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Indiana reeling

The Indiana Hoosiers and their season of redemption are in danger of being voided.

The Hoosiers were red-hot in 2005, starting the campaign at 11-2 overall and looking every inch the Big Ten title contender pundits expected to see in Bloomington. That was then; now Indiana is on the skids after a pair of blowout road losses to Iowa and Minnesota. The Hoosiers are also a poverty-inducing 1-6 against the spread in 2006.

The difference between Indiana’s potential and results can be found in D.J. White’s X-rays. The sophomore forward broke his left foot during the preseason, came back to play five games, then suffered another broken bone in the same foot during the Jan. 7 win over then-No. 15 Ohio State. White hasn’t played since, and Indiana is plummeting down the Big Ten standings without his services. He is likely out for the remainder of the season.

White, the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year, was looking at a breakout campaign in 2005. Instead, his offseason conditioning was interrupted by surgery on his cheekbone, and White was never able to get back on track. The Hoosiers are missing his presence in the paint; White started all 29 games last year and racked up 13.3 points, 4.9 boards and an impressive 2.2 blocks per appearance. None of the remaining Hoosiers are putting up more than one block per game this year.

If Indiana is fortunate, the loss to Minnesota will prove to be the low point of the season. The Golden Gophers routed the Hoosiers 61-42 Sunday afternoon, earning their first conference win of the season and cashing in as 2 ½-point home underdogs. White wasn’t the only Indiana injury of note during that clash. Senior guard Marshall Strickland was playing hurt against the Gophers, and was held scoreless as the Hoosiers shot just 32.1 percent from the floor. Indiana had been tops in the nation in field goal percentage at 53.1 before this road trip of futility.

Strickland was a point guard in his first three years in Bloomington. But after a relatively disappointing junior campaign, he was shifted over to the 2-spot in favor of Auburn transfer Lewis Monroe. The move helped Strickland immensely, raising his field-goal percentage from 36.6 to 48.3. However, neither Monroe nor JUCO transfer Earl Callaway has lived up to expectations thus far. Strickland spent some time running the offense against Minnesota and served up five assists despite his 0-for-4 shooting performance.

There is also cause for concern with senior forward Marco Killingsworth, the top scorer in the Big Ten. Killingsworth sat for a nine-minute stretch of the second half against Iowa. It appeared at the time that coach Mike Davis was benching the big man for playing without energy; since then, some reports indicate Killingsworth was suffering from back spasms. Sunday’s game against the Gophers brought some more drama. Killingsworth managed 15 points and eight rebounds in 30 minutes of action, but also got into foul trouble early and lost his temper late, shoving Minnesota forward J'son Stamper during the second half.

Indiana’s climb back to respectability starts Wednesday night with a date at Assembly Hall against the Northwestern Wildcats. On paper, it doesn’t look like much of a challenge. The ‘Cats barely snapped a four-game losing streak on Jan. 25 with a 78-76 overtime triumph over reeling Purdue. Indiana, meanwhile, is still 7-1 overall at home, although just 1-5 ATS.

Things get more difficult for the Hoosiers next week. The No. 1 UConn Huskies will be in Bloomington for a tough non-conference battle on national television, then Indiana is on the road again to face the No. 21 Wisconsin Badgers four days later. That’s the first of five away games in the last month of the regular season. The back-to-back losses to Iowa and Minnesota dropped Indiana to 7-20 in Big Ten road action over the past four years.

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