Aaron

Can't beat Iowa without getting into track meet. When you miss bunnies you can't win out score them. Team's season is at a crossroads and we will see what path IU takes. Everything still in front of you but today is bad. This is another game though where a 75% Holmes is a killer. She is to slow to keep up with a speedy Hawkeye team and Czinano is an elite post player. When Holmes is healthy she can take Czinano or another big one on one limit them. A gimpy Holmes either is dominated by Czanano one on one or they double team her opening up others including Clark.

Chloe Moore-McNeil who has come on late this season.

IU falls 9-0. I have questions about the starting pitching but don't want to overreact to first game

Reese Sharp was absolutely excellent for three innings with seven strikeouts and was in complete control. Than in his fourth inning he got tired out and gave up a couple runs. A new guy Ryan Craft came in and cleaned it up nicely with three more strikeouts. Sharp is exhibit A of how many terrific guys we have for 1-3 innings of short relief but if they go longer they run out of gas. I repeat what is the plan for starting pitching and guys who can eat innings? We have the bullpen guys for shorter relief. If this is not answered team will really struggle regardless even if offense gets it going and bullpen is strong which I think is very likely. 8-0 after 7.

I have no idea how IU is going to be able to field a respectable starting pitching staff this year. Mudungo had zero command and its now 6-0 in 4th with bases loaded. I like the arms in the pen but they all are short relief. If Mudungo is going to pitch like this we have issues. 3+ innings zero command of his pitches and six runs. Tomorrow's starter is Jack Perkins who was worse than Mudungo was today at Louisville last year. I have no idea how you can expect him to get better if your best pitcher has gotten worse this year. Mercer doesn't even feel comfortable naming someone for Sunday yet. I think you can get offense going at some point and short relief guys are solid, but if you can't put a starting staff together there is big issues. IU lost its entire starting staff after 2019 but guys behind developed into quality starters for 2020 and 2021. If Glant can't develop the guys behind the 2021 starters like Parker did Mercer just screwed the program over with this hire. How Mudungo goes from solid pitcher in limited role and completely in control to a guy with no command is unacceptable for everyone involved. Bierman had this role three years ago Mudungo had last year and developed into a stud starter from the get go in 2020. Mudungo has gotten worse. Sharp came in and cleaned it up beautifully. Like I said I have zero issues or questions with our short relief guys and Sharp is one of them. However, I would love to know who IU can throw for multiple innings as a starter who can be good if this is how Mudungo looks. Command issues will be a problem against anyone. Regardless how good Clemson is.

And now Mudungo gives up a solo HR to their number nine hitter. Either his pitches are being teed up or wild. I have major questions about how Mudungo has gotten so much worse and its something the staff better figure out. His stuff just does not look as strong out of his arm and that is on Glant. He has the talent and the arsenal to be good and instead he is worse. Better get this figured out fast for what should be far and away your best pitcher.

If this is what the new team is going to do we have major issues. Top of 1st team was overpowered by Clemson pitcher easily. However, no idea what has happened to Mudungo and he is very wild and when he does get it over plate he is getting shelled. You are supposed to develop a player like him into a Friday Starter much like you did Behrman in same role previously and instead he looks much worse. The offense can be fixed and I am not going to panic over one inning, but if Mudungo is going to pitch like this I have lot of questions about our new pitching coach. This is a guy who is projected as a high pick next year and if he has gotten worse that is on the staff and I have questions about who Mercer is hiring. A guy like Mudungo should get better after so much promise. Not lose command of his stuff. Parker constantly developed guys to keep getting better and if Glant is going to make the young stars worse he can go away. 3-0 Clemson after 1. Hopefully this team can work out early bugs, but first inning is a huge problem (especially Mudungo) if we have any indications.

Update: Per the HT's Seth Tow, Berger is definitely coming back. No word on Gulbe if she is undecided and going through senior day in case she decides to leave once makes decision or if she 100% has decided to move on.

Update: Per the HT's Seth Tow, Berger is definitely coming back. No word on Gulbe if she is undecided and going through senior day in case she decides to leave once she makes that decision or if she 100% has decided to move on.

Yeah not sure what this means in terms of Gulbe and Berger who have another year if they want it. Will be interesting to see tomorrow.

Hold on that's a big proclamation that may not be accurate for a couple reasons. First off IU is likely to host NCAA Tournament games in Assembly Hall, so all will have at least one and hopefully two more games there in postseason this year. Secondly, Cardano-Hillary and Patberg are indeed out of eligibility and done as you indicated and Waggoner indicated she is also moving on. However, it is very noteworthy that both Gulbe and Berger have a year of eligibility left if they want it but only Gulbe is going through senior day. Not sure if this means Berger has decided to come back and Gulbe is moving on but this is worth watching tomorrow on both of their decisions.

This graphic is more interesting because it includes Gulbe but not Berger. Wonder if this means Gulbe has decided to move on and Berger come back another year.

Maryland beating OSU as they did very much keeps IU alive for conference title and they have three different ways they can win it (see above).

Nope. Since IU will play one less game due to COVID and title is won on percentage, team can only win it outright. There will be no sharing. If IU has one less loss they are the champions. If they have same amount of losses they finish behind due to less wins. Hoosiers can win it: 1. By going 3-0 they lock it up regardless 2. 2-1 with win in one of the Iowa games and Maryland and Terps beating Wolverines. In this scenario the game in College Park in season finale becomes winner take all for Big Ten TItle. If IU goes 2-1 by beating Iowa twice they still finish second behind Maryland in this scenario 3. 2-1 in any fashion wins Big Ten if Maryland loses to Michigan and Michigan loses to Iowa. If Wolverines beat both Terps and Hawks IU finishes second to them unless Hoosiers go 3-0.

Holmes looks like someone who has missed a month. Can get back into game shape now for two weeks so she is ready for postseason run/

What concerns me is right now Jack Perkins is the number two starter for Saturday. This is a guy who started at Louisville part time last year and was awful even against the weaker competition. Hopefully he has improved but if he is second best starter in his current form it's a major ouch. Mudungo I think can be a terrific lead guy on staff, but if Perkins is your second best it may be a rough year for starters and he is projected Saturday. Hopefully he has gotten better. I might go Bothwell and Tucker as other starters but a lot of unknowns outside Mudungo for staff. Bullpen is going to be strong. Offense is unknown: 1. Tyler Doans who transferred in was an awesome contact hitter at West Virginia for three years. Last year he really struggled. If he can restore what he did the first three years for Mountaineers you have a solid contact hitter at the top of your lineup. 2. Phillip Glasser was excellent at Youngstown State as a .300+ hitter. If he can carry that over to higher level competition in Big Ten you have another good contact hitter. 3. Colopy, Fougerousse and Vecrumba are back from last year and need to take a step forward after decent seasons 4. Matthew Ellis the catcher who transferred from JUCO was a hugely good power hitter at that level and if he can bring that to IU that is a guy who can hit 10 HR's+ with a high average 5. Peter Serruto is also a catcher who transferred from Rutgers. He was not a good hitter but is a good defensive catcher with Big Ten starting experience. 6. Other roles are unknown and will be filled by guys who played limited roles or are freshmen. If these questions on offense are answered positively Hoosiers should be fine. If the answers are not good offense will struggle.

Games are being streamed on ACC Network Extra which is available for free with any cable subscription (including online cable like youtubetv etc.) to ESPN by signing in with your account credentials. It cannot be accessed without a cable subscription of some kind. Here is the link to each game and all times Eastern: Friday 4 pm: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=f8fcbdba-bce5-42f7-879d-3a77abf24e5e Saturday 3 pm: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=1bc4e409-5c27-41e5-8f57-778667f7fae8 Sunday 1pm: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=7f51db3b-bb42-4f48-b0af-4f8ee886374e Also here is radio information for Clemson for those without cable that includes an online stream: https://clemsontigers.com/radio-affiliates/ Not sure yet if Griffin Epstein is traveling this weekend for an IU radio broadcast but will update when/if IU does. Always a good idea to check the opposing teams website for tv/streaming/radio info. Especially when IU on road.

You can also get rid of the troubled players in the offseason and change the culture then and you have a much stronger leg to recruit on after tournament appearance, to bring in better players both on and off the court after season. I am not saying Woodson was wrong and see positives and negatives both ways, but I think in heat of moment he disciplined them much like a parent would when they are really angry at that minute without thinking of the ramifications for the rest of the season or future of the program. Players are definitely most to blame and never should of done it in first place but I also think Woodson made the decision without looking at all angles on what is best for team from everything I have heard. He may be proven right and it leads to better players in future from all angles, but he also could of made a heat of the moment decision that could cost him dearly for how long he coaches program and how successful he is. Time will tell.

My thought is I hope the suspensions were worth it to Woodson if team misses tournament this year and he can't get program turned around. If that happens, it may have been worth it to him to do what he thought is right and I don't blame him, but him sitting those guys out may have changed trajectory of program for a few years and I think in heat of moment not everything was considered. Yes the five guys are most to blame and never should of been out past curfew, but when making the NCAA Tournament and winning that game are most important you have to think long term. Even if you have bad apples on this team and that is very possible, Woodson needs to ride them out and keep them in every game to win NW and then you stop the streak and win at NW and maybe last night and then nudge them out after season. Now team has turmoil and feels bad about self. If they miss tournament this will make recruiting and getting better players a lot harder. I am not sure Woodson did the wrong thing to be clear by suspending them, but may not have been best decision for future of program regardless of what they did (unless they were involved in murder or sexual assault but clearly that was not case). Get through this year, get in the tournament (this goes regardless of suspensions but you would be sitting in much better position if they let it go) and then boot the bad apples. Don't torpedo season and program over it. I have heard whispers on what it might be that suspended them (from more than just a message board) but I am not sure if it is accurate. If what I have found is correct then I am torn if Woodson did right thing. Positives and negatives to suspending and not suspending them if the circumstances surrounding are correct.

This is a sneaky tricky game, but beating a fading Purdue and Penn State team even on road is not particularly impressive. Losing to Minnesota is bad anywhere. Given NW's hierarchy in Big Ten that would be minimum expectation (they traded the Michigan game for Minnesota). NW is basically an identical team to MSU with one elite guard in Burton, and a bunch of mediocre players. IU took care of Clouden against MSU and blew the Spartans out, and assuming they can do same thing against Wildcats with Burton results should be similar. Winning these two home games is a must. Not for winning the conference (which will require beating Iowa on road a second time or Maryland), but for maintaining top 4 seed in Big Ten Tourney and double bye and a top-four seed in NCAA tourney. IU's next win will clinch at least a five seed for conference tourney and ensure better record than NW, MSU and Neb. Two wins will guarantee top 4 and the double bye since Iowa would be at five losses and IU at two. However, to get higher than that there is a decent chance IU will need to win either in Iowa city or Maryland unless they get some unexpected help. Win at Iowa City (if you win the home games) and you lock up a top-two seed. Beat Maryland and you probably win conference. Interestingly beating Iowa twice and losing to Maryland will probably not win you Big Ten and make team second. Losing in Iowa City and beating Maryland would win you conference if Terps win next two. The one scenario where IU can win Big Ten by beating Iowa a second time and losing to Maryland is if Michigan beats Maryland and loses to Iowa. If IU and Maryland win next two finale in College Park is for Big Ten Title regardless of results in between.

I think Holmes is probably back for either Maryland or Iowa but still a very hard stretch indeed.

Teams Big Ten Title hopes are in trouble with the way everyone's schedule sets up. Iowa is done pretty much but Maryland, Michigan or Ohio State is in excellent position to overtake IU now. If the Hoosiers can somehow win out they guarantee the title. The problem though is if Maryland does not beat Ohio State and Michigan in their next two games then Buckeyes or Wolverines are likely to win out and take the title from IU if the Hoosiers lose even once. If Maryland beats both of them, IU can afford to split with Iowa, but would have to beat the Terps or they would be Big Ten Champions over IU. It is almost impossible for IU to win the title without going 3-1 without one of the wins being Maryland or 4-0 if Maryland trips up to either OSU or Mich. I don't trust Iowa at all (or any team like them that plays no defense) regardless of how good Caitlyn Clark is, and OSU is less talented than the other top teams, but Michigan and Maryland are scary good and one of them could easily take the Big Ten from IU if they don't win three out of their last four at minimum.

For the last time they CAN'T. Women are playing Iowa at 4pm already that day in a huge game. It cannot happen. Maybe pay attention to a team that is a big ten and national championship contender and you would know that.

Again Assembly Hall is taken by the Women on Saturday for a huge game against Iowa. If you are an IU basketball fan, pay attention to them also as that game could very well decide if IU wins a Big Ten Championship. I don't want to hear again that the men need to schedule a replacement game on Saturday, when the Women already have their biggest home game of the year that day already.

Nope Women have a huge game against Iowa that Saturday so unless they want to travel Assembly Hall is taken. Would have to be Friday and doubt they do that.