Final Score:
Indiana:   84
Illinois:    71

No doubt coming into Thursday night’s game the biggest story of the game was going to be: Was Cody Zeller going to be able to hand the 7’1″ athletic freak that is, Meyers Leonard? Early on, it looked as if Zeller and the Hoosiers were going to have their hands full all night with the big man with the backwards name. Leonard had 9 points in the first seven minutes of the game and looked determined as ever to take it right at the Big Ten’s best freshman big man. Just as he has done all season, Zeller didn’t get rattled or fazed of Leonard’s early success. He simply just let the game play out.

After a back and forth first half, the Hoosiers starting to attack into the teeth of the Fighting Illini’s defense. Eight minutes into the second half, Indiana was already able to force Illinois into 8 team fouls, three of them by Leonard. After Meyers picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench, the Hoosiers slowly started to pull away from this Fighting Illini squad. Depth is a key problem for Illinois and it started to show late in the second half.

Indiana proved to be too much for Illinois. The key stat in this game were free throws. The Hoosiers shot just as many free throws as they did field goals (42), which is ridiculous if you think about it. To shoot as many as they did and still knock them down at 83% is impressive.

The Hoosiers brought a balanced attack that was ultimately just too much to handle. Hulls, Watford, Oladipo, and Zeller all had at least 15 points. It is always a good sign when your starting lineup attributes that much to a game. The bench didn’t do bad but, simply put, Indiana didn’t need them to score because of how well the others were playing.

IU will get its first weekend free from any games for the first time since the middle of December. The team looks no where near gassed, but an off weekend can be key for the Hoosiers to rest up after a rough stretch of games that have occurred in the past month and a half. I can remember last year when Tom Crean celebrated in the lobby with us when the Hoosiers knocked off Illinois last year. Oh, how times have changed.

Team Grade: A

Looking Forward- Next week, the Hoosiers get the last of the “single-play” games they will play this year when Northwestern comes to Bloomington on Wednesday. The Wildcats struggled at first in conference but have turned things around and won three in a row. They will face Purdue on Sunday, if you are interested in seeing what kind of team they bring. They will come into Assembly hungry as ever, trying to get their first ever tournament appearance. 

Final Score:
Indiana:   78
Purdue:    61

The Super Bowl is the highlight of the weekend for Indiana citizens but this game comes in a close second. The two long time rivals squared off in a packed and loud Mackey Arena, which could have been the Hoosiers biggest test to date. IU has only recorded two B1G Ten road wins  (both against Penn State) in Tom Crean’s tenure at Indiana and people were starting to wonder if this team was even the “real deal” or just a really good home team. The Hoosiers brought it on Saturday and were able to pull ahead late to beat Purdue by 17 and get a crucial road conference win.

Much of this game can be credited to the play of Victor Oladipo. I have highlighted Victor’s poor play in recent posts but he showed off the #4 we saw in pre-conference play in this game. He finished with a career high 23 points to go along with 8 boards, 4 assists, and 2 blocks. That is a career night for the sophomore from Maryland. His decision making was the best I have seen out of him this season. If Purdue gave him the drive, he took it, but if help slid over, he was quick to find the open man.

Last post, I thought Remy played well enough against Michigan that he deserved more minutes. Crean even said he would look to get Abell the minutes he deserved because he liked what Remy did against the Wolverines. Coach didn’t lie. Remy recorded 19 minutes (his career high) and made they most of them. Abell had 13 points in those 19 minutes on 5-6 shooting from the field, none more important than the late three in the corner.

Another reason why this victory was impressive was that the Hoosiers got nothing offensively from Christian Watford. Watford had a couple good looks from three but never could get in rhythm. I still thought he played a good game but against stiffer competition we are going to need more from him and he knows that.

The victory was much needed not only for our road physique but especially needed to shut up the cattle herders up north. They cherished their 5-game win streak against the Hoosiers like we cherish our 5 banners. They can blame the refs all they want but in the end, the refs didn’t make you lose by 17, at home. Just wait until March 4th and the Hoosier Nation will show you how a real home crowd should be.

Looking Forward- After two straight road games, IU is back in Assembly to face the roller coaster ride that is this year’s Illinois team. They are 5-4 in conference but their only road win is against Northwestern. This will be a game the Hoosiers “should” win but the Illini do possess some quality players that can give the Hoosiers fits.

Final Score:
Michigan:   68
Indiana:      56

Time and time again this team finds ways to lose games on the road. After being down by 20, the Hoosiers crawl back to within two points and just three minutes left in the game. Then the following happens. Elston loses Hardaway on a Burke drive, Hardaway drains a three. Elston gets fouled and misses the front end of a one-and-one. Burke drives again, Elston turns and watches, Douglass floats to the open spot, Burke finds him…swish. Game over. Just like that, IU’s hopes for coming up with that big time road win fades away again.

I singled out Elston because he failed to play disciplined defense at the end of the game but really, the Hoosiers might not have been in that position if it wasn’t for him. He brought a much needed spark off the bench and you could see his confidence spilling over from the Iowa game. If he can stop his brain from wanting to go 400mph every time he catches the ball, he can be such a threat offensively. He is much improved defensively, but the team won’t win games, as you saw tonight, if you don’t lock up down the stretch.

Remy Abell needs to play more. His knowledge of the game isn’t the highest yet but that will come with teaching and experience. He has the physical tools and talent mixed with a heavy dose of confidence it takes to be a good Big Ten player. The combination of Oladipo and Abell could work, but I don’t see the point in putting two kids that bring you the same sort of skill set to play at the same time. With Oladipo’s current offensive woes, why not go with Abell?

There wasn’t a more disappointing performance tonight than the one Will Sheehey produced. His stat line read: 10 minutes, 0 points, 3 turnovers, and 2 fouls. This, obviously, wasn’t Will’s night. Sheehey provides so much energy that Indiana can’t afford to have him play like he did tonight. I hope he forgets about this game and brings it on Saturday night.

The most aggravating thing about this loss was the start IU had. They didn’t come out ready to play and it cost them in this game. You would think coming off a 100-point game against Iowa that this Hoosier squad would come out over-confident. Something about playing a road game scares this team and you can see that in their play. Until they truly believe they can win on the road, they will continue to come up short.

Team Grade: C

Looking Forward- Purdue week has officially started. Saturday is the first match-up of the season for the two biggest in-state rivals. Michigan may be more talented than Purdue but the Boilermakers will be playing in front of a packed and loud Mackey Arena. Should be a great game.

(Photo credit: AP Photo/Tony Ding)

Final Score:
Indiana:   103
Iowa:          89

Defense is overrated. All kidding aside, this game was defined by the outrageous offensive outputs these two teams put together. They combined to make 71 of the 121 (59%) shots they took. Iowa went on to shoot 63% for the game; 79% in the second half! That is some 1950s’ basketball shooting numbers. The more shocking thing was that although Iowa shot so well, this game never seemed that close.

The cause of this can be attributed to numerous things. The Hoosiers set up the perfect formula to drop 100 points on a Big Ten team for the first time since March of ’95. Good penetration + great interior passing = The Big Handsome destroying rims. Zeller finished shooting 11-12 from the night with seven dunks. Oladipo and Pritchard joined in the dunk party with a couple nasty put-back jams.

The Hoosiers didn’t shoot that well from the perimeter but it seemed like every shot that missed was rebounded by an Indiana player. IU had just as many OFFENSIVE rebounds (18) as Iowa had total rebounds to lead to 23 second-chance points. They had 20 assists (9 from Verdell) and forced Iowa into 17 turnovers. You win the rebounding battle, play unselfishly, and force turnovers, you are going to win.

Jordan Hulls and Matt Roth, I heard he had been sick, didn’t have the nights they hoped but Derek Elston and Tom Pritchard were there to pick them up. Elston fueled the crowd with 8 points and a block in about a minute. Pritchard got a standing ovation for his play.

This was a much needed win. Tom Crean changed the starting line-up for the first time all year and it looked like the Hoosiers got their swagger back. The key for them is to bring that same edge when they are away from Assembly Hall. Until then, this team will be stuck in the middle of the pack.

Team Grade: B+

Looking Forward- The Hoosiers can’t celebrate this victory too long as they have a tough week ahead of them. Two road games at Michigan and Purdue is a huge test for Indiana but provides an opportunity they can choose to either excel in or falter.

*Also- I will be trying out something new during the Michigan game called Tinychat. It is a free video chat room for all you Hoosier fans to go and get out your rants during the game. More details to come later. See ya Wednesday.

(Photo credit: AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Final Score:
Wisconsin:   57
Indiana:        50

This game played out like many expected it would. Low possessions, low scoring, and few turnovers is exactly the type of game Wisconsin plays for. Bo Ryan’s teams have always done three things extremely well:

1. They play true “team” defense.
2. They take care of the ball.
3. They have huge white dudes.

Everybody knew coming into the game that, although IU was the top scoring team in the conference, they wouldn’t be given any easy looks at the rim. That didn’t stop Verdell Jones from taking it right at the Badgers in the first half. He was super-impressive in the first half, to the point where I was screaming at Crean to get him back in the game. For the record, I have never done that in my life. If Oladipo can’t get out of his funk he has been in as of late, Verdell provides the Hoosiers’ only liable penetrator. Verdell played like a senior and was able to turn a lot of his haters to lovers for a brief period. He was shut down in the second half and could easily have been a vital reason for why the Hoosiers came up short Thursday night.

Cody Zeller never got going due to some, quite frankly, horrible calls by the joke they call Big Ten officiating. You could tell he was in no groove and it was never more evident than the air-ball he threw up in the biggest play of the game. After watching this game, Chad Ford may be rethinking about putting Cody so high on his draft board. The Wisconsin bigs, especially Jared Berrgren, stood strong and denied Cody on multiple lay-ups and dunk attempts.

The most impressive thing I found from this game was IU’s defense. Despite some breakdowns late in the game, this was the best team defense I have seen this team play against a team like Wisconsin. The Badgers don’t have the most elite offense, by far, but the Hoosiers showed so much improvement in this game from the Minnesota and Nebraska games. They were rotating so well and made Jordan Taylor’s night one to forget. However, all the positives can be overlooked because of the breakdowns late in the game, like giving Brust open threes or giving up crucial offensive rebounds late in the game.

All-in-all Indiana showed some grit and toughness in a somewhat hostile environment but are still a long way from being a team that can successfully win on the road. The tough part of their conference season is in the rear-view mirror and the rest of the way looks a lot less tough. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to believe this team could win out the rest of their regular season games. Their biggest challenges are gonna be Michigan State at home and Purdue and Michigan on the road, but those are all winnable for this team. The Big Ten is never that giving though, and I don’t expect them to actually win out but the real possibility of it happening is still reassuring.

Team Grade- C+

Looking Forward- Indiana is home Sunday to face the Hawkeyes of Iowa in a game the Hoosiers can’t afford to give away or the wheels may be coming off for this once top-ten team. Iowa is coming off back-to-back close losses to Purdue and Nebraska and I guarantee Melsahn Basabe doesn’t forget the Shee-bagging he got last year.

Photo credit: (AP Photo/Andy Manis)

Final Score:
Nebraska:   70
Indiana:       69

Indiana basketball is on the verge of a crisis. The team that won 15 of their first 16 games no longer looks fearless, confident, and assertive. They have transformed into the timid, sloppy, and passive team that Hoosier fans have become so accustomed to in the last 3 years. In the blink of an eye, IU is on a 3-game losing streak and what looked like a Year For the Ages type of season is well out the window.

So who is to blame? I have about 50 answers to that question but I am going to put my 3 most important reasons for their recent play.

1. Tom Crean. I have backed Crean throughout his whole career but I have to finally take my blinders off and it’s time for me to be critical of him. This team’s lack of adjustment before/during the game is aggravating beyond measure. It is so easy for a team to scout us because we aren’t going to change anything offensively. If teams are going to hedge our handoffs and ballscreens, how about game-planning a counter play for that hedge or simply try running a different offense. Jordan Hulls is an excellent shooter but he is not going to be able to dribble around the huge, athletic big men in the Big Ten.
2. The players. While it is Crean’s job to put the player’s in a position to succeed, it ultimately comes down to their execution. Crean can bark at Watford and Zeller to block out all he wants, but if they don’t have the hustle or determination to do so, it won’t get done. Communication can be hard in a college atmosphere, but the good teams get it done. IU should have watched Michigan against Michigan State to see how a real team can execute defensively down the stretch, even if it’s a broken play.
3. Lack of leadership. Compare our big wins to our big losses. UK- Verdell and Watford stay calm and connect to create what is known as “The Shot.” OSU- IU comes up with the clutch free throws and the big defensive stops  it needed. MICH- Verdell hits the most clutch shot of his career and Watford hits a free throw to make it a 3-point game. And the losses: MINN- IU almost makes a great comeback but when they need a three the most, they settle for a contested three by Watford, which he misses. NEB- Cody Zeller disappears and Jordan tries to play hero but can’t come through. Add on a ton of defensive breakdowns by many players and you deserved to get court rushed. Leadership doesn’t always have to be during clutch moments, but those are when it can have the biggest effect.

If I were coach what would I do?

• If I’m not getting anything valuable out of Verdell, or any other player for that matter, then I don’t play him and try someone else. Simple as that.
• If I have a timeout at the end of the game down by 1, I’m calling it every time.
• If you don’t want to box out or play defense, you are coming out.
• I put in designed plays to get my best offensive player the ball and continue to run them until they stop it.

IU has essentially played better than anyone expected them to play at the beginning. Only to then, turn that on its self, and play worse than anyone could have expected. Is this team a top-caliber team? Or just middle of the pack? The next games will answer that for us, because right now I’m sure we are all confused who this team really is.

Looking Forward- IU is back home on Sunday for a noon tip-off game against Penn State. If IU loses this one, IU fans will be in complete panic-mode.

Final Score:
Ohio State:   80
Indiana:        63

The Hoosiers would have surprised a lot of people if they would have gone into Columbus and came out with a win. Well I guess you could call their performance “surprising.” Then again it’s not. Teams routinely walk onto the Value Center Arena and come away with their heads dropped and their bodies all sorts of beaten up. Just ask Duke.

So was losing to Ohio State this badly, surprising? No. Was it disappointing the way Indiana played? I thought so, and I’m sure many other fans thought so too. Two weeks ago this team beat that same Buckeye squad. Crazy what can change in two weeks. That team didn’t even have Will Sheehey. We are 0-2 since Will’s return, so I blame him (sarcasm).

You really can’t blame one guy for these last two losses. In my post-game write-up for Penn State I highlighted that one of the most dangerous parts about this team is that you never know who can step up in a game. All of sudden, that has turned on me the last two games and the opposite is happening. Now you don’t know who, for the Hoosiers, are going to have an off night. Against Minnesota it was Verdell and Watford. Today, I thought Hulls, Oladipo, and again, Verdell just weren’t ready for this angry Ohio State team.

Zeller looked like the only one in the first half to even try to assert himself offensively. I know Zeller is very soft-spoken and mature for his age, but if I am him, at some point I am yelling at my perimeter guys to “GIVE ME THE BALL!” This Indiana team struggles feeding the post almost every game even though that seems somewhat fundamental to me.

I think getting the ball to Cody could seriously fix all our offensive problems. If Cody is fed the rock either: A) He scores. B) He gets fouled. C) Both A and B. D) He misses or gets his shot blocked. E) He gets doubled and passes out of it to the open man which sets up the drive and kick. F) He turns it over.

Well “F” rarely happens. “D” happens but only like 35% of the time. All the other options will result in a good offensive possession. Now it would be dumb if we gave it to Cody every possession but he needs more touches before I pull all the hair off my body I have left.

I talked on all our defensive issues last game so I will leave them alone for now. The fact of the matter is IU has played lousy for two games in a row after winning 15 of their first 16 games. This team is still a top team in country, in my opinion, but their backs are up against the wall so far in conference and only time will tell how this year will end up.

Team Grade: F

Looking Forward- Finally, the Hoosiers can take a semi-breath as their next two games are Nebraska on Wednesday (Away) and Penn State (Home) next Sunday. Two winnable games by far but with the way this college basketball season is going, anything that can happen… probably will.

Final Score:
Minnesota   77
Indiana        74

The old idiom goes, “If you play with fire, you get burned.” Well, this team has played with that “fire” for a few games in a row and tonight, the Hoosiers soaked themselves in gasoline and Minnesota lit the match.

I will be the first to admit, although I felt IU wasn’t playing well in the B1G Ten, they were winning, so it was easy to shrug off. But the truth to the matter is, you’re not going to hit 16 threes every game. You have to play defense and hit timely buckets, if you want to win in this league. Coming into this game, IU’s Adjusted Defensive Efficiency in conference, based on KenPom’s formula, was  110.7. To put that in perspective, if that was their whole season’s number they would be ranked 323th in the nation, out of 345 teams. Those are Southeast Missouri State type numbers.

This same team that hung their hat on the defensive end during the non-conference, just isn’t getting it done in conference, to date anyways. Of the 12 non-conference games, IU gave up at least 60 points, just five times. In conference, every team has scored at least 70.

I’m not stupid. Obviously, IU’s competitors in conference are going to be much more difficult, as they should be. Teams basically know each and every play the other is going to throw at them before the tip. But if this is the case, why is Indiana giving up easy buckets two feet from the rim, that my grandma could hit, on a consistent basis? Is it lack of communication? No defensive discipline? An unprepared game plan? Whatever the case may be, we can all agree it needs to be fixed.

I am not saying these guys don’t play hard. I watch a lot of college basketball and this team is easily one of the hardest working teams in the nation. But all that work is ineffective if you don’t have discipline. Also, it’s the coaches job to put the players in a position to succeed. In hindsight, Crean probably wouldn’t have went into the 2-3 zone, but I am not one to question Coach’s decisions. The man knows what he is doing and he had a good reason to try to switch something up because what they were doing wasn’t working. The decision backfired and Minnesota took advantage.

Minnesota really outplayed the Hoosiers in this one and deserved this win. Every time Indiana was making a charge, Minnesota stood strong and knocked down the key shots and free throws down the stretch.

Indiana helped them out as well. Verdell gave nothing. Watford, although playing on a bum ankle, looked sloppy. Somehow, Minnesota only had one more rebound than IU. At times, it felt like the Golden Gophers were doing that pre-game drill where the team lines up in a single file line and they all tip the ball off the glass until the last guy finishes the lay-up. And for an Indiana, a team who depends on 27% of its scoring to come from beyond the arc, it only hit four (half of those were Roth’s late ones).

As pessimistic as this write-up has been, I suppose I need to hit on the good things that came out of tonight’s game. First off, I was really glad Sheehey was back. His minutes were limited but he sure did put in good ones, 12 points in 15 minutes. Zeller was VERY good tonight, 23 points & 8 boards. I also was really impressed with Abell in that he has no fear and is able to hold his own on defense. I wouldn’t mind if Remy started stealing away some of Verdell’s minutes. Lastly, I loved Hull’s tenacity and how he played with a Roy Jones Jr. swag to him against the long Minnesota defenders.

This game will come back and haunt the Hoosiers in their chase for a B1G Ten title. The way this season is going, the B1G Ten Champions could finish with 6 losses (I’m kidding, but I’m not). This is a good learning experience and Assembly Hall showed off a little chink in its armor tonight (I’m killing it with these idioms).

Team Grade: D

-By the way, I did make a big head (more or less a big poster of Gus Johnson) and Gus was able to throw me some deuces my way to acknowledge the poster. In other words, I’m a G in his book.

Looking Forward- IU heads to Columbus on Sunday where Ohio State will be waiting to tear the Hoosiers heads off. The Buckeyes are coming off a loss to Illinois and are hungry to revenge their L in Bloomington. If you had any hope before the Minnesota game that has disappeared. 

Final Score:
Indiana:         88
Penn State:   82 

I don’t know about you, but I came into this game more worried than I was against Michigan. Penn State is not near as good as Michigan but I felt like they were playing well enough, their confidence was spilling over from their Purdue win, and IU was playing on the road in the B1G Ten. Just like the Michigan game, this game came down to the wire and the Hoosiers were able hold off a good effort from the Nittany Lions.

Inside The Hall pointed it out in their preview of the game that Penn State gave up the second highest percentage of their points from 3 in the nation. Stats don’t lie. The Hoosiers used good ball movement and good spacing, coupled with Penn State’s inability to get out on IU’s shooters, to set up for quite the shooting display on Sunday. IU finished the game 16-24 (66.7%) for the game. Roth and Hulls combined to shoot 12-15 from downtown. But yet, the game was still close.

I don’t think this game is one to get too worried about if you are an IU fan. Would it have been nice to actually play some defense at some point and/or knock down free throws throughout the game, yes. Were there some questionable substitutions being made, certainly. Is Verdell Jones not the most frustrating player to watch, of course. But a win is a win. I have to admit, this game was actually pretty exciting to watch. The B1G Ten is known for its tough, grind-it-out, first-team-to-50-wins type of games and to have a shootout like this was awesome.

Question for my readers: Who do you think would win in a game of HORSE (all shots have to be behind the three point line), Jordan Hulls or Matt Roth?

Each game someone different for this Hoosier team steps up and that is probably the most dangerous part about this team. Today it was Hulls and Roth. Next game it may be Watford and Zeller again. And then Pritchard and Wayer after that. Just imagine if this team brought in a good recruiting class next year how deep they could be!!

Team Grade: B

Looking Forward- IU comes back home to Assembly Hall on Thursday to face Minnesota and the students will FINALLY be back in the seats. This is my game to be behind the basket. I am thinking about making my own Big Head of myself. Look for me.

Due to a family vacation in Florida for New Years, I was not able to do my “After the Buzzer” column for the Michigan State or Ohio State game. Luckily for all my fans, I am back. 

Final Score:
Indiana:      73
Michigan:   71

Coming into the night, Michigan was ranked 13th in the ESPN poll. They were 2-0 in the B1G Ten. They had the good senior leaders complemented by the talented underclassmen that can play on any team. They had a proven coach who has the program heading in an upward swing. They had those nasty “maize” jerseys on. Those are the facts. But for some reason I, and probably many other Hoosier fans, was very confident in the Indiana basketball team to come out of tonight with our 2nd conference win and our 3rd win over a ranked team in the past 4 weeks.

We weren’t wrong, IU hung on at the end to win. But I, for one, was definitely impressed by this Michigan squad. I probably underestimated Michigan, but Indiana came out guns a blazin’ and the Wolverines took the punch and stood strong. IU jumped ahead and looked in control at 33-18 and I know I was standing in the balcony nodding my head saying to myself, “I knew this team wasn’t that good.” And then Douglass started hitting. Novak knocked down a few. Hardaway started getting to the rim. All of a sudden, a 15-point lead was gone.

That’s when the nation got to see who Christian Watford really is. His stat line reads: 25 points, 7 boards, 5 assists. That is All-Big Ten, and possibly All-America, type numbers. The best part about Watford’s game that I love watching is, that if he gets doubled, no matter how hot he is feeling, he is willing to find the open man. I can think of two instances when Christian was doubled by Michigan and he was able to make a wrap around pass to Zeller for the wide open slam. Last year Watford forces a double-clutch jumper because he feels like he needs to keep his hot streak going. Watford and Zeller are beginning to learn just how dangerous they can be together.

Leaving Assembly Hall, I couldn’t help but think, “Man, we should of beat this team by more.” In retrospect, I have to laugh. Think about 12 months ago, where this program was at. The students rushed the court when IU beat the #20 ranked Illinois team. We just beat the #13 team in the nation and I am not pleased. The rebuilding process this program went through skipped like 5 chapters. They went from the bottom feeder of the B1G Ten to a top 15 team in a blink of an eye.

This team is exciting to watch. It seems like they always make a big play to spark the crowd and Assembly Hall has quickly turned into THE (bold, but I mean they have 3 top-15 wins) toughest place to play. IU still needs a marquee road win to silence all the critics but you can’t argue with the resume they have put together so far. Tom Crean is making it hard to vote against him for Coach of the Year so far.

For now, IU is 2-1 against three of the top teams in conference. I will take that any day. And, at least we aren’t Purdue.

Team Grade: A-

Looking Forward- IU heads to the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday to face the Nittany Lions of Penn State. Penn State is coming off their big win against Purdue. That win is probably good for the Hoosiers, so they will respect them and have to bring their A game. 

Until then, party on.