After a rough first half that saw the Hoosiers leading by only 4 at halftime, IU dominated Stetson in the second half (51-21), and the end result was an 84-50 blowout win. IU has now exceeded the Pomeroy projected final score in every game, although this game, with a 26-point win predicted by Pom, seemed pretty unlikely to get there. The first hald wasn't exactly disastrous--IU shot 46 percent from the field and had only 6 turnovers--but the Hoosiers were an uncharacteristic 1-5 from deep and only 2-5 from the line. Stetson stayed close with 4-8 three point shooting and reasonably good ballhandling for Stetson--only 9 turnovers in the first half. In the second half, the tables turned. IU shot 55 percent from the field and held Stetson to 27 percent. IU won the turnover battle 14-3, giving Stetson 23 for the game (that's 32 percent in what appears to be about a 70 possession game, compared to 12 percent for IU. IU can't afford a sluggish half in many games going forward, but the Hoosiers made up for it with a nearly perfect second half.
Like many of you, I haven't seen this game. I listened on the radio, so my impressions of individual play are based on the box score, for what it's worth.
- Cody Zeller had another complete game: 16 points, 7-11 shooting, 7 boards, 1 assist, 0 turnovers, 4 blocks, 4 steals.
- Jordan Hulls didn't have a great shooting night, but still ended up with 13 points on 12 attempts, plus 4 assists.
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Victor Oladipo continued to create his own opportunities, with 3 steals, 6-8 shooting, and 12 points.
- Derek Elston regained a bit of form, scoring 7 points on 3-6 shooting and grabbing 3 rebounds in 16 minutes.
Now, a game that seemed like a certain loss at the beginning of the season looks like, well, still a likely loss, but the IU-Kentucky game will be a battle of undefeateds, and with the Wildcats ranked number one. It will be the most anticipated game at Assembly Hall in four seasons, and while it will be a tough game, who could have predicted where IU would stand going into this game? It should be fun. IU honored the 1987 NCAA champions at today's game, and while the current team is a long way from that level, for the first time in a while, it's not depressing to contemplate how far we have to go.