Sports

Vaden feeling good, Strickland a game-time decision

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Hoosiers' top three have looked, as of late, a little bit like "the walking wounded", as a reporter referred to them in a question from Friday's press conference. Sophomore forward Robert Vaden sprained his ankle against Ohio State and had an ice bag taped around it after Thursday night's game. He wore a different sized shoe on that foot to account for the swelling, but he seemed unaffected as he played a team-high 36 minutes and hit the game-winning shot.

All eyes on Adam

SALT LAKE CITY -- Only three other teams in the country can relate to the predicament facing IU. Maryland, Memphis and Virginia are the only teams in the nation that know what it is like to play Duke's J.J. Redick and Gonzaga's Adam Morrison. After Saturday night, the Hoosiers will be able to relate. And perhaps the only thing scarier than playing both players is the tendency for one to upscale the other.

San Diego Stunned

SALT LAKE CITY -- Twice in the second half a loose ball ended up in the hands of sophomore Robert Vaden. Twice Vaden took that ball and drained an open look from three. And only twice in that half did the Hoosiers hold a lead over No. 11 seed San Diego State. Fortunately for IU, the second of those two similar occurrences came with only 3.3 seconds left.

Late-game heroics power Hoosiers past Aztecs

SALT LAKE CITY -- San Diego State fans might still be blinking. In the closing seconds, junior guard Rod Wilmont attempted to throw the ball in the post to senior forward Marco Killingsworth for a game-stealing post up with IU down 83-82. But SDSU forward Marcus Slaughter knocked the pass loose for what looked to be a game-ending turnover. The ball flew in the air and sophomore guard Robert Vaden skied over an Aztec defender to come down with it around the three-point line.

March memories few and far between

SALT LAKE CITY -- Senior Marshall Strickland struggles to remember it. Senior Sean Kline said it feels like it's been 10 years. But the reality is that IU last danced just three years ago -- it only seems longer. Strickland and Kline represent the only players on IU's roster to have worn cream and crimson in the NCAA Tournament. Seniors Marco Killingsworth and Lewis Monroe both have a Sweet 16 appearance to their names, but that came at Auburn.

Hoosiers' diminished frontcourt to deal with Aztecs' front two

SALT LAKE CITY -- The San Diego State Aztecs hail from the Mountain West Conference, but they look familiar to the Hoosiers of the Midwest. And even 1500 miles away from Bloomington, the IU players see themselves fighting a familiar battle Thursday night, despite being emerged in the Rocky Mountains surrounding the Jon Huntsman Center.

IU seeded sixth, will face San Diego State Thursday

IU drew the No. 6 seed of the Oakland Bracket and will take on No. 11-seeded San Diego State in Salt Lake City on Thursday afternoon, as selected on Sunday night by the NCAA Tournament selection committee.

IU NCAA Tournament tickets

Hoosiers drop heartbreaker in semifinals

INDIANAPOLIS -- Junior guard Rod Wilmont laid stomach-down on the Conseco Fieldhouse floor with his hands covering his eyes, as he cried after a failed attempt to win the game. Wilmont's 16 points led IU in its 52-51 loss to Ohio State Saturday afternoon. The redshirt junior failed to connect on a short jump shot in the lane after rebounding a missed baseline jumper from senior forward Marco Killingsworth, who shot a season-worst 27 percent in a 10-point, 10-rebound outing. Wilmont's shot missed off the back of the rim with three seconds remaining, and Killingsworth's clanged out at the 14-second mark.

Big Ten Tourney Blog: Ohio State

INDIANAPOLIS -- Age doesn't matter after a loss like that. When Rod Wilmont's last-second shot clanked off the iron and fell into the hands of the Buckeyes, the emotions were too much for men and children alike. Wilmont needed to be scooped up off the floor by his coaches and teammates as he buried his face in his jersey -- overwhelmed by the weight of forty hard-fought minutes seeming to fall squarely on his shoulders.

Big Ten Tourney Blog: Wisconsin

INDIANAPOLIS -- It took a long time for everything to settle in. After driving down streets whose names had been changed to represent every big ten team. After spending several hours in an arena that looked schizophrenic in its pallet of colors. And even after seeing rich alumni laughing with homeless men while talking basketball after the game. function openWin(URL){ var theNewWindow = window.open(URL,"thewindow", "toolbars=no, width=670, height=580" ); theNewWindow.focus(); }

IU opens tourney with win

INDIANAPOLIS -- IU added another key victory to its NCAA Tournament resume Friday with a 61-56 defeat of Wisconsin. The Hoosiers (18-10, 10-7 Big Ten) won the contest in the second half, scoring 46 of their 61 points on 64 percent shooting. Senior guard Marshall Strickland and senior forward Marco Killingsworth each put up 14 points in the final 20 minutes to help give IU its fifth straight win. Killingsworth finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Strickland had 16 points, five rebounds and four assists.

IU to face Mexico again next season

For the first time in three years, the IU men's soccer team will not start the spring season as the defending national champions. The Hoosiers fell to Notre Dame 2-0 in the second round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament after winning the national title in 2003 and 2004.

Coach believes team close to 'breakout'

Close. That word has defined the first three weeks of the IU women's softball season. Close to bringing in runners to score. Close to securing the holes in the defense. Close to getting the win to put them over the top. Despite not being able to capitalize on chances against ranked opponents so far this season, coach Stacey Phillips said she believes her young team is ready for a defining win as the cream and crimson head off for a seven-day Florida road trip.

Hoosiers head south for break

After picking up its first win of the season Tuesday, the IU baseball team is looking to build some momentum. It has the perfect opportunity to do just that during spring break. The Hoosiers will travel to Bradenton, Fla., for a stretch of seven games in seven days beginning Sunday at 1 p.m. against Eastern Illinois University. The series concludes March 18 against the University of Illinois-Chicago.

IU is red hot

IU travels to Indianapolis today for the second time this season. And IU coach Mike Davis realized he has felt this way before. Davis described his team's current mindset as "perfect," saying this team right now compares to the IU that defeated Kentucky 79-53 in the RCA Dome in Indianapolis early in the season. "You've seen us play the last four games," Davis said. "It's a different basketball team. It's the team that you saw against Kentucky and all those teams. Their minds are free."

Divers vie for NCAA spots

Members of the IU men and women's diving team hope to punch their tickets to the NCAA Championships as they start competition today in the Zone C Diving Championships in Columbus, Ohio. "We're just trying to stay positive," said junior Jesse Rappaport. "The diving championships are just as hard as the Big Ten but with less hype. We just have to stay mentally focused." The men's team is two weeks removed from winning the school's first swimming and diving Big Ten Championship in 21 years, a boost of confidence that might play a role in the team's performance at the diving championships.

Four athletes to compete for national titles

This weekend four Hoosier athletes will journey to Fayetteville, Ark., to compete in the 2006 NCAA Men's Indoor Track Championships. The trip should be a familiar one, as the event is held at the Randal Tyson Track Center where the team competed in the Tyson Invite earlier this year.

Women's trio falls short of NCAA Championships

What might have been a captivating weekend for three Hoosiers who qualified provisionally for the NCAA Championships ended up never coming to fruition. The championships for women's indoor track, which will be held in Fayetteville, Ark., Friday and Saturday, will be without any Hoosier flavor as the three provisional qualifiers from IU did not qualify for the national meet.

Baseball begins first season with wins versus Ball State

The No. 33-ranked IU club baseball team opened its inaugural season with a hit, winning two out of their first three games in their series against Ball State.