IU 71 Iowa 64

The good news is that the final score of a 7-point margin was as close as this game ever was. The bad news is that IU let a 21-point lead get cut to 7 points at all. To me, the late run by Iowa is not too concerning. Yes, it would have been nice to beat them by 20, but the run to cut it to 7 points occurred too late in the game to ever really be considered a threat. I'm searching for the right word to describe how the Hoosiers played tonight....let's go with erratic. They definitely played with a lot of energy, but they were all over the place -- out of control one second, then getting a steal and knocking down a big shot the next second. It was almost like the whole team was playing like Wilmont tonight. I'm still a big believer in giving Wilmont the green light because I think he gives the team a huge lift anytime he knocks down a big shot. The last 2 games, he has definitely launched a lot of shots, but he's hitting around 45% of them and providing a spark for the team. As for the rest of the team, I'd prefer they play a little more under control. Once again, Calloway was all over the board. For the most part, I thought he played pretty crappy. However, he had about 3 "street-ball" plays that were worthy of a couple Tivo rewinds. He had 2 no-look passes to DJ on fast-breaks and then he had a great drive and pull-up jumper where he went behind-the-back, then between the legs, then pulled up and knocked down a double-pumping 12-footer (in reality, I think it was only a single-pump, but double-pump sounds a lot better). Anyway, he finished with 8 assists, 4 turnovers, and 3 steals. Like I said, all over the board. He just needs to continue to work on when is the right time to go full speed versus when ball control is more important. Then there was Stemler. Do albinos also suffer from seizures? That's what it looked like on a couple of his jumpers tonight -- he had back-to-back airballs. On to the report card.... Overall Team Performance: B+ Clearly, you have to play well do build a 21 point lead, but I was concerned with their erratic play. Whenever you are involved in a sloppy game, I think you leave the door open for big runs just like Iowa had to close out the game. Again, this was too little, too late out of Iowa, but I do think the tough defense/ball control style of play is easier to hold leads with. Nonetheless, it was still a nice win and they are now 10-0 at home under Sampson. Wouldn't it be great if they could keep that streak going! D.J. White: A Other than a few turnovers, D.J. was awesome tonight. He was controlling the glass and was finishing around the basket, including finishing on fast breaks when fouled. Definitely an improved D.J. White compared to what we were seeing earlier in the season. Lance Stemler: D+ He finished with 7 points and 7 rebounds which isn't too bad, but he also had 3 turnovers, 2 airballs, and some stupid fouls. He was agressive on the boards, but he clearly was over-the-back on several of those. I'd like to see him get back in the groove. Armon Bassett: B+ Grade is bumped up a couple notches for banking in that 30-footer at the shot clock buzzer. It was the kind of shot that causes the heads of Iowa fans to explode and splatter all over their Craig Kingsbury poster. Roderick Wilmont: B+ As long as he is hitting 40+ % of his shots, I am fine with him firing away. This team's offense has gone stale at certain times this year, but that doesn't seem to happen when Wilmont is playing aggressively. I thought he did another nice job on the boards and chasing down loose balls. I actually thought he was working on another 10-rebound night and was shocked to see the box score only had him with 5. Nonethless, he's logged 40 points and 17 rebounds in his last two games. Earl Calloway: B- The 8 assists and highlight plays help you overlook some of the stupid plays, but you still need your point guard to play smarter. A.J. Ratliffe: B Only 15 minutes due to foul trouble (and maybe a couple bad defensive plays on Haluska), but I thought Ratliffe had another solid game. It's good to see him playing well. Joey Shaw: D+ 11 minutes of action, but couldn't get anything going. Still like the way he always plays aggressively. All in all, I'm really pumped about the way this team is playing. They are in good shape at 4-1 in the Big Ten with their only loss at Ohio State. Hopefully, they can keep it going this weekend at UConn. They are actually down this year, so it is another opportunity for the Hoosiers to knock off a big-time program. If they pull off the win, it will be time to start watching for the Hoosiers to crack the Top 25. Poll Questions: You would think by now that Cook would know that I throw some of this crap out there just to get him all riled up. I've got nothing against Stevie Hoosier even though he now coaches Iowa. In fact, he is definitely one of my all-time favorite Hoosiers. My top 3 tends to change depending on my mood -- if it's toughness, then guys like Moye and Coverdale tend to be up there. If it's just based on how good they were as a Hoosier, then it's definitely guys like Alford and Cheaney. Anyway, Steve Alford IS the greatest shooter that college basketball has ever seen. Ryun - you will be pleased to know that nobody actually selected the option of "Alford is an ass just like Knight". See, nobody thinks that and I was just throwing it out there to get a reaction out of you. However, I do think you might be stuck in 1987 and might need to start an "All hail the General" blog. I was a big Knight fan when he coached IU, but I am an IU basketball fan first and foremost. So, I definitely appreciate what Knight did at IU and I think he is one of the greatest coaches of all time, but my focus is always on the current year's team. As for the results of the Alford question, most of the voters (6) still see Alford in an IU uniform knocking down jumpers. I tend to picture the '87 championship game where he came off a screen, nailed a 3 at the half-time buzzer, and trotted on into the locker room. There were also 2 votes each for Top 3 favorite Hoosier of all-time, great player/horrible coach, and makes me sick to see him in black & yellow. 5 votes correctly predicted the 4-9 point victory, while 3 voters thought it would be 10-plus (which it should have been). Go Hoosiers!