Double Down

Man, it's hard being a Hoosier fan/alum. Feels like for every 2 steps forward, 2 giant steps back. Just seems like we can't have nice things for very long. It's becoming an abusive relationship.

I live in NorCal and get to at least one St Mary's game a year. Usually when Gonzaga is in town. They're a really fun team to watch. They play hard. They play smart. Well coached. Never would think they'd run Indiana out of the gym in March, though. Ouch.

Nothing like being on the other end of the biggest blowout of the day. What a terrible day for Indiana basketball after playing so hard in Indy. Last time I felt like this was 1996 when we were undefeated and then got waxed by Kentucky by almost 35. Embarrassing. Overall, year was good. Made the tourney. Finished the season strong. Beat Purdue. Can't complain about too much, but a loss this bad definitely leaves a stank on the season. I'm going to be happy that I won't have to watch a few of these players playing again next year. No need to be specific, but I'm spent with a few of these guys.

I love rubbing it in Purdue fans' noses about their lack of tournament success. But, in reality, Gene was a hell of a coach, with some incredible teams. The NCAA tournament indifferent to how well you play in the regular season. I think some coaches are better suited for that environment, where the intensity is ratcheted up and the rim shrinks. I don't think Gene, not nor his teams, lacked in any of those categories. It's hard for people to admit, but you also have to get a little lucky to make it through the gauntlet of single elimination. I always think about Lute Olsen. He was one of the greats, but prior to 1997 championship, he was considered one of those coaches who was unable to win the big one. His '97 team wasn't even close to being his best regular season teams. But a few of those teams ran into some bad matchups. Every year, the media brings up them losing as a 2 seed against 15 seed Santa Clara. At the time, it was a joke that they lost to a bunch of "surfers." Yeah, leading the way on that team was future NBA Hall of Famer, 2x MVP, Steve Nash. Anyway, all due respect to Gene. I love seeing that picture of him visiting Coach. Their personal histories are so intertwined.

Really proud of the Hoosiers. They played hard. There was a lot of movement on offense and you can really seeing them click chemistry wise. Three point shooting was our downfall again. What do I know, but I think this is easily an 11 seed team. If I was a 6 seed, I wouldn't want to see Indiana in the first round. Finally something to cheer about in March!

More movement in the half court sets than I've seen in a while.

Excellent finish to that half. Getting the inside game working set up that wide open Bates shot. Way to finish that half!

TJD with fresh legs is going to be tough for Iowa.

Can't win if we can't got open shots. Offense is there. Bad shooters regressing back to the mean. Except Parker Stewart who hasn't made an open look in weeks.

Iowa is going to get their runs. Just stay calm and get back in it.

Love this start. Love the pick and roll with X and TJD. Iowa is a few steps slow defensively today.

Wow, what a wonderful couple of days. Been the most fun I've had watching the Hoosiers in a long time. Excited about making Fran's face go red for this game. Go Hoosiers!

I was a little (LOT) whiney about missing the tournament in the Rutgers thread. In the long run, I'm more optimistic that not. I guess that's because I have no other choice, as I can't affect anything typing words into white boxes on the internet. I like the class coming in and I'm with you on this. I reserve ultimate judgement for a while and just hope that this first year back in college is a learning experience to grow from.

Could be worse, we could be Georgetown. Patrick Ewing lost his 18th game in a row yesterday!

IU Athletic Dept can make all the tik tok, instagram and twitter posts all they want. The only cure for this malaise is winning. Someone shelled out $10 million to send the last coach packing. I didn't expect a lot from this team this year, but I didn't expect that we'd blow up in Feb again and miss the NCAAs. Teams that are barely registering a pulse are finding their way into the tourney and, well, that describes this program to the tee. Now, just watch. I'm crying and complaining like a flabby little baby about the sky falling and Indiana goes up and beats Purdue at Mackey next weekend. Miller Kopp channels Andre Patterson and drop 39. TJD hits a three. Woody channels Tom Crean and hangs a banner for that game in AH next year.