IndyHutch

That is clearly the flip side as well. Indiana could have lost to Southern Illinois pretty easily and that could have put a complete damper on the entire season.

How much fun it is to watch Thomas Bryant develop before our eyes? I think it’s a blast. With every game I see the big man play, I think he gets a little bit more confident. Thursday night he had 17 points on 7 of 10 shooting from the field in Indiana's convincing 86-65 victory over Creighton. He made a 3-pointer from the right corner. He had a play in the second half where he exhibited great body control when he went up for a shot inside, hung in the air for just a second, and then banked it in softly off the glass. He had four blocked shots and was active on the boards. He had a pair of assists. He made all six of his shots inside the 3-point arc. But you know what I liked the most from him on Thursday night – his emotion. He had a sequence in the second half where he had a block and then there was a scramble for the ball after he tried to block a second shot. The officials called a jump ball and Bryant was clearly happy to have gotten a piece of it. And as his team went to a time out he was clearly engaged in the moment and was really fired up and the fans showed their appreciation with a loud ovation. He had a couple of those ovations Thursday night. He had another time when he came back on the court following a timeout after he had scored a couple of buckets where the fans did the two-syllable “Thom-as Bry-ant” chant. I’ve talked to players over the years who have said there is no bigger rush than to hear your name chanted like that. Bryant seemed completely focused on the defensive end as the fans chanted his name but somewhere in the recesses of his mind you have to figure he heard it. And you know what, he deserved it, too. Bryant is quickly becoming a fan favorite at Assembly Hall and it’s easy to see why. He works hard. He plays with great intensity. He seems to take constructive criticism well and he just has a presence in the middle. And when you think about that’s the biggest improvement here: a presence. Indiana hasn’t had a presence in the middle since Cody Zeller. Hanner Mosquera-Perea wasn’t a presence. Luke Fischer had the chance to be but didn’t stick around long enough for us to find out. But Bryant has that presence and the great thing for Indiana fans is that you just feel like he is just scratching the surface of how he could potentially play as the season progresses. Bryant played 19 minutes in the opener against Eastern Illinois and 21 minutes against Austin Peay. Thursday night, he played 27 minutes. And here’s another great statistic from Thursday night. In 27 minutes, Bryant had one foul and one turnover. If Bryant can continue to improve, play with energy, stay out of foul trouble and be that commanding presence inside for the Hoosiers, it’s simply going to make Indiana’s outside shooters even deadlier than they already are. And this season is going to become very much like Bryant. A lot of fun to watch.

Indiana's freshman center is quickly becoming a fan favorite at Assembly Hall. Based on the way he played in the win over Creighton Thursday night, it's easy to see why. How much fun it is to watch Thomas Bryant develop before our eyes?   I think it’s a blast.   With every game I see the big man play, I think he gets a little bit more confident. Thursday night he had 17 points on 7 of 10 shooting from the field in Indiana's convincing 86-65 victory over Creighton. He made a 3-pointer from the right corner. He had a play in the second half where he exhibited great body control when he went up for a shot inside, hung in the air for just a second, and then banked it in softly off the glass.   He had four blocked shots and was active on the boards. He had a pair of assists. He made all six of his shots inside the 3-point arc.   But you know what I liked the most from him on Thursday night – his emotion.   He had a sequence in the second half where he had a block and then there was a scramble for the ball after he tried to block a second shot. The officials called a jump ball and Bryant was clearly happy to have gotten a piece of it.   And as his team went to a time out he was clearly engaged in the moment and was really fired up and the fans showed their appreciation with a loud ovation.   He had a couple of those ovations Thursday night. He had another time when he came back on the court following a timeout after he had scored a couple of buckets where the fans did the two-syllable “Thom-as Bry-ant” chant. I’ve talked to players over the years who have said there is no bigger rush than to hear your name chanted like that.   Bryant seemed completely focused on the defensive end as the fans chanted his name but somewhere in the recesses of his mind you have to figure he heard it.   And you know what, he deserved it, too.   Bryant is quickly becoming a fan favorite at Assembly Hall and it’s easy to see why.   He works hard. He plays with great intensity. He seems to take constructive criticism well and he just has a presence in the middle.   And when you think about that’s the biggest improvement here: a presence.   Indiana hasn’t had a presence in the middle since Cody Zeller.   Hanner Mosquera-Perea wasn’t a presence. Luke Fischer had the chance to be but didn’t stick around long enough for us to find out.   But Bryant has that presence and the great thing for Indiana fans is that you just feel like he is just scratching the surface of how he could potentially play as the season progresses.   Bryant played 19 minutes in the opener against Eastern Illinois and 21 minutes against Austin Peay. Thursday night, he played 27 minutes.   And here’s another great statistic from Thursday night. In 27 minutes, Bryant had one foul and one turnover.   If Bryant can continue to improve, play with energy, stay out of foul trouble and be that commanding presence inside for the Hoosiers, it’s simply going to make Indiana’s outside shooters even deadlier than they already are.   And this season is going to become very much like Bryant.   A lot of fun to watch. [url=https://btownbanners.com/page/index.html/_/basketball/analysis/analysis-how-about-thomas-bryant-r260]Click here to view the article[/url]

Nate Sudfeld paused for a moment in his postgame interview Saturday when asked what it will be like next week to play Purdue with more than just the Old Oaken Bucket on the line. “It’s awesome,’’ Sudfeld said. “This is where we want to be right now coming into this week. We had to take care of business and we did. Obviously the Bucket week, in and of itself is really big for this program, for this school and this state. So obviously we were going to play our tails off this week any way but knowing we’re playing for a little bit more should bring a little extra motivation. “We’re excited. We know they’re going to be tough and they always play us tough. The rivalry is an honor to play in and we’re just going to have to bring our ‘A’ game.’’ Sudfeld came up big Saturday when his team needed him the most. After Jordan Howard was sidelined with an injury on IU’s first drive, Sudfeld took over through the air. He completed 23 of 35 passes for 385 yards and a career-high tying four touchdown passes to help lead Indiana to a 47-28 victory over Maryland at Byrd Stadium. The win was significant in many ways for Indiana (5-6, 1-6 Big Ten). It snapped a six-game losing streak and marked IU’s first Big Ten road victory since October of 2012. Most importantly it moved the Hoosiers to within one game of bowl eligibility with one to play. Beat Purdue next Saturday in West Lafayette, Ind. and the Hoosiers will be bowl eligible for the first time since 2007. There were plenty of solid performances for Indiana in Saturday’s victory. Consider: *** Sudfeld came within 15 yards of becoming the first quarterback in IU history to have multiple 400-yard passing games. *** Devine Redding ran for 130 yards on 24 carries including a 45-yard scamper late in the game. *** Simmie Cobbs caught nine passes for 192 yards and had the majority of those yards after the catch. *** Mitchell Paige, who had two touchdown receptions for the season coming into the game, had two more against Maryland. Paige finished with five catches for 64 yards. *** Griffin Oakes, the reigning Big Ten special teams player of the week, made a case for a second consecutive honor as he made all four of his field goal attempts. He is now 20 for 22 on the year. His field goals were from 21, 19, 48 and 36 yards. Probably the most impressive statistic for the Hoosiers in this one was that IU refused to quit after falling behind by 18 points in the first quarter. Maryland used a couple of big early plays, including a 79 yard touchdown run, to lead 21-3 with 5:32 to play in the first quarter. From that point on, Indiana outscored Maryland 44-7. There were a couple of plays in particular that really seemed to spark the Hoosiers in their comeback. Trailing 21-10 after the first quarter, IU got the ball back at its own 24 yard line. A few plays later, Sudfeld went over the top and hit Andre Booker for 59 yards and a touchdown to close the game to 21-17. On the ensuing kickoff, Oakes perfectly executed an onsides kick with Rashard Fant recovering at the IU 49. The play completely baffled Maryland and Oakes kicked it perfectly. Eight plays later, Sudfeld scored on a 1 yard quarterback sneak to put IU on top for good, 24-21.

Indiana has five victories with one game to play following Saturday's 47-28 victory at Maryland. Here's my report from College Park, Md. on IU's first Big Ten road win since 2012. Nate Sudfeld paused for a moment in his postgame interview Saturday when asked what it will be like next week to play Purdue with more than just the Old Oaken Bucket on the line.   “It’s awesome,’’ Sudfeld said. “This is where we want to be right now coming into this week. We had to take care of business and we did. Obviously the Bucket week, in and of itself is really big for this program, for this school and this state. So obviously we were going to play our tails off this week any way but knowing we’re playing for a little bit more should bring a little extra motivation.   “We’re excited. We know they’re going to be tough and they always play us tough. The rivalry is an honor to play in and we’re just going to have to bring our ‘A’ game.’’   Sudfeld came up big Saturday when his team needed him the most. After Jordan Howard was sidelined with an injury on IU’s first drive, Sudfeld took over through the air. He completed 23 of 35 passes for 385 yards and a career-high tying four touchdown passes to help lead Indiana to a 47-28 victory over Maryland at Byrd Stadium.   The win was significant in many ways for Indiana (5-6, 1-6 Big Ten). It snapped a six-game losing streak and marked IU’s first Big Ten road victory since October of 2012.   Most importantly it moved the Hoosiers to within one game of bowl eligibility with one to play. Beat Purdue next Saturday in West Lafayette, Ind. and the Hoosiers will be bowl eligible for the first time since 2007.   There were plenty of solid performances for Indiana in Saturday’s victory. Consider:   *** Sudfeld came within 15 yards of becoming the first quarterback in IU history to have multiple 400-yard passing games.   *** Devine Redding ran for 130 yards on 24 carries including a 45-yard scamper late in the game.   *** Simmie Cobbs caught nine passes for 192 yards and had the majority of those yards after the catch.   *** Mitchell Paige, who had two touchdown receptions for the season coming into the game, had two more against Maryland. Paige finished with five catches for 64 yards.   *** Griffin Oakes, the reigning Big Ten special teams player of the week, made a case for a second consecutive honor as he made all four of his field goal attempts. He is now 20 for 22 on the year. His field goals were from 21, 19, 48 and 36 yards.   Probably the most impressive statistic for the Hoosiers in this one was that IU refused to quit after falling behind by 18 points in the first quarter. Maryland used a couple of big early plays, including a 79 yard touchdown run, to lead 21-3 with 5:32 to play in the first quarter.   From that point on, Indiana outscored Maryland 44-7.   There were a couple of plays in particular that really seemed to spark the Hoosiers in their comeback. Trailing 21-10 after the first quarter, IU got the ball back at its own 24 yard line. A few plays later, Sudfeld went over the top and hit Andre Booker for 59 yards and a touchdown to close the game to 21-17.   On the ensuing kickoff, Oakes perfectly executed an onsides kick with Rashard Fant recovering at the IU 49. The play completely baffled Maryland and Oakes kicked it perfectly. Eight plays later, Sudfeld scored on a 1 yard quarterback sneak to put IU on top for good, 24-21. [url=https://btownbanners.com/page/index.html/_/football/news-notes/indiana-moves-to-within-one-win-of-bowl-eligibi-r264]Click here to view the article[/url]

  He made some passes I can't remember if it was Eastern Illinois or Austin Peay that I thought were some of his better plays of the night. That backdoor cut when Hartman came from the corner on left baseline and then stuffed it was really a perfect pass in stride. I think it's great when he can mix up his game and do some of that. The other thing I like is when you see guys like Yogi or JBJ drive and it looks like they're run out of room and they find him cutting to the basket for a bucket. That's good to see, too.

FRESHMAN TRACKER (Creighton) 1. THOMAS BRYANT In just three games, Bryant has shown why he was a McDonald's All-American. He finished with 17 points, four blocks, two assists and seven rebounds. Bryant looked comfortable on the court Thurday with his shooting. He did shoot four 3-pointers, but he ended up making one of them from the right corner. Bryant was the first player on the team to hit double-figures. Bryant was 7 of 10 in field goals, but he did miss a couple free throws. He only had one foul and one turnover in 27 minutes of play. He has shown he is capable of controlling himself under the basket and when he goes up to shoot, he goes up strong. Bryant is more than just a big man for Indiana; he is a big man who has a presence under the basket that allows for more options for the Hoosier offense. This is the first time since Cody Zeller that they know they have someone on the inside who can actually do something with the ball, besides just pass it back out. Bryant plays with power and works to get open. He drives hard to the basket and has the ability to finish shots in traffic. The story so far with Bryant, is that he plays with a ridiculous amount of energy, and the fans eat it up. It isn’t something that has to be turned on with a switch- he plays that way the whole game. Assembly Hall went crazy after he had a blocked shot and tied up a jump ball and rewarded him with the chanting of Thom-as Bry-ant. Bryant feeds off the energy of the crowd, and the crowd feeds off the energy from Bryant. One of his biggest advantages is his ability to engage the crowd. Bryant’s confidence is clearly growing and he’s shown a great amount of potential so far, in only three games. The combination of his power, passion and presence in the middle makes him exciting to watch. 2. O.G. ANUNOBY Anunoby played two minutes in the first half and four minutes in the second. He was scoreless and had three fouls, two turnovers and one steal. Just 20 seconds after he checked in during the second half, he had a turnover and a foul. He did have a steal on one of those possessions, but he was taken out after the combination of another turnover and foul. After his second offensive foul, Anunoby headed to the bench to talk to Crean. His minutes have decreased over the last three games, but he has potential, if he can stay patient. His defense didn’t look too sharp either, but with experience he can work out the little things and end up being a well-rounded player that could see some time off the bench. 3. JUWAN MORGAN Morgan was 0-1 in field goals Thursday night in five minutes of play. He had one defensive rebound. In what little action he had, he seems comparable to Stanford Robinson. Morgan looked anxious, almost spastic, on the court and it ended up hurting him. He didn’t do anything impressive on either end, and had fairly sloppy defense. If Morgan tightens up on some of the basics, he does have a big margin to show improvement over the course of the season; although he may be demonstrating his talents in practice, rather than in games. 4. HARRISON NIEGO With just 28 seconds of play, Niego didn’t have an impact on the game. IU has plenty of dominant guards with Yogi Ferrell, James Blackmon Jr., Nick Zeisloft and Robert Johnson that Niego is likely to be pretty quiet this year. 5. QUENTIN TAYLOR Taylor, another guard, didn’t see any playing time on Thursday night.

  Wow. Very few of the bonehead plays? I don't know about that. I think Troy does a lot of good things and the amount of good things he is doing now compared to his freshman year is amazing. He's making some nice passes and really cutting well without the ball. But there are still a lot of times out there that I wish he would slow down and playing within the offense instead of looking to be 'The Man'. When he slows down and lets the game come to him (Sports Cliche violation right there) he's fun to watch. What drives me crazy is the exasperated look he gets on his face when he forces something and then it doesn't work out. He's always expecting to get bailed out. Now again, I'm not into Troy bashing I would just like to see him a little more under control. Thoughts are welcome.

  I guess you could say that but I never felt like Vonleh really commanded the ball in the post. I always thought he was happier to be 15 feet away from the basket and spotting up for jumpers. This isn't to say he didn't do a good job on the boards because he did but there was just something there that I never thought of him as the next great big man. The most amazing stat for me about Vonleh was that he never scored more than 20 points in a college game. Think about that. That's amazing that he was then a high first round pick. Maybe not amazing, but still worth noting.

  When I went back and watched the replay this morning I forgot about a play in the first half when somebody challenged him and pushed off with his left hand was called for the offensive foul, and Bryant showed a lot of emotion going down the court that time, too. I just like players that are more than just robots out there. And what you said about yelling at the student section, that's good stuff, too.

So what do we know about Indiana Basketball following victories over Eastern Illinois on Friday, and most recently Monday’s 102-76 win over Austin Peay? 1. THIS TEAM CAN SHOOT We know that Indiana still has the potential to be deadly from distance and for that matter from just about anywhere on the court. Monday night, the Hoosiers made 16 of 27 3-pointers and three players knocked down four or more. In the second half, Indiana hit nearly 81 percent of its shots total, making 21 of 26. And these weren’t just all layups or post moves to the basket. Indiana hit eight 3-pointers in the second half. Indiana had a stretch where it made 15 shots in a row from 15:31 to play in the game when Max Bielfeldt stole a pass at midcourt and went for a layup the other way until James Blackmon Jr. missed a driving shot to the basket with 3:17 to play. In that 12 minute and 14 second stretch, Indiana hit seven 3-pointers. 2. THE FRESHMEN HAVE POTENTIAL BUT … Thomas Bryant has already done enough things around the basket to make you feel like he’s going to be a contributor if he doesn’t let his emotions get the best of him. We saw that Friday night when got the technical for hanging on the rim and we saw it again on Monday when his teammates had to calm him down one time. But in between, he just has the look of a big man on both ends of the floor. The bigger question marks, however, are just how much can you expect to get out of O.G. Anunoby and Juwan Morgan. Both players seem to be kind of feeling their way in the early going and I’m sure most of that is trying to learn the adjustment from playing high school to college basketball. Anunoby has done more good things at this point than Morgan but the sample size with both of them is still too small to really get a good read. For example, against Austin Peay, Anunoby only played 9 minutes and Morgan was in for 7. Those will be two players to keep an eye on over the next month or so heading into Big Ten play. 3. I BELIEVE THE DEFENSE IS IMPROVED BUT … They still give up way too many easy drives and don’t seem to get out quickly enough on shooters. This is probably over simplifying it but at times these guys almost seem to be willing to concede something on the defensive end so that they can get back on the offensive end to score. They need to find ways to get more offensive off of their defense. Monday, IU scored 33 points off of 23 turnovers. At first that sounds OK but there were times when IU really failed to capitalize on some of those miscues. Another problem Monday was that Austin Peay managed 40 points in the paint. That’s a lot of points inside against a team that wasn’t particularly big. I think the next few games against Creighton, Maui opponents and then Duke will give us a much better idea of how much this defense has improved. 4. HOW ABOUT TROY WILLIAMS THE PASSER? There is always going to be the acrobatic Troy Williams and adding clips to his highlight reel. He had another one on a flush where he went coast-to-coast with 13:25 to play in the game on Monday. There is also always going to be the Troy Williams who tries to do too much and plays out of control. But the surprising Troy Williams for me to this point has been TW the Passer. He made a couple of really nice passes Monday on his way to a career-high five assists. He had one pass in particular where Collin Hartman cut backdoor from the left corner down the baseline and Williams hit him with a bounce pass in stride for a jam. It may have been one of my favorite Troy Williams plays in his time at Indiana. 5. A SET STARTING FIVE? It’s too early to know for certain but I would think there’s at least 10 players in the mix at this point for significant minutes. I’m not sure that you’re going to see the same starting lineup every game like was the case with some of Tom Crean’s better teams in the past. I think you’ll see four guys start every game (Yogi Ferrell, James Blackmon Jr., Thomas Bryant and Troy Williams) and then, depending on matchups, either Max Bielfeldt, Robert Johnson or Collin Hartman in particular. The other guys in the mix for significant minutes at this point include Nick Zeisloft, O.G. Anunoby and Juwan Morgan. I’m not sure if Jordan Fuchs when he comes out from football will play a significant role or not. The important thing after two games is that IU has looked impressive enough at times to make you think that this has a chance to be a special year for the Hoosiers.

INDIANA BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK (AUSTIN PEAY) BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – When Nick Zeisloft looked up after the official blew the whistle to stop play because the IU senior appeared to be in some pain, the fans in Assembly Hall were treated to more than they wanted to see. As Zeisloft looked over to the IU bench and raised his right hand, his right pinkie finger appeared to dislocated. They showed his hand on the big screen overhead and the crowd reacted to what they were seeing. Zeisloft, though, calmly walked to the bench and appeared to just look the other way as Tim Garl worked on his finger. Just minutes later, though, he was back in the game. Zeisloft hit one 3-pointer before the injury and four more after he returned to help lead Indiana to a 102-76 victory over Austin Peay Monday night at Assembly Hall. Zeisloft was 5 for 7 from the field, all from 3-point range, and finished with 15 points. The Hoosiers (2-0) made 16 3-pointers in all, just two off of the school record of 18 set against Minnesota last year at Assembly Hall. Yogi Ferrell and James Blackmon Jr. each made four 3’s against Austin Peay. IU coach Tom Crean said when Zeisloft walked over his biggest concern was that he wasn’t dizzy or nauseous have looking at his finger. “My biggest thing was I was going to try to fix it,’’ Crean said. “I just wanted to make sure he wasn’t dizzy and be there to help him if he started to get dizzy and not to panic because he looked at it. But they fixed it right away so obviously it looked a lot worse than it actually was.’’ Crean said it was pretty obvious the dislocation didn’t affect Zeisloft’s shooting. He came back into the game with two of his fingers taped together and he quickly knocked down his second of five 3-pointers. “I was definitely excited when they said he was fine, so we don't want to lose him,’’ Crean said. “We don't want to lose anybody, but we don't want to lose that guy.’’ Zeisloft didn’t want to talk about the finger much following the game. When asked about he said he was fine. Another question had to do with the trainers and he said they did a good job. One other question asked it was a dislocation and it just got popped back in. IU media relations director J.D. Campbell then chimed in that it was just a boo-boo. “Yeah, just like what he said,’’ Zeisloft added. One more note on Zeisloft, the five made 3-pointers equaled his high from last season. He did that in three games a year ago, all in the Big Ten, against Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan State. ANOTHER PRILLER MOMENT Late in the game, fans started chanting for sophomore Tim Priller to be put in the game. In fact when Robert Johnson knocked down a 3-pointer with 2:17 to play it was difficult to tell if the crowd was going crazy because the Hoosiers had just scored their 100th point on the shot, or if it was because Priller was coming into the game. Priller took one shot – a 3-pointer from the left wing – but it caromed off the back iron. The shot was his only mark on the statistics sheet. Following the game though, Ferrell and Zeisloft were asked about Priller’s popularity with the fans, and if they truly even understand it themselves. “I don’t know why they love Tim so much, they just do,’’ Ferrell said. “And Nick showed me this about how they have in the paper about the all-time greats of IU. They've got Isiah Thomas, Calbert Cheaney, guys like that, and then there is Tim Priller, you know? You wouldn't expect to see him, but he was there.’’ Ferrell said he thinks Priller handles all the attention pretty well. “And for the crowd to get hyped for Tim like that, Tim loves it,’’ Ferrell said. “He's not going to let it get to his head. He's still going to do everything he needs to do for our team, but it's something fun to watch.’’ PASSING THE CENTURY MARK The 100 points scored by Indiana Monday night marked the first time that Indiana has scored more than 100 points in a game since the season opener a year ago against Mississippi Valley State. IU won that game, 116-65. It was the 11th time in the Tom Crean Era of IU basketball that the Hoosiers have scored 100 points or more in a game. FERRELL MOVING UP THE OFFENSIVE CHARTS With 22 points Monday night, Yogi Ferrell moved past two former IU greats in career scoring and into 20th place all-time at Indiana. Ferrell now has 1,414 points in his IU career. He passed Jimmy Rayl (1960-63) who had 1,401 points and Kirk Haston (1998-2001) who had 1,406 points. Next players in Ferrell’s sights include Ray Tolbert (1,427), Walt Bellamy (1,441), D.J. White (1,447) and Bracey Wright (1,498).

Robert Johnson started 33 of the 34 games he played at Indiana last season as a freshman. He averaged 27 minutes per game and 27.7 in Big Ten play. But fast forward to the 2015-16 season and Johnson was coming off the bench Friday night in the season-opening 88-49 victory over Eastern Illinois at Assembly Hall. I believe it was Errek Suhr on the IU Radio Broadcast who made a really good point though. Basically, he said just think about how good Indiana could be if you had a player of Johnson’s caliber able to come off the bench. Think about what that says about this Indiana basketball team and the depth it possesses. And it’s really true. Johnson played 22 minutes off the bench Friday night and was one of IU’s six players in double figures. He scored 12 points on 4 of 8 shooting and was 4 of 6 from 3-point range. He had two rebounds, three assists and three turnovers. But the important thing is that he made an impact. And whether you start or not, the most important thing you want to say about any player is that they were able to impact the game. Johnson impacted the game Friday night against Eastern Illinois. The point is that with 22 minutes, Johnson still tied for the second most minutes played by an IU player Friday with Troy Williams at 22. Yogi Ferrell played 28 to lead the way. But even though he didn’t start, Johnson was a big factor off the bench. Johnson was asked about his mindset coming in off the bench in the opener. “Just pretty much keeping the same mind-set as I had when I was starting,’’ Johnson said. “Just trying to come in the game and do whatever needs to be done to impact the game.’’ Johnson said there were a lot of things he really liked Friday about coming off the bench. “I think it’s all in being ready to play, especially off the bench,’’ Johnson said. “It’s a unique position to be in because you et to see how the game is being played, how the refs are calling game so you get to come in and make adjustments and try to impact the game.’’ IU coach Tom Crean said he hasn’t thought a lot about lineups just yet. “I look at (Robert) as a starter, I really do,’’ Crean said. “Like I said before, we want to be two-deep, and when a guy is two-deep and can play numerous positions like he can, it creates even that much more value. But he’s one of our best defenders as is Yogi. “So we’ve got to look at matchups. We’ve got to look at it ahead of time. What did he play, 22 minutes? He’s very efficient shooting the ball. He’s getting better and better. He’s as valuable as anybody else that we put out there.’’ Johnson’s double-digit scoring effort was the 13th of his IU career. He has scored more than 20 twice with a career-high of 21 last season against Texas Southern. His fourth 3-point field goals marks the third time in his career that he has hit four or more 3’s in a game. His career-high was five in a 5 for 8 shooting performance against Minnesota last season at Assembly Hall.

Robert Johnson started all but one game in his freshman season at Indiana. But Friday night in the season opener against Eastern Illinois he proved he can have an impact coming off the bench, too. He had 12 points and hit four 3-pointers in IU's 88-49 victory over Eastern Illinois. Robert Johnson started 33 of the 34 games he played at Indiana last season as a freshman.   He averaged 27 minutes per game and 27.7 in Big Ten play.   But fast forward to the 2015-16 season and Johnson was coming off the bench Friday night in the season-opening 88-49 victory over Eastern Illinois at Assembly Hall.   I believe it was Errek Suhr on the IU Radio Broadcast who made a really good point though. Basically, he said just think about how good Indiana could be if you had a player of Johnson’s caliber able to come off the bench.   Think about what that says about this Indiana basketball team and the depth it possesses. And it’s really true. Johnson played 22 minutes off the bench Friday night and was one of IU’s six players in double figures. He scored 12 points on 4 of 8 shooting and was 4 of 6 from 3-point range. He had two rebounds, three assists and three turnovers.   But the important thing is that he made an impact. And whether you start or not, the most important thing you want to say about any player is that they were able to impact the game.   Johnson impacted the game Friday night against Eastern Illinois.   The point is that with 22 minutes, Johnson still tied for the second most minutes played by an IU player Friday with Troy Williams at 22. Yogi Ferrell played 28 to lead the way. But even though he didn’t start, Johnson was a big factor off the bench.   Johnson was asked about his mindset coming in off the bench in the opener.   “Just pretty much keeping the same mind-set as I had when I was starting,’’ Johnson said. “Just trying to come in the game and do whatever needs to be done to impact the game.’’   Johnson said there were a lot of things he really liked Friday about coming off the bench.   “I think it’s all in being ready to play, especially off the bench,’’ Johnson said. “It’s a unique position to be in because you et to see how the game is being played, how the refs are calling game so you get to come in and make adjustments and try to impact the game.’’   IU coach Tom Crean said he hasn’t thought a lot about lineups just yet.   “I look at (Robert) as a starter, I really do,’’ Crean said. “Like I said before, we want to be two-deep, and when a guy is two-deep and can play numerous positions like he can, it creates even that much more value. But he’s one of our best defenders as is Yogi.   “So we’ve got to look at matchups. We’ve got to look at it ahead of time. What did he play, 22 minutes? He’s very efficient shooting the ball. He’s getting better and better. He’s as valuable as anybody else that we put out there.’’   Johnson’s double-digit scoring effort was the 13th of his IU career. He has scored more than 20 twice with a career-high of 21 last season against Texas Southern.   His fourth 3-point field goals marks the third time in his career that he has hit four or more 3’s in a game. His career-high was five in a 5 for 8 shooting performance against Minnesota last season at Assembly Hall. [url=https://btownbanners.com/page/index.html/_/basketball/robert-johnson-comes-up-big-off-the-bench-in-wi-r251]Click here to view the article[/url]

Indiana passed the first test Friday night against Eastern Illinois. Well, maybe not a test. More like a pop quiz but the reality is that the No. 15 ranked team in the nation did exactly what it was supposed to do against an overmatched opponent like it faced in Eastern Illinois. Spin the Panthers any way you want but Eastern Illinois is a team that is picked to finished somewhere in the middle of the Ohio Valley Conference. Eight of its players are freshmen or sophomores. They are young, undersized and looked the part Friday night. But the mark of a good basketball team is to be able to face an opponent like that one, step on their throats early and never let them feel as if they were in the game. Yes, Eastern Illinois led by three, 5-2, with 18:18 to play. By halftime though, the Indiana lead was 32 at 49-17. The Hoosiers never let Eastern Illinois back in the game and led by as many as 42 in the second half. The point is Indiana did exactly what it was expected to do. It brought the hammer down on an opponent that it shouldn’t have had a great amount of trouble with. There were plenty of good things that happened in this one. A few of those are as follows: 1. IU WAS DOMINANT INSIDE: How many times did we say that last year? Not many. Maybe not any. But in this one, Thomas Bryant and Max Bielfeldt got big inside and wanted the ball. And when they got it they knew what to do with it. They combined to make all seven of their shots from the field and combined for 22 points and 17 rebounds. That’s the kind of production that IU will need out of its two bigs. 2. INDIANA SHOT THE BALL WELL: The Hoosiers hit 52.5 percent from the field for the game and that included 57.1 percent in the first half when IU opened by making 16 of 28 shots. 3. TWO-DEEP IS A REALITY: Tom Crean talked after the game about wanting his team to be two-deep and when you look at this squad you could make a case that you’ll have 10 players in the rotation. Those include Troy Williams, Thomas Bryant, Max Bielfeldt, James Blackmon Jr., Robert Johnson, Yogi Ferrell, Collin Hartman, Nick Zeisloft, O.G. Anunoby and Juwan Morgan. Nine of those 10 played between 15 and 28 minutes Friday night. Morgan was the exception with seven minutes. 4. THE DEFENSE LOOKED GOOD: The Hoosiers had their hands on a lot of balls and made a lot of defensive stops. They held Eastern Illinois under 50 points. How many times last year did Indiana hold an opponent under 50 points? The answer: Once. That was in a 95-49 victory over Savannah State on Dec. 6 at Assembly Hall. Were there things that were concerning? Sure. Free throws jump out. Indiana was 15 of 25. Williams, normally a good free throw shooter, missed his first four. Anunoby missed all three. IU turned it over 16 times which is too many and that led to 18 points. Fifteen assists on 32 baskets sounds low but IU scored a lot of points off second chance opportunities. The Hoosiers hit nine 3-pointers but only shoot 33 percent from distance. That means the Hoosiers missed 18 from distance. But it needs to be remembered that this was a first game, too, and some of those things happen on opening night. Overall, I thought it was a pretty good first pop quiz for the Hoosiers. The tests will be coming up before you know it. Creighton comes to mind next week, then Maui, then Duke. Still, this was a good first effort for the 2015-16 Hoosiers.

The one thing that impressed me the most about Indiana's performance Friday night was that it did what it was supposed to do against an over-matched opponent: Win Big. Indiana passed the first test Friday night against Eastern Illinois.   Well, maybe not a test. More like a pop quiz but the reality is that the No. 15 ranked team in the nation did exactly what it was supposed to do against an overmatched opponent like it faced in Eastern Illinois.   Spin the Panthers any way you want but Eastern Illinois is a team that is picked to finished somewhere in the middle of the Ohio Valley Conference. Eight of its players are freshmen or sophomores. They are young, undersized and looked the part Friday night.   But the mark of a good basketball team is to be able to face an opponent like that one, step on their throats early and never let them feel as if they were in the game. Yes, Eastern Illinois led by three, 5-2, with 18:18 to play.   By halftime though, the Indiana lead was 32 at 49-17. The Hoosiers never let Eastern Illinois back in the game and led by as many as 42 in the second half. The point is Indiana did exactly what it was expected to do.   It brought the hammer down on an opponent that it shouldn’t have had a great amount of trouble with.   There were plenty of good things that happened in this one. A few of those are as follows:   1. IU WAS DOMINANT INSIDE: How many times did we say that last year? Not many. Maybe not any. But in this one, Thomas Bryant and Max Bielfeldt got big inside and wanted the ball. And when they got it they knew what to do with it. They combined to make all seven of their shots from the field and combined for 22 points and 17 rebounds. That’s the kind of production that IU will need out of its two bigs. 2. INDIANA SHOT THE BALL WELL: The Hoosiers hit 52.5 percent from the field for the game and that included 57.1 percent in the first half when IU opened by making 16 of 28 shots. 3. TWO-DEEP IS A REALITY: Tom Crean talked after the game about wanting his team to be two-deep and when you look at this squad you could make a case that you’ll have 10 players in the rotation. Those include Troy Williams, Thomas Bryant, Max Bielfeldt, James Blackmon Jr., Robert Johnson, Yogi Ferrell, Collin Hartman, Nick Zeisloft, O.G. Anunoby and Juwan Morgan. Nine of those 10 played between 15 and 28 minutes Friday night. Morgan was the exception with seven minutes. 4. THE DEFENSE LOOKED GOOD: The Hoosiers had their hands on a lot of balls and made a lot of defensive stops. They held Eastern Illinois under 50 points. How many times last year did Indiana hold an opponent under 50 points? The answer: Once. That was in a 95-49 victory over Savannah State on Dec. 6 at Assembly Hall.   Were there things that were concerning? Sure. Free throws jump out. Indiana was 15 of 25. Williams, normally a good free throw shooter, missed his first four. Anunoby missed all three. IU turned it over 16 times which is too many and that led to 18 points. Fifteen assists on 32 baskets sounds low but IU scored a lot of points off second chance opportunities. The Hoosiers hit nine 3-pointers but only shoot 33 percent from distance. That means the Hoosiers missed 18 from distance.   But it needs to be remembered that this was a first game, too, and some of those things happen on opening night.   Overall, I thought it was a pretty good first pop quiz for the Hoosiers. The tests will be coming up before you know it. Creighton comes to mind next week, then Maui, then Duke.   Still, this was a good first effort for the 2015-16 Hoosiers. [url=https://btownbanners.com/page/index.html/_/basketball/analysis/analysis-a-good-season-opening-effort-over-eas-r252]Click here to view the article[/url]

It was only the first game of the season. A game against an undersized and overmatched opponent in Eastern Illinois. But no matter the opponent, the play of Thomas Bryant and Max Bielfeldt stood out following Indiana’s 88-49 victory over Eastern Illinois. Both players scored 11 points. Bryant had nine rebounds and Bielfeldt had eight. They combined to make all seven of the shots they attempted from the field. But most of all, they clearly gave Indiana an inside presence. Perhaps the inside presence the Hoosiers haven’t had in two players at the same time in a long, long while. Tom Crean said in the postgame press conference Friday at Assembly Hall that 72 percent of IU’s possessions went through the post. That’s a great statistic. And one that obviously needs to continue. What I liked was how both players not only got big and wanted the ball in the post but both had some very athletic moves after the ball got there in going to the basket. Now again, you can point to the fact that Eastern Illinois did not have much size. With maybe one exception the Panthers didn’t really have a post player. But Thomas and Bielfeldt did what you would expect big players to do in that situation. They took the ball to the basket. They hit the glass hard on both ends of the court and they dominated inside. At the very least, it was really encouraging to see. Indiana had dominating numbers on the glass. The Hoosiers held a 51-17 rebounding edge. On offensive rebounds, it was 21-6. IU had a 26-1 edge in second chance points. The Hoosiers outscored Eastern Illinois 42-20 in points in the paint. Good, good numbers for the opener. Eastern Illinois coach Jay Spoonhour said with IU doing such a good job inside it was deflating for his young team. “It's very disheartening for your team when you have guys trying to block out and get guys off the boards and you don't get it done,’’ Spoonhour said. “It seemed like they scored on every second-chance opportunity. Over the entire game they got two-thirds of the rebounds. You do not have to look very far to figure this one out. It does not change the outcome of the game, but it does change the deficit. If you're getting stops and you have a chance to run in transition, you have a better chance to score. But when you bust you're tail and do not complete the stop and then they score, it's a killer.’’ Spoonhour specifically singled out Bryant. “They have so many skilled guys and are such an unselfish team,’’ Spoonhour said. “The kid inside (Thomas Bryant), is going to be great. He is already great, but he is really going to be a good player. I'm just really impressed with how good they are as a team. They were very good and they played the game the right way.’’ Crean said it takes time to learn how to play together but he feels as if the Hoosiers are making good progress in that area. He thought it showed Friday night. “Well, we are all learning, especially with the forwards to play together,’’ Crean said. “And I think we have got a group of guys that, again, you want this. You want a group of guys that you feel very comfortable starting in the game; that you feel very comfortable finishing with in the game; and that impact the game throughout it. And to see what could happen more and more this year, like tonight: Tonight became a match-up situation for us because of the matchups that we wanted when we changed the lineup. We didn't decide to change the lineup until they put their lineup in, and that's maybe what's going to happen throughout the year.’’ Crean said the fact that Indiana is more multi-dimensional this season is huge. “Because when you have numerous guys that are multi-dimensional that can play together, you're going to be better, and Max and Thomas together or Max and Thomas separate, are key, key parts of our team.’’ Crean said. “So we've got to be able to do both.’’ Crean said he sees a great deal of upside with his frontcourt players in particular. “All our forwards are going to get a lot better because they are young and Max is young to us,’’ Crean said. “We certainly want and expect a huge role out of him this year and I think he's going to be capable of it, but he's got to learn and grow into it but this is a good start for both of them and for Juwan and OG.’’

A lot of players had strong games for Indiana in the season opening 88-49 victory over Eastern Illinois Friday night. But there was something special about the way that IU was able to dominate inside, even if the Panthers were undersized in the post. It was only the first game of the season. A game against an undersized and overmatched opponent in Eastern Illinois.   But no matter the opponent, the play of Thomas Bryant and Max Bielfeldt stood out following Indiana’s 88-49 victory over Eastern Illinois.   Both players scored 11 points. Bryant had nine rebounds and Bielfeldt had eight. They combined to make all seven of the shots they attempted from the field.   But most of all, they clearly gave Indiana an inside presence. Perhaps the inside presence the Hoosiers haven’t had in two players at the same time in a long, long while.   Tom Crean said in the postgame press conference Friday at Assembly Hall that 72 percent of IU’s possessions went through the post. That’s a great statistic. And one that obviously needs to continue.   What I liked was how both players not only got big and wanted the ball in the post but both had some very athletic moves after the ball got there in going to the basket.   Now again, you can point to the fact that Eastern Illinois did not have much size. With maybe one exception the Panthers didn’t really have a post player.   But Thomas and Bielfeldt did what you would expect big players to do in that situation. They took the ball to the basket. They hit the glass hard on both ends of the court and they dominated inside.   At the very least, it was really encouraging to see.   Indiana had dominating numbers on the glass. The Hoosiers held a 51-17 rebounding edge. On offensive rebounds, it was 21-6. IU had a 26-1 edge in second chance points. The Hoosiers outscored Eastern Illinois 42-20 in points in the paint.   Good, good numbers for the opener.   Eastern Illinois coach Jay Spoonhour said with IU doing such a good job inside it was deflating for his young team.   “It's very disheartening for your team when you have guys trying to block out and get guys off the boards and you don't get it done,’’ Spoonhour said. “It seemed like they scored on every second-chance opportunity. Over the entire game they got two-thirds of the rebounds. You do not have to look very far to figure this one out. It does not change the outcome of the game, but it does change the deficit. If you're getting stops and you have a chance to run in transition, you have a better chance to score. But when you bust you're tail and do not complete the stop and then they score, it's a killer.’’   Spoonhour specifically singled out Bryant.   “They have so many skilled guys and are such an unselfish team,’’ Spoonhour said. “The kid inside (Thomas Bryant), is going to be great. He is already great, but he is really going to be a good player. I'm just really impressed with how good they are as a team. They were very good and they played the game the right way.’’   Crean said it takes time to learn how to play together but he feels as if the Hoosiers are making good progress in that area. He thought it showed Friday night.   “Well, we are all learning, especially with the forwards to play together,’’ Crean said. “And I think we have got a group of guys that, again, you want this. You want a group of guys that you feel very comfortable starting in the game; that you feel very comfortable finishing with in the game; and that impact the game throughout it. And to see what could happen more and more this year, like tonight: Tonight became a match-up situation for us because of the matchups that we wanted when we changed the lineup. We didn't decide to change the lineup until they put their lineup in, and that's maybe what's going to happen throughout the year.’’   Crean said the fact that Indiana is more multi-dimensional this season is huge.   “Because when you have numerous guys that are multi-dimensional that can play together, you're going to be better, and Max and Thomas together or Max and Thomas separate, are key, key parts of our team.’’ Crean said. “So we've got to be able to do both.’’   Crean said he sees a great deal of upside with his frontcourt players in particular.   “All our forwards are going to get a lot better because they are young and Max is young to us,’’ Crean said. “We certainly want and expect a huge role out of him this year and I think he's going to be capable of it, but he's got to learn and grow into it but this is a good start for both of them and for Juwan and OG.’’ [url=https://btownbanners.com/page/index.html/_/basketball/bryant-bielfeldt-come-up-big-in-ius-88-49-r250]Click here to view the article[/url]

So what did we learn from Indiana’s second exhibition game, a 73-62 victory over Bellarmine Monday night at Assembly Hall? Quite a bit actually. Here are a few of my observations following an IU victory that really wasn’t in doubt for more than about the first 5 minutes. ***** WHEN INDIANA IS COMMITTED ON THE DEFENSIVE END, THIS TEAM CAN BE REALLY GOOD: When Al Davis hit a jump shot with 14:31 to play in the first half, Bellarmine had cut the lead to 9-7. A couple of the Knights’ first buckets seemed a little too easy, and the Hoosiers were scoring their points early off of second chance points. A follow jam by Thomas Bryant off a missed James Blackmon Jr. 3-pointer was one of those buckets and another was on a follow shot by Troy Williams that was actually the fourth shot that IU got on that offensive possession. But that’s when Indiana went on an 18-0 run. Over the next eight minutes and 14 seconds, Bellarmine wouldn’t score. It would miss all seven of its field goal attempts and turn the ball over five times. Indiana’s defense was turned up and the Knights were having difficulty getting off any kind of a shot. One of those turnovers, with 7:17 to play in the half, was a 30-second shot clock violation. Also included in that run was a tremendous blocked shot by Williams where he had the presence of mind to go and get the ball and throw a rifled pass to Blackmon streaking for a layup on the other end. That play made it 22-7. The lead would increase to 20 points at 27-7 before Rusty Troutman would score for Bellarmine with 6:17 to play in the half. This is what Tom Crean had to say about IU’s defense in that 18-0 run. “We challenged everything,’’ Crean said. “And when we were late in rotation we got great shot challenges. We rebounded the ball and we did a really good job of not over helping. We played the rules that we had on a couple of guys. We didn’t try and have it on midseason form with what our rules were on a couple of players. And I thought they did a good job of that. But I give Scott a lot of credit for what he did in the second half. He came out and spread the court. Our length and our quickness was more of a factor in the first half and then he really stretched us out which made our communication especially on the ball screen become a real factor. And it exposed us a little bit so we’ve got to get better. But I thought we did a very good job of being aggressive, we had a ton of deflections in that time span and we came down and got really good shots on the offensive end.’’ ***** BELLARMINE IS ONE OF THE BEST NCAA DIVISION II PROGRAMS IN THE NATION AND IT SHOWED: This is a Bellarmine team that is ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation in the preseason rankings in one poll, No. 4 in another and No. 5 in a third. The Knights were 31-4 a year ago and in exhibition play this season are 0-3 with losses to Indiana, Louisville (71-55) and Cincinnati (81-60). This is what Bellarmine head coach Scott Davenport had to say about the game. “What a courageous effort,’’ Davenport said. “We outscored them by 12 points in the last 24 minutes of the game. I am so proud because our guys never stopped for one second. We played 40 minutes. … Our goal tonight was to play with great poise in one of the best venues in the country, and we did it for 40 minutes. It was an absolute A-plus for us tonight, they are really, really good. When they shoot the ball, and score with that kind of dynamic it makes it really tough to defend. These three games, I’m the luckiest coach in the world to have three institutions like Louisville, Cincinnati and Indiana allow us to play in their tremendous venues. But I know this, this made our basketball team better.’’ This is what Davenport had to say about Yogi Ferrell and Troy Williams, who combined to score 41 of Indiana’s 73 points. Ferrell led IU with 21 points and also had eight rebounds. Williams had 20 points and eight rebounds. The two combined to hoist 30 of IU’s 58 shots. They also had seven of IU’s 13 turnovers. Ferrell hit 5 of 9 from beyond the 3-point arc. “You can challenge them,’’ Davenport said. “You can get them off a spot. You can try to get them. They make great shots. Yogi Ferrell played 33 minutes and you can tell his is a senior All-American. He is a great basketball player. He knows when to push the gas and when to back off. That basketball is in good shape when it is in his hands. They showed that down the stretch.’’ As for the IU defense, this is what Davenport had to say. “I thought their perimeter defense was great,’’ Davenport said. “As for inside, we did not do a good job of getting the ball inside so I cannot answer that. I thought the second half we tried to make be more aggressive by making them chase after the basketball.’’ ***** THERE ARE PLENTY OF AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT HEADING INTO FRIDAY’S REGULAR SEASON OPENER WITH EASTERN ILLINOIS: Indiana didn’t shoot the ball particularly well Monday, especially in the first half. IU was 12 of 32 in the first half, 37.5 percent. In the second half IU was 13 of 26 for an even 50 percent. The Hoosiers, with the exception of Ferrell, struggled from beyond the arc. IU was 8 of 25 from 3. Take away Yogi’s 5 of 9 and IU was 3 of 16 from distance. Indiana also seemed to lose focus after getting out to the early 20-point lead. Bellarmine was able to climb back into it and actually cut the lead to seven at 38-31 early in the second half. This is what Ferrell had to say when asked what he thought was going well and where he thought IU needed to improve at this point. “I feel like one great this we have is when we have a mindset to want to get a stop, we’re going to get it and that carries on throughout the whole game,’’ Ferrell said. “We take pride on getting three stops in a row. We had 11 stops in a row at one point in this game. So when we have that mindset that we need to get a stop, I feel like we can get it. But with that, you know, we don’t keep that same mindset the entire game and if we don’t keep that same mindset, then teams like Bellarmine are going to gain confidence and guys are going to think they can score on us and that’s definitely not something we want to do. “I’d say offensively I feel like we’re doing a great job moving the ball but we definitely need to cut down on turnovers. But I feel like offensively we’re sharing the ball very well.’’ NOTE: Beginning this week at BtownBanners, we hope to start having daily basketball stories. Prior to game we’ll have a Scouting Report that Derek Dant will do on the opposing team. On game day, we’ll have a story from Larry Small that looks at the keys to that game. After every game we’ll have analysis from different people and different angles. Hopefully, we’ll provide you with the kind of content you’re looking for.

The last time Indiana was 4-0 in football, Operation Desert Storm was just beginning as the United States and the UK sent troops to Kuwait. Some of the popular films were Home Alone, Ghost, Pretty Woman and The Hunt for Red October. A gallon of gas cost $1.34. And it had only been three years since Indiana had last won a national championship in basketball. The point is being 4-0 is significant for the Hoosiers. And after hanging on to beat Wake Forest 31-24 Saturday afternoon in Winston-Salem, N.C., Indiana is 4-0 for the first time since 1990. And 4-0 is a significant milestone for Indiana football. Now the Hoosiers just have to take care of business from this point on and IU fans will have the opportunity to watch their team play football beyond Dec. 1 for just the third time in more than 20 years. Quick quiz: What are the two years since 1994 where Indiana has played football beyond Dec. 1? The answer: 2001 and 2007. The 2007 season was the Insight Bowl. The 2001 season was when the IU-Kentucky game was postponed because of 9-11 and played in the first week of December. That game was also noteworthy because it was Cam Cameron’s final game at IU. But I digress. For as long as I can remember everyone has always had the same formula for Indiana football. Win your four non-conference games and find a way to win at least two Big Ten games and you’ll go to a bowl game. Take a look at IU’s final eight games of the regular season and it appears there are two or three games that IU should be favored in. Rutgers, Maryland and Purdue, you would think any way, would be games that IU could win. And there are other games where the Hoosiers should have a chance to pull off an upset. But once again, none of it matters at all if Indiana isn’t 4-0 heading into next week’s game against top-ranked Ohio State. Saturday, from my birds-eye view from the radio booth at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem, I thought Indiana looked particularly impressive for three quarters against Wake Forest. The fourth quarter I felt that the IU defense had a couple of miscues, the IU offense got ultra conservative and Wake Forest made a couple of big plays, none bigger than recovering the onsides kick. But I keep going back to one thing that is different about this Indiana football team compared to the other 17 seasons in which I’ve covered the Hoosiers. This team finds a way to win instead of finding a way to lose. No one is going to pretend that any of the four Indiana wins to date have been a thing of beauty. But no one is also going to argue that in year’s past Indiana would have found a way to lose at least one of these games and maybe more. But this Indiana team just keeps winning. Jordan Howard continues to be a beast. Nate Sudfeld continues to make enough plays. And the defense has done enough good things. Six sacks and constant pressure Saturday were something we haven’t seen a lot of out of IU for a long time. And the Hoosiers just keep winning. Now Indiana plays Ohio State Saturday at Memorial Stadium in a great situation for the Hoosiers to be in. Lose and everyone expected you to lose. In fact, I’ll be surprised at how many people will go out on a limb and pick the upset this weekend. But win and the momentum in this football program would be as high as it has been in decades. The most important thing I think most Indiana fans are hoping for next Saturday is that the Hoosiers can be competitive. Hang around, have a chance in the second half, and most of all don’t let it be a blowout. If those things happen I think most Indiana fans would be pleased. And it wouldn’t hurt if GameDay decided to come to Bloomington either but I’m not holding my breath there.

No member of the current Indiana University football team was alive the last time IU was 4-0 in football. That should put the feat in perspective all by itself. The last time Indiana was 4-0 in football, Operation Desert Storm was just beginning as the United States and the UK sent troops to Kuwait.   Some of the popular films were Home Alone, Ghost, Pretty Woman and The Hunt for Red October.   A gallon of gas cost $1.34.   And it had only been three years since Indiana had last won a national championship in basketball.   The point is being 4-0 is significant for the Hoosiers. And after hanging on to beat Wake Forest 31-24 Saturday afternoon in Winston-Salem, N.C., Indiana is 4-0 for the first time since 1990.   And 4-0 is a significant milestone for Indiana football. Now the Hoosiers just have to take care of business from this point on and IU fans will have the opportunity to watch their team play football beyond Dec. 1 for just the third time in more than 20 years.   Quick quiz: What are the two years since 1994 where Indiana has played football beyond Dec. 1? The answer: 2001 and 2007. The 2007 season was the Insight Bowl. The 2001 season was when the IU-Kentucky game was postponed because of 9-11 and played in the first week of December. That game was also noteworthy because it was Cam Cameron’s final game at IU.   But I digress.   For as long as I can remember everyone has always had the same formula for Indiana football. Win your four non-conference games and find a way to win at least two Big Ten games and you’ll go to a bowl game.   Take a look at IU’s final eight games of the regular season and it appears there are two or three games that IU should be favored in. Rutgers, Maryland and Purdue, you would think any way, would be games that IU could win.   And there are other games where the Hoosiers should have a chance to pull off an upset.   But once again, none of it matters at all if Indiana isn’t 4-0 heading into next week’s game against top-ranked Ohio State.   Saturday, from my birds-eye view from the radio booth at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem, I thought Indiana looked particularly impressive for three quarters against Wake Forest. The fourth quarter I felt that the IU defense had a couple of miscues, the IU offense got ultra conservative and Wake Forest made a couple of big plays, none bigger than recovering the onsides kick.   But I keep going back to one thing that is different about this Indiana football team compared to the other 17 seasons in which I’ve covered the Hoosiers.   This team finds a way to win instead of finding a way to lose.   No one is going to pretend that any of the four Indiana wins to date have been a thing of beauty. But no one is also going to argue that in year’s past Indiana would have found a way to lose at least one of these games and maybe more.   But this Indiana team just keeps winning.   Jordan Howard continues to be a beast. Nate Sudfeld continues to make enough plays. And the defense has done enough good things. Six sacks and constant pressure Saturday were something we haven’t seen a lot of out of IU for a long time.   And the Hoosiers just keep winning.   Now Indiana plays Ohio State Saturday at Memorial Stadium in a great situation for the Hoosiers to be in. Lose and everyone expected you to lose. In fact, I’ll be surprised at how many people will go out on a limb and pick the upset this weekend. But win and the momentum in this football program would be as high as it has been in decades.   The most important thing I think most Indiana fans are hoping for next Saturday is that the Hoosiers can be competitive. Hang around, have a chance in the second half, and most of all don’t let it be a blowout. If those things happen I think most Indiana fans would be pleased.   And it wouldn’t hurt if GameDay decided to come to Bloomington either but I’m not holding my breath there. [url=https://btownbanners.com/page/index.html/_/football/analysi/analysis-the-significance-of-a-4-0-start-r223]Click here to view the article[/url]

Here are my thoughts following Saturday’s 52-26 loss to Michigan State, that while closer than the final score, was still a game that Indiana didn’t play well enough to win. Sorry that it’s a little late being posted but I opted to drive home from East Lansing and work on it from home at a reasonable rather than sitting in the press box at Spartan Stadium and getting home really late. Here are the numbers that jumped out from Saturday’s game: · 96: Michigan State ran 96 plays in the game to 60 for Indiana. When your offense gets 36 more opportunities to win a game than you do, it makes matters much more difficult. · 13 of 20: The Spartan were 13 of 20 on third down, a 65 percent conversion percentage. Making matter worse, several of those were on third and 10 or more. Not being able to get off the field on third down is one of those things that can lead to a team having 96 plays in a game. · 24: That’s how many points Michigan State scored in the fourth quarter. Go back to the Rutgers game and in the last two games, Indiana has been outscored 46-0 in the fourth quarter. How can any team expect to win football games when faced with a statistic like that one. · 5: This is the number of points that Indiana left on the field with special teams. Griffin Oakes, who rarely misses any kicks, missed two extra points (one that hit the left upright and the other that sailed wide right) and then a 42-yard field goal with the wind at his back. When the score was 31-26 Michigan State, it should have been 31-all. · 38:59: That was Michigan State’s time of possession in the game compared to 21:01 for IU. I know that Buck Suhr says on the radio that Indiana doesn’t care about time of possession because it can score so quickly. But the IU defense has to care about being on the field for nearly two thirds of the game. · 4: That’s how many games that Indiana has now lost in a row after winning its first four. And after a bye next week, IU gets to play Iowa and Michigan back-to-back at home. Oh boy. What does it all mean? It means that in its current state, the Indiana football program has to make some changes during the bye week in terms of its tempo in games. Expecting a defense to be on the field that many plays is expecting too much. Perhaps the Hoosiers should slow things down just a tad on offense. That’s one thought. Here’s a few more: *** Indiana has to get off the field on third down. Saturday the coverage by the secondary wasn’t awful but Michigan State kept making play after play. The DB’s need to do more than shadow receivers down the field. They also need to look back at the ball every once in a while rather than just allow opponents to go up and make acrobatic catches. *** Indiana needs to take better advantage of Jordan Howard, Devine Redding and now Mike Majette. There were a couple of third and short situations that needed to be runs to move the chains but instead were passes down field. Some worked, some didn’t. Perhaps Howard and Redding still aren’t 100 percent healthy and that may have added to the game plan but the reality is that when you can pound the ball inside a few times and then use a player like Howard to make a good play action fake, the passing game really has a chance to explode. *** Special teams has to improve. Oakes needs to make kicks. Erich Toth needs to angle balls inside the 10 rather that booting them out of the end zone, and return guys like Damon Graham need to hold onto the football and get to it more quickly. In a program where the phrase “small margin for error” is often repeated, you cannot afford to have special teams breakdowns. Indiana has two weeks before it plays again against Iowa on Nov. 7. The Hoosiers need to get some things fixed during this bye week.

There were five or six numbers that jumped off the statistics sheet Saturday evening following Indiana's 52-26 loss to No. 7 Michigan State in East Lansing. Here's a few of those numbers and their significance. Here are my thoughts following Saturday’s 52-26 loss to Michigan State, that while closer than the final score, was still a game that Indiana didn’t play well enough to win.   Sorry that it’s a little late being posted but I opted to drive home from East Lansing and work on it from home at a reasonable rather than sitting in the press box at Spartan Stadium and getting home really late.   Here are the numbers that jumped out from Saturday’s game:   · 96: Michigan State ran 96 plays in the game to 60 for Indiana. When your offense gets 36 more opportunities to win a game than you do, it makes matters much more difficult. · 13 of 20: The Spartan were 13 of 20 on third down, a 65 percent conversion percentage. Making matter worse, several of those were on third and 10 or more. Not being able to get off the field on third down is one of those things that can lead to a team having 96 plays in a game. · 24: That’s how many points Michigan State scored in the fourth quarter. Go back to the Rutgers game and in the last two games, Indiana has been outscored 46-0 in the fourth quarter. How can any team expect to win football games when faced with a statistic like that one. · 5: This is the number of points that Indiana left on the field with special teams. Griffin Oakes, who rarely misses any kicks, missed two extra points (one that hit the left upright and the other that sailed wide right) and then a 42-yard field goal with the wind at his back. When the score was 31-26 Michigan State, it should have been 31-all. · 38:59: That was Michigan State’s time of possession in the game compared to 21:01 for IU. I know that Buck Suhr says on the radio that Indiana doesn’t care about time of possession because it can score so quickly. But the IU defense has to care about being on the field for nearly two thirds of the game. · 4: That’s how many games that Indiana has now lost in a row after winning its first four. And after a bye next week, IU gets to play Iowa and Michigan back-to-back at home. Oh boy.   What does it all mean?   It means that in its current state, the Indiana football program has to make some changes during the bye week in terms of its tempo in games. Expecting a defense to be on the field that many plays is expecting too much. Perhaps the Hoosiers should slow things down just a tad on offense.   That’s one thought. Here’s a few more:   *** Indiana has to get off the field on third down. Saturday the coverage by the secondary wasn’t awful but Michigan State kept making play after play. The DB’s need to do more than shadow receivers down the field. They also need to look back at the ball every once in a while rather than just allow opponents to go up and make acrobatic catches.   *** Indiana needs to take better advantage of Jordan Howard, Devine Redding and now Mike Majette. There were a couple of third and short situations that needed to be runs to move the chains but instead were passes down field. Some worked, some didn’t. Perhaps Howard and Redding still aren’t 100 percent healthy and that may have added to the game plan but the reality is that when you can pound the ball inside a few times and then use a player like Howard to make a good play action fake, the passing game really has a chance to explode.   *** Special teams has to improve. Oakes needs to make kicks. Erich Toth needs to angle balls inside the 10 rather that booting them out of the end zone, and return guys like Damon Graham need to hold onto the football and get to it more quickly. In a program where the phrase “small margin for error” is often repeated, you cannot afford to have special teams breakdowns.   Indiana has two weeks before it plays again against Iowa on Nov. 7. The Hoosiers need to get some things fixed during this bye week. [url=https://btownbanners.com/page/index.html/_/football/analysi/analysis-some-troubling-numbers-from-the-michi-r241]Click here to view the article[/url]

Michigan State 34, Indiana 24

My first thought following Indiana’s gift-wrapped, come-from-ahead, 55-52 loss to Rutgers at home Saturday was that with Indiana football there have always been a couple of hard and fast truths. 1. It’s never easy. 2. No lead is ever safe. 3. Always expect the unexpected. They all came into play Saturday in Bloomington. Indiana had a 25-point lead with 5:25 to play in the third quarter after the Hoosiers opened the half scoring 28 unanswered points and took a 52-27 lead. At most college football programs, it’s game over. Warm up the Rutgers busses, put in some guys that normally don’t get to play and watch the individual statistics soar. But we all know another truth about Indiana football: IU is not most college football programs. Just when you think you’ve seen it all with the Hoosiers, something like this happens. You can blame Kevin Wilson (and many will). You can blame some poor decisions by Nate Sudfeld late in the game (and many will). You can blame a defense that in key situations simply can’t get out of its own way (and many will). You can blame an inopportune bad snap on a punt that resulted in a touchdown. You can blame lack of recognition on a Rutgers fake punt in the first half. You can blame not getting enough consistent pressure on the quarterback throughout the game. There was plenty of blame to go around. But the reality here is that this game should never have had a chance to get to where Rutgers could come back and win. Good teams and good programs just do not allow that to happen. But once again Indiana football proved that when it comes to those two areas IU is 0-for-2. So who deserves the most blame for this debacle? Wilson? If you are one of those people in the camp that the fifth-year head coach needed to find a way to win this season and if not could potentially be shown the door, then you’d have to think a loss like this could provide the straw that broke the camel’s back. No question about it. This was an epic loss. This was one that should have been in the books and yet you let it slip away. Indiana should be 5-2 right now with five games to play and needing just one win to get bowl eligible. Instead, IU will likely have to beat both Maryland and Purdue on the road to get to a bowl game. While a possibility, that’s far from a sure thing. But back to Wilson. I remember thinking back in 2010 after IU got ripped on the road at Wisconsin 83-20 that that one embarrassment was going to be tough for Lynch to overcome. And he was let go after the season. But I really felt that went IU left Madison that day that Lynch was a dead coach walking. If Indiana fails to win six games this year, when people look back at Saturday’s debacle will they think about it in the same way? It’s very possible. The other one was inexcusable for different reasons. This was simply a game that once you got ahead 52-27 you simply could not afford to lose. And when the Hoosiers did … well, draw your own conclusions. After IU took that big lead, Rutgers came back and scored pretty quickly to make it 52-33. But that should still be a lead, with 17 minutes to play in the game that should be safe. The next time IU got the ball I thought the Hoosiers got a little conservative. Mike Majette, running the ball for the first time in a game this season on Saturday, got the call on running plays on both first and second down. One went for minus-1 and the other for no gain. Now, you’re in third and long and you get an 8-yard completion. On the first play of the fourth quarter, after deciding to punt from the Rutgers 46, there was a high snap over the head of Erich Toth and the senior didn’t have his finest moment on the play. He tried to pick it up but instead the ball was knocked away and eventually returned the other way for a touchdown. Now it was 52-39. When IU got the ball back the next time, it looked as the Hoosiers were going to be aggressive again. Ricky Jones caught passes of 13 and 23 yards to get the ball to the Rutgers 40. But then Sudfeld had an incomplete pass, Devine Redding had a 1 yard gain, and on third down Sudfeld threw a pick. On this play, the defender made a nice break on the ball and made an acrobatic grab. Still, Rutgers got the ball back and scored on the next possession to make it 52-46. This is when I thought Sudfeld really made his most questionable throw of the game. On first down at the IU 25, leading by six points with just under 10 minutes to play, Sudfeld threw a pass in the direction of Mitchell Paige deep down the left sideline. But there were three Rutgers defenders in the area and one of them came up with a pick. Rutgers needed five plays to go 63 yards and the game was tied. Indiana blocked another extra point to keep it at 52-all. But it was only delaying the inevitable. Indiana had a three and out and never saw the ball again. Indiana had a ton of superlative performances. Sudfeld had a career-high passing, the Hoosiers may have found another solid running back with the play of Majette, and three IU receivers had more than 100 yards receiving. But none of it matters because of the ‘L’. That’s the only statistic you could take out of this game. And ultimately it could be the only statistic in 2015 that separates Indiana from going to a bowl game.