Although fitness was Naas’ strong point while he was competing in the Little 500, both he and his veteran riders agree that’s not where his coaching expertise lies. Naas and the KKG riders chat on Skype once every other week during both the fall and spring semesters in addition to the small handful of times he can make it down to Bloomington. Whatever time the team finds to chat with its coach, the riders spend on developing their racing strategy, an area that is now a strength of Naas’ because he doesn’t want his riders to experience uncertainty and disappointment on the track in April.“Whatever plan we set up and have, you’ve got to be flexible because as much as you want everything to go how you planned, there’s crashes, people try to do break-aways, you could have a bad exchange, and you have to react to those,” Naas said. “You only have so many chips you can play, and you have to think about when you’re going to use them.”Naas added, as his expression stiffened, that he went into the last turn of the race senior year with a chance to win, knowing he was the fastest guy on the track, but that he failed to play his chips right, and it cost him in the end.“I thought, ‘I should be pulling away here,’ but somewhere I lost a gear. It was just too many laps, too much effort and too much time in the saddle during the race. So I know we have to make sure that we’re using those chips and using them right.”***Back in Naas’ kitchen, as his three young protégés parade around the house, waiting for their mother to come home and see how they made the Diet Coke can implode, Naas leans back in his rickety wooden kitchen-table chair with a small grin beginning to form. One small success achieved, one disaster avoided. He looks on, as he can only hope for the same as April 20 inches nearer.
(04/16/12 3:25am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After a scoreless first half, the IU men’s soccer team cruised to a victory against the 2011 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics champion, Lindsey Wilson College, 2-0 Friday night at Jerry Yeagley Field.The Hoosiers and the Blue Raiders combined for only one shot during the first 45 minutes of the match, as Indiana junior forward Tim Wylie forced the LWC goalkeeper Yuta Nomura to make a save with just fewer than 13 minutes left in the first half.But the Hoosiers’ offensive attack sprung quickly in the second half, as junior midfielder Joe Tolen scored in the 53rd minute on a play set up by a pass to the middle of the 18-yard box from sophomore defender Matt McKain.Indiana added another goal in the 78th minute when sophomore midfielder A.J. Corrado capitalized on a mistake from Nomura. After Nomura came out of the box to steal the ball and clear it, he failed, and Corrado dished the ball into the open net for the easy goal.After finishing the final game of a three-game home stand, the Hoosiers will travel to Fort Wayne, where they will face Notre Dame in the National Soccer Festival at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Parkview Field.
(04/16/12 2:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After a scoreless first half, the IU men’s soccer team cruised to a victory against the 2011 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics champion, Lindsey Wilson College, 2-0 Friday night at Jerry Yeagley Field.The Hoosiers and the Blue Raiders combined for only one shot during the first 45 minutes of the match, as Indiana junior forward Tim Wylie forced the LWC goalkeeper Yuta Nomura to make a save with just fewer than 13 minutes left in the first half.But the Hoosiers’ offensive attack sprung quickly in the second half, as junior midfielder Joe Tolen scored in the 53rd minute on a play set up by a pass to the middle of the 18-yard box from sophomore defender Matt McKain.Indiana added another goal in the 78th minute when sophomore midfielder A.J. Corrado capitalized on a mistake from Nomura. After Nomura came out of the box to steal the ball and clear it, he failed, and Corrado dished the ball into the open net for the easy goal.After finishing the final game of a three-game home stand, the Hoosiers will travel to Fort Wayne, where they will face Notre Dame in the National Soccer Festival at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Parkview Field.
(03/23/12 2:27am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After walking off the field in Chapel Hill, N.C., this past November, the IU men’s soccer team knew it was coming. The devastating 1-0 loss in overtime in the round of 16 to the eventual NCAA tournament champion North Carolina men’s soccer team was only the beginning of a rough offseason that would include the loss of five seniors.And three of them — Alec Purdie, the team captain; Chris Estridge, an All-American; and Tommy Meyer, a regular four-year starter at defensive back — would move on to the MLS in January. The senior trio combined for 11 of IU’s goals during the year, along with more than a fourth of the team’s total points.But as the Hoosiers travel to Springfield, Ill., on Saturday to begin their spring slate of games, taking on the Saint Louis Billikens, sophomore Nikita Kotlov, freshman Eriq Zavaleta, and the rest of their teammates will begin to rebuild a team still recovering from a loss of leadership and offensive production.“It’ll be really tough replacing them,” Kotlov said. “Estridge was an All-American, Purdie was our captain and Tommy was one of the best center backs in the country, so it’s going to be difficult to replace them. But we do have some good recruits coming in for next season, and I think we should still be good next year.”IU Coach Todd Yeagley said these offseason months since the loss to the Tar Heels have been great for his players and his coaching staff, adding that the past two months have given him a chance to improve his team internally in hopes of filling the gaps left by Purdie, Estridge and Meyer with players already on his roster.“This first segment of the spring has been a great time to teach and get guys better — whether it’s speed and agility or technical work — it’s the time we get better,” Yeagley said. “And you want to be able to internally get better with your players, and we know there are going to be some impact guys coming in, but you look at last year with Purdie. For him to double his numbers in goals, we need that.“Some of our attacking players have to become more dominant and put up more goals and assists and physically get stronger. But I think all the pieces can be solved.”This first game of the spring will help give Yeagley an idea of where his team stands after the loss of his seniors. He said during this game, along with others this spring, he will focus more on playing guys a set amount of minutes or putting players in certain spots to see just what kind of team he has on his hands before the new freshmen arrive in the fall.“We always want to win when we play, but we will put in some players and manufacture some situations that, regardless of the score lines, that will have plans behind them,” Yeagley said. “We want to get results, but we’ll begin to reassert how we want to play and put players in spots that might be new to them because we have to see how they do.“But the gel won’t be complete until August. We’ve got a lot of good pieces right now, but the final pieces won’t come until the new guys show.”
(03/02/12 5:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Behind 15 points at halftime to Michigan State (20-10, 11-5), the IU women’s basketball team (6-24, 1-15) faced an uphill battle heading into the second half Thursday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.But five minutes into the half and five Spartan 3-pointers later, Michigan State blew open the game, ending in a 97-68 loss for the Hoosiers and an end to their 2011-12 season.After falling behind quick in the first half 8-3 in the opening minutes – including turnovers on the team’s first two possessions, senior guard Alisha Goodwin stormed back with two-straight baskets to move her team within one.It would never be that close again.The Spartans then took off, with all three of their first half 3-pointers falling amidst a 13-0 run to take the lead 21-7 with 10:37 left to go in the first half, setting the tone for a game that would fail to see a single-digit deficit the rest of the way.The Hoosiers would try to battle back to get within 10 points through the help of a 7-1 run, but Michigan State stepped on the gas again to close the half ahead 41-26 on Spartan Porshe Poole’s jumper at the first half buzzer.But after keeping the Spartans within 15 points during the opening minutes of the second half, Poole and her teammates exploded with six-straight 3-pointers without a miss during less than six minutes, and the Michigan State lead ballooned from 15 points to 29 with 11:43 left in the game, a run that IU Coach Felisha Legette-Jack called “silly.”“I thought we played silly basketball because I thought that it was very easy to find [Taylor Alton] since she was coming up the trail,” Legette-Jack said. “And we needed to adjust to where she was. And she hit those first two 3s and it was like: Prove it. “She shoots 80 percent from behind the arc. She’s four of five from the free-throw line. She’s not coming in. That should have been an easy stop for us.”The Spartans would lead by as many as 35 in the second half, and IU would never make much of a comeback as the Hoosiers’ top scoring threat junior forward Aulani Sinclair was held to just one basket in the second half and four points on the night.“I know Aulani was hurting tonight,” Legette-Jack said. “I know she wants a do-over for this game, but there’s no do-overs in the game of basketball. It’s all about the next game, but there’s no next games all summer long.“I hope she’ll let this one burn a little bit because no one can stop Aulani but Aulani. She’s good enough. We had plays for her, and she didn’t come through as much as she should have.”Goodwin, playing in her last collegiate game, led Indiana with 16 points – her season high – including a 6-of-13 night from the floor with one 3-pointer.Indiana’s other senior, forward Danilsa Andujar scored two points along with one rebound in her final game in the cream and crimson.Freshman center Quaneisha McCurty tossed in 15 points along with a team-leading four rebounds and a 7-for-9 night from the charity stripe. McCurty’s freshman counterpart, guard Candyce Ussery tied a season high she set in the final regular season game of the season against Purdue, scoring 10 points, all of them coming in the second half, including two 3-pointers.Indiana finished the season on a 1-16 skid, and amidst the string of losses, Legette-Jack summed up the Hoosier’s final loss of the season simply.“We had a lot of things in our tank to throw at them, but everything we threw at them, they were ready,” Legette-Jack said.“Tonight, the best team won.”
(03/01/12 4:37am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU women’s basketball team enters the Big Ten Tournament, which will take place at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, with a chance for its second conference win in three games after losing 14 straight to start the conference schedule. The No. 12 Hoosiers will face off against the No. 5 Michigan State Spartans tonight 25 minutes after the end of the 6 p.m. Minnesota vs. Wisconsin game. Here’s a look at the Hoosiers and their history in the Big Ten Tournament.Team• The team has a 14-15 all-time record in the tournament’s 17-year existence.• IU has won one tournament title, which was in 2002, when the Hoosiers took down Penn State in the final game.• Since losing in the semi-finals to Purdue during the 2005-06 season, Indiana has failed to make it past the second round of the tournament.IU Coach Felisha Legette-Jack• This year’s tournament will mark Legette-Jack’s sixth Big Ten Tournament at the helm of the Hoosiers.• Legette-Jack’s teams have a 3-5 record in the conference tournament.• Since being named head coach, Legette-Jack has failed to take the Hoosiers past the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, and her team has fallen in the first round the past two years.Playing Against Michigan State• The Hoosiers have faced the Spartans twice during the regular season, falling 63-49 at home and 67-47 in East Lansing, Mich.• IU has played Michigan State just once in the Big Ten Tournament. The lone matchup came in 1999, and the Hoosiers lost 88-69.• Indiana is 1-1 in neutral site games this season. Both games were in the Caribbean Classic, where the Hoosiers first lost to Pittsburgh 77-72 in overtime before beating Colorado State 47-39.