Indiana University Athletics
Big Ten Tourney Game 1 Notes
3/12/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 13, 2003
Chicago, Ill. - The Indiana men's basketball team advanced to the second round of the Big Ten Tournament by defeating Penn State, 77-49. The Hoosiers were led by a solid performance by their starters as seniors Jeff Newton and Tom Coverdale, along with junior George Leach and freshman Marshall Strickland scored in double-digits in the victory.
Newton led all scorers with 23 points and seven rebounds while Coverdale followed that up with 13 points of his own. Leach chipped in with 11 while Strickland rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10.
Indiana made 26 baskets from the field with 23 assists.
Indiana's Up-to-Date Statistics
No. 6 Indiana 77, No. 11 Penn State 49
Big Ten Tournament First Round
March 12, 2003
• Indiana and Penn State met for the second time in six days. The Nittany Lions defeated the Hoosiers 74-66 in Happy Valley last Saturday. Indiana improved to 21-2 all-time against Penn State.
• Penn State's 49 points ties the lowest output for an Indiana opponent. The Hoosiers also held Michigan to 49 points back on February 12 in Bloomington.
• Indiana had 26 made field goals and had 23 assists. The 23 assists is a season-high for IU. It eclipsed the mark of 20 assists on February 19 at Iowa. The 23 assists is also a Big Ten Tournament high for the Hoosiers.
• Senior forward Jeff Newton scored 20+ points for the ninth time this season. He had 23 against Penn State. Indiana is 6-3 when Newton scores 20 or more points.
• Freshman guard Bracey Wright failed to score double digits for the fourth time this season. The win over Penn State marks the first time Indiana has won when Wright does not score in double digits.
• Freshman Guard Marshall Strickland tied a career-high with 6 assists against Penn State. He also pulled the feat back on December 3 against Maryland.
• The Hoosiers 28-point win was the biggest for Indiana in Big Ten Tournament play. The largest prior to Thursday was a 12-point win over Wisconsin in 2001. The 28-point win was also the second biggest margin of victory for IU this season. Only the 29-point win over Illinois-Chicago in Bloomington tops Thursday's performance.
• Indiana's 37 rebounds tied a Big Ten Tournament high for the Hoosiers. IU pulled down 37 rebounds on two other occasion in 1998 against Ohio State and 2001 against Iowa.
• IU upped its mark to 13-1 when it out rebounds its opponent. The Hoosiers had 37 boards to Penn State's 28.
• Indiana had four guys in double figures with Jeff Newton's 23, George Leach's 11, Tom Coverdale's 13 and Marshall Strickland's 10. The Hoosiers are a perfect 10-0 when they have four players in double figures.
• Jeff Newton had seven rebounds pushing his career total to 713. He moved past Charles DeHeer into 13th place all-time.
• Senior guard Tom Coverdale hit two three-pointers on Thursday bumping his career total to 188. He moved past Brian Evans into second place in career three point field goals.
• Tom Coverdale's seven free throw attempts are the most since he attempted 10 against Maryland on December 3.
• Jeff Newton's 23 points pushed him into a tie with current teammate Tom Coverdale for 29th on the Hoosiers all-time scoring list. Both Coverdale and Newton have 1,152 points.
• The Hoosiers went on two double-digit runs in the second half. The first came from the 13:57 mark to the 8:55 mark of the second half. The second spanned from the 4:58 mark through :40 seconds remaining. In the last five minutes of the game, the Hoosiers held the Lions to just two points. The first run was 10-0, the second was 12-0.
