Even though we don't have the NBA at the moment, and a possibility of not having a season at all for the whole year, we still have at least something to look forward to: college basketball....and March Madness!#BasketballNeverStops my friends, so if you're down on the NBA Lockout, your depression pill is finally here and it came out last night: college basketball.
The Indiana Hoosiers opened up the 2011 season against the Stony Brook Sea Wolves, topping them in a 96-66 victory.
The much anticipated Cody Zeller played well with 16 points and ten rebounds. Sophomore guard Victor Oladipo played solid with 16 points, a career-high for him. Will Sheehey, who wasn't feeling well, was able to play great too, adding 13 points. Derek Elston helped produce eleven points from the bench.
Christian Watford, arguably Indiana's best player on the roster who averaged 17 points and six boards last year, wasn't able to do much today. He played 25 minutes with seven points and two rebounds. However, Watford is probably still a little shaken from his broken hand injury back in February, which required surgery. I'm glad that he is back and I'm looking forward to more of him soon.
But even without a strong showing from Watford, IU was able to play well for their season-openers, as their other top scorers were able to show up strong.
"The fact that we got up and played defense the way we need to and got into their main scorers helped us gain confidence," Indiana head coach Tom Crean said. "That was really, really important, whether it was perimeter, whether it was post, whether it was drives, whether it was transition. We scored the ball from a lot of different places."
Indiana is keeping the streak going, as this victory gave them their 27th straight win as a home-opener. It was also their biggest defeat since beating Nicholls State by 34 points back in 2005.
The Hoosiers were on point on all sides of the ball. They were truly amazing from the three-point line, which helped get the victory. Indiana was barely leading with four minutes to go in the first half, clinging on to a 29-25 lead. But they finished off with a 16-3 run heading into halftime. Into the second half, Stony Brook was trying to come back, as they were down 53-39. IU made sure nothing else happened, as they went on another run to maintain a 20-point lead. They kept around there for the rest of the game, and finishing with the 30-point victory.
"Our team, really, the key for them moving forward is that they continue to put not one or two or three possessions together that are good and a couple that are bad, but to continue to have as many solid, all five guys doing the right things, types of possessions as possible," Crean said about the 16-3 run to end the first half. "I think, when you have that, you have a chance to break a game open. That's what happened with us late in the first half."
Verdell Jones III added seven assists to the game while Austin Etherington had eight points, including two big three-pointers.
Zeller looks like he is going to be a good product for IU as he became the first true freshman to record a double-double game in their debut since Tom Pritchard did it in 2008 and Watford in 2009.
The Hoosiers have Chattanooga next on Sunday for the Hoosier Invitational.
Great start for IU Basketball! Looking forward to more wins and a great season!
