IU Survives a Scare

Somewhere, you figure, Mike Davis is chuckling.

The specter of Indiana losing to Butler and Indiana State in the span of four days would have made for a most miserable Thanksgiving week, and Davis, the former IU coach now at Alabama-Birmingham, knows all about miserable weeks.

The Hoosiers (2-1) survived it by surviving Indiana State, 73-66, in a performance certain to give coach Kelvin Sampson plenty of practice fuel.

IU built a 20-point lead early in the second half, then weathered a furious Indiana State rally that cut the margin to two points. Lance Stemler’s three-pointer finally put the Hoosiers over the top, but this much is certain -– if they don’t start playing better, they’ll get killed at Duke.

Indiana has over a week to prepare for that Cameron Arena encounter, and you figure Sampson, who has a period of newcomer grace Davis never really had, will maximize his opportunity. Still, the offense is a concern, especially in the second half.

Let’s face it. Butler and Indiana State can’t defend like Duke. And that’s no joke.