Leaders of the pack

It's safe to say IU would have lost to Michigan if junior forward Kirk Haston or freshman forward Jared Jeffries didn't play like an all-star.\nInterim head coach Mike Davis did.\n"If we don't have Kirk Haston and Jared Jeffries tonight, we're in serious trouble," Davis said. \nHaston and Jeffries combined for 56 of IU's 72 points. Michigan scored 59.\nFor the second consecutive game, Haston topped his previous career high, scoring 30 points and adding eight rebounds. After the game, Davis compared him to former IU guard A.J. Guyton, last year's Big Ten Player of the Year.\n"I think Kirk is the player of the year," Davis said. "Guyton was the guy who was scoring points for us, and everybody knew it so they keyed on him. Now, they're trying to focus on Kirk, but he steps out to the three-point line. There's no question he's playing better than anyone in the Big Ten."\nJeffries topped his previous career-high of 21 points with 26 points and 12 rebounds. Davis said Jeffries should be the Big Ten's freshman of the year.\n"There's no other freshman in this league, maybe in the country, who are doing the things he's doing for their team -- he brings the ball up the court, rebounds it, and he's our best post defender," Davis said. "Jared is kind of like Indiana basketball -- expectations are so high for him. People think every night he's going to come out and give you 26 points and 12 rebounds."\nWith six points, freshman guard A.J. Moye was IU's third-leading scorer. Moye, and the rest of IU's guards combined to make 5-of-20 shots from the field, and 1-of-12 from behind the three-point line.\n "I thought our inside guys did a great job for us, but our guards didn't hit any shots," Davis said. "It's tough to win in a clean fashion when your guards shoot the ball like that."\nJunior guard Dane Fife said he was thankful Haston carried the team.\n"Kirk showed that if the other guys aren't hitting, he can put us on his back," said Fife, who made one of five shots. "We don't expect him to do it for us every game, but he did it today."\nHaston scored 20 in the first half after starting 0-for-5. During one 90-second span he scored eight consecutive points. During another stretch, he scored nine consecutive for the Hoosiers.\n"I thought it was a good move when Coach Davis brought me over (early in the game) and said 'I want you to be more patient and let the game come to you,'" Haston said. "I was rushing my shots a little bit.\nJeffries scored 12 of IU's 14 points during a 14-minute stretch, during which Michigan cut the Hoosier lead from 17 to eight. After the game, he was treated for dehydration.\n"I'm more impressed with him every day," Haston said. "He's showing a lot of maturity for a freshman, and he's helping carry the load for us. He's a Mr. Do-it-all. I feel really comfortable having him to pass it to and him to pass it to me"