Indiana 64, SIU 51. A damn fine win.

Here's the box. To be honest, I thought the Hoosiers were going to lose by this margin, and I'm glad to be wrong. IU was just good enough offensively and for the second year in a row, Indiana out-SIUed SIU on the defensive end. The Salukis shot only 37 percent from the field (including only 1-14 from three point range despite IU's use of a zone defense) and IU was somewhat better, 46 percent and 8 of 21 from three point range. The Hoosiers also managed 12-14 from the line and SIU shot only 8-15. In other words, IU did all of the things necessary to beat a quality team on the road and got some help from the Salukis.

The pace: 61 or so, right on SIU's average. As stats would have predicted, SIU did force a large number of turnovers, 16, over 25 percent of IU's possessions. IU rebounded 8 of its 26 misses, about 30 percent, while SIU was about the same at 12/42 and 28.5 percent. One stat that I don't always watch but probably says something nice about IU's defense: 9 blocks, compared to 1 by SIU. Not bad for a zone. In sum, this game was as simple as the shooting. IU had the advantage on all shooting percentages, and won comfortably. Good shooting, good defense, 6-1.

On the individual side, Gordon was solid as usual, with 22 points on 14 shots, including 4-7 from 3 and 4-6 from the line (IU's only two misses). Armon Bassett had 12 points on 7 shots, buoyed by 4-4 from the line. Jamarcus Ellis had 11 points on 8 shots, but turned it over five times. IU has not taken care of the ball against quality opponents this year. Hopefully Jordan Crawford, who will be back this week against Tennessee State, will help, but it's a concern. Mike White scored 4 points on 2-2 shooting and grabbed a couple of offensive rebounds. DJ White had 12 points on 10 shots and 12 rebounds.