Fly-Swatting

Well, the Hoosiers didn't quite knock the Yellow Jackets to pieces as I thought they would last night. While that was a bit discouraging, the fact that IU managed to overcome deficits no less than four times in this one to ultimately take their four-point victory was very nice to see. Instead of folding up under pressure like they did on Saturday against Xavier, the Hoosiers found their stride and, with a little help from the Assembly Hall crowd, managed to overwhelm Georgia Tech in the second half.

One total bright spot for the Hoosiers was the absolutely inspired play of Lance Stemler. Ever since getting kicked in the head during a Fall '06 practice by Xavier Keeling, then spraining his ankle later in the season, Stemler had not been the same person he was early in the '06-'07 season. He did pick up the pace a little bit when IU played UCLA in the NCAA Tournament, but this season started off rather slow. Tuesdaynight, however, everything seemed to change. Playing with the same intensity that he began exhibiting during IU's game with UNC-Wilmington a week prior, Stemler did things like drive the lane for floating layups, tip offensive rebounds for two points and, most importantly of all, knock down a few threes. The fans had been waiting for this from Stemler, and when it happened, the crowd just exploded.

On the other side of things, Eric Gordon still looks a little shaken up after the game against Xavier. I think the problem in this situation was that someone told him he needs to dish the ball a little more and stop trying to make things happen on his own. Now, Eric had the right idea going when he made pretty much all of his passes and he showed that he can certainly dish the assist every now and then, but almost all of his passes sailed over everyone or was deflected out of bounds. When Gordon made his drives to the basket and finished them off, he was unstoppable. He should really keep up with that and only pass out of the drive when he knows the guy on the other end is open and he can make the pass actually happen.

One other note is that Jordan Crawford got suspended for three games for "violating team rules". My guess is that he screwed up somewhere on the Chicago trip last weekend and Kelvin Sampson was less than pleased. Of course, three games may seem a little steep given that we do not know the offense, but it does bring Jordan back off the bench just in time for one of the more interesting story lines of the early season: Jordan vs. Joe on December 8. I think Coach Sampson decided that three games would be perfect because it would still allow Jordan to come off the bench to face his brother, who plays for Kentucky. Unfortunately, the lack of Crawford's presence off the bench and the fact that Brandon McGee is sick forced IU to play a zone defense to avoid foul trouble -- a move that nearly killed the Hoosiers' chances on Tuesday.

Next game is going to be a real doozy when the Hoosiers go to Carbondale, IL to take on a ridiculously good Southern Illinois team. This is the one I picked the Hoosiers to lose in the non-conference when I looked over the schedule, but I was not expecting the loss to Xavier. Maybe the Hoosiers have learned from the Xavier and Georgia Tech games and can pull off the big win on Saturday.