Déja Blue

Assembly Hall cleared from another loss to another top-ranked team. In the somber student section, a red-caped gorilla comforted his banana friend whose stem had long since wilted to the left. \nThe image perfectly conveyed the juxtaposition of pregame hype and postgame remorse that surrounded Saturday's 88-80 loss to No. 1 Connecticut. \nNo. 22 IU (13-6, 5-3) set a season high with 77 shots, and a season low with seven turnovers. And had it not been for the middle 13 minutes of the game, the Hoosiers would have won 68-47. Unfortunately, they did play those minutes, and Connecticut outscored IU 41-12 in that span.\n"That is a great basketball team we played today -- the best I've seen," IU coach Mike Davis said. "I am glad that game is over. I watched film on them this week and you get scared to death of those guys because of their talent level."\nNo player better embodied that talent than the Huskies' Rudy Gay. The 6-foot-9 sophomore played to his potential with 19 points and 12 rebounds -- both game highs.\nFor the Hoosiers, Killingsworth had his worst shooting day of the season at 31 percent, and foul trouble limited his availability. He salvaged a 15-point effort by shooting 7-8 from the free throw line.\n"I keep saying this over and over, Marco is definitely the presence we need," Davis said. "When he goes out of the game, it definitely affects our play."\nIU controlled the first 13 minutes against Connecticut (19-1, 7-1) as Killingsworth attacked the basket, and guards Rod Wilmont and Marshall Strickland poured in threes. \nBut with IU leading by nine, Killingsworth collected his second foul at the 6:43 mark. Two minutes later the game was tied, and by halftime Connecticut led by five.\n"Early in the game, and I'm being very candid with you, I thought the game was going to get away from us," Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said. "(Killingsworth) gets two fouls and the game changes."\nDespite starting Killingsworth in the second half, the tempo didn't change. The Huskies scored 10 points in two minutes to start the half, and five minutes later the score was 63-43.\n"It seemed like they hit every shot in the beginning stretch of the second half," Wilmont said. "A few of them were pretty well-contested, but they just kept hitting them."\nThe recipe for a Hoosier comeback consisted of a little luck and whole lot of junior guard Earl Calloway. After a 3-pointer by sophomore Robert Vaden to come within 15, Calloway controlled the pace. On several consecutive possessions, the junior college transfer bolted through the Connecticut defense for easy baskets. \nCalloway's offensive charge, compounded with his ability to press on defense, brought IU back within seven points before the Huskies finally pulled away.\n"We showed character and we showed fight," Calloway said. "We got down, and we still continued to fight and lost by eight."\nAfter the game, Davis commended his players for playing through scrutiny. He said not many players could play through the criticism that surrounds the team right now, having lost three of its last four games. \nDavis concluded by saying the team is still in second place in the Big Ten, although it slipped into a tie for third by the end of the day. He added the Hoosiers still have plenty of talent and, more likely than not, other teams will lose to Connecticut.\n"It is really a shame that this team has to go through what it has to go through sometimes, and read or hear what they have to hear," he said. "No one should pat you on the back when you lose a basketball game, but no one should crucify you when you are right there in the hunt"