Saturday, March 31, 2007
Check out the Video Links
If you haven't done so already, check out the video links including IU's win over #1 Duke during the '02 run to the Championship game and several Eric Gordon highlights.
Go Hoosiers!
Sunday, March 18, 2007
IU 49 UCLA 54
Well, I guess you have to touch on the negatives that cost them the game, so here they are:
(1) FT Shooting
(2) Inbounds play
(3) 13 points in the 1st half
The FT shooting killed the Hoosiers. FT % was the one advantage they had over UCLA going into the game, but it failed them. IU goes 10-21 from the line and that doesn't even incorporate the missed front ends.
The inbounds play -- to come all the way back and not be able to get the ball inbounds to have a chance to tie or win is extremely frustrating. They had 3 attempts at it. UCLA knocked away the first two and finally stole the 3rd one. Yes, it was a poor pass from Stemler, but you have to have better inbounds plays to get guys open.
13 points in the 1st half is inexcusable. I don't care if it's tough defense, I don't care if you're ice cold, and I don't care that you held them to 20 points. At some point, you have to DO SOMETHING. Why keep running your same offense if it's clearly not working? Granted, you don't want to panic and they ran the same offense in the 2nd half and scored 36 points. But I think there is a time where you have to sense that your team is in a draught and do something different.
After the final game of the season, I hate to call out individual players. There are plenty of things that could be picked apart for all the IU players (several had horrendous FG shooting nights, several had horrendous FT shooting nights, etc.). However, A.J. Ratliff was so bad that I think it has to be mentioned. His head was completely up his ass. The box score has him listed with two turnovers which is an absolute joke. I'm assuming they are counting the back-to-back possessions were he made horrible decisions and an even worse passes. Then, there was another one shortly thereafter where he got the offensive rebound and then lost it out of bounds. I'm not quite sure how that is not a turnover. Even on D.J.'s dunk, Ratliff just got lucky that his mistake ended up in the hands of D.J. for the dunk. He also had some stupid fouls that led to 3-point plays. Just terrible.
Now for some of the positives out of the game.....
The effort out of IU was simply outstanding. They fought and they fought and they fought. We said before the game that they would need to play tough defense and rebound to give themselves a CHANCE. Well, they did that and they did have a chance, but in the end, they couldn't hit their shots and couldn't deliver in the final minute. But the fact that they came all the way back from a 16-point 2nd half deficit to tie the game was truly remarkable. Chris, Shana, and I were jumping around and squealing like schoolgirls. I am trying to hang on to that feeling of absolute jubilation when they made that comeback as opposed to the extreme frustration that they couldn't complete the mission.
D.J. White was the man. He was playing some inspired ball. The box score is listing him with 14 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. But that can't be right, it felt more like 37 rebounds and 13 blocked shots.
Stemler FINALLY hit some shots. I was pumped when he hit his first 3. But the second one where he knocked down a deep one while he was guarded was amazing. This was the point where I actually thought we were going to win the game. Stemler obviously had some bad moments as well, but the fact that he finally knocked down some shots was the main fuel of the comeback.
I think I'll go ahead and stop here. Early in the 2nd half, it was starting to just feel embarrassing, but the Hoosiers kept fighting and as always, I am extremely proud to be a Hoosier. I really, really liked this team and it's disappointing that it had to come to an end. In the next week or so, I'll do a full season recap and it's impossible to not already start thinking about what is to come next year.
Indiana University is still the greatest place on earth.
Go Hoosiers!
Friday, March 16, 2007
IU vs. UCLA
All year long, the talk has been that IU's magic number is 70. Well, looking at this matchup with UCLA, that magic number of 70 certainly applies.
Taking a look at UCLA's 5 losses on the year, it appears that poor shooting (especially from their stars) was the main culprit. In each of those 5 losses, UCLA scored less than 70 points (69, 68, 66, 65, & 51). However, holding UCLA under 70 in no way guarantees victory, it's just part of the equation. UCLA has actually won 9 games when scoring less than 70. But still, when you compare a 9-5 record when UCLA scores under 70 versus an 18-0 record when they score more than 70, then you better hold them under 70 just to have a CHANCE to win.
IU's record is almost as impressive as UCLA's when scoring more than 70 -- the Hoosiers are 18-1. Under 70, IU is only 3-9.
So, I think a 70-69 victory sounds about right for the Hoosiers.
First and foremost, I think IU has to really play tough defense and rebound. UCLA's star players are likely going to take their shots whether they are open or not. So, if IU can put the clamps on them, they may start to force some shots and hopefully that will lead to a low percentage. Again, if IU can really defend, they at least give themselves a CHANCE to win.
On the offensive end, they need to play like they played in the 2nd half against Gonzaga. Even though IU shot a much higher 3-point percentage in the 1st half, their whole offense began to click in the 2nd half. The 2nd half included D.J. inside, a couple layups from Calloway, hitting all their FTs, and a couple 3-balls. The key was that they were scoring from all angles and that is what led to the double-digit lead. The more they do that, the better the 3-point looks will be. In the first half, IU was forcing up the 3-point shots and they were just fortunate that they were making some of them. So, against UCLA, I'd like to see an offense that resembles the 2nd half of the Gonzaga game, instead of the 1st half.
To state the obvious, they need another good game from both DJ and Wilmont to pull off the upset. But I think Terry Hutchens on indystar.com nailed the X factor and that's Stemler. Following his 110% effort against Gonzaga, Stemler should see a lot of minutes against UCLA. If he can play the same way, but also find a way to knock down a couple of those jumpers, IU could indeed pull off the upset.
More on Stemler….I thought he was outstanding last night (ignoring the god-awful shooting from the arc). He was a ball-hawk last night -- rebounds, steals, loose balls. He truly gave an all-out effort. I actually thought (or hoped) that his good play in other areas might lead to a few shots going down for him, but no such luck. But you have to love the way he came out and did everything in his power to help IU win.
Maybe the best thing about last night's game was IU's attitude -- they came out and played to win that game. Gonzaga didn't know what hit them. That will be a tougher task against UCLA because you know they will have their own swagger, but if IU can play with toughness and an attitude, it could lead to good things.
Play tough D, own the glass, and who knows….maybe the shots will fall and the Hoosiers will head into the Sweet 16. And if they can make it to the Sweet 16 -- look out for the Hoosiers! Indiana is traditionally very good at turning a Sweet 16 appearance into a Final 4 appearance. Ok, so I am getting a little carried away here, but that is the best thing about the tournament -- Dream Big!
Go Hoosiers!
Taking a look at UCLA's 5 losses on the year, it appears that poor shooting (especially from their stars) was the main culprit. In each of those 5 losses, UCLA scored less than 70 points (69, 68, 66, 65, & 51). However, holding UCLA under 70 in no way guarantees victory, it's just part of the equation. UCLA has actually won 9 games when scoring less than 70. But still, when you compare a 9-5 record when UCLA scores under 70 versus an 18-0 record when they score more than 70, then you better hold them under 70 just to have a CHANCE to win.
IU's record is almost as impressive as UCLA's when scoring more than 70 -- the Hoosiers are 18-1. Under 70, IU is only 3-9.
So, I think a 70-69 victory sounds about right for the Hoosiers.
First and foremost, I think IU has to really play tough defense and rebound. UCLA's star players are likely going to take their shots whether they are open or not. So, if IU can put the clamps on them, they may start to force some shots and hopefully that will lead to a low percentage. Again, if IU can really defend, they at least give themselves a CHANCE to win.
On the offensive end, they need to play like they played in the 2nd half against Gonzaga. Even though IU shot a much higher 3-point percentage in the 1st half, their whole offense began to click in the 2nd half. The 2nd half included D.J. inside, a couple layups from Calloway, hitting all their FTs, and a couple 3-balls. The key was that they were scoring from all angles and that is what led to the double-digit lead. The more they do that, the better the 3-point looks will be. In the first half, IU was forcing up the 3-point shots and they were just fortunate that they were making some of them. So, against UCLA, I'd like to see an offense that resembles the 2nd half of the Gonzaga game, instead of the 1st half.
To state the obvious, they need another good game from both DJ and Wilmont to pull off the upset. But I think Terry Hutchens on indystar.com nailed the X factor and that's Stemler. Following his 110% effort against Gonzaga, Stemler should see a lot of minutes against UCLA. If he can play the same way, but also find a way to knock down a couple of those jumpers, IU could indeed pull off the upset.
More on Stemler….I thought he was outstanding last night (ignoring the god-awful shooting from the arc). He was a ball-hawk last night -- rebounds, steals, loose balls. He truly gave an all-out effort. I actually thought (or hoped) that his good play in other areas might lead to a few shots going down for him, but no such luck. But you have to love the way he came out and did everything in his power to help IU win.
Maybe the best thing about last night's game was IU's attitude -- they came out and played to win that game. Gonzaga didn't know what hit them. That will be a tougher task against UCLA because you know they will have their own swagger, but if IU can play with toughness and an attitude, it could lead to good things.
Play tough D, own the glass, and who knows….maybe the shots will fall and the Hoosiers will head into the Sweet 16. And if they can make it to the Sweet 16 -- look out for the Hoosiers! Indiana is traditionally very good at turning a Sweet 16 appearance into a Final 4 appearance. Ok, so I am getting a little carried away here, but that is the best thing about the tournament -- Dream Big!
Go Hoosiers!
Thursday, March 15, 2007
IU 70 Gonzaga 57
It was a great first day of the tournament. Here are my top 5 things from Day 1 of the 2007 Big Dance:
(1) The Hoosiers win!
(2) Ben dressed just like Kelvin Sampson.
(3) Chris & Shana got a brand new flat panel TV.
(4) Duke lost.
(5) The Big Ten easily cruises to a 3-0 record.
Great game for the Hoosiers. I think all the pregame comments and analysis by everybody on this blog pretty much nailed this game. Here's what we predicted, followed by the actual outcome.
* Play tough defense....tougher defense than Gonzaga is used to seeing -- this clearly worked as IU held Gonzaga to only 57 points. I believe they average just under 80, so the Hoosiers were able to hold them 20+ points under their average. Sure, Gonzaga missed some easy layups, but for the most part, Gonzaga had that "deer in the headlights" look, thanks to IU's defense.
* Free Throws....don't send Gonzaga to the line. I would have been satisfied even if we shot 8 or fewer FTs than Gonzaga, but we actually shot the same number of attempts (16) and we hit more than them (15 to their 12). In fact, Wilmont missed IU's first FT of the game on his early 4-point play attempt and then IU hit their remaining 15 free throws. Very impressive and this is why IU was able to put this game away in the 2nd half. When it was 1-1 time in the 2nd half, IU hit all 6 of their attempts to retain a 10-12 point lead. This was huge and I have to give a shout-out to Andy for providing the play-by-play as Milwaukee CBS cut away from the IU game to show a double-digit UNC lead with 14 minutes to play. But I'm in too good of a mood to rip CBS right now.
* IU needs production from their best 2 players.....D.J. and Wilmont. Wilmont came out on fire. I think he hit 4 of his first 5 three-pointers and finished the game with 22 points and 7 rebounds. When Rod hit that first 3, I had a pretty good feeling about tonight's game. D.J. started slow with only 2 points on 1-6 shooting in the 1st half. However, they were the type of looks that you knew he would start hitting and he definitely did that in the 2nd half. D.J. went 5-7 in the 2nd half and also had a huge left-handed blocked shot that really kept the momentum in IU's favor. Final line -- 16 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, 4-4 FTs. That's what we need.
* IU needs to hit their 3s. The Hoosiers finished 9-25 (36%) which is respectable, but not outstanding. Wilmont and Ratliff came out and hit 6 of their first 8, so that was good to see. In fact, the Hoosiers first 20 points came on Wilmont and Ratliff's 6 treys and 2 FTs from Bassett. Unfortunatley, Ratliff completely stunk up the joint after that point. Also, Stemler (now nicknamed by Ben as "White Ice") came in and went 0-4. I'm not looking up stats right now, but White Ice must be 2 for his last 30 or so from the arc.
HOWEVER, other than his 3-point shooting, Stemler was everywhere tonight. He was all over loose balls, everywhere on defense, and rebounding everything. Note -- if we hand the nicknaming rights over to Ben, we also have to live with the fact that analyzing IU games starts to sound like a scene from "8 Mile" -- White Ice clearly deserved minutes over 40 Cent tonight. Stemler finished with 6 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and many more plays that do not show up in the box score. We'll definitely take it. I don't know where his shot went, but if he finds it....look out UCLA and the rest of the field!
* I predicted Calloway would have a really good game -- well, not so much. He had some awful turnovers. However, he didn't let the wheels come off after any of the bad turnovers and came right back to make some good plays. Played good defense, hit all 5 freebies, had a nice drive or two, and still played an overall good game. In fact, speaking of the ugly turnovers, that was probably the main negative for IU as a team. Several players committed just flat-out ugly turnovers. We now see why Wilmont pulls up for 3s all the time -- because he is horrible at dribbling, driving, and passing. That one time, IU had a 2-on-1 fast break and he throws a 115 mph pass at Bassett's knees and 2 feet behind him. Rod's a trip. You never know what's coming next. Is he going to go on a tear by hitting 3 or 4 straight shots or is he going to throw something up that is wide-right by 3 feet. Even though there were some ups and downs, Rod simply got it done tonight. It beats the hell out of a 0 or 2 point performance.
All in all, a great game by the Hoosiers and one we should really celebrate.
Tomorrow, we'll look ahead to UCLA, but for tonight and tomorrow morning, let's enjoy this one!
Nice work, Hoosiers!
(1) The Hoosiers win!
(2) Ben dressed just like Kelvin Sampson.
(3) Chris & Shana got a brand new flat panel TV.
(4) Duke lost.
(5) The Big Ten easily cruises to a 3-0 record.
Great game for the Hoosiers. I think all the pregame comments and analysis by everybody on this blog pretty much nailed this game. Here's what we predicted, followed by the actual outcome.
* Play tough defense....tougher defense than Gonzaga is used to seeing -- this clearly worked as IU held Gonzaga to only 57 points. I believe they average just under 80, so the Hoosiers were able to hold them 20+ points under their average. Sure, Gonzaga missed some easy layups, but for the most part, Gonzaga had that "deer in the headlights" look, thanks to IU's defense.
* Free Throws....don't send Gonzaga to the line. I would have been satisfied even if we shot 8 or fewer FTs than Gonzaga, but we actually shot the same number of attempts (16) and we hit more than them (15 to their 12). In fact, Wilmont missed IU's first FT of the game on his early 4-point play attempt and then IU hit their remaining 15 free throws. Very impressive and this is why IU was able to put this game away in the 2nd half. When it was 1-1 time in the 2nd half, IU hit all 6 of their attempts to retain a 10-12 point lead. This was huge and I have to give a shout-out to Andy for providing the play-by-play as Milwaukee CBS cut away from the IU game to show a double-digit UNC lead with 14 minutes to play. But I'm in too good of a mood to rip CBS right now.
* IU needs production from their best 2 players.....D.J. and Wilmont. Wilmont came out on fire. I think he hit 4 of his first 5 three-pointers and finished the game with 22 points and 7 rebounds. When Rod hit that first 3, I had a pretty good feeling about tonight's game. D.J. started slow with only 2 points on 1-6 shooting in the 1st half. However, they were the type of looks that you knew he would start hitting and he definitely did that in the 2nd half. D.J. went 5-7 in the 2nd half and also had a huge left-handed blocked shot that really kept the momentum in IU's favor. Final line -- 16 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, 4-4 FTs. That's what we need.
* IU needs to hit their 3s. The Hoosiers finished 9-25 (36%) which is respectable, but not outstanding. Wilmont and Ratliff came out and hit 6 of their first 8, so that was good to see. In fact, the Hoosiers first 20 points came on Wilmont and Ratliff's 6 treys and 2 FTs from Bassett. Unfortunatley, Ratliff completely stunk up the joint after that point. Also, Stemler (now nicknamed by Ben as "White Ice") came in and went 0-4. I'm not looking up stats right now, but White Ice must be 2 for his last 30 or so from the arc.
HOWEVER, other than his 3-point shooting, Stemler was everywhere tonight. He was all over loose balls, everywhere on defense, and rebounding everything. Note -- if we hand the nicknaming rights over to Ben, we also have to live with the fact that analyzing IU games starts to sound like a scene from "8 Mile" -- White Ice clearly deserved minutes over 40 Cent tonight. Stemler finished with 6 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and many more plays that do not show up in the box score. We'll definitely take it. I don't know where his shot went, but if he finds it....look out UCLA and the rest of the field!
* I predicted Calloway would have a really good game -- well, not so much. He had some awful turnovers. However, he didn't let the wheels come off after any of the bad turnovers and came right back to make some good plays. Played good defense, hit all 5 freebies, had a nice drive or two, and still played an overall good game. In fact, speaking of the ugly turnovers, that was probably the main negative for IU as a team. Several players committed just flat-out ugly turnovers. We now see why Wilmont pulls up for 3s all the time -- because he is horrible at dribbling, driving, and passing. That one time, IU had a 2-on-1 fast break and he throws a 115 mph pass at Bassett's knees and 2 feet behind him. Rod's a trip. You never know what's coming next. Is he going to go on a tear by hitting 3 or 4 straight shots or is he going to throw something up that is wide-right by 3 feet. Even though there were some ups and downs, Rod simply got it done tonight. It beats the hell out of a 0 or 2 point performance.
All in all, a great game by the Hoosiers and one we should really celebrate.
Tomorrow, we'll look ahead to UCLA, but for tonight and tomorrow morning, let's enjoy this one!
Nice work, Hoosiers!
GameDay: IU vs. Gonzaga
My department declared today as "Marquette Day" and allowed us to wear jeans and navy/gold clothes. Well, I got the jeans part right, but my shirt appears to be much more of a crimson color.
That prompted somebody to come over and tell me that I had to stay in my cubicle all day. That somebody promptly received a drop-kick in the man zone. Unfortunately, the drop-kick proved to not be as effective as I hoped because that somebody was actually a woman, but I still think she got the main two points that I was trying to make -- (1) Don't mess with me when it comes to IU hoops, and (2) Maybe you wouldn't get kicked in the groin as much if you looked a little more feminine.
Anyway, my main reason for this post was to actually open up the gameday post for final pregame comments, in-game comments, and postgame comments.
Go Hoosiers!
Sunday, March 11, 2007
NCAA Tournament
Well, it's a rematch of last year's tournament matchup with Gonzaga. I can't say that I like that we are playing them on the west coast, but I don't think this year's Gonzaga team is as good as their team's of the past. Of course, if we win, then we play UCLA in Sacramento -- that's trouble, but I just hope we get a chance to worry about that matchup.We did have two common opponents with Gonzaga -- Duke & Butler. Both IU and Gonzaga lost to both of them. Gonzaga's best wins were at Texas and at North Carolina (neutral sites).
Their best player is Derek Raivio, who is similar to a Drew Neitzel type player. Their other best player, Josh Heytvelt, was suspended for the rest of the seasons, but the Zags seem to be playing better without him.
All things considered, I think this is a good matchup for IU. Gonzaga is known more for their offense than their defense. Therefore, I am hoping IU can get some good looks from the arc and IU should play tougher defense than a majority of Gonzaga's conference opponents.
If Kelvin Sampson wants to put a stamp on his first season as the IU head coach, he can do so by taking this team to at least the Sweet 16.
In the past 12 seasons, the Hoosiers have only made it to the Sweet 16 once. That, of course, was their run to the title game. In the other 11 seasons, they failed to make the Big Dance twice, lost in the 1st round 5 times, and lost in the 2nd round 4 times.
And not only did they lose early in the tournament, they got blown out in many of those games. They lost those games by an average of 14 points per game with 5 of the losses being by 18 points or more. Ouch!
It will be a tough road to the Sweet 16, but if they can do it, I think most Hoosier fans would consider this season a big success. And who knows, once you get into the Sweet 16, anything can happen.
Go Hoosiers!
Friday, March 9, 2007
Illinois 58 IU 54
We all knew it would be an ugly game, but that was rediculous.
For those of you who questioned Wilmont because of his consistency, you were right. I was wrong. What a horrible game by Wilmont.
Even though it was an ugly game, IU had their chances to win..........
Wait. Let me back up to that call where there was an inside foul called and all the officials clearly waive off the 3 that Illinois made and simply whistled an inside foul. We come back from commercial with the Illinois fans cheering and learn that the officials have counted the 3 and the inside foul to give Illinois a potential 5-point play. Let me tell you, in a game that is being played in the 40s, that's like a 20-point play. Let me also tell you that the call they made was complete bullshit. It was a game-changing bullshit call. Since when can you refer to the replay during a timeout to accurately determine when a foul was called vs. a shot, especially..... awwww, forget it. It was bullshit and we'll leave it at that. Bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit.
Anyway, IU had their chances to win in regulation. It looked pretty bad when Illinois started hitting some 3s, but then IU answered back with Ratliff and Bassett hitting some 3s and IU looked in great shape to pull this one out.
It got tight down the stretch and IU had the final possession......Here is where IU has trouble -- what's the play call here? IU has nobody that has proven to be the man down the stretch. The guy that at least has shown the willingness is Bassett and he got the call, but came up empty and we headed to overtime.
The overtime was a disgrace as IU didn't even score for the first 4 1/2 minutes. At one point, I kicked an exersauceer into my wife's leg and now I was faced with the pending IU loss, some much-needed apologies to my wife, and whatever else goes along with being an obsessed asshole of an IU fan. (Note: this is where obsessed asshold IU fans start thinking back to complete bullshit calls. It is also the point where the term "FIB" becomes the understatement of the year.)
This game just killed me. It absolutely killed me. The Hoosiers sucked. My main man Wimont sucked beyond belief.
It's known that I do like Sampson, but I do have a beef with the head coach. Ok, D.J. is your best player. D.J. is looking pretty good most of the night. D.J. is a true post player. These things should line up to put major pressure on the defense, but it doesn't happen for IU.
If you're best player is a post player and he is having a good night, any defense should be vulnerable, especially when you have some guys that can shoot the 3. But I don't like how they have coached D.J. to handle the double-team. If he gets double-teamed, they have coached him to dribble out and find the safe pass back to the perimeter. That is not making the defense pay for the double-team. They need to identify where the double-team is coming from and either hit a slasher or hit the open 3-point shooter. Or even if you kick it back out, there should be ball movement to find the open shooter. By having D.J. take a dribble or two to back out of the double-team, they are not making the defense pay for the double-team at all.
I have another idea....D.J. just turns and shoots. Wouldn't you rather see D.J. go 8-18, rather than 4-9???? D.J. shot 44%, the rest of the team shot 28.6%....don't you like your chances with D.J. just catching, turning, and shooting????
One other really disturbing factor was the loose balls. There was one IU player and only one IU player that was getting to loose balls and that was Calloway. If Calloway wasn't there, IU was getting out-hustled on many loose balls. Speaking of Calloway, I thought he was mostly great tonight. Sure, he didn't have his shooting touch like the Penn State game and he had a couple ugly plays, but I really thought he was the only IU player that would chase a loose ball and come out the victor. Only 2 points, but he had 9 rebounds and 6 assists.
I guess I am probably talking in circles by now, but I just find it troubling that Bassett has to step up as a freshman and be "The Man" on this team. That is shameful for D.J., Wilmont, Calloway, Ratliff, and Sampson that they haven't found a "bread & butter" down the stretch.
We'll see what happens on Selection Sunday. I still believe the Hoosiers are a lock, but it ain't gonna be a pretty seed.
Go IU!
For those of you who questioned Wilmont because of his consistency, you were right. I was wrong. What a horrible game by Wilmont.
Even though it was an ugly game, IU had their chances to win..........
Wait. Let me back up to that call where there was an inside foul called and all the officials clearly waive off the 3 that Illinois made and simply whistled an inside foul. We come back from commercial with the Illinois fans cheering and learn that the officials have counted the 3 and the inside foul to give Illinois a potential 5-point play. Let me tell you, in a game that is being played in the 40s, that's like a 20-point play. Let me also tell you that the call they made was complete bullshit. It was a game-changing bullshit call. Since when can you refer to the replay during a timeout to accurately determine when a foul was called vs. a shot, especially..... awwww, forget it. It was bullshit and we'll leave it at that. Bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit.
Anyway, IU had their chances to win in regulation. It looked pretty bad when Illinois started hitting some 3s, but then IU answered back with Ratliff and Bassett hitting some 3s and IU looked in great shape to pull this one out.
It got tight down the stretch and IU had the final possession......Here is where IU has trouble -- what's the play call here? IU has nobody that has proven to be the man down the stretch. The guy that at least has shown the willingness is Bassett and he got the call, but came up empty and we headed to overtime.
The overtime was a disgrace as IU didn't even score for the first 4 1/2 minutes. At one point, I kicked an exersauceer into my wife's leg and now I was faced with the pending IU loss, some much-needed apologies to my wife, and whatever else goes along with being an obsessed asshole of an IU fan. (Note: this is where obsessed asshold IU fans start thinking back to complete bullshit calls. It is also the point where the term "FIB" becomes the understatement of the year.)
This game just killed me. It absolutely killed me. The Hoosiers sucked. My main man Wimont sucked beyond belief.
It's known that I do like Sampson, but I do have a beef with the head coach. Ok, D.J. is your best player. D.J. is looking pretty good most of the night. D.J. is a true post player. These things should line up to put major pressure on the defense, but it doesn't happen for IU.
If you're best player is a post player and he is having a good night, any defense should be vulnerable, especially when you have some guys that can shoot the 3. But I don't like how they have coached D.J. to handle the double-team. If he gets double-teamed, they have coached him to dribble out and find the safe pass back to the perimeter. That is not making the defense pay for the double-team. They need to identify where the double-team is coming from and either hit a slasher or hit the open 3-point shooter. Or even if you kick it back out, there should be ball movement to find the open shooter. By having D.J. take a dribble or two to back out of the double-team, they are not making the defense pay for the double-team at all.
I have another idea....D.J. just turns and shoots. Wouldn't you rather see D.J. go 8-18, rather than 4-9???? D.J. shot 44%, the rest of the team shot 28.6%....don't you like your chances with D.J. just catching, turning, and shooting????
One other really disturbing factor was the loose balls. There was one IU player and only one IU player that was getting to loose balls and that was Calloway. If Calloway wasn't there, IU was getting out-hustled on many loose balls. Speaking of Calloway, I thought he was mostly great tonight. Sure, he didn't have his shooting touch like the Penn State game and he had a couple ugly plays, but I really thought he was the only IU player that would chase a loose ball and come out the victor. Only 2 points, but he had 9 rebounds and 6 assists.
I guess I am probably talking in circles by now, but I just find it troubling that Bassett has to step up as a freshman and be "The Man" on this team. That is shameful for D.J., Wilmont, Calloway, Ratliff, and Sampson that they haven't found a "bread & butter" down the stretch.
We'll see what happens on Selection Sunday. I still believe the Hoosiers are a lock, but it ain't gonna be a pretty seed.
Go IU!
Thursday, March 8, 2007
IU vs. Illinois
It's official, we're playing Illinois. Here are the final poll results from this week:
How will IU fare in the Big 10 Tournament?
6 votes - Lose Saturday
4 votes - Lose Friday
2 votes - Lose Sunday
0 votes - Win it all
Who will win the Big Ten Tournament?
8 votes - OSU
2 votes - WI
1 vote - PU (not likely, Troy)
1 vote - Iowa (this was actually me....they always seem to pull it out of their ass in the Big Ten tournament)
Which Big Ten teams will make the Big Ten Tournament?
10 votes - OSU, WI, IU
9 votes - MSU
5 votes - PU, Illini
1 vote - Iowa
How do you feel about the regular season results?
7 votes - Very Pleased
3 votes - Should've been better
2 votes - At Expectations
Who will exceed their scoring average by the most points?
3 votes - Bassett
2 votes - D.J., Casper, 40 Cent
1 vote - Wilmont, Ratliff, Shaw
Who will win on Friday?
7 votes - The Hoosiers
6 votes - IU, Indiana
I'm not sure what this means, but I'm sure there is a psychological explanation.
Who is this year's MVP?
12 votes - Wilmont
10 votes - D.J.
I think we already beat this one to death in the comments on the previous post.
Go Hoosiers!
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Big Ten Tournament
I had planned on doing a recap of the regular season, but I think I will wait do a full recap once the entire season is over. However, I have added plenty of poll questions for you to ponder as we head into the postseason.
Looking ahead to Friday's game, if Penn State wins, we should be prepared since that was our last game. Therefore, we will spend our time looking at our more likely opponent -- Illinois. Or Ill-annoy as Chris likes to call them.
Taking a look back at the two Illannoy games….neither were very pretty. But the game at Illannoy was some of the most brutal basketball I have ever seen in my life -- that's when IU had a stretch of scoring only 19 points over 30 minutes. Needless to say, if they play like that, they'll lose.
Now the game at the real Assembly Hall was a little better -- still kind of an ugly game, but it was played at a little bit higher level with more points scored. Wilmont and D.J. were solid and Bassett was tough down the stretch.
What are the keys to a win on Friday? Here's what I think and I will try to add some measurable numbers.
(1) D.J. & Wilmont have to be solid. They don't necessarily have to be spectacular, but they do need to be solid (at least around their averages).
(2) IU hitting their 3s. Can't be just one player, need 3-balls from multiple sources. Preferably 8+ as a team from at least 4 players.
(3) IU can't go foul crazy. Both teams will play tough D, that's a given. But the key for IU is to do so without fouling. Illannoy needs to shoot less than 18 FTs or IU needs to have within 4 FT attempts of Illinois.
(4) Don't let McBride kill you from downtown. 3 or less treys is acceptable.
(5) Rebounding -- A wash is acceptable.
(6) Turnovers -- A wash is acceptable.
So, now that I have typed this out, I think the most important factor and IU's competitive advantage is their 3-point shooting. I think if you contain McBride in this area, you most likely contain Illannoy. And for IU, they have several players that can hit the 3s, they just need to do it. You know that Wilmont and Ratliff will fire away and get their attempts and usually one of them will knock down a few. But when Bassett, Stemler, Calloway, Shaw, and Suhr can hit some 3s, this team really explodes.
Obviously, you need D.J. to stay out of foul trouble and be solid, but that is a given. I think the 3-point shooting will be the biggest factor.
Prediction Time -- I certainly don't expect another performance like the one against Penn State, but I do expect the Hoosiers to hit enough 3s to carry them to the win. Of course, I just looked up the box scores and found that the Hoosiers only hit 8 treys in the two games combined against Illannoy (5-17 in the win and 3-9 in the loss), so I think Illannoy defends the 3 well. But what the hell, I'm sticking with that as the key factor and the Hoosiers will get 8+ treys from 4 or more different players and will win a tough game 65-61.
By the way, if Penn State would pull off the upset over Illannoy, then I like the Hoosiers to win that game 75-64.
Go Hoosiers!
Saturday, March 3, 2007
IU 94 Penn State 63
Wow, what a performance by the Hoosiers tonight! They certainly needed that as they head into the postseason.
Did anyone get to watch the Senior Speeches? If so, please add some comments.
I'll add some quick comments about tonight's game for those who did not get to see it. Then, some time before the Big Ten Tourney, we will recap the regular season and take a look ahead to the Big Ten Tournament.
The most important thing is that IU took care of business tonight and finished in sole possession of 3rd place. They got to the magical 20-win mark and are now a lock for the Big Dance, regardless of what happens in the Big Ten Tourney. By the way, it looks like they will play the Illinois/Penn State winner on Friday night. Obviously, they split with Illinois, but I thought that Illinois made IU look ugly in both games, so it might be a tough match-up. Of course, if IU can get several players hitting 3-balls, they will be just fine.
Tonight, it was the 3-point shooting that catapulted the Hoosiers to an easy victory.
They went 17-32 from the arc as a team. In fact, for a while, it looked like Wilmont was only going to hold the school record for 3 days because Ratliff was on fire. Ratliff cost himself a shot at the record because he fouled out in only 14 minutes of play. But in those 14 minutes, he was 6-7 from the arc. This was really good to see after his horrible performance at NW.
Another pleasant surprise was Stemler going 2-2 from the arc. Now, Stemler did not even see the floor until this game was blow-out city, but it was still really good to see him knock down a couple triples.
But the most promising sign for IU was the play of Earl Calloway. Earl started fast with the first bucket of the game, then followed with a couple nice driving hoops, and then he started knocking down the 3s as well. He went 3-5 from the arc. This is all well and good, but the best part was that he played great at the point with 11 assists and only 1 turnover. A very nice 15 point, 11 assist double-double on Senior Night.
But he wasn't the only Senior with a double-double. Good old Roderick Wilmont came through with another big-time performance. Rod started out a little bit icy and it looked like those that voted for 0-5 points in the poll question were looking pretty good. But then in typical Wilmont fashion, he hit back-to-back 3s late in the first half to give him 6 points. Then, he had a couple more misses and it sort of looked like he was the only Hoosier having a cold shooting night. But then he pulled off the back-to-back 3s again and followed that up with a dunk and a couple other buckets and before you knew it, he had gone from 6 points to 19 points and the game had been blown wide-open. He finished with a team-leading 21 points and 11 rebounds. I don't have stats in front of me, so this is just a guess, but I wouldn't be surprised if Wilmont now leads the team in double-doubles. That says a lot about Wilmont and it should be a little bit embarrassing for D.J. Anyway, can you say Big Ten Player of the Week? Wilmont averaged 26 points and 11.5 rebounds this week. Not too shabby.
Another nice surprise was the contribution from Mike White and Bendeman. Mike White finished with 12 points and 4 rebounds and also had 2 dunks. He just does a nice job of mixing it up and keeping rebounds alive. And Bendeman actually did a nice job going after some boards and finished with more rebounds than D.J.
Speaking of D.J., he had a nice game, but really more of a complimentary player. On the good side, he was 4-6 from the field and 4-4 from the line and had 4 blocks. But he only had 3 rebounds in 31 minutes of play. Bendeman had 4 rebounds in only 13 minutes. And Wilmont had 11 rebounds. I just think we'd all like to see D.J. be more aggressive by demanding the ball in the post and owning the glass. So, it's not that he had a bad game, but he certainly could have done a lot more than he did.
Bassett was solid again -- 8 points, 4 assists, 0 turnovers
Suhr got the start on Senior Night but didn't do a whole lot. He got to play quite a few minutes once the lead was around 20 and the crowd was going wild for him to shoot. Finally, he got to the foul line, hit both his FTs, and then Sampson took him out to a roaring ovation. Calloway and Wilmont followed one by one so that each of the Seniors had a nice ovation as they left the game.
What a great way to end the regular season!
Go Hoosiers!
************************************************************************************
I always find a way to consider every game a big game, but I really do think this game is a HUGE game for the Hoosiers.
The one thing that IU can hang their hat on is that they do not have any bad losses....zero. All losses are on the road and are to teams that are at least on the bubble, with many of them already being safely tournament teams.
So, if the Hoosiers take care of business tonight, they are a lock for the Big Dance. A win tonight would get them to a 10-6 third-place finish in the Big Ten and 20 wins on the season. In addition, they would have big wins over Wisconsin and Southern Illinois and several other nice wins over potential tournament teams. And they would have zero bad losses on their resume.
However, should they lose tonight, I think people would look at their resume from a completely different angle -- they would point to the fact that IU has lost 5 of their last 8 including a home loss to Penn State and did not get to 20 wins. In addition, it would throw them back into the middle of the pack in the Big Ten where the other contenders have 20+ wins. It may very well mean some work would be necessary in the Big Ten Tourney to get into the Big Dance. IU's RPI should still be favorable, but I do think they would be squarely on the bubble if they would lose tonight.
Of course, all of this thinking about scenarios may be missing the point. Really, the bottom line is that IU needs to start playing better basketball. Because win or lose tonight, if IU doesn't start playing better, they are not going to be anybody in any postseason tournament.
If they can take care of business and win tonight (ugly or not), then they have 6 full days off before they would play Friday night in the Big Ten tournament. Those 6 days could prove to be beneficial, especially as it relates to Calloway's injury. And with a win tonight, I would certainly consider this a pretty darn good regular season, considering this year's team with a new coach and a new system.
Poll Results:
Percent chance that Penn State beats IU at Assembly Hall on Senior Night....I was a little bit surprised that 5 out of 11 voters said 0%. Yes, I understand that IU is undefeated at home and Penn State is winless on the road. But quite frankly, Penn State is playing better basketball than IU right now. IU has been horrendous ever since knocking off Wisconsin while Penn State has taken Ohio State to the wire twice (home and away) and they just beat Iowa. I certainly am not predicting a Penn State win tonight, but I definitely think there is a chance (my vote was 10%). There were a total of 4 votes for 10% and 1 each for 20% and 30%.
Can Wilmont follow up a great performance with at least an average showing or will he lay another egg?
3 voters said 0-5 points tonight
1 vote for 6-10 points
3 votes for 11-15 points
3 votes for 16-20 points
I personally think Wilmont will definitely get to double figures tonight. It might be on a 5-23 shooting night, but you know he is going to come out firing after the huge 31 point performance at NW. Add in that it is senior night, I just think he is going to get his shots tonight. So, let's just hope he catches fire again.
Should Suhr start tonight?
8 votes Yes and 2 votes No.
Go Hoosiers!
Did anyone get to watch the Senior Speeches? If so, please add some comments.
I'll add some quick comments about tonight's game for those who did not get to see it. Then, some time before the Big Ten Tourney, we will recap the regular season and take a look ahead to the Big Ten Tournament.
The most important thing is that IU took care of business tonight and finished in sole possession of 3rd place. They got to the magical 20-win mark and are now a lock for the Big Dance, regardless of what happens in the Big Ten Tourney. By the way, it looks like they will play the Illinois/Penn State winner on Friday night. Obviously, they split with Illinois, but I thought that Illinois made IU look ugly in both games, so it might be a tough match-up. Of course, if IU can get several players hitting 3-balls, they will be just fine.
Tonight, it was the 3-point shooting that catapulted the Hoosiers to an easy victory.
They went 17-32 from the arc as a team. In fact, for a while, it looked like Wilmont was only going to hold the school record for 3 days because Ratliff was on fire. Ratliff cost himself a shot at the record because he fouled out in only 14 minutes of play. But in those 14 minutes, he was 6-7 from the arc. This was really good to see after his horrible performance at NW.Another pleasant surprise was Stemler going 2-2 from the arc. Now, Stemler did not even see the floor until this game was blow-out city, but it was still really good to see him knock down a couple triples.
But the most promising sign for IU was the play of Earl Calloway. Earl started fast with the first bucket of the game, then followed with a couple nice driving hoops, and then he started knocking down the 3s as well. He went 3-5 from the arc. This is all well and good, but the best part was that he played great at the point with 11 assists and only 1 turnover. A very nice 15 point, 11 assist double-double on Senior Night.
But he wasn't the only Senior with a double-double. Good old Roderick Wilmont came through with another big-time performance. Rod started out a little bit icy and it looked like those that voted for 0-5 points in the poll question were looking pretty good. But then in typical Wilmont fashion, he hit back-to-back 3s late in the first half to give him 6 points. Then, he had a couple more misses and it sort of looked like he was the only Hoosier having a cold shooting night. But then he pulled off the back-to-back 3s again and followed that up with a dunk and a couple other buckets and before you knew it, he had gone from 6 points to 19 points and the game had been blown wide-open. He finished with a team-leading 21 points and 11 rebounds. I don't have stats in front of me, so this is just a guess, but I wouldn't be surprised if Wilmont now leads the team in double-doubles. That says a lot about Wilmont and it should be a little bit embarrassing for D.J. Anyway, can you say Big Ten Player of the Week? Wilmont averaged 26 points and 11.5 rebounds this week. Not too shabby.
Another nice surprise was the contribution from Mike White and Bendeman. Mike White finished with 12 points and 4 rebounds and also had 2 dunks. He just does a nice job of mixing it up and keeping rebounds alive. And Bendeman actually did a nice job going after some boards and finished with more rebounds than D.J.
Speaking of D.J., he had a nice game, but really more of a complimentary player. On the good side, he was 4-6 from the field and 4-4 from the line and had 4 blocks. But he only had 3 rebounds in 31 minutes of play. Bendeman had 4 rebounds in only 13 minutes. And Wilmont had 11 rebounds. I just think we'd all like to see D.J. be more aggressive by demanding the ball in the post and owning the glass. So, it's not that he had a bad game, but he certainly could have done a lot more than he did.
Bassett was solid again -- 8 points, 4 assists, 0 turnovers
Suhr got the start on Senior Night but didn't do a whole lot. He got to play quite a few minutes once the lead was around 20 and the crowd was going wild for him to shoot. Finally, he got to the foul line, hit both his FTs, and then Sampson took him out to a roaring ovation. Calloway and Wilmont followed one by one so that each of the Seniors had a nice ovation as they left the game.
What a great way to end the regular season!
Go Hoosiers!
************************************************************************************
I always find a way to consider every game a big game, but I really do think this game is a HUGE game for the Hoosiers.
The one thing that IU can hang their hat on is that they do not have any bad losses....zero. All losses are on the road and are to teams that are at least on the bubble, with many of them already being safely tournament teams.
So, if the Hoosiers take care of business tonight, they are a lock for the Big Dance. A win tonight would get them to a 10-6 third-place finish in the Big Ten and 20 wins on the season. In addition, they would have big wins over Wisconsin and Southern Illinois and several other nice wins over potential tournament teams. And they would have zero bad losses on their resume.
However, should they lose tonight, I think people would look at their resume from a completely different angle -- they would point to the fact that IU has lost 5 of their last 8 including a home loss to Penn State and did not get to 20 wins. In addition, it would throw them back into the middle of the pack in the Big Ten where the other contenders have 20+ wins. It may very well mean some work would be necessary in the Big Ten Tourney to get into the Big Dance. IU's RPI should still be favorable, but I do think they would be squarely on the bubble if they would lose tonight.
Of course, all of this thinking about scenarios may be missing the point. Really, the bottom line is that IU needs to start playing better basketball. Because win or lose tonight, if IU doesn't start playing better, they are not going to be anybody in any postseason tournament.
If they can take care of business and win tonight (ugly or not), then they have 6 full days off before they would play Friday night in the Big Ten tournament. Those 6 days could prove to be beneficial, especially as it relates to Calloway's injury. And with a win tonight, I would certainly consider this a pretty darn good regular season, considering this year's team with a new coach and a new system.
Poll Results:
Percent chance that Penn State beats IU at Assembly Hall on Senior Night....I was a little bit surprised that 5 out of 11 voters said 0%. Yes, I understand that IU is undefeated at home and Penn State is winless on the road. But quite frankly, Penn State is playing better basketball than IU right now. IU has been horrendous ever since knocking off Wisconsin while Penn State has taken Ohio State to the wire twice (home and away) and they just beat Iowa. I certainly am not predicting a Penn State win tonight, but I definitely think there is a chance (my vote was 10%). There were a total of 4 votes for 10% and 1 each for 20% and 30%.
Can Wilmont follow up a great performance with at least an average showing or will he lay another egg?
3 voters said 0-5 points tonight
1 vote for 6-10 points
3 votes for 11-15 points
3 votes for 16-20 points
I personally think Wilmont will definitely get to double figures tonight. It might be on a 5-23 shooting night, but you know he is going to come out firing after the huge 31 point performance at NW. Add in that it is senior night, I just think he is going to get his shots tonight. So, let's just hope he catches fire again.
Should Suhr start tonight?
8 votes Yes and 2 votes No.
Go Hoosiers!
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