The Indiana Statesman Blog
February 5th, 2007
2-5-07 pregame men’s bball vs. Northern Iowa
By on February 5th, 2007
The Sycamores are desperately seeking a win after dropping seven straight games. ISU currently sits at 11-11 overall and 4-8 in the conference. Northern Iowa is 16-7 and 7-5 in the MVC.
ISU will need to stop the frontcourt tandem of Eric Coleman and Grant Stout. Coleman, who is short for a center at 6′6″ is still a good post presence who leads the Panthers with 13.6 points per game. Coleman is also a very strong rebounder who leads UNI with 9.5 rebounds per game. ISU will have to keep him off the boards.
Losing seven games in a row will hurt anyone’s confidence, but if the Sycamores can pull out a victory against the Panthers tonight, it will hopefully allow them to regain a little confidence and give them something to build off of as the end of the season is approaching.
Check back at halftime for another blog.
-Matt Douthett
February 3rd, 2007
2-3-07 pregame men’s basketball vs. Missouri St.
By on February 3rd, 2007
The Sycamores are taking on the No. 3 in the MVC Missouri State Bears today in Hulman Center as the second game of Sycamore Hoopla.
The Sycamores are going to have to play well to beat the Bears. Missouri State is a very tough team that is averaging over ten points a game more than its opponents.
Missouri State falters on the road against MVC teams, though, as all Valley teams do. The Bears are 3-3 on the road in the conference.
The Sycamores need to find some stability. The fifth starter has been changing almost every game and that cannot be good, especially for such a young team. Also, even when on the bench, players are not seeing consistent minutes. Freshman guard Marico Stinson played in 13 minutes last game against Southern Illinois, and he is averaging over 25 minutes per game. While on minutes, Junior guard Gabe Moore has got to be getting tired, he is averaging 37.9 minutes per game this season.
I will not be able to do a halftime report because of laptop troubles, so you will just have to wait until after the game.
February 2nd, 2007
2-2-07, postgame ISU women vs. Southern Ill.
By on February 2nd, 2007
The ISU women’s basketball team was able to fend off the Southern Illinois Salukis and record a 74-69 victory.
This was a very impressive win for the Sycamores, to say the least.
Leah Phillips recorded a career-high 23 points for the Sycamores despite an injured thumb. She really jump started the ISU offense, which shot 58 percent in the first half.
The second half was a bit sloppy for the Sycamores, but they were still able to use some solid defense to hang on to the lead. It didn’t hurt that SIU committed 25, that’s right, 25 fouls which allowed ISU to go to the charity stripe 28 times. It’s hard to lose when you have that many chances at some easy points.
Another thing that impressed me was the games ISU’s freshmen players had coming off the bench, notably Maria Olsthoorn. In just 15 minutes of action, she recorded nine points and six rebounds. When you get that kind of production out of a freshman bench player, good things are bound to happen.
Laura Rudolphi also played a huge role in the ISU victory, recording 16 points and two blocked shots.
Well, that’s all for now. Look for another blog by me Monday when the men’s basketball team takes on Northern Iowa at 7:05 p.m.
-Matt Douthett
February 2nd, 2007
2-2-07 Halftime, ISU women vs. Southern Ill.
By on February 2nd, 2007
The score at halftime is 40-30 in favor of the Sycamores.
Sophomore guard Leah Phillips impressed me during the first half. She scored the first seven points for the Sycamores and really seemed to jump- start the offense. She is the leading scorer at halftime for the Sycamores with 10 points.
As I mentioned in my pre-game blog, SIU is a team that normally has a very good defense. A casual fan would not know that by watching this game.
A big reason the Sycamores have a 10-point halftime lead is that the Salukis committed 12 fouls in the first half.
Junior center Laura Rudolphi culminated a strong defensive showing from the Sycamores in the first half by swatting away a shot at the buzzer that could have cut ISU’s lead to eight.
Well, that is all for now. Check back in a while for a post-game blog.
-Matt Douthett
February 2nd, 2007
2-2-07 ISU women vs. Southern Ill. pre-game
By on February 2nd, 2007
Well, this is a strange feeling for me. I have not covered a women’s basketball game in almost two years. It’s good to be back.
The Salukis of Southern Illinois are off to a surprising 8-1 start in the Missouri Valley Conference after posting just a 4-7 non-conference record to start the season. SIU is second in the MVC behind Illinois State. The Salukis are on a six-game winning streak and have posted victories in nine of their last 10 games.
Carlai Moore, a 6-foot-1 senior forward paces the Salukis with 15.3 points per game. Just like the SIU men’s team, the women’s team prides itself on defense. They have only let one team (Northern Iowa in a 79-74 SIU victory) score over 70 points this season. An even more impressive statistic is that the Salukis have held opponents under 41 points three times this season.
The Sycamores are going to have to find a way to cut through the SIU defense with easy lay ups and good shot selection. Junior point guard Angela Phillips will need to do a good job of finding open Sycamores for easy baskets.
Well, it’s almost game time. See you at halftime.
-Matt Douthett
February 2nd, 2007
The eSpot for Feb. 2
By on February 2nd, 2007
Readers of the sports web site Deadspin.com unite to clog the new “ESPN Conversation” feature at ESPN.com. It’s a little like the French Revolution. Alright, not that much like it, but it’s still pretty cool.
Aqua Teen Hunger Force responsible for bomb scare
Marketing devices for the “Adult Swim” cartoon are mistaken for weapons in Boston. In a related story, “The Drizzle” is still at large.
Facebook adds security questions
Now, when writing in for assistance, FBers will be asked to answer their security question to verify they are the owner of the account. Of course, the answer to “Who was your first kiss?” is already the subject of a note of half the community.
February 1st, 2007
Statesman Staffers pick Super Bowl winners
By on February 1st, 2007
I wanted to put this in the paper but didn’t have the room
Me: 21-13 Colts
Alex Brown, editor in chief: 24-19 Bears
Matt Douthett, staff writer: 31-27
Clay Cunningham, assistant news editor: 28-24 Bears
Jodi Lemmon, assistant features editor: 31-27 Colts
Lowell Torres, features editor: 34-27 Bears
Joel Dale, photo editor: 20-14 Colts
Rachel Turner, assistant sports editor: 28-13 Colts.
January 31st, 2007
The eSpot for Jan. 31
By on January 31st, 2007
Well, it’s been a spell since the eSpot showed its pretty little head. It’s back, and your life is once again complete
Results of ‘Top Chef’ finale leaked early
Spoilers abound as news breaks of one of the chefs quitting his day job before tonight’s denouement. We could tell you right now. Really.
The Associated Press’ cool younger sibling
This isn’t new, we think, but it’s the first we’ve stumbled across it.
Abso-frickin-amazing. Wire news for the short attention span set.
Rather adult pictures of Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who plays everyone’s favorite boy wizard, have found their way to the ‘Net. They’re not from a sex tape, but publicity stills from a play he’s doing in England. Women and horses are involved, though.
January 24th, 2007
1-24 ISU v. Evansville Men’s Bball postgame
By on January 24th, 2007
I apologize for not having a pregame and halftime blog. There was a miscommunication between my editor and I.
Anyway, this was one of the sloppiest games I’ve ever seen. Evansville narrowly defeated ISU 50-49. The only good offensive statistic in this game was Evansville’s three-point field goal percentage. The Purple Aces won this game solely because they shot 41 percent from beyond the arc.
ISU’s offense lacked any sort of consistency in this game. Shot selection was, to put it nicely, less-than-stellar.
When I asked ISU head coach Royce Waltman if anything positive can be taken from the game, he interrupted me mid-sentence and simply said “No.”
If there is anything positive that can be taken, in my opinion, it is the play of Adam Arnold. He ended up with 11 rebounds, eight of them defensive. If it weren’t for Arnold crashing the boards, this game probably wouldn’t have been close. ISU did outrebound UE 33-28, but when you have no offense, that really doesn’t matter.
ISU shot just 36 percent from the field, and when the majority of your offense revolves around the outside shooting game, that simply won’t cut it.
Well, that is all for now, and I apologize again for not having the first two blogs.
January 22nd, 2007
The eSpot for Jan. 22
By on January 22nd, 2007
Jenna Bush looks to ink book deal
Profits from the First Kid’s book would go to charity. It’s probably better than letting her spend it on… umm…. Yeah, about that.
Chicago, Indianapolis Fans React to Sunday’s game
Apparently, there are some people on this Internet thing that take football pretty seriously.
Has Carrot Top had work done?
Speculation abounds regarding the possibility of Top’s face lift. Did they use a Carrot peeler?
Three Words: New. Wilco. Album
Jeff Tweedy’s favorite band plans to release a new album May 15. Pretentious music fans everywhere rejoice.
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- final Men's b-ball vs. Crieghton 3-2
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- Sycamores Triumph Over Illinois State
- postgame, 2-5 men's bball vs. Northern Iowa
- 2-5-07 pregame men's bball vs. Northern Iowa
- 2-3-07 pregame men's basketball vs. Missouri St.
- 2-2-07, postgame ISU women vs. Southern Ill.
- 2-2-07 Halftime, ISU women vs. Southern Ill.
- 2-2-07 ISU women vs. Southern Ill. pre-game
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