Indiana University Athletics
Moren Faces Familiar Opponent Tonight
12/2/2015 10:18:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By: Sam Beishuizen, IUHoosiers.com | Twitter
BLOOMINGTON, ind. - Part of Teri Moren isn't looking forward to tonight's game against Georgia Tech.
Indiana's head coach will lead the Hoosiers opposite of MaChelle Joseph's Yellow Jackets in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at Assembly Hall. The two head coaches have been longtime friends and colleagues, having played together at Purdue before Moren joined Joseph's Georgia Tech staff as an assistant coach from 2007-10.
"It's not a lot of fun. It really isn't," Moren said of coaching against Joseph. "MaChelle's a dear friend of mine. We vacation together and we talk weekly and stay in touch. It's never fun to have to play against one of your friends. For me, it will kind of be a miserable 40 minutes, and I know for her, she feels the same way. But the ACC and the Big Ten didn't ask us how we felt. It's a game we've got to play."
Moren and Joseph's friendship began as college teammates.
Joseph was a standout on the team, being named first-team all-Big Ten three consecutive seasons. In 1992, she earned the Women's Basketball News' College Player of the Year before pursuing a career in coaching like Moren did.
Moren worked as an assistant coach under Joseph for three seasons at Georgia Tech prior to being named the head coach at Indiana State, where she coached before coming to Indiana ahead of last season. With Moren on staff, Joseph's Yellow Jackets had three consecutive 20-win seasons and made three NCAA Tournament appearances.
Moren and Joseph's friendship will take a 40 minute hiatus tonight. Once the game begins, Moren said all that matters is Indiana earning its fourth consecutive Big Ten-ACC Challenge win.
"When the ball goes up, it's all bets are off, right?" Moren said. "You're coaching your team and she's going to be coaching her team. We're two competitive coaches with two competitive teams. I know she wants her team to execute as much as I want ours to and she wants her team to defend as well as I want ours to defend and rebound. It's not about MaChelle and I, it's about our teams and the way we approach this."
There are some advantages to knowing Joseph's strategies and coaching philosophies, though those will go both ways with Joseph knowing Moren's own tendencies.
Georgia Tech's size—four of its starters stand more than 6-foot tall—presents Indiana a challenge it hasn't seen yet this year. As a result, Moren said 6-foot-3 junior Jenn Anderson will return to the starting lineup for the first time this season in place of 6-foot-1 senior Lyndsay Leikem at center.
Moren said she expects the Yellow Jackets to press on dead balls, made field goals, free throws and anywhere else they can. They'll be disruptive in the half-court and feel comfortable switching defensively with just about any player without sacrificing skill or the ability to grab offensive rebounds.
"They're going to present problems for us," Moren said.
Indiana (4-2) split its Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament, losing to Ohio before beating Austin Peay in the second game. Moren said she was disappointed in some of the things she saw in Indiana's loss to Ohio, but she expects to see those things cleaned up tonight against Georgia Tech (5-2).
The Hoosiers' game against the Yellow Jackets is one of only three remaining non-conference home games before Big Ten play starts up in December. IU is still tinkering with rotations and its reconstructed offense early on, but tonight's game will be another measuring stick of how close Indiana is to how Moren wants IU playing against another Power Five opponent.
"This will be good for us," Moren said. "It's going to be two great teams from two great conferences that are going to battle it out."
BLOOMINGTON, ind. - Part of Teri Moren isn't looking forward to tonight's game against Georgia Tech.
Indiana's head coach will lead the Hoosiers opposite of MaChelle Joseph's Yellow Jackets in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at Assembly Hall. The two head coaches have been longtime friends and colleagues, having played together at Purdue before Moren joined Joseph's Georgia Tech staff as an assistant coach from 2007-10.
"It's not a lot of fun. It really isn't," Moren said of coaching against Joseph. "MaChelle's a dear friend of mine. We vacation together and we talk weekly and stay in touch. It's never fun to have to play against one of your friends. For me, it will kind of be a miserable 40 minutes, and I know for her, she feels the same way. But the ACC and the Big Ten didn't ask us how we felt. It's a game we've got to play."
Moren and Joseph's friendship began as college teammates.
Joseph was a standout on the team, being named first-team all-Big Ten three consecutive seasons. In 1992, she earned the Women's Basketball News' College Player of the Year before pursuing a career in coaching like Moren did.
Moren worked as an assistant coach under Joseph for three seasons at Georgia Tech prior to being named the head coach at Indiana State, where she coached before coming to Indiana ahead of last season. With Moren on staff, Joseph's Yellow Jackets had three consecutive 20-win seasons and made three NCAA Tournament appearances.
Moren and Joseph's friendship will take a 40 minute hiatus tonight. Once the game begins, Moren said all that matters is Indiana earning its fourth consecutive Big Ten-ACC Challenge win.
"When the ball goes up, it's all bets are off, right?" Moren said. "You're coaching your team and she's going to be coaching her team. We're two competitive coaches with two competitive teams. I know she wants her team to execute as much as I want ours to and she wants her team to defend as well as I want ours to defend and rebound. It's not about MaChelle and I, it's about our teams and the way we approach this."
There are some advantages to knowing Joseph's strategies and coaching philosophies, though those will go both ways with Joseph knowing Moren's own tendencies.
Georgia Tech's size—four of its starters stand more than 6-foot tall—presents Indiana a challenge it hasn't seen yet this year. As a result, Moren said 6-foot-3 junior Jenn Anderson will return to the starting lineup for the first time this season in place of 6-foot-1 senior Lyndsay Leikem at center.
Moren said she expects the Yellow Jackets to press on dead balls, made field goals, free throws and anywhere else they can. They'll be disruptive in the half-court and feel comfortable switching defensively with just about any player without sacrificing skill or the ability to grab offensive rebounds.
"They're going to present problems for us," Moren said.
Indiana (4-2) split its Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament, losing to Ohio before beating Austin Peay in the second game. Moren said she was disappointed in some of the things she saw in Indiana's loss to Ohio, but she expects to see those things cleaned up tonight against Georgia Tech (5-2).
The Hoosiers' game against the Yellow Jackets is one of only three remaining non-conference home games before Big Ten play starts up in December. IU is still tinkering with rotations and its reconstructed offense early on, but tonight's game will be another measuring stick of how close Indiana is to how Moren wants IU playing against another Power Five opponent.
"This will be good for us," Moren said. "It's going to be two great teams from two great conferences that are going to battle it out."
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