Analysis: So what do we know about IU Basketball post Maui?

So what do we know about Indiana Basketball following last week’s disappointing 1-2 effort in Maui heading into tonight’s non-conference game at Assembly Hall against winless Alcorn State?

We know that IU has a long way to go before the Hoosiers deserve to be mentioned among the top teams in the Big Ten, much less among the best in the nation.

We know that if Indiana continues to play the way it has played on the defensive end in terms of allowing that much penetration that it’s going to be a difficult season to watch.

We know that Indiana clearly has to do a better job of taking care of the basketball and committing so many unforced errors.

We know that free throw shooting could potentially be an adventure this season. Even the guys you expect to hit them at a high rate don’t seem to have a great deal of confidence in the early going.

We know that unfortunately we’re probably not going to know that much more about this IU team after it plays an 0-5 Alcorn State team tonight at home. There’s only one game of the three this week that will provide any kind of a true measuring stick game for this team and that will come up Wednesday night at Duke.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing of all is that I expect Indiana to represent itself pretty well Wednesday night because this has been a team that plays better when the bright lights go on. The reality, however, is that Indiana needs to get to be a team that gives you a consistent effort every night. It cannot play to the level of its competition. When it does so, teams like Wake Forest and UNLV have a shot to beat you and that shouldn’t be the case.

The good news is that there is still a month to go before IU opens Big Ten play. A lot can happen in a month especially if the Hoosiers have a short memory regarding the trip to Hawaii.