Hammerin' Hoosiers Hitting Stride

After suffering one of the worst team losses in school history on Tuesday at Illinois, the No. 24 Hoosiers bounced back with a vengeance and took out their anger on the Michigan Wolverines.

Sampson promised a hammering defense when he was introduced as head coach and Saturday’s win was a perfect example of his vision.

The Hoosiers limited the Wolverines to 34.9% from the field on 15-43 shooting. They were a woeful 2-9 from behind the 3-point line.

Sampson must have broken out the rawhide whip that Bob Knight used on Calbert Cheaney in the early ‘90s because the Hoosiers pulled a complete 180 on Saturday from the team that took the floor in Champaign on Tuesday.

Before Tommy Amaker’s Wolverines even broke a sweat at the Assembly Hall on Saturday, they were already down 11-0 to the Hoosiers, who improved to 11-0 at home for the season.

Despite Michigan cutting Indiana’s once-17 point lead down to 8 late in the second half, the Hoosiers finished strong in their 76-61 victory, which marked the 11th consecutive loss for Michigan at the Assembly Hall.

It was important for the Hoosiers to put up a stellar performance because they have a challenging road ahead.

On Wednesday, Indiana will travel to Madison to face No. 3 Wisconsin. The Badgers are considered one of the elite teams in the nation, along with Florida, North Carolina and UCLA.

Wednesday’s game will be a huge measuring stick for the Hoosiers. The Hoosiers have played remarkably well in losses to ranked opponents Butler, Duke, Kentucky and Ohio State by a combined 20 points (Butler was not ranked at the time of their game, but they are currently as high as No. 12 in some polls).

The Hoosiers’ success for the rest of the season will hinder on their ability to shoot from behind the 3-point line.

The Hoosiers have a bi-polar mentality when it comes to consistency from behind the arc this season. In their 15 wins, they are 39.6% from 3-point land, but are shooting just 32.2% in their 5 losses. And nobody can forget that pathetic 4-25 shooting performance in their loss at Kentucky.

But, a good 3-point shooting game does not guarantee a win because the Hoosiers were 12-22 from downtown in their loss at Ohio State.

The Indiana basketball program is at its highest mark since Bob Knight’s dismissal, and that includes the fluke 2002 NCAA tournament run. There is a renewed jubilation that has feasted on Bloomington, and as long as Sampson and his Hoosiers can throw down the hammer like they did against Michigan, they should be a tough out come March.