Men tune up with Marathon Oil

Coach Mike Davis is concentrating on Tuesday's game, even though IU plays Marathon Oil tonight. But that's understandable. Marathon Oil is simply a tuneup for Pepperdine, IU's first opponent of the regular season.\n"I'm not even worried about Marathon Oil," Davis said. "We just have to come out and play and do some things, but my main focus is on Pepperdine because that's the first game and the most important game."\nIn the meantime, this game is an opportunity for IU to sharpen their skills and improve upon their performance Sunday against Athletes in Action. Game time is scheduled for 8 p.m. in Assembly Hall, or 30 minutes after the women's team finishes its game against Tapiolan Honka. \n"Hopefully we can play defense harder for a longer period of time," Davis said. "The whole team has a tendency to play at a casual pace sometimes and it's my job to keep them focused, keep them intense and keep them playing hard.\n"I thought we did a great job in the first five minutes of the game, but then everyone thought 'This game is over. We don't have to play hard against these guys' and that's been the pattern of this team for a few years."\nDavis said he also wants to improve the team's offensive play. His offensive theory is to work from the inside out.\n"We have guards who can knock down open shots, so I want to play off those guys," Davis said. "The best offense to me is to go inside, and (then) pass out for the open shot. Or they don't help and our guy scores."\nFreshmen Mike Roberts and A.J. Moye did not play against Athletes in Action, mainly because of matchup problems. Davis said he talked with Moye about redshirting him this season but decided against it because it would be unfair to Moye.\n"I'm not sure if I'll be here or not next year," Davis said after the AIA game. "Moye played well in the scrimmage last week. He'll get a chance to play a lot in the next game."\nRoberts is not likely to see many minutes this season with the likes of freshmen Jared Jeffries and George Leach, sophomore Jeffrey Newton and junior Kirk Haston playing on the front line. He said he accepts that fact.\n"I'm confident that when I go in I'll do my job," Roberts said. "I'm not going to be quick like Newton, so I have to rely on my strength. And I need to improve my help-side defense." \nEven though IU played one exhibition game, Newton said he is looking forward to playing against Marathon Oil.\n"We're ready for some competition against somebody other than each other because we've been playing each other for so long," Newton said. "We're ready for new competition."\nFans who purchase a ticket to the women's game before halftime for $5 will receive a free ticket in the balcony for the men's game.