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I think it's taken 8 minutes of real time to get through the last 1:30.

F Jersey Mike's Arena.

Sucks considering it's a 19 point blow out.

So, not that these sorts of comparisons actually mean anything, but... --Army lost to Stonehill 57-44 --UConn beat Stonehill 107-67 ......We've got our work cut out for us, a week from today! And Wright State won't be a push over either. Nothing quite like the start of a new IUBB season

Gotta try and cut this lead down to striking distance heading into halftime then regroup. Looking totally on their back foot tonight.

3rd time is the charm... IU 86 Army 52

Let's go! Amazing news.

My biggest hope this game is that Mack/the second unit get a lot of playing time. Mack needs all the defensive reps he can get at this point and Army should be the kind of opponent where we can afford a few "learning moments" from him for the greater good. Can Gunn play under control? Does Banks look better? Will Walker be the smart, steady player we need him to be? Those are the main things on my mind coming into this one.

This November feels like March with all the upsets/mid majors beating big name programs! Hopefully we avoid their fate

I think this will be a good thread. I think I'll weigh in after the Wright State game.. the 8 man rotation makes sense to me right now

Update... IU 82 Army 54

#2 Duke vs #12 AZ #15 TAMU @ Ohio State #9 Tennessee @ Wisconsin MAN I am so happy college basketball is back. UConn looks really effin good so far (as expected). Ware played pretty darn well against Clingan and Karaban. Got Clingan into foul trouble it looked like, from replays. Was able to successfully shoot over Karaban too. We really need to take advantage of his perimeter skillset this year, it's so unique. If we get Sparks healthy for that game, I'll feel a lot better. Stating the obvious but rebounding and perimeter D will be major keys.

It is pretty apparent to all of us that we really needed to pick up another guard in the portal. Again, it's game 1 with a mostly new roster. We all pretty much expected a bumpy start as chemistry gets built etc. But most of us also believed the roster has potential to be very good. Yesterday's game (against a pretty good basketball team by the way) doesn't change that belief for me at all. Woodson has been saying there's a ton of work still to do, and there is. We don't have a perfect roster by any stretch of the imagination but you'll have a pretty tough time finding a team without any weaknesses in college basketball. What I feel confident about at this point: Ware may struggle at times or not be everyone's ideal archetype of a big, but he has shown he is coachable and uber talented. I will be enjoying like hell the one season we'll likely have him. Hope he has the opportunity to take and make plenty of 3s before he goes in the first round, if he keeps on playing like this. Cupps is a going to be tough to keep off the court, not only because of our lack of guard depth, but because he is ready to play at this level. I think his length could make it pretty challenging vs UConn/B10 but I have zero doubt that he will put in the work and be a big time net positive contributor this year. We've got a bona fide workhorse in him for 4 years. So smart with the ball and dare I say... "sneakily quick" Mgbako did mention in the pre season that learning the defense has been the biggest challenge for him. It's been pretty obvious even throughout the exhibitions... Let's be honest. The difference in complexity of schemes between D1 basketball and HS/AAU (even at the highest of levels, which he excelled in) is MASSIVE. Hell, Banks and Gunn are still struggling to get it right it in year 2. Mack is allegedly laser focused on being 1 and done, has all the physical tools, and was clearly demonstrating to Woodson that he understood the message Woodson was sending, while he was on the bench. Yes he will have plenty of lapses as he learns... But he will improve a ton over the course of the year. He's also shown a lot of potential on this side of the ball IMO. I will say - having watched him several times in HS/AAU, we've not seen him remotely near the top of his game yet. On either side of the ball. I am sure he is acutely aware of his draft stock and putting in the work, so not at all worried. Maybe I have a longer leash than some. What I am uncertain about at this point: Gunn has not impressed and as the 4th guard, that is tough to swallow. The opportunity is ripe for the taking. I find his body language troubling/frustrating at times. I've not seen much reason for optimism yet, but I really hope he proves me wrong. Banks ... is coming off injury so I'm a bit more forgiving. That said, also has not looked much different from last year. I see more potential from him than Gunn. But, will he be able to stay in the rotation with Walker, Sparks, Reneau, and Mack all playing the same minutes basically? I hope we keep him engaged. Walker..... I'm hopeful he plays more like the exhibitions than last night. If he is not going to be rock solid on defense and smart with the ball on offense when he has it, I'd rather see Banks get the minutes and try to develop. I also think Payton Sparks was an absolute homerun pick up. When Reneau gets in foul trouble (which will unfortunately happen quite a bit still, it seems) we will be in great hands. He is going to push Reneau for minutes the whole way... again, going to be tough to keep off the court. We'll probably never see it with Woody, but I'd love to see us run a few 4 out 1 in sets with X, Cupps/Gallo, Mack/Reneau, Ware on the perimeter and Sparks in the middle. I could see a lineup of X, Cupps, Gallo, Sparks, Ware being very effective against smaller lineups. I really like what Gallo did overall. Not a perfect game, but he showed he can score for sure. Hope he steps up and is comfortable being a vocal leader this year, we need every bit of leadership from him and XJ... I'm excited to watch how this team comes together, we are going to learn so much about the players and the direction of the program.

IU 78 Army 56

I agree on all fronts. RE: 4, I think based on the way Mack was acting on the bench, it's not that he's thinking about his ranking. I think he's just genuinely lost on defense to the point that Woodson couldn't afford to have him out there down the stretch. He's got to pick that up but I think the spirit he brought on the bench is encouraging in the sense that he has the physical tools. He's just got to learn to keep his mouth running on D and stay consistent. We need him to do so much more than he showed tonight. And Walker, Gunn and Banks were pretty disappointing. I find Gunn so frustrating at times. Walker was forcing shots that just isn't his game. As a senior, he's got to be smarter than that.

Whew that game was a trip. I'll take a win no matter how we get it. Obviously so much to improve on... not even worth listing it all right now. I'll focus on the positives for the moment... --Ware. Does anything need to be said? A double double in his debut. Can't ask for much more than that. --Gabe Cupps. I probably wouldn't have believed you before the exhibitions if you told me the most impactful freshman/one who would be playing at the end of the game with the outcome on the line, would be him instead of Mgbako. But this kid clearly has such a work ethic. It's fun to root him on. --We all wanted to see more from Galloway... He wasn't perfect tonight by any means but I think its pretty clear he's improved again during the offseason. XJ also was frustrating at times and can play a lot better. But I'm encouraged at how he was able to take over when we needed him to. So much to clean up.. but it's game one with a very new roster. We need to build chemistry and learn the defense ASAP. But there is plenty of talent here. We have the ingredients for a very fun season and competitive team. As we've basically all said... it's going to take time. Not always going to be pretty. But its all about peaking at the right time in this game.

What a weird sequence that was.

Omg finally some life. Cupps, X, Gallo, Malik, Ware is by far our best 5 tonight. Let's not take our foot off the gas coming out of this break.

Lets go X! That's the type of play a 6th year player needs to make.

Thank the LORD Malik converted the 3 point play.

This team is just going to have such a hard time coming back once they're down in a game. The rotations on defense are atrocious tonight.

This is officially... bad.