IU heads to San Juan for matchup with Ole Miss

Having only played two regular season games, even IU coach Tom Crean knows his team is not ready for Thursday’s matchup against Ole Miss.

“Man on man, there’s no way we’re as physical or strong or what Ole Miss is,” Crean said. “We could probably say that about all the other teams.”

The Rebels (2-0) will be IU’s first major conference opponent this season, after two wins against Howard, 83-60, and USC-Upstate, 69-61.

“We still have to learn how to compete on a consistent level,” Crean said.

IU won’t be able to rely on its home crowd, which has averaged more than 16,300 fans so far this season.

The screaming fans of Assembly Hall aside, the team will have to take on an SEC team that finished 16-15 last year. This year, Ole Miss has received votes for the Associated Press top-25 poll for the past two weeks.

Two of the Rebels, guards Terrico White and Chris Warren, were named preseason All-Southeastern Conference first and second team selections, respectively. White was last year’s SEC Freshman of the Year and averaged 13.7 points per game. Before his season-ending knee injury, Warren averaged 19.6 points and 34.4 minutes in 11 games.

Another problem for the young IU squad is the lack of downtime in between games. Since its second preseason game on Nov. 9, IU has played three games in seven days. And now the Hoosiers are in San Juan, they will have to play games today and Friday – and, if they win, Saturday, as well.

Sophomore guard Matt Roth said the weekend will teach the Hoosiers how to cope with little rest.

“It’s a great learning point for us, and we’re taking the most out of it,” he said.

With a possible three games coming, the team can take the tournament as an opportunity to work on its weaknesses.  

IU is currently eighth in the Big Ten in scoring, last in free throw percentages and first in turnovers.

But the trip can also be a chance to keep doing some things well. The Hoosiers are fourth in field goal percentage, first in 3-point percentage and third in steals.   

Freshman guard Maurice Creek, tied with freshman forward Christian Watford as the team’s leading scorers with 15.5 points a game, said IU needs to be more enthusiastic out on the court.  

“We got to be better as a team,” Creek said.

Last year IU competed in the Maui Invitational, losing in blowouts to St. Joseph’s and Notre Dame and barely beating Chaminade, one of its six wins of the season. After coming back from Hawaii, the Hoosiers lost 13 of their next 15.

After Puerto Rico, the Hoosiers play Northwestern State, whom they beat last year 83-65.

But that game will be a breather compared to the string of top-tier teams that follow: Maryland, Pittsburgh and Kentucky.