IU Hoosiers open tonight against Mississippi Valley

BLOOMINGTON, Indiana -- James Blackmon and Robert Johnson face their college basketball debut with a veteran’s burden. They are young, expected to play fast, required to play smart.

Granted, this is Mississippi Valley State and not, say, Louisville, which looms in a couple of weeks. Tonight’s competition should not rattle them into non-stop mistakes, which doesn’t mean it will be easy.

IU has multiple keys to restore national relevance and one of the biggest is limiting turnovers. When you start two freshmen, as the Hoosiers will tonight with Blackmon and Johnson, mistakes happen. When you play fast, when your offense emphasizes full-throttle pace and attack-the-basket ruthlessness, mistakes happen.

Combine the two and you get … what?

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