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 I was well prepared for a glorious day today. I had gotten plenty of sleep last night in preparation for a get together at my parents house this afternoon. On the agenda......the Colts beating the Chargers to make it to the AFC Championship to strip the Patriots of their undefeated stature, the Hoosiers dismantling of an inferior Illinois team with Eric Gordon envy and a healthy helping of my Mom's sloppy joes. She's knows how us kids like em....and that's sloppy!
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As it turns out, the Colts were beaten at home with no chance to put
the Patriots in their place, the post-game interfered with the first
five minutes of the Hoosiers game and the said Hoosiers had to fight
tooth and nail to beat an Illinois team who had lost four straight
coming into the day. However, the sloppy joe's were sloppy and they were delicious.
This matchup was somewhat highly anticipated as Eric Gordon originally committed to Illinois before he switched sides to the Hoosiers when Kelvin Sampson was picked up as coach. The Illini fans and coach Bruce Weber were not particularly happy with Gordon or the Hoosiers for "stealing" the future of their program. Well, if you can consider one year of ball the future.
The Hoosiers started out the game pretty slow falling to a 13-4 deficit before making a run to even it up for the rest of the first half. The Illini led by four at half and came out strong at the beginning of the second half to push the lead to seven before IU went on a 12-2 run.
It was a fairly physical game as the Hoosiers and Illini had to be separated on multiple occasions. DeAndre Thomas and Shaun Pruit got into under the basket at one point. The inane announcers then discussed if a punch was actually thrown for a good 5 minutes. Listen, if a punch was thrown, we would have known it. It's not hard to spot a clinched fist swinging at a face. I hate it when announcers do this in any sport. Something happens in a game that calls for a replay. The replay is shown and it is obvious what just occurred yet the announcers always dance around the obvious just trying to fill up air time! The end result was that no punch was thrown, but Thomas and Pruit were both given a technical foul.
In another separate incident, AJ Ratliff pulled a fast one on Calvin Brock during a breakaway drive by asking him the following question....."What did the five fingers say to the face? SLAP........BITCH!!!!!" Somehow Ratliff got away without a flagrant foul on that one, although it obviously was. Then to round things off, JaMarcus Ellis talked shit to what I think was the entire Illini squad while Eric Gordon shot free throws. Officials again had to step in and separate the scrum.
Once again the Hoosiers were led by Gordon and DJ White. White of course compiled another double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Gordon started off slow, but ended with a game high of 17 points. Armon Bassett returned to present a calming force for nearly 20 minutes of action.
This type of game is going to benefit the Hoosiers down the road. It was a tough hard nosed Big Ten style game and the Hoosiers were able to stay composed and pull it off while not playing their best ball. The Illini on the other hand just need to win a game. They have now lost five in a row and have fallen to 0-4 in the conference. The Hoosiers are now 3-0 in the conference and share the lead with Wisconsin. The travel to Minnesota to take on the Gophers on Thursday and have the Penn State Nittany Lions at home on Sunday.
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5 Comments
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2008 Cubs Preview
It's always tough to play in Minny and IU shouldn't overlook a vastly improved Penn State team...should be an interesting seven days for the Hoosiers.
The Barn gets cold in the winter, better bring a blanket. Stop by the Wedge at 2105 Lyndale Ave and you can see the poster child for organic markets in the USA. Its a dandy.
I hate the Barn because it alwyas brings up bad memories. Make sure Coach has his barstool so he can actually see the game. With Tubby as coach this should be a very tough game for the Hoosiers.
Sloppy Joes are only complete with Mac n Cheese as a side!
I think that some really cheesy potatoes should count as a good side as well. Add to that chips and queso, brownies and multiple helpings and you've got a good day....