BottomLine

I tossed a coin and it came up heads. Then I tossed it again and it came up tails. So I tossed it again and it came up heads. Northwestern will have the best player on the floor. Indiana is playing at home. Shrug. Scratch head. Pull hair Indiana 73 NW 72

Oh, Joy. Two hours of hearing Purdue fans chant "IU sucks!" in the background. Indiana 66 Purdue 85

It is so hard not to over rate the result of the last game. That was the stinkeroo of all stinkeroos. Okay, forget that. Instead I'll consider that we have lost 6 of our last 9 games. Even worse we have lost 4 of our last 5. In short we aren't a very good team. Despite our winning record we have been outscored 1634 to 1616. Even the loyalist have given up hope for the post season, and we aren't thinking NCAA here we are thinking NIT. We have talent but the pieces don't fit together very well. I seriously doubt that IU will be favored in ANY game for the remainder of the season. We are really that bad. We beat Ohio State in Bloomington. Can we repeat in Columbus? Not likely. Hoosiers 70 Buckeyes 77

Had to get my mind off yesterday's big failure against Penn State so I decided to do a bit of Prediction League statistical digging. Discovered that collectively we are a lot smarter than we are individually. Added up our new "average" results and discovered that the average has racked up 2084 points after 22 games, after dropping the two lowest. That would be good enough for 10th place in the current standings. There is an old saying that the majority knows best. Certainly looks that way, especially since the average each game can't win any given week. Know that old statement that past results don't necessarily guarantee future returns. One year ago, after 22 games, rcs29 was in first place with 2113 points and I was in the catbird seat with 2110. Despite improving 11 points on my 2022-23 pace, I'm currently stuck in 6th place, in a tie with RICO, and rapidly losing contact with the leader, Hper50. Oh, how was Hper50 doing at this time last year? He was in 33rd place with a score of 1856, an improvement of 33 places and a gain of 366 points this year. Incredible!

Why are Indiana basketball teams always made up of the walking wounded? Hard to make a prediction here when you don't know exactly who will be playing. Still there are two factors that should sway this game. First it is a home game and secondly Penn State is pretty pathetic, especially on the road. Could this be a breakout game for Sparks? Just throwing the dice and hoping everything comes up positive. Indiana 78 PSU 71

Last basket made wins this one. It could be that close. Iowa can put up a cloud of 3's so it is imperative that IU guard that line because we are going to get outscored from outside, and we need to hold that margin down. Hope the home crowd is large and loud. We need that 6th man going for us. Would probably help a lot if we get Ware back and Johnson doesn't play like an idiot. After facing the Big10s murderers row we have our backs to the wall. We NEED a win! Going with the home team here but the confidence isn't high. Indiana 80 Iowa 79

High hopes for the NIT are starting to fade. This IU team is evidence that putting a team together is more than recruiting players with lots of stars after their names. Team building is about attitude and confidence, and IU is lacking in both. These guys don't look like they are having any fun. They look like they are pressing. They don't act like they like each other. And, dare I say, we are starting to see indications of hero ball instead of team ball. l still like Woody as a coach but sometimes teams get away from you and you just can't seem to find the key to getting everything back on track. Still time to put things back together but, sadly, not on the road and not at Illinois. Hoosiers 71 Illinois 84 PS As a resident of Illinois I hate the University of Illinois. My kids graduated from Iowa and Indiana.

Ware plays "soft" Reneau dribbles with his head down and holds the ball low = turnovers Mbako starting to come around but Woody doesn't trust him enough to keep him on the floor Galloway still hustles his butt off but can't carry the team Cupps doesn't even look at the basket, can't drive the basket, and needs to start hunting shots. Other teams don't even guard him. Johnson is still driving into crowds and begging for foul calls. Can't control his emotions. What you see before you is a team that isn't a team and has holes everywhere and can we expect to go to Wisconsin and win? Not likely. Hate playing Wisconsin more than Purdue. Indiana 67 Wisconsin 77

Good - This one is at home Very Very Bad - Peacock Bad - Perhaps the best team in the country against perhaps the 4th best team in Indiana (after Purdue, Indiana State and Butler). Heart says root for the Hoosiers. Head says this is going the other way. Hoosiers 71 Purdue 80

Home game with a huge home court advantage in the Big10. Worse team in the Big10 is the opponent. We don't win this one we are in very deep doo doo. Will be a big underdog in out next three games. How do you say "must win"? IU 75 Minny 71

Thank you for catching that. Correction has been made.

This is another tough game to pick. I think IU will have a lot of these tossup games this year. We have a better record than Rutgers but that doesn't mean that we have played that much better. Way too many close games against teams we should have outclassed. Thankfully we have ended up on top in all of those. Playing on the road in the Big10 is a nightmare. Ask Ohio State about that. Without taking match-ups into consideration I think the road team has about a 25-30% chance of winning. That looks bad for the Hoosiers and good for Rutgers. We usually play at Rutgers like we are having a root canal. Their defense can make most games a brawl. How tough are we? The X factor here is Xavier Johnson, no pun intended. He was the difference against Ohio State, where he played under control, unlike Nebraska. How is he going to respond Tuesday after a short turn around between games and a trip to New Jersey? He has the ability to make this team better than we have been to this point. How much better? That is the real question. Especially if he starts playing out of control hero ball. On paper I make this one about a 3 point Rutgers victory with the scoring in the low 70's. However, now we have the Xavier factor. I rated the Ohio State game a toss-up and IU won by 6. Johnson? I'm going to fudge my prediction here by 6 points and make this a 3 point IU win. This is getting way too complicated. Hoosiers 74 Rutgers 71

Wow!!!! Way to go Mamasa for an incredible 145. You are my hero. You now have well earned bragging rights. And, as to LlHoosier, you were robbed by Xavier's exhaustion at the end. He played a ton of minutes for someone that has been out for weeks. Great job - both of you.

What is an iPhone? Does it come with a rotary dial?

Why oh why do you pretend to be such a harda**? We all know that inside you are just a softie. BTW hilarious picture. Family member?

I'm sorry if you took any of my comments personally. I intended to be of a more general nature. I was reacting to your comment on the Hoosiers being inconsistent and unpredictable and I and others have not found that to be the case. It all depends on how you look at the situation and many on here are always wearing rose colored glasses. The reality is that we are not a very good team at present and it shows in our record. We are outclassed by good teams and struggle against "lesser" teams. We are almost completely in agreement as to the reasons why. After winning this league last year I made some comments about my background and some people took exception. I spent 18 years as a basketball coach. I think I have a pretty good understanding of team dynamics and chemistry as well as the Xs and Os. I'm not going to apologize for that. It is what it is. I also was employed for 21 years as a public thoroughbred handicapper for a Chicago area newspaper. I have a lot of experience in separating emotion from the process of making predictions. Again I'll not apologize for that either. It is just a fact and I've always tried to pass on what I've learned to others. I have been to a casino twice in my life. I never play the lottery. I've never wagered on sports events. I do not gamble on anything except the things that I understand, which is horses. I have not made a wager on a horse race in years. It just doesn't interest me any more and it is really hard work to do it well. I've moved on. However, as long as someone keeps score and maintains maintains standings, I'm going to do the best that I can, and use whatever talents and insight that I have. Sorry that I've run on so much. I also spent 43 years as a U.S History teacher. Being verbose seems to go along with the gig. I can't help myself. Good luck over the rest of the season. I hope the guys finally give us something to make us happy.

This is a last bucket wins type of game. Xavier Johnson killed us at Nebraska. I know he has to come back at some point but he must have had 6 or 7 turnovers by half time, and most of them resulted in Nebraska baskets. Was trying to do way way too much. Hope he gets his act together Saturday. I am so so tired of his crybaby act. Drives into a crowd and then begs the refs for a call. That is now what a leader does. Cupps, Mister Basketball in Ohio. Why did Ohio State take a pass? Something to prove? Mgbako couldn't find his 3-point shooter with a GPS. Time to grow up. How about some more stupid fouls for Reneau. He needs to stay on the floor for this one. Will Ware show up? Potentially great when he does but also often a no show. This Indiana team is not a smart team and the chemistry is bad. Do we even want to play defense? Still we can win this one. Wish the students were back from vacation to add some sixth man support. Hoosiers 74 Buckeyes 75 I might go back and change this one. It is that close.

Dave, I should restrict these comments to the end of the year but your comment struck a note. Not everyone is having difficulty predicting the performance of this team. I suspect that most who are struggling are picking with their hearts on their sleeve. I come at this from the position of a professional gambler, Horses not sports. One of the first thing that I learned a long time ago is that you can not will the outcome of any event. Your feelings in no way have an impact on the outcome. Secondly, most people who are struggling, vastly over react to the last performance. Scoring 100 points against a team with a horrible defense lulled a lot of fans into over predicting our performance against Nebraska. Overall performance is a much better predictor. Finally the same can be said about individual performance. One career night does not mean that the player is not going to revert to normal in the next game. Time off between games, distance traveled, and location of the game also has a major impact. I probably sound like an obnoxious know it all, so feel free to ignore me. I try to adhere to the principles that I have listed above and I almost always explain my reasoning when I list my picks. Doesn't mean that I'm always right. Then I root like hell for the Hoosiers when they play. The prediction League is only a fun game. Being a IU fan is serious business.

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Don't give up so soon. We have a LOT games to go. Maybe Woody can work out a mid-season trade before the trade deadline. Bringing in a shooting guard from a non-contender might work. Wait! Wrong league. Never mind!

Thinking of changing my name to Class of 69 Old Fart. We do get feisty as we get older. How do you find pictures so fast?

Goodbye, didn't like your ball anyway. This site has been way too quiet this year anyway.

Hey, chooiserred1, how is the view from up there on the top of the hill? Hearing footsteps behind you? That's me, only five points down and sitting in the catbird seat. Defending champion, you know. Not giving up the title without a fight. Good luck! Lots of games to go.

From now on they all really count. The nuts and bolts are starting to loosen and fall off: 1. This game is at Nebraska and it is particularly hard to win on the road in the BIG10. We usually play poorly there. 2. Missing Johnson at the point and, if he comes back, will he be game ready? 3. Mgbako tweaked a knee and missed the second half of our last game. 4. Ware missed the last game with illness. Will he play or will he be able to play his best. 5. With Cupp at the point we are playing 4 on 5 on offense. 6. Next man up can only take us so far. The lack of bench and fatigue will start to hurt. We can win this one but probably won't. Hoosiers 73 Cornhuskers 77

Haven't got a lot to say here. This game is to get the guys back to playing basketball again after going home on vacation to await a visit from Santa Claus. Kenny State = OK offense and horrible defense. Hope we get out of the habit of playing to the level of our opponents. Hoosiers 86 Kenny State 71