Taking Care of Business

The Indiana Hoosiers took care of North Carolina Central in routine fashion on Saturday, 81-58. The Hoosiers outscored NCC 45-25 in the second half after a sluggish opening 20 minutes. IU hadn't played in a week because of finals and it showed as they slogged through the first half against a bad team. I don't think anyone really feared IU would lose this one because North Carolina Central is really awful but it wasn't a sharp half. The second half saw some changes and Indiana could have set the score in the final stanza.

Mo Creek Leads the Way
Before the season began, I predicted Maurice Creek would lead this team in scoring. It looks like I will be right. I don't think anyone, including myself, would have predicted the numbers Creek is putting up. He scored 29 points on 12-17 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds in 27 minutes of playing time. Creek is now averaging 18.5 points a game. Tom Crean continues to insist that Creek is "just scratching the surface of his potential." A very minor concern for me, will the NBA come calling if he keeps this up?

Hulls Earns His Minutes
Jordan Hulls has shown flashes of what he can bring to the floor. On Saturday night, those flashes turned into a four and a half minute stretch that keyed the second half route. Hulls started the second half and had five points, a couple of rebounds and two nice assists before the first media timeout. Indiana pushed their lead and never looked back. The former Mr. Basketball ended up with 5 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists. He also only turned the ball over one time in 22 minutes. I fully expect this type of performance in several games this season.

Next Up
The Hoosiers take on Loyola (MD) on Tuesday night and battle Bryant College on to end the non-conference schedule. Those should both be easy victories that will push Indiana to 7-5 entering the conference season. That's right about where they were expected to be. I expected them to win a game in Puerto Rico but I didn't think they would beat Pitt. So, take care or Loyola and Bryant and enter the grinder of the Big Ten with some confidence. Until next time, God Bless.