Red-Hot Hoosiers Handle UCONN

This was the tough-minded approach Kelvin Sampson has brought. This was why he preaches not just playing hard, but competing, which means showing the resolve to handle any situation.

It means, in fact, the kind of victory Indiana produced in holding off Connecticut in a nationally televised victory.

The Hoosiers (14-4) were on the road and didn’t flinch, not when the Huskies rallied from a 14-point first-half deficit, not when Connecticut continued to hammer them on the offensive boards, not when the pressure mounted a lesser team would have buckled.

IU made the plays it had to make –- bombing three-pointers, getting inside success from D.J. White (pictured) and Mike White, benefiting from the tough-as-nails play of Rod Wilmont.

So now the Hoosiers have won five straight, two on the road, and are looking more and more like a threat to Wisconsin’s early Big Ten dominance.

They don’t have long to enjoy this. They go to Illinois on Tuesday, but these are not the Illini of recent vintage. They are young and vulnerable and, it seems, capable of breaking under IU’s relentless pressure.

Yes, Indiana will bring the pressure. It will batter with defense and tenacity. Maybe this time it will result in its first ranking of the season. If not, don't blame me. I voted for them last week.

Hey, this is why Sampson was hired. This is why the Hoosiers are thriving. And they’re not done yet.