AKHoosier

  I would amend that to say we really should be in contention for first place.   There's a lot of talented teams with good coaches in this conference.  You can't ever really say we SHOULD be in first place.  Except if you're Kansas in the Big 12.

Give Crean a ton of credit tonight.   With the B1G title in the balance, he coached a remarkable game considering it's a road game and one of his starters was out.   Every win is a big win now.

Come on Wisconsin, hold on!   Haven't said that since last year's Final 4.

  Hmm, not sure why you'd put Duke #2 considering they've won 2 championships in the past 10 years.  I've put them above UK, and UNC would probably be on the list too since they've won 2 since 2005.

Some of these injuries you never know sometimes.  Robert could give it a day or 2 and wake up Thursday morning feeling well enough to play.  I just hope we don't rush anything that could aggravate it, we're going to need him at his fullest strength in the tournament.

Glad to be in this position but before we crown ourselves with at least a share, realize we could still go 12-6 in conference and miss out on a double-bye in the BTT.   I still think smart money is to go 2-1 and win a share of the title with Iowa.

This won't be a blowout, not after last game.   Thursday would be a big win for an otherwise miserable failure of a season for them, especially after getting demolished last time we played them.  They'll be out for revenge.   Raucous crowd usually = referees that play to the crowd in the closing minutes, so yeah I'm worried about this game.

  I was first made aware of it via a thread started by an IU fan on TOS' national bball board.  He asked Purdue fans if they claimed the title from the season they were forced to vacate wins, Purdue fans said yes they do, the rest of the board said that's bullsh!t, Purdue fans got defensive, then everyone agreed to look at it with an asterisk.   It was funny, but this is the main reason why I want at least a share of the B1G now.  No longer will they be able to say they have the most B1G championships in the conference, and even more, they have to share it with us.  They are straight up squirming right now.

  Disagree.  After seeing them struggle against Minnesota at home and losing at Penn State, I really don't see Iowa beating Wisconsin, @ Michigan, and @ Ohio State while also beating us at home.   Especially when 3 out of 4 of those teams are still fighting for their tournament lives and need a quality win.

Michigan clawing their way back into the game at Maryland.   Now down just 5.

  Yeah, and they actually still claim a B1G title the league doesn't recognize because they were forced to vacate it after violations in 1990s.  So really, we are tied with them right now.

Did anyone else notice the graphic ESPN displayed early on in the game detailing the history of the IU/PU rivalry?   It was hilarious how they pointed out that Purdue won like 42 of the first 50 games in the series, and even the announcer made it clear that the series is way more tilted to IU since World War II.   I couldn't help but laugh at that, and there were probably some pretty upset fans in West Lafayette after they discussed that.

Funny that we'll definitely be rooting for Purdue to beat Maryland at Mackey, as that should stick a fork in the Terps' chances for the B1G title if they lose.   All we have to do is beat Illinois and Maryland at home to secure at least a share of the title in all likelihood.  Iowa looks to be weakening down the stretch, and I see them dropping at least one of at Michigan, at Ohio State, or Wisconsin.

  Dang well, good thing that doesn't matter at all.

So IU wins, Purdue loses, and Kentucky loses all in the same day?   Sure, I'll have some more alcohol to celebrate that........

My heart sure is glad this game is over.

We are straight up getting homered in our own building!

I've got visions of Purdue pounding it inside and Hammons/Haas dunking everything this half.   Let's close them out!

Looked like we were really going to run away with this, but it wasn't to be.  Purdue's defense did better after Troy's breakaway dunk and subsequent timeout.   I'll be happy with a win by any amount, even if it comes in quadruple overtime by 1 point.

The stress from this game is probably going to get the best of me, should not have given up beer for Lent......   Guess I'll be breaking into the wine at some point.

  I can't speak for everyone, but I am excited for Newkirk next year.  If he can come back from his injury, Crean should be able to get the most out of him.   Say what you want about Crean, but he's been very good lately about getting the most out of his transfers.  Nick Zeisloft and Max B. weren't highly thought of and didn't put up big numbers at their previous schools, but I can't imagine our team without either of them now.   No reason to think Newkirk won't be a similar case.  I think he was a good player in the wrong system at Pitt, and he became frustrated with it and left.  I was excited about him when we picked him up, and I still am.

  Same thing with Notre Dame a few weeks ago.  There were a few hundred reasonably excited people in the stands for GameDay, and they probably mistakenly thought it was a football event.

Man I'm going to be pissed if we lose, with 2 gift losses by Maryland and Iowa this week.   The B1G is just there for the taking right now.

Hopefully this catapults us into a 3 game winning streak before the Iowa game.   These last few weeks are so big for us going forward.

This is probably the first time in a while (maybe the baby broilers vs. Gordon in 2008?) that both teams are ranked.