For seven minutes in Puerto Rico, Indiana looked capable of hanging with Ole Miss.

And just like that, the Rebels reeled off a 28-5 run en route to a comfortable 89-71 win in the opening round of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Tip-Off Classic.

“I thought our guys responded to Indiana coming out and being aggressive, which you would hope an experienced team would do,” Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. “We have some experienced guards and made some adjustments.”

Indiana had no answer on the inside for Ole Miss (3-0), which blocked 12 shots, out-rebounded IU 46-43 and shot 51.5 percent from the field.

Murphy Holloway scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Rebels and Chris Warren had 16.

“We tried to get Murph behind the zone, because they got so extended on the perimeter,” Kennedy said of Holloway. “It opened up some opportunities behind the zone.”

The Hoosiers (2-1) committed 21 turnovers, 14 in the first half, and shot just 12 of 27 from the foul line.

“We made too many mistakes to win the game,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said. “They were more physical and we didn’t do a great job of playing through that.”

After trailing by as many as 15 in the second half, Indiana had a chance to cut the lead to six with 5:40 remaining. But an errant pass from Devan Dumes to Jeremiah Rivers on a 3-on-1 fast break ended IU’s 9-2 run.

Maurice Creek led three Indiana players in double figures with 18 points. Verdell Jones added 17 and Rivers had 14. The bench, however, contributed just nine points.

“A loss is a loss,” Jones said. “We just have to come back and improve and get tougher.”

Pick to Click: Jeremiah Rivers

Up next: Boston University at 6:00 ET on Friday.

Tough game for Watford: The freshman from Birmingham (AL) hit just 2 of 10 shots and scored five points. Watford was averaging a double-double in his first two games.

Off the mark from outside: The Hoosiers shot just 3 of 15 from behind the three-point line.

• Box score

It wasn’t pretty, but Tom Crean and the Indiana Hoosiers won for the second time in four days, laboring past USC-Upstate 69-61 Monday night in Assembly Hall.

IU committed 18 turnovers and hit just 16 of 30 free throws, but Christian Watford’s 17 points and 10 rebounds pushed the Hoosiers (2-0) past the Spartans. It was the second straight double-double for the freshman from Birmingham, Alabama.

“The first thing I would say is welcome to the wacky world of freshmen and sophomore predominant basketball,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said. “That’s where we are at and we have a lot of learning to do.”

Three Hoosiers — Maurice Creek (14), Verdell Jones (13) and Derek Elston (10) — joined Watford in double figures. Jeremiah Rivers added two points, four rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Indiana led 60-40 with 7:57 remaining, but USC Upstate (0-2) closed the game with a 21-9 run.

The Spartans, playing just their third season in Division I, were led by Mezie Uzochukwu’s 14 points.

Pick to click: Watford

Crean on Puerto Rico: “We are getting ready to play some high level guys when we get to Puerto Rico. It’s going to be a really good test for us to see where we stand. If we don’t match-up and play with that will and that fire and we are not as physical as them, we will get embarrassed.”

Pritchard struggles: Plagued by foul trouble, the 6-9 sophomore scored four points and didn’t record a rebound in just 10 minutes.

Dumes struggles, too: Indiana’s leading scorer last season logged 20 minutes, but hit just 1 of 6 shots and committed four turnovers. Dumes finished with two points and five rebounds.

Up next: Ole Miss in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday.

• Box score

In front of a near capacity crowd Friday night at Assembly Hall, a trio of Indiana freshmen each turned in a debut to remember.

Leading just 20-18 with 7:03 remaining in the first half, Maurice Creek and Derek Elston sparked a 9-0 run that put Indiana in the drivers seat on their way to a 83-60 win over Howard.

Creek led all scorers with 17 points and Elston and Christian Watford added 14 each for the Hoosiers, who shot nearly 56 percent from the field and had 20 assists.

“We really, really shared the basketball,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said. “Anytime you have 20 assists, that’s a real benchmark that your offense is really moving and it’s crisp.”

Sixteen different players saw the floor for Indiana and no one amassed more than 26 minutes. With a brand of basketball that is expected to be far more up-tempo than a season ago, Crean is focusing on getting maximum effort from each Hoosier at all times.

“I want them to understand it’s the quality of the minutes, not the quantity,” Crean said.

Creek’s 17 came on 7 of 11 shooting from the field. Watford (4 of 6) and Elston (6 of 7) were equally efficient.

“I just thought they played together,” Howard coach Gil Jackson said. “They looked to get easy shots. You didn’t see anybody playing selfishly.”

Free throw differential: Indiana shot just 13 free throws in the game and Howard shot 18 of 30.

Double-double: Watford had 11 rebounds to go along with his 14 points.

Rivers debut: Jeremiah Rivers finished with six points, four rebounds, four assists and a steal in 26 minutes. “I think what’s going on right now is that it’s extremely hard for our team to keep up with him. I’d rather have them try to speed up than to slow him down,” Crean said of Rivers.

Bison struggle from outside: Howard connected on just four of 22 three-point attempts.

Pick to Click: Watford.

Up next: USC-Upstate, November 16, 8:30 ET, Assembly Hall

• Box score
• Quotes
• IU wins regular season opener 83-60 – Indiana Daily Student
• Freshmen pace IU rot in opener – Associated Press

Maurice Creek led four players in double figures with 16 points as Indiana won an exhibition, 95-67, over Division II St. Joseph’s Monday night in Assembly Hall.

Jeremiah Rivers and Verdell Jones added 15 points each and Christian Watford had 13 for the Hoosiers.

Thoughts from Indiana’s second exhibition game:

Pick to Click winner: Maurice Creek (h09sier and jaywiz). Jeremiah Rivers was runner-up and Verdell Jones was third.

+ Box score

+ Crean quotes

After leading by just six at halftime, Indiana used a strong second half to win its exhibition debut 96-73 over NAIA opponent Grace College Wednesday night at Assembly Hall.

Six Indiana players scored in double figures, led by 19 points from Christian Watford and 14 from Jordan Hulls.

A couple of thoughts from Indiana’s exhibition opener:

All in all, about what most of us expected from an exhibition debut with six new faces, right? Tom Crean probably won’t be thrilled with several easy baskets the Hoosiers allowed down low and in transition, but that’s what the pre-season is for. Indiana will return to action on Monday against St. Joseph’s at Assembly Hall. That game will also be broadcast on BigTenNetwork.com.

Pick to Click winner: Christian Watford (Phillip, StuHoo, favreDollarfootlong, ariufan, hoosier07, JerryCT, hoosierwhodey, CrimsonLaw1L, NMHoosier, Martin34, Kelin Blab)

+ Box score

+ Tom Crean postgame audio (The Hoosier Scoop)

Predictably, there will be no March Madness for Tom Crean and the Indiana Hoosiers.

Indiana (6-25) concluded the 2008-2009 campaign with a 66-51 loss to Penn State in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The loss was the 10th straight for Indiana.

The result was never really in doubt as the Nittany Lions (22-10) opened the game with a 26-8 run and IU was never able to draw closer than nine the rest of the way.

“They’re a good team, ” Crean said. “Very well coached, as is the rest of this league. And I hope they get in the NCAA.”

Verdell Jones continued his late season breakout and was the only IU player in double figures with 23 points. Jones shot 7 of 11 from the field and hit 5 of 5 free throws.

“This season is definitely a learning experience,” Jones said. “But I think the most we got out of this season is if you work hard and listen to what the coaches say you can improve by leaps and bounds.”

Kyle Taber, Nick Williams and Daniel Moore added five points each. Taber, a former walk-on who played for four coaches at IU, reflected on his career after the loss.

“I’m sad to see it end, ” Taber said. “I mean, it was so much fun playing here at Indiana, and I was just glad to be a part of it for five years.”

Penn State advances to a quarterfinal game on Friday night at 9PM ET against Purdue. Jamelle Cornley led three Nittany Lion players in double figures with 22 points. Stanley Pringle added 16 points and David Jackson had 10.

Talor Battle, the Big Ten’s leading scorer with 17.3 points per game, was held to three points on just three shot attempts, but dished out six assists and had four steals.

Big Ten Tournament not so kind to Hoosiers: The loss against Penn State drops IU to 8-12 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament. IU is now 13-6 in games played at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Dumes misses finale: Junior guard Devan Dumes did not dress and missed his second straight game with an ankle injury. Dumes finished the season as IU’s leading scorer at 12.7 ppg.

• Box score

FINAL SCORE: Wisconsin 85, Indiana 61

There’s not a lot to write about this game that hasn’t been written already this season. The regular season is over. IU finishes up the Big Ten season with a 1-17 record.

The Hoosiers shot relatively well from the field in Madison (54 percent), but committed 16 turnovers, missed nine free throws and were out-rebounded 28-19. That’s not exactly a recipe for winning basketball games.

The Badgers, on the other hand, hit 52 percent from the field, hit 7 of 14 from 3-point range and knocked down 26 of 32 free throws.

Verdell Jones set a career high with 23 points as did Nick Williams with 19 points.

With that, we’ll leave it in your hands. Thoughts about this game, the regular season as a whole and your predictions heading into a 5PM ET matchup on Thursday with Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament are welcome in the comments.