Friday, December 21, 2001
Hoosiers seek improved effort against Kentucky
Saturday's duel at Indianapolis should be intense
The Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — Mike Davis remembers his last meeting with Kentucky all too vividly. The Hoosiers played lackluster basketball and paid the price, losing 88-74. Then Davis publicly critiqued his team in the postgame news conference and even suggested he wasn't the right person to lead the Hoosiers.
A year later, Davis is still discussing that game with his team.
“We met today and kind of talked about how we came out and played hard the first half and stood around the second half,” Davis said Thursday. “We talked about the effort.”
Particularly the kind of effort it will take for the Hoosiers to change course and compete with No.7 Kentucky on Saturday at the RCA Dome.
Yet Davis has not been entirely satisfied with the way his Hoosiers (6-3) have played this year.
They've bounced in and out of the Top 25, losing to three unranked teams, most recently Miami (Fla.) on Saturday.
They've traveled from one end of the country, Miami, to the other, Alaska, while playing just two home games. Saturday's game will be in Indianapolis, the first of three straight games about an hour north of the Bloomington campus.
All of the travel, Davis admitted, has taken a toll.
But after losing six of the last seven games in the Kentucky series, the Hoosiers want to make amends.
“I remember how hard they played and how they almost played us off the court,” Indiana forward Jared Jeffries said. “We've been working so hard on all the little things, and we feel like if we do those things well, we won't be embarrassed like we were last year.”
This is not the same Kentucky team, although Davis sees many familiar traits — Tubby Smith's aggressive defense, the bucket-
loads of talent and all the problems they can create.
If there were any questions about how good the Wildcats (6-2) are, all Davis had to do was watch Kentucky's game against Duke on Tuesday. Kentucky dominated the rebounding and nearly upset the nation's top-ranked team before losing 95-92 in overtime.
“There's no question they get into you; they're very good on defense,” Davis said. “They are a good basketball team.”
Davis is wary of saying the same thing about his team, whose inconsistent play this season has not been entirely because of fatigue.
All three of the Hoosiers' losses have been the result of games in which they shot poorly, including an effort Saturday that left Davis scratching his head.
“We missed 18 layups and 13 free throws, and that's all you need to say,” Davis said. “It's a matter of concentration.”
Indiana knows it cannot afford another lapse, especially against a Kentucky team that seems to be getting deeper by the day.
Against Duke, the Wildcats got scoring help from some unexpected sources. Rashaad Carruth, who scored 12 points in his first three college games, had 19 against the Blue Devils. Jules Camara and Cliff Hawkins also were more productive — as Smith expected.
“There's always going to be opportunities for guys to step up,” Smith said. “You never know when your number is going to be called. We have some kids who are very productive. That's what I learned from this (Duke) game.”
Carruth, a freshman, didn't need long to figure out what the Indiana matchup will be like — intense.
“You always have to step up for a big game, no matter who it is,” he said. “You're supposed to be pumped up. Just like the game we play against Indiana.”
Indiana's young team didn't completely understand the message last year, but Davis is doing everything he can to make sure it isn't missed this time.
“It's a big rivalry game,” Davis said. “Any time you have two schools with great traditions and you have 38,000 people with 19,000 on each side, it's a little different. But I want to win.”
NOTES:
Kentucky's rebounding prowess leads the nation. The Wildcats entered the week as the nation's No.1 team in rebounding margin, averaging 13.1 more boards than opponents. After outrebounding Duke by 17 (51-34), UK improved its rebounding margin to 13.6 rpg.
In other NCAA statistics, the Wildcats entered the week ranked seventh in scoring and eighth in scoring margin (22.1 ppg) while junior Marquis Estill ranked 10th in field goal percentage (64.8). UK's 118 points against Kentucky State were the fourth-most points scored in a game this season. NCAA Division I statistics are updated each Tuesday throughout the season.
In the Southeastern Conference rankings, which include this week's updated statistics, UK's Tayshaun Prince is third in scoring (18.5) and Cliff Hawkins ranks 10th in assists (3.75). The Wildcats are first in scoring (88.2), rebounding (46.5), rebounding margin (13.6) and offensive rebounds (19.0).
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Hoosiers seek improved effort against Kentucky
