November 21, 2013
By Eric Feldman
New York – The Hoosiers are no strangers to the bright lights of New York City winning the last 3 games they have played coming into Thursday's game at Madison Square Garden as part of the 2K Sports Classic. Tonight was no different as Indiana took care of the Washington Huskies 102-84.
The Hoosiers got off to a great start scoring the game’s first nine points. Indiana was able to get themselves going early due to Yogi Ferrell’s quickness and court vision. Always keeping his head up on the dribble, Yogi was able to find teammates at will, cutting down open lanes to the basket.
The Hoosiers just looked in sync tonight, moving well without the basketball and passing it effectively as well, totaling 16 assists on 34 baskets.
Tom Crean is no stranger to the team’s success when they are efficient passing and playing together as a team.
“Playing against LIU [Brooklyn] we looked like we never played together, and tonight we looked like we’ve been together for a while,” said Crean.
Noah Vonleh has been in the conversation with the top players in the country this season due to his four straight double-doubles to start off his college career. He finished just a single rebound shy of a fifth straight double-double tonight but dominated the paint as usual, finishing with nine boards and 18 points. His extreme length and ability to demand the ball inside and convert it into easy points was too much for the Huskies to handle.
Troy Williams came into the game averaging nine points and just under seven rebounds but Hoosier fans have noticed the athleticism and were just waiting for an explosion. Well, New York City’s Hoosier fans were lucky enough to witness that explosion tonight. Williams scored 22 points going 8-of-12 from the field. He also had eight rebounds and just a single turnover. Crean noted that Williams got better as the game went on by keeping the game simple.
Tonight, Crean stayed away from his usual methods of getting deep into the bench. Only one player off the bench logged double-digit minutes and that was Evan Gordon. He wasn’t too effective though, going 0-of-4 from the field, scoring a single point from the line.
Tomorrow night, the Hoosiers will face the UConn Huskies as they battle it out for the 2K Sports Classic Title. This year’s UConn team is one that features one of -- if not the best -- backcourt in the country. The guard tandem of Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright present major matchup issues for the Hoosiers. We might see Yogi Ferrell and Evan Gordon take on the challenge, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Crean put a bigger guy like Troy Williams on one of them. This will be the first nationally ranked opponent the Hoosiers face this year and it’ll be just ten days before they face another ranked opponent when they travel to Syracuse.
Stay tuned for another story from Eric after tonight's game when the Hoosiers take on UConn. Game will be broadcast on WIUX at approximately 7 p.m. EST
