[Quality88]

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The chant started percolating inside Assembly Hall early in the first half of Indiana University's 70-51 victory against the University of Kentucky yesterday.
It might have been after Jordan Crawford bounced up to make one three-point shot and then moved out deeper to make a more difficult one on IU's next possession.
Make note of the guy trying to defend Mr. Crawford -- it was the other Mr. Crawford, Jordan's older and previously more acclaimed brother, Joe, the UK senior.
"JORDAN'S BETTER!!! JORDAN'S BETTER!!!"
Little brother -- helped by the IU students -- was turning this sibling rivalry into a roast. Jordan never raised an index finger to his lips to ask for quiet. He just kept going around big brother to score.
"(The chant) hurt," Joe Crawford said. "But I just wanted to get back into the game and fight back."
Family matter made public
Sylvia Crawford, mother to both boys, traveled from Detroit with her husband, Joe Sr., to watch her sons compete against each other in an official game for the first time. Mom dressed in a red IU basketball T-shirt and a blue UK Christmas hat. Dad reversed that wardrobe pattern, wearing a black UK sweatshirt and red IU cap.
The more Jordan scored, the more the Hoosiers' lead grew, the more the students chanted, the more Mom looked as if she wanted to pull the hat over her conflicted face. Jordan made 3 of 5 three-point shots and led Indiana with 20 points. Joe took five more shots and scored half as many points as baby brother, an IU freshman.
"JORDAN'S BETTER!!!"
That's a lot of chanting -- and a lot of bragging rights -- for a little brother who was once a recruiting afterthought to hold over an older brother who was once a McDonald's All-American and certain pro.
"That was painful," Mom said. "Very painful. These guys aren't pros. They're still young men. Sometimes people forget that."
"I enjoyed every moment of it," Dad said.
Even the taunting?
"Joe's got a big load on his shoulders," Dad said. "He can handle it. That's part of the game. We've had a lot of long talks with Joe. It's been a tough year. I understand this."
Understand this: The play of the Crawford brothers is a perfect snapshot of the flight pattern of these programs. Indiana is in ascent, ignoring the absence of three possible starters to win by the Hoosiers' fourth-largest margin in this series. UK is fighting through considerable turbulence, wondering when it will get healthy and find five guys who can function productively together.
Unlikely hero

Jordan Crawford had missed Indiana's previous three games for disciplinary reasons that his mother hinted were related to academics.
Jordan not only started yesterday; he played 39 minutes. No Eric Gordon. A sore hip grounded IU's freshman with the 24.3-point scoring average. No Armon Bassett. He took Jordan's place in street clothes for disciplinary reasons.
Even without two guys who had scored 43 percent of the Hoosiers' points this season, IU never flinched.
Credit Jordan Crawford, once a scrawny 5-foot-8 high school sophomore who was headed for Xavier until IU fell in love with him at a prep school last year.
Jordan Crawford was not certain his brother would guard him until tipoff. "When I saw him on me I had to smile," Jordan said, smiling again. "Then I had to get to business."
Joe had his own business to deal with -- listening to the jeers and dealing with the uncertainty of the unfolding season for this 4-3 Kentucky team.
"I'm happy for my brother," Joe Crawford said. "He's learned a lot, and I'm happy for him. But I'm not happy in the way we played."
Yesterday it wasn't easy being Big Brother.

Rick Bozich: In a matchup of Crawfords, Jordan rules