Column: IU's Thanksgiving break proved to be very successful

With Tuesday’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge rapidly approaching, the IU men’s basketball team could not have asked for a more successful week to prepare for its tilt with North Carolina.

While most students were enjoying the week off of classes, IU took the Big Apple and the Progressive Legend’s Classic by storm.

Last Monday, the Hoosiers grinded out a hard-fought 66-53 victory against Georgia.

While IU certainly didn’t play its best game of the season against the Bulldogs — shooting only 5-16 from behind the arc — it was important for the Hoosiers to get the nerves that come with a big time tournament out of their systems.

And boy, did the Hoosiers come out loose and ready to go against Georgetown.

The pace of play during the first four minutes of the IU-Georgetown game was played in hyper speed. By the first television timeout at 15:23, Georgetown led 12-10, while four three-pointers were made.

To say it was an intense mid-November game would be an understatement.

Both nights seemed as if the brand new Barclays Center could have been renamed Assembly Hall East because boisterous Hoosier fans turned the neutral location into a home game for IU with crowd noise that matched any game played in Bloomington this season.

“Hoosier Nation is always out there supporting us with great crowds here both nights,” senior guard Jordan Hulls said after defeating Georgetown 82-72 in overtime. “It felt like a home game at times here because they were going so crazy. We have to try and give ourselves energy on the floor, but it helps a little bit when you have fans out there as well.”

On the court, both teams wanted that game as if it was life-or-death. It showed when the Hoyas battled back to tie the score with only seconds remaining in the game, effectively forcing overtime.

Behind freshman guard Kevin ‘Yogi’ Ferrell, the Hoosiers were able to put the Hoyas to bed by making 13-of-17 free throws as a team in the extra period.

In the process, the questions of how Ferrell and Hulls would play together were answered in a big way.

Hulls, who averaged 15.5 points and 3.5 3-pointers in the two games, was named MVP of the tournament and was clearly the Hoosiers’ biggest spark and leader
offensively.

Once Hulls started knocking down shots, the rest of the Hoosiers came to life.
If the games in Brooklyn proved anything for IU, it showed that Hulls is still the heart and soul of the Hoosiers and will not be bumped out of the rotation by Ferrell.

Back in Bloomington Sunday night, the Hoosiers used the momentum they gained in Brooklyn to maul the Ball State Cardinals in a 101-53 victory.

After the victory, junior forward Will Sheehey, who posted a game-high 19 points against the Cardinals, said having a week like the Hoosiers had will help prepare the team to have that tournament mindset.

“Playing two games in three days really helps get us that tournament feel, but also we just played in a tournament with back-to-back games so these past couple weeks will be pretty good for down the road,” Sheehey said.

Using this week as a measuring stick, Associate Head Coach Tim Buckley said the Hoosiers have had a lot of positives, but most importantly have showed grit, toughness and passion.

“I would say that when things didn’t go our way (in Brooklyn) we had a really good ability to get to the next play,” Buckley said. “I also felt like we were able to play a couple of different styles out there, whether it was pushing the pace or grinding it out at the half court. I think that’s always a sign of a pretty good team.”

So as IU prepares to host the No. 9 Tar Heels in what will be the craziest Assembly Hall atmosphere since last year’s Kentucky game, the Hoosiers have to be feeling good about how they spent their Thanksgiving break.

A tournament championship, the No. 1 ranking and a home victory against an in-state foe are all more blessings that IU basketball should be thankful for entering the biggest test of the young season.

­— mdnorman@indiana.edu