BottomLine

Usually don't like to engage with my inferiors. Just make them feel even worse about their inability to keep up. But now I'm upset. Who are you calling a pansy - pansy. We may need to meet at dawn to settle this gentlemanly dispute.

Quietly and in the background you have done a great job and have made up a lot of ground. Alas it is too little and too late. No victory this year.

Thanks for the good thoughts. Just waiting to see who flinches first. Just for the record I came within an eyelash of picking Michigan today. Dodged a bullet for sure. Wishing the worst right back at ya.

Missed that. Thanks.

Senior night can always throw a wrench into the works. IU must play through the emotion. Expect Xavier Johnson to make a final token appearance in Bloomington for a big round of cheers. Oh what might have been, but those are the breaks. Let's not forget that the game at Michigan went down to the wire. Michigan has specialize in losing close games this year but they are not as bad as they seem. Think they need to go off from outside to beat the Hoosiers. That seems to be the formula that works best against IU. Hope the guys realize that they are playing for something worthwhile. Seeding in the Big10 tourney is important. After this game we have two tourneys to go. That means win or go home. The time for throwing in a clunker and shrugging the shoulders is over. We have our fate in our hands. IU 76 Michigan 69

Funny! I finally won a week and I didn't even use the score. One of my dropped scores was actually higher than the winning score and that is how I closed the gap a bit. If we don't start playing defense again, like we did against Purdue, we probable only have three games left.

I hope the loss by our women's team can serve as a warning for our men. IU 15-1 at home. Iowa 4-9 away from Iowa City. Home cooking for the Hoosiers. Iowa loves to score but not play defense. We must shut down the outside shooters and stop the fast break.. IU 80 Iowa 75

Today we play a school where the fans chant "IU SUCKS" even when they are playing someone else. All class. Unfortunately IU has gone flat and is struggling every game to find a way. Think we have taken a step back since the last game in Bloomington, and for Purdue this is a revenge game. Hope we can find a way but it is hard to see what that might be. IU 65 PU 74

Sorry. Wait, Is that a back and forth? Always try to explain why I make my pick and I'm interested in what others are thinking when they make theirs. I think it adds a bit more interest. I stand corrected. I should not have responded and will not in the future. Now, on to the game. I root with my heart and not with my head. Go Hoosiers..

Point taken. However I don't see the intensity except in spurts. We are giving up too many straight line drives to the basket. Also score is also a result of pace and we have slowed down considerably on offense, thus reducing the number of possessions. Still you are right. We are playing some good defense, just not the dominate type that we were during our winning streak. Thus the margins are getting smaller.

I need someone to explain to me the last three IU games. Yes, we won 2 of the 3 but all 3 efforts were dull. The relentless defense that pushed us to a mid-season winning streak has disappeared. Maybe we are starting to wear down from the short bench. Whatever the reason I figure that defense must return for the Hoosiers to take this one. We have fallen off the pace for a Big 10 title and are solidly in the tournament. MSU has much more to play for here. They are defending their home court, where they are 12-4. We are on the road, where we are 4-7 away from Bloomington, the worst road record of any top 25 team. We average giving up 71 points on the road, while scoring 67. MSU scores 69 at home, while only giving up an average of 60. That is a recipe for more offensive and defensive struggles. IU still desperately needs a reliable third option on offense if we are going to improve beyond where we are now. Close ugly game but I give the edge to the Spartans. IU 66 MSU 69

IU has only lost at home once all year, and that was a 1 point loss to NW. We are playing a team that gave us one of our rare road wins. The Hoosiers should take this one. I'm more worried about the next two. Hoosiers 73 Illini 69

How can you tell I'm retired and I have way to much time on my hands? Just for yucks - the Prediction League win. place and show standings for the first five years. 17-18 Hoosier Aloha, fwgreenway, IU Safety 18-19 LilHoosier, Class of 66 Old Fart, fwgreenway 19-20 fwgreenway, MoyeNeeded, Bobman1 20-21 Class of 66 Old Fart, Josh, DChoosier 21-22 Naturalhoosier, MoyeNeeded, Johnsoniu

This is another tough one and I can see a lot in Northwestern's favor. Of course they are at home and that always helps. Plus they have beaten us in Bloomington. We lost that one by a point but only after Hood-Schfino played out of his mind and scored 33 - including 5 3's. Jackson-Davis had 18 and the bench made major contributions. Johnson and Thompson were out for that game. Same again probably. Seems strange to count Northwestern as a upper tier game but it is. They are a legit tournament team this year. However they may play the weakest schedule in the big ten this year with bunches of games against the bottom of the league. OTOH they have wins over Purdue and Indiana from the top. Northwestern is 12-5 at home. IU is still a sub 50 team on the road with a 4-6 record. We average more points. They have a 5 point edge is points allowed. It worries me that we couldn't stop them from scoring in Bloomington and gave up over 80 points. To win this IU must play defense with our hair on fire, get hot from outside, and get major help from our now short bench. Can't count on Hood-Schfino to go for 30+ again. The heart says go with the improved Hoosiers. The head says don't be a chump, too much must go right for the Hoosiers to pull this one out. It is really hard to win on the road in the Big 10 and NW is better than either Michigan (1 pt IU win) or Purdue. Hoosiers 68 Wildcats 69

The way this league is organized we have a three tier scoring system. Most importantly you need to pick the winner. Every time you pick the winner you get a 50 point kick over those who picked a loser. I'm currently in second place because I've been very good this year at picking the winner. I'm currently 21-4 in straight up picking. If I had picked Michigan I would have fallen to eighth. Secondly, we have the pick the scores segment. I have done poorly in that segment. My highest score this year has been 116. But that 50 point kick for picking the winner has kept me high in the standings. rcs29 has had an excellent run at predicting scores, which has allowed him to open a lead on the pack. Finally, in the third segment we have the bonus of 10 points for picking a score. Out of 50 chances I have failed to hit a single score this year. I think you will find that most of the people near the top of the standings have been able to pick up bonus points along the way. An extra 10 or 20 points here and there can cause a significant shift in the standings. You are very correct that with a number of pick 'em games on the horizon, we could see some drastic shifts in the standings. Nobody has a lock on winning this year and most of the members are close enough to the top to have the potential for significant rise. Good luck to everyone. Let the games continue.

What I really want to do is pick this game as a 73-73 tie, but that isn't possible. Indiana is 3-6 on the road. Michigan is 12-4 at home. IU is a bit better on offense and a bit better on defense. IU is 7-1 over our last 8. Michigan is 5-3 over their last 8. The Hoosiers may be the hotter team but we have flattened out badly on the road against teams like Penn State and Maryland, and let's not forget Arizona and Kansas. A crash and burn wouldn't be a complete surprise. The toss came up heads - IU IU 74 - Michigan 73

Picked Rutgers last time and then switched my pick. Won't do that again. NO MORE SWITCHING PICKS! IU is 13-1 at home and is coming off a big win. They have every reason not to bounce here. Revenge can be a good incentive. Rutgers is 3-4 on the road this year. The round robin showdown at the top of the Big Ten. Rutgers 2-0 Indiana 1-1 Purdue 0-2 Hoosiers 69 - Rutgers 67

Can we expect a "court stormin" here? Doesn't look likely. Maybe with a whole complete and healthy lineup I might go the other way. Let's face facts we are short handed. IU is 12-1 at home. OTOH Pursue is 10-0 on the road. Offensively both teams are close statistically. Purdue has significantly better defensive numbers. TJD isn't going to have a easy time shooting that baby hook over a 7-4 guys outstretched hands and I don't see TJD drawing the big guy outside. Add to that we are short handed on the front line. Geronino and Duncomb are probably not going to play and Thompson has lost a step. I'd rather see all hands on deck instead of next man up. The only way we win this is if we get super hot from the outside. Can the Hoosiers win - yes. Do I want the Hoosier to win - yes. Is it probable that the Hoosiers will win - not very. OTOH it is a rivalry game. Purdue - 71 Hoosiers - 68

If I pick this one with my heart I go for the Hoosiers. If I pick this one with my head I go with Maryland. Maryland is 13-2 at home this year. The Hoosiers are 3-5 on the road. It is very hard to win on the road in the Big10. Hoosiers 68 Maryland 71

The Hoosiers are 11-1 at home. Ohio State is 2-7 on the road. Hoosiers got a wakeup scare at Minnesota and should be back into form. Still worried about Hood-Schfino's shooting wrist. We need at least TWO solid scorers behind Jackson-Davis. It helps a ton if Hood-Schfino is a solid #2 and then we will take whoever has a good game from the rest. At Minnesota we were missing that critical #2. I will not change me pick - I will not change my pick - I will not change my pick. On the other hand there is always the possibility that .......... Fingers in ears and humming. I'm not listening to myself. I will not change my pick. Hoosiers 74 Buckeyes 71

Thump thump thump! That is the sound of the heal of my hand striking my forehead. I changed my score prediction about 30 minutes before tipoff. That cost me 10 points and a move back into the lead. Add that to the 55 points it cost me when I switched from Rutgers to Indiana, and I've thrown away 65 points. I swear I will never make a last second change again - so help me Bobby Knight. Now on to Ohio State.

More often than not I get myself in trouble when I start second guessing myself. The only changed pick I have made previously was to switch from Rutgers to IU, and we all know how that worked out. Nevertheless, I think Minnesota is banged up worse than I thought and so I have changed my score prediction. Feel better about this score. Hoosiers 83 Gophers 64

Indiana needs to be careful here. After three strong efforts this could be a bounce game. Mix a bit of over confidence with a road game isn't a good recipe. Also worried about Hood-Schfino's left (shooting) wrist. After falling on the wrist in the first half of the Illinois game, he has scored only two points total in his last three halves. So far others have stepped up to cover the deficit. Geronimo, Bates and Galloway have filled in the scoring nicely. Hope this continues. Maybe it is Kopp's turn again. To win consistently IU need a couple of reliable scorers behind Jackson-Davis. Hoosiers 73 Golden Gophers 64

Trying not to be too emotional and pick with my head instead of my heart. Last game I picked Illinois and cheered like crazy for the Hoosiers. This season is turning into a roller coaster. Hoosiers are back at home and MSU is a bit down this year. Won't be easy but we should get this one. Hoosiers 72 Spartans 68

My residence on the top of the hill didn't last long. Oh well, only down by 9 points. As MacArthur said, "I shall return". Couldn't help myself, I'm a retired history teacher.