Hoosiers rip past Wolverines

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - It was a painful lesson Wednesday night, but IU learned it could play without Jared Jeffries. And it was several Hoosiers Sunday who showed they have more confidence as a result of the 64-63 loss to Wisconsin last Wednesday at Assembly Hall.\nJarrad Odle, Jeff Newton and Kyle Hornsby each had 17 points as the No. 22 Hoosiers stormed past the Wolverines, 75-55, Sunday before 11,379 at Crisler Arena. Chris Young led Michigan with 18 points.\nThe win sets up a showdown Wednesday night at Assembly Hall between IU and the team it currently shares first place in the Big Ten with, Ohio State.\nEven without Jeffries for much of Sunday afternoon, the Hoosiers still find themselves right where they want to be.\n"It just shows you that playing Wednesday night without (Jeffries) against Wisconsin has given our guys confidence," IU coach Mike Davis said.\nJeffries started the game and played 18 minutes, but only six minutes were in the second half. He finished with four points and two rebounds, but Newton and Odle were there to pick up the slack in the frontcourt. Both finished the game with four fouls, but were able to slow down Young in the paint.\nOdle said the Hoosiers (17-8, 9-3) probably should have won without Jeffries against the Badgers, but the defensive effort wasn't there. Sunday the Wolverines were held to 37.5 percent from the field.\n"We should have won the Wisconsin game without JJ. That was strictly a defensive flaw in the way that we played that game," Odle said. "We played a little better tonight on defense and defense always carries over to offense."\nThe defense did just that as IU shot more than 54 percent from the field. Hornsby tied a school record by hitting all five of his three-point attempts. He was six-for-seven from the field for the game.\nWhile Hornsby hit outside, Newton and Odle had several easy buckets in the paint. The only player on the floor for the Wolverines taller than 6'7" was Young at 6'9". IU was able to execute at will.\n"I think they are an extremely efficient basketball team," Michigan (10-14, 5-8) coach Tommy Amaker said. "We had a lot of breakdowns."\nThe Hoosiers built an 11-point lead at halftime, 38-27. Hornsby closed the first half with a three-pointer and IU ran out to a 46-30 lead in the second half with two buckets a piece from Newton and Odle.\nThe Wolverines rallied, even though two of their best offensive players, LaVell Blanchard and Bernard Robinson, Jr. were on the bench in foul trouble. A basket by Young cut IU's lead to 49-40 with 12:41 left.\nThat prompted Jeffries to come in on his own volition. Davis said Jeffries told him he didn't want to put him back in.\n"They cut the lead to seven or eight points and Jared Jeffries went in the game and we extended the lead to 16 or 17," Davis said. "I did not put him in the game. He said, 'coach, I'm ready.' He did a great job of stepping up and going in the game."\nJeffries was double teamed the second he touched the ball, but found Hornsby, who hit a three-pointer to start a stretch where he would score the Hoosiers' next 11 points. By the time Hornsby was finished, IU led 60-44 with 7:28 left and Jeffries was back on the bench.\n"The plan was, the whole game, whenever I felt like (I could)," Jeffries said. "We had to get them under control for me to sit down and rest. I would come in for small increments and do what I could."\nThe Wolverines were held in check the rest of the way. Robinson, Jr. had 11 points in the first half, but had none in the second half after picking up four fouls in a little over two minutes early in the second half. Blanchard, who averages nearly 15 points per game, was held to just eight.\n"They just make you pay for everything," Robinson, Jr. said. "Everything we did wrong they made us pay for it. Every mistake on the offensive end and the defensive end, they made us pay for it every time. They just played well today"