BottomLine

Why give up now? Might as well play out the streak one more time. Hoosiers 75 - Other guys 70

IU 75 Purdon't 70

Not sure I care much any more. We are pretty pathetic. IU 75 - other guys 70.

Not going to win any bragging rights, so what the hell. Hoosiers 75 - The other guys 70

Only 52 players in IU history have reached the 1k mark. Al should end up in the top 50.

Since three of our starters scored a total of 2 points, I'm glad Al showed up tonight. Nice to see him looking for his shot.

I think Al is nearing the 1000 point club. I think he at 974 so he he has 26 to go. Who would have thought that possible 4 years ago? If I have the numbers wrong please correct.

Hoosiers 78-70

I've dropped back in the pack and I'm no longer in contention. Drat all those close finishes that went the wrong way. So I'm not going to strain the brain in a fruitless effort. Time to pull up and gallop out to the finish and save some energy for next year. I spent 18 years coaching Spartans, not the ones in Michigan, and have some sentimental attachment. Never the less give me the Hoosiers again 75-70.

Well, I turned on my TV last Sunday and did a search for the IU game. Couldn't find it anywhere. Then I searched on the Intranet and discovered that I missed the game. I guess you could say that my interest for this season is starting to decline. Getting hard to move forward. I'll take the Hoosiers on WEDNESDAY 75-70. Just hope it is an enjoyable game.

The Hoosiers are breaking my back. I'm guessing every close game the wrong way. Time to start a winning streak! We took Illinois into overtime and beat Iowa twice. We should be able to handle Northwestern. The Wildcats can't possibly be as hot from 3 as they were the lest time we met. Hoosiers 75 - Wildcats 70

Don't have a lot to say about this one. Can we expect Iowa to shoot that bad again? Don't think so. Hawkeyes 88 - Hoosiers 75. From this point on the games are more winable.

Man those overtime games are killing me, a 50 point slap in the face every time we don't finish. On to Iowa!

Can IU catch lightening in a bottle twice in the same season? Over/under for this game is 141.5 and Illinois is a 2 or 3 point favorite. That makes the implied result somewhere around 72-69 Illinois. I'm wondering if this is a classic bounce game for Illinois. They just squeezed by Iowa and could be set for a let down against a team that they have already beaten. While Indiana is only 4-4 at home this year, Illinois is only 3-3 on the road and certainly susceptible to the upset. Meanwhile IU has had over a week to get ready and heal. Just like before the Iowa game. Turn one of the overtime losses around and both Illinois and Indiana would be looking at 10-6 records, instead of 10-6 and 9-7. I'm looking for an Indiana upset in a game where Illinois might not be their sharpest. I make it 76-71 Hoosiers.

This game has all the classic signs of a bounce game or a trap game. IU just knocked off a top 10 team and enters a game where they are favored by a small margin. How much of a let down will it take for Rutgers to slip by IU. I'm thinking not a lot. The difference between winning and losing and be so random. IU plays a team that shoots lights out (Purdue) and we lose. IU plays a high scoring team that can't throw a beach ball into the ocean and we win. Live by the 3 - die by the 3. Or, free throws. Rutgers is desperate and in a bad losing streak but they have talent. IU is a 4 or 5 point favorite in a low scoring game. o/u in Vegas is 135.5. Implied score would probable be 70-65. I'm thinking that the o/u is too low. I'll take the Hoosiers 77-70.

Al Durham. Coming down the stretch, when IU was shooting under 50% from the line, he was automatic to clinch the win.

Iowa is one of the few teams in the Big 10 that Indiana usually plays well against. Vegas says and o/u is 153.5 and Iowa is a 10 point favorite. Thus the implied would probably be 81-71 Iowa. I think IU plays better defense than Iowa and that could help our final total. On the other hand Iowa has a much better offense than IU. Garza will be a load to stop and if the IU front line gets in foul trouble against him, things could get ugly very quickly. We know Iowa can shoot the 3. They always do. Sorry but I don't think we will be able to hold them in check unless Garza gets in early and deep foul trouble, but we can't count on that. Iowa could score a hundred if we fall apart. On the other hand I expect our offense to improve, especially if Franklin is back to full strength. I make this one 83-73 Hawkeyes. Would love to be wrong.

I get tired of writing, "well this is another close one", but here we go again. I wonder how the lack of a crowd will impact the game. I know the home crowd for IU-Purdue games can get crazy and certainly impact the outcome. We hate each other. Do the players feel the same? Don't know. Hope so. This looks like a close game and frankly IU doesn't do well in close games. We just don't finish well. If we did we would have 4 or 5 more wins. None of our guards can take anyone consistently off the bounce at crunch time, Franklin might but he isn't playing. Phinisee won't and Durham just doesn't have the physical skills. Don't remember Jackson-Davis ever hitting a shot of free throw with the game on the line in the final seconds. Down the stretch recently we have depended on Hunter and Leal to make the plays. Can we win a close game against Purdue? Vegas has the O/U at 130.5 and IU a 4 point favorite. That makes the implied 67-63. That just feel right to me. I'll take the margin, despite our troubles finishing but I think the o/u is low. My Crystal Ball says 75-70 IU

Nebraska has a history of giving us fits, even when we are big favorites. so what is new, that seems to be everyone. They have great size but don't seem to be able to shoot the ball, as opposed to us just not being able to shoot the ball very well. We could walk away from this team but we have a record of not being able to walk away from anyone unless they are a bottom dwelling team. Aren't you tired of playing everyone close and then not being able to finish at the end? Me too! Would like to win this one big but I don't see that in my crystal ball. I do see a Hoosier win, but it will be more of a struggle that I think it should be. I'll take the Hoosiers 75-66.

I don't know that much about Wisconsin but that doesn't make much difference. Wisconsin just has our number, especially in Madison. I hate to pick against the Hoosiers because that means that I'll be rooting against myself at game time. Unfortunately this IU teams is not the team that was expected. The loss of Brunk leaves us dangerously shorthanded in the front line. The loss of Franklin leaves us shorthanded at guard. That is just too much to overcome. I hope I'm wrong but I fear I'm not. Wisconsin 78 - IU 70 and I hope it doesn't get much uglier than that.

Knew you couldn't pick against the Hoosiers.

I really don't like Maryland. I understood adding Penn State and Nebraska to the conference. Even Rutgers seemed like an OK fit. Maryland reminds me of a gold digger just out for the money. I just don't think the attitude is right. I don't like the players they get. I don't like how they play. They still look like an ACC raider to me. I just simply don't like Maryland and I certainly don't wish them well. I just can't see them helping build on Big 10 traditions. Are we looking at a Penn State clone in this game. Maryland plays up tempo and can shoot the 3 with volume and accuracy. Our guys better guard the line because Maryland can be very streaky. I think IU does well when we can get out and run too. I see a slight offensive edge to Maryland and a bigger defensive edge to the Hoosiers. Las Vegas says 70-65. I think both teams can score better than that. My cloudy crystal ball sees a 75-70 Hoosier victory.

Here we go again. This is another trip game for the Hoosiers. We should own Penn State every year but that is not the case. For some reason we always have trouble topping PSU and I can't see this year being any different than the past. IU has the better defense and that should make this a close one because we certainly don't have a dominate offense. Jackson-Davis always manages to get his points, though he could have 10 more a game if he could learn to shoot the ball instead of throwing the ball at the basket and hoping for the best. Franklin is starting to look like the real deal after three hot game in a row. As to the rest of the Hoosier offense, your guess is as good as mine. We need someone to start picking up the slack. The crystal ball is a bit cloudy here but we NEED this game and we are at home. I'll take the Hoosiers 71-67 in a dog fight. I have my fingers crossed that we will finally find someone that has the ability to finish at the end.

Post Christmas and I have way to much time on my hands. Let's call this highly unofficial but according to my count Woodson1980 has taken over the lead with 795. Tomallenfan and Feathery have 790. Str8Hoosiers is the only one with official numbers, but I think his numbers are all at his workplace so the holidays slow him up a bit. Now on to the Penn State game.

I really hate to pick against the Hoosiers but we have problems right now. We have lost two games (Florida State and Northwestern) because we don't have anyone that can finish at crunch time and our best scorer can't score if we don't throw him the ball. I'm wondering of Franklin is a streak shooter. We still can't hit free throws at an acceptable rate. I figure our defense will slow Illinois down but we won't stop them. I'm still waiting for our offense to show up. Hate to root against the Hoosiers. Illinois 80 - IU 68