Lackluster play causes IU meltdown

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Mental toughness, effort, and the desire to win are three key factors that contribute to a victory.\nThe IU men's basketball team lacked all three as the No.15 Hoosiers (11-3, 1-1) fell to the Buckeyes (8-5, 1-1), 81-69 Saturday night.\nIU coach Mike Davis and senior guard Tom Coverdale both noticed early warning signs apparent earlier in the day at the pre-game shoot-around. The IU team lacked concentration then, and it carried over to the game. With dismal defense, poor rebounding and an disastrous offensive attack, the Hoosiers first real road test was a bust.\n"It comes down to wanting it more than the other team, and it's pretty obvious who wanted to win more (Saturday night)," Coverdale said. "We just need to figure out how to play harder or we are going to get beat every game."\nWhile Coverdale, who finished with 18 points, dismissed the notion that the size of the Ohio State players was an advantage, the Buckeyes were able to grab nine more boards than the Hoosiers, and capitalized on assignment mismatches. \nWhile the Hoosiers have previously faced and beat larger-sized teams, the Buckeyes held the upper-hand, especially when the Hoosiers put 6-foot-3-inch freshman guard Bracey Wright on 6-foot-6-inch forward Shun Jenkins for a majority of the second half.\nJenkins, who finished with 22 points, scored six of the Buckeyes first eight points in the second half with Wright guarding him. This stretched the Buckeyes 10-point halftime lead to 15 within five minutes into the second half.\nBut with Wright under the basket, he was able to pick up a team-high eight rebounds, six of which were defensive boards. Wright was also the leading scorer for the Hoosiers with 20 points.\n"(Jenkins) weighs way more than I do," Wright said. "But I tried to keep him off the glass as much as I could. I got switched on him in the second half. I did an okay job on him; he had two or three baskets on me, and I had a couple of the rebounds. But for the most part I was able to keep him under control a little bit."\nBut with the defense not stopping Jenkins or Buckeye guard Brent Darby, who finished with 28 points, the Hoosiers were not getting any breaks on the offensive end.\nThe most disastrous part of the Hoosiers game, aside from the lack of rebounding, was the offense. IU put up 34 three-point shots, but saw only nine connect. The Hoosiers also attempted 63 field goals, but a mere 24 fell for them. By averaging just 26.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 38.1 percent from the field, the Hoosiers were completely taken out of the game by Ohio State.\n"We didn't dig in this game like we needed to," said senior guard Kyle Hornsby, who finished with 0 points after going 0-for-8 from the three-point range. "I don't know if we were ever in the game here. There's got to be some changes as far as what we are doing. Shooting's going to come; we shoot the ball too well. I'm not worried about that. Just defense and rebounding. They got so many second shots; it's ridiculous."\nCoverdale, Hornsby and Wright are all confident that the strong offense will return, and the defensive breakdowns can be fixed. But what is of most concern is the mentality of the team which appears to lack the passion to play hard against any given team on any given night.\n"It just seems like last year, (the mentality) was life or death, and that's not the same feeling we have with this team right now," Coverdale said. "We have to change it, or I think that if it doesn't mean that to you, then you aren't going to be on the floor from here on out"