TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Without Sampson, Indiana Holds On

ADVERTISEMENT

The Associated Press

Published: February 24, 2008

EVANSTON, Ill. - A day after Indiana bought out Coach Kelvin Sampson's contract and players threatened to boycott, Armon Bassett scored a season-high 24 points and the No. 15 Hoosiers escaped with an 85-82 victory over Northwestern on Saturday night.

The game seemed like a fitting conclusion to one of the most difficult weeks in the storied program's history. The Hoosiers had to hang on against a team still searching for its first Big Ten win.

D.J. White deflected a potential go-ahead layup by Northwestern's Michael Thompson, then hit two free throws to make it 85-82 with five seconds left. Thompson missed a pull-up 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the Hoosiers moved into a three-way tie for first with Wisconsin and Purdue.

It was the first step in what could be a difficult healing process.

"It's been a long 48 hours, and everything has happened so fast," Bassett said.

Sampson agreed to a $750,000 buyout Friday and waived his right to sue the university for further damages after the NCAA charged him with five major rules violations involving calls to recruits in a report released 10 days earlier. The school hopes the fallout doesn't lead to more damage.

The first issue: Winning over the players.

The Hoosiers (23-4, 13-2 Big Ten) avoided one potential mess when the six who skipped Friday's practice, interim coach Dan Dakich's first, opted not to boycott the game. Instead, forward White and guards Jamarcus Ellis and Bassett were in the starting lineup as usual. Reserves Jordan Crawford, DeAndre Thomas and Brandon McGee also were available.

Crawford scored 21 and Gordon scored 18, hitting 13 of 16 free throws. White added 16 points and 11 rebounds.

"We weren't going to sit out the game," Bassett said.

Dakich said he understood the players' frustrations, that their reaction was "natural," and never considered punishing them. By Friday night, they had sent text messages to him saying they would be ready to play.

"It wasn't like a boycott," Dakich said. "To ask them to go practice, they're 18- to 22-year-old kids. ... Coach was a father figure, and now, for whatever the reason, he's no longer there. That's a difficult thing. There was no way that I was going to sit there and demand that they practice."

Kevin Coble scored a career-high 37 points for Northwestern (7-18, 0-14).

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT