Schneider's length tells story of IU's 69-61 win

USC Upstate center Nick Schneiders drove toward the basket during warm-ups and extended his arm. It had to reach nearly three feet above the rim.

It wasn’t because Schneiders was extremely athletic – with a slender body and somewhat slow feet, that wasn’t the case.

His height might have had something to do with it. The 7-foot-3 center extended that hand many more times during IU’s 69-61 win against USC Upstate. He blocked, changed or challenged nearly every IU shot that came near him. But foul trouble put him on the bench – and IU excelled when he sat.

“People aren’t used to playing at seven feet, usually,” Schneiders said. “If I jump or get my arms up people will adjust their shots.

His length could be used to tell the story of IU’s contest against USC Upstate.

The contest began with junior guard Jeremiah Rivers trying to dish to sophomore guard Verdell Jones for a quick layup to begin the game. Schneiders jumped, reached out and put the shot on the backboard with authority.

When he wasn’t blocking shots, he was altering them. Freshman forward Christian Watford had successfully gone to the basket against opponents, but the 6-foot-9 swing man had to revise his drives to get past Schneiders long arms.

“There was a lack of physicality tonight,” IU coach Tom Crean said. “We weren’t physical enough.”

Senior center Tijan Jobe, a towering figure in any other circumstance, stood 3 inches shorter as he guarded Schneiders in the first half. He placed Jobe on his back and placed the ball well out of anyone’s reach, before he shot a sky hook in the middle of the lane for two of his six points Monday.

He was in and out of the game with foul trouble, but had an affect whenever he touched the floor. Schneiders had five rebounds and four blocks, but also clogged the lane against an IU team that likes to drive.

“It changed that we were able to get better looks at the rim,” Crean said of when Schneiders was out. “And we were able to get in the alley more.”

Crean screamed “drive it, swing it” to his team from the bench as they had only 26 points with two-and-a-half minutes left in the first half. Schneiders stood right in the middle of the defense, waiting.

As IU became less passive in the second half, Schneiders began to have trouble and IU started to pull away.

Schneiders picked up a fourth foul less than three minutes into the second half. He sat on the bench once again, and IU drove to the basket and scored easily without the big man’s presence weighing on their minds.

Watford put down a dunk, sophomore forward Tim Pritchard put in a layup and IU began its drive and kick game to set freshman guard Maurice Creek up for a 3-pointer.

When Schneiders came back in, it was too late. The game had already changed too much, and his size affect was minimal as IU had a 19-point lead.

By the end, it was clear. IU had begun to dominate USC Upstate and there was no one but Schneiders standing under the rim to prove it.

Watford had adjusted his shot early in the game, but with six minutes left he looked to dunk over the big man. He missed the shot, but collected an easy put-back for two.

“I think I was trying to alter my shot too much instead of just going out and being aggressive and going straight through him,” Watford said. “I realize I just couldn’t change my game.”

And near the end of the game, Schneiders was reduced to a crowd-chanting joke. They asked, “How long are you?”

Soon after, he proved not long enough to block the shot of Creek. He scored a basket on the big man and got a free throw as well.

They cheered when he got his fifth foul and sat down. He clapped, too.