IU Looks For Upset

Are you like me? Did you pick No. 1 Ohio State to need overtime to get past Xavier today?

Sorry. Of course I didn’t see that coming. What I did see, in the hours leading up to Indiana’s second-round battle with UCLA, in a gorgeously warm morning (not to rub it in) was my first redwood tree and giant sequoia. They soared into a cloudless sky from Capitol Park in downtown Sacramento.

You bet they were impressive, but not so impressive as to make me lose sight of what is really important to IU fans -- a victory over UCLA.

To beat the second-seeded Bruins, the Hoosiers have to hit their three-pointers. They also need a big game from forward D.J. White. He’s the one IU inside player UCLA worries about. He can make a game-altering difference.

Of course the Bruins know that, which is why they will double team him hard and fast. That’s nothing White hasn’t seen before. They key, though, is how hard and fast the Bruins are able to swarm him, and White’s reaction to it.

If he does it well, who knows? Maybe IU, unlike Xavier, will close the upset deal.