IU 92 W. Illinois 40

If you don't have the Full Court Plan and Tivo….well, my friend, you are still partying like it's 1999. These are two of the greatest inventions ever. That said, I do have some complaints about the ESPN Full Court Plan. When paying good money for a college basketball package, you should be guaranteed to get every game (regardless of network) as long as there is a television camera in the building. Last year, I missed three IU games even though I had the package. I think the college basketball plan needs to be more like the NFL Sunday Ticket where they have any game that is not on local channels in your area, regardless of network. If CBS decides to show Marquette in Milwaukee (which makes sense), then the IU game should be picked up by the college hoops package in the Milwaukee area. Why does this package have to be affiliated with ESPN? Also, I missed a game last year that was supposed to be on ESPN-Plus Local but for some reason the ESPN Full Court Plan did not pick it up. Yesterday, when I saw that tonight's game was going to be on ESPNU, I started to FREAK OUT. Because I don't get ESPNU and I had my doubts as to whether ESPN Full Court would pick up the game, I was scrambling to find a solution. I picked up the phone, called DirecTV, and asked who I have to kill to watch the IU game. They responded that it would cost me my first-born child. I asked when & where we could arrange the drop. Fortunately for me, I have another one just like him that was born 45 seconds later. This went on and on….in the end, I signed up for the Sports Pack through DirecTV so that I now get ESPNU. Of course, this morning I find out that I did not need to give up my first-born nor did I need to sign up for the Sports Pack because ESPN Full Court was also picking up the telecast. It's not a complete waste though, now I can watch the Kansas Cow-Pie throwing contest. Note: The above story is not 100% true, especially the part about having "another just like him". The truth is that my twin boys are nothing alike. In fact, I am not convinced that I am the father of both of them. Much like O.J., I spend my spare time on golf courses looking for the real father. (….and Mama D is starting to disapprove of the direction this post is taking. Stick with me Mama D, I post a special note to Will & Drew in the next paragraph….read on.) A special note to Drew & Will: Boys, if you are reading this, let me be the first to congratulate you as you are the smartest 3-year olds alive. Second, the stories on this blog are embellished for entertainment purposes. Unfortunately, your Daddy knows no bounds when making lame attempts at humor. Third, I would never give you up just to watch a game on TV. In person, maybe, but not on TV. Sticking with the topic of great inventions, here's my top ten. Top Ten Greatest Inventions: 1. Beer 2. Tivo / DVR 3. Pizza 4. NCAA tournament 5. Saturdays 6. Las Vegas 7. NFL Sunday Ticket 8. Nachos or any other pub grub or deep fried anything (and Ben will tell you that dipping in ranch dressing is a must for all of these) 9. ESPN Full Court Plan 10. Holding this spot for the invention of a sure-fire hangover cure. Until then, #10 is the "stuff shot". Anyway, enough of this foolishness, let's get to tonight's report card. Overall Team Performance: A Granted, not the toughest opponent, but this is what IU teams are supposed to do to lesser opponents. There was a big difference tonight when compared to the games against Lafayette and Chicago State. Tonight, they played a complete game. After taking a 41-21 lead at half, the second half usually turns into a high-scoring slopfest that is usually something like 49-41. Well, tonight, the Hoosiers kept the pedal down and played even better in the second half. They held W. Illinois to only 19 second half points while scoring 51 of their own. The defense was outstanding and they rebounded the ball very well. As expected, defense and rebounding are becoming the trademark of this team. However, the biggest difference tonight was how they took care of the ball -- only 3 turnovers for the game with 2 of those in the last 10 minutes. They played the first 30 minutes of the game with only 1 turnover! A big difference to the 18-20 turnovers they have been averaging. The one achilles heel was again the FT shooting. Only 60% (15-25) tonight. One humorous part of the game was when the Hoosiers were leading by 45 points and Suhr missed two free throws, you should have seen the look of disgust on Sampson's face. D.J. White: B- Same story here. I'm not going to complain about 12 points on 6-10 FGs, 6 rebs, 3 blks, and 2 dunks. However, still flat-footed on some rebounds and doesn't look 100% healthy to me. I am still hopeful that he'll get back into form because he is still recovering (mentally and physically) from missing a whole season due to two foot injuries. However, now that we are 7 games into the season, I am concerned that he may never get to 100% this season. Bendeman: C I want to defend this guy, but another lacklaster performance for the big Aussie. Armon Bassett: B+ Didn't set the world on fire, but he is very smooth and poised for a freshman. I like that he can play both the 1 & 2 guard positions. The youngster also hit all 4 of his freebies. Roderick Wilmont: A 20 points, 10 rebounds. Need I say more? No, I needn't, but you know I will. It wasn't that Wilmont played a perfect game or anything (i.e. 1-3 FTs), but he was very aggressive, diving on the floor, getting steals, and 10 REBOUNDS for the second game in a row! He also had steals on back-to-back possessions, including a big-time dunk on the first one. Right after throwing it down and the place going wild, he gets another steal but only did a layup on the second one -- not sure why he didn't throw it down again, but it was an impressive stretch nonetheless. He seemed to find his jumper again tonight and put on a clinic to open the second half. A.J. Ratliffe: B I liked that he was aggressive and was able to get 13 points tonight. It sure beats those games where he just disappears. He didn't shoot the ball very well tonight 4-11 FGs, 2-8 3PT) or it could have been another big night. Earl Calloway: A- I thought Earl played a very solid game tonight. 7 assists, 0 turnovers -- that's what we want out of our point guard. Errek Suhr: C+ The officials weren't buying the flops tonight. Called for 2 or 3 blocking fouls. Also, I had a big problem with one possession where he had the ball at the top of the key with 7 or 8 on the shot clock, he held the ball for a few seconds and then tried to go one-on-one and ended up not getting a shot off. That's not his game (even though he had some nice plays in the Duke game). With 7 or 8 seconds on the shot clock, he needs to drive and kick or just pass and let someone else create their own shot. On the plus side tonight, he nailed a deep 3 and had a miraculous acrobatic shot after getting fouled. The shot was waved off, but it was an amazing shot nonetheless. He also had the 0-for from the line that I mentioned earlier. Lance Stemler: A- Another impressive 4-8 from the arc. In fact, he is the one who broke this game open. Western Illinois was hanging around for the first 10 minutes of the game. Then, Stemler came in and hit 3 straight triples to extend the lead. Unfortunately, he only went 1-5 from the arc for the remainder of the game or he could have had a huge night. He has probably been the most consistent Hoosier this season. Mike White: C+ Had some trouble getting a good handle on the ball down low and only logged 1 rebound in 12 minutes. However, he did have another Karch Kiraly blocked shot. He just seems very angry at the ball. Unfortunately, that anger includes his free throws where he seems to just "chuck it up there". Joey Shaw: A Perfect from the floor, including 2-2 on treys. 14 points in just 17 minutes. He is probably our best slasher and has a good knack for drawing fouls when he gets into the lane. Knocked down an acceptable 6-8 from the line. Xavier Keeling: B+ Saw 9 minutes of garbage time and managed 2 pts and 3 rebs. This kid has some decent size to him. Didn't finish on a fast break -- it was a tough look, but one that should have been finished. Adam Ahlfeld: B This is a first, but I truly don't have anything to say about his 3 minutes of playing time. Kyle Taber: B Made his presence known immediately with a blocked shot, but then missed a reverse layup that would have had him flirting with an A+. I tell you what, this guy vs. Bendeman in practice has to be exciting. Kelvin Sampson: A It was great to see that the team kept up its defensive intensity no matter what the lead was or who was in the game. Every player came in and played their ass off. Poll Question Results: Favorite Newcomer:

1. Lance Stemler -- 5 votes (45%)
2. Mike White -- 4 votes (36%)
3. Armon Bassett -- 1 vote (9%)
4. Joey Shaw -- 1 vote (9%)

Ratliffe Points tonight:

* 0-5 points -- 1 vote (11%) WRONG

* 6-10 points -- 6 votes (67%) WRONG

* 11-15 points -- 2 votes (22%) RIGHT

* 16+ points -- 0 votes (0%)

IU win by....

* 1-9 points -- 0 votes (0%)

* 10-19 points -- 6 votes (75%) WRONG

* 20+ points -- 2 votes (25%) RIGHT

* they'll lose -- 0 votes (0%)

Thank you for voting. New questions coming soon.

Go Hoosiers!