Gordon sets freshman record as IU rolls, 99-79

by Alex Bozich in Recaps | November 12th, 2007

Eric Gordon set an Indiana freshman record for a debut with 33 points to lead No. 8 Indiana past Chattanooga 99-79 Monday night in Assembly Hall.

The Hoosiers (1-0) trailed 50-46 at halftime before outscoring the Mocs (1-1) by 24 points in the second half.

Gordon shot 9 of 15 from the field, including 7 of 11 from behind the three-point arc. The North Central product added six rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block in 35 minutes.

More importantly, Gordon shut down Chatanooga’s Kevin Bridgewaters in the second half.

“He’s a monster,” Kelvin Sampson said. “Watching him everyday in practice, that’s where he’s made his biggest strides, defensively.”

Indiana struggled defensively in the first half as Chattanooga shot 50 percent from the floor and out-rebounded the Hoosiers 14-12.

A renewed focus on defense led the Hoosiers to a 10-2 run after the break and they never looked back.

Armon Bassett, coming off a mild ankle injury in Saturday’s exhibition over UNC-Pembroke, added 20 for Indiana. Bassett was 8 of 10 from the field and 4 of 5 on three-pointers. He added six rebounds and five assists.

D.J. White also turned in a stellar effort with 17 points before leaving late in the second half with a laceration on his head. While attempting to block a shot, White had his legs taken out from under him and hit his head on the floor. He left to a standing ovation and signaled a thumbs up to the crowd before heading to the locker room. He did return for the final minutes of the game sporting a band-aid.

Other notables for Indiana: Jordan Crawford (13 points), Jamarcus Ellis (Five points, nine rebounds and six assists) and DeAndre Thomas (11 points). The Hoosiers shot 55% from the field and 74% from the foul line.

For Chattanooga, Bridgewaters had 14 points, all in the first half, and Kevin Goffney had 13.

For those of you who missed the game, check out the highlights below, courtesy of the Big Ten Network:

(HT: The Hoosier Scoop for the video.)

Tags: Armon Bassett, D.J. White, DeAndre Thomas, Eric Gordon, Jamarcus Ellis, Jordan Crawford

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Mark

Great job on D in 2nd half. I think Stemler has earned a seat on the bench. He was horrible tonight. Give me Deandre anytime! Go Hoosiers! Gordon was awesome. Gotta go call Direct TV and get rid of Comcast so I can watch it instead of listening.

Hoosier Hound

I take back what I said before the game when I opined that we were giving up alot of points because of the pace of the games. While the pace of this game was definitely fast, we were running around like chickens with our heads cut off in the first half. Giving up a 50 point half at home, seriously? Credit to Sampson for putting Gordon on Bridgewater to start the second half, and credit to Gordon for totally disrupting Bridgewater's ability to score and direct his team. That defensive adjustment, to put EJ out top, was the difference in this game. Sampson may need to put in a zone defense, even though I hate zone, but rotating in a man-to-man system appears to be WAY too complicated for these guys.

Lot of other disapointing things from this game. Rebounding is still dreadful. Will anybody block out? Way too many stupid turnovers. Armon, our point guard, seemed terified to bring up the court at times, even when they weren't in the 1-3-1 (

Hoosier Hound

Ahhhhhh, is there a word limit?

The only other things I said were that I called the 1-3-1 retarted, and...

Eric Gordon is awesome.

jaime gongora

The one thing I love about Coach Samson is this man knows how to coach. HIs halftime adjustmenst were perfect. We need better D but that will come in time. I thought Bassett did a good job at point. Sll this team needs is time.
jaime

Robert

Big A,
Are you sure it was a record? I thought Jay Edwards had 36 in his debut ('88?...I think)

But yeah, all I have to say is defense wins championships, and I think Gordon has adjusted well to the college level.

Big A

They said it was a record on the Big Ten Network.

jaime gongora

It's a Hoosier record. I don't know if Jay Edwards was in the big Ten, but Terry Hutchens said it Edwardss hold the national record. I think he would have broke it to if Coach didn't pull off with two minutes left ( I'm fine with decision though. We are not in it to set records, were here to win games).

als32

According to Yahoo Sports, it was not a record. Edwards with 36 in 1988. I also heard them on BTN say it was a record.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/recap;_ylt=AuTIR4...

als32

Clarification.....Edwards didn't score 36 in his debut, but at some other point during the season. I have a sneaky suspicion Mr Gordon might top 36 at some point this season. Dude is amazing.

Big A

It was a record for a freshman in his first game.

ray

als32, you're right. edwards holds the freshman single game scoring record, while gordon holds the freshman opening game scoring record...and i agree, he'll top this at some point.

ray

hoosier hound,

i agree with the defensive change sampson made with gordon.

my opinion differs from yours on basset though. armon drove inside and threw one away after being too far underneath with nowhere to go, and i also think he should have taken it to the bucket in the final seconds of the first half. but honestly, i thought it was gordon who was trying to do too much in the first half (finding himself stuck with nowhere to go and making some silly fouls. i can't say enough about his defensive effort in the second half though.

als32

Other thoughts from the game:
- J Ellis is exactly what I thought he'd be. He has a knack for the ball, and always seems to be in the right place at the right time.
- Big Dre was a pleasant surprise for me. Great hands. If he can improve his footwork and stay out of foul trouble, he'll be our starting PF/C by the end of the year.
- Crawford will be instant offense off the bench and provide us a spark numerous times this year.
- I'm guessing Eli/McGee will be worked into the lineup more as the season progresses. Seems they are struggling a little more adjusting to the college game than our other newcomers.

ray

i find myself screaming, "no! eric don't shoot that crap!"...and then saying, "wow, that shot was amazing!" maybe i'm still getting used to the range of gordon, but i can't seem to keep from doubting some of these shots. i guess my nerves will settle with time. if he can do this consistently for a few games (shooting from 5 feet beyond the arc) then i may start screaming, "shoot it eric!"...that is, as soon as he crosses the half-court line. let me ask you guys, is gordon shooting from the "coverdale-bomb-range" or is he even farther out?

Tyler

FARTHER

jaime gongora

I thought he was farther out. I agree with you about Gordon. At the beginning I was " Gor what the hell are you doing....uuuuuuuh nice shot". Though Big Dree did a great job, I would like him to go up with more authority for the easy layup. He missed a couple of those but that will change. I really think we will see great things. Of the higher ranked teams I think we have the most upside and we will many games.

Kevin

The first half defense was ugly, but the second half they looked very good. Gordon was amazing, obviously, he has not only established himself as our best offensive threat but our best perimeter defender as well.

Also, Indiana fans, PLEASE stop booing Stemler. I know he has played very poorly, but he's still a Hoosier and we should treat him like one.

Mike

I really liked Sampson's postgame comments about how this was the perfect game for the Hoosiers. Until now, no weaknesses had really been exposed and many Hoosier faithful (including myself) got a little too ahead of ourselves about this season. Great second half adjustment and I think Kelvin will have some great stuff to work on in practice-and this team will come out against Longwood much better on the defensive end of the court.

Eric Gordon looked like a man amongst boys out there. Every bit as good as the hype. He really carried us through some parts of the game.

jaime gongora

I think stmmler should have been benched for missing his defensive roles, but I agree booing is not necesary. He wears the IU uniform, and therefore I root for him as well.

jaime gongora

I'm sorry I meant Stemler.

Kevin

Hey folks, let's give some luv to the Mocs. That was a very solid, well coached team IU beat and I expect the Mocs will be heard from in March.

bleeding crimson

Great game. I was on my edge 1st half but as the rest of us saw KS made the adjustments to win the game. Isn't nice to have a coach again. As for Stemler, I think he just could keep up with his man. He was being out-performed time again, not booing just calling the facts. Put someone out there who can keep up. I was concerned that KS was going to red-shirt Eli & McGee but they finally got in. Mike White looks as if he will be. Still trying to figure that one out.
Jaime don't worry about the spelling...I have yet to see anyone correct anyone else's comments, plus it is late. Talk to you guys tomorrow.
One more thing...has anyone heard anything on Kevin Jones decision?
BC

bleeding crimson

I have seen several times now EJ being referred to as "The Beast". I think we have a new nick'name. Kinda of reminds me of the roller coaster at Kings Island...I like it.
bc

Mike

Kevin Jones to announce Wednesday at 2:30

IU, West Virginia, Pitt, UMass, and (hopefully not as serious) Seton Hall and Rutgers..are all still in the running

His brother has been pretty good about not letting a lot of information out, so we'll see. He'd be a good pickup.

kelin

I read KJones was down to IU, Umass, WV, and pitt....I think IU has a strong shot.

Tom

stemler is the first iu player i've actually disliked in a long time. he really hurts the team. and i'm still waiting to see that outside touch he was supposed to possess.

Tom

This Tom doesn't dislike any IU players. I also believe the critics of this team are downright spoiled.My golly, it was their first game. Some of you want perfection. Give them a break- they play their hearts out. The intensity of Gordon,White, and basset will carry over to the others.Ellis is a real asset. Stemler will have some good games also.

Schultz

I think we can dislike IU players, just not root against them. I want to see Stemler do well, but really what is his purpose on the floor?

He is not a great defender, he's slow and he's doesn't have any semblance of an offensive game. The kid was brought here as a shooter yet he can't hit anything. If he can't even make wide-open looks when he is on the floor then he has no purpose.

I thought the team played a whole lot better when Stemler hit the bench and I don't think he should start. I was surprised to not see McGee get some minutes considering how strong he played in the preseason.

Tom

Schultz-- When you take CKS's job--you can make those decisions.But you do not attend practices.

Schultz

Tom - are you arguing that Stemler is a good shooter? should he play in games because he shoots well in practice? if you have an arguement to contradict my observation, let me know. if not, shut up. several other posters above agreed that stemler has no purpose on the floor.

dan

So is Eric Gordon a for sure 1 season and done guy? I read something about the recruits coming in next year and who's coming back and Gordon wasn't mentioned as one of the guys coming back. He's defenitley good enough to go pro now. As a Purdue fan i can say it really doesn't hurt my feelings if he leaves. Considering u have Another future nba star coming in next year(Ebanks).

Gordon sets freshman record as IU rolls, 99-79

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