LamarCheeks

Yikes. That was all ball. ... That's almost always gonna be a foul, but Justin didn't make any contact whatsoever.

So typical ... Down 9 early. We tighten up the D, have some decent possessions on offense and work it down to 2 ... Then we forget all that and it's back up to 7 -- and an OSU possession from 9 or 10. We just cannot ever sustain any run of success -- if you can even call it success.

Justin comes in and ... promptly dribbles it off his foot.

Again, Bonner: "Good drive by Smith, but he needs to realize when the shot's not there and kick it back out." That's true of everybody on our squad. We don't realize when something's not available, then make the proper adjustment.

On that long missed 3 by OSU, Green went right at the bucket, got stuck too far underneath and the rebound came out long. ... No. You find a man and put a body on him ... That should be so simple by now!

SSDD: Down by 9 just a few minutes in.

Dan Bonner: "Smith shoots 15 percent on 3s in Big Ten play. Maybe he should forget about that." LOL!

Not defending Crean, but keep in mind that disparaging post about him came from a Kentucky site. ... I haven't looked at any Georgia fan sites or blogs or posts (if there are any) and I don't intend to, but I doubt at this point they'll kick up much of a fuss about the basketball program. I wouldn't be surprised if on campus, about 90 percent of the students could tell you Kirby Smart's life story, while about 70 percent probably don't even know who Tom Crean is. LOL!

Hoosiers 68 Nuts 62

No B1G games tonight? Hell, we've got three Friday night conference games on our schedule. Let everybody else in on the fun, too!!!

IU 67 Chickenhawks 60

I did not forget about interleague play, but I appreciate the condescending, snarky tone. I feel NL teams have the advantage during those as well -- whether in their park or in AL parks. In AL parks, they get a hitter they normally wouldn't have. In NL parks, AL teams lose a hitter and essentially, lose a much better defensive player (if they chose to play their DH in the field). And when it's time for their pitcher to bat late in games, they have to use a PH -- which they normally don't have to do.

I actually think the NL has an advantage in the World Series. NL teams have been playing the same way all year, with the pitcher batting -- which usually is an easy out -- and going through myriad pinch hitters late in games. When you suddenly play by AL rules, it's almost a bonus -- you get an extra hitter, and you don't have to waste a pinch hitter every time you change pitchers. ... Conversely, when Series games are in NL parks, AL teams have to bat a pitcher who hasn't hit all season, and decide if they want to work their DH in the lineup somehow. That will cost you a position player and could weaken your defense by having a guy in the field who hasn't played defense all year. Like the Red Sox in their appearances. You're certainly not gonna bench Big Papi in an NL park, so when he plays first base, you've lost a bat (the normal first baseman) and a good glove man (because Papi doesn't play usually play defense). ... Now, the Sox never lost a Series, so it worked out for them, but I think with the current rules, the NL has the advantage in the Series. That doesn't mean NL teams are always gonna win, however.

If you're going to add the DH to the NL, I would think you'd be fine with a 25-player roster. In most cases, after a starting pitcher is taken out of an NL game, you always pinch-hit for the reliever. That usually costs you a position player. If you have a DH, you don't need to waste a position player as a pinch-hitter every inning -- or every other inning. There are many AL games in which a pinch-hitter is never used.

What about Bob, er McBob? ... I don't want to see him start, but think he can provide a valuable 8-10 minutes off the bench. Is he good to go?

Stephen Bardo, perhaps taking a little shot at Dakich here. ... He also takes a shot at IU fans, which pisses me off a little. I never forgot about these guys. They frustrate the bejabbers out of me, but --- and maybe I'm a fool -- I'm back every game, either watching or keeping very close tabs on what's going on ...

BTN is doing a little bit of reminiscing about our 1993 team. It's a Flashback Friday thing and discusses if we would've won Banner No. 6 had Alan Henderson not gotten hurt. I say: No doubt about it. We nearly ran the table in the B1G and IMO, had the best team in the country. Even with Alan injured and very limited, we still reached the Elite Eight. And though we lost to Kansas earlier in the season, we would've beaten them this time. So my question: Which "one that got away" is most painful -- 1975 or 1993? I was a little too young to remember 1975, but vividly remember 1993 -- that was two years after I graduated and I was sure we were gonna win it all. I didn't include 2013 (bad coaching) or 1992 (bad officiating vs. Duke) or 2002 (lost final to Maryland), but I suppose you can include/discuss those -- and others -- if you wish.

I wonder if, when he does commit, he'll make a big to-do out of it, or just do like TJD did -- and drop a little note on Twitter?

All season -- even last night -- we give up 3s because we're getting lost or confused on switches or because when a guard drives, the wing defenders move in to help, leave their man and leave us vulnerable to a kick out to a wide-open shooter. Someone with a deeper understanding of Xs and Os will have to explain this to me: Is that just a hazard of the pack line, or are we still just not executing it correctly? If a kid is outside and just knocks down a 3 by shooting over the defender or creating his own shot, you can't always help that and you just tip your hat to the shooter. But on way, way too many occasions, the opposition gets 3s that are wide open because of our defensive breakdowns. At least it seems that way to me.

I had to work tonight, but was able to watch bits and pieces of the game -- without sound. I'm going back to watch it now and just saw Romeo lose his balance and fall into the lane on an MSU free throw. So the kid got another foul shot. Bilas says that the violation affects the rebound, not the shot, so Sparty (or the team not committing the violation) should get the ball instead of another FT. Is he on crack? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. "That's a rule in basketball that needs to change," he says. How many times does the shooting team get the rebound on an FT? I'm guessing less than 10 percent -- so how does that affect the rebound?

VCU 79, George Mason 63: Patriots were no match for the Rams. A foreshadowing?

I wonder: Does Izzo still have a burr up his butt that his pal Crean got fired? I listened to about three-quarters of his post-game presser and it was all about how it was his fault they lost, they haven't been practicing well because they're afraid of injury, etc. The only bit of credit he gave us was to say that Devonte played pretty well. C'mon, man -- for the first time in a long time, our fellas played their a$$es off. And you wanna talk about injuries and getting hurt -- we lost probably our most important player in the first half and he didn't return, on top of missing Hunter all season and Thompson for about 99 percent of it. And De'Ron is very limited (though he was a lion tonight), McBob was a no-go and has been ailing all season and Rob sat out for about three weeks. Don't cry to me about injuries. We're the poster child for wounded hoopsters.

Archie for President!!!

Too much dribbling, Devonte!