Allen Out; IU Eyes SIU

Don't expect to see Ben Allen playing for a while. The IU sophomore forward is out indefinitely with mononucleosis. He missed last Saturday's Kentucky game and coach Kelvin Sampson said he doesn't know when Allen will return.

Sampson, meanwhile, is optimistic about the Hoosiers' progress. Yes, the 5-3 record might have you worrying, but Sampson doesn't spend much time thinking about you. IU is defending well and hustling well and rebounding well. It went on the road and took Duke and Kentucky down to the wire.

Shooting was a problem at Kentucky (30.5 percent, just 54 points), but at least the Hoosiers got plenty of good looks. Eventually, Sampson suggested, those looks will translate into made baskets. Eventually, the end-of-game struggles will become end-of-game successes.

"The toughest thing to control in basketball is made shots," he said. "But if you look at everything else we did in that game, what didn't we do good? Don't ever confuse playing good with shooting good."

Of course, if shooting good and playing good happen at the same time, say Sunday night against Southern Illinois, all the better.