KB0

Guess what. The Duke student paper had an article complaining about their student section against Virginia. This is a problem for every single school. Across all sports. Also, the "back in my day" mentality is partially to blame, because people will always remember things as better than they were.

FWIW, I've walked into Butler games without tickets before. Not hard to get in to.

Indiana - 12-8 (5-3), 5th in the Big Ten, Illinois - 10-11 (0-8), 14th in the Big Ten Illinois is still searching for their first Big Ten win this year under new head coach Brad Underwood. 5 of their losses in conference play have been by 10 points or less. They'll be hungry for their first victory with IU in town. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about this game. Illinois is better than their record indicates. Indiana played a tough game two nights ago and has a big match-up looming on Sunday. The Hooisers are only 1-5 on the road this season. Hope Juwan is healthy and he's not feeling any lingering effects of the ankle sprain. Going to be a tough one in Champaign tonight.

Good lord. The amount of personal attacks on Indiana players is staggering. Critique how they play all you want, but some of the stuff here is over the top. Frustrating game. Most IU fans were nervous heading into last night. Had trap game written all over it. After the first half I was cautiously optimistic about pulling out a win, but man that second half was rough. IU turned the ball over way too much and settled for poor shots too often when they didn't. Free throws were abysmal. Defense struggled to contain the drive in the second half. The refs were all over the place. The team has obviously improved since the start of the season, but there is a thin margin of error. They simply aren't good enough to survive a horrendous night at the free throw line or ~20 turnovers. On the bright side, Smith, Durham and Green are all seeing plenty of court time. They may be taking their lumps, but they'll be better for it. Fire hardens steel.

I think a significant part of the problem is that the Crimson Guard is run by the marketing department. Students have little say in anything that happens for the in-game experience.

Behind the basket is assigned seating, I believe.

I'm interested to see who walks away with the starting QB job. If Pennix is the guy, then start him from day one and stick with him. If he's not let him redshirt and roll with either Ramsey or Tronti. Whichever way the coaching staff goes, they need to decide early and build the offense accordingly. The o-line absolutely has to play better and I think they will. It may not be the strength of the team, but it cannot be a major issue. Defensively, who is going to fill in for Covington, Scales, and Fant? It's extremely unlikely anyone will be able to replace the production of those three, but hopefully there isn't a signficant drop off. I have faith in Tom Allen's ability to coach up the D. Last but not least, Oakes is gone. He was a big time kicker last year. Can Campbell come in and fill that void? Looking at next years schedule here's how I would group the games: Good Chance to Win: at FIU, Ball State, at Rutgers Could win: Virginia, Iowa, at Minnesota, Maryland, Purdue Unlikely to Win: MSU, at OSU, at Michigan, PSU As always, going undefeated in non-conference play is essential. Do that and IU is halfway to bowl eligibility with 5 winnable conference games left. Would love to see the team knock off MSU or Michigan. MSU is at home, so maybe that's the one. Perhaps I'm a fool to talk myself into 6/7 wins, but that's what being a fan is all about.

It's been this way since the Vonleh season if we're being completely honest. Zeller's freshmen and sophomore years, it was always full. After that, not so much. It's frustrating, but this isn't a problem that is exclusive to IU. It's a problem across all sports and at most universities. Hopefully students start to show. Sustained success will help.

No, he didn't need to go through the draft. He signed a homegrown contract with the Chicago Fire. Homegrown contracts can essentially be offered to any player who played a year plus in the teams training academy.

Nice to string two wins together with a good chance at a third on Sunday. The game last night wasn't always pretty, but few games from this team will be. Grinded out a victory with rebounding, defense, and free throws. Man, that was nice to see. Juwan is developing from a player who relies on second chance points to a legitimate post threat. Our guards and Hartman/Smith will need to continue to hit shots so teams won't be able to double him. Liked what I saw defensively. Love that Archie is not afraid to have his players double the post or when a player is on the corner/baseline. Force the offense to react and beat you. Don't spend the whole game reacting to the offense. Northwestern plays Minnesota tonight, so Indiana will have an extra day of rest. Sunday is a big time home game. Would push the team to 4-2 in the Big Ten with a 3 game win streak with a trip to Sparty.

Tonight is a big game against a quality opponent. Penn State is 12-5 and sitting at 41 in Kenpom, which is exactly 50 spots ahead of Indiana. PSU was a 1.5 point favorite when I checked yesterday. I honestly thought they would be a 5-6 point favorite even with the game at Assembly. I've learned not to argue with Vegas, though. If Indiana brings the effort they brought against Duke, Notre Dame, and Minnesota this game is winnable. If Indiana brings the same effort we all saw in the second half against Wisconsin, well... Win today would move the Hoosiers to 10-7 and 3-2 in the Big Ten. Would give the guys a little more confidence and a reason for the fans to stay interested. Tonight I hope to see a team who values the ball and plays defense as a unit.

I would be surprised by Mehl as well, but I've been told it's something he's considering. Everything around the MLS draft is super confusing. In theory, Dorsey and Rennicks could opt to enter the draft without Homegrown or Generation Addidas, but they would have no safety net. Personally I think they'll both be back next season. Muse's father was quoted not too long after the Stanford match saying he was happy at IU and it would take something really big for him to leave. Apparently there is some interest from Europe, no idea what level. Believe that information was in an IDS article I saw on Twitter. Aside from seniors, I only expected to lose Gutman, but it seems Toye is gone as well. Crossing my fingers those are the only two to leave early.

Interesting that the team hasn't said anything yet. The MLS draft gets confusing with homegrown contracts and Generation Adidas. If I understand it correctly, when a player signs a Generation Adidas contract, he is turning pro. The contract is some sort deal with the MLS, where there salary won't count against the MLS team who drafts them. I believe it is to encourage drafting young, domestic talent. So, it seems Toye is gone. I'm a little surprised. Don't seem him getting time at the MLS level, so he'll likely be loaned down to a feeder team. Wish him nothing but the best. Imagine we'll hear about Gutman turning pro before long. I'd also keep an eye on Timmy Mehl. He may not make the jump, but don't be surprised if he does.

Frustrating to lose like that. Can't afford to play with it at the back in the second overtime of the national championship. Feel bad for Dorsey. That will stay with him forever. Thomas and Rennicks seemed like the only two players comfortable with the ball in tight spaces today. Indiana was the better team for the first 10-15 minutes. Stanford took control of the match for a long while after that. Muse made some huge saves. Last 20 minutes of regulation and the first OT was all Indiana. Controlled the match, but couldn't produce any substantial chances on goal. There's no replacing Lillard at the back. He's an extraordinary college player. Gutman and Muse are the two others I would be concerned about leaving. Maybe this makes them more inclined to return. I wouldn't worry as much about Dorsey and Toye. I still think they have a year or two left on campus, personally. Great season with a frustrating end. Stanford is a good team and great program. Have to tip your cap and hope the 9th star comes next season.

Romeo loses a game and people are turning on him? I've been fortunate enough to see him play in person a few times. He's a great player. Probably should be closer to 10-15 in his class, yes, but a great player none the less. He's not a one and done. He's not going to carry (alone) a big time program his first year on campus. Which is completely fine. There are very few players each year who can do that. Romeo would start at nearly in college in the country on day one. He is coachable and gives effort. He's a good teammate. His commitment would certainly help on the court. It would help even more off the court.

Lillard, Gutman, Thomas and Rennicks were outstanding. Stanford will be the best team Indiana has faced all year. Experienced, lethal attack, and a pressing defense. Indiana defenders will need to be comfortable on the ball and finding a quick outlet. The announcers last night struggled. When Rennicks came on the first time they claimed Indiana was bringing Toye out for a more experienced player. Not to mention they seemed confused that Lillard was a good player and couldn't settle on a pronunciation for Gutman.

I know this is supposed to be a thread about Tom Allen, but people keep saying that Lemonis was a bad hire and that is really confusing to me. The program is worse than it worse in Tracy Smith's final two years? Absolutely. Those were also the best two years in IU baseball history. Expecting there to be no drop off is unrealistic. Let's look at Tracy Smith's tenure vs. Lemonis. Smith: 2006 - 22-34 (11-21) - No tournament 2007 - 19-35 (8-23) - No tournament 2008 - 31-30 (15-17) - No tournament 2009 - 32-27 (16-7) - NCAA Regional 2010 - 28-27 (12-12) - No tournament 2011 - 30-25 (11-13) - No tournament 2012 - 23-28 (16-8) - No tournament 2013 - 49-16 (17-7) - College World Series 2014 - 42-13 (21-3) NCAA Regional 5 winning seasons. 4 winning seasons in the B1G. Made the post-season 3/9 years. Advanced out of the regionals one time. Lemonis: 2015 - 35-24 (12-10) - NCAA Regional 2016 - 32-24 (15-9) - No tournament 2017 - 34-24-2 (14-9-1) - NCAA Regional 3 winning seasons in the B1G and overall. Post-season 2/3 years. Has not advanced out of regionals. Yes, Lemonis inherited a better situation, but we're still talking about a B1G baseball team. Making it two the tournament in 2 of the first 3 seasons is impressive. The next few years will tell us a lot about the coach Lemonis will be. He is recruiting well and knows the Midwest. I like his chances.

Thought Archie came in with a great game plan last night. Double the post and try to force some outside shots. Duke isn't a great 3-point shooting team by any means this year. Happy to see a shorter rotation last night. Would prefer to see Smith over McSwain. I see people complaining about officiating, but I thought it was pretty even both ways. Duke's a really good team, but there's not a chance they go undefeated. Assembly was loud last night. One of the 10 loudest times I've been in there I think, but the crowd still didn't seem overly engaged if that makes sense. Encouraging signs from Indiana. Bring that effort every night and good things will happen.

IU - 27 PU -20

IU 31 Rutgers 21

No they didn't? How many Butler players from that team went on to play games in the NBA? Mack and Hayward. How many players from that Duke team went on to play in the NBA? Both Plumlees, Singler, Smith, Thomas, Kelly, Dawkins.

Penalty kicks remain a stupid way to end a game. Yeagley was right, Indiana was the better team yesterday, but that doesn't always result in a win. Thought they players were a little too selfish at times in the final third of the pitch. There were multiple occasions where laying the ball off was the right choice instead of the shot, but it's easy to judge when you're not on the pitch. Haven't trailed for a second the entire season and no B1G regular season or tournament trophy to show for it. Frustrating. Still expect this squad to make the College Cup, but still fear this team is missing a go-to finisher.

Happy for Veatch. Two straight years the men's team has missed Nationals now. A little disappointing. Receveur with another great showing and the entire women's team squeak through to Nationals. That program has made tremendous strides in the last few years. Excited to see how Receveur finishes this season.

IU - 27 Illinois - 17

Extremely happy to see this game on the schedule again. I think playing in-state opponents is great for fans and players. Would love to replace some of our out of conference games for Ball State, IUPUI, etc.