Hoosiers Ready For New-Look Panthers

By: Sam Beishuizen, IUHoosiers.com | Twitter

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana's non-conference schedule has its share of marquee dates.

A Big Ten-ACC Challenge matchup with No. 5 Duke, a trip to the Maui Invitational to play in a field that includes No. 4 Kansas and No. 18 Vanderbilt and a Crossroads Classic in-state clash against No. 19 Notre Dame headline the early matchups. The ranked opponents will likely reveal how strong No. 15 Indiana is early in the season.

But don't begin to think the Hoosiers are allowing themselves to take tonight's home opener against Eastern Illinois lightly. Indiana head coach Tom Crean isn't allowing it.

"It's critical," senior guard Nick Zeisloft said. "Coach hit on that today. All the practices, all the exhibitions, all the games that lead up to Maui and Duke, every possession is going to get you better for those games. So it really will come down to one possession."

Tonight's 7 p.m. game at Assembly Hall is part of a process, Zeislfot said. The regular-season opener will be something for the Hoosiers to build and reflect on in the coming weeks as they develop their team.

"Everything adds up," Zeisloft said.

The new-look Eastern Illinois Panthers are coming off one of their best seasons in program history. Head coach Jay Spoonhour led the program to its first postseason appearance since 2001, reaching the second round of the CollegeInsiders.com Tournament before losing to eventual tournament champion Evansville.

The majority of that team will not be at Assembly Hall tonight. Eastern Illinois added nine newcomers—six true freshman, two junior college transfers and a graduate transfer—to its roster in the offseason.

In studying whatever available film existed, Crean said he expects Eastern Illinois to play quickly like Indiana does. They're talent allows them to play through all five players on the floor, Crean said, which can lead to isolation opportunities when the Panthers think they have a mismatch.

"For us, it's going to be a matter of just really staying within our principles to our transition D, our half-court defense, getting the ball out quickly and building on things from the first two games and making a much more concerted effort to go through the paint in everything," Crean said. "We're really looking forward to it."

After reviewing IU's exhibition wins against Ottawa and Bellarmine, Crean said Indiana can improve in a number of "controllable" areas including crashing the glass, transition defense and overall offensive and defensive awareness.

Crean wants to see his team playing with more creativity and "randomness" on the offensive end of the floor. Unpredictable teams are harder to guard, which means Crean wants to see constant ball movement and cutting from each of his players, regardless of their position.

"Our fast break is like our motion offense when we've got it going because we have so many players who can play different places," Crean said. "What we've got to do is continue to make a quick pass with a lot of movement. That just keeps the game moving."

It's the fine details like the "controllables" of crashing the glass, being active on offense and playing with a sense of randomness that Indiana will look to sharpen up in early games.

Because as Zeisloft said, everything is a process. Getting things done right tonight could prove dividends down the line.

"I think our guys are excited," Crean said. "And at the same time, they know they have to get a lot better, and the film shows that."

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