IU bench helps scoring burden on way to victory

It's no wonder Notre Dame entered Tuesday's game against IU shooting 52 percent from the floor. \nIf the Irish don't shoot from three-point range, they shoot from three feet.\nInside, inside, inside was the approach in the second half of IU's 76-75 victory, and the results didn't leave coach Mike Davis happy. \nNotre Dame repeatedly used the post duo of seniors Ryan Humphrey and Harold Swanagan. That tandem scored 25 or Notre Dame's 45 second-half points and nearly spelled the end of the Hoosiers. \nBut Davis has a plan to fix the problem. Kind of. \n"I have to go to church Sunday," Davis joked. "We're not going to get bigger and stronger. We're tougher than that."\nIU countered the Irish inside attack and foul trouble by letting sophomore Jared Jeffries play and mixing senior Jarrad Odle and junior Jeff Newton into the lineup. \nNewton, who fouled out with 2:47 remaining, scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds. Odle, who didn't play in the first half, scored two points, snatched a pair of rebounds and helped keep alive several loose balls late in the game. \nGoing Deep\nIU used nine players Tuesday, while Notre Dame used seven, one of which played only five minutes. All nine Hoosiers saw at least nine minutes of action, and IU's bench outscored the Irish bench 22-3. Junior Tom Coverdale led the bench attack with 11 points. \n"I was really afraid that we would be fatigued in this game tonight," Davis said. "And maybe our guys got tired because we (had cheap fouls)."\nFour of the five Irish starters played more than 35 minutes, and only five of the Irish scored. Eight Hoosiers cracked the scoring column.\nThe only Notre Dame starter who played less than 35 minutes was forward David Graves, who collected his fourth foul with 18:30 remaining in the game and eventually fouled out with 6:29 left. \nStarting guard Matt Carroll entered the game averaging 12.9 points per game, but did not score. \nRedshirt update\nDavis said Monday he would decide Dec. 15 whether to redshirt sophomore Mike Roberts, who chipped a bone in his right leg Oct. 31. IU meets Miami (Fla.) that day in the Orange Bowl Classic in Miami. \nRoberts, who was improving from a season ago when he played in 10 games and scored 1.7 points per game, was expected to be a solid contributor to IU's front line before the injury. The 6-foot-9 forward has not practiced since suffering the injury, but is no longer using a walking cast. \nFreshman Sean Kline, who dressed but did not play in all of IU's first six games, was in street clothes Tuesday, an indication that the 6-foot-8 forward is likely to redshirt.