RaceToTheTop

Time to appreciate Brunk.

Again, what was the original call????

What was the initial call, BTW??

How could that be anything but flagrant on Rutgers?????

PENETRATE and dish. Standing won't work.

Hunter doesn't need to take heat check threes.

I remember when there was a point of emphasis on forearm checks. Good times.

Myles Johnson commits two fouls for every one called.

Seriously....WTF is Phinnissee doing?

Watching the game in the background now....we scored 6 unanswered with the game off or sound off. I will not turn on the sound the rest of the way.

Seriously, WTF is it with Durham and Phinnissee? Shot us out of the game in the first two minutes, turning over, not even attempting interior passes.

Quickest I've turned off a game.

******* pitiful start.

Bad shot selection by Durham out of the gate. Bad timeout by Rutgers.....swing the ball and get your damn shoe on.

BTN saying that Baker would be 'integrated back into the rotation'? If so, Pikiell was lying on Monday when he said that he had to be examined and go through practices before coming back.

Without Baker, they won at Nebraska by 17, beat Penn State at Rutgers by 11 and lost at Illinois by 3. I think if we go 2-1 with two road games and one home game and win two by double digits, I think we'd say that was more than just surviving. That's a result we'd take. Baker is an 11 point/game scorer who doesn't well from the perimeter....facilitates okay but also has shot them out of more games in his career than he's shot them into. He's okay, IMO, and it hurts them more depth wise.

I believe that the athletic department provided transportation around the campus.

If people wanted to see Knight walk on the court and do nothing but wave hello, it's going to be spectacle -- whether it's announced, unannounced, expected, or unexpected. And just my opinion, nothing else....but reports I've heard about his state of mind might indicate that a visit to Assembly Hall might not bring back the memories to him that we fans have about his time here. I wish him peace more than I wish he come back to Assembly Hall. I'm just not certain that at this point in his life that coming back is able to bring much meaning to him. Hope I'm wrong, but I think sadly that time might have already passed.

He's already been back on campus. He took in a baseball game last year.

What do you feel your response will be? I want a win, obviously, but this is a team that is going to go up and down through the Big Ten. This isn't a typical Rutgers team -- easily the best they've been since joining the Big Ten. Vegas has Rugers as a three point favorite. Sagarin has Indiana ranked 35th and Rutgers ranked 37th and puts Rutgers as a 2 point favorite at home. Pom would have it about the same, maybe more around Rutgers by 4 -- they have Rutgers ranked 32nd and IU 35th. The numbers seem to say that IU has about a 40% chance to win, so taking emotion out, it's a game I want to win but am not expecting. Sure would go a long way, though, and gives us a little wiggle room. FWIW, I am expecting a game that is going to be ugly at points. I see two very similar teams....neither team shoots well at all from deep -- Rutgers hits 29%, IU hits 31%, Rutgers has hit three more total threes in the same number of games. Rutgers: defense 13th in Pom, offense 96th Indiana: defense 42nd in Pom, offense 39th Geo Baker has been out for Rutgers and is out with a broken thumb. NJ.com interviewed coach Steve Pikiell on Monday and he indicated that it would be 'examined this week' and indicated that once he does get back that he'll need to get back into shape and 'get some whacks' on his playing hand, so I'm sure he's out for the IU game. We know Phinnissee came off a little gimpy and hopefully he's a go tomorrow. It's a strange match up size wise because Rutgers plays pretty big without Baker in the lineup -- they typically have starters of 6'4", 6'6", 6'7", 6'7", and 6'10". With this lineup, they really have shut down opponent guards pretty well, particularly short guards. It's really a tough set to play RP and DeVonte at the same time against....if we are successful doing so, that spells trouble for them because they don't go small well.

You should never set plans in stone for someone that has dementia. Dementia doesn't work on a schedule.

Thanks, didn't know that. Do wonder if he would have played and if did, whose minutes would have been taken. In terms of minute distribution, we saw Franklin and Thompson play very limited minutes and Davis play more than normal....but I think Thompson/Davis was more of a matchup issue against Wesson than anything. Al's minutes were lower but he sat a good length in the first half because of fouls. Hunter played about as much as he had but only took one shot in 19 minutes. Also, FWIW, Rob took 12 shots in 29 minutes.....something I said he needed to look to do as he had seemed so hesitant.

I was a little surprised that Damezi didn't play....from the outside, he did look like a guy who had the effort and had improved since last year. That said, he hasn't been making shots. In terms of DeVonte, I think it's of interest to know that over the past three games, he's had a total of one turnover. I think his benching against Northwestern was due to shot selection and how it effected his defense, but when you check the numbers, he simply has not been turning the ball over like he was earlier in the season. For those who get frustrated with him quickly......you won't be done. He's going to go through cold spells and he is going to keep shooting when he's cold. But ultimately we need some guys that do that instead of going into a shell when they aren't shooting well. I think the key to the last game is the good start we had and the fact that when we went through the one of seventeen streak to end the half, we still were in a very manageable three point deficit at half.

But Ohio State's SOS was 168 in non-con and Indiana's was 190, so not any kind of difference (Pom ratings). So what explains their ranking?

IU not ranked. As a point of interest, here is the total points combined between the two polls (AP and coaches) with the coaches double weighted since the coach's poll use 32 votes and AP uses 65. Michigan State 1517 Maryland 1218 Michigan 620 Ohio State 544 Iowa 208 Illinois 175 Indiana 126 Penn State 82 Wisconsin 53 Rutgers 46 Purdue 40 Order of rank by AP Poll: 1. Michigan State 2. Maryland 3. Michigan 4. Ohio State 5. Illinois 6. Iowa 7. Indiana 8. Penn State 9. Wisconsin 10. Purdue 11. Rutgers Coaches: 1. Michigan State 2. Maryland 3 Ohio State 4. Michigan 5. Iowa 6. Indiana 7. Illinois 8. Penn State 9. Rutgers 10. Wisconsin 11. Purdue