Hitting the boards key to victory

This one’s not quite so exciting, is it?

Really, the second game of every season is kind of a letdown: the crash after the euphoric high that accompanies the start of basketball season.

Think of this game as Sunday morning, coming down too early (Yes, I finally did it – I dropped a Johnny Cash reference. Championship.).

Tuesday’s 6:30 p.m. game against IU-Purdue University Indianapolis surely won’t garner the fan excitement IU’s season opener did Saturday. Too bad, because the Jaguars look far more dangerous than any opponent IU has faced this year.

And after Saturday’s rebounding display – if we shall call that rebounding – against Northwestern State, IUPUI presents a rather serious redux. What’s more, Tom Crean knows it.

“They’re a very good offensive rebounding team scoring a high percentage of their offensive rebounds,” Crean said Monday after practice.

What this means, boys and girls, is all those second and fourth chances Northwestern State wasn’t hitting Saturday might find the net more often tonight.

Seriously, the Demons had 27 offensive rebounds and 13 second-, or third-, or fourth-chance points Saturday. Subtract the approximately seven offensive rebounds they needed to score said 13 points, and they only needed to make half of the rest of their offensive putbacks – 10 – to beat the Hoosiers, who won by 18.

Making the task a bit taller, forgive the pun, the Jaguars have no players taller than 6-foot-8, but they have seven players 6-foot-6 or taller. They’ve outrebounded opponents 80-57 in two games this year, and more than a quarter of those – 21 – were offensive boards.

Crean said Saturday his team would have to become a great box-out team, and they’ll get a rather stiffer test tonight than the one they sort of passed Saturday.

IU’s first-year coach also admitted the Jaguars have “quick hands” and play passing lanes well, meaning the Hoosiers will have to cut down on the 25 turnovers they committed in their first game. The visitors also like to attack off the dribble, according to Crean, meaning IU’s pressure defense will be tested as well.

Throw in one other, not so quantifiable factor – IUPUI has always felt a bit like the redheaded stepchild of the IU system’s flagship campus, academically and athletically.

You might not believe me, but wait until you see the fire with which Ron Hunter’s team comes out of the locker room tonight. Beating the big boys from Bloomington would be a win upon which the Jaguars could hang a considerable hat in mid-November.

But it all comes down to rebounding, plain and simple. Clean up the defensive boards with authority, the Hoosiers win easy. Don’t give up on defense when the Jaguars do get some second chances, the Hoosiers win ugly.

Do neither of those things, the Jaguars win deservedly.

See you Wednesday.