The woeful 64-51 drubbing dished out by the Indiana Hoosiers over the SIU Salukis at Carbondale Saturday night was even more gruesome than the 13 point margin of victory might indicate. It wasn't that close. Indiana's multi-talented squad shrugged off the fanatic Saluki defense and defied the roaring capacity crowd to win with assurance.
Southern matched Indiana point for point for the first 15 minutes, but could not make enough of a run to get any daylight. Meanwhile IU's sensational freshman guard Eric Gordon was able to float beyond the reach of the thrashing and gnashing Saluki defenders to net perfect jump shots.
Big time talent D.J. White (6-9, 251) and his coterie of "Bruiser Hoosiers" were on their way to recording a 35-24 game's edge over the Dawgs on the glass. Indiana shot well under pressure throughout the contest, while SIU was glacially cold, going an abysmal 1-14 (.071) from outside the arc. ( Matt Shaw's trey in the closing minutes saved the Dawgs from the aggravation of not making one all evening.)
Down 34-25 with six seconds left in the half, Southern's Bryan Mullins flailed past a crowd of defenders and banked one in from a radical angle. Although he added a free throw, the Salukis went scowling off the court down six. Improvement was not forthcoming the the final 20 minutes.
Indiana continued to shun set offensive plays and thrived on driving and shooting outside. They ganged up on SIU's Randal Falker in the low post and dared the Dawgs to score.
Word of the USC debacle had obviously reached Bloomington.
The sounds of buses at Butler, St. Mary's, Western Kentucky, and elsewhere revving their motors.....destination Carbondale, are being heard in the distance. Coaches with the same game plan clamped on their clipboards are climbing on board. Attention: Chris Lowery.
Indiana had four men in double figures, including Gordon (22), Armon Bassett (12), Jamarcus Ellis (11) and White, (10). White had 12 boards and Ellis 10 . Randal Falker had 12 points for SIU, while Shaw and Mullins added 9. Falker snared 7 rebounds.
Southern goes on the road to tangle with Charlotte next Saturday, Dec. 8
While better days are certainly ahead for the hoopster Dawgs, here's a tip of the cap to Coach Jerry Kill's football squad. Their 34-27 win Saturday afternoon over UMass brings Delaware calling at the Mac next weekend. An SIU win then would vault the Salukis into the division title game at Chattanooga.
THAT'S TONIGHT'S VIEW FROM ROW TWO
