Overall Record: 17-2 Big Ten Record: 6-0 Ranking: #11
Pretty good, right? Well, I'm not so sure.
Over the past 15 years, there have been too many years where the Hoosiers have had to scratch and claw to get to 20 wins so that they could be a legitimate bubble team. In fact, I even remember a year where we hoped for a tournament birth after only 16 wins because of an incredibly difficult schedule. And here we are this year with a minimum of 13 games left to play and only in need of 3 wins to get to 20.
But how good is this team?
Should we be pleased with the fact that this team does have 17 wins and they are currently 6-0 in the Big Ten? The 2 losses have come against a ranked Xavier team and a UConn team that is a few votes away from being ranked. Both Xavier and UConn are big, strong, and athletic teams that can give a lot of teams trouble on any given night. And even though IU has not always played well in their 17 wins, they have at least played good enough to win.
Or should we be concerned that this team has only played 2 decent teams - Xavier and UConn - and they got beat handily by both? IU's schedule has been incredibly easy to this point.
What concerns me is that this team is not fundamentally sound -- they don't play good defense and their offense is kind of puzzling. With Kelvin Sampson teams, you can expect that type of offense (I have never understood what his offense really tried to accomplish) but you also expect defensive teams that are tough and physical and can get stops. This year's team has simply relied on their talent to overcome their many mistakes and break-downs. Against a light schedule, they have been able to get to 17-2.
So where does this team go from here? They still play Wisconsin twice, Michigan State twice, Ohio State twice, and Purdue once. Will they rise up, improve, and win a Big Ten title? Or will their weaknesses be exploited by these better teams?
And regardless of what happens in the Big Ten, is IU ripe for an upset in the Big Dance because of some of these weaknesses and a weak Big Ten conference?
The answer lies ahead in the outcomes of the remaining schedule.
But I want to hear from my fellow Hoosier fans on what you think about these questions.
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8 comments:
Jeff, Although I'm hoping IU will pull it together as the season progresses, at times they look as clueless and helpless as I do on any given weekday...say between 8 am and 5 pm. I would speculate IU won't crack the top ten. But like Dennis Miller used to say..."I could be wrong." DC Mark
Chris Said:
Teams that don't learn to overcome and correct their weaknesses will not become conference champions. They won't win the big dance either.
With IU, we have a talented, experiences power forward, and very talented, NBA bound freshman guard, and a group of spot 3-point players, a slasher, and some hustle players.
Its on Sampson to make this team work. He's gotta get close to 40 points from DJ and EJ. The hustle players need to scrap and hustle on defense & boards, and the guard/3-point specialists need to get open looks and be ready to rebound when they aren't taking the shot.
The interior D is their weakest point. Guys aren't blocking out and UConn had a dunk fest. Thats bullshit. DeAndre isn't that tall, but no one should be backing him down. The same goes for Mike White.
Sometimes, losing can be an opportunity to teach. Do you think their listening to KS now? You bet they are listening.
Championship teams improve. Will they?
i'm definitely worried that uconn and xavier aren't even top 20 teams and we've played no one else. however, i remain optimistic that we have an inside game and an outside game. we have a little depth, and we have a potential scoring machine on most nights. i still think basset is a big piece too.
I just heard on the Big Ten Network that IU has one and only one win against the RPI Top 50 and that was against RPI #46 Illinois State.
I guess the good news is that their 2 losses are both to RPI Top 20 teams.
But we will see what this team is made of because 6 of their remaining 12 Big Ten games are against RPI Top 25 teams. Not only that, but 4 of their next 6 are against RPI Top 25 and one of the other games is that game at Illinois that is going to be crazy. So, we will find out soon enough if this team can rise to the occasion.
I'm really anxious for this Wisconsin game to see how the Hoosiers respond. It's going to be really tough. If they lose, I may go "dark" for a while because I can't be responsible for what I might do to some half-witted Badger fan that says something to me. Today, a Badger fan stopped me in the hall to comment on IU's loss to UConn. When I responded "at least it was non-conference and the Badgers loss gave us sole possession of 1st place." This is not a lie, he responded "what?!? Who did Wisconsin lose to???" Moron. Why don't you go drive a snowmobile into a half-frozen lake.
I am concerned about the Wisconsin game because of their tall front line players. Against UCONN the team looked like Mike Davis leftovers, particularly inside. As to how we will fare from here its anybody's guess. I am optimistic that Kelvin can get the team to improve, although its starting to get late in the year. We shall see.
I saw this on CBS Sportsline:
It's probably fair to start wondering about Indiana, isn't it?
The masses have always believed IU was great because it has a great coach (Kelvin Sampson), two great players (Eric Gordon, D.J. White) and a great name (what says basketball more than Hoosiers?). But it's difficult not to be skeptical after Saturday's 68-63 loss to Connecticut because Indiana has now lost to the only two sure-bet NCAA Tournament teams on its schedule (Xavier and UConn) while building a gaudy record against mostly nothing.
The Hoosiers' best win is against Illinois State.
Twelve of their 17 wins are against teams outside the Top 100 at CollegeRPI.com.
So Indiana doesn't look like much on paper. And that's why going on the road and winning at Wisconsin this week is a must if the goal is to prevent folks from losing total faith in where this team is headed and chanting overrated every time out.
I definietly am doubting the Hoosiers right now. I was at the game on Saturday and they looked as about as bad I have seen a team look. They have so much talent this year. I think they have the most talent in the Big Ten. They just do not play a full 40 minutes. Bassett has been playing tremendous lately. They have about a month to get this on track. They need to get hot in late February. I don't care if they go into the tourney as a #2 seed or as a #6 seed. This year they are built to win it all. I cannot imagine IU will have two guys as talented as DJ and EJ at the same time. I sure hope Gordon turns it on just like Carmelo Anthony did a few years back. We all know what that freshman brought home for Syracuse. Something not even Derick Coleman could do.
I like IU to go into Wisconsin and upset the Badgers. Jeff will go into work on Friday and do his best Norman Dale impression. "Leave the ball, will ya George?"
Ben P. said:
As the gifted poet George Michael once stated, "You Gotta Have Faith, Faith, Faith...I gotta have Faith, Faith, Faith...Baby, I know your..." well, you get my point!
I think IU's biggest problem is that they have played an "overall" weak schedule. They haven't been tested consistently and FORCED to grow & improve. In order for the Hoosiers to improve, they need to be challenged by legitimately good teams...which has only happened twice and we saw the results. A good butt-kicking isn't a bad thing...unless they don't learn & improve from it. With their upcoming schedule...I think we will see the Hoosiers grow and improve as they face consistently better competition and more intense situations. This will prime theme for the Big 10 Tourney and Big Dance. They will peak at the right time! The NY Giants have proven that peaking at the right time is what counts. That's what she said!
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