Column: IU should enjoy early-season success

In some sense, five November wins for this IU basketball team shouldn't be much of a surprise.

Anything less would be, well, a disappointment.

But in the perspective of where this program came from - and where it's headed - a 5-0 record shows progress.

On Monday, IU overcame a poor shooting outing to beat North Carolina Central, 72-56. In recent years, if IU struggled against a team in an aspect such as shooting (slightly important), it might very well spell doom for the team -- think losses to Northeastern, Lipscomb and Loyola.

Parts of Monday's box score weren't pretty: IU shot 41 percent from the field and 27 percent from the 3-point line. Subtract sophomore guard Jordan Hulls from the equation, and the rest of the team finishes 2-for-14 from the 3-point line and 19-for-52 from the field.

But the Hoosiers found a way to win via defense, limited turnovers, and trips to the free throw line.  

"Finding a way to win" is a phrase IU hasn't used much recently, but to put it succinctly: the 2010-11 IU team is not a bad basketball team. And that's a change from the recent past.

Two seasons ago, it took until Feb. 4 for IU to get its sixth (and what ended up to be its final) win of the season. Last year, IU defeated the same North Carolina Central team for its fifth win of the season, only the game came six days before Christmas.

This year, IU ought to have six wins by Friday.

And the 5-0 start is the first for the Hoosiers since the 2002-03 season.

"We're getting better," IU coach Tom Crean said. "We're absolutely getting better. They're improving. If we can continue to improve while we're winning, that's going to really carry us down the road."

So what's different about this team?

The Hoosiers are beginning to define themselves, especially on the defensive side. Ferris State scored more points (65) against IU in that overtime exhibition game than any Hoosier opponent has scored in the regular season. IU is allowing 53.6 points per game, good for top 10 in the nation.

The team looks like it's one with some experience. Players know their roles whether it is Jeremiah Rivers serving up intangibles or Hulls hitting timely threes or Derek Elston providing an energy spark. You begin to see the makings of what can become a cohesive unit.

Finally, there's some depth. The bench provided 30 points on Monday and secondary players have been elevated into higher roles with a handful of early season injuries. That experience can only be a good thing come Big Ten season.

Now, the quality of opponents hasn't been great. According to stats guru Jeff Sagarin, Wright State is the best opponent IU has faced. He ranks them 126th out of 345 NCAA Division I schools. North Carolina Central? The Eagles were 315th entering Monday's contest.

But this level of opponent serves a purpose for the players.

"You want to get them in situations where they have to play not necessarily back-to-back, but you get a lot of games in a short period of time and we're going to have that coming up," Crean said.

Sure, a bunch of early season wins may give IU a somewhat inflated record entering the very difficult Big Ten season. The Hoosiers will have plenty of opportunities then to get experience against top competition. Right now, it's just about improving.

And it's not like the team is going to get a blown-out-of-proportion view of its own early-season success.

"Right now we love it," Elston said. "But tomorrow, we go again."