Jeff Newton and A.J. Moye will enjoy their trip back to Atlanta, the city they both call home. It's a warm and fuzzy story, full of anecdotes and emotion. But make no mistake, IU's two top bench scorers aren't headed to the Final Four to visit family and friends or their old stomping grounds.
One hour before the Hoosiers started their NCAA Tournament run against Utah two weeks ago, IU coach Mike Davis wasn't drawing up plays or lecturing his team. No, he was watching the New York Knicks play the Sacramento Kings on a television inside of Arco Arena in Sacramento, offering his description of the play to arena workers
Freshman Donald Perry ended up at the free throw line 10 times in the last 2:14 of last Saturday night's South Regional final against Kent State. The free throws were insurance to the Hoosiers' lead, which was 72-58 when Perry was fouled at the 2:14 mark. Perry promptly missed the front end of a one-and-one.
Ankle madness didn't stop after sophomore Jared Jeffries. It spread to junior Tom Coverdale. It's become a mini-epidemic that has followed the Hoosiers through the NCAA Tournament, continuing right up until the Final Four. It's infected IU's top two scorers and put the Hoosiers at risk in nearly half of their games this season.
Who's tougher?: IU says it has one of the best defenses in the country. So does Oklahoma. IU figured out how to stop Duke's dynamic offense, holding the Blue Devils to 33 percent from the field in the second half, but the Sooners are more physical, stronger and have more depth. IU forwards Jared Jeffries, Jarrad Odle and Jeff Newton will have to go muscle-to-muscle with OU's Aaron McGhee and Jabahri Brown. IU needs to push back at OU's physical style, establish its defense and an interior presence by blocking shots and hitting the glass. A season in the rugged Big Ten should help. "I think our defense is going to have to be as good as it has all year with Oklahoma being so athletic and talented," Odle said.
ATLANTA -- The lights are getting brighter, but the distractions that have surrounded IU all week are starting to fade away. No more time for ticket requests or other matters not related to basketball. It's time for the Final Four.
The IU men's tennis team's chance of ending a five-game losing skid were foiled by Purdue yesterday. The Hoosiers lost 6-1 in West Lafayette. One IU player did all he could to ensure the Hoosiers would not lose to the No. 48 Boilermakers. That player, senior Ari Widlansky, beat Purdue's Sounak Chatterjee at the No. 6 singles position 6-4, 7-5. He improved to 8-8 this season, including a 1-1 mark in Big Ten contests.
The IU women's tennis team returns home this weekend to resume conference play and compete for a Titan Series point against the Purdue Boilermakers. In the Titan Series, IU competes against Purdue to win as many of the 18 eligible points as possible to achieve the overall championship. Each sport is worth one point in the series. The school who wins the regular season head-to-head match will receive the point. If a tie should occur, the point is split between the two teams. IU leads the series 7-5.
After winning the Indiana Invitational, the IU softball team takes the field today to open Big Ten competition at No. 19 Iowa at 5 p.m. The Hoosiers and Hawkeyes are also scheduled to play at noon Saturday before IU travels to Northwestern for a doubleheader starting at noon Sunday.
The men's and women's track and field teams have a busy weekend. While the sprinters, throwers and jumpers head to the sunshine state for the Florida Relays, the distance runners are going in different directions. The men's distance runners will participate in a meet in California, and the women's distance runners head upstate to the Purdue Invitational.
With less than three weeks until the 52nd Little 500 and just one week after qualifications, the teams are ready to have some fun. Individual Time Trials (ITT), the first event of the Little 5 series, will be held April 3 to test riders' skills and strength. ITT has four riders on the track at the same time, each starting at one corner of the track. The riders race four laps against the clock, and the fastest overall time wins.
Junior Kristen Stanford has a very specific goal in mind. She wants to go to the NCAA Championship. But first, they have to get through the Collegiate Water Polo Association Eastern Championships.
Rivalry. That word in sports conjure up thoughts about the Bears-Packers, Celtics-Lakers or North Carolina-Duke matchups. It also reminds people of another fiery rivalry, IU-Purdue; universities within a stone's throw of one another.
Senior Rahman Smiley could have surrendered hope; instead, his unremitting injury and the team's struggles have only inspired him to make the best of a complicated situation. Maybe that is the lesson tennis has taught him. No matter how difficult a challenge, if you simply try to do your best, you might be presently surprised at the results.
Basketball is not the only IU sport being played this weekend in Georgia. Four members of the swimming and diving teams qualified for the NCAA championship, held today through Saturday at the Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens, Ga.
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- When Southern Illinois University senior Martin Obst visited home, neighbors used to snicker about what his life was like at the "party school," famous for Halloween street riots rather than for strong academics. Not anymore.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois begins spring practice Wednesday without quarterback Kurt Kittner, and finding a replacement won't be easy for coach Ron Turner.
High school track and field in Indiana lacks a few of the events that are done on the college level. One of these events is the javelin. That is why it is odd to have a javelin thrower at IU who graduated from Bloomington North High School. Yet this Hoosier ranks among the conference's best even though he did not throw in high school. Junior Pat Miller is in his third season and hoping to have a great year after two surprising seasons.
Men's basketball coach Mike Davis shows his commitment to children with his three-year-old son, Antoine, in his arms. Davis donated his $25,000 bonus he received from winning a share of the Big Ten title to Eastern Star Church in Indianapolis. The money will be used to fund a program for underprivileged children.
Solutions by The State News