Road problems cured, for now

Well, we finally won a Big Ten road game. It's about time.\nBefore Wednesday night's 70-67 victory at Ohio State, the Hoosiers had gone almost a year without a conference victory away from Assembly Hall.\nThe win moved IU's record to 13-9 (4-4 Big Ten) with eight games remaining, three on the road.\nI only have one thing to say to the team.\nDo it again.\nRemaining away games include Penn State, Michigan State and Purdue. The Hoosiers should beat Penn State and play a close game in West Lafayette. IU will most likely get rolled by the No. 5 Spartans, who are looking to avenge a 59-58 loss to the Hoosiers earlier this season.\nIU is 2-5 on the road, with wins against Notre Dame and Ohio State. The Hoosiers need to extinguish their road woes and play fundamental basketball if they hope to begin a road winning streak. \nBut IU cannot continue to play inconsistently down the stretch of the season with the quality of opponents it plays.\nThere are some keys to the rest of the season that will weigh heavily on the success of the Hoosiers.\n• Junior guard Dane Fife has to become an offensive threat. Defensively, he is the team's stopper, but is a ghost on the other end of the floor. Fife had a pathetic shooting performance against the Buckeyes, going 0-2 from the field and 1-4 from the foul line. He finished with one point and one rebound. \nFife was on the floor for 35 minutes and was an offensive nonfactor. He needs to average eight to 10 points per game for the remainder of the season to take some of the scoring burden off of junior forward Kirk Haston and freshman forward Jared Jeffries.\n• IU must make more free throws. The Hoosiers shoot a dismal 62 percent from the line, while their opponents average 72 percent. Haston and Jeffries, IU's leaders in foul shots, are shooting only 66 and 62 percent, respectively. \nThe team must make these crucial one-pointers if they hope to keep pace with Michigan State in East Lansing.\n• Sophomore guard Kyle Hornsby needs to become a solid all-around player. Undoubtedly, Hornsby is one the best three-point shooters in the conference. Hornsby hits at 44 percent from beyond the arc, but would be even more effective if he was not just a spot-up shooter. With a dribble drive off a faked three-point shot, Hornsby could get his teammates and himself in better position to shoot. \n• Sophomore guard Tom Coverdale has to better defend the point guard position. A converted shooting guard, Coverdale was given to the task to run IU's offense. Coverdale hasn't done a poor job, considering he plays out of position. His fault is that he does not have the foot speed to defend quicker players. The Hoosiers must help Coverdale pressure their opponents' ball-handler. \n• Give freshman guard A.J. Moye more minutes. This kid can flat-out play. He rebounds, hustles for loose balls, is a sound defensive player and contributes on offense. He is a "baller" in every sense of the word. He has received a total of only 24 minutes in the past two games, but will only get better with an increase in playing time.\nThe Hoosiers have nothing but opportunity ahead of them. The opportunity to prove that they can win on the road. The opportunity to play consistently. The opportunity to improve as a team.