Hoosiers get hot

They were the Big Ten's best defense, hands down.\nBut for outstanding statistics and a stingy reputation, Wisconsin's biggest defensive contribution Saturday was avoiding Tom Coverdale's smiles and Kirk Haston's pumping fist.\nIU marched through the Big Ten's top defense, shooting 70.2 percent -- 73.7 percent from three-point range -- in an 85-55 rout of the No. 19 Badgers.\n"I just wanted to try and stop the rush," Badger coach Brad Soderberg said. "We never did."\nThe precision in which IU (17-11, 8-6 Big Ten) picked apart the Badger defense was staggering. Entering the game, IU was the Big Ten's eighth-best three-point shooting team and ninth in scoring offense while Wisconsin (17-8, 8-6) led the conference in three-point defense and the nation in scoring defense percentage.\nBut the numbers were pointless minutes into the game. In the first six minutes, the Hoosiers couldn't miss, as 7-for-8 shooting sparked IU to a 13-point lead. Haston, a junior center, carried the Hoosiers early on, nailing two three-pointers in the first five minutes to bring the 17,051 fans at Assembly Hall to their feet. Haston was quiet in the second half, finishing with 16 points. But his 12 in the first eight minutes got the Hoosiers going.\n"When you make shots, your offense looks good," interim head coach Mike Davis said. "We were patient. We really took our time."\nAnd when Haston cooled down, someone filled his shoes. Four Hoosiers finished in double figures -- all with impressive numbers. After watching Haston lead the first-half barrage that put IU up by nine, 38-29, freshman forward Jared Jeffries went 7-of-7 from the field in the second half. Eight consecutive Jeffries points, including two driving dunks, forced Soderberg to burn a timeout just minutes into the second half. Jeffries finished 8-of-8 from the field with 18 points.\n"In the first half, we were really in a good rhythm. Kirk was hitting, so my role was to play defense," Jeffries said. "In the second half, I had a chance to set my own rhythm up."\nSoderberg watched helplessly from his seat as the Hoosiers tore apart the Badger defense. The Hoosiers were able to capitalize in every aspect of their offense, both down low to Jeffries and Haston and outside with sophomore guards Coverdale and Kyle Hornsby, who were consistently unstoppable. The two combined for 13-of-15 shooting and 39 points. \nUp by 20 with four minutes left, the Hoosiers slowed down their offense, befriending the clock. With the shot clock winding down, junior guard Dane Fife cut through the lane, where the Wisconsin defense collapsed. Pressured, he whipped the ball around to Coverdale sitting on the corner in front of the IU bench. Wide open, Coverdale, who had already connected on 5-of-6 three-pointers, hit one more. \nSoderberg didn't flinch. From the other bench, freshman guard A.J. Moye, jumping and smiling with excitement, nearly grabbed Coverdale from the floor. Coverdale finished with a game-high 24 points.\n"In warm-ups, I couldn't hit a shot to save my life," Coverdale said. "But once I hit a couple, it starts to carry over. Then Kyle (Hornsby) hit a couple and we got on a roll. We had confidence in our shot." \nHornsby, who scored 15 points -- all from behind the three-point arc -- hit a deep three on IU's last possession, the team's 14th and the most ever for IU in a Big Ten game. \n"It was a lot of fun," Hornsby said of his and Coverdale's long-range marksmanship. "It's nice to know -- we're in the same grade -- that we're going to be together for another two years. We need to keep playing like that"