IU coach Mike Davis has said all along that he wanted his team to be 7-4 as the Hoosiers headed into conference play. The Hoosiers entered the semester break at 4-3, and with three of four at home, seemed on their way to that goal.\nBut IU couldn't get it done, and Tuesday's loss to Wisconsin in their Big Ten opener dropped the Hoosiers to 6-6 on the season.\nThe break saw the Hoosiers on the bad side of two 30-point losses, one to Kentucky and the other to Wisconsin. During the time off from school, IU lost another big man. Freshman forward Jessan Gray-Ashley was ruled academically ineligible and will not be able to play the rest of the season. With senior center George Leach still out with a knee injury, the Hoosiers will continue to hurt in the post.\nNot everything went wrong for the Hoosiers during their time off. IU posted back-to-back wins defeating Morehead State and North Texas at the end of December. Sophomore guard Bracey Wright was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Jan. 5.
Here is a breakdown of the games over break:
Dec. 20 vs. Kentucky at Indianapolis\nThe RCA Dome in Indianapolis was the site of IU and border rival Kentucky's annual meeting for bragging rights between the neighboring states. Despite trailing by only six at halftime to the then No.2 team in the country, IU went on to lose the game, 80-41. \nUK started the second half on a 9-0 run and never looked back. The Hoosiers shot 16.7 percent in the second half and scored only 15 points.\nDavis did not appear at the post-game press conference and sent assistant coach John Treloar in his place. Treloar said Davis was still talking to the team -- 45 minutes after the game ended.\n"I think as he talks to the kids, he's trying to teach," Treloar said of Davis' absence. "He's trying to teach kids what work ethic and hard work is about. (Junior guard) Ryan Tapak is diving on the floor, chasing down loose balls, throwing his body completely round. It takes everybody doing that from the least talented to everybody on the team."\nThe players left the locker room almost an hour after the game was over.\n"Everyone looked scared today, and we haven't looked that way all year," sophomore forward Sean Kline said. "To come out on national television and look that way against Kentucky, it's difficult."
Dec. 23 vs. Morehead State\nIU returned home three days later and responded to the Kentucky loss with a lopsided 77-57 win over Morehead State. IU led by as many as 30 in the first half.\nSophomore guard Marshall Strickland came off the bench to score 20 points on 7-10 shooting. Freshman forward Pat Ewing Jr. added his first career double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.\n"Coach wants me to been more aggressive," Strickland said. "After the Kentucky game, he said I didn't shoot enough. A lot of games this season I didn't get enough reps in to be a contributor. Going into this game and the rest of the season, he really wants me to be aggressive."
Dec. 29 at North Texas\nWright turned in the best performance of his career in his home state as the Hoosiers beat North Texas 79-70. Wright scored 39 points in the game, with 28 of those coming in the first half.\nIU led by 11 at the half. North Texas was able to close the gap to as little as six in the second half, but Wright and the Hoosiers finished strong as IU picked up its sixth win of the season.
Jan. 3 vs. Temple\nTemple coach John Chaney used his famous match-up zone defense to confuse IU as the Owls defeated the Hoosiers at Assembly Hall 59-50. The IU defense held Temple to 26.8 percent shooting from the field, but the Owls' defense was even better. IU had more turnovers -- 17 -- than it did field goals -- 14 -- and shot 23 percent for the game.\nWright led the team with 15 points but made only 3 of 17 shots. Strickland chipped in 10.\n"I think when you play Temple, you get caught up in open shots," Davis said in a statement. "We had a lot of open shots. The only guy who did not get a lot of shots was Bracey (Wright) because they swarmed him. You do not want to shoot an open shot with 25 or 30 seconds on the shot clock. You want to try to penetrate in or pass the ball inside to the post guy. The post guy in the middle was almost always open. We just did not concentrate."
Jan. 6 at Wisconsin\nThe Hoosiers opened the Big Ten season hoping to get back on track. Instead, they ran into a brick wall in No. 21 Wisconsin. For the second time in five games, IU was held to 15 points in one half and trailed 37-15 at the break.\nThe Badgers (10-2, 1-0 Big Ten) shot 49.2 percent for the game and were led by forward Mike Wilkinson, who scored 20 points. Kline led IU with 12. Wright was held to seven, his lowest of the season. The Hoosiers fell 79-45 in the conference opener.
-- Contact staff writer Tyler V. Hoeppner at thoeppne@indiana.edu
