HoosierFan1994

Woah!! You dropping some news there?

IU 69 Northwestern 62 TJD does his thing. Jalen plays a good game. I think Tamar Bates hits a few big 3's tonight.

Way I look at it, if he leaves and is projected to be a top 10-20 pick, it's going to help Indiana long term. Jalen wasn't thought of as a one and done coming in. I thought maybe two years. I feel Woodson could get a nice Transfer PG and point to Jalen (and even X even thought he's not an NBA player) and say "See, look how they did." Honestly, I wouldn't close the door on any '23 guys either. IU got Tamar in April of his senior year and Malik last May due to coaching changes. Woodson has feasted on that. So far I think Woodson is 2 for 2 on PG he's picked. Bodes well for Cupps and Newton.

Tamar Bates is due. Wasn't he one of the players suspended a year ago? I think he's the only guy of the 4 that is playing tonight. Needs to make up for it... If he doesn't play better he's not going to see many minutes when X comes back. JHS, X, and Trey all better right now.

Absolutely...why can't IU go on a run. Let's say they win 5/6 regular season games and win a few Big Ten Tournament games. They could be a 2 seed. At least a 3. Why not us?! As for health this is what should scare opposing teams. I know it's a debate, but Xavier Johnson makes this team better. Healthy Race/Geronimo does too.

If IU can win 5 of last 6 (not out of the question), it really sets them up well for a 3 seed in the NCAA tournament. I really want to avoid 4 or 5 seed. I think IU could play a tough 12 seed and then a tough 4 or 5 seed in the 2nd round.

Getting way ahead of myself but if they lose Thursday and IU can get these next three, good chance the B1G regular season is on the line at Mackey next Saturday.

Last thing I'll post tonight. This last month is the most fun I've had watching IU since the '16 season. Just feels like everyone would agree with that. A month ago I was close to writing this group/coaching staff off. Well done by them all. Saw Woodson say this after the game. IU lost these kind of games last year (Illinois, Wisconsin at home; Purdue on the road). They're finding ways to win these games (Minny, Purdue, Rutgers, now Michigan). B1G regular season is probably out of reach. Goal should be to build on momentum and play for seeding. I'd like to see them win the B1G Tournament as long as they get a good seed (2-3 seed). I'd hate to play three games in three days and then play a tough 12 seed in the first round on a Thursday. I'd like for IU to get a 3 seed. Probably will end up with a 4/5. I just think the 1-3 seed line your chance of winning it all/getting to the Final Four goes up. Don't get me wrong, after the last 5-6 years I'll take making the Sweet 16. Just hope this group can do way more than that. Trayce is going to end up there as one of the best. Where he stands will be determined how far this team goes.

In this last 9 game stretch Bates has had just two games where he has made multiple field goals (Michigan State and Ohio State). I wonder if him playing less has something to do with the teams performance? Galloway has just been so much better.

Yes. He needs to sort of accept a different role on offense. Jalen is the guy I want running the show now. Galloway deserves minutes too. But he makes this team better.

Yeah, no need to rush him this week if he's not ready. Would like to have him for the two road games with Michigan State and Purdue. Goal should be he's in game shape by the B1G Tournament. Tonight showed why this team needs him. Gives you a third option on offense.

Any guess when X is coming back? I remember someone, maybe you, saying to watch the Northwestern game months ago.

Even when Tennessee was around #3 I didn't trust them. I don't see them escaping the first weekend of the NCAA tournament.

I am too. I didn't get that one. Still don't understand CJ sitting. Right now I'll take him over Tamar.

Man..a win is a win. Need to start winning road games. Well done. 1) Defense was awesome the last 23 minutes of the game. Thought Geronimo did some really nice things on that end. 2) Trayce continues to carry this team. He makes it look so easy. He's developing into the leader they needed him to be. 3) Feel like I say this all the time when IU plays a close 50/50 game but they really could have used Xavier/Race this game. 4) Jalen has his head scratching moments but he stepped up in the scoring column when nobody else would. 5) I try not to be a negative guy, but Tamar Bates is so lost right now. He has no business seeing the court. Play CJ. At least until X comes back. Great IU teams win on the road. Need to win at Northwestern. Always happy when IU beats Michigan. Especially with Howard/Dickinson. Just don't like them.

Hot Take: I don't think Rutgers will be as successful with their incoming classes. Rutgers wins because of the kind of players they recruit. Do we really see 5 stars playing like this? I don't think so...Rutgers is the new Wisconsin.

Bingo. I don't care as much about who starts. It's who finishes. Race I think is seeing too many minutes but I feel he's made some big plays towards the end of the last few games.

He needs to be suspended a game. That was childish. With him doing it to Trayce that doesn't help his cause. I'm sure Woodson and company was on the phone with the B1G first thing this morning.

A lot of my friends that are IU fans think the same thing. I just go back to the UNC game. They both played awesome. I do think it can work. I think peak JHS/X is better than peak JHS/Trey. Trey is playing awesome right now. I think he's a starter next year.

Don't want to dive into it too much since we will have a whole offseason to talk about it at some point (hopefully the Tuesday after the NCAA title game), but it might be smart for Jalen to come back next year. He will be the guy. Could possibly be a top draft pick if all goes right. ESPN has him at 20. That's hard for a 19 year old kid to pass.

True. Count that one too. Woodson being out didn't help.

I think it's time UK and Cal divorce. I don't hate the guy like most do. But, he has peaked there. Losing to St. Peter's last year wasn't good. To me, that was the start of his downfall. He has a nice class coming in which probably keeps him there.

In the last 8 games really Maryland is the only one where this team didn't play with intensity. I'm confident they can win both if they play like they've been playing. Michigan is a tough place to go win at. Kind of a must win for the Wolverines. I think we lose a close one there and beat Northwestern.

A win is a win! Was upset with the end of the 1st half/around the 3 minute mark of the second half. But, these guys pulled through. We lose this game last year. 1) Been an IU fan since that '02 run. I think right now I put Trayce in the top four of the players I've seen IU have. Victor, Jared, and Cody are the others. Yogi is 5th. What a run he's having. Edey probably deserves NPOY but Trayce is #2. Lock for 1st Team All American. I think only Victor has done that in the last 20 years. Dude is doing what he's supposed to do. Put the team on his back. Zero off nights. 2) Team is showing its depth. Tonight, it was Miller that showed up. Hit some big shots and played tough defense. Hope we see more of that. 3) While I can't stand their style of play, Rutgers is tough. I think we could see them in that Friday 5 vs 4 B1GT matchup or Saturday 3 vs 2 game. I don't think they're built for the NCAA Tournament, but honestly I was more worried about this game than Purdue. 4) So glad there was no let down. We had Michigan last January after the Purdue win. Rutgers in December after the now not so big UNC win. 5) Credit to this coaching staff. I was really critical of them. I didn't think they were good enough. Winning 7 of 8 in the Big Ten is HARD to do. Let's hope they keep it up. Assembly Call guys said it best..great IU teams win on the road. Michigan, Northwestern, Michigan State, and Purdue. A split would be nice. It's possible too. Right now, we have a very good team. A team that I think finishes top 4 in the B1G, wins a game or two in the NCAA tournament. What makes this team Final 4 good? A healthy Xavier Johnson. Hope he's back in a couple of weeks. Would be nice to get him some games before the postseason starts. You would have an All-American Center with two All-conference PG's...that's a recipe for a deep tournament run.

I do feel good about the game tonight. I bet most of you in the Eastern Time Zone are pleased with the start time! Gotta hope the team comes out ready to go. To me, this game is just as important as the Purdue game, it just won't have all the bells and whistles. Rutgers is a very good B1G team. I don't think they are built for March success as they won't get away with how they play in the tournament, but they're going to be tough. It does help that one of their starting bigs is out.