Sports

Robinson’s 4th-place finish gets NCAA cross country bid

IU’s cross country season came to a premature end this weekend for both the men’s and women’s teams, as they failed to attain at-large bids to advance to Nationals. “I guess we were one of the first teams out,” IU coach Ron Helmer said. “The good thing is that the women are knockin’ on the door, but the bad is the guys have enough talent for a national team. I’m a little disappointed for the seniors, but as a group, we didn’t do what we needed to do.”

IU wrestling matches up against 2 opponents

Domination is the name of the game as the IU wrestling team goes against Wabash College and Manchester College in its first tri-meet of the season. “I just don’t want to beat guys,” said Paul Young, the 165-pound starter. “I want to destroy them. I want to be able to wrestle a perfect match.” The meet was originally supposed to be a dual between Wabash and IU, but Wabash scheduled Manchester for the same day. But having a second opponent isn’t changing the approach of the wrestlers.

IU men's basketball team hosts cousins to the North

Even though the schools are only about 50 miles apart, IU-Purdue University Indianapolis will make its first visit to Assembly Hall tonight to take on the Hoosiers. It’s a game of seconds – the second time in history IU will face IUPUI and the second game of the season for IU coach Tom Crean and his inexperienced team. IU (1-0) is hoping to build off of its opening night, 18-point victory against Northwestern State. It’s IUPUI’s (1-1) third game of the season. The Jaguars notched their first victory a week ago against Michigan Tech, but lost the day before to Northeastern. Proximity isn’t the only similarity the two schools have. Like IU, the Jaguars’ roster is overall vertically challenged. There isn’t one player on IUPUI’s projected starting lineup taller than 6-foot-8. And through the first two games of the season, two of the eight players on the team who’ve recorded playing time are less than 6-foot. The matchup figures to be one of the last of the season IU will have the luxury of being the taller team, but as was the case against Northwestern State on Saturday, the Hoosiers might struggle crashing the boards.

Hitting the boards key to victory

This one’s not quite so exciting, is it? Really, the second game of every season is kind of a letdown: the crash after the euphoric high that accompanies the start of basketball season. Think of this game as Sunday morning, coming down too early (Yes, I finally did it – I dropped a Johnny Cash reference. Championship.). Tuesday’s 6:30 p.m. game against IU-Purdue University Indianapolis surely won’t garner the fan excitement IU’s season opener did Saturday. Too bad, because the Jaguars look far more dangerous than any opponent IU has faced this year.

Inconsistent IU men's soccer looks ahead to NCAA selection

Like a broken record, IU’s season is beginning to get repetitive. For the seventh time this season, the Hoosiers out-shot their opponent but failed to capture a win. For the fourth time this season, the Hoosiers came close to vanquishing a conference foe, only to fall short. For the third time this season, the Hoosiers could not build on a three-game winning streak.

Crean about season opener: ‘My stomach knew it was a real game’

Tom Crean’s stomach was rumbling.He’d coached in plenty of big games during his nine years at Marquette and had already led the Hoosiers to two home victories in the exhibition season, but the coach’s insides were tossing and turning before Saturday’s game.SLIDESHOW: IU vs. Northwestern State

Addai contributes in Colts’ win, finally

INDIANAPOLIS – With one quick swipe of his left arm, Joseph Addai nearly knocked the microphone right off the podium. He’s not used to these post-game press conferences. Following Sunday’s 105-yard rushing performance in Indianapolis’ 33-27 win against Houston, Addai made an appearance at one for the first time in a long time.

IU volleyball team loses 2 rivalry games over weekend

WEST LAFAYETTE – Postseason is still four games away, but the Hoosiers are now playing elimination games in the regular season. Sitting at 6-10 in the Big Ten after being swept during the weekend by rivals Purdue and Illinois, IU now needs a win in every one of its remaining matches down the stretch if the team hopes to make the NCAA tournament. Friday night featured a hard-fought 3-2 loss to No. 18 Purdue in front of a raucous, sold-out crowd – a portion of which was Hoosier fans – at the Intercollegiate Athletic Facility in West Lafayette.

It was a slight improvement

STATE COLLEGE, PENN. – Agitated Penn State fans had one reason to relax after their team’s first loss in 2008 – IU was next on their schedule. Unfortunately for the horrific Hoosiers, the conference clash was bad timing. The Nittany Lions were coming off a shocking loss to Iowa that essentially shattered their hopes of advancing to the BCS title game.

IU men's soccer edged by 1 goal, lose championship

MADISON, Wis. – This past week, Michigan State senior forward Doug DeMartin was named the Big Ten men’s soccer Player of the Year. He lived up to his billing Sunday afternoon, as his goal in the 58th minute gave his team a 1-0 advantage and, in the end, a conference championship. DeMartin’s goal was his Big Ten-leading 17th score of the season. “They have a kid that is a proven goal-scorer,” IU coach Mike Freitag said. “DeMartin has proven it all year. Sometimes the better team doesn’t win ... it is all about putting the ball in the net, and they did it and we didn’t.”

Lack of offense after break spells loss for Hoosiers

STATE COLLEGE, Penn. – It was a new week for the IU football team, but the same story as usual for a team now 3-8 in this lost season. In their penultimate game of the year, the Hoosiers lost to Penn State 34-7. With a minute left in the first half, the Hoosiers had the ball and were tied at seven with the Big Ten-leading Nittany Lions.

IU football offense struggles against stiff competition from Penn State

After hours of rain, the sun finally peeked out at Beaver Stadium, even though it had set on IU’s season long ago. Already eliminated from bowl eligibility, the Hoosiers set their sights on upsetting No. 8 Penn State, even though the program had never beat the Nittany Lions. What began as a tight game ended in yet another rout following a lethargic second-half outing. Entering the game, opponents had outscored the Hoosiers 163-68 in the second half this season. After Saturday, Penn State added 24 more second-half points, while holding the Hoosiers scoreless – it was the fifth time IU failed to score in the final two quarters of a game this year.

Comfortable win not quite so on paper

Saturday night proved more of the same in a season marked by anything but for the IU men’s basketball team. And yet, there existed plenty of possibility for an upset, if there is such a thing for the Hoosiers this year.

IU women's basketball splits first 2 games of season in WNIT

As IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack looked at the box score following her team’s WNIT second-round defeat at the hands of No. 22 Xavier, she didn’t immediately point to the Hoosiers’ 35.7 percent shooting or 66.7 percent free-throw shooting. Legette-Jack expressed disappointment in one number among many on the stat sheet – 506. The stat represented the attendance for the Hoosiers’ 62-59 defeat against the Musketeers in Assembly Hall on Sunday. “I look at my box scores, and the worst number I see is 506,” Legette-Jack said. “On a Sunday afternoon, when our young women are going all-out to compete for this great institution, for this great community, and this is no support.”

IU men's basketball beats Demons’ pressure in victory

After winning his first two exhibition games as coach at IU, Tom Crean took his Hoosiers to a victory in their regular-season debut against Northwestern State 83-65 on Saturday. In a spirited but sloppy game, the Hoosiers broke Northwestern State’s press often, leading to several free throws and open looks at the basket.      While the end result is exactly what IU wanted, the game was anything but flawless. Despite forcing 30 turnovers, the Hoosiers turned the ball over 23 times themselves. Seventeen of IU’s 25 made field goals came off assists, but the Hoosiers were out-rebounded by 11, allowing the Demons to grab 27 offensive rebounds. Crean acknowledged his undersized team needs to work on its rebounding, and that it needs to become one of the best box-out teams in the country, especially once IU plays teams with more size. “We’ve got to understand that we have to get into bodies,” Crean said. “We have to be aggressive with it.” Members of the team credited the less-than-capacity crowd for its energy. Fans in particular took exception to Northwestern State point guards Michael and Logan McConathy – sons of coach Mike McConathy.

IU's lame second half leads to Penn State rout

STATE COLLEGE, PENN. – It was a different week for the IU football team, but it was the same story as had been reported after seven of their 10 games this season.

Men's soccer takes Big Ten Tourney 1st round match

2 ranked teams on tap as volleyball looks to get back on track in conference play

Crean excited about ’09 recruiting class’ depth

Runners look ahead to Nationals