IU 100 W. Carolina 52

This one was a laugher right from the get-go. DJ had 3-pt plays on the first 2 possessions to make the game 6-0 and this game was over. DJ and Gordon absolutely dominated the early part of the game. Gordon hit his first 5 three-pointers and every one of them was spectacular. Going between the legs and then draining a 23-footer. Another one he came hard to his left, but then he squares up beautifully and swish. Another one he didn't catch cleanly but still gathered it up and as Chris told me "I don't even think that one hit the net". Meanwhile, DJ continued to dominate the inside and DJ and EJ combined for 25 of IU's first 26 points and that was all in the first 8 or 10 minutes of the game. Gordon cooled off after that and only hit 1 out of his other 6 three-pointers (still 6-11 from the arc ain't too shabby). However, the additional one he hit was probably the best out of all of them. Gordon had started taking the ball to the basket because the jumper wasn't going anymore. However, in this case, he started to drive hard, then planted his right foot and did a right hand reverse between the leg dribble and swish. This move happened so fast that I actually had to play it in slo-mo to realize that he had done a reverse between the leg dribble. Amazing. After DJ and Gordon put this game out of reach, then some of the other guys got involved and it was blowout city. Overall Team Performance: A Western Carolina is awful, but this was a dominating performance. Gordon and DJ both playing well at the same time makes IU unstoppable. D.J. White: A+ Now he's playing like an All-American. DJ logged his sixth straight double-double with 21 points (7-9 FG) and 11 rebounds in just 24 minutes. He set the tone with his back-to-back 3-point plays and was a dominating force whenever he was on the court. Dunks and big rebounds all over the place. He had a nasty put-back dunk on a Gordon missed FT that was awesome. Mike White: C- Big Mike did his thing in the 1st half, but had an awful 2nd half. To start the 2nd half, he committed 3 fouls in only 50 seconds. He sat down for the next 12 minutes, then when he came back in the game, he committed another foul within 10 seconds, so that was 4 fouls in exactly 1 minute. Impressive. Jordan Crawford: A- After coming back from suspension, Crawford has been taking advantage with back-to-back good games. Bassett had been struggling and has now been suspended for the last 2 games, so it might be interesting who gets the majority of point guard minutes when they are both available. Crawford had 19 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 0 turnovers. He also had a great tomahawk dunk on a fast-break. The only negative was his outside shot (0-4 from 3PT). Jamarcus Ellis: B+ Just another typical game for Ellis -- 9 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals. Sampson also mentioned that Jamarcus did a great job in the classroom with a 3.2 this semester. Very nice. By the way, Sampson said that the team had a great semester in the classroom, so I'm hoping that means there will not be any more suspensions for grades. Eric Gordon: A See above. DeAndre Thomas: B- DeAndre had some nice post moves and also had an impressive dunk. After a great zip pass through a 2-3 zone from his buddy Jamarcus, the big fella went up and threw it down with one-hand. Had 8 points on 4-6 FGs, but did not manage a rebound in 19 minutes of play. Lance Stemler: B- Stemler had his typical hustle plays and also logged 6 rebounds and 3 steals. However, we really need him to knock down the open jumpers and he was only 1-7 from the arc in this game and all 7 of those shots were wide open. Of course, that goes without saying because Stemler only shoots when he is wide open. It's not like Stemler is out there trying to pull off Gordon-like moves. Brandon McGee: C+ The good = 7 rebounds. The bad = 0-4 3PT FGs. Kyle Taber: B+ 6 rebounds and a block in 12 minutes. Brett Finkelmeier: B- Made both his FTs for his first points of the year, but also had a turnover. Adam Ahlfeld: C- Did not make it into the box score in 2 minutes of play. AJ Ratliff: DNP (suspension) Expected to back for their next game against Coppin State next Saturday. Armon Bassett: DNP (suspension) I still haven't heard anything other than it's a game-to-game suspension. Eli Holman: DNP (injury) Injured wrist, but I haven't heard how severe the injury is. Go Hoosiers!