Hoosiers traveling to Evansville to face Purple Aces, high scoring guard Ryan

It’s been 664 days since the IU men’s basketball team won a game outside of Assembly Hall.

That game was a 67-61 win at Penn State on Jan. 21, 2010, in which former IU guard Devan Dumes led the way for the Hoosiers with 15 points.
Yes, it’s been that long.

IU (2-0) will look to break that streak when it travels to southwest Indiana to take on Evansville (1-0) today at 8 p.m.

“Winning on the road certainly is a step that this group of guys knows it needs if it hopes to reach our goals,” IU Coach Tom Crean said.

The in-state showdown will be at Evansville’s brand new stadium, the Ford Center, which has 11,000 seats. However, Crean said he expects to see plenty of the IU faithful filling those seats.

“We are really looking forward to get a chance to play in the new Ford Center,” Crean said. “It’s going to be a great environment for us to play in. We will face a sellout crowd, and they are coming off a big win. The IU fans in that area have always been very supportive, and it would not surprise me to see a lot of fans from Washington there, either.”

Washington, Ind., native Cody Zeller already made national headlines this week, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors for his 11.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per game in IU’s wins over Stony Brook and Chattanooga.

Like IU, Evansville also started its season off with a weekend win. The Purple Aces erased a 13-point second-half deficit and took down last year’s national championship runner-up Butler in an 80-77 overtime win.

“By coming back from a double-digit lead on Saturday, they showed that they are a resilient group,” Crean said.

The Hoosiers had their backs against the ropes against Evansville last year, trailing 31-25 going into halftime. IU went on a 31-8 run to start the second half to lock up a 67-54 win, but that first half was not forgotten by junior guard Jordan Hulls.

“It was a very good game last year against Evansville, and we do have some familiarity with many of their players,” Hulls said. “Our defense really was timely and we will need to be at the top of our game for 40 minutes.”

One of the players the Hoosiers will look to stop is Evansville junior Colt Ryan, who earned Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week honors for his 23-point outburst in the team’s opening win against Butler.

Crean said while Ryan is dangerous, the Hoosiers can’t afford to focus their attention on just him.

“A lot of the players on both teams are very familiar with one another,” Crean said. “Colt Ryan really stepped up his game last year, but they have a number of guys who can hurt you. They are an experienced and veteran team that will take advantage of any opportunity you give them.”

The Hoosiers have multiple opportunities today.

They can take down an in-state rival. They can get off to a 3-0 start for the second straight season. They can also end a losing streak that has lasted for nearly two years. But senior guard Verdell Jones said they can’t afford to think about that.

“Our mindset is only on the present,” Jones said. “We aren’t looking at the past, and we can’t worry about the future. Every game, home or away, we believe we can go 1-0.”