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By Joel Welser
Indiana Hoosiers
Big Ten (20-10, 10-6)
Seed: #7
West Region
RPI: 28
Big Wins:
12/17 Southern Illinois (57-47), 1/7 Michigan State (73-51), 1/31 Wisconsin
(71-66)
Bad Losses:
2/3 at Iowa (75-81), 2/15 at Purdue (68-81), 2/17 at Michigan (55-58)
Last NCAA
Appearance: 2006, Second Round loss to Gonzaga
Coach:
Kelvin Sampson (11-12 in 12 NCAA appearances)
Probable
Starters:
Earl Calloway,
Senior, Guard, 9.4 ppg, 4.3 apg
Armon Bassett,
Freshman, Guard, 9.7 ppg, 3.1 apg
Roderick
Wilmont, Senior, Guard, 12.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg
Mike White,
Junior, Forward, 3.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg
D.J. White,
Junior, Forward, 13.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.2 bpg
Key Role
Players:
A.J. Ratliff,
Junior, Guard, 9.8 ppg, 1.5 apg
Errek Suhr,
Senior, Guard, 1.7 ppg, 1.0 rpg
Joey Shaw,
Freshman, Guard, 4.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg
Lance Stemler,
Junior, Forward, 6.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg
Xavier Keeling,
Freshman, Forward, 1.9 ppg, 1.1 rpg
Ben Allen,
Sophomore, Center, 0.8 ppg, 1.6 rpg
Why They Can
Surprise:
The Hoosiers
have all the ingredients necessary to make a run in the tournament; a low
post presence in D.J. White, a hot long range shooter in Roderick Wilmont
and a smart point guard in Early Calloway. White is a beast under the basket
on both ends of the floor and the opposition will be forced to make the
tough decision whether or not to double team him under the basket. Wilmont,
along with A.J. Ratliff, Armon Bassett and Lance Stemler can make anybody
pay from long range if they decide to collapse in the paint to stop White.
Indiana does
not do anything that great outside of shooting the long ball; however, they
do not have any glaring weaknesses either. That has kept the Hoosiers in
every game they’ve been in all season long and will do so in March too.
Why They Can
Disappoint:
Getting D.J.
White in foul trouble might be the best way to defend IU. Without D.J. White
on the floor, Indiana must depend on Mike White, Xavier Keeling and Ben
Allen, none of whom are effective scorers in the post. Mike White will see
the most action off the bench and will use his strength to attack the glass.
Who To
Watch:
Earl Calloway
averages 4.3 assists per game and 2.2 turnovers per contest. He does a great
job of running the team and finding the scorers, and can turn into a decent
scorer if he needs to. The Atlanta, GA native is a pesky defender and seems
to turn a steal or two into an easy basket every game.
Joel’s
Bracket Says: Second Round loss to UCLA
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2007 NCAA Tournament Bracket
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