Jekyll & Hyde Hoosiers

At times, the Hoosier offense has looked flat-out impressive.\nThey averaged 100 points in their first three games. They drained 16 threes -- twice. And they recorded more than 20 assists in all four of the team's wins this season.\n"It's making the open passes," said IU coach Mike Davis. "Our assist numbers were way up when we were throwing the ball out and making the extra passes."\nThere is no shortage of weapons in the IU offense. Senior Marco Killingsworth stormed onto the national scene with a 34-point performance against No. 1 Duke. Senior Marshall Strickland shoots better than 50 percent from three. And freshman Ben Allen has recently increased his production, dropping 21 on Indiana State behind five-of-six three-point shooting.\nThe question remains, can it continue?\nThere's no single answer to solving the Hoosiers consistency problem. Amidst a string of four games in 10 days, Davis said a lack of intensity can be cited as the primary culprit for Tuesday's loss to Indiana State.\n"We didn't play with a lot of intensity," he said. "We played like we thought we could win the game at any time."\nWithin the steady stream of opponents has come a multitude of different defensive schemes to overcome. In IU's first couple games, the opposition focused its attention on Killingsworth -- opening up the three-point shot which IU took advantage of. Then Duke came into Assembly Hall and focused entirely on limiting the Hoosiers' open looks from outside. And though Killingsworth had a career night, the 2-10 three-point production left IU just short of an upset. \nSince then, Eastern Michigan and Indiana State have presented the Hoosiers with more zone defense, collapsing on Killingsworth every time he touched the ball. The result -- 24 total points and nine turnovers between the two games. \nBut regardless of what the defense is doing, Davis said most of the turnover blame falls squarely on what IU is doing, not the other team.\n"We have talked about turnovers from day one -- about how they are unforced," he said. "It is hard to overcome that, and still we were in a position to win the (ISU) game despite the turnovers. We just can't play that way. We have addressed it in practice and in meetings. We just have to take care of the basketball."\nHeading into a match up against Kentucky that has been one-sided in recent years, offensive efficiency should prove as crucial as ever. But, again, there's no magic answer. In fact, the way Davis sees it, the solution may be far simpler than one might think.\n"We just have to play basketball," he said. "There is no panic setting in. We just have to play basketball. There isn't any panic if there is no panic within us, and we're not panicking"