Whoa!

The 64-51 win at Southern Illinois was big for IU, make no mistake. Even though SIU doesn't look as strong as last season right now (failing to score against Indiana or Southern Cal with any efficiency), they still had all week to prepare for IU and had a pumped crowd to greet the Hoosiers. Indiana took the wind out of their sails right away, and patiently executed while thumping SIU on the boards.

After the Xavier loss, I worried about the Hoosier's ability to win games on the road. After this game, Indiana definitely showed it has that ability. Conference games are going to be a little tougher, of course, but there's signs of hope. Of course, there'd better be, as this was to be IU's only non-conference road test this season.

Tennessee State is up on Tuesday, followed by Kentucky. UK has a week to prep for Indiana, but the Hoosiers should have enough time off to prepare for the 'Cats pressure defense. Both the Hoosiers and the Wildcats look to be a bit shorthanded, as IU will still be without AJ Ratliff, but should have Jordan Crawford and Brandon McGee back, while Kentucky will still be missing shooter Jodie Meeks and do-it-all forward Derrick Jasper. Turnovers are still an issue, as against SIU Ellis was the worst offender with 5. Hopefully, Sampson can do what he did last year and slowly minimize Hoosier give-aways.

IU Football is heading to the Insight Bowl to face Oklahoma State. Congrats Hoosiers!
OSU is a surprisingly mediocre big XII team, and is vulnerable. It looks like Sagarin rates OSU as the better team, but it's not out of reach. Normally, I'd pick the Hoosier opponent by 12 in a bowl, but with this season dedicated to Hep, I'll pick the Hoosiers to win, by a Starr field goal.