Another rollicking edition of the Bracketology Show is in the books, and there’s so much to talk about that we nearly had to extend the show! (Don’t worry, we didn’t — two hours is probably as much as anyone can bear)

On this edition, Galen and The Committee are joined by Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, and he talks with us about a variety of issues, including who currently gets the fourth #1 seed, where the vast middle of the Big Ten is destined to end up, and what the heck is going on with the Atlantic 10 and Mountain West conferences.

We also talk about Baylor’s trevails in the last week, the deal with North Carolina, the surprising swoon from Creighton, and the emergence of ESPN’s new BPI ratings system. As always, we couple these and other topics with analysis and commentary on all levels of college basketball, from the biggest conferences to the one-bid leagues.

Be sure to check us out on iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast//id485301452. And as always, thanks for listening! Be sure to join us on the live show next week, from 9-11 pm.

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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)

CrimsonCast is pleased to announce the first Internet-only live pregame call-in show for Indiana basketball. Entitled “The Opening Line”, this show will start 90 minutes before IU basketball games are set to tip, and will feature analysis and commentary on the upcoming contest from CrimsonCast personalities, journalists, and listeners across the country.

Tune in tonight for The Opening Line, starting at 7:30 pm ET, at this URL, or follow us on our Twitter feed for more information.

On this inaugural episode of Hoosier Hotline, Tony Adragna and Jimmy Cavanaugh address a number of issues relating to Indiana University basketball. Among the issues discussed are the current defensive approach to the games, the offensive lineup, and the team’s substitution patterns. Tony and Jimmy also discuss IU’s chances against Wisconsin, and what they have facing them in the remainder of the Big Ten season. Several callers join the show, including AskTheWho and Jason from BTownBanners, and ChronicHoosier.

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Another enjoyable hour of CrimsonCast goodness is in the books. Joining Galen on the broadcast’s first segment was Jeff Rabjohns of Peegs.com, and Jeff shared his thoughts with us regarding where this IU team ranks in the overall scheme of things in college basketball, what we should expect in the next few games from this team, and who he thinks is the team member who needs to start performing with consistency.

Also joining us was Avi Zaleon of the Indiana Daily Student. Avi, a senior who serves as the men’s basketball columnist, talked about a variety of team issues, including the leadership of Jordan Hulls, the pending game against Wisconsin, and the importance of the remaining home schedule for IU.

There were laughs, there were callers, there was hot music throughout. Check in and listen to CrimsonCast LIVE, and be sure to join us next week from 9 – 10 PM.

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Galen is joined by Kyle and David as they discuss the happenings of the past week, with particular attention paid to Kentucky – North Carolina, Marquette – Wisconsin, UNLV – Wichita State, SDSU – Cal, and Purdue – Xavier. They then look ahead to this week’s action…and, well, there’s not a huge amount of it. Until Saturday. Which should really be entertaining, as Kentucky travels to Indiana, Ohio State hits the road against Kansas, Gonzaga hosts Michigan State, and more.

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If the result today surprised you in anyway, then you either:
A. Haven’t been watching much B1G Football this season
B. Have expectation WAY out of whack for this team

Today’s result reinforces why we should all be pissed at Bill Lynch.  Last season’s 83-20 did come as a shock to me, because we had just come off two close losses (Northwestern & Iowa), and while I didn’t expect to beat Wisconsin, I wasn’t expecting to get our heads bashed in.  I blame Bill Lynch for the embarrassment of last season’s loss, and also a team that should have gone to a bowl but under performed last season.  I thought it was over when we fired him.

But the loss today………..I still blame Bill Lynch.  Because it was his horrific recruiting that has put us in this position (Remember those whispers last year that we couldn’t fire Lynch and lose this great recruiting class).  How is it possible that since our Insight Bowl game in 2007, he let us get to the point where we may have the most untalented team in the B1G?  Oklahoma State was in that same bowl game, yet today they are ranked in the Top 10, and we might have the worst IU team in 30-50 years.

This is why we can continue to be pissed at Bill Lynch for the remainder of the season.

But let’s also look forward.  Next weekend I am going to Las Vegas for work, so this column will be a few days late.  But here comes the question that I need answered from you the readers.  When the spread for the Iowa vs IU game comes out, let me know who I should be on.  I’m assuming that unless it is something over 25, I’m going with Iowa plus the points.

Besides that, not much else to say here.  This is what we all expected and sadly, it is what we all got.  Unfortunately for Coach Kevin Wilson and this IUFB team, unless they do something shocking, with Midnight Madness starting tonight, they have lost any interest from the IU student & sports fan base, as all eyes & thoughts will be on basketball.

Current Record – 1-6 (0-3)
TJH Projected Final Record – 2-10 (1-7)

I still hold out hope that we can shock someone this season, probably one of our final two home games.

Enough from me.  What are your thoughts?

Not in the Face!

Opponent  Wisconsin Badgers 6-0 Ranked #4 in AP Poll. 

Series History  Wisconsin leads 37-18-2

Last IU win

Otherwise known as the only high point in Gerry Dinardo’s coaching stint. The Hoosiers rode the golden arm of Gibran Hamden(24-36, 310 yards) and the powerful legs of Brian Lewis(128 total yards) and held off the Badgers 32-29.

When I say the lone high point under Dinardo, it’s a bit disingenuous. He also beat Illinois in 2004 and Minnesota in 2005. So there were three high points.

Other recent games of significance

Hmmm, well, I can’t really think of another game that stands out as noteworthy. Aside from the 83-20 squeaker that Wisconsin lucked its way into last year. What’s really frightening is that unlike previous editions, this Wisconsin team has an explosive offense. IU Football has lost a lot of games over the years. They’ve lost by a little and they’ve lost by a lot, but I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a game slip from reasonably close to complete ass kicking so quickly.

Shocking note to remember from the Madison Massacre.

It was actually tied 5 minutes into the 2^nd quarter. Then Montee Bell scored from one yard out to give the Badgers a 17-10 lead. Then the Badgers scored 5 more touchdowns in less than 15 minutes of game time to push the lead to 52-10. Mitch Ewald kicked a field goal to draw the Hoosiers within 39. (Thank God, that was getting a little bit embarrassing.) And the Badgers answered with a 31-7 run to close out the game.

Chasing A Millstone

If the fine folks at Sports-Reference.com are to be believed, the Hoosiers record through 113 years stands at 424-599-38. So with a loss to Wisconsin, the Hoosiers will be in rare company at 600 losses. Among Big Ten universities, only Northwestern(475-621-40) has lost more.  Don’t lose heart though. If the Hoosiers beat Wisconsin and run the table this year, and next year, and the 11 seasons after that, they will head into the 2024 season ready to move above .500.

Stat to ponder while you think of how you’re going to celebrate the in 2023 after the Hoosiers win their 10^th consecutive tational title

63 points. That’s of course the margin of defeat to Wisconsin last year.  Going back to last year’s game against Iowa, the Hoosiers have lost 7 games to teams not from Wisconsin. Those 7 losses were by a combined 62 points. So even for a team that frequently gets blown out, last year’s annihilation was 7 games worth of whoop ass.

At least basketball starts soon. That’s bound to be good news one of these years.

Scouting future opponents

Iowa hosts Northwestern

Northwestern coincidentally visits Iowa

Ohio State travels to Illinois

Gratuitous Cheap Shot Directed at Jack Trudeau

Well after Indiana got it’s ass handed to it by Trudeau’s Illini, I must turn to a philosopher who I’ve found enlightens most in times of trouble. As always, his words give me power.

“It takes a big man to admit he’s wrong. I am not a big man.”

That's strange. That's how I feel watching IU football too.

-Irwin Fletcher.

However, even though we won’t be continuing the weekly Jack Trudeau cheap shots, we still have our bets to pay. After hours of deliberation, the judges have concluded that Matt wins the free t-shirt and he’ll get the last word in this week’s column.

 

Matt 

 October 6th, 2011 on 6:01 pm

Jack shouldn’t mind playing 2nd fiddle on his radio show. He’s not even among the top 3 on the Best Trudeau list (Pierre Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister; Garry Trudeau author of Doonesbury; hell, even Miss Montana 2007 Stephanie Trudeau has more redeeming qualities).

Welcome Jeremy. We hope you enjoy your stay. And Beat Purdue.

When Lawrence Central wing Jeremy Hollowell became the fifth player to commit to Tom Crean’s 2012 Indiana University class, the reaction was powerful if somewhat polarizing. While many IU fans, who have continued happily drinking the Crean and Crimson Kool Aid, celebrated with Twitter messages pondering where to hang the inevitable future banners, a growing minority of Crean skeptics could barely stifle a yawn. After all, the commitment came on a Thursday in which Butler had beaten Wisconsin to clinch its second consecutive Elite 8 appearance, When would IU get back to winning the battles on the court rather than in the recruits living room?  And didn’t IU gain a bunch of commitments last off season? What good is it to recruit these ultra talented players if they won’t get better?

While I understand the skepticism, it’s important to note just how good this incoming recruiting class can be. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Yogi Farrell, Ron Patterson, Hanner Perea, and Hollowell could all finish in the top 5 of Mr. Indiana basketball voting next year. To get this much in-state talent requires a perfect storm of great players in the same class and an excellent sales pitch by the Indiana program.

To be able to recruit these players while struggling the way the Hoosiers have shows just how hard Crean has had to work, and how fortunate he has been that his message was so well received.

How many top recruits can we fit in here anyway

But what does this recruiting binge prove? Sure it’s nice to get a top 25 class, and to stoke the hope for the future, but does it guarantee success? For a comparison, I looked at the past 5 years of Big Ten teams, the tournament success and the number of  times ranked in the Rivals Top 25 recruiting classes.  

Overall, 28 different teams have made the NCAA tournament. 14 teams have had a top 25 recruiting class, 11 of those teams have made the NCAA tournament that season. Indiana and Illinois in 2009, and THE Ohio State University in 2007 were the only teams to grab a top 25 recruiting class and miss the tournament in the following season.

17 of the 41 teams who didn’t have a top 25  recruiting class did make the tournament. So the odds of making the tournament when you have a top recruiting class are about twice as good as if you don’t have a top 25 class

But of course unless you’re Kentucky, a great recruiting class doesn’t only help in the year it arrives, but it helps the program for up to four years after the former high school hoopsters set foot on campus.

Of the 28 teams to make the tournament, 18 had at least one top 25 class in the previous four years. Outside of Wisconsin -which has made the tournament in each year I looked at, and has not had a single top 25 class in the 7 years of recruiting rankings- the odds of a team with a top class making it are about 3 ½ times better than a team without one.

IU’s goal of course is not to simply get back to the tournament. The goal is to get back and be a regular on the 2^nd weekend, to make an occasional foray into the Final Four, and challenge for a 6^th banner.

Of the ten B1G Ten Teams to reach the Sweet 16 in the past five years, eigh have had at least one Top 25 recruiting class among their four. Of the three B1G Ten teams to reach the Final Four, (tOSU pending of course) two had a top 25 class in that season, and all three had at least one top 25 class. In fact, if The Ohio State University were to make the Final Four this year, it would continue The Michigan State University’s trend of having 3 top classes when going into the national semi-finals.

So, what does all this statistical gobbledygook mean? I draw three conclusions; 1) It’s easier to win with talent then without. 2) While it’s not impossible for lesser talented teams to make the tournament, it perhaps does put a cap on how far they can go. 3) IU is going to need both more talent and better coaching if it wants to reclaim it’s position on the top ring of NCAA basketball.

I referenced Rivals.com for the site’s recruiting rankings. I appreciate the site’s excellent archive of team rankings.

Bracketology is back for another go-around on this fine Saturday afternoon. Lots to talk about, as we start off talking about the historically bad Penn State-Wisconsin game and its implications. Some of the (many) other items discussed:

- Where do you seed BYU and San Diego State, based on the outcome of tonight’s game?

- Who has the upper hand for a 2 seed in the UConn-Louisville-Syracuse axis?

- What to make of the Pac 10′s seeding situation?

- The Kevin O’Neill situation is bizarre

All that and much more, as GC, Kyle, David, and Lee talk brackets on this edition of the podcast.

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