November success sets up for upcoming challenges

Maurice Creek is now the poster boy for the new era of IU men’s basketball.

The sophomore guard had an opportunity for a dunk and his first double-digit scoring output of the season late in Friday’s 100-66 victory against Northwestern State. But instead of rising up for the slam, he dished it to sophomore forward Christian Watford for the easy basket.

IU coach Tom Crean said that was the standard for how he wants his team to play for now and the future, but Creek said it was just his personality coming out.

“That’s just me being unselfish. I love these guys to death, man,” Creek said. “I’d do anything for these guys. ... He got a great dunk, and his family was right in front of him, so it was great to see.”

It has been that unselfish, team-oriented attitude that has paved the way to the Hoosiers’ best start since 2002, finishing up November with a clean 6-0 record. IU won six games total in 2008, and it took until Dec. 28 to reach that total last year.

The result is no coincidence. Crean said he put the schedule together with a quick positive start on his mind. Through the first six games, IU’s strength of schedule is the weakest in the Big Ten, ranked No. 316 in the nation according to Pomeroy.

But Crean said it wasn’t who the Hoosiers beat that was most important, but rather if they beat them.

“When you’ve sat inside of the program the way we have the last couple years, this group of young men needed to learn how to win,” Crean said. “And that’s exactly what we’re trying to make sure they’re getting right now, and that they also learn how to continue to improve on their winning. I’m really proud of the way they played over the period of the last 240 minutes of this month, and now we go into December.”

The statistics, while skewed by lesser opponents, tells the story of an improved, winning team. IU ranks first in the Big Ten in field goal percentage defense, first in rebounding defense and fourth in scoring defense. The defense has held its opponent to less than 40 percent shooting in five of the six games.

Offensively, 55 percent of the Hoosiers’ field goals this season have come from assists, and the Hoosiers rank second in the Big Ten in shooting percentage.

However, the Hoosiers also rank eighth in the conference in turnover margin and sixth in scoring offense. Crean said while he is happy with the stingy defense and selfless offense, the team is still a work in progress.

“There’s not one thing I would look at and say, ‘OK, we’ve really figured this out,’” Crean said. “But they’re on the way to that. I think that’s what is most important.”

A much tougher road awaits the Hoosiers in the second month of the season. IU hits the road for the first time to start the month when it plays at Boston College for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. After a brief stop at home, the Hoosiers travel to Kentucky on Dec. 11.

They then close out the month by opening the Big Ten season with a pair of home games against Penn State and Ohio State.

“We’re always up for a challenge. That’s the way our mindset is,” Creek said. “I’m always going to be down to fight with these guys and they’re going to be ready to fight with me.”

The Hoosiers have gone 5-8 with Crean in December, and the road, in particular, has been a house of horrors for the Hoosiers.

They have won just one true road game in the past two seasons, and Crean likened games away from home to shopping at the mall the day after Thanksgiving.

“You know it’s going to be a battle scene, you know it’s going to be wild,” he said. “You just want to come out in one piece when it’s all said and done.”