Road wins key to successful season

Winning on the road in the Big Ten isn't easy. IU learned that lesson first hand last season. \nThe Hoosiers lost seven of eight Big Ten road games last season to finish out the conference season 8-8. \nAnd this year, five of IU's first seven Big Ten games are on the road.\n"That's going to be tough and hard to survive," IU coach Mike Davis said. "If you lose a couple of road games, I don't care who you are, your confidence is going to drop."\nFor the fifth year in a row, IU's strength of schedule ranks among the top eight in the nation according to the Sagarin Ratings.\nOut of the six defending NCAA tournament teams IU will face in their first eight games, three of them advanced to the Sweet 16 (Kentucky, Notre Dame and Butler).\n"We're not playing a cupcake schedule," Davis said. "To win games we have to defend and rebound."\nWith the loss of forward Jeff Newton and guards Kyle Hornsby and Tom Coverdale, the IU team hopes newcomers and familiar faces from last season will help in their struggle on the road.\nIn one road game, IU will look to revive its rivalry with Notre Dame after taking a year off. Dec. 9 at The Joyce Center in South Bend will determine whether or not IU will continue its seven-game winning streak against the Fighting Irish.\nNamed to the 2003-2004 John R. Wooden Award Preseason All-American Team, sophomore guard Bracey Wright said he is ready to be back in action on the court.\nLast year, Wright had a team-high 16.2 points per game average. That was the best by a Big Ten freshman and tied him for fourth in the conference overall. His impressive 486 points freshman year are the most since the 495 Calbert Cheaney scored in 1989-90.\nWright handed IU quite a scare last season when he injured his back and had to sit out four games. He underwent back surgery on May 6 to relieve nerve pressure on his lower back.\n"Bracey is fine now," Davis said. "We want Bracey to score and that's his role on this team, but we're not going to look for him to score 20 points in a game."\nDavis stressed the importance of not depending on one player to do the work for the entire team. He said he wants to see every player do his part.\nWright said he feels healthy, ready to play and that getting back on the court has been his motivation to recover as quickly as possible.\nThough considered by many to be last year's most impressive player, Wright appears humble and focused on the task at hand.\n"When we're out there on the court I'm just going to worry about playing my hardest," Wright said. "I'm not going to worry about getting caught up in egos."\nSenior guard A.J. Moye said the difference in this year's team is the fact that they aren't looking to win specific games. They just want to win. \n"We are just here to play and execute," Moye said. "It doesn't matter who we play. We don't have our schedules circled and every team we play is important."\nThere will be a familiar face on the IU coaching staff this season as former Hoosier standout Dane Fife takes on the position of administrative assistant for the team. \nDavis said Fife's impact on the team has already been apparent in the way some of the players are improving.\nIU will wrap up its regular Big Ten season with five of its last six games at Assembly Hall. Unlike last season, IU will play Purdue at home and away.\nDavis said he has defense and rebounding on his mind when it comes to worries about this years team. He said he wants to see more points off turnovers and more solid play.\n"With the way our schedule is set up it could be a long season," Davis said. "We will need all of our guys playing their parts."\n-- Contact staff writer Natalie A. Trout at natrout@indiana.edu.