If you noticed the smoke coming out of Coach Sampson’s ears just before halftime of today’s game against Longwood, it was a direct result of the play I’m about to dissect. (The easy layup on the play directly after this one didn’t help, either.)

1. Dana Smith has the ball for the Lancers and everyone on the Hoosiers is in good position defensively.

2. Lamar Barrett, guarded by D.J. White, comes to set a pick for Smith.

(more…)

Another game, another Indiana record for Eric Gordon.

Gordon’s 21 points in Sunday’s 100-49 win over Longwood in Assembly Hall set a school record (54) for combined points scored by an Indiana player in his first two college games.

The previous record was held by George McGinnis who tallied 52 points in his first two games in an IU uniform back in 1970.

Gordon shot 8 of 14 from the field, including 5 of 8 on three-pointers in IU’s opener of the Chicago Invitational Challenge.

“It’s a big adjustment,” Gordon said of the transition from high school to college. “The game is a lot faster and a lot stronger, so I’ve pretty much adjusted to the college game pretty well. We’re an unselfish team so I’m able to score a lot more points.”

The result was never in real doubt as Indiana raced to 17-6 lead early and held the Lancers (2-2) to 30 first-half points on 33 percent shooting. Indiana shot 64.5 percent in the first half and led 54-30 at the break.

Five other Hoosiers besides Gordon scored in double figures: Jordan Crawford (16), Armon Bassett (14), D.J. White (12), Lance Stemler (12) and DeAndre Thomas (10). Jamarcus Ellis added nine points, 11 rebounds and five assists.

“I thought Armon Bassett came out and set a real tone for us,” coach Kelvin Sampson said. “EJ made shots, Armon made shots, Jamarcus passed it. When we have great spacing and move the ball, we’re going to get good shots.”

The Hoosiers will continue the Chicago Invitational Challenge Tuesday evening at Assembly Hall at 7PM against UNC-Wilmington on the Big Ten Network.

Related:

• Box score

Opponent: Longwood (Chicago Invitational Challenge)

Date: Sunday, November 18, 2007 | 12:00 EST

Arena: Assembly Hall (17,538) – Bloomington, Indiana

TV: Big Ten Network; Radio: IU Radio Network

The No. 8 Hoosiers are back in action this afternoon opposite Longwood. The Lancers (2-1) are in their first season of full Division I status.

What to watch for:

- Eric Gordon: After 33 points in his Indiana debut, will Gordon turn in an encore performance?

- First half defense: The Hoosiers have struggled defensively in the first half so far this season. They gave up 50 first half points to Chattanooga and Coach Sampson will be looking for more defensive intensity early on.

- Lance Stemler: The senior co-captain struggled against Chattanooga, going scoreless in 16 minutes of action. Can he regain the form he exhibited early last season?

As always, we welcome your comments here in the game thread.

The Hoosiers are back in action Sunday at noon in Assembly Hall opposite the Longwood Lancers in the opener of the Chicago Invitational Challenge.

The Lancers (2-1) are led by fifth-year coach Mike Gillian. Longwood is an independent and completed its reclassification period from Division II over a four-year span under Gillian. They won nine games (9-22) a year ago.

They’re 1-1 against Division I teams so far this season, including a 80-67 win at home over Norfolk State on Nov. 13. They fell 88-72 to Navy at home on Nov. 9 and beat Virginia Wise, a Division II team, 89-67 on Thursday night.

Four players are averging double figures in scoring thus far for the Lancers, led by 6-6 forward Kirk Williams at 20.3. Williams is also contributing 9.0 rebounds per contest. Other players to watch include: Dana Smith (15.3), Ryan Bogan (12.7), Lamar Barrett (10.7) and Brandon Giles (9.3).

Team wise, Longwood is averaging 80.3 points per game and shooting 49.7 percent from the field. One statistic the Hoosiers will look to expose is turnovers where the Lancers are averaging 18.3 per game.

This is the first meeting between the schools. To learn more about Longwood’s program, click here.