HoosierFan1994

Even though I'm a college hoops junkie I'm a huge NFL/Cowboys fan. Needless to say IU was on my second tv yesterday. I was able to watch enough of it. Not surprised they got off to a slow start. 1. Thank you Coach Woodson for not playing Trayce, Xavier, etc more than 25 minutes. No need to do that right now. I felt last year he would play those guys more than he should have in these kind of games. Kaleb and CJ both got some great experience last night. 2. Malik's minutes are going to continue to sky rocket. I think he is their 3rd best player right now (2nd if X isn't on..). Again, I love Race and what he brings. I'm not saying he should bench Race. Continue to start him. But maybe it should be a 20/20 ish split between minutes. 3. Much better game from Tamar/Geronimo. I was really disapointed with their performance on Friday night. Geronimo HAS to show up in the start of those big games or he won't see any action in the 2nd half. Tamar too. Trey will play over him and CJ could eventually. 4. I love this freshman class. I also think they all are back next year. Jalen is awesome. Potential is there. But he's not a one and done. Malik isn't either. CJ and Kaleb are going to have a huge impact on this program going forward. It's possible they are starters as juniors..maybe even next year. Well done Coach Woodson and staff on this class. Not bad for someone who can't recruit.... :) 5. Let's take care of business this week. Upsets can happen. Let's worry about UNC AFTER Friday. I'm just as excited for that game as anyone else. I just don't want a Fort Wayne situation happening all over again.

I know this isn't about the Miller family but I'll say this: I was able to meet Archie once. He was an extremely nice person. Stayed to get pictures with every IU fan in the room (there were lots of us). I don't think people can say the same about Sean. I watched them both on the Field of 68 last year. Two different people.

Great college basketball game last night. Xavier (the team) is much better than I gave them credit for. Now that IU beat them I'll be rooting for them the rest of the way. 1) I said before the game Indiana needed Trayce to have a B1G Tournament kind of game. He sure did that. I think in these kind of games he has to take over. He certainly helped his case for NPOY. 2) He made some dumb mistakes (tech, turnover under 2 min left) but X. Johnson played like an All-American tonight. I still think he's the best PG in the conference when he's on. 3) I don't care about who starts at this moment. But it's telling how much Coach Woodson trusts the two freshmen. I kind of thought Race would have a VJ3 like senior season. Verdell's numbers dropped his final year at IU partly due to more talent on the team. Malik Reneau right now is a better college player than Race. I think at some point Malik will see more minutes. He's currently 8th on the team. Still, Race is someone this team is lucky to have. He is as they say a glue guy. Rebounds well, passes well, defends well. 4) Outside of Malik and Trey I wasn't impressed with the bench. Tamar and Geronimo have got to be better or they won't see any playing time. If that's the case give CJ and Kaleb minutes. Someone said it earlier..If Geronimo doesn't show up in the first half he may not see any action in the 2nd half. You have Trayce, Race, and Malik. Only so many minutes at the 4/5 spots. I think Logan is much improved but I doubt he sees action in games like this. 5) I'll keep admitting I was wrong on Miller Kopp. A little disappointed to see him getting bashed on Twitter during the game by IU fans. I think I've came around to agreeing with most of you..who are you going to start over him? Geronimo isn't a 3. Bates has done nothing to show Coach that he can start. Huge test in 11 days. Lot of IFs but considering top teams are playing in big games next week IU could be #1 in the country if they knock of UNC. To even be talking about this after the disastrous previous 5 years of basketball before Woody is an accomplishment. Keep it going.

FWIW: On ESPN's draft rankings they have Jalen Hood-Schifino as the #54 prospect and Trayce Jackson-Davis as the #78 prospect. As many have said if Jalen starts to knock 3's on a consistent basis he won't be here very long.

If it acts up download the Varsity App and listen to Fish.

I think this game could be like the 2011 NC State away game. That win gave that team some confidence. Coincidentally they played the #1 team a week or so later..just like this team is. For me it simply comes down to Indiana playing a clean basketball game. If Indiana does that (limit turnovers, hit your free throws, shoot a respectable % from the 3 point line) they should win this game with ease. I think Xavier is a decent team, but not on the level I think this IU team is. Trayce will be the best player on the floor tonight. He needs to show up and prove it. That's been my only knock on him here. Sometimes he doesn't come ready in big games. I'd like to see Big Ten Tournament Trayce show up for these big 4 non-conference games. I think Xavier has a solid starting 5, but if Jones is out that is going to really hurt them. I favor IU because of depth. Xavier doesn't have a player like Jordan Geronimo or Malik Reneau coming off the bench. Only way I see Xavier winning is if someone goes completely off for them. Nunge and Freemantle are capable. Sky isn't falling if IU loses. But I won't be happy if they get beat..especially if it's not close.

IU 76 Xavier 68

I agree. Also, it's early, Duke and Kansas did not impress me. I thought UK and Michigan State all looked better.

I'm to the point now I'm going to be disappointed if IU loses to Xavier on Friday. I know they're without Jones tonight but I just feel Indiana is that much better. Also how tough is Michigan State? That Sissoko is going to be a problem. I think UK wins that game if Oscar doesn't foul out. They still are a top ten team. But..woulda coulda shoulda

LOL wow

I know the season started last week. However, lots and lots of big games between now and Christmas! You have the Champions Classic this week (I think Sparty can beat UK), Gavit Games, Main Event in Vegas (UCLA-Illinois, Virginia-Baylor), and Gonzaga-UK.

I agree about playing St. Peter's in the Elite 8 but they did beat Baylor, UCLA, and Duke. Almost Kansas. I think they are good but it's extremely hard to make the National Championship game in back to back years. I know they did it in 16-17. They have a ton of pressure. I don't think they are a very deep team. That is where IU has a huge advantage on a lot of teams. I don't think our next opponent, Xavier, is that deep. Now, I am still scratching my head as to why Gonzaga is #2. Outside of Timmie I'm not impressed with them.

Watched other teams last night for the first time. UK (without Oscar), Gonzaga (played outside), UNC, and Purdue. No reason IU can't beat any of them from what I've seen so far. UNC is terrible defensively. Gonzaga I think is extremely overrated. Timmie is a difference maker and that's going to help them.

Someone on here said this earlier, last year or the CAM era IU wins this game by like 20 points. They just destroyed the last two opponents. I happen to think Morehead will be around in March competing for a bid. Never apologize for winning! Takeaways 1) I'll apologize to Kopp. If he can even play half as good as he is, keep playing him. This is the Kopp I thought IU was getting last year. Well done so far! 2) NFL Reference..the Eagles are undefeated in large part to their performance in the second quarter. I feel through two games IU really catches fire around that under 12 timeout/10 minute mark in the first half. That second unit just comes in and takes over. Something to watch on Friday of next week and going forward. 3) Trayce has been "quiet" yet he is clearly our best player. Saw this comment on Twitter last night..Feel IU is a very good team with a great player. Not a team with a great player that carries them. 4) I appreciate Coach Woodson evening minutes out. Some of these guys are getting valuable minutes. This is going to help going into next season as well as this one. 5) Gunn, Banks, and possibly Duncomb would be rotation guys on most of the B1G. All 3 may not see as many minutes this year but for 23-24 they are going to be key guys. I think this is a really good team. I'm not there yet on if this is a National Title contender. They need to beat Xavier to prove that. Xavier, projected right now, is an 8-10 seed kind of team. If Indiana is top ten good they need to beat them. Now, if they lose a close game , the sky isn't falling. They have plenty of opportunities to prove it. My advice is for everyone to enjoy the season. It feels nice that this program has a fun team again.

Crowd was awesome on Monday night. I hope it is just as good tonight.

Bethune-Cookman seems to be a middle of the road team in the SWAC. Seem to be picked 6-8 out of 12 teams. McEntire to gets a lot of defensive praise. Joe French is a returning all conference player. Shot 44% from 3 last year. Davis and Garrett both averaged double figures. Harmon is a former top 100 recruit. Should be another run away win. If I'm nit picking for IU.. I hope X looks a little better....and that the starters get off to a better start. They like Morehead hang around a little bit until the 2nd unit with Jalen came in.

IU 87 BC 54

Woodson has that mentality of no matter the score he's going to coach his guys. He was not happy with Jordan after that missed dunk which was late in the 2nd half when they were up 30. I like that. That was just one example. Wonder who coach got this mentality from...

I don't want to be Mr. Optimistic but...the energy around the team/campus/crowd just felt different. Like 2011-2013 vibes. The last 5 years I've gone to at least one maybe two games at Assembly Hall during the season. It felt like I was at a church outside of the Wisconsin game in February. Not last night. Late arriving crowd but it was pretty loud. IMO, I thought it was just about at the level of the Wisconsin game last year..just my two cents. Also, this team is going to be fun to watch. Yes, it's Morehead State. They aren't a great team but I think they have a solid program. Also understand that they lost maybe their best player in the 1st half. However, this team is extremly athletic. I remember a lot of you rightfully saying during the tournament while watching other teams that IU lacked certain players. Well, I think we have them now. The two freshmen can take this team to the next step. I was one who engaged in the whole "start Malik with Race and Trayce" stuff. I don't care now. I trust coach Woodson to figure it out. My big concern is X trying to do too much. Coach said before the game that he needs to play within himself. Also, I can see Race's role dropping like VJ3's did his senior year. I just don't see him putting up double figures each night. Still, he's an important piece to this team. A few other thoughts..I've been hard on Kopp. If he does what he did in the 2nd half last night play him. He made a difference.,,,, Assembly Hall ushers are awesome people. Let you go on the court after the game. The lady with white hair who we always see behind the announcers table is one of the nicest people on the planet. She offered to hold our stuff while we got a photo at halfcourt.... Again, this team has a way to go. But, I can tell the talent has been upgraded. These guys got better in the offseason.

You are spot on. Crowd was awesome tonight. I got a good video in the second half after they called a timeout. I've been coming to a lot of IU games against mid-majors in November and December. This was by far the best crowd I've seen from IU in a game like this. I can't wait to see UNC come to town.

I'm extremely biased living in Kentuckiana but I think IU and UK have two of the best, most passionate fan bases out there. We just aren't as crazy as them :)

I didn't realize this but IU has 8 days off before Xavier. Only two games to get ready for the first test of the year.

Final Four Picks this year for me which is just a wild guess: Baylor, Creighton, Houston, North Carolina National Title Game: North Carolina over Baylor

Gameday!! Most excited I've been for a season since 12-13. Can't wait to be there tonight. In 2017 my wife and my dad started taking me to games around my birthday which is always at the start of the college hoops season. The first one was the infamous Indiana State game. Last year it was Eastern Michigan which was a close game at the end. Here's to hoping tonight's game is a rout for us. A little bit about Morehead State: Picked to finished second in the OVC. Looks like they lost a lot of producation last year. Their best player transferred to Auburn. Another kid plays at Minnesota now. Overall 7 of their 8 top scorers are gone. They were a tournament team in 2021. Spradlin is a solid coach. Best player looks to be Alex Gross who was an NAIA All-American. The rest of their starters will be players who transferred from around the country. Mix of D1, D2 talent. Coach Spradlin stresses an up tempo offense and to be more aggressive on defense this year. Looking at the projected starters from the Almanac IU is going to have a major size advantage. Give me IU 78-57.

IU 78 MSU 57