Game 6: Indiana vs. Ball State

Hoosiers Post a 48-Point Victory, Thoroughly Kicking the Cardinals in the Balls   (Pun!)

By Ryan Bramwell

      Ball State   19  34   53    (2-2)
#1  Indiana       50  51   101  (6-0)

Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana


Individual Performances:

• Will Sheehey: The master of the mid-range jumper.  8-for-9 overall on the night for 19 points which led all Hoosiers.  Will the Thrill added 6 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal as well.  *Coach Crean took Sheehey out of the game for a moment after Big Willy Style attempted some And-One-ish crossover moves that resulted in a turnover.
• Jordan Hulls: Familiar story here; 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting including 3-for-6 from three-point land.  Jordy added 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal as well.
• Cody Zeller: 15 points (5-for-7 FG/5-for-7 FT), 8 rebounds (3 OREB), 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.  Good, solid performance in only 20 minutes of action.
• Christian Watford: C-Wat put up another double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.  Good to see Christian stepping it up on the boards this season.  He's now averaging 13.2 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.  He also notched 3 assists in the contest against Ball State.
• Victor Oladipo:  Vic put up one of his typical efforts where he did a little bit of everything; 13 points, 3 steals, 2 offensive rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block.  We will see him listed on the Big Ten's All Defensive Team at year's end. Stats: 11.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 1.5 assists.

Team Effot:

• The Hoosiers had their most dominant performance to date in nearly every head-to-head category against their opponents in this one.
• Rebounding: Total Reb. - IU 41, BSU 23; Off. Reb - IU 9, BSU 9
• Steals/Blocks: Steals - IU 9, BSU 7; Blocks - IU 4, BSU 2
• Assists/Turnovers: Assists - IU 15, BSU 6; Turnovers - IU 11, BSU 17
• 3-Point Shooting: 3FG - IU 7-for-17, BSU 2-for-16; 3FG% - IU 41.2%, BSU 12.5%
• Field Goals: FG - IU 38-for-63, BSU 17-for-55; FG% - IU 60.3%, BSU 30.9%

Thoughts:

• Well, it didn't look super promising at the start as Indiana was tied with Ball State after nearly five minutes of game time with a score of 4-to-4. 
• Something happened after that TV timeout as the Hoosiers outscored the Cardinals 46-to-15 from that point until the first half came to end.  It seemed as though the boys didn't miss a shot the rest of the evening.  Seriously, it is difficult to recall any missed shots.
• It was nice to see these guys get some big minutes: Hollowell-16, Creek-14, Etherington-13, Howard-4.
• That was fun.  My alma mater sure took a beating...and I enjoyed the heck out of it.
• Next up: North Carolina comes to town for the Big Ten-ACC Challenge!!