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Hoosier Headlines for February 9, 2010.


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Northwestern 78, Indiana 61: Hoosiers suffer inevitable letdown.

Northwestern's Michael Thompson (22) gives chase as Indiana's Bobby Capobianco (23) steals the ball and heads up court during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010, in Evanston, Ill. (AP Photo/Jim Prisching)

More photos » Jim Prisching - AP

1 day ago: Northwestern's Michael Thompson (22) gives chase as Indiana's Bobby Capobianco (23) steals the ball and heads up court during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010, in Evanston, Ill. (AP Photo/Jim Prisching)

I would have been more disappointed in the outcome if it hadn't been so predictable.  In the last two games, IU had (pardon the cliche) left it all on the court in painfully close losses to Illinois and Purdue.  It didn't surprise me that a Sunday afternoon roadtrip to Northwestern amounted to a step back.  Northwestern led 18-4 just 7 minutes into the game, and the Hoosiers never got closer than 9 for the rest of the game.  The Hoosiers turned in one of their very worst defensive performances of the season.  Northwestern's 1.23 points per possession was IU's worst defensive total of the season, second only to the Kentucky game.  NU shot 52 percent from the field and 40 percent from behind the arc.  IU has quietly become a moderately above average defensive team, but not on Sunday. 

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Indiana alumnus Tracy Porter ices Super bowl XLIV for Saints.

New Orleans Saints cornerback Tracy Porter (22) reacts as he returns an interception 74-yards for a touchdown during the second half of the NFL Super Bowl XLIV football game in Miami, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010.  (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

More photos » Mike Groll - AP

1 day ago: New Orleans Saints cornerback Tracy Porter (22) reacts as he returns an interception 74-yards for a touchdown during the second half of the NFL Super Bowl XLIV football game in Miami, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

It's a sad morning in Indianapolis.  I'm observing a media blackout but I presume that Drew Brees was named Super Bowl MVP, and deservedly so.  Still, few defensive players have has as much impact as Tracy Porter had for the Saints  in their last two postseason games.  In the NFC Championship, he sent the game to overtime with an interception of Brett Favre.  And last night, he essentially sealed the game by intercepting a Peyton Manning pass and returning it 74 yards for a touchdown.  It's a storybook ending for Porter, a lightly recruited defensive back from Port Allen, Louisiana.  As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Porter, as a true freshman in 2004, started his first game at IU, against Central Michigan, and intercepted two passes and returned one for a touchdown.  He was drafted by his home-state Saints, worked his way into the starting lineup, and only two years into his pro career, he has a Super Bowl ring and two plays that will live forever in NFL lore.  Courtney Roby, IU's all-time leader in receiving yards and an Indianapolis native, played well on special teams all night as well.

Purdue fans, even those who rooted for the Colts, will be puffing their chests out a bit about the Cradle of Quarterbacks, and who can blame them?  Purdue now joins Alabama as the only school to produce three Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks.  IU has a less-than-illustrious football history, but Hoosier alumni have held their own in recent Super Bowls.  For the second time in five years, a former Hoosier has played a part in essentially the game-clinching play of the Super Bowl (in Super Bowl XL, it was Antwaan Randle El's 43-yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward that gave the Pittsburgh Steelers a 21-10 fourth quarter lead).

I really wish it hadn't come at the expense of Manning and the Colts, but congratulations to Tracy Porter and Courtney Roby, Super Bowl champions.


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Indiana Hoosiers at Northwestern Wildcats (game thread).

Cheer on the Hoosiers as they try to win at Northwestern.

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Indiana at Northwestern: can IU take another Big Ten road game?

Northwestern's John Shurna (24) tries to dribble past Illinois' Bill Cole (30) in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2009, in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Heather Coit)

More photos » Heather Coit - AP

about 1 month ago: Northwestern's John Shurna (24) tries to dribble past Illinois' Bill Cole (30) in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2009, in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Heather Coit)

Northwestern Wildcats
Current record: 15-7 (4-6)
Current RPI: 61
Current Sagarin: 63
Current Pomeroy: 68
2008-09 record: 17-14 (8-10), lost to Tulsa in the first round of the NIT
2008-09 RPI: 78
2008-09 Sagarin: 59
2008-09 Pomeroy: 70
Series: IU leads 107-45
Last Northwestern win: 2/25/2009 (75-53 in Bloomington)

Last IU win: 2/23/2008 (85-82 in Evanston)
Last IU win in Evanston: see above
Pomeroy scouting report
TV: 2:30 p.m., BTN

Few of IU's 2008-09 losses were as humiliating as IU's 22-point home loss to Northwestern at Assembly Hall.  Northwestern never had won at Assembly Hall, and the Wildcats' last win in Bloomington had been at what is now the Gladstein Fieldhouse in 1968.  If Northwestern wins today, at Evanston, it will be the Wildcats' third in a row against IU, which will be NU's longest winning streak against the Hoosiers since NU won 5 in a row from 1930-1933.  Of course, the difference isn't just IU's performance: Northwestern flirted with the bubble last year for the first time since the term has existed, and has a shot this year. 

Unforuntately, I don't have time for a full-fledged preview today.  As typical, NU takes great care of the ball, shoots nearly 37 percent from behind the arc, and shoots well from the line.  NU doesn't rebound particularly well, particularly at the offensive end.  The Wildcats' perimeter defense is good but their interior defense isn't great.  Here are their stats.  NU is holding things together despite the loss of Kevin Coble.


FG 3PT FT Rebounds Misc
G M M A Pct M A Pct M A Pct Off Def Tot Ast TO Stl Blk PF PPG
John Shurna 22 35.8 6.2 13.6 45.7 2.1 6.0 35.1 3.3 4.1 80.0 2.0 4.8 6.7 2.4 1.9 0.7 0.8 2.1 17.8
Michael Thompson 22 37.7 4.0 9.8 40.7 2.3 5.7 40.5 2.8 3.5 79.2 0.4 1.5 1.9 4.1 1.6 1.1 0.0 2.5 13.1
Drew Crawford 22 27.5 3.9 8.1 47.8 1.8 4.5 39.4 1.9 2.9 65.6 1.6 2.6 4.2 1.8 1.5 0.5 0.8 2.7 11.4
Jeremy Nash 22 33.9 2.6 7.0 37.3 1.2 3.7 32.9 2.5 3.0 80.6 0.8 3.0 3.7 2.9 1.4 1.6 0.5 2.8 8.9
Luke Mirkovic 22 25.2 2.8 6.2 45.3 0.3 0.9 30.0 1.5 2.7 57.6 1.8 4.3 6.1 2.6 1.4 0.7 0.9 1.8 7.5
Alex Marcotullio 22 14.8 1.5 4.2 37.0 1.3 3.5 35.9 0.6 0.9 73.7 0.2 1.2 1.4 1.0 0.7 1.0 0.0 1.6 5.0
Kyle Rowley 22 10.0 0.7 1.7 40.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.8 1.4 54.8 0.7 1.6 2.4 0.4 1.0 0.0 0.2 1.8 2.1
Mike Capocci 15 5.9 0.6 1.0 60.0 0.1 0.2 33.3 0.2 0.3 60.0 0.1 1.1 1.2 0.6 0.6 0.3 0.0 1.1 1.5
Ivan Peljusic 16 7.2 0.4 1.4 26.1 0.2 0.7 27.3 0.1 0.3 40.0 0.4 1.2 1.6 0.6 0.7 0.3 0.4 0.7 1.1
Davide Curletti 12 7.3 0.3 0.5 66.7 0.1 0.2 50.0 0.3 0.3 75.0 0.3 0.6 0.8 0.8 0.5 0.1 0.1 1.7 1.0
Nick Fruendt 13 2.9 0.2 0.4 60.0 0.1 0.2 50.0 0.3 0.3 100.0 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.8
Reggie Hearn 8 2.0 0.3 0.4 66.7 0.1 0.1 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.6
Jeff Ryan 1 14.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 2.0 2.0 0.0 1.0 0.0
Austin Nichols 2 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0


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Purdue 78, Indiana 75: missed free throws doom Hoosiers' effort against #8 Boilermakers.

Indiana forward Tom Pritchard, grabs a rebound from Purdue forward Kelsey Barlow during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Bloomington, Ind., Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

More photos » Darron Cummings - AP

4 days ago: Indiana forward Tom Pritchard, grabs a rebound from Purdue forward Kelsey Barlow during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Bloomington, Ind., Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

First of all, this was not a moral victory.  Indiana had the chance to win, failed to do so, and the result was a Purdue win at Assembly Hall, always an unacceptable result.  In the last five minutes, Purdue's experience and IU's inexperience showed. 

What is encouraging, however, is that there really wasn't some anomalous part of Purdue's effort that explains how the seemingly overmatched Hoosiers state in the game.  Robbie Hummel, E'Twaun Moore, and JaJuan Johnson scored near or above their season average.  Purdue's shooting and three point shooting and turnover numbers were on par with their usual efforts.  For whatever reason, the Hoosiers were able to match Purdue, for whatever reason.  IU's only decided advantage was in three point shooting, where IU made 8-16 and Purdue made 6-19, but the decisive factor was free throw shooting.  At halftime, IU led by 4, and the game was very evenly matched statistically except for IU's free throw shooting.  At the end of the game, the story was similar: the game was pretty even in terms of shooting percentage, rebounding, and turnovers, but Purdue got to the line more often and, despite an anomalous 7-10 performance from Robbie Hummel, took advantage of the opportunities.  At hafltime, IU was 11-13 from the line and Purdue was 5-8 from the line.  In the second half, Purdue was 15-20 and IU was 2-5, and most crucially, all three misses were the front end of 1-and-1 opportunities in the final five minutes of the game.  Purdue dialed up the intensity of its defense and IU did not have nearly the interior opportunities that were there in the first half. Still, for all of IU's second half struggles, Verdell Jones III hit one three pointer in the final 30 seconds and had a very good look for another that would have sent the game to overtime.

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Hoosier Headlines for February 5, 2010: Purdue loss and Leary arrest.

  • Boilers strut away with win | The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Ind.
    "Chris Kramer made sure to give a little stomp while he was walking across midcourt after Purdue’s 78-75 victory over Indiana on Thursday. Right on the IU logo at center court. He said it was something, "I felt like I just had to do." But Kramer wasn’t done. When he was leaving the floor, he gave Indiana students a little attention, too. Kramer was waving his arms – usually a motion to get home crowds roaring – and yelling, "Yeah! Let’s go!" " (This is why we never, ever should let these guys win at Assembly Hall. Ever.)

  • Hoosiers miss shots at big upset (The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Ind.)
    "The sophomore fell near half court and repeatedly banged his head softly on the floor. The Hoosiers scrapped but couldn’t pull off the upset, losing to the No. 8 Boilermakers 78-75 in front of 17,406 fans at Assembly Hall."

  • Late surge lifts Boilers (Post-Tribune)
    "I'm not here to be close with Purdue, I'm here to beat Purdue," Indiana coach Tom Crean said. "But we're not discouraged. "Their major leaguers made a couple major league plays late."

  • Ending drought at IU proves no stroll in hall (The Indianapolis Star)
    "I should have passed it ahead,'' Jones said. "We had Jordan (Hulls) wide open. It was selfish on my part. It was designed to go to me, but they sort of pinched in on me and I should have (passed) it ahead.''

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Indiana v. Purdue (game thread).

Can the Hoosiers pull the upset?  We'll see.

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