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Being the head basketball coach at Indiana University comes with some incredible perks. It also comes with the understanding that you will be under a microscope. MW knew that when he took the job. Arguing about whether he is a good basketball coach is unnecessary because we have objective data to make that determination. MW is .517 in B1G play. He has exactly 5 wins over teams that finished ranked in the AP Poll, and two of those are Purdue in TJDs final season where he was NPOY runner up. He has exactly 0 wins against non-conference teams that finished ranked-- and most of those have been brutal blowouts. I say that to say this: the pressure is on, this is a very talented team. However, the empirical data tells us to be skeptical. Also, its a Fire Mike Woodson thread lol.

Today, after my post you are referencing, I listened to the two coaches that hosted the post-game Assembly Cal podcast referenced by Stuhoo. Up to the listeners of the podcast to agree or disagree with them but a few things they stated. - For the most part we didn’t run much Princeton offense this game. - One of them mentioned an analytical service (I didn’t catch the name) that provided numbers showing we went through the post 1/2 as often as a typical game the last few years even though we started the game by going to the post in the first two possessions. - At the end of the first half we were up 11 but our bigs, MR and Ballo, only had one bucket apiece and both of those buckets were off offensive rebounds (ie. we would have been getting smoked if we had repeatedly gone through the post without any offensive, non-rebound, buckets from our two bigs) - They thought we cut much more than previous years but that many of our first half cuts were lazy. -Felt that Rice controlled the pace of the game. Both of them are really high on him. -Thought our defensive ball pressure was outstanding/disruptive. -They were also very high on Tucker (compared him to athletes you watch from other conferences on ESPN) and thought Goode had a good game in spite of going 0-3 from the three. -Repeatedly mentioned how our guards are different than past years. One instance mentioned was at the end of the first half when SC packed the lane assuming we would force the ball to the post for our last shot, as we have in past years, but Rice read the defense and instead of forcing it inside, which we have all seen a million times, he rose up and nailed a three. -They liked that a number of our big man touches were when they were on the move as opposed to receiving the ball with their backs to the basket as in the past. - mentioned we were favored by 7.5 but analytics (I don’t know where they pulled those from) only had us favored by 6. -mentioned how much better MM is going to the rim. I had mentioned during the game that he doesn’t look nearly as stiff/tentative as he did last year. - they are fans of the 8 man rotation - we gave up too many offensive boards. -mentioned the overall TO number was good but that 3 of them were in the first half but we had a poor 8 TO’s in the second. They had a lot of observations I found interesting and will listen to them after the Bahama games.

If Zander Diamont can have a 4th quarter lead in Columbus, against the eventual national champions no less, then this team can go in there and win by 14. Go Hoosiers.

How much did the Woodsons pay you? are you hourly or on full time?

He is the face of IU basketball. Part of the gig is being fawned over when you succeed and getting ripped when you underachieve. White knighting for a guy that is undeniably lazy and petty making 10s of millions of dollars is silly.

IU would not have paid $20 million to fire Allen last year if he had made a bowl game. And keep commenting on a Fire Mike Woodson thread. You fighting every person with a different opinion is entertaining. Then again, you created your account in mid-February when Woodson was on his losing streak and have made more than 1,100 pro-Woodson posts since then. It’s crystal clear what’s going on here…

On paper, they are better. They spent crazy money on this team because they couldn't stand losing to Michigan. They are probably the best team in the country and losing in their house would be no disgrace. But, the games aren't played on paper and our guys have something to prove. We may not win, but I can guarantee this IU team won't roll over for anyone.

IU was 1-2 and unranked with two bad losses to inferior opponents. And we took a 32-point beatdown from Stanford last season. The Cardinal was 4-0 and ranked -- and was a 9-point favorite. And IU won. That's pretty much the textbook definition of an upset.

The mindset of this year's team is completely different and I think they truly believe they can win. In year's past, despite the press talk, I suspect our teams went into these kinds of games with a lot of doubt.

Ohio State has nothing better to do than worry about Indiana football. How the mighty have fallen.

We’re three days removed from you posting that this season could see several 25-40 point losses, a few people posting that Moren hasn’t recruited worth a damn given all the program’s success, and one person posting that Moren couldn’t coach and should be replaced. So I’d say it was a major upset.

I had seen him play a handful of times in HS/AAU since he was a local 5 star in my area. Was so confused last year because he looked like a completely different player - there was none of the stiffness and not nearly as slow/indecisive… looked as though he was literally walking on egg shells most of the time. Obviously he’s now competing against other D1 athletes so he’s not as physically dominating/athletically ahead, but this is a much closer version of the player I had seen in HS. And he still has plenty of room for growth. I’m very optimistic about what he can do for us this year. His play could really elevate the team… especially now that he’s showing more ability as a three level scorer. He locks in more on defense when he’s scoring, so I like that we have been going to him early in these games. I hope we see the 8 man rotation in Bahamas too. Big fan.

Selection show today at 1 PM ET. I believe the stream is on NCAA.com

Well said! Yes the pressure is on and I don’t have a lot of confidence he will win the big games but we will soon find out very soon in the Battle for Atlantis tournament

Call da bookie.

Do you find it hard to walk with your crystal balls?

I had seen that Stanford was favored by as many as 9 points. This definitely was an upset.

This coaching staff coming off a bye absolutely mollywhopped what was supposed to be our "first test" and "best defense we had played" in Nebraska. I am going to go out on a limb here. We are the best defense and offense OSU has faced. This is a make or break game for Ryan Day. Its an elimination for them. It is at the shoe. ALL the pressure is on Bucky. IU wins by two scores. YOLO PREDICTION: Cignetti's Millions: 35 Ryan Day's Nuclear Hot Seat: 21

Up to #5 in the Coaches Poll as Tennessee takes a giant tumble Stay at #5 in the AP

Look at @AH1971 and @steubenhoosier making a bunch of posts to keep this thread going. Excellent job!

Something to think about: If IU hosts a home playoff game, I bet that game gets moved. First round of the playoffs start that day. I can't see them having a basketball game on the same day of the biggest game in Memorial Stadium history. That whole complex would be jammed packed.

Hopefully, my fingers are crossed! I do want us to win and then move on from MW after the season. That’s what is best for the program, IMO

Much much much better game this year I was worried.

My dad asked me if Purdue still had The Elf on a Shelf (Loyer) I had a good laugh about that.

Then be consistent. Down the road if we lose by 16 and are down 8 with 1:30 to go I fully expect you to recognize that the game was closer than the final score indicated. For me? I’m more inclined to believe that a 16 point win over a top 75 team is pretty damn solid, including if we were up less with 1:30 to go.