IU Prepares for OSU

2/14/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

February 14, 2005

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana will begin a crucial two-game road stretch beginning with a trip to Columbus, Ohio, where it will face Ohio State (17-8, 6-5 Big Ten) on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. EST. The game will be played at Value City Arena at The Jerome Schottenstein Center (19,200).

This will be the 168th meeting between the two foes, with the Hoosiers owning an all-time advantage of 98-69. IU has won four of the last five and six of the last nine meetings, including a 67-60 victory on Jan. 22, 2005 in Bloomington.

The last Indiana win in Columbus came a season ago, taking a 69-61 decision on Jan. 20, 2004. The last time IU took two consecutive games on Ohio State's home floor happened when the Hoosiers won 75-71 on Jan. 27, 1988 and 73-66 on March 8, 1989 in Columbus.

Each Indiana basketball game can be heard live on the IU Radio Network. WHCC (105.1 FM in Bloomington) is the flagship station for the network that has more than 50 stations broadcasting Hoosier basketball all season long. Don Fischer (play-by-play), former Indiana guard Todd Leary (color commentary) and Joe Smith (pregame, halftime and postgame host) call all of the action.

The game will be nationally-televised on ESPN, and is the fifth os seven games the Hoosiers will have on ESPN. Brent Musberger will do play-by-play, while Steve Lavin will handle the color commentary and Erin Andrews is the sideline reporter.

Maturing Process
The Hoosiers defeated Minnesota 71-56 last Saturday thanks in large part to the freshmen and sophomores. The younger players performed like season veterans against the Gophers, scoring the team's first 24 points of the contest. In all, the first and second-year players accounted for 61 of Indiana's 71-point total on the evening. Freshman A.J. Ratliff and sophomore Patrick Ewing, Jr. led the team with 15 points apiece, while freshman Robert Vaden finished with 14.

Scouting Ohio State
Ohio State (17-8, 6-5 Big Ten) enters the Indiana game on a hot streak, winning five of its last six contests since falling to the Hoosiers back on Jan. 22, 67-60. The Hoosiers were led in that game by junior guard Bracey Wright's 23 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Freshman forward D.J. White was the only other Hoosiers to score in double figures, going for 15 points and adding three rebounds and three blocks. The Buckeyes were led by Terence Dials' 18 points and game-high 13 rebounds.
The Buckeyes enter the game against the Hoosiers with three players averaging double figures, led by Dials, who tallies team highs of 15.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest. Those numbers rank seventh and second, respectively in the Big Ten. Senior guard Tony Stockman (13.2 ppg) and junior guard J.J. Sullinger (10.0 ppg) also average double digits. Stockman also leads Ohio State with 61 assists and 40 steals.
Indiana head coach Mike Davis has an all-time record of 6-3 against Ohio State, including 4-1 in the last five meetings .

The Series vs. Ohio State
Tuesday's contest marks the 168th meeting between Ohio State and Indiana. The Hoosiers currently own a 98-69 record in the series, including victories in four of the last five contests. IU took the only meeting between the two teams this year, winning 67-60 on Jan. 22 in Bloomington. Last year, the rivals played three times, with IU winning twice. In fact, the Hoosiers have won five of the last nine games played in Columbus. Below is a look at a few facts between the two rivals:
SERIES FACTS
Last Meeting: Indiana 67, Ohio State 60 (Bloomington on 1/22/05)
Indiana at Home: 55-25
Indiana at Ohio State: 38-44
IU vs. OSU on Neutral Court: 5-0
Last Indiana Win: 67-60 (1/22/05)
Last IU Win At Ohio State: 81-69 (1/11/03)
Last Ohio State Win: 59-56 (2/21/04)
Last Ohio State Win At Indiana: 59-56 ( 2/21/04)
Largest Indiana Win Over OSU: +35, 52-17 (2/22/28)
Last Ohio State Win Over IU: +54, 66-12 ( 3/4/1905)
Current Overall Streak: Indiana W2 (W1 at home)

Vaden Makes His Mark
Without Bracey Wright, the Hoosiers were going to need some one to step up. That someone has come by the name Robert Vaden. Over the past three contests, Vaden leads the team with 12.3 points, while also contributing 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per contest.
Vaden was a key player at No. 1/1 Illinois on Feb. 6. Against the Illini, the Indianapolis, Ind., native led the team with 12 points, five boards and three assists in 34 minutes of action. He is the first freshman to lead the team in points, rebounds and assists in a single game since Jason Collier did so his freshman campaign against Michigan State on Jan. 2, 1997. In that game, Collier accounted for 25 points, eight rebounds and three assists in a 77-65 victory over the Spartans.

Shot-Swatter
D.J. White's shot-blocking ability is close to putting him in the Indiana record books as one of the best freshman shot-blockers in school history. Currently, White has swatted 47 shots on the season, placing him third among IU freshmen in the program's history. White needs only four blocks to become IU's all-time leading freshman shot-blocker. White has had at least two blocks in all but seven games this season, including a season-high of five against North Carolina (Dec. 1) and Notre Dame (Dec. 8). Currently, he ranks third (2.24) among shot blockers in the Big Ten.
Name Season Blocks
Alan Henderson 1991-92 50
Jeff Newton 1999-00 49
D.J. White 2004-05 47

Half Equals Win
As a team against Minnesota, Indiana shot 50 percent (22-of-44) from the floor in a 71-56 victory over the Golden Gophers last Saturday. It marked the 14th time in the last 15 games, and sixth consecutive win for the Hoosiers when shooting 50-percent or better from the floor. The last time IU lost when hitting at least half of its field goals was a 95-76 defeat to Louisville on Feb. 1, 2003.

Raining Threes
As a team, the Hoosiers rank last in the Big Ten from behind the three-point line, averaging .302 for the year. However, in the 71-56 win over Minnesota on Feb. 12, IU hit 8-of-13 attempts from three-point range, which also resulted in a single-game season-high percentage of .615. It marked the Hoosiers' best night from beyond the arc since they were 15-of-19 (.789) against Kent State in the 2002 NCAA Elite Eight.
In fact, Indiana is averaging .327 from three point range in home contests this season, compared to only going .235 in road contests.

Bench Strength
Particularly when you consider junior All-American candidate Bracey Wright's injury status, it is imperative that Indiana gets increased steady scoring production from its bench. Entering last Saturday's Minnesota game, Indiana reserves had collectively scored in double figures in just seven contests and were averaging just under nine points per game. However, the bench stepped up against the Golden Gophers, accounting for a season-high 27 points on the night. The 27 bench points scored against Minnesota are the most by an IU bench since they scored 27 in a 74-61 loss at Northwestern on Feb. 25, 2003.

Like Father, Like Son?
Sophomore forward Patrick Ewing, Jr. led the charge with a career-high 15 points to go along with six rebounds in Indiana's 71-56 win over Minnesota last Saturday. It marked the second time this season a reserve has come in a contributed double figures. Ewing was the last Hoosier to do it, going for 13 points in a 74-73 loss to Charlotte (Dec. 22). It also marked only the fourth double-figure scoring game of his career. When Ewing scored double digits, IU usuall fares well, going 3-1 in those four contests.
Not only did Ewing score 15 of Indiana's 27 bench points against the Gophers, but he was a career-high 6-of-8 from the free throw line. Ewing entered the Gopher game hitting just .571 from the charity stripe for the season, and when he replaced D.J. White after White picked up his fifth foul with 2:38 left in the game, the Minnesota coaching staff instructed their post players to foul Indiana's 6-8 sophomore forward. The Gophers followed their coaches' instructions, and Ewing responded by hitting all four of his free throws in the final 2:38.

Hot Shooting
In the 71-56 win over Minnesota on Feb. 12, the Hoosiers shot .615 from beyond the three-point line, while also hitting .500 (22-of-44) from the field and .613 (19-of-31) from the free-throw stripe. That marks the first time Indiana has had a better shooting percentage from beyond the arc than from the field and the charity stripe in a contest since doing so on Dec. 2, 2000 against Southern Illinois. In that game, an 85-63 victory for IU, the Hoosiers shot .625 (15-of-24) from three-point range, while hitting .547 (29-of-53) from the field and .571 (12-of-21) from the line.

Big Ten Home Streak
The Hoosiers have gone 6-4 in Big Ten play due in large part to their perfect 5-0 record at home against conference opponents. IU now has won eight consecutive Big Ten games played at Assembly Hall, dating back to last season.
The last time an Indiana team began a Big Ten season 5-0 at home came in the 2001-02 campaign. That year, IU finished 11-5 in conference play and played for the national championship. The last time an Indiana team finished the Big Ten season undefeated at home came in 1993-94 when it went 9-0 at home and 12-6 in the Big Ten.

Improving Defense
Over its last three contests, Indiana may have a 2-1 record, but it also shows why the Hoosiers defense is considered one of the best in the Big Ten. Over that span, the defense has been clamping down opponents, holding them to .383 shooting from the floor and .283 from three-point range. Meanwhile the Hoosiers' offense has been warming up during that same span, hitting .474 from the floor and .370 from behind the line, resulting in a +2.3 scoring margin (62.0 to 59.7).
For the season, the Hoosiers lead the Big Ten in field goal percentage (.405), while also ranking fifth in three-point field goal percentage defense (.334). In the last three seasons, Indiana is 28-5 when it holds opponents to below 40 percent from the floor.

Freshmen Starts
Indiana's 57 freshmen starts not only lead the Big Ten, but this is the best single-season true freshman start total for the Hoosiers since the 1996-97 quartet of Luke Jimenez, Michael Lewis, A.J. Guyton and Jason Collier started 72 games between them. The 1989-90 group of Lawrence Funderburke, Calbert Cheaney, Greg Graham, Pat Graham, Todd Leary, Chris Reynolds and Chris Lawson had a school record 73 starts between them.

3-Point Production
Indiana is looking to pick up its three-point field goal production in the next six games. Indiana has just 110 treys in the first 21 games of the season, an average of five per game. Compare this total to the last three years, which have seen the Hoosiers compile the top three single-season three-point totals in school history
Threes Season Average
270 2001-02 7.3 per game
254 2002-03 7.5 per game
204 2003-04 7.03 per game

Free Throw Difference
It has been noted all season long that Indiana's success is dictated in part by the frequency of its free throw line appearances. In 11 games won this season Indiana did so by averaging 25 free throw attempts per game. In its 10 losses, the Hoosiers are averaging less than 16 free throw attempts per game.

Vaden Hitting Threes
Indiana freshman Robert Vaden is currently fifth on the Hoosiers' freshman single-season three-point field goal list.
Name Season Three's Made
Bracey Wright 2002-03 66
Jay Edwards 1987-88 59
A.J. Guyton 1996-97 56
Luke Recker 1997-98 34
Robert Vaden 2004-05 31

Shooting Wright
To gauge Indiana junior Bracey Wright's value to the Hoosiers, Ohio State is the only Big Ten opponent against which Wright has scored at least 20 points on four occasions. In five games against the Buckeyes, Wright has hit for 20 in four of them, included a high of 28 on Jan. 20, 2004. For his career, Wright has averaged exactly 20.0 points per game in his career against the Buckeyes.

Tough Get Tougher
All season, the Hoosiers' 2004-05 schedule has been arguably one of the toughest in the nation. In the February, 2005 issue of Basketball Times, that stat is backed up. According to Gordon Wise of Basketball Times, Indiana has the toughest schedule in the Big Ten, while as a conference, the Big Ten is ranked third (113.1 rating) following the Atlantic 10 (120.6) and the MEAC (114.8). Wise also mentions Indiana's overall schedule is rated as the seventh-toughest in the nation this season. The schedule won't get any easier for IU has it plays two top-20 teams in No. 12/13 Michigan State (Feb. 27 in Bloomington) and No. 20/21 Wisconsin (March 1 in Madison, Wis.).

Inside-Outside
Junior guard Bracey Wright and freshman center D.J. White give Indiana one of the best inside-outside combinations in the Big Ten. However, the Hoosiers are looking for more balance in the offense. IU is hitting .302 (110-of-364) from beyond the arc, compared to .478 (340-of-711) from inside the arc.

Freshman Of The Year?
Several preseason newsstand publications tabbed Indiana's D.J. White as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and the 6-9 forward is certainly living up to expectations. Over the last nine contests, White has averaged 14.8 points and leads the team with 5.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Among Big Ten freshmen in all games, White is first in scoring (13.4), blocked shots (2.24) and in field goal percentage (.561) and is second in rebounding (5.2) and free throw percentage (.767).

70-The Magic Number
During the Mike Davis Era, Indiana is 62-10 when it scores at least 70 points in a game. However, the Hoosiers are looking for more productivity in their offense. Indiana has scored 70 or more points just five times this season, compared to an average of 16 times in the previous four seasons.

Three-Point Specialist
A.J. Ratliff currently leads Indiana in three-point field goal percentage (.390, 16-of-41). If he maintains this pace, he will become the first freshman to lead IU in three-point field goal percentage since Calbert Cheaney (.490 in 1989-90).

Double Figure Streak Snapped
Against Penn State, Indiana freshman D.J White had his double figure scoring streak snapped at 12 consecutive games dating back to the Missouri contest. Thus far on the season, White has reached double digits in 16 of 20 games. Below is a look at where the 12-game streak ranked in school history among freshmen:
Consecutive Games
Mike Woodson (1976-77) 18
Bracey Wright (2002-03) 14
Jay Edwards (1987-88) 14
Calbert Cheaney (1989-90) 13
D.J. White (2004-05) 12
Jared Jeffries (2000-01) 12

Three Amigos
Over the course of the season, Bracey Wright (18.5 ppg), D.J. White (13.4 ppg) and Robert Vaden (10.2 ppg) have been proving a tough trio to stop. The trio combines for 42.1 of the team's 63.2 points per game average. That equates to 66 percent of the team's points per game average.

Home Sweet Home
With a victory over Penn State on Feb. 2, the Hoosiers are now 9-3 at Assembly Hall this season. Additionally, IU is shooting .425 from the floor and outscoring their opponents by an average margin of 4.7 points (65.0-60.3).
The win moves the Hoosiers to only two wins shy of reaching the program's 400th victory in the facility. IU, which is playing at Assembly Hall for the 33rd year, has an all-time record of 398-63 (.863). which averages out to 12 wins and just 1.7 losses annually.

The Wright Stuff
Junior guard Bracey Wright continues to show why he is considered one of the top players in not only the Big Ten, but in the country. Recently coming off his eighth 20-point performance this season and 30th of his career in the, 67-60, win over Ohio State on Jan. 22, Wright is second in the Big Ten in scoring with 18.5 points per game. The last Hoosier to lead the Big Ten in scoring was Kirk Haston who did so in 2001 (20.3 ppg). In fact, over his last seven contests, Wright has averaged 19.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, while also leading the team in assists (3.6/game), steals (1.1/game), points and rebounds during that stretch.

Freshmen Fab Four
The freshmen class has lived up to its billing during the 2004-05 season. D.J. White, Robert Vaden, A.J. Ratliff and James Hardy are showing why they were each highly recruited coming out of high school. In 10 Big Ten games, the foursome has averaged 35.1 of the Hoosiers' 63.8 points and 14.6 of the 30.1 rebounds per game. Those numbers account for 55 percent of the scoring and 49 percent of the rebounding.
They are also found among the freshmen leaders in the Big Ten stats. As of Feb. 7, D.J. White led all freshmen in scoring (13.4), blocked shots (2.24) and field goal percentage (.561) and is second in rebounding (5.2) and free throw percentage (.767). Vaden leads all Big Ten freshmen in free throw percentage (.796), ranks second in steals (1.40) and third in scoring (10.2) and rebounding (4.5). Ratliff is also seen throughout the freshmen stats, ranking second in blocked shots (0.83) and three-point percentage (.389), sixth in rebounding (2.6) and ninth in scoring (6.1). Overall, a Hoosier freshman is in the top three in every category except for assists.

Freshmen Taking Over
The Hoosiers have arguably one of the top freshmen classes in the nation. D.J. White, Robert Vaden and A.J. Ratliff are key reasons why Indiana has won nine of its last 13 contests. For the season, the Hoosiers lead all Big Ten teams with 57 freshmen starts this season. In comparison, Penn State is second in the league with 39 starts, while Minnesota ranks third in the conference with 30 rookie starts.
In fact, on six occasions this season all four of the heralded freshmen were on the court at the same time when James Hardy, A.J. Ratliff, Robert Vaden and D.J. White played at the same time against Oral Roberts, Furman, Purdue and Ohio State. The fab four also started the game against No. 1/1 Illinois on Feb. 6 and Minnesota on Feb. 12.

One, Two, Three...CHARGE!
For the season, Indiana has drawn 29 charges for an average of 1.4 per game. Sophomore forward Pat Ewing, Jr. leads the squad with six charges drawn. Freshman guard A.J. Ratliff ranks second with five drawn charges, while Ryan Tapak has four charges on the year. Below is a breakdown of which players have drawn offensive charges on the season:
Name Charges Drawn
Pat Ewing 6
A.J. Ratliff 5
Ryan Tapak 4
Bracey Wright 3
Sean Kline 3
Rod Wilmont 3
Errek Suhr 2
Mark Johnson 1
Mike Roberts 1
Robert Vaden 1
Totals 29

Clutch Free Throws
Here is a player-by-player breakdown of how Indiana has fared at the foul line with five minutes or less remaining in the game and in overtimes:
Name FTs FT %
Robert Vaden 22-of-24 .917
D.J. White 19-of-22 .864
Pat Ewing 9-of-11 .818
A.J. Ratliff 8-of-10 .800
Marshall Strickland 15-of-19 .789
Bracey Wright 33-of-42 .786
Errek Suhr 3-of-4 .750
James Hardy 0-of-1 .000
Team Totals 109-of-133 .820

Decisive Runs
Of the Hoosiers' nine victories in their last 12 contests, there have been some big runs to help propel the team. Below is a break down of the last five wins before the run and after the run (BR=Before Run, AR=After Run):
Date Opponent BR Run AR Final
12/28 Ball State 0-0 17-2 17-2 71-59
12/31 Oral Roberts 9-9 11-2 20-11 69-68
1/2 Furman 17-10 10-2 27-12 68-52
1/5 Wisconsin 25-16 24-8 49-34 74-61
1/15 at Purdue 22-32 14-0 36-32 75-73
1/19 Michigan 40-39 11-2 51-41 62-53
1/22 Ohio State 38-41 11-3 49-44 67-60
1/29 Penn State 34-36 7-0 43-36 68-63
2/12 Minnesota 29-27 10-0 39-27 71-56

Decisive Droughts
With such a young and inexperienced team playing one of the nation's toughest schedules, Indiana must maintain a consistent offensive flow. In seven of IU's nine losses on the season, the Hoosiers have endured a considerable drought. Below is a look at the drought endured by Indiana in each loss (BD=Before Drought, AD=After Drought):
Date Opponent BD Drought AD
12/1 North Carolina 34-33 5:15 35-41
12/4 at UConn 54-41 4:55 55-58
12/8 Notre Dame 25-28 5:17 25-36
12/11 Kentucky 37-42 3:23 37-53
12/19 at Missouri 35-20 7:40 35-32
1/5 at Northwestern 37-43 3:00 38-52
1/26 at Minnesota 31-30 10:25 32-47
2/6 at Illinois 0-0 11:20 3-20

Starting The Right Five
With the injury to Bracey Wright, the Hoosiers started James Hardy to make a four-freshmen starting lineup at No. 1/1 Illinois on Feb. 6. When going with a three-freshmen starting lineup (A.J. Ratliff, D.J. White and Robert Vaden), the Hoosiers are 8-3. Head Coach Mike Davis has gone with five different sets of starters this season. Below is a breakdown of the record with each starting lineup used in the 2004-05 campaign:
Starting Five Record
White, Vaden, Wright, Ratliff, Strickland 8-3
White, Hardy, Vaden, Ratliff, Strickland 1-1
White, Ewing, Wright, Vaden, Strickland 1-4
White, Kline, Wright, Vaden, Strickland 1-1
White, Kline, Wright, Vaden, Wilmont 0-1