Saturday, February 16, 2008
IU 80 MSU 61
I don't know about you guys, but I really needed that. That was awesome! And the team really needed that -- they just beat the #9 team in the country by 20 points without their best player. Speaking of which, that is the scary news -- DJ White hurt his knee in the 1st half and did not return. It didn't look serious and the early reports don't make it sound serious, but they do have their biggest game of the year on Tuesday. I sure hope DJ can play in the big game against Purdue. But if he can't, hopefully the rest of guys can play like they did tonight.
This game started ugly for the Hoosiers. After DJ scored the opening bucket of the game, MSU then went on a 15-2 run to take a 15-4 lead. At this point, I thought the sky was falling and that the distractions were going to be too much for this team to handle. But this team defnitely responded after the slow start and outscored the Spartans by 30 points from that point forward.
Here are the things that I thought were the keys to IU's big victory:
1. Eric Gordon -- this is really the first big game that Gordon came up big and look at the outcome. He's still having trouble handling the ball and makes some very poor decisions on when & where he tries to dribble and attack. But he also poured in 28 points and looked fantastic at times. He finally got some mid-range shots to fall, he finished at the bucket, and drained some big 3s.
2A. DeAndre Thomas -- the big fella came in the game and looked great in the post. Late in the game, he missed a couple close ones. But early on, he was awesome.
2B. It wasn't just DeAndre, but Kyle Taber, Mike White, and Lance Stemler all did some really good things and gave solid minutes. The combination of these 4 guys has amounted to pretty much nothing over the past month, so it was big for all of them to play well, especially with DJ out with the injury.
3. Triples from everywhere -- 5 Hoosiers hit 3s tonight. Lately, it seems that IU has just been hoping for a 3rd guy to step up and score, but everyone got into the act tonight.
4. Rebounding -- Even with DJ out for a majority of the game, IU was able to win the rebounding battle 28-22. Again, it was a team effort with Gordon and Crawford leading the team with 5 each. I am pretty sure that early in the game, they flashed the rebounding stat and IU was getting out-rebounded by 10-2. If I have that right, that means IU out-rebounded them by a 26-12 margin the rest of the way. I guess that would go along with a 30-point turnaround.
5. Defense -- I thought the defense was improved tonight. MSU had 19 turnovers and many of those were due to an IU defender getting a hand on the ball.
6. The crowd -- the IU fan base has been pretty clear in their thoughts about the Sampson situation, but there is no doubt about how they feel about this team. That place was rocking when IU turned this game around.
And finally, during the game, they showed footage of some IU students playing basketball at night in 21-degree weather. I'm almost positive it was the same court where Healy rejected a shot by Scopel so hard that it broke Scopel's hand.
Go Hoosiers!
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4 comments:
Sorry Boys! But the Outlaw is a Sampsonite! And the players are to! (Did u see the Bassett Hug!) The team clearly loves this guy! We need to stand by him until he is proven GUILTY! The IU legacy is set by great sportsmanship, not the HYPOCRITICAL Robert Montgomery standards! But what a win! And my Boy Big Dre' was Great! Tuesday should be a breeze and on to a big 10 title! The Outlaw is Out! Any concerns or negative comments can be left at (765) 271-372and im right and you comments don't matter for all the Kelvin HATERS!! Go Hoosiers!
The day was setting up as a disaster for past and present IU coaches. Texas Tech lost on a desperation three (with Bob KNight sitting in a skybox). UAB blew a seven point lead against undefeated Memphis with just under three minutes to play. For those that saw the highlights of that one, it was classic Mike Davis. WE was laying on the floor next to the scorer's table after a traveling call. Priceless.
When MSU opened the game up to 15-4, I was glad I decided not to head to Jeff's for the game. Mary could sense my mood change and decide it was bathtime for the kids. Before I knew it, IU had tied it up. Because of that, I made Mary keep teh kids in the bathtub the rest of the game. Ana looked like a three foot prune when the final buzzer sounded. Truthfully, Mary and the kids were sleeping by halftime. I felt like Jimmy V. looking for a hug after the game.
As far as the game, Gordon started out slow again. He kept trying to drive into the teeth of the defense. I feared that Gordon was just not a pressure player. I was happy to be wrong on that. He put the team on his back and really delivered.
I do have to comment on the acrobatic shots of Crawford. He had not one, but two amazing layups in the second half. They were both circus shots that he had no business making. They were Jordan-esque (no pun intended).
I hope DJ is healthy and IU can win a huge game against Purdue. If they can do that, the season is back on track (from an on-the-court perspective).
Ben wrote:
Simply put, DJ and Gordon DOMINATED! That was the best game of the year for the Hoosiers! A total team effort and contribution from multiple guys...finally! I had mentioned to Jeff that when I watch North Carolina or Duke play, they are on a different level...however, the way IU played last night, there is no question they can compete with the Top teams in the nation (if they play like they did last night).
Regarding Sampson, I like the guy as well, there is no question the players love him. Unfortunately, that isn't the issue.
Hypocritical would be KEEPING a coach that KNOWINGLY broke NCAA rules MULTIPLE TIMES (regardless of the fact that it's "just" cell-phone calls) and he LIED about it.
All he had to do was NOT break the guidelines for cell-phone calls...that's it, and he probably would have been the IU coach as long as he wanted.
Coaches aren't just there to teach basketball, but to teach their players right and wrong, responsibility and accountability. He made judgement calls (no pun intended), they backfired and he got caught. Time to take resposibility and be accountable.
They University, players and fans shouldn't have to suffer for Sampson's lack of judgement.
Go HOOSIERS!
Chris Wrote:
First, I have to say that IU put out an full team effort and really rallied when DJ went down. Its not easy to keep it together when you floor leader in on the bench with an ice pack on the knee.
I also felt that the fans gave the Hoosier players a big group hug and let them know that they are always behind, beside, and in front of them all the time.
The crowd gave Kelvin a silent reception, but by the end of the game they mustered up a Kel-vin Samp-son chant. He may only coach a few more games for IU, but I found it amazing that the crowd was able to acknowlege and applaud him for what he has done right. I still shake my head when I think that he put this job on the line for something so easy to avoid.
Lastly, Dickie V was idiotic in his telecast. He went on for a complete half talking about the "shame" of Kelvin Sampson and the "sainthood" of Bob Knight. All the while, he was missing a great game. Lost in his bull$hit, was the actions of the players and the game action. Boo, you suck Dick...Vitale.
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