The Hoosiers are looking to beat opponents on the inside this year, but they showed that wasn't a necessity in their 100-63 routing of Florida A&M Monday night at Assembly Hall.\nWith senior forward Marco Killingsworth blanketed by a thick zone all night, IU's perimeter players responded, hitting 16 three-pointers -- one shy of the school record set against Illinois in January 2003.\n"Our goal was to stop Killingsworth," Florida A&M coach Mike Gillespie Sr. said. "We weren't going to let him beat us."\nWith Killingsworth held to 10 points and nine rebounds, senior guard Marshall Strickland capitalized. The night's leading scorer, Strickland had 20 points and carried IU in the early minutes for the second game in a row. He posted 18 points in the first half and connected on his first five three-pointers.\nComing off the bench, junior guards Errek Suhr and Roderick Wilmont followed the lead.\nIn his first minutes of the season, Wilmont had 17 points, eight rebounds and three three-pointers. Suhr proved again to be a valuable spark, breaking his points career high for the second straight game with 13 points and three 3-pointers.\n"(Other teams will) see we made 16 threes," IU coach Mike Davis said. "When they see that, they'll probably think 'boy, we're going to have to zone Indiana now cause they have inside and outside.'"\nGillespie said this IU team is as good as any he's seen in his four-year career, in which he has gone up against \nFlorida, Illinois, Michigan State and Cincinnati.\nHe said if the Hoosiers can keep up their impressive shooting, they could win the Big Ten championship.
Ratliff dresses, doesn't play\nSophomore guard A.J. Ratliff dressed for the first time this season Saturday, participating in warm-ups but not playing for the Hoosiers. Ratliff broke his right hand in the preseason and has been shooting at practice for several weeks with the aid of a protective cast. Last week, Davis said he expected to have Ratliff back in time for the Duke game.
Student Athletic Board calls for 'White Out'\nIn an effort to rally support for Wednesday's game against Duke, the Student Athletic Board will hold a pep rally before the game and sponsor a collection of white shirts. The board is calling for all students to wear white to create a "white out" effect for the national ESPN audience.\n"Loyal fan support is a big reason why Indiana basketball is so special," Davis said in a statement. "We appreciate the way that fans have backed this program. Our team has been working hard during the preseason, and we know that we can count on our great fans to be there for us all season."\nThe T-shirts will cost $2 and will be available at the pep rally. IU football return man and music producer Lance Bennett will emcee the event that will also feature a Dick Vitale sound-alike contest.
