Defenserocks28

I really wish he had mentioned defense somewhere in that statement....

  I agree, Indiana hasn't been a power for approximately the last 20+ years.  However, we USED to be one of the premier 3-5 teams in the nation.     It seems a percentage of the fan base is okay with lowering standards to what we've been as a program for the last 20 years.  If we say Sweet 16s and occasional Big Ten Titles is sufficient, then yea, Crean is our man.   If we want to compete for national titles then, personally, I think we need a new coach.  Crean's tournament record is atrocious and I'm not willing to drop my standards for IU as a program.  I'm 30, and my fondest memories are of the Cheaney and Henderson years.  And that was  a fantastic era of IU ball despite not winning a title (Could have won two actually, assuming Valentine doesn't job us against Duke, and Henderson doesn't break his arm the following year).  Those were teams you KNEW would go far in the tournament.  Crean's teams are ones we HOPE will go far.     If Crean makes the Final Four this year then he will have changed my opinion of his coaching abilities.  If not.....   And yea, I know we have to run a gauntlet this year; but that's because we crapped the bed in Maui and the BTT.  If the expectation prior to this season was a FF4 or Elite Eight appearance (based on the talent of this team), then it should remain so.  No excuses.  

Not trying to troll, but if I had a young team needing experience, and if I actually knew they'd lose in the first four in the NCAA tourney via a crystal ball, I would absolutely take winning the nit. Added experience, more practice, more games.

Kentucky is rounding into form.  Assuming we beat Chattanooga, that game is going to be uber difficult for us.  Then, we get NC.  I actually think we have a chance against UNC. 

Where's that guy that said losing in the first round of the BTT didn't matter???  Madabout or something like that.  We just got screwed with Kentucky at the 4.  Dannnnngggg ittttt!!!

Yep, Chrome started flagging this site for some reason. 

Can't believe how nervous I am.

Nah, Crean had already lost to Alabama in the first round.

Remember that one year we played Gonzaga at like 10:45? Back when we had DJ I believe. Lost that. Adam Morrison got us good I believe.[/quote] If I recall correctly, I think that was the year we had Killingworth and dj was actually out with an injury. That was too bad, with those two on the court at the same time we could have been really good. And Morrison was such a Purdue player that game, a whiny little sob, I think Killingworth actually got two techs in that game

Final Four. We have all the talent to get there. Senior PG, loads of upper classmen, tons of people that can shoot the 3, Bryant down low, and now, a great all-purpose defender in OG. Crean needs to make the jump this year. I have little faith we'll do anything next*** year. Our strength will be utilizing the post...which we never do. Especially not in tight games. Our final play(s) can be summarized as..."drive from the top of the key into three defenders, jump in mid air.....and then decide to either pass or shoot a terrible shot."

Well, the Warriors changed their starting entire line up and game plan to beat Cleveland last years in the finals.     Here's Mark Cuban talking about how the Mavericks adjusted their style of play to shut down LeBron in the Finals:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAkVnlA9CJo

Yea, it's not one game....it's the entire sample size of conference tournaments + NCAA tournament......SPORTZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

I take it you're not a coach.  Not that I am by any means, but to say nothing changes between regular season games and tournament games is, too be nice, silly.  

I don't believe there's ever been an NCAA champion that hasn't won at least one game in the conference tournament.  And it's not just one game.  This game represents why so many people were not willing to get off the "Fire Tom Crean" train.  The BIG regular season gave lots of people hope he could turn it around in the post season as well.  This game is confirmation that for yet another year.....he won't.  

Agreed.  I was using the BTT as a gauge for what to expect in the NCAAs.  If we made the finals in the BTT I actually believed we would make the final four.  Now...unless matchups are crazy favorable, I doubt we make it past the Sweet Sixteen (if we are fortunate enough to make it that far).  

On the plus side...I never get nervous about tournament games anymore; I just expect a loss.  

Weirdly designed play.  Even if he makes that 3, no way there's enough time to catch, fade and shoot.  

Although... placing their mascot on top of a flying Eagle was fantastic.  I'll give them credit for that tongue in cheek humor.  (For those curious, go to 2:58 of the video).

  Was this a joke?  Seriously, this is an honest question.  Do they really think that's "cool"?  

Did teams just figure out how to better attack and defend them?

What the heck has happened to the Magic?  Why such a drop off in the past two months?

  SPOT ON   The Jon election pissed me off.  That was one of the best story lines in book 3; and the show did it absolutely no justice.  

Oh my goodness.  Statistics fan wet dream right here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KUMU7x_8WBxYuROD4fuOsHWp1WIk-YIyX6ZwK5F7inw/edit#gid=1386191792   "Of interest: here is a google sheet with all pre-tourney kenpom data, including filters depending on how far each team went. You can use this to look at basic kenpom stats/ranks before tourney play started. You can make interesting pivot tables such as: double digit seeds that made it to S16 or E8, then analyze the characteristics of those teams, or champs, or Final Four... etc. Best practices is to use the 02-14 tab and create a pivot table from there. "

Not sure what Vegas Odds were, but per Ken Pom, and using Fivethirtyeights model, we had about a 7% chance of winning.  (6th best team in KenPom, which roughly translates to 7% probability to win tournament via Fivethirtyeight).  I'm kinda borrowing from both methods, so take that with a grain of salt.     For reference, this year KenPom currently ranks us 9th, which is about a 6% chance of winning. However, I believe every team that has ever won the title had an adjusted offense and defense in the top 40.  Our current adjusted defense is 67.  Granted, that encompasses the full season.  I'd like to see what it's been during conference play only. 

  Yep.  20% is typically the highest.  This year is supposed to be even "crazier" than most. The favorite is predicted at about 11%.  Good read on fivethirtyeight about what the lack of a favorite means for the rest of the field (other than the obvious, better % chance a lower seeded team wins): "Because the NCAA Tournament is a zero-sum game, the rest of the field gains from this lack of top-heaviness. Although pretty much every team ranked No. 4 to No. 25 by Pomeroy benefits some (teams ranked below that don’t really have much of a chance either way), the biggest beneficiaries are positioned in the back half of the top 10 and into the teens:"   http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-best-mens-college-basketball-teams-just-arent-very-good-this-year/