The B-town crew is back with their first all-basketball podcast of the season. We talk about the aftermath of the Butler game, and the overwhelming Zeller Effect that this squad has seen. We also discuss the development of Oladipo and Sheehey, the struggles with Christian Watford, the potential issues present in today’s North Carolina State, and whether our schedule predictions need revising.
Archive for November, 2011
Pre-Game Meal: NC State
Opponent: North Carolina State Wolfpack
Record: 5-1
Series History: IU leads 2-0, but the Hoosiers and Wolfpack haven’t renewed hostilities since December of 1968.
Time to defend the conference’s honor: This matchup is again part of the B1G Ten/ACC challenge, or as my friend’s 6 year old daughter likes to call it, “THAT STUPID PIECE OF SHIT MADE FOR TV TRAVESTY WHERE INDIANA LOSES.” She’s a sweet girl. When the conferences originally came up with the idea, the ACC only had 9 schools and the B1G 10 had 11. The mild mannered Hoosier coach at the time politely declined the invitation. Unfortunately, that’s no longer an option with both conferences having 12 teams(and the ACC definitely moving to 14.) For the last 10 years, IU has played in the tournament, but often times wished they hadn’t. The Hoosiers are 3-7 in the event, but have lost 7 of 
their last 8. Initially, IU’s higher profile made the losses slightly easier to swallow. It’s one thing to lose to the UNC and Duke’s of the world. Lately though, IU has just been bad, losing to Boston College last year.
Forget the past, Live in the now: And what we have now is a team that has been crushing opponents left and right. Of course the fact that the strength of schedule is currently ranked 305th in the nation can’t be dismissed. But through the first 6 games, it appears as if Tom Crean showed his team film from last year and said, “Now go out and do the exact opposite.” The Hoosiers are getting to the foul line- they rank 3rd nationally in free throw rate. They are making their free throws when they get to the stripe- ranking 1st in the B1G Ten in made free throws. They are taking good shots- ranking 5th in the nation and 1st in the B1G Ten in field goal percentage. Meanwhile, defensively, they’re not fouling nearly as often, they’re closing out on shooters, and while the rebounding numbers could be better, any grade above pathetic is a drastic improvement over the last few years.
But what about the weak schedule: The weak schedule is the last argument of the great Hoosier doubters. IU has of course not left its home state, and the Hoosiers have played a collective Who’s not Who, excluding the beat down of Butler on Sunday. But I think too much is made of the schedule. IU has played a soft schedule and done exactly what it was supposed to do, namely win games by an average of 24 points. All the weaker schedule means is that we can’t draw too many conclusions yet. We simply know IU is good enough to bully the little kids, in the coming weeks we’ll get a chance to see how the Hoosiers hold up against kids their own size.
Stat to consider while working out the different scheduling opportunities when Pitt and Syracuse join the ACC: 13.3 which is Will Sheehey’s points per game so far. Following Will Sheehey’s epic coming out party against the Bulldogs, it’s time to consider just how impressive the sophomore’s offensive improvement has been. Last year, Sheehey averaged just under 5 points per game. He battled inconsistent playing time and an even more inconsistent jump shot. Everyone knew the energy level he could bring. But it was difficult to tell if he would ever emerge enough offensively to warrant major minutes. To this point in the year, he’s brought about a career’s worth of improvement into one off season. Going back through the last decade or so, the only name I could find with a more dramatic upswing in offense in just one year was Tom Coverdale who went from scoring 10 points/season to just over 10 points per game between the ’99-2000 and 2000-2001 seasons.
Scouting Future Opponents: The Stetson Hatters open up Atlantic Sun action against East Tennessee State on Thursday
The #1 Kentucky Wildcats host St. Johns on Thursday and North Carolina on Saturday before taking a week off to prepare for the Hoosiers.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on Gonzaga on Wednesday night.
Prediction: NC State will never call itself THE North Carolina State University
While Butler has rightly established its reputation with a pair of NCAA Finals appearances, this is the first time this where IU will actually be a slight underdog. Last year we saw that the Hoosiers were just not quite tough enough when they lost to Boston College. This year, I think IU at least passes the toughness test. In a close game that goes down to the wire, the Hoosiers start making up for all the near misses of the last few years. IU wins 77-72.
Predicted record so far: 6-0
Actual Record so far: 6-0
Regular Season Predicted Record: 20-11
*Thanks as always to Statsheet.com and SportsReference.com
That Just Happened – Purdue
So that’s what a 1-11 season feels like!
When Purdue went up by 16 in the 4th, I had seen enough to know that I had seen to much, and started the drive home to Carmel. So I missed what sounded like a horrific call on the duel possession catch. It sounded not only like the wrong call, but made no sense that the reason it couldn’t be reviewed was because it dealt with a change of possession.
In talking with Galen, he put on his conspiracy theory hat, a hat of his that I truly miss, and said that it was in the B1G’s interest to let Purdue get bowl eligible.
Here is the way that I see it, and you should see it also. Had the refs decided to review that call, it would have taken at least 4-5 minutes, meaning that this 2011 Football season would have lasted an extra 4-5 minutes for all Hoosier fans. That would be a tragedy! This season could not end fast enough, so let’s all thank the refs for getting us out of this season quicker!
I know there is a lot to be nervous about after an 1-11 season, but here are the highlights for me:
- We are going to hear a lot about young players getting experience for the future. But even with 2-3 years of game experience, aren’t 4 & 5 star recruits at Michigan State, Ohio State, etc, going to be better as a Sophomore or Junior playing in their first game? Using EA Sports NCAA 2012 terms, maybe our players are progressing from overall 65 to 78, but if other teams are getting guys starting at an 80, are we really any better off?
- Our schedule next year is brutal. First looking at the non-conference, we should beat Indiana State and maybe UMass. You would think we could beat Ball State at home, but after this season that is no gimme. At Navy is probably a loss. But B1G season is where it starts to hurt. @Northwestern, @Illinois, @ Penn State & @Purdue, all teams we couldn’t beat at home this year. We host Michigan State, Ohio State, Iowa and Wisconsin. Three of those teams beat us by over 14 points this year. I’m not sure I see a B1G win next season. Ugh!
- Sitting with friends during the game, had two fun conversations. First we discussed that if we started the BEST player we have ever had at each position, would we win the B1G against today’s teams? We also discussed if we would ever play in the B1G Championship game. I think that is has to happen sometime in the next 50 years. My friend seems to think that it will not happen in the next 100 years.
But instead of ending the season on a negative, I’ll leave you with this image that I found online that should help you get through the post-season. If we ever have that one magical season, this is what our helmets could look like!
TJH 2012 Projected Record – 4-8 (1-7)
I think we go 3-1 in the non-B1G games, with a loss to Navy. Right now I can’t tell you where we get our one B1G game next year, but I HAVE to think that we get 1 B1G win next year. No way we go two years with a B1G win.
Enough from me. What are your thoughts?
BracketPod 11.28.11
A new week means a new BracketPod, and this week the guys tackle a variety of teams, conferences, and events, including a full-on breakdown of Conference USA’s at-large chances, the miracle that is Boston College, and where the A-10 stands. But the big item on this marathon podcast is the manifest analysis of the Big Ten – ACC challenge, which starts on Tuesday and contains everything from the sublime to the atrocious. We also talk about the myriad tournaments that finished this week, including the Atlantis and the 76 Championship.
Post-gameSpreecast – Butler
Our post-game Spreecast! We are joined by a whole host of folks, talking about IU’s big win over Butler. Check out the archive here.
Pre-Game Meal: Butler
Pre-Game Meal: BUTLER
Opponent: Butler Bulldogs (3-2) 
Series History: Indiana leads 36-13
Last Meeting: Butler beat the Hoosiers 60-55 in 2006. That was in the midst of the last rebuilding job, but not to worry Hoosier fans, Eric Gordon had committed to the Hoosiers so we knew good times were on the way. Ah the folly of always waiting for the recruits.
Last IU Win: The Hoosiers beat the Bulldogs 73-55 in 2005. I remember at the time it was a gratifying win which temporarily raised the false hope that IU would make be a top tier B1G Ten Team. Nope. 9-7 in the B1G Ten. 1st round loss in NCAA tournament.
Our Once and Future King: Butler’s incredible success the last few years has raised the profile of coach Brad Stevens from mild mannered assistant to brilliant coach to demi god. If IU had a win for every time a fan wondered, “why didn’t we hire this guy” they wouldn’t have to be worried about a rebuilding job. This ignores the fact that Stevens’ success at Butler is as unlikely to be repeated as it is remarkable. This is to take nothing away from Stevens, I would think he was a brilliant coach if he had lost in the 2nd round last year, but rather it’s an acknowledgement 
that expecting any coach who has a fantastic run in the NCAA tournament to repeat that magical run is setting yourself up for disappointment. The fact that Butler DID repeat the run last year makes it less likely, not more likely that he’s going to continue to enjoy the same success. Again, if this sounds like sour grapes, that’s not the intention. Rather it’s an acknowledgement that in order to go to the NCAA finals two years in a row requires an awful lot of things to go right. One of those things is to have the requisite talent and to coach them well. And after that, you need to get a lucky bounce or two, and even that’s not usually enough. So congratulations are certainly in order. If Indiana decides to pull the plug on Coach Clapsalot, I hope the first, second, and third call is to Brad Stevens. But let’s not assume that because he took two relatively undertalented teams to the NCAA title game, that he’d do the same at IU.
This year’s matchup: If Butler’s ascendancy has done anything, it’s elevated the profile of the game for the Hoosiers. For a long time Butler had the worst reputation for big name schools like Indiana. They were good enough that there was a reasonable chance IU would lose. But still small enough that the national headline would be that Indiana lost. Because Butler has raised it’s profile, in terms of perception, an IU win is seen as a bigger achievement than it should be, and the perceived concern from an IU loss is smaller than reality. This Butler team is likely to struggle to win the Horizon league championship much less the NCAA championship. Of course I would have said the same thing about them at this time last year.
Stat to ponder while you investigate who ate the rest of the God damn stuffing: 80.6% The difference in the game is likely to be the fact Cody Zeller chose to join the Hoosiers over the Bulldogs last November. His 73 points leads IU(his current pace has him breaking the Cody pool at around the 18th game.)An announcer during the game was amazed at Zeller’s field goal percentage being higher than his free throw percentage. Tom Pritchard doesn’t see what the big deal is, that’s been the case in his games for 3 years running.
Prediction: The number of “We got Cody” chants will hit the over, no matter where the line is set. As I said, I think the national perception will be that this is a big win or a reasonable loss for IU. But Butler at this stage of the season is a team that IU should be able to beat. If the Hoosiers are a NCAA quality team, this is a game they must win. Fortunately, Cody Zeller will be too much on the inside, and a plethora of shooters will be too much on the outside.
IU wins 72-57.
Comments Off
more...
Pre-Game Meal: Bucket week
Week 12 Pre-Game Meal
Opponent: Purdue 5-6 (3-4)
Series History: Purdue leads 70-37-6
Last IU win: Last year, in what was one of a scarce collection of highlights in the Bill Lynch era, the Hoosiers battled back from a 1st half 14 point deficit to beat the Boilers 34-31 in double overtime.
Last IU win in Bloomington: The Hoosiers blew a 24-3 lead, but Austin Starr’s 49 yard field goal with 30 seconds left put IU in its first bowl game in 14 years.
Schadenfreude isn’t just for Avenue Q
Let’s be honest, this season has sucked. Deep in our hearts, we probably should have known it would suck. Despite the promise of a select few returning players, there were more than enough problems carrying over to warn us against expecting instant success. The defense was spotty last year, there was no running game to speak of, and the three headed monster at quarterback was sure to make the most optimistic fan turn sour. But still, we lost to Ball State and North Texas for crying out loud. The Hoosiers haven’t beaten an FBS opponent all season.
Despite the disappointments, there have been a few rays of sunshine. Tre Roberson has taken over at quarterback, and doesn’t look to be giving the position back anytime soon. Stephen Houston and Kofi Hughes have shown a few glimmers of potential. And Adam Pines hasn’t hit anyone with a punt in the last few weeks.
Still, no matter what happens this weekend, it’s hard to see the season as anything more than a letdown. So with that in mind, it only makes sense to want Purdue to be just as disappointed. The last time IU had a chance to knock Purdue out of the post-season with a win was in 2002, but the Boilers beat Gerry Dinardo’s Hoosiers 34-10. The last time IU actually kept Purdue from bowl eligibility was 1981 when Indiana prevailed 20-17. The Hoosiers that year were 3-8 under Lee Corso.
Defend the Bucket
In order to spoil the winter for Purdue fans, IU will have to do something it hasn’t done since 1994, defend the bucket. The early 90’s were actually pretty heady days for IU’s football team versus the Boilers. In the last 10 years of Bill Mallory’s career, IU was 7-3 against Purdue. Since then, IU is 3-11.
Stat to consider when deciding whether or not to go back for another plate of leftovers
239.2 You most definitely should go back for leftovers. Especially if you’re a prospective offensive or defensive lineman. The 239. 2 rushing yards given up by the Hoosiers is 4th from the bottom of all FBS teams. The Hoosiers defense in addition to being too small and slow is also becoming increasingly young as attrition and performance have led to more underclassmen seeing time by the week. So whether it’s being burned because they have to cheat with a safety to stop the run, or because they keep enough players back to guard against the pass, there’s just not a lot of positive things to say. The good news is that Purdue is much more like Ohio State than Michigan State on offense, so hopefully the offense will score enough to keep things close until the end.
Scouting Future Opponents; None. Once the (hopefully Boiler free) bowl announcements are made, we’ll scout each of the B1G Ten and other non-conference opponent’s games. Until then, watch some basketball, apparently this Zeller kid doesn’t suck.
Prediction: Anyone who has put money on my predictions this year probably has some broken appendages.
Despite the blowout loss last week, there are some reasons to believe IU can keep this game close. Purdue doesn’t have an offense that’s capable of blowing the Hoosiers out, and while spotty, the IU offense has shown some ability to carry out a few scoring drives per game. If the game is close in the final minutes, IU’s special teams can pull it out. But I’m thinking it’s more like the 1999 bucket matchup which IU could never quite get over the hump. Purdue 31 IU 20.
BracketPod 11.21.11
New BracketPod! We talk bad basketball…all kinds of it. Texas, Notre Dame, most of the ACC, UCLA, large sections of the Big 12, and more. Plus, the panel breaks down the early at-large chances of teams from various mid-major and major conferences, including the CAA, the Horizon, the Mountain West, and the Atlantic 10.
CrimsonCast 11.21.11 – Gardner-Webb Postgame
Scott & Galen host another post-game Spreecast/Podcast They answer callers questions and discuss:
- Recap of the Gardner-Webb game
- Concerns they have with this team
- Who the leader of the team is? And why it isn’t VJ3
- Personality of the team?
- Lack of tough opponents in the pre-B1G season
- Bad attendance for non-conference games (Scott & Galen both defend the students)
- Preview of the Butler game
You can view the entire SpreeCast by going to – www.spreecast.com/
Join us after the Butler game on Sunday night for another CrimsonCast post-game podcast on SpreeCast.
Remember to subscribe to us on iTunes by clicking here & follow us on Twitter @CrimsonCast.
That Just Happened – Michigan State
Yikes! That got away from us very quickly. Honestly, I was wrapping up watching some DVR’ed TV with my wife and by the time we flipped over to this game, we were already down by 14.
Not surprised that we lost, but I am surprised that we started off so slow. This team has always started off games well, and after the close game vs Ohio State, I thought we might have some positive momentum going our way. Sparty kicked the shit out of that idea quickly this Saturday.
It is days like today that we should all be very happy that IU Basketball is back on track. The last few years have been tough, because during every IUFB beat-down, we had to think about all the ass-kickings that we were going to get in basketball. So while this loss isn’t fun to watch, at least we can look forward to basketball, instead of having no IU hope. If things keep up with IUBB, we can bring back the “Wait till Basketball” chant during our football losses!
Finally, when was the last time that we won a Football or Basketball game in East Lansing? It has been quite some time! Maybe we can start playing MSU in Bloomington only!
Current Record – 1-10 (0-7)
TJH Projected Final Record – 1-11 (0-8)
I think we will play Purdue tough, but don’t think we have what it takes to beat a B1G team this season.
Enough from me. What are your thoughts?
