Aaron

Game has been back and forth. IU has led by as many as 6 but right now up 1 midway through second qtr. At times game has been a sluggish defensive battle and at others an up and down back and forth score fest.

I agree with what you are saying mostly but don't think we need anymore validation and win or lose this one we will be no. 2 in conference if we win both our other games. Maryland's not losing again so we are pretty much a 2 seed in Big Ten Tourney win or lose today. Where this absolutely matters as you said is NCAA seeding and getting a 2, 3 or 4 seed is huge and win today could make a big difference there.

Why in world are they letting OSU wear Grey and IU White. That's really confusing.

Not confident on this one but as I said we can lose it and still be 2nd place in Big Ten if we win our last two. This game is basically for NCAA Tourney seeding and little else with OSU banned from Big Ten Tourney. Unless Maryland loses which is extremely unlikely we are going to be 2nd in conference and 2 seed in Big Ten Tourney win or lose this game.

Game is on BTN+ (subscription of course which I know many do not have but I do). Reason games are in Florida is weather. While it is nice now today it could of easily been 30 and snowing and Big Ten moved them to warm climate to ensure they could be played with no cancellations.

Maryland would be 16-1. They will only play one less game than us and beat us earllier. If they finish 16-1 and us 16-2 they are legit champs. By same token if they somehow lose to NW and finish 15-2 and us 16-2 I believe we would be co-champs with them awarded one seed based on head to head win but not positive.

Michigan got absolutely massacred by Iowa tonight in a game that was delayed five hours by a false positive test with Covid. This means we clinch 2nd place going just 2-1 down the stretch. Maryland however also blew out Purdue so very unlikely we catch them which we already knew. Looking like a 2nd place finish now most likely in Big Ten and just playing for a higher seed in NCAA tourney. A win over OSU may move us to a 3 and if we win out and get to Big Ten Tourney final against Maryland maybe a 2. Would love to be a 2 or 3 and avoid one seed till Elite 8. I think we lock up at least a 4 seed by beating Iowa, Purdue and one game in Big Ten tourney. In terrific shape overall thanks to our play and other losses around us.

This is what the Illinois game should of been. We did exactly what we were supposed to and got Holmes back on track which was the most important thing. We have now tied last years team with most conference wins ever. Really tough game Saturday but not the end of world if we lose it. Also, OSU will not play in Big Ten Tourney due to postseason ban which means we are all but certain to be a top 3 seed and either win conference or avoid Maryland till Big Ten Tourney final.

Again hitting the easy layups unlike Illinois so we have all but put the game away. Like last year, Illinois game appears to be a fluke.

Holmes is back! She has still missed a layup or two, but more often than not is back to her old self and destroying everyone in the post that tries to stop her. This is an important get right game for her as we need her at her best against a really good OSU team and a decent Iowa team after tonight. Not the best first half for the team, but not a bad one either and a 14 point lead is adequate. Key is knocking the Badgers out in the third quarter instead of letting them back in as happened against Illinois.

Good start to second quarter and IU expands lead to 11 forcing timeout. Cardano-Hillary hit a 3 out of the near corner off a nice pass, Holmes hit a layup on an offensive rebound with a nice spin and Berger hit a contested bank shot in the lane straight on.

Fine but not great first quarter. IU up 17-11. Also refs are inserting themselves into game way to much (big surprise) with to many foul calls and two reviews at the monitor for reasons beyond my understanding.

Another opt out or injury?

Saw that. Not sure why she jumped Brown in the rotation after hardly playing but certainly playing hard.

There will be live stats here: https://uwbadgers.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary BTN+ Televising here for those with a subscription: https://www.btnplus.com/game/indiana-at-wisconsin-on-02242021 This a dangerous game against a team with nothing but pride to play for. Wisconsin has been playing better lately and upset Ohio St. For reference one of the Wisconsin wins is against Illinois who we struggled with last week. Badgers are def better than Ilini but worse than everyone else. If Holmes can start making her layups we should win easily. Otherwise will be another dog fight.

Excellent result out of Big Ten for multiple reasons. Michigan beat Ohio State so this means we lock up at least third place just going 3-1 down stretch even if we lose to the Buckeyes again. We are two games clear of fourth place! Being second or third in league is huge so we avoid Maryland till conference tournament final which is massive. As it stands and is very likely to happen, we would play Michigan in Semi's which is a hundred times better and it gives us a real shot at the title game for first time since 2001 when we won it (and this time we don't need to win it to make NCAA's obviously). Also our win over Michigan will continue to boost our resume as we are still one of two teams to hand them a loss this season.

I think I have a better feel for Big Ten now also. You have the top tier of Maryland, IU, OSU and Mich which are a level above the rest. IU is 1-2 against these teams. You have a second tier of NW, Iowa and MSU who are tourney teams but not elite. IU is 3-0 against these teams. You have a third tier of two WTF teams for different reasons. Nebraska because they have beaten some of the best teams, but then turn around and lose to all the bottom feeders and as a result will probably miss tourney. Then you have Rutgers who has been good when they play but took 6 weeks to get a COVID outbreak under control so they have played very few games. IU is 1-0 against these teams. The final tier of teams are the bottom feeders and are truely garbage in Minny, PSU, PU, Wiscy and Illinois. IU is 7-0 against these teams. Our remaining schedule consists of @Wiscy in tier 4, @OSU in tier 1, Iowa in tier 2 and PU in tier 4. Also, outside chance of a reschedule against Tier 3 Rutgers and Tier 2 @MSU. Should not lose more than one but if we win out we might get a Big Ten Title but are in terrific shape now to finish at least second assuming we win the games we should (everyone but OSU).

Well I said IU needed Holmes to be herself down the stretch to win. I just figured it would require key post points. However, the defensive plays she made in last 30 seconds were the clinchers. Most fun game I have watched this year by far and first true to-the-wire battle against a top team that went back and forth all game. This is the type of games we will see in the last couple rounds of Big Ten Tourney and second weekend of NCAA tourney so glad we had a back and forth war finally to prepare us for that. Also, we shot the ball terrific both from the outside and FT line, and the rest of the starting lineup besides Holmes played top notch which is why we won. On a different note I think that Iowa reschedule is very timely for us. After that exhausting game team could use six days rest, especially against a solid Iowa team.

Wow! First true instant classic we have been in this year. Holmes still not doing anything but Berger and Patberg have been top flight to keep us ahead and IU by 2 with ball and a minute left.

Still in it because we are hitting shots. Michigan has shut down Holmes and forced IU to make outside shots and fortunately they are or they would be in big trouble. Holmes has been nowhere near as bad as Sunday but by no means has she been good, and to win this game probably we need her to be the elite player she was prior to Illinois to beat a top flight Michigan team.

Ok I figured it out and its neither of the above. Its that Iowa and Maryland need to make up a game and the only place it fit was two days after our originally scheduled game on Tuesday and they did not want to make Iowa play three times in six days. I think the goal is to get Maryland to 18 games (and they have missed a couple more for COVID) like IU so whoever wins it is on even footing and this was the way to do it.

Well that was quite a battle between two elite teams. I have seen IU play plenty of heavy weights over years but they always got punched out by the second half and they felt a half step behind. Now when we play top teams its an equally matched heavy weight battle I never thought I would see prior to last couple years. Terrific game and I look forward to watching second half. Also, surprisingly good three point shooting by us!

Not sure I get this but OK. Only reason I can think of for the change is: 1. Big Ten Network is already full with games Sunday (which it is) and they want to make sure game is on TV 2. Big Ten wants to make sure everyone plays in that last weeknight slot of games and with all the reschedules this was the only way to make that happen and ensure everyone has an opponent. Leave it to the Big Ten to do something that on surface makes little sense without explanation but not sure it matters either way to IU. If this avoids the reschedules with a red hot Rutgers team or having to travel to a decent Michigan St. team I don't mind.

Did Crean come back to sidelines tonight? IU won because of good shooting (especially 3 pt shooting) and clutch FT's. Almost lost because of turnovers and bad D. Game had a Crean script, not an Archie script. Very Weird:).

Hoping for the best but don't be surprised if we lose this one. Not confident in this or OSU game in Columbus. Maryland is clearly best team conference and then IU, OSU and Michigan are all close. NW, MSU, Iowa and Neb are the next tier and only other teams in conference that don't stink, although not sure what to make of Rutgers with their COVID pauses and how few games they have played. Speaking of Nebraska, in their true bi-polar form they beat a pretty good NW team but are still out of tourney picture because they have beaten every good team (besides IU and Maryland), but lost to pretty much every team that stinks at the bottom as well. That to me is an issue that needs to be addressed by the Huskers whether it is coaching or something else. If you are good enough to beat the best teams you should be able to beat the bad teams as well and the fact you are not signifies an issue somewhere in program that needs to be addressed as it helps no one in conference but especially Nebraska.