Dec. 30, 2005

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Dec. 30 Practice Report

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The No. 17/17 (AP/Coaches) Indiana men's basketball team will make the short trek to Muncie, Ind., where it will face in-state rival Ball State at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 31. It will be the 19th meeting between the schools, with the Hoosiers holding an impressive 17-1 lead.

The Hoosiers are coming off a 73-55 win over Butler in Indianapolis' Conseco Fieldhouse on Dec. 23. IU was led by senior Marco Killingsworth's 27 points. Sophomore forward/guard Robert Vaden also played well, contributing a career-high 22 points, and team highs of seven rebounds and three assists.

Ball State, also coming off an 11-day break, enters Saturday's contest with a record of 4-3 overall. In their last game on Dec. 20, the Cardinals fell at Drexel, 56-51.

On The Air
The Indiana-Ball State game will be televised on the Ball State Television Network, with Vince Welch (play-by-play), Jerry Peirson (color commentary) and Kevin Lee (sideline) on the call. Additionally, all of Indiana's games can be heard live on the IU Radio Network. WHCC (105.1 FM in Bloomington) is the flagship station for the network that has more than 50 stations broadcasting Hoosier basketball. Don Fischer (play-by-play), former Indiana guard Todd Leary (color commentary) and Joe Smith (pregame, halftime and postgame host) call all of the action.

Scouting Ball State
Ball State enters the Dec. 31 contest against Indiana with a 4-3 record. However, after a 56-51 defeat at Drexel, the Cardinals have dropped three of their last five contests.

BSU is led by junior forward Skip Mills, who tops the team in points (19.4 ppg), rebounds (7.1 rpg), steals (16) and minutes per game (34.0). Junior guard Peyton Stovall, who was the team's second-leading scorer two games into the season, injured his knee and will miss the remainder of the season. Junior forward/center Charles Bass has stepped up admirably in Stovall's absence, collecting averages of 8.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.

Tim Buckley is in his sixth season as the head men's basketball coach at Ball State. Buckley has compiled an 87-72 (.547) record at the helm of the Cardinal program, and a 137-124 (.525) overall mark in his 10th year of coaching.

The Ball State Series
Ball State and Indiana will be meeting for the 18th time on the hardwood, with the Hoosiers winning 17 of the meetings. The only Ball State win came on Dec. 11, 1937 (42-38). The Hoosiers have won 14 straight games in the series, including topping the Cardinals, 71-59, on Dec. 28, 2004, in Indianapolis. Additionally, this will just be the fifth time IU will travel to Muncie, Ind. The last time IU played at Ball State's home court was three years ago to the night (12/31/02), with IU taking a 76-62 decision.

Ball State Last Time Out
Despite having a pair of seven-point leads in the first 10 minutes of its Dec. 20 game at Drexel, the Ball State men's basketball team fell to 4-3 overall with a 56-51 setback.

After the Cardinals built their second advantage, it was a 13-0 run from the host Dragons that proved to be the most decisive. Drexel erased a 19-12 BSU lead during a six-minute stretch to take the lead.

Junior forward Skip Mills paced Ball State for the seventh straight contest with a game-high 18 points. Freshman guard Maurice Acker set his brief college career highs with 12 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Indiana Last Time Out
In front of a pro-Hoosier crowd of 13,152 fans at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., the No. 18/17 Indiana men's basketball team improved to 7-2 on the season with a 73-55 triumph over Butler on Dec. 23.

As a team, Indiana outrebounded Butler, 35-17. Furthermore, the Hoosiers' stifling defense held the Bulldogs to 37-percent shooting. On the other side of the equation, IU connected on .568 percent of its shots. The Hoosiers also hit 18-of-20 free throws.

Senior forward Marco Killingsworth paced the Hoosiers with 27 points, while sophomore guard/forward Robert Vaden connected for a career-high-tying 22 points along with a 4-of-4 effort from behind the arc. Meanwhile, Vaden led Indiana with seven rebounds and three assists. Additionally, senior guard Lewis Monroe tied for a team-high three helpers.

Indiana put the clamps on Butler in the early going, as the Bulldogs failed to score until nearly three minutes into the contest. Vaden came out on fire with five of IU's initial eight points going into the first media timeout. Playing in front of a home crowd in the Circle City, Vaden made it 5-0 when he popped a trey from the corner before knocking down a 15-footer to build a 7-3 advantage.

Hot Shooting
Indiana's field goal percentage has been a key reason for its 7-2 start this season. After shooting just .425 from the floor during the 2004-05 campaign, Indiana has averaged an impressive .540 from the field through nine games this season. The single-season school record is .537 set during the 1985-86 campaign. In IU's 73-55 victory over in-state rival Butler on Dec. 23, the Hoosiers shot .667 (14-of-21) in the second half to finish the game with an impressive .568 (25-of-44) from the floor. In fact, it marked the seventh time in nine games Indiana has shot better than .500 in a game, and the 13th time in 18 halves the team bettered the mark. Compared to last season, the Hoosiers shot just .500 or better in five total games and 14 total halves.

Working The Boards
In its 73-55 win on Dec. 23, Indiana outrebounded Butler, 35-17, on the night. It marked the second time this season the Hoosiers outrebounded an opponent by at least 18 rebounds. IU also grabbed a 55-21 advantage on the boards in the season opener against Nicholls State.

In fact, the Hoosiers have a +6.0 rebounding margin on the season, and have grabbed as many or more rebounds in a game in six of their nine games. Compared to last year's first nine games when the Hoosiers had a -5.9 rebounding advantage, and had just one game where it matched its opponent on the boards (Charlotte 39, IU 39 on Dec. 22, 2004).