IU 72 Ohio State 69

This game got started and I was pretty happy and I thought we were going to cruise to victory in this one. 3 minutes into this game, IU was 0-5 from the arc, but they were still leading 7-3. Not only were they 0-5 from the arc, but Eric Gordon got off to a horrible start (which never changed throughout the rest of the game). He had 2 turnovers and was 0-2 from the arc. But as I was shaking my head at Gordon....BOOM BABY, he nails a 3 and IU has suddenly rattled off a 10-0 run to take a 10-3 lead. IU was getting offensive rebounds and Ohio State was looking NIT-bound. And so it went for the rest of the first half, IU could not hit anything from the arc, but they were still able to build a 13-point lead. The lead was fueled by Bassett who scored 7 straight points to build that 13-point lead. But regardless of the coach at IU (Knight, Davis, Sampson, Dakich), they can't seem to close out a good half. That, and giving up 4-point plays seem to be IU tradition. After leading 30-17, Gordon had 2 more turnovers and had his shot stuffed on a fast-break in the final minutes of the half. OSU took advantage and cut the lead to 30-21 at halftime. IU really should have been leading this game by 20 at half. I saw Cook's halftime comment that once we start hitting our 3s, this game will be a blow-out. I felt the exact same way. Even though they gave up that little 4-0 run at the end of the half, I still felt very comfortable about this game. But then OSU starts the 2nd half with a 5-0 run to make it only a 4-point game and a 9-0 run across the halves. The game then stayed pretty tight until the end. In fact, OSU had a couple possessions to tie or take the lead, but they did not convert. D.J. started the game strong, but really did not look good in the 2nd half. In the first 9 minutes of the 2nd half, Kosta Koufus scored 15 points and was keeping this game close by himself. In the second half, Gordon continued to struggle, DJ didn't look so hot, and Stemler couldn't throw it in the ocean. A perfect formula for an IU loss. But fortunately, Bassett continued to play great and hit the big shots. Crawford likes to make layups a lot more difficult than they need to be. He missed a couple, but he also converted a couple. He also hit a little fade-away in the lane off of one foot that made me laugh. But it was a big bucket at the time. Ellis was shy to shoot all night, but made a nice driving shot at the 5 minute mark. DeAndre didn't do a whole lot, but did have a nice feed to DJ for a big dunk. So, even though it wasn't a pretty 2nd half, the Hoosiers were making some plays here and there to keep a hold of the lead. Right about the 5:00 mark to go in the game, the Hoosiers were up by 2 and D.J. had picked up his 3rd foul. I was feeling very uneasy at this point, but then came Armon Bassett again for 3! He was awesome tonight. Shortly thereafter, Stemler got an offensive rebound and put-back to account for his entire offensive output on the night, but it was still a big 2 points with less than 4 minutes to play. That gave IU a 7-point lead. OSU cut it back to 4. Then, Stemler missed his 6th 3-pointer of the night, but Gordon came flying in for a put-back dunk with about 1:30 to play. This was probably his worst game of the season tonight, but that put-back dunk is why you don't sit the kid on the bench. Then, my favorite part of this team took over once again -- FT shooting. I love how this team hits their FTs, especially at the end of the game. 19-24 (79.2%) on the night, but more importantly, 9-10 in the final minute to ice the game (Gordon 4-4, Bassett 4-4, Ellis 1-2). The reason this team has not been upset by a lesser team this year is because of their FT shooting. There have been plenty of games this year that they could have lost if they missed some FTs down the stretch. This one quality of this team could come up big come NCAA tournament time. I'm pictureing an NCAA title game against Memphis. The game is close and Memphis is clanging FTs while we are hitting 90% or ours. Hang the banner. You know how the Illinois fans, coach, and players like to whine about Eric Gordon. They say that the records would be reversed if Gordon would have stayed with Illinois. Well, first of all, there is no way IU would be as bad as Illinois is this year. We would still have DJ, Bassett, Ellis, and Crawford would probably be making a run at Freshman of the Year. Yes, Eric Gordon does make IU a helluva lot better team, but there is no way IU would be as pathetic as Illinois is this year. But that actually wasn't the point I was trying to make. The point is that if Illinois would hit their FTs like IU and if IU would miss their FTs like Illinois (especially at the end of games in both cases), then that would be a much better case for the 2 teams having their records flipped. I hate those Illinois whiners and I am loving their horrible season. By the way, Tennessee and Vanderbilt are playing right now....both coaches have been mentioned for the IU job. But then again, who hasn't? Overall Team Performance: C They should have put this game away in the 1st half and then just struggled in the 2nd half. However, you have to be happy any time you win a game where Eric Gordon was horrendous, DJ White was mediocre, and the team minus Bassett goes 1-17 from the arc. It sets up a HUGE game in East Lansing this weekend. Eric Gordon: D- The box score I am looking at shows 7 turnovers. That can't be right, it had to be double-digits. He also had his shot blocked 3 times. He made a bad pass that directly led to a Bassett turnover. Twice, he had two rebounds in his grasp but then fumbled the ball away. 4-16 overall FGs, including 1-8 from the arc. He just plain sucked tonight. On the positive side....that put-back dunk late in the game, 3 steals, 6 rebounds, and 8-9 from the line. D.J. White: C Well, if you get a C when you go 7-13 from the field to finish with 16 points and 8 rebounds, it just shows how great of a year that DJ is having. I just thought that DJ looked a little out of it tonight. Apparently, he had a pretty bad case of the flu for the NW game on Saturday. But sometimes, the aftermath of the flu can leave you pretty tired. Maybe that was it. I don't know, but I'm not worried about DJ. Look for a big game against Michigan State. Armon Bassett: A Clearly, the player of the game for the Hoosiers. 7-11 overall from the field, 4-8 from the arc, and 5-5 from the line for a team-high 23 points. He came up big when they needed him tonight. I also thought he was doing a great job penetrating the zone. Jamarcus Ellis: B Looked a little gun-shy tonight, but had a pretty solid game. 7 boards. Lance Stemler: D- 0-6 from the arc. I don't know if I have ever seen a guy that goes as cold as Lance Stemler does. These are all wide-open, squared-up, toe-on-the-line looks at the basket. I guess we just hope that he has a hot month of March. Avoided the F by grabbing 6 boards and scoring his only 2 points at a key point late in the game. Jordan Crawford: B- I don't think I could ever coach Jordan Crawford. He would drive me crazy, but he did make some things happen tonight. Even though I made the point earlier that you don't put Gordon on the bench because he can do something great at any moment, I do think that Gordon could have had a seat for a little while and Crawford could have played a little more. Gordon had 40 minutes and Crawford had 22. Kyle Taber: B I'm a big Taber fan. 4 boards in 11 minutes. Had a point-blank tip-in that he missed, but I think Taber gives solid minutes when he is in the game. DeAndre Thomas: C Had the nice pass to DJ for a dunk, but did nothing else. Dan Dakich: B+ Tough situation and the team is 2-0. They haven't been the best games, but they were able to win these 2 games with the whole Sampson situation still very fresh. Dakich also seems to be saying all the right things to the media and has even shown a good sense of humor. As was talked about in tonight's telecast, the last time Dan Dakich was put into an extremely difficult situation, he became the only player to ever shut down the greatest basketball player in history. Let's hope ole Dan has another such miracle up his sleeve. Go Hoosiers!