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IU Hoosier41

Indiana's Three Losses Mean NOTHING

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Let me start by saying I am just as upset as the next fan, but last night's loss doesn't matter. Neither does the Wisconsin game, or the Butler game for that matter. What do those losses tell us? They tell us that Indiana can be beaten on any given night. They tell us that Indiana is an extremely talented team, that loses 3 out of 20 games. They tell us that Indiana needs to stay focused and dialed in for 40 minutes.

The Butler loss was the first message to the team. It said, "You are a great team, but you can be beat but a less gifted team if you don't bring it. Even though you have more talent, other teams can "Will" themselves to victory. You need to stay focused and play hard for 40 minutes to win."

I'm sure the team came out of that game thinking "Damn, shouldn't have lost that game. We won't slip again. We can't take anyone for granted on the road."

Then comes the Wisconsin Game. Team's thought: "Unranked Wisconsin in Assembly Hall. We don't lose in Assembly Hall." Result - LOSS. Here comes the second message for the team - "We aren't as good at home as we thought we were. Wisconsin changed the game against us and we couldn't come back. Apparently we won't win every game at home. The fans are crazy, atmoshpere is nuts, but it doesn't put points on the scoreboard."

Indiana learned their third lesson last night in their devastating loss at Illinois. What was that message you ask? Here we go "We can do everything we want to do, play the style we want to play, dominate the stats and still come away with a loss. If we let our guard down and try to coast at the end of the game, a sharp shooting team can catch us. We need to play 40 minutes, pedal to the metal." This let down happened in the Georgia, Georgetown, Butler, MIchigan and now Illinois games. Indiana has struggled to close. It's good to see this NOW, and learn from it.

So why don't these three losses matter? They taught the Hoosiers three valuable lessons that will help them in the NCAA Tournament. The losses don't matter because Indiana's goal wasn't to go Undefeated, it wasn't to only lose 2 games all year, the goal was for a Big Ten Championship and a National Championship. The loss definitely hurts IU's chances of the Big Ten Championship, but I can guarantee you that if Indiana wins the National Championship, you could care less if they won the Big Ten championship. This isn't Purdue, Big Ten Championships are nice, but Indiana is measured on National Championships.

In the end, a loss here or there won't hurt Indiana. It doesn't matter if Indiana is the #16 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers have the TALENT and ABILITY to beat ANY team in college basketball. To win a Championship, you are going to have to beat a number of quality teams. Who cares if you play a Number 1 seed in the Sweet 16 vs the Final Four. You have to play them eventually.

Worrying about the seeds and matchups is important for the majority of schools this season. Most teams want to make the Sweet 16, Elite 8 with an outside hope of making the Final Four. Indiana isn't built that way this year. Therefore a loss in the first round is the same as a loss in the Elite 8. Indiana would have underperformed.

This season comes down to Banner 6 or bust. I for one, won't judge this team until the final whistle blows.

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Indiana has shown that they can beat anybody. We have a knack for showing up and playing extremely well in big games. Every game in March is big and IU will show up for each and every one. Losses happen, especially on the road in the Big Ten. As long as we continue to get better and continue winning the huge games especially in March, no one will care about what happened last night.

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Let me start by saying I am just as upset as the next fan, but last night's loss doesn't matter. Neither does the Wisconsin game, or the Butler game for that matter. What do those losses tell us? They tell us that Indiana can be beaten on any given night. They tell us that Indiana is an extremely talented team, that loses 3 out of 20 games. They tell us that Indiana needs to stay focused and dialed in for 40 minutes.

The Butler loss was the first message to the team. It said, "You are a great team, but you can be beat but a less gifted team if you don't bring it. Even though you have more talent, other teams can "Will" themselves to victory. You need to stay focused and play hard for 40 minutes to win."

I'm sure the team came out of that game thinking "Damn, shouldn't have lost that game. We won't slip again. We can't take anyone for granted on the road."

Then comes the Wisconsin Game. Team's thought: "Unranked Wisconsin in Assembly Hall. We don't lose in Assembly Hall." Result - LOSS. Here comes the second message for the team - "We aren't as good at home as we thought we were. Wisconsin changed the game against us and we couldn't come back. Apparently we won't win every game at home. The fans are crazy, atmoshpere is nuts, but it doesn't put points on the scoreboard."

Indiana learned their third lesson last night in their devastating loss at Illinois. What was that message you ask? Here we go "We can do everything we want to do, play the style we want to play, dominate the stats and still come away with a loss. If we let our guard down and try to coast at the end of the game, a sharp shooting team can catch us. We need to play 40 minutes, pedal to the metal." This let down happened in the Georgia, Georgetown, Butler, MIchigan and now Illinois games. Indiana has struggled to close. It's good to see this NOW, and learn from it.

So why don't these three losses matter? They taught the Hoosiers three valuable lessons that will help them in the NCAA Tournament. The losses don't matter because Indiana's goal wasn't to go Undefeated, it wasn't to only lose 2 games all year, the goal was for a Big Ten Championship and a National Championship. The loss definitely hurts IU's chances of the Big Ten Championship, but I can guarantee you that if Indiana wins the National Championship, you could care less if they won the Big Ten championship. This isn't Purdue, Big Ten Championships are nice, but Indiana is measured on National Championships.

In the end, a loss here or there won't hurt Indiana. It doesn't matter if Indiana is the #16 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers have the TALENT and ABILITY to beat ANY team in college basketball. To win a Championship, you are going to have to beat a number of quality teams. Who cares if you play a Number 1 seed in the Sweet 16 vs the Final Four. You have to play them eventually.

Worrying about the seeds and matchups is important for the majority of schools this season. Most teams want to make the Sweet 16, Elite 8 with an outside hope of making the Final Four. Indiana isn't built that way this year. Therefore a loss in the first round is the same as a loss in the Elite 8. Indiana would have underperformed.

This season comes down to Banner 6 or bust. I for one, won't judge this team until the final whistle blows.

Bravo! Nothing to add.

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As of now, I think IU will be a 2 seed,  they will probably lose at least 2 more games over the course of the conference games.  The Big Ten really is an extremely tough conference to play in.  If we can manage to win the conference tournament, we should be able to pull off a 1 seed.  However, I'd rather see IU as a 2 seed that plays the sweet 16 in Indy then a 1 seed playing 500+ miles away in the sweet 16.

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