THE GOOD AND THE BAD: DUKE

Because Indiana fans seem to love misery at times, let us revisit Wednesday night's debacle in Durham with the good and the bad.

THE GOOD

1. Nostalgia - Hey if nothing else the lead up to Wednesday's game served as a chance to watch highlights of the 2002 NCAA Sweet 16 victory over the Blue Devils at Rupp Arena. That A.J. Moye block of Carlos Boozer still amazes.

2. The Big Ten won - It hasn't been a banner pre-conference season for a league that arguably has been the nation's best the past three or four seasons. But when Iowa survived in overtime against Florida State it clinched the ACC-Big Ten Challenge for the league for the fifth time in the last seven years. Tom Crean's plans for a parade down Kirkwood are just a rumor so far - we think.

3. The clock expired - The game ended. Mercifully.

THE BAD

1. EXPOSED - The bad could go on longer than a toddler's Christmas Wish List but the most damning thing about performances like Wednesday is the stage at which it was played out on. In one of the prime slots of national television, playing in one of the hallowed venues in college basketball against the defending national champions, Indiana looked like little more than exhibition fodder for the Blue Devils. Indiana fell to 0-3 in nationally televised games this season and this was the worst performance to date.

Every national writer or analyst in the country is taking turns punching the Hoosiers in the face for their only consistent trait - inconsistent or just plain non-existent effort on defense. While the season is still very, very young, one stands to question why getting a team to put forth effort consistently on the defensive end has become such a chore for a coaching staff that is in its eighth year in the program.