mdn82

Don't say that Charlie.  That is over the line.  

That was a stupid taunting T.  

I think we are playing the type of game we have to play to keep this close.  Very different game strategy from 1st to this one.  

  92

74-61 MSU

No suspension.  Fined $15k per ESPN.  

I was waiting for a Nebraska type loss.  This team just has that feel about it.  That said, it blows.  No way around it.  They were lifeless.  Hangover from the Wisconsin win would be an improvement.  If Johnny Marlin is out on the court as much as he was, why isn't he shooting?  Why else is he out there?  IN THE SECOND HALF WHEN WE ARE LOSING AT HOME TO NORTHWESTERN!!!

This will be short, because there literally isn't enough to write about.  This was flat out terrible.  Congrats to Collins for doing something Northwestern just doesn't do.  They came to Bloomington, and played a great defensive game.  For as aggressive as IU was in the Wisconsin game, they were equally hesitant to do anything in this game.  Northwestern played great disciplined defense today.  They were the better team today.    I am going to combine team efforts with individual ones in this one.  I am only going to mention two players in this one, because honestly I am embarrassed in the others effort in this one.  Noah Vonleh and Austin Etherington played solid basketball today.  Noah Vonleh was a beast on the boards and played a really good offensive game.  Austin played great energy minutes and played solid defense.  If he made a bad play he made up for it quickly on defense.  Beyond those two, it was just a bad day all around.  Northwestern did not shoot the ball out of the gym, they just sucked less than us today.  They are probably the worst team in the conference.  This game was just embarrassing.    Well, in the end we did not get to see the patented court rush.  I am disappointed for not seeing that.  I also did not get to see an IU team show up today.  Or the crowd for that matter.  I understand it is Northwestern, and it is hard to get up for.  Neither the crowd or the team had life today.  I am starting to feel like the fan base we all make fun of when describing Notre Dame football.  They live on past glory year round.  Occasionally having a team everyone talks about.  Not quite good enough any longer to be considered elite.  Not quite consistent enough to be intimidated by.  Recruit solid every year with top 15 recruiting classes.  When anyone describes they aren't elite anymore, they fight with a vigor that only we know.  Today sucks, but there will be tomorrow.  This is a lesson I am hopeful the kids learn.  They have to learn they have to bring it each and every game.  Today, they did not.  We lost because of it.  This team still is what we thought they were 2 months ago.  An extremely talented team, with high upside, but young.  That youth, as was said back then, would cost us in a Nebraska type game.  Unfortunately, today is that day. 

Yeah I thought about adding Stan, but something stood out today other than the lack of playing time. In other games when IU struggled to score recently, he was the one player who went to the rim to create points or free throws. Today beyond lack of playing time he did very little of what he normally does. I am less worried about him than others though. The seniors and Yogi should be absolutely embarrassed with their play. They should be the calming presence and the guys to light a fire under their teammates ass in a game like this. They were lifeless today and did little to get others going. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

Embarrassing. 

Why wait for the boos?  Let them ring down. 

This is by far the worst loss for Crean in the last 5 years.  Just terrible game. 

Do we storm the court in a win? 

76-63 IU

Jay Williams is the man after that!  Nobody outside of a few fans on this board thought IU had a chance.  I will be the first to admit.  I had us losing by 15.  I was shocked how that Wisconsin team let us get to the rim at will.  I was equally shocked we stormed the court, but that is for another day…  Today, the only thing that matters is that W against a team who had owned us in our previous 12 games.  Outside of a Crean out of body experience thinking Austin Etherington for Noah Vonleh made sense, he pushed the right buttons to get this team to play.     As a team, we had 9(!) Turnovers to their 10.  That is easily the story of the game.  That stat alone kept us in it.  We out rebounded Wisconsin 33-28.  We also shot 51.6% in this one in spite of taking 14 3 pointers.  On a night where we could get to the rim at will, that team should run sprints for taking 14 3 pointers.  That stat almost cost us the game.  We had 14 assists against their 13.  Ultimately, we won every winning category.  They shot better than us when they weren't shooting 3's.     Individually, I know everyone wants to discuss Yogi Ferrell.  I am going to start by talking about Stanford Robinson.  That kid was the best Freshman on the court for us.  Noah Vonleh is our most talented, but this kid is improving by leaps and bounds.  It seems to have clicked for him, and he has played at a level on both ends lately few can match on this team.  He ended up with 13 points and 5 boards.  I was equally impressed with Will Sheehey.  He has been hit and miss this year.  Today, he hit a home run.  He had 13 huge points with 6 boards and 3 assists.  He like Stan showed up for 40 minutes today.  Yogi had 25 and 4 assists, but took 24 shots and a benching to get there.  Ultimately, he needs to realize when he can get to the rim at will, he needed to score 35 on the amount of shots he took.  Noah had 10 and 5 with 4 blocks.  Evan had a solid 8 points, 6 assists, 4 boards, and a pair of steals.     In the end, this was a win we needed.  For a team lacking a signature win, we had to win at least 1 against one of the best if we were to have a chance at making the tournament.  We will savor this for today.  Tomorrow, we will have to answer why a team who was ranked #1 for most of the year last year stormed the court at home agains the #3 team in the country.  That move by the student body really minimized that win for me.      

I think in the right game it makes sense.  Beating UW at home after being #1 last year is weak.  That UK game was the perfect example of when you should do it.  I don't think it should be a common occurrence.  If it is, that is like saying you never expect to win, but somehow do.  It was a great game.  I am glad the kids won that for themselves.  I agree with JS.  It was like the OSU game.  They weren't #1.  We won.  We built on that, but the kids didn't rush the court.

The problem with court rushing is the fact it makes you look like you did not expect to be in the same building as that team you faced.  You look weak.  I don't think we should have won that game, but we were #1 last year.  We are Indiana.  Rushing the court vs. #1 Kentucky on a last second 3 vs. beating #3 UW is different.  There is a reason you don't see UNC, Duke, Kentucky, Syracuse, Louisville, or Kansas fans rush the court.  At home, you should have an advantage.  IMO, last night in that regard was embarrassing.  In NCAA Football, that is a huge fine.  I hope NCAA Basketball gets there. 

They just minimized that win by doing that.  IMO.  Not the time for that.  

F'ing storming the court…  

Crean take a TO?  Lol.  

I wouldn't mind seeing someone streaking to our end of the court instead of taking the easy foul.   

That dude walked.  

Don't know in what universe Crean thought that was a smart move.  That was terrible.  

Collective cringe by the crowd…  

Gotta hit this Stan.