IU 100 Longwood 49

Well, it's not often that the IU football team steals the headlines, but I think we need to start with a shout-out to the Hoosier footballers. What a great win on Saturday. Terry Hoeppner's dream and mantra was "let's play 13". Although IU was bowl eligible already with 6 wins, the fact was that they were not going to a bowl game unless they beat Purdue and got to 7 wins. So, if there was ever a game to win for Hep, it was Saturday's Old Oaken Bucket game. Not only did they win the game, they did it in dramatic fashion and with Jane Hoeppner on the sideline. I think it's safe to say that there's no crying in football, but I have to admit that I was a little teary-eyed at the end of that game. Although it's not a guaranteed bowl game, it certainly does look like IU will get invited to a bowl game and I think's it's fantastic that this year's football team was able to fulfill Coach Hep's dream of playing 13! On to the basketball game report card: Overall Team Performance: B+ Games like this are often tough to determine how well you played because it was such a huge blow-out. However, the defense looked to be slightly improved and IU only gave up 5 field goals in the entire second half. That said, the defense still looked pretty bad, especially as it relates to ball screens, switching, and help-side defense. As for the offense, they looked really good. They play well as a team and are very unselfish with the basketball. They ended up with 6 players in double-figures and won the rebounding battle by 13. DeAndre Thomas: A The big fella got the start and made the most out of it. I was very impressed with his post play and his passing ability. In addition, he was active on the boards and on defense. In just 15 minutes, he had 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. D.J. White: B Again, not really the type of game where DJ is going to dominate, but I would like to see him doing a better job on the glass (only 3 rebs). When he did get the ball in the post, he was effective with 4-5 FGs and 4-5 FTs. Jamarcus Ellis: A Wow, another 11 rebounds which gives him 20 rebounds in his first 2 games. He reached 10 rebounds with 15 minutes still to go in the game. He had several very good passes (5 assists) with many of them being to Big Dre. Armon Bassett: A- Another very good game for Armon. 14 pts, 5 assts, 4 rebs. His shot continues to look good as he knocked down 3-5 from the arc. Eric Gordon: B+ Only another 5-8 from the arc and another thunderous dunk to put together a line of 21 pts, 3 rebs, 3 assts, and 2 steals. Gets docked on the grade a little bit due to being loose with ball-handling (3 turnovers) and getting toasted on a back-door cut. But again, his offensive skills are amazing. The 3-pointers are just so effortless. Jordan Crawford: A- I think it's going to be nice having his offense coming off the bench. He came into this game and hit his first 6 field goals, all of which were off the dribble. He finished 7-10 and put up 16 points off the bench. Lance Stemler: A- Hey, looked who showed up. 12 points, 4 rebs, 3 assists, and 2 steals. That's a heck of a lot better than all zeroes. And the most promising thing was that he hit 2-3 from the arc. Brandon McGee: B 2 pts and 4 rebs in 12 minutes. Looks lost on defense sometimes. Eli Holman: B+ I like hearing that Eli is the first one in the gym and the last one to leave because his upside is huge. He could be a big-time shot blocker and had 2 in this game to go with 6 rebounds and 4 points. Go Hoosiers!