First, all reports are that Gordon will play Saturday.
Heading into this Kentucky game, some IU fans think that IU will win this game easily. They point to KY's Gardner Webb loss, the fact that the game is at Assembly Hall, and that there is a lot of turmoil under new head coach Billy Gillespie, including the recent announcement that one of their best players off the bench, Alex Legion, plans to transfer.
I would tend to agree with these points, but I think this game will be a close one and for that reason, I am including my Top Reasons for Concern. Of course, this will be followed by my Top Reasons IU will beat Kentucky.
Top Reasons for Concern:
(1) It's a rivalry game
(2) Gardner Webb Loss is overblown This was only Kentucky's second game under their new head coach and new system. They came out flat and went down 14-0 to start the game and never recovered. It happened. It's done. And it doesn't mean that KY is horrible. Kentucky's only other loss was to North Carolina and I think we'd all agree that they are pretty good.
(3) Held 2 Opponents to 40 pts or less Yes, it was against Nobody and Nobody St., but that's still putting the clamps down. In fact, they have held their opponents 35 pts, 40, pts, 52 pts, and 54 pts in their 4 wins. Again, all 4 were against cupcakes, but IU has been giving up 70 points in their "easy" games.
(4) KY has the better Crawford Jordan's older brother, Joe, is a senior on Kentucky and is their leading scorer at 18 points per game.
(5) Gordon may not be 100%
(6) Turmoil There has been talk of some turmoil in Kentucky-land, but I think IU can match just about anybody this year in that category.
(7) They have a good coach It may take a while for Gillespie to get his system in place, but any team with a good coach in college basketball is a dangerous team.
All of the above are reasons for concern, but IU will still win the game by a score of 74-70 and here are the Top Reasons why:
(1) Assembly Hall It's been a long time since KY has had to go into Assembly Hall and face IU's home crowd.
(2) Jordan Crawford Yes, Kentucky has the better Crawford, but it will still be a big lift for IU to get Jordan off of suspension.
(3) Gordon Even if not 100%, it is still pretty simple. Gordon plays, IU is better.
(4) We have a good coach They may have a good coach, but he is in his first year. We have a good coach and he is in his second year. Advantage IU.
(5) D.J. White Do I hear 5 straight double-doubles?
So there you have it, it will be close, but IU will win this one 74-70.
Go Hoosiers!
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6 comments:
I am predicting an IU win as well. But I think it will be much lower scoring than people expect. IU 65, KY 61. I also read where IU wants the fans at the game to wear white again like they did against Duke a couple of years ago. Hopefully, the crowd can once again make a difference for the Hoosiers.
Speaking of the white-out, I misread one of the headlines this week. The headline was "White Out Set for Saturday's Game Against Kentucky". However, I quickly read it as "White Out for Saturday's Game Against Kentucky". I went into an immediate panic thinking that DJ got hurt again, but quickly realized my mistake after I clicked on the headline and saw a picture of IU fans all in white t-shirts.
B-Healy
I too was fooled for a second about the "White Out". I am thinking that it is because I was looking for info about EJ, and so I was in the mind set of looking for info about hurt players.
You may want to have some white out for this headline. Kentucky 59-Indiana 57. OptomisticCatFan1
As a Cat fan, all I can say is Good Luck. I hope it is a good game. As much as I like the 'hillbilly' and 'hoosier' jokes, those joke are born of a mutual respect.
Good luck, and I hope UK wins.
Who invited the UK fans?
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