Almost a deja vu December for Hoosiers

Non-conference games in leagues like the Big Ten can serve as a measuring stick or wake-up call in the form of an unexpected loss.

IU saw this happen twice last year at the hands of Northeastern and Lipscomb, with both losses coming at Assembly Hall in December.

The first half of the Hoosiers’ performance against North Carolina Central on Saturday night hinted more December woes could be on the horizon if they didn’t adjust their style and energy of play in the final twenty minutes of the game.

After his team’s 81-58 win over the Eagles, IU coach Tom Crean summarized how essential it is to play with a high level of intensity from tipoff to the game’s end.

“You’re only as good as your energy and ability to cover one another on the defensive end,” Crean said.

IU entered the locker room with only a 36-33 lead over North Carolina Central, whose early ability to penetrate the Hoosiers’ man-to-man defense helped the Eagles’ C.J. Wilkerson score 12 of his 22 points in the first half, making the margin a little too close for comfort.

IU, which has lived beyond the 3-point arc at times this season, found only five open looks from deep in the first half and capitalized on just one.

North Carolina Central coach Levelle Moton felt his team played well early in the matchup.

“I thought in the first half we dictated how we wanted to play,” Moton said. “But when they hit some shots, I thought the 17,000 people started dictating how we were going to play; it really got to us.”

A game of this nature could not have come at a better time for the Hoosiers.
With expectations even higher than last year for the Big Ten, IU had to see its weaknesses in the mirror prior to the physically grueling conference season.

That is, if it hopes to see drastic change from last year’s single-win campaign.

Although it took 20 second-half points from Maurice Creek and the inspiring, hard-nosed play of Jordan Hulls in the final minutes, the Hoosiers could not have asked for this wake-up call at a better time.

With the conference opener against Michigan just 12 days away, IU needed a reminder they wouldn’t be going up against the likes of Howard and Northwestern State much longer.

What makes the timing of this game even better for the Hoosiers is they still have two non-conference games and almost two weeks of practice to work before their date with the Wolverines on December 31.

The talent, the energy and the desire is there. Now it’s consistency; now it’s using these two weeks and two remaining games to fine-tune it.

As Crean has stressed since April 2008 when he assumed the coaching position at IU, there are always positives that come with the bad.

From IU’s standpoint, their ability to adjust to the Eagles’ high-tempo, half-court offense helped the Hoosiers surrender only 25 second-half points.

Offensively, good ball movement helped them find the looks it often had against Maryland and, at times, against Kentucky. IU found 13 more looks from 3-point land and hit six of them in the second period.

“We just started moving the ball and finding those open looks,” Hulls said after the game.

While it is tempting for IU to look at their performance Saturday night as it relates to the Big Ten season and the opener on New Year’s Eve, the Hoosiers will need to focus every bit of their concentration toward Loyola and Bryant.

If not, the December woes could suddenly creep back into Assembly Hall.