LAHAINA, HAWAII - With less than 24 hours to prepare for their next opponent, the Hoosiers plan to focus on themselves as much as Saint Joseph's.
After losing by 38 points to No. 8 Notre Dame in the first round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational, the best the Hoosiers can finish in the preseason tournament is fifth. But they'll have to win their next two games to do that.
"We'll let them get something to eat, let them get showered, relax a little bit and then pick the things we need to focus on inside of this game and turn around and put it all into what we want to do with Saint Joseph's," IU coach Tom Crean said in his post-game press conference.
Prior to the IU game, Saint Joseph's (1-2) lost to No. 7 Texas, 68-50. Crean said that he didn't watch the game, but plans to watch the film as soon as he gets back to his hotel.
"There is no question we need to see ourselves not being physical enough, we need to see ourselves being out of position and spend as much time on us as we do them," he said.
Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli is in his 14th year with the Hawks. His program has reached the Atlantic 10 Championship game three of the last four years and produced several NBA players, including Orlando Magic guard Jameer Nelson and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Delonte West.
Saint Joseph's best player is Ahmad Nivins, a 6-foot-9 senior forward who is averaging 18.3 points and 13 rebounds per game. They started a three-guard line-up against Texas, but matched the much larger team on the boards, grabbing 38 rebounds to the Longhorns' 39.
The Hawks struggled from the field Monday, shooting 29.3 percent from the field and 19 percent (4-21) from three-point range.
"We had too many turnovers from our older guys and the primary ball handlers and we have to do a better job as we go forward," Martelli said after the game. "We weren't good enough and that's all right for today."
Before losing to Texas, the Hawks beat Rider in their season-opener, 69-57, and lost to Holy Cross on Nov. 16, 73-69.
