mdn82

IMO, this week is make or break week for us.  We can prove a lot or fail.  We have very little buffer in the season anymore.  The Wisconsin win unfortunately does not look as good as it once did.  We need to get these coin flip games to get to where we want to be. 

I really thought if any of our players would be a coach from last year's team it would be Jordy, not Will.  Really see him playing in Europe and inciting a riot.  

Honestly, that was the most peaceful game in a while, if not all year for a multitude of reasons.  We are not going to be that team this year that wins pretty.  We may not even make the tournament.  At this point in the season, every minute means something.  Of course for next year, and all that.  But, we are still playing for this year.  Call me nuts, but we can still make some noise.  Our schedule plays out perfectly for us to get hot right now.  Today was a huge first step in that.  We may fall flat, but the intensity we brought today can be contagious when you are winning.     As a team, we were solid.  We weren't great at really anything, but we played together, and we played hard.  That is something this IU team has to do, to give itself a chance.  We had 13 turnovers, and win by 10.  13 is a minor miracle after the start of the game.  After 4 very quick ones, we settled in and had 9 over the last 38 minutes.  That is incredible for this team.  We had 42 rebounds to their 28.  10 assists to their 5.  We shot just over 40% and held them to under 35%.  The biggest key to me was Illinois kept taking 3s (23) when they weren't hitting.  IU kept going to the rim.   Individually, I haven't had a game this year where I was more proud of this team.  The Wisconsin game was great.  No doubt about that.  This was a team game, where each player put a lot on themselves to bring something to the game.  Outside of forgettable performances by Hanner and Evan, everyone brought something to this game.  Yogi had a bad first half.  He came out in the 2nd and ended up with 17 points / 5 assists on 3 turnovers on only 7 shots.  Noah did not have a good offensive game (not all of his fault), but ended up with 14 boards.  Stan had 10 points and 5 boards.  Austin had 7 points.  Troy had a solid 8 points, but could have had more if he wasn't so locked in on making a highlight play.  Will had 5 points and 9 boards.  Jeremy hit a nice 3 and had 2 boards in a small sample.  Jeff Howard even had a soaring, "athletic", tip in off of a miss.    Larger than my happiness after this game is the win.  We needed that more than anything.  We have to make a run to save this season.  I feel like this team has it in them.  You get the feeling they are finally starting to play together.  We said this would be a team by February.  We have one more in January before the calendar flips.  Our schedule lines up nicely for the possibility.  This team has to continue to improve to make that possibility a reality.  Lets see where we are next week, and then we can begin to talk.  

^^^^^  Sorry for the long winded response.  It is an excellent discussion point. 

  Actually, from High School to college, I thought Cody improved.  I seen him play and thought so.  Same with Noah.  I am going to say first, it takes a will to improve, and some players don't have that.  Crean has been noted to improve Guards better than bigs.  I get that.     Start with Cody.  Most bigs come into college having dominated smaller and weaker players.  Cody would get triple teamed in High School.  He would either dunk or get fouled.  I probably seen him in person five times before he was on campus.  He didn't hit a shot outside of five feet in any of those games.  His footwork was solid, but he played smart.  I think when he came to IU, he learned angles so much better.  He for the first time played against larger players regularly.  In high school he did not have to beat the team down the court.  At IU he did.  I think he learned how to play defense at a higher level.  Wasn't great, but you would have had to have to seen him in HS to understand why I say that.  He just was awkward at that end and would draw really bad fouls at time.     Noah on the other end was always a rebounder at a high level.  What he did not have was an array of moves around the basket that he has now.  His points were almost always on dunks or free throws.  Cody would hit from 5 feet in.  Noah never did.  He would step out and try and hit a jumper, but he was best around the rim.  Now, when you see him shoot a 3, you don't cringe and wonder what in the hell he is doing.  Also, we have seen him use a lot of drop step and reverse for a baby hook.  Or, he has learned how to show ball and go under.  He has far more moves than he did in high school.  We got to see him on ESPN for a few games.  I seen him obviously less than Cody, but it was easy to see he was not comfortable creating in HS.  He is now.   I won't deny.  Crean is better with wings than bigs.  He turns bigs in to more of a Euro big or stretch 4.  The problem is getting players with a work ethic, like a Vic, Cody, or Noah.  Those type of players that have potential, but also have work ethic.  Noah was Crean's greatest recruit talent wise.  But, he has improved.  I personally think it is wrong to bash a player like Hanner for being overrated then turn to Noah and Cody and say they should have done what they did because they were ranked high.  At some point, each player is ranked on potential.  With Cody, he was a high level player, but most thought he didn't have projection to improve.  With Noah, you look at every recruiting service before this year who was listed as the probable biggest bust of the high recruits, and they all listed Noah because he was raw.  

68 - 61 IU

  I think it is very plausible to go into the B1G tournament with 19 wins if 90% of the things go right the rest of the way in us doing what we should do.  If we do that, and then we win a tournament game, I think we could get in.  We have to stay at or above .500 in conference to get in due to our crappy pre-conference against decent teams.  I should add I have been one of the most pessimistic people in regards to making the tournament, and have been since the beginning of December.  This is more of a feel thing that it is possible.  Not probable, but possible.  

  Yep, offensively it wasn't pretty.  I don't think it will be with this team though.  Right now, we are somewhere around 150th in offensive efficiency.  I think if we can be a top 70 team in that area, while limiting turnovers to 15 per game on average, we can still make the tournament.  We have games left that are very winnable.  Enough to make the tourney.  We have little margin for error.  At this point we are a team who shoots 40% in wins and low 30% in losses and turns the ball over.  We need to be that 40% team, with 10 assists to 13 turnovers.  We also have to get to the line around 25 times.  Beyond that, if we do what we normally do elsewhere, we will make the tourney.  IMO

Just happy to get a win.  A double digit win against a B1G opponent.  Offensively, I think we are what we are at this point.  Getting to the rim is this team's game.  I really liked getting the ball in to the post to the guards at different points.  Would really like to see that continue.  That is a Crean wrinkle we haven't seen in prior years. 

Storm that mother******* court

Nah, he wanted a technical for the Austin pump fake.  

Dare I say I would rather have Stan up at the top of the key with the ball instead of a one and one.  

Holy Boilermaker!  Someone hit a layup!

  I agree.  I don't think its all the game though.  Board isn't so bad either.  

  I could counter that with Evan Gordon.   :103:

Great play by Noah to keep it alive.  

Lmao.  Jeff Howard doing what I have been bitching about all game.  Doesn't go for the dunk (not sure that he can).  White Guy Can't Jump, but he can score.   :yes:

  Ha, in all fairness, what Crean team could?

Stan you had back to back excellent passes to get them into position to hit a shot.  Find the bench.  

Johnny Marlin.  Lol.  

Finally…  You get to the lane, and that opens up the shot.  

We are going to get smoked like a mother******* pack of Kools when we head to Madison.  

When Yogi is driving our team is so much better.  We have more options than when he is chucking up contested shots.  When help starts coming over, he can drop off a pass for an easy dunk.  

  Now don't get any ideas.  Crean will wash your mouth out with soap.  

Ha, Noah was as confused on that last possession offensively as we are.  He was running through the lane with his hands up wondering what in the hell we are running.  Son, you aren't the only one.