Indiana Basketball Extravaganza, Day 4 - Dec 22, 2008 | 7:54:46
posted by: Ryan Powell
7:55 a.m. -- It's the final day of the Indiana Basketball Extravaganza! We're on the road to Milan, Indiana. Milan is home to the 1954 Indiana state basketball champions. Milan won championship in 1954 against Muncie Central High School, a school ten times its size. Hoosiers, the greatest sports movie of all time, is based on the Milan boy's high school basketball team.
8:01 a.m. -- The weather is much better than yesterday. It's still cold (2 degrees), but no snow or wind. Next stop, Milan.
8:53 a.m. -- We're sitting in the parking lot of Milan High School, about to head over to the Milan '54 Museum at 9 a.m.
9 a.m. -- We're pulling up to the Milan '54 Museum. It might be the smallest museum in the world.
9:40 a.m. -- Inside the museum. The space is small, but it's it's filled with all the history from the 1954 game. Roselyn McKittrick (she volunteers her time to keep the muesum running) and Linda Baurley (the brother of Milan center Gene White) showed us around. They're passionate about the museum, the town and the team. The have done a wonderful job preserving and collecting items from the 1954 game. The museum certainly is a goldmine of Indiana basketball history.
9:45 a.m. -- The museum has banners, trophies, signed basketball and lots of old photos. Roselyn showed us a binder filled with telegrams from fans to the team after they won the state title in 1954. One of the museums newest editions was the athletic trainer's box. It's an old toolbox filled with gauze and bandages.
Roselyn McKittrick shows off a Milan jersey from the movie Hoosiers.
Everyone should stop in at the Milan '54 Museum and have Roselyn show you around. She's lived in Milan for 53 years, loves the town, and is passionate about basketball. Tell her Ryan and Howard sent you.
9:55 a.m. -- We're back in the car, headed over to Milan High School with head boy's varisty basketball coach Wes Peek. He's showing us the Milan State Championship banners and trophy. Coach Peek is in his first year coaching the team.
10:05 a.m. -- Thanks to Coach Peek for taking the time to open up the school and show us around. The state championship banners are huge and the court looks great. Wish we had time to shoot around.
10:07 a.m. -- The state trophy and part of the original floor are in the lobby. Thanks again to everyone at Milan. We had a great time and are already planning a return trip. Next stop, Evansville -- 215 miles away -- and Game 9 of the Extravaganza! See you in three hours.
The Indiana Basketball Experience is jumping time zones: Southern Indiana is in the Central time zone.
1:13 p.m. -- We just arrived at the Physical Activities Center at the University of Southern Indiana. A big accident on I-64 forced us onto side streets. We may or may not have pulled a U-turn across the grass median on the interstate.
Game 9:Truman State at Southern Indiana, Division II women, 1 p.m. (Central Time), Evansville, IN (Physical Activities Center)
1:18 p.m. -- Front row seats at half court. Southern Indiana is out to the early lead, 12-6. Truman State Bulldogs are in purple. The Eagles are wearing their home white jerseys.
1:22 p.m. -- We're sitting next to the Eagles' play-by-play team, and the guy has a great radio voice. He's practically writing my blog posts for me.
1:23 p.m. -- The Physical Activities Center is a great place to watch a basketball game. The court is three years old and the scoreboard on the wall is brand new. A second level behind the basket lets fans look down on the action. We're heading up there for some photos.
1:25 p.m. -- Southern Indiana is leading 18-12, and their their coach,Rick Stein, hasn't sat down since the game started. Hehas the opportunity to tie the program's all-time record for career victories with a win today. Stein, who was the GLVC Coach of the Year in 2000-01, currently has 158 wins in his nine-plus seasons at the helm of the USI women's basketball program. Chancellor Dugan amassed 159 wins in her eight-year career as the Eagles' head coach.
1:36 p.m. -- Three minutes left in the first half. Southern Inidana has a commanding lead, 32-12.
1:55 p.m -- It's halftime at the Physical Activities Center. Southern Indiana is rolling 32-14.
We're going to have to hit the road. Thanks to everyone at Southern Indiana. We'll be following the action live on the Web
3 p.m. -- Back in the Eastern time zone.
3:29 p.m. -- We've been listening to the Southen Indiana radio broadcast and just got a shout out from the play-by-play guys on 820/AM. Five minutes left in the game, Southern Indiana is cruising, 63-43.
3:40 p.m. -- Congrats to Southern Indiana. The Eagles won 67-50, the team's sixth win of the year.
3:43 p.m. -- Greencastle, Indiana is the next stop. We're about 88 miles out. See you on the other side.
4:33 p.m. -- We're about 45 minutes from DePauw. The trip meter clicked over 1,100 miles traveled a little earlier. That's a ridiculous amount of time listening to Howard sing. Wonder where else 1,100 miles could have taken us? Probably someplace warmer.
Game 10:Baldwin-Wallace at DePauw, Division III women, 5 p.m., Greencastle, IN (Lilly Center)
5:57 p.m. -- We're at Neal Fieldhouse, and have great seats up in the press box. We're high above the court -- a way to watch the game, and the first for us during the Extravaganza.
6:03 p.m. -- Three minutes into the second half and DePauw leads 42-27. DePauw enters the game with a 5-3 record. Baldwin-Wallace is 4-4. This is only the second meeting between the two schools. In 1998, DePauw defeated Baldwin-Wallace 70-63, in a NCAA Division II playoff game.
6:10 p.m. -- We're sitting in between the play-by-play guys for both schools. It's pretty cool to hear the dueling commentary.
6:15 p.m. -- DePauw leads by 16 with 11:47 left in the game. DePauw unstoppable at Neal Fieldhouse. The Tigers have won a school-record 27 straight home games.
6:25 p.m. -- DePauw up by 14, 7:05 left in the game. Baldwin-Wallace has started to cut into the lead.
6:26 p.m. -- DePauw is broadcasting the game live at WGRE.
6:28 p.m. -- Baldwin-Wallace is broadcasting the game live on the campus radio station WBWC.
6:36 p.m. -- Under two minutes at Neal Fieldhouse and DePauw leads 70-57.
6:39 p.m. -- Baldwin-Wallace won't go away, but Depauw just hit a huge three-pointer to extend the lead to 14.
6:41 p.m. -- DePauw wins. The final from Neal Fielhouse is 74-63. Great game. We're going to grab some photos and take a quick tour of the gym. DePauw's next home game is December 28 vs. Spalding at 7 p.m.
7 p.m. -- That's a wrap from Neal Fieldhouse. We loved sitting above the court. Great view. Thanks to the folks DePauw University. Good luck with the rest of the season. Next stop, Bloomington, Indiana. It's the last game of the Indiana Basketball Extravaganza.
8:25 p.m. -- Here we go. Game 11 of the Indiana Basketball Extravaganza. We've traveled more than 1,200 miles over the past four days.
8:29 p.m. -- The drive took a little longer than expected. We stayed under to speed limit to make sure we didn't run into any deer.Reliabale sources told us they were out in force.
8:32 p.m. -- Having dinner in the media room. Howard jas already back in line for a second plate of pasta and salad.
9:02 p.m. -- Game starts in five minutes. The lights are down and the pregame festivities has started. Northeastern takes the floor. The crowd is polite. An Indiana video montage is playing and the clapping and music begins to get louder. The Hoosiers burst through a banner on the side of the court and the fans go crazy.
9:10 p.m. -- Assembly Hall is awesome. It's my first trip here and I can't believe how steep the stands are. The upper seats are not completely full, but it's still a sea of red. Five minutes into the first half and Indiana is up 9-3.
9:22 p.m. -- Ten minutes to play in the first half and Northeastern has cut the lead to 2. The crowd has gotten silent. We're seated behind the Indiana band, and they are doing what they can to keep the crowd energized.
9:26 p.m. -- Northeastern hits a huge bucket to take the lead, 15-14. You can hear a pin drop at Assembly Hall. It's been a ridiculous run for Northeastern.
9:31 p.m. -- Even at the far end of the court we can hear Indiana Head Coach Tom Crean yelling instructions to his student-athletes. Indiana is down, 18-14.
The fans are doing what they can to urge on Inidnana. The chant of "GO HOO-SIERS, GO'' is echoing through Assembly Hall.
9:37 -- Under four minutes to play in the first half and Indiana is still trailing. The tuba guy in front of us hasn't sat since the game started. He's getting quite the working dancing around.
10:04 p.m. -- Sorry about the extended break in coverage. Northeastern went into halftime leading by 10. We hit the media room earlier. The dinner buffet is back and we wanted to make sure we grabbed another plate of pasta.
10:06 p.m. -- The Indiana Basketball Extravaganza has its first stalker. We've seen the same Associated Press reporter at four other basketball games during our trip. He was a little too shy to pose for a photo.
10:14 p.m. -- Northeastern picked up right where they left off at the end of the first half. They lead 34 - 24.
10:17 p.m -- Assembly Hall is easily the largest crowd we've seen, and there are still a lot of open seats. The fans don't look too happy about the score.
10:15 p.m. -- Howard took off for the rafters. He's shooting video and grabbing a photo. Words don't do Assembly Hall justice -- the seating is unbelievable.
10:20 p.m. -- Indian has cut the lead to eight and the crowd is getting back into the game.
10:29 p.m. -- Northeastern leads by 12. The fans at Assembly Hall are not happy. I've counted four Northeastern fans, all behind the team's bench. Fact of the night: Northeastern is playing returning from a 12-day layoff for final exams.
10:36 p.m. -- Being a Ball State graduate I shouldn't enjoy the Indiana fight song, but it's hard not to tap your foot when the band in belting it out, and all the fans at Assembly Hall are singing along. Don't tell my brother.
10:40 p.m -- Northeastern's lead is 10. The Huskies are 2-12 all-time against Big Ten opponents. They've lost the previous two games against Indiana.
10:54 p.m. -- Northeastern is up 12 with 60 seconds to play.
10:49 -- Indiana fans are heading for the exits. Less than two minutes in the game, and Northeastern is up 12. Indiana would need a ridiculous rally to get back in the game.
10:58 p.m. Congratulations to Northeastern. The Huskies came into Bloomington and knocked off Indiana, 55-42. We're going to try and catch some of the postgame press conference. Stay tuned.
11:11 p.m. -- We're sitting in the press room waiting for any coaches and student-athletes to stop in. The Huskies have to be pleased with the way they played. Even though Indiana lost by double digits, fans are still crowding the souvenir shop.
11:14 p.m. -- The folks in the press room are starting to get antsy. Overheard: "Some of us would like to go home tonight." I can't argue with that.
11:18 p.m. -- Still no sign of any coaches or players. Bueller? You'll just have to imagine somebody sitting the table.
12:00 p.m. -- We waited as long as we could for the press conference, but our 17-hour day is catching up with us. The Indiana Basketball Extravaganza has officially ended. Thanks to all the student-athletes, coaches and athletics departments for their support and hospitality. We've watched 11 games, traveled more than 1,200 miles, and seen some great basketball. Thanks for coming along for the ride.
Check back tomorrow for our Indiana Basketball Extravaganza recap.
Comments
OK, I'll give you that Hoosiers is a great movie. But, honestly, I'm not sure it's the best sports movie ever. In fact, I'm not even sure it's the best sports movie set in Indiana. Two words: RUUUUUUUUDY!, RUUUUUUUUUUUUDY!
posted by: Anonymous | 12/22/08
In response to the previous comment, my two favorite sports movies are Hoosiers and Rudy. I'm not sure if I can pick one over the other. We are currently sitting in the parking lot at Milan High School, and I'm absolutely pumped to be here.
posted by: Howard Smith | 12/22/08
I'll take Hoosiers over Rudy.
posted by: Anonymous | 12/22/08
Rudy beats Hoosiers by a mile.
posted by: Dave | 12/22/08
Slapshot is the single greatest sports movie. What would you rather have- a bunch of thugs beating each other senseless until their team folds, or a paint by numbers movie that follows formula step by step?
Gimme old time hockey.
posted by: Oglethorpe | 12/22/08
So now that you have been all over the state, who has had the best media food?
posted by: Dave | 12/22/08
Hoosiers is the greatest sports movie ever made.......except for Rudy. I've seen Rudy 30+
times and I cry every time, without embarrassment.
posted by: bill | 12/22/08
Great job guys!
posted by: John | 12/23/08
6:41 p.m. Who won? Not Baldwin Wallace!
throughout: DePauw (not "Depauw")
Go Tigers!
posted by: Neal Abraham | 12/23/08
Thanks, Neal.
Bad error on my part. DePauw defeated Baldwin-Wallace.
We've made the changes. Let us know if you see anything else out of place.
Thanks for checking out the blog.
Ryan
posted by: Ryan Powell | 12/23/08
1. Hoosiers
2. Breaking Away
3. Rudy - though a member of the actual team said he was a nobody.
posted by: Tom | 12/31/08
Hoosiers and Rudy are two of the best. Nods to Eight Men Out, Glory Road, The Natural, Miracle. And of course, Field of Dreams!
posted by: b0ggzLEE | 01/04/09
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It means that two very good teams with very good coaches made it to the final game.