That's the Game: Mt. St. Mary's

So, with a final a score of 93-54, it would seem like there's not much to look at.  But there were some highlights.

First, senior Derek Elston played in his first game of the season after tearing his meniscus, about a week or so ahead of schedule.  He played 9 minutes, was 1-1 field goal for 2 points, 2 rebounds, and a big block.  Upon entering the game, Derek received a well-deserved standing ovation, along with a somewhat uncoordinated attempt at a "Der-ek El-ston" chant with the students gone for Christmas Break.  The thing from Derek's post-game conference which stood out to me was this:

“The standing ovation, that just shows that these people really haven’t forgotten about me. It shows that maybe I do [matter] to this program. Sometimes when you get hurt like that and you’re out so long, you feel like people kind of forget about you. Sometimes, inside of any player, especially me, I feel like people just don’t remember you. But when I go out there and I get that, that standing ovation, it makes me feel special.”

This really hit me because I know so many people (myself first among them) who could not wait for Derek to get back on the court, but more importantly to get healthy.  I'm glad that Hoosier Nation was able to show Derek just how special he is and how much of big deal he is to this program.

Now, on to my predictions from yesterday.

1.  The Hoosiers did not quite reach the rebound level I expected, but I did not take some things (absurdly high field goal percentage for example) into account when I made my prediction.  IU grabbed 40 rebounds, 9 of them on offense.  That number looks particularly impressive when you consider that the Hoosiers shot 71% from the field (more on that to come).  On the other end, however, is the somewhat more important aspect in that the Mountaineers were only able to grab 15 boards, a +25 rebounding margin for the Hoosiers.

2.  IU did shoot layups... lots of them.  But they also shot a lot of jumpers (both 2- and 3-pointers).  With a lot of success.  They shot a beyond ridiculously high 71% from the field and an even more astonishingly high 75% from beyond the arc!  The Hoosiers also had assists on an amazing 27 out of 36 shots, displaying both solid ball control and selflessness.  While I didn't expect it to be this high, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility to shoot 60+%, as the Mountaineers defense is not particularly well equipped to shut down either shooters or drivers.

3.  IU did turn the ball over... a lot.  IU recorded 19 turnovers on the night, with Victor leading with 5.  At the same time, he did have 5 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals to balance it some.  Yogi only had 2 turnovers at the same time as he had a career-high 9 assists.  The Hoosiers were able to force 15 turnovers of their own, and I am fairly convinced (from my standpoint) that some of the IU turnovers in the form of offensive fouls were iffy at the same time as there were some pretty obvious no-calls (both fouls and otherwise) on the other end of the court.  This turnover performance should not worry Hoosier fans, however, as this is where the Mountaineers excel, just as it is where VCU excels (as evidenced by their 32 forced turnovers against Western Kentucky yesterday!).

4.  The Mountaineers did pretty much camp out in three-point land.  Of their 54 field goal attempts, 24 were from beyond the arc, and of their 17 made shots, over half (9) were from deep.  They only shot 37.5% from out there, but exactly half of their points did come in the form of 3-pointers.  On a side-note, IU also made 9 threes on the night; the difference is the Hoosiers only attempted 12 total.

Overall, this was another blowout to add to the growing list.  The Hoosiers beat their average by about 4 points.  Five Hoosiers ended the night in double-digit scoring: Cody and Will (16), Christian (15), Victor (14), and Remy (12).  Four other Hoosiers put up points tonight: Jordy and Yogi (8) and Derek and Raphael (2).  Jeff Howard also recorded a block to end out the game.  No one quite reached the double-double level, with the two closest being Christian with 15 points and 8 boards and Yogi with 8 points and 9 assists.  Cody and Remy each had 6 rebounds and Victor had 4.  But as I said, the most important part of this game was that it gave a quick turnaround time after Butler, and it forced the Hoosiers to correct their mistakes, sharpen their focus, and boost their confidence.