Hoosiers back home and rolling

STATE COLLEGE, PA -- Mike Davis had one wish. \nBefore IU set out on its three-game road swing that ended Wednesday in Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center, IU's coach wanted two road wins. \nHe got his wish, and the Hoosiers return Saturday to Assembly Hall, where they will play five of their next six, including four of their next five Big Ten games. \nIU (12-6, 5-1 Big Ten) pounded Penn State (5-12, 1-5) 85-51, marking the first time since the 1992-1993 season the Hoosiers have recorded three Big Ten road victories before February. \n"Ideally, we wanted to come out of this road trip (winning) one of three, and we get two of three," Davis said. "Now we have three road wins in the Big Ten, which is good."\nThe victory keeps IU one game behind Big Ten leader Ohio State, which welcomes Michigan to Columbus tonight. OSU handed IU its only league loss Saturday in Value City Arena. \nDavis has long lamented over IU's stingy non-conference schedule, which featured only two games in Bloomington. But the same schedule that led IU into the Big Ten season with a mediocre 7-5 record has helped it storm to its best league start since 1992-1993, when the Hoosiers finished 17-1. \nThe quick start is just what sophomore forward Jared Jeffries, who led IU Wednesday night with 22 points, wanted. \n"It's huge for us," Jeffries said. "We showed maturity on this road trip and showed we've grown as a team since last year."\n\nDane gets defensive\nSenior guard Dane Fife remembered Sharif Chambliss' shooting clinic at Assembly Hall during the first meeting between these two teams this season. IU won 61-54, but Chambliss hit seven of eight shots and scored a game-high 20 points. \nFife returned the favor Wednesday. \nChambliss scored 11 to keep his string of double-figure games alive at 16, but he hit just three of nine from the field and one of six from the three-point line. \n"Fife did a good job on me," Chambliss said. "They were all over me. They denied and took the ball away."\nFife did that so well that Davis spent some of the post-game press conference touting his senior as the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year. He even broke in on Fife's interview with a handful of media, saying he had an announcement regarding Fife's play. \n"He's the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, mark my word," Davis joked. \nFife said he had plenty of help Wednesday. \n"(Chambliss) got a few open shots, because I wasn't with him," said Fife, who chipped in with 10 points. "Any time he came off an open screen, we had a guy right in his face."\n\nReversing roles\nIn the first game between IU and Penn State, IU shot just 28 percent from the field but managed 32 free throws for the victory. \nThe Hoosiers torched the Nittany Lion defense Wednesday, shooting 51.6 percent for the game and 54.8 percent in the first half. \nPenn State shot 38 percent in the first contest but hit just 33.3 percent Wednesday, including four of 14 from the three-point line. \nIU hit five three pointers but shot a mere 12, the lowest amount it's put up all season. IU shot 14 against Penn State Jan. 5 and 15 against Miami (Fla). In both games, IU hit just one three pointer.\nThe Hoosiers have attempted 20 or more threes seven times this season. \nOnce IU did drop in some long-range bombs, it sent Penn State reeling. \n"I told our team at halftime, 'A good team would come out and build on the 10-point lead,'" Davis said. \nIU did after Penn State cut the lead to seven, and that's as close at the Nittany Lions got the rest of the way. \n\nNot much roaring\nIt wasn't quite the same rowdy, Big Ten-like crowd in State College. Only 8,647 fans showed up, and many jetted for the exits after a Tom Coverdale three-pointer gave IU a 59-39 lead with 11:58 remaining. \nBack-to-back three pointers from Coverdale and fellow guard Kyle Hornsby sent another wave of Nittany Lion fans to the parking lot. \nPenn State is averaging only 7,474 fans per home game this season, with its biggest crowd, just more than 12,000, coming in Saturday loss to Michigan State.