Hoosiers start 3-game road trip against Badgers

Finally, the travesty that dominated the conversations of IU basketball fans everywhere is over. The long, arduous three-week stretch that will forever live in Hoosier lore as "the streak," came to a merciful end on Wednesday night:\nMichigan -- 49, IU -- 63.\nWith the win, the Hoosiers kept their head above water in the Big Ten race, tied with Michigan State for sixth place at 5-5. But, things get tougher for them starting this weekend when they revisit the place where the brunt of "the streak" took place: the road.\n"This is what happens, and I really can't complain about it because it's just the way the Big Ten is, but I don't think you should ever play three games on the road back-to-back-to-back," coach Mike Davis said.\nBut that is just what IU is facing, beginning with the Big Ten co-leading Wisconsin Badgers (17-5, 7-3) on Saturday. Following that game, they travel to Iowa for a Tuesday match-up and then take a week off before heading to Illinois.\nThe Hoosiers showed marked improvement in their rebounding and defensive intensity against Michigan, looking more like the team that had achieved a No. 6 national ranking earlier this season. Davis shook up the line-up for the game, starting freshman Marshall Strickland at the point and junior A.J. Moye at the forward spot. This moved senior Kyle Hornsby and junior George Leach to the bench, and shifted senior Tom Coverdale to the off-guard position. \nDavis said the line-up gave the Hoosiers more quickness at the point and provided the team with the emotional spark of Moye. He added that he will stick with those starters for at least the Wisconsin and Iowa games.\nDespite the changes, Davis still cited the team's lack of a vocal leader as a major problem and in practice Thursday the Hoosiers spent a good deal of time running drills that stressed communication on offense and defense. \n"We don't have any leadership on the court to tell guys what to do (like) slow it down, make hard cuts, come meet the basketball," Davis said. "So it's my job to do that and (against Michigan) I think I coached harder than I've coached in a long time. I'm not looking to (the team) for leadership anymore. I'm going to be the leader for this basketball team."\nCoverdale said the major problem for the team during their 0-5 run was their loss of conviction. \n"I think the only difference in our team from the beginning of the year to now is just confidence and having confidence in ourselves as a team," he said. "Once we get that back the sky's the limit. I think (Michigan) was our first step, getting a win against a very good team. But we've got to keep going from here. We've still got to prove to people that we can win on the road and that starts on Saturday."\nWisconsin has quietly become one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten this season. Before losing to Purdue Feb. 5, the Badgers had won five straight. Since dropping the game to the Boilermakers, they have put together another small run, winning games against Northwestern and Michigan State.\nDavis said the Hoosiers new line-up will match-up well with Wisconsin's smaller starters. The Badgers start four guards in senior Kirk Penny, junior Freddie Owens, sophomore Devin Harris, and freshman Alando Tucker. Junior forward Mike Wilkinson will be the only starter taller than 6-foot-8-inches.\nPenny has been the most effective scorer for Wisconsin. His skills from beyond the three-point line have translated into 16.5 points per game. He also leads the team in assists (3.2) and, at 6-foot-5-inches, he is also the team's second leading rebounder (6.2). \nIU freshman guard Bracey Wright, who had 21 points against Michigan, said the Hoosiers re-established themselves during their two-game homestand and are ready to redeem themselves on the road.\n"We go on the road to Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois and those are all three tough places to play," he said. "Tonight I think we were patient with a lot of things and we fought hard so if we take that on the road and we keep the same intensity we had tonight and we execute like we did tonight, we'll go 3-0"