Saturday, January 26, 2008
IU 63 UConn 68
And that's exactly why I hate this UConn game in the middle of the conference schedule. Here we are at 6-0 in the Big Ten, yet I am incredibly pissed off as I am typing this. One thing is for sure -- the Hoosiers better not sit around and cry about this one (like I am), because they have a HUGE game coming up at Wisconsin. If they can win that one, the season is immediately back on track.
Well, it's pretty clear that big, strong, and athletic teams (like Xavier and UConn) give IU trouble. The 2-pt FG shooting was horrible. At one point, IU was 5-33 from inside the arc. That's just crazy. You had Mike White and DeAndre missing layup after layup. And then DJ and EJ were missing shots that they normally make.
They also got out-rebounded 44-28. Ouch. With their poor shooting and poor rebounding, it's amazing they only lost by 5 points. However, they did open up with 3-point baskets by Gordon, Ellis, and Bassett to build a 9-0 lead. But from that point to about 5 minutes to go in the game (so about the middle 30 minutes), they got outscored by 20 points. And that was the stretch where they went ice cold and couldn't rebound the damn ball.
Late in the game, Crawford and Stemler came in and knocked down some shots. And after that incredibly ice cold middle 30 minutes, I think IU scored on 9 of 10 possessions. However, once again, I think it was their defense that let them down. You can only make a run if you get stops at the defensive end. I think IU was down 11 with about 6 minutes to go and then they scored on 9 of 10 possessions. But 3 or 4 minutes later, they had only cut the lead to 5 or 6 because they were giving up layups, dunks, and offensive rebounds on the other end. The guards were not stopping penetration at all and then big men rotations were either late or they had to leave their man which led to a dunk or offensive rebound. I think the guards need to do a better job stopping penetration.
On a positive note, Bassett's jump shot is looking pure. He was 6-8 from the arc today, which makes him 13-16. Impressive.
Frustrating loss, but there just seemed to be a lid on the basket for the Hoosiers today. It was really strange. They were 11-20 from the arc which kept them within striking distance, but they could not buy a basket inside the arc.
Again, if they can win at Wisconsin, they are right back on track and in great shape. But it ain't gonna be easy to go into the Kohl Center and get a win. Judging by the looks on the faces of Sampson and the players, they are going to be hungry. I think it's going to be a good game and I think the Hoosiers will win that one by a score of 68-64.
Go Hoosiers.
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3 comments:
Post-game comments from Jim Calhoun:
"To do what we did is certainly the greatest win I've had and it's going to get up there since the national championship team beat Georgia Tech. It could even beat the Duke game where we came back from down seven.
Again, I think back to the national championship game and being down seven to Duke, it's on that plateau. My respect for Indiana, this building and all it represents...this is basketball heaven and I love every bit of it. To come in here when they have a 17-1 team with some terrific players and have our kids give everything they had. I was just hoping the clock would malfunction and go quicker. We were running out of gas, but we found enough inside of us. I know this a soliloquy and not a question and answer but this is how I feel right now. I feel so much pride in my kids and how they responded and did everything we asked them to do. I'll remember this for an awful, awful, awful long time."
Wow, and just like that, the Hoosiers find themselves in sole possession of 1st place in the Big Ten after Purdue just beat Wisconsin in West Lafayette.
Those Purdue freshmen are really impressive, but that's about the only nice thing I am going to say about Purdue for the rest of my life.
Chris Says:
No rebounding and cold shooting are a bad bad thing. Where was Mike White and Lance Stemler on the boards? It seemed like every shot we took was a 4 around 1 deal with no one but DJ in the middle. Sometimes, he was taking a jump shot and there was no one in the middle.
DeAndre had a bad game. I can think of 4 to 6 points that dude surrendered that were point blank lay ins. Billy Packer was pointing out that UConns tall dude wasn't even playing defense. Hate to say it, but Billy was right and we didn't make them pay for it.
I'd love to see a win at Wisky but that's a tall order...especially after they just got beat at Purdue.
The season does not rest on Thursday's game. They're will be plenty of slugfest games between the top teams in the 10.
I have been a little disappointed in the Offense lately. I know Defense win titles, but I think we could be more dynamic and create more open looks with more movement and screens. Can't we use MWhite and Stemler to set some screens for DJ and Gordon? What about some pick n roll action with DJ and Gordon? That would be really hard to stop since you'd have to pick your poison.
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