Indiana University Athletics
#IUBB Looking To Keep Momentum Alive
12/22/2015 10:54:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By: Sam Beishuizen, IUHoosiers.com | Twitter
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The only thing left between Indiana and the Big Ten is Kennesaw State.
Riding the momentum from a come-from-behind win against Notre Dame in the Crossroads Classic, the Hoosiers (9-3) are looking to capitalize on what they did right in the second half to slow the Irish down. Now that they've seen it, they're trying to repeat it against the Owls (3-10).
"I think the Kennesaw State game is another opportunity to see where we are, see where we want to be," senior guard Yogi Ferrell said. "We're going into this mindset again where we're going to play 40 minutes, play hard."
The second half of IU's win against Notre Dame last Saturday was arguably the team's best 20 minutes of basketball this season.
Down by 16 points early in the second half, Indiana's defense cued the biggest comeback during the Tom Crean-era in Bloomington. The Hoosiers' 2-3 zone sparked an energy on the defensive end of the floor that players said was more of a mindset change than anything else.
And there's where the importance lies. It's not as much what IU was doing schematically that was important, Ferrell said. It was the commitment to getting stops and refusing to let Notre Dame score.
But what's the key behind it?
"I think communication is the biggest thing," Ferrell said. "We can't leave people on an island, as I like to say. Somebody's got to know where their help is going to be. Somebody's going to know what coverage we're going to run defensively."
Communication has been both the solution and the problem for Indiana at times this year.
Losses have been blamed on a lack of communication. Wins more often than not are credited to the way players acted as one defense. Crean talks often about the importance of team defending, which is exactly what he'll want to see at 6 p.m. tonight when the Hoosiers take on the Owls.
"I think communication is a big issue every day," Crean said. "Inside of the game, there's always going to be issues where you can talk better, and at the end of the day, you want to make sure that you can improve inside of it."
A win tonight would improve Indiana's non-conference record to 10-3 and finish off a perfect 8-0 non-conference schedule at Assembly Hall. Perhaps more importantly, it would help IU maintain its momentum from its win against Notre Dame and carry a five-game winning streak to New Jersey when the Hoosiers play Rutgers December 30.
"We're just focused on winning the game," Crean said. "It's just a matter of us continuing to improve and build on what we want to get better at. That's what we've really been focused on, and then that plays right into putting it right into the game plan. That's the bottom line for us is daily improvement and carrying it out into the game."
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The only thing left between Indiana and the Big Ten is Kennesaw State.
Riding the momentum from a come-from-behind win against Notre Dame in the Crossroads Classic, the Hoosiers (9-3) are looking to capitalize on what they did right in the second half to slow the Irish down. Now that they've seen it, they're trying to repeat it against the Owls (3-10).
"I think the Kennesaw State game is another opportunity to see where we are, see where we want to be," senior guard Yogi Ferrell said. "We're going into this mindset again where we're going to play 40 minutes, play hard."
The second half of IU's win against Notre Dame last Saturday was arguably the team's best 20 minutes of basketball this season.
Down by 16 points early in the second half, Indiana's defense cued the biggest comeback during the Tom Crean-era in Bloomington. The Hoosiers' 2-3 zone sparked an energy on the defensive end of the floor that players said was more of a mindset change than anything else.
And there's where the importance lies. It's not as much what IU was doing schematically that was important, Ferrell said. It was the commitment to getting stops and refusing to let Notre Dame score.
But what's the key behind it?
"I think communication is the biggest thing," Ferrell said. "We can't leave people on an island, as I like to say. Somebody's got to know where their help is going to be. Somebody's going to know what coverage we're going to run defensively."
Communication has been both the solution and the problem for Indiana at times this year.
Losses have been blamed on a lack of communication. Wins more often than not are credited to the way players acted as one defense. Crean talks often about the importance of team defending, which is exactly what he'll want to see at 6 p.m. tonight when the Hoosiers take on the Owls.
"I think communication is a big issue every day," Crean said. "Inside of the game, there's always going to be issues where you can talk better, and at the end of the day, you want to make sure that you can improve inside of it."
A win tonight would improve Indiana's non-conference record to 10-3 and finish off a perfect 8-0 non-conference schedule at Assembly Hall. Perhaps more importantly, it would help IU maintain its momentum from its win against Notre Dame and carry a five-game winning streak to New Jersey when the Hoosiers play Rutgers December 30.
"We're just focused on winning the game," Crean said. "It's just a matter of us continuing to improve and build on what we want to get better at. That's what we've really been focused on, and then that plays right into putting it right into the game plan. That's the bottom line for us is daily improvement and carrying it out into the game."
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