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Lets play Mack with 2 fouls. Need scoring. If he gets 5 fouls before the game ends at least we get something out of him.

Our turnovers are gross. We can't run a fast break very well. This officiating crew is also turrrrrrible

Such a BS call on Mack. I hate when bigs try to dribble the ball up the court in a messy situation. Ugly sequence. Can't let them get hot from 3!

Nebraska 82 IU 70

Would be a nice game for Mgbako to shoot like he did in the first half vs Kennessaw! Hope he's close enough to 100% tonight.

Nebraska site's pre-game read - Some interesting notes: Trey Galloway is a glue guy having to do more because of limited guard play. Freshman guard Gabe Cupps is mostly just bringing the ball up the court and shoots at a Benny Parker like rate. 6'8" 215# Miami transfer Anthony Walker is nice depth but he's yet another post player who doesn't take outside shots. The Skinny: 2023-24 has been a down enough season for the B1G to the point that Indiana comes in as a Quad 3 opponent. Nebraska is simultaneously looking to rack up conference wins at home while avoiding resume killing loses. Indiana's 3 loses have come against some of the best in the country...can Nebraska make the grade? Indiana presents a great style matchup for the Huskers. There won't be a ton of 3pt shooters for their defense to chase as the Hoosiers are one of the most 2pt heavy teams in D-1. Defensively, the Hoosiers should present plenty of open 3pt shots and expect Nebraska to take advantage. What could decide this one is Nebraska's ability to defend the paint without fouling as Indiana draws plenty of contact and Nebraska could be without Rienk Mast. Things could get real dicey if Nebraska has to play Diop or even CJ Wilcher at center. Despite their height, Indiana isn't an elite rebounding squad so it's possible for Nebraska to limit 2nd chance shots. This is a getable game for the Huskers and look for them to have a great shot in this one, especially with their edge in FT shooting.

Rutgers is an abomination of a state university. First of all, there are 3 regional campuses across the state - all are considered Rutgers (Camden, Newark, Piscataway - Pway is the "main" campus, but if you go to Camden/Newark it's still considered Rutgers, not really a distinction in the same way there is between IUB and IU East, at least I think, if that makes any sense...). The "Piscataway" campus is broken down into five smaller campuses across New Brunswick and Piscataway (two of the crappiest parts of NJ in terms of roads/crime, etc.). Can take up to 1 hour to bus between each campus depending on traffic. 40-50 is usual. Ultimately they have more than 35k undergrads enrolled, and those cities have got bustling industry/food scenes independent of the students (it's also got all the downsides of a small, non-noteworthy coastal city). The school rankings are OK and some programs are good, like at all big universities. So can kids go there and have a good time while getting a good degree? Of course. Is there a reason why - if not a majority, then a very large plurality - of NJ kids elect to go to Penn State, IU, UDel, Maryland, etc. over Rutgers? Yes, a lengthy list of reasons, actually. Since basically nothing about their basketball program (a historically very sad one, despite having a very fertile recruiting base to work with) makes it very appealing to a high-level recruit .. my only guess is $$ lol.

Hoping that X comes off the bench tonight... he pushed it vs. Harvard and we saw what happened. If he is not 100% I'd like to see if he can just give 10-15 mins of good perimeter D and scoring or playmaking. 9pm is gonna take sooo long to get here.

Only thing I can think of is maybe they have a strong NIL/collective system

It doesn't irk me whatsoever that you predicted we'd go 1-7. I can even see where you'd think it's possible (not probable though, to Stuhoo's points below). Message boards are for sharing frustration and excitement as a fanbase/community. Some are more pessimistic than others. That is perfectly okay - a good thing, even. What DOES make me roll my eyes and scoff is the red bolded text. At the time Chicken Little Sandwich made his 1/10/2023 post, we were 10-5 (1-3 B10). CLS was already willing to accept that defeat was inevitable and we'd lose the next 4. We went 3-1 (beat #18 Wiscy, @ #23 Illinois, and vs. MSU). "We are a bottom 4 B1G team now" We finished tied for second. "At 1-7, I think they're [sic] should absolutely be talks, and very serious talks, about Woody retiring." People have such bold convictions based on scenarios they've completely made up in their own mind. There's something to be said about letting things play out and watching a season unfold. There are a lot of twists and turns for every single team over the course of the season. That's part of what makes it fun to watch/root them on. A handful of people here don't seem to agree/find that way of being a fan enjoyable. To each their own... I know this program hasn't had the success we all want it to since the 80s, but some people are ready to throw the baby out with the bath water at the first sign of adversity. That's weak sauce. So sure, everyone can complain about our poor play or that they don't believe in Woody and why that is. He is by no means perfect - I don't think anyone believes he is, either. It's fun to hear other fans perspectives and speculate on things. But don't be surprised when others share an opposing view and let you hear about it when your doom and gloom or sunshine is demonstrably shown to be unwarranted. Just as some like to say "But we were told Gunn would be a stud" etc. (no you weren't) every time he plays poorly or our backcourt is being exposed, I may start saying after every win "But we were told Woody would go 1-7" It's all in good fun Mods, feel free to move to the Rant thread.

Chicken Little Sandwich

Is the big 10 about to be the football conference and the SEC become the basketball conference? Lol

IU 72 Nebraska 68

Yes. Viewership/fan engagement is generally higher for football. That's sadly why we likely won't get a college basketball video game again, even though football is making a return in July. Can't wait for that!

Other than the Michigan game, which Gunn undeniably had a huge role in helping win. At this point in the year, Gunn has shown us who he is, so why not believe our eyes. Still, that does not invalidate the logic that he has more upside to help win games (see Michigan). It's just that he also has the downside to help lose games. For that reason, I'm on board with Leal playing over Gunn situationally. I still think there will be short stretches where Gunn would be preferable. Leal brings a great presence against Kennesaw State but I sadly doubt he can do that for us in the B10. The Gunn v Leal "debate" ... if anyone really wants to call it that ... really just IMO highlights how brutally we needed a portal guard. Gunn was seemingly trusted to be a net positive this year. He is not. Same for Banks, who looks better, but still not bona fide rotation status. Sadly I feel like that, which was commented on by many from the start, will be the story of this season when we look back on it. However far we do go... that question will loom. The Woodson era may be defined by the next few months of conference play and spring recruiting cycle.

Normally I'd agree. This year though they look pretty decent.

OG and the NYC media is going to be .... I'm not sure, I can't really see it yet... He's either going to be seen as a quirky basketball player or end up being the Knicks face of the franchise and global fashion icon lol.

We've won every game we were supposed to and don't have "bad" losses... Disappointing (Kansas) and ugly (Auburn/UConn) yes. Metrics don't look great, B10 is down but plenty of opportunities to build a tournament resume. The schedule is favorable. If our perimeter defense and TO situation do not improve, we will lose a bunch of games. Adding back our most athletic guard will help. Regardless of how you feel about his play style, XJ is a net positive and much needed depth. We need to stay healthy. Ware, Reneau, Mack, Trey, Cupps, Walker, XJ in particular are the 7 we should roll with the most. As we said at the start of the year, this team would need some time to gel... at the end of December it still does, but has shown a lot of improvement and avoided the fate of other B10 peers in getting bad non-con losses. I could see us getting anywhere from 17-22 wins at this point. Next 4: @ Nebraska, vs OSU, @ Rutgers, vs. Minnesota ... Would really like to go at least 2-2 (ideally better, sure). @ Rutgers is a winnable game. Minny should be a win at home. OSU/Nebraska will be tough. Going to be a fun (and at times frustrating) conference season to watch!

Pumped to watch OG at the Garden. I'm sure RJ will be happy to be back home in Toronto. Quickley going too makes the trade stacked in the Raptors' favor at this point unless I'm missing something like draft picks. Will be interesting to see if they can somehow move Mitchell Robinson or keep him as the 3rd in their "big 3" with Brunson.

BTN+ production value is so low lol. The breaks with just dead air and the above basket cam on cheerleaders is kinda nice compared to commercials at least.

Interesting...

We should still be able to beat Kennesaw State fairly handily without Ware. Agree, start Walker. Think Sparks will be up for the challenge of more minutes today vs. this level of competition. Didn't expect X to be back today but would have been nice for him to be able to shake off some rust before conference play. Tough luck last two seasons. I bit the bullet and coughed up $10 for BTN+ ... cancelling right after the game. Such a PITA

IU 74 Kennessaw 68

This whole conversation is silly. Does Dolson have a plan? He better, but we will never know it or get a whiff of it, until after it's executed at least. People wanting to cut ties with Woody ASAP to avoid the risk of May being hired elsewhere are the ones who actually are "lost" or have the "losers mentality" ... how desperate can one possibly be? To let the terms of your next hire be totally dictated to you by circumstances that have nothing to do with you. That's pathetic and sad IMO. May looks great, maybe after next year it's worth entertaining that conversation with Woody. But you don't expedite that conversation just because May could sign elsewhere. It's not like that's his guaranteed final stop and we couldn't lure him away. He's also far from a proven commodity at this point. My fandom would be on pause if we hired Beard. If not May, Shrews could be interesting. But you know what I find most interesting/worthwhile as a fan right now? Cheering on this team and Mike Woodson. I'll save the hand wringing on our coaching searches for when... we actually have a coaching search on our hands. Constantly complaining about us not pursuing Pitino in 2000 or firing Archie after year 2 seems like a miserable way to be a fan, but to each their own.

Totally agree - expect us to drop one I said we "should" win but that's why I emphasize that they've gotta bring their best every time out in conference play! I'm enjoying watching this team and cautiously optimistic about the rest of the season.