For Lance Stemler and the LA Clippers, this one-game-a-week stuff has lost its luster. Why? The break in games hasn't meant a break in practice (seven in the previous five days).

Now comes the Christmas holiday, and if it had short-term negatives (thoughts of going home contributed to IU's poor first half during Saturday's 73-46 win over Coppin State), it should produce long-term benefits.

“Four weeks of practice and just one game on Saturdays is hard,” said Stemler, IU's senior forward. “I'm going to enjoy this time off. I'm a little beat up. I think we all have little nicks from playing so many games in a short time, and then not having time to recover with all these practices. It will help us get completely healthy.”

The No. 13 Hoosiers (10-1) left for home shortly after beating Coppin State and won't return for practice until Wednesday. That will give them three days to prepare for Chicago State (4-11), their last non-conference opponent before beginning Big Ten action with road trips to Iowa and Michigan.

“I'm glad they're going home,” coach Kelvin Sampson said of his players. “We might have been more tired than Coppin State.”

That's not likely given what the Eagles (3-10) went through. They lost at No. 10 Marquette 89-42 on Friday night, then drove seven hours by bus to Bloomington, basically arriving in time for their shoot-around.

Why did they do that?

For the money.

IU athletic director Rick Greenspan said Big Ten schools pay between $50,000 and $75,000 to bring in mid-major teams. He said Indiana generally doesn't pay more than $55,000 per game. The Marquette-Indiana swing likely earned the Eagles at least $100,000. They could earn anywhere from $500,000 to $750,000 for all their road games this season.

That's the opposite of major schools such as IU, which fund much of their athletic programs with home games.

Saturday's home game seemed destined for an instant blowout. The Hoosiers had won 24 straight games in Assembly Hall and five straight overall. Coppin State had lost seven straight, was 0-7 on the road and had to be fatigued. Yet at halftime, IU led just 28-26. Sampson said he was concerned before the game because players were talking about flights home rather than game assignments.

“The first half was a good lesson for us,” Sampson said. “It will be good for us down the road.”

Senior D.J. White, who flew home to Alabama on Saturday night, took responsibility for a half in which IU shot just 28 percent and had two assists, compared with seven turnovers.

“We had to pick it up,” he said. “Coach got on us in the locker room. That's on us. It's on me being a captain and a leader. We have to be more focused.”

Focus — and Coppin State fatigue — arrived in the second half. White fueled the Hoosiers' 20-4 game-changing run to finish with 21 points and eight rebounds. He just missed his seventh straight double-double. Freshman Eric Gordon overcame 2-for-13 shooting by making all 10 of his free throws for 15 points, nine below his season average.

“Our freshmen were like freshmen in that first half,” Sampson said. “But we were a good team in the second half. This is something to build on.”

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