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Having had plenty of rest/time to regroup after our last game, keen to see us come out looking better here. Harvard is no slouch but they also aren't UConn. Can we take lessons learned onboard and apply them quickly - both the players and the coaching staff? If so, I'll be very encouraged about what this means for the rest of the season. We've got to win this one and the Maryland/Michigan games IMO.

Man, I understand not using a timeout when you have a chance to go get a transition bucket in the final seconds. But when the other team is already able to get set up in a halfcourt D, or you just grab that final rebound with a chance to win on a 3 point shot.... and the coach doesn't use their timeout (Shaka had 2 left)... what are you saving them for?!

EDIT: deleted, already posted

I will say this... watching Texas-UConn right after, was clearly a different level of basketball than we were playing. Do I think we are capable of playing that kind of basketball? Maybe... but without the guard play, it will be really, really tough this year. Just got to get hot at the right time. Keep getting better one day at a time.

I think Boyle at Montverde just runs such a strong program, with so much talent, the kids there just are outliers in terms of college readiness. Practicing every day against a bunch of top 50 guys on a college-lite regimen works more wonders for them than as you pointed out, a place like IMG. IMG still a great opportunity for kids but MVA is in a tier of it's own IMO.

Hindsight is always 20/20, but now that I think more about where Mack is coming from... Gill St Bernard - a really good academic school with a basketball program that just so happens to be pretty good Roselle Catholic - an NJ bball factory, always just recruiting the most talented guys they can find and playing a semi-national schedule, but not really excelling outside of the state... not the best coaching in the state... Losing the Hurleys and Boyles, who now run MVA, has definitely hurt the quality of NJ HS BBall... NJ Scholars AAU - i mean, it's AAU, enough said. Not a lot of teaching that goes on there to start. I think like a lot of freshmen, he's pretty in over his head when it comes to understanding what's actually happening on the court in real time. He's got the physical traits and the skill in shooting that makes me think his mental will catch up and he will find a better groove. I'm very much still hopeful that he figures it out. Will be embarrassing for him otherwise given all the 1 and done talk he created to a degree. Banks performance was so clutch yesterday. I like that those two will be pushing each other in practice.

IU 78 Harvard 62

Just finished rewatching. I'm glad we got the W, it wasn't always pretty but a lot to like too, I think. Ware and Reneau are good, but I worry about them in B10 play. Can Reneau stay on the floor? Can Ware effectively post up and rebound? I tend to think there will games where the answer is yes and others where the answer is no. Hopefully it gets better over time. Hopefully the rest of the team steps up - it's tiring seeing those two be the only ones expected to get rebounds. Trey and X getting 4 each in this one compared to one each in the first game made a huge difference. Sparks and Walker as back ups, if they show up like they did against Louisville, we could be competitive. If like UConn, we will have a rough year in the conference. The conference being down this year gives me hope we can have a decent finish in the standings. MM's defense honestly didn't seem bad to me. I don't hate the two quick aggressive fouls. The shots will eventually fall, I was happy we schemed looks for him early in the second half. What I'd really like to see from him is obviously continued improvement on D, but also, be much more active on the boards. I think that would help him get into the flow more easily. His passing was really good in this game. Banks - maybe the MVP of the game? Can't understate how valuable his rebounds and defense were... I want him to keep getting minutes. Gunn - my 2 3pt prediction unfortunately did not come true, but I think he is looking more comfortable each game. Also want him to keep getting minutes. Playing 10 guys all year is gonna be tough if that's what we stick with... What I'm most optimistic about coming out of this game? Woody switching things up with the 2-3 and 4 out, 1 in... being adaptable to the personnel is obviously key and I think he does it better than some of his peers, it just takes time... As the guys continue to develop and build chemistry - get more comfortable rotating the ball, get the defensive rotations fixed, trust each other, etc... we can be a good team. There's a lot to clean up obviously, but I'm choosing to focus on the positive. 4-1. We really need to beat Harvard, Maryland and Michigan. Get to 7-1, 2-0 in B10. Kansas is probably a loss but you never know in SSAH. Auburn, they are really good but hopefully you can steal one. 7-3 would be a pretty decent start with an early lead in B10 play considering we haven't really strung together an entire good game yet. 8-2 or better would be overachieving IMO. Coming out of New York still cautiously optimistic and looking forward to mid January.

My prediction: CJ hits at least two 3s today

The only prediction I am confident offering is that if they show the announcers on screen tonight, behind them, you will see two very good looking blonde women lol.

Lol... our red :) hardly any Louisville fans left to show their faces after last night

It's a lot emptier 30 mins before tip than yesterday, but again overwhelmingly red.

I'm probably just being alarmist but the Louisville backcourt, now warming up in front of me, has got a ton of swagger about them today. Talking a lot of you know what too... In more light hearted news, Jay Williams just walked by and told the guy next to me his beer looks good and is calling his name. It was a little weird lol

Dont think I can unfortunately. But, I can probably deliver Dolson the message about Tom Allen. How much of the $20M can we call BTB in for?

I 100% agree. Team has gone into the locker room early compared to yesterday

Less awful quality. Mgbako is so big. May be the best unguarded player in the gym, lol, sad as that is. High energy in warmups

It's broken lmao

Do the guys come out and play with intensity? Do we get any inclination that we are improving on rebounding/3 point D/better able to spread the floor? These guys are talented. We need to bring it for 40 whole minutes. Goes without saying, because the next game always is, but this is the most important game of the season. We're learning a lot about the team every game, but honestly, players can only develop/learn so much in a short amount of time. Can the staff put us in position to succeed? Right now it looks tough, but not impossible. If CJ and MM get it figured out, we can be a good team. I want to see us change things up offensively, things are so stagnant and post oriented. It'll be too easy to gameplan for us over the long term if we don't get some form of perimeter game going. Woody has made it clear he won't design things to get Ware open for 3... fine... how about Mack or CJ? And can they play good enough D to warrant big minutes. Thats what's on my mind heading into this one. Hope they bring it on day 2

UL 76 IU 64 Update... hope I'm wrong.

I'll FaceTime you for the entire game... Only catch being you'd owe a guy in Jersey a favor. Lol

I'll be at today's game and the @ Rutgers game in January. Need a win badly today. I'm 0-2 in games attended as an alum. If I can't get back to .500 after this season I may need to ban myself indefinitely for the good of the program...

That very well might be this team's highest ceiling starting 5. Gunn has been showing a lot to like in the last two games. Really like the idea especially if he can start knocking down some shots. Maybe Mack has an easier time adjusting coming off the bench. It's worth shaking things up. Seems we won't play him at the 4, at least not for now... I'd say keep Banks in the rotation for spot minutes too. Wish we had another guard, but the roster is what it is at this point. I'm looking forward to seeing what they look like in January.

I feel the exact same way Dave. Sad, because I want to be excited about this team. Just one 20+ win would be great! Right now that looks like something we may not see this year though. I'll be in the building today, as I'm sure a lot of other Hoosier fans will be! I haven't seen that much red outside of Assembly Hall in a long time.

Louisville has as much, if not more, talent on their roster than we do. Yet they've been awful the last two years and took a ranked Texas team right to the wire yesterday. How we come out after being drummed by 20 will tell us a lot about the locker room. Schematically, we probably see more of the same, but is Payne actually good enough with X's and O's to exploit our weaknesses? Woody is definitely the better coach IMO but this team is just tough to watch right now. I do think come January it could be a different story but we'll see... CJ seems to be finding his feet a bit which would be huge