Hoosiers eager to be home

Jack Kerouac's original manuscript of his famous beat novel "On the Road" is currently on display at the Lilly Library. Perhaps the Hoosiers should stop by and check it out during their brief two-game home stand -- they probably could relate.\nAfter winning three straight at Assembly Hall between Jan. 15 and 21, the men's basketball team suffered through a four-game road stretch that would make most head coaches cringe. \nIt definitely caused coach Mike Davis to wrinkle his brow once or twice, and you can't really blame him. When the Hoosiers (14-7, 4-4 Big Ten) rolled out of Bloomington on Jan.25 to face archrival Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind., they were 14-3 overall, 4-1 in the Big Ten, and No.14 in the nation. \nWhat a difference away makes.\nIU was blown out 69-47 at Mackey Arena. They then headed straight to Michigan State's Breslin Center, one of the toughest places to win in the Big Ten, where they lost 61-54. Then they crossed the border into Kentucky where they faced No.6 Louisville, arguably the hottest team in the country right now at 17-1. They maintained the lead for most of the game but deflated in the final three minutes as the Cardinals put together a 17-0 run for the 95-76 win.\nThen they traveled to Evanston, Ill., Wednesday night to face the Northwestern Wildcats, a team who had not yet won a Big Ten game this season and had not beaten the Hoosiers since 1988. \nTechnically it was a road game, but fans clad in cream and crimson took up at least half of Welsh-Ryan Arena. \nBut the Hoosiers came out flat in the first half, and despite a somewhat better performance in the second were never able to claim a lead, let alone the win. \nSo will it be nice to finally play a couple games in front of a pro-Hoosier crowd?\n"Playing at home has been good for us this whole year," senior guard Kyle Hornsby said. "We've got to right (the ship) somehow. Hopefully we can get some wins and try to go on the road again; see if we can get a road win."\nThe Hoosiers will get a double dose of the Great Lakes state as they host the Michigan State Spartans (12-8, 4-4) Saturday night at 7 p.m. and then face the Michigan Wolverines (13-8, 6-2) next Wednesday.\nWhen IU played at Michigan State Jan.28, the Spartans had lost six of eight -- their worst slump since the 1996-97 season-and were struggling to keep their head above water in the Big Ten race.\nAfter defeating then No.19 Hoosiers that night, coach Tom Izzo told reporters, "We ain't dead yet," and five days later his team showed they still had life, coming from behind to defeat then No.13 Illinois 68-65 at the Breslin Center.\nThe Spartans trailed the Illini by 14 with two minutes to go in the second half but gained the lead with 14:27 to go in the second when freshman guard Maurice Ager sank a three. After five lead changes and two ties, MSU sophomore point guard Chris Hill knocked down another three with a minute to go that extended the lead to 68-64 and put the game out of reach.\nAssociate head coach John Treloar said the Hoosiers have to forget about their road woes and try to put the pieces back together in Bloomington.\n"They've got to put (the losing streak) behind them," he said. "They've got the next two games at home. Michigan State is a very tough basketball team so it will be a challenge for the team, but hopefully they'll respond."\nSenior point guard Tom Coverdale said the Hoosiers must seize the opportunity to play well at home if they hope to realize their aspirations of claiming the conference crown. \n"If we don't go on a little run here, then we've got no shot at the Big Ten," he said. "That's still our goal. Last year we were 7-5 and at a low point in our season. Hopefully it doesn't get any lower than this, and we bounce back and find a way to win"