Hoosiers Fall to Gophers

While I was not able to stream this game live because of a failed dish network at school and a faulty sports viewing website that is normally reliable, I was able to follow the game center for it and took away some things from this disappointing loss.  First off, Minnesota was hungry and desperate for a Big Ten win.  They are a quality team, better than their 0-4 league record may suggest despite losing Mbakwe last month to injury.  The Hoosiers, I feel, may have been too comfortable at home where they were perfect on the year.  Verdell Jones III went scoreless, which killed the Hoosiers.  Now I know in past years they needed him to score 20+ points to have a chance, but a solid 10 points a night from him this year is all that is expected.  He simply didn't give that, going 0-6 from the field.  While Sheehey did pick up his scoring slack with 12 points in just 15 minutes of action, it was not enough to get the Hoosiers over the hump.  The part that frustrated me was that they understand they are good, but seemed to just expect to beat the Golden Gophers handily.  Any team in the Big Ten is coming in looking for a win to get jump started in the right direction, and the Gophers were no exception to that rule.  They are well-coached by Tubby Smith and got the job done today.  The Hoosiers need to come out strong against the Ohio State Buckeyes, who are looking to avenge their defeat at the hands of the Hoosiers are New Year's Eve.  Zeller vs. Sullinger will be a treat to watch again, but other key match ups may determine the outcome of this game.