Indiana Statesman

January 10th, 2007

GAMETIME! 1-10-07 ISU v. Wichita St. Final

Junior guard Gabe Moore did what he does best in ISU’s 68-63 victory over Wichita State Wednesday — played good defense and drained key free throws when the outcome of the game was still in question.

ISU head coach Royce Waltman hit it right on the nail when he said Moore’s leadership was outstanding.

I was very impressed with the overall play of the Sycamores. When they hit a tough stretch during the game, they regrouped and drained key shots and made some stellar defensive stops when the situation called for it. Every player filled his role the way he should have.

This year’s team is looking much better than last year’s. I covered the men’s team all last season and they seemed to rely on just one player — David Moss. This year, it seems to be much more of a team effort between the players.

When the Shockers pounded the ball in the paint in the first half, ISU had no answer on defense. ISU’s second half defense was much improved, but the Shockers displayed great effort in keeping the game close. The Shockers still ended up dominating the paint, outscoring ISU 44-14.

There’s no question that the Sycamores are a shooting team. Thirty-three of the Sycamores’ 68 points came from three-point land. Even big men Jay Tunnell, Trent Wurtz, and Adam Arnold, who all get rare opportunities to shoot from beyond the arc combined to go 4-6. It’s a bit surprising when you look at the box score and see that the Sycamores hit 48 percent from three-point range and just 46 percent overall shooting. Nevertheless, a win is a win.

The only thing that bothers me about the team is its lack of an inside game. I think coach Waltman needs to try to install an offensive attack in the paint. The Missouri Valley is one of the toughest conferences in college basketball, and while ISU is very competitive, the outside shots aren’t always going to fall.

Freshman guard Marico Stinson really impressed me. As a freshman, it would be easy for him to lose some confidence after playing just nine minutes in the first half while recording zero points. Stinson recorded ISU’s first five points of the second half to jump start the Sycamores offensive attack.

ISU was impressive from the field in the second half, hitting 52 percent of its shots. After a cold shooting spell to end the first half, the Sycamores displayed much better shot selection in the second half.

I was also very impressed with the crowd. I’m sure the half-price tickets helped bring some fans to Hulman Center, but it was the students who really had the greatest impact in giving the Sycamores a home-court advantage. Waltman estimated there were over 1,000 students in attendance.

Rebounding was a problem for the Sycamores, as they allowed Wichita State to grab 16 offensive rebounds. Fortunately, WSU only converted those into 10 second-chance points.

On a lighter note, I despise Wichita State’s warm-ups. They look like children’s pajamas.

Well, that’s all for now.
- Matt Douthett

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 10th, 2007 at 9:44 pm and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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