Re-assembling at 'The Hall'

Round 1 went to Illinois coach Bruce Weber and the Fighting Illini.\nOn Jan. 23, the IU men's basketball team suffered a 51-43 road loss to the Illini, which snapped a five-game winning streak. The Hoosiers shot just 29.4 percent from the 3-point line in the loss and failed to reach the free-throw line in the second half of play.\nRound 2, the Hoosiers say, won't be so easy for Illinois.\nThe Hoosiers will get another shot with the Illini at 1 p.m. Saturday in Assembly Hall.\nIU coach Kelvin Sampson said he hopes his team will come out differently Saturday than it did in the first matchup in Champaign, Ill.\n"I think we do have to attack (the Illini) differently, we just have to attack them," Sampson said Wednesday during a press conference. "Last game, if you look at that tape, we just didn't attack. We walked the ball up the court, and that was an emphasis in practice after that."\nJunior forward D.J. White also said he felt the Hoosiers came out flat the first time around against the Illini.\n"Our offense was terrible. We didn't move at all on offense," he said. "On defense we gave up easy possessions. (We need to get) back to playing defense and rebounding ... just get back to playing our style of ball."\nThe Hoosiers enjoyed a rare break this week and did not play a weekday game. Sampson said he and his squad took advantage of the days off and \nexpect the extra preparation to pay off Saturday.\n"This is really the last break we have until the season ends. It's been a good week," Sampson said. "We had a great practice (Tuesday). For the first time all year, we were able to extensively watch tape. We did that on Monday. And we just talked about situations."\nOne of those situations was the constant double teams White has experienced in recent games. Last Saturday against Iowa, White scored just six points and struggled fighting through the Hawkeyes' defense. But the IU big man said he's ready for more of the same from the Illini and he's prepared to fix his previous mistakes.\n"I let something that I've been used to, that I handled well for the season, affect me and affect my play," he said of the double teams. "That's something I have to correct. I know (the Illini have) seen the tape of the Iowa game, and they're gonna do the same thing."\nWhite scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds last time out against Illinois, but the Illini's front court has upgraded since then. Junior forward Brian Randle is back in the lineup from an injury and will likely help double-team White.\nRegardless of the double teams, White said Saturday's game means much more than just his individual performance.\n"(It) carries a lot of fire," he said. "This game means a lot more than just me getting to where I was playing before. It means a lot in the Big Ten standings. We gotta get back on pace and get on another winning streak."\nSince the previous matchup, the Hoosiers have gone 2-1 and are third in the Big Ten, while the Illini have tallied a 3-1 record and are fifth in \nconference. \nThis time around, the Hoosiers and Illini will battle in Assembly Hall yet again, but 17,000 strong will be cheering for IU.\nSenior guard Errek Suhr also said he's excited to see what Hoosier Nation will bring on Saturday.\n"Yeah, our fans are great," Suhr said. "It seems like any game, we come out (and) they're behind us 100 percent, so I don't expect anything less. They're gonna come out, especially being a big Big Ten game. And we need a win"