IU basketball drops SIUE 88-54

The way things started Friday, Derek Elston and Christian Watford could have beaten Southern Illinois University Edwardsville by themselves.

The sophomore forwards combined for 26 first-half points while the Cougars (2-10) were held without a field goal for the first 13 minutes and just 20 points in the first half in a 88-54 IU (8-2) victory in Assembly Hall.

Elston, who started his second consecutive game, led the early romp with seven of the Hoosiers’ first 11 points, and IU’s lead grew as large as 24-0 before a pair of SIUE free throws broke the shutout.

“If you coach in enough games, you see everything,” Crean said of the quick start. “But I think it’s a tribute to the way our guys came out to play. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.”

Crean added he wasn’t worried about his team loosening its grip on the game. Those types of moments are instrumental in building a winning mindset, he said.

“Certainly the human element is always going to kick into it,” Crean said. “We’re not used to playing with a score like that. But if you want them to be as good as they can possibly be, they have to learn how to continue to push it in a game when the score gets like that.”

It wasn’t until the seven-minute mark, with the score 35-4, that the Cougars converted a field goal attempt. IU held SIUE to 27 percent shooting in the first half and 33 percent for the game. The Hoosiers, meanwhile, shot a season-best 61.5 percent from the field.

With the game in hand early – and a game right around the corner Sunday - IU’s rotation became increasingly democratic.

Ten players had at least 10 minutes of playing time, while five players finished with at least eight points. Only four Hoosiers played 20 minutes or more, led by sophomore Maurice Creek’s 23 minutes.

The rout allowed Crean to experiment with his lineup, including playing Watford at the point.

“You have to be prepared for all types of different contingencies in a game, and tonight was one of those games where we could experiment a little bit,” Crean said. “It’s not something that just kind of like pops in your head, those are things that I’ve thought about, that we’ve put in our notes to look at whether in practice or in games. And it just so happened we could try it tonight.”

Creek scored eight points and added a team-high six rebounds in his time. Watford, who finished with 18 points to lead all scorers, and Elston were reeled in during the second half, playing just 19 minutes each.

Although the Hoosiers committed 17 turnovers, they forced the Cougars into 18 and outrebounded the visitors 34-23.  After a loss at Kentucky in which IU was outscored in second-chance points 21-4, the Hoosiers responded by allowing just two of such points Friday.

IU will play its final game before a two-game stint in Las Vegas on Sunday against South Carolina State.