incrediboy

I figured it was the twin state of Outiana but...

Where is Iniana?

IU 77 Purcrap 65

Yeah, we could have played better. Yeah, CTC had Zeis and Stan on the floor for far too many minutes with RoJo on the bench. Holt, Hartman, Yogi and Blackmon all played pretty well.   I give credit to Ohio State here. OSU is a very good team that will come together, finish at least 12-6 in the B1G, make the NCAA easily. Look at KenPom, where OSU is #20, and even in RPI (the announcers made a big deal that OSU hadn't beaten anybody) they're not far behind us. Nobody can ever say Matta isn't a premier coach, either. I just wish we'd have had the opening when he said his dream job was at IU and we were still head-in-the-clouds over Davis' championship game appearance.   I don't think this a letdown from Maryland. I don't think this is a "down-to-earth" situation. I think Ohio State and IU could play 20 times with a 10-10 (or maybe 11-9 with the law of averages getting in there for a steal) outcome. To beat them at home and lose on the road isn't all that bad...really it's what we should have expected against a good team, assuming ours is good enough to win at home. I believe we can still finish 14-4 in B1G (at Wisky and at Maryland are questionable, although Northwestern taking Maryland to the wire on Turtle Court last night might bode well for us there), and I believe we will win at Purdue on Wednesday.

Jerry Palm has us as a 5 seed:   http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/bracketology

Also our RPI is now up to 32.

I voted for Hartman but Yogi was phenomenal and Blackmon is showing a lot of maturity not trying to do things he cannot do. I think the team as a whole is starting to "get it," and for that reason I think CTC deserves consideration as MVP.

Here's how it shakes down:   1) Basketball is the #1 sport in the state of Indiana. It is played roughly 6 months out of the year 2) Talking about basketball is the #2 sport in the state of Indiana. It is played the other 6 months in addition to running concurrently with basketball season 3) Basketball is a religious experience for serious Hoosier fans. Last night was what we might call a REVIVAL!

Indiana All The Way   Bob Hammel's book about the perfect season. Not sure if it's still in print.

I remember Crean's first year one announcer saying his offense was very complicated, that it took time and intelligence to soak up all the plays and execute them. I think we just got to that point!

We are obviously a better team without Hanner. Who could have believed that?   We really, really, really have to be max effort every time out now. We have just painted bullseyes on our backs (and hallelujah that we've gotten to that point). This team has had a couple of letdowns, and I'd hate to see one show up in the next couple of games. And there will be nights that everything we throw up at the basket doesn't go in -- but as has been mentioned elsewhere, our defense deserves a lot of credit for bottling up some really top-rated players. Not sure if it was Big Ten Finale or ESPN-U where one announcer said Maryland had three potential all-B1G candidates.

CBS Sports lists us as a 1.5 point favorite.

Hot Hoosiers 80 Terpentine Turtles 69

After watching Iowa's self-destruction in Wisky, my evaluation of the Birdseyes has dropped dramatically...and they swept the Nutses. With that in mind...71-64 is what I'll call but it might be wishful thinking.

Fortunately I wasn't anywhere near a bookie, let alone Vegas, for that one. Iowa looked awful. Can't believe the refs let Woodbury get away with poking Kaminsky in the eye (after ruffling his hair) without calling anything. I'm with Dakich on that one -- Bo Ryan should send a video clip to the league office.   At least Nebraska beat Minnesota, always happy to see Pits Jr. lose.

After beating Villanova by 20, Georgetown is up to #30 on KenPom. We stay at #52.

Sorry it's a TOAD not a TODAY, sheesh, my fingers are rebelling today

One more "if"...from my assistant principal, Bruce Burns, circa 1967:   If a today had wings, he wouldn't bump his ass on the ground all the time.

SI also says we may be third best in B1G: http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/01/18/indiana-illinois-big-ten-wisconsin-maryland

SI has Wisconsin as a 10-point favorite. If I was in Vegas, I'd grab Iowa and 10 points

Very happy to see us ranked and the moving up in Bracketology in both predictions.   But..how is that Iowa is not ranked in the coaches' poll? They swept Ohio State (home/away) and looked really good to me when I watched them thump Ohio State Saturday. I think they'll give Wisky all they want and then some tomorrow night.

We are also up to #44 in RPI (60 last week). Butler is #14. Ohio State #58.   KenPom still has us at #52, but the two teams we beat this past week are both well below that. Ohio State, however, is #22 there. 

I believe our guys are maturing, and it showed today that pulling together after adversity is something we have -- and that's a really good thing. Honestly I did not see a moment Hanner was missed. Hartman, Holt and Troy held down the "big" spots just fine. We have grown up considerably -- I believe we beat Georgetown with our mentality now vs. December.   Blackmon's progress at growing out of youthful mistakes was the biggest factor today. He finally let the game come to him instead of trying to do things the game wouldn't let him do. If he's turned that corner, we're going to see some really fine games from him.   Kudos to everyone down the line, though...and to Coach Crean, who earned his money today.   I think we'll be ranked when the new polls come out. We'll need at least a split this week to stay ranked, though, and I really think we're going to run into a buzzsaw going to Columbus -- so we need to hold serve at home against Maryland.

Guess maybe you've seen it after winning at Illinois. Hold serve at home is all we have to do to finish 11-7. That may not happen, but I think 11-7 is pessimistic at this point.

Stan, clearly IMO.   What Rojo did Yogi or JBJ could have done with the same opportunities (not that JBJ works hard enough to get them like he should). Troy did what he does, and he would have been my second choice because what he does is darn good.   But Stan is like Yogi in that he plays hard-nosed D, and he earned every point that he got. It is also obvious that the practice time he's spending shooting free throws is paying off. I'd like to see him in the starting lineup Sunday.   I love Hartman but he made several poor decisions Tuesday night.