Tasmanian Devil

If it is a point of emphasis, it IS a factor. Is it a dumb rule? Maybe. And should it be applied equally? Without question. But all because it may be a stupid rule or another team wasn’t called when maybe they should have, all that matters in the end is “did WE do anything which we could be penalized for?” That’s the ONLY thing that matters. Control what YOU can control.

Love this. IU Basketball under Bob Knight was always known for being SMART. Sure, we had lots of talent, but we maximized that talent by making fewer mistakes. Hopefully Woody will incorporate that level of responsibility in our guys. Remember the Steve Alford charity calendar fiasco? When that whole thing broke publicly Alford and the sorority were arguing back and forth in front of Knight over responsibility: Alford said he told them he was glad to help with the cause as long as they cleared it through the Athletic Department; the sorority girls claimed he had not made such a request. Knight finally pulled Alford aside. “Their eligibility wasn’t at stake, Steve. YOUR eligibility was. You should have checked it out yourself.” That level of personal responsibility ended up getting us a National Championship a year later. (Well, having Keith Smart helped, too )

Your last two paragraphs says it all. There’s a reason why teams like Michigan State are good year after year. Winning Basketball. Doing the little things that beget winning and avoiding things that cost you.

Should he have been? I don’t know. If you are being technical about it, probably. But staring back at an opponent as you’re running downcourt as opposed to pausing - however briefly - and saying something? I’m of the opinion No One should be engaged in one-upmanship. ESPECIALLY if it’s something that can cost your team. You and I could debate all day long on whether Xavier players SHOULD HAVE been called for technical fouls. The only thing that matters is whether or not we did anything to get them. Don’t cost your team.Life on the road is difficult enough. Why add to the difficulty?

That might be. But if it’s a point of emphasis, why take the chance?

What part of “you can’t be obvious” do you not understand? And I’ve already stated Jones should have been T’d up when he fouled out. But it’s the road - and you’re whining about calls not being “fair”?

I will be shocked if X doesn’t get In come March. That’s a good team.

Listen, I’m a big Xavier fan as well. Daughter graduated there in 2017 and love the place like a 2nd home. The game was brutal for me because I love both teams, IU just slightly more. I’ll be honest: Cintas nearly ALWAYS favors the home team on calls. But most home courts are like that. And X almost always plays tough there in big games. Only time I can remember when they didn’t is when ‘Nova beat them in 2018, where Xavier won the BE and was a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

After reviewing it on the game broadcast I gotta admit it wasn’t as demonstrative as it looked initially. But he did hesitate, and if he said anything the official was right in front of the play. Likely why he got T’d. Freemantle stared back after his dunk - but he was running away back down the court. Jones should have gotten T’d up when he fouled out, without question. But, again, it’s the road; more often than not, calls AREN’T going to go your way. Expecting everything to be “fair” isn’t being realistic. But that was a helluva win. X always plays tough in Cintas. In 2016, Villanova’s last loss before winning a National Championship was a 15-point beatdown laid on them at Cintas. And the “Let’s Go Hoosiers” chant by IU fans near the end of the game was something that has never happened before, ever, by the opposing team’s fans. There were some pissed off Xavier people after the game at season ticket holders who sold their seats for $$.

And you really think you’re going to get that on the road? Really? I’d just as soon EVERYONE shut up and play. But whining about “he deserved one, too” doesn’t change the fact that those two techs COULD HAVE cost IU the game. You can only control what you can control. If you feel like you need to talk smack, do it discreetly - or you are taking the chance of getting T’d up and getting beat because of it.

In my opinion, he wasn’t overly demonstrative to draw attention of the official, whereas X and Malik were. The Xavier player who should have gotten T’d up was Jones when he fouled out. He was bitching in a very demonstrably fashion and most certainly deserved one. Anyone upset that it wasn’t called “evenly” isn’t being realistic. It’s a road game. What SHOULD happen vs what does is a reality you have to deal with. What is encouraging, though, is even though we got called for two techs and Xavier wasn’t T’d up when they probably deserved to be, we still left town with a win.

Excellent points. Trayce was an absolute man. Xavier had no one who could stop him.

Did he deserve a tech or not isn’t the question. It’s was he obvious as X or Malik were. And the answer is no.

https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/35055281 Take a look at Freemantle. Does he say something or look? Yeah. Does he stop and do it? No. If you’re going to do it, don’t be obvious.

Ever since the 2011 Crosstown Shootout brawl it’s been called like that.

Agreed. Besides IU I live and die with Xavier. Paid over $100k to that place for kid’s education and fell in love with the campus/Cincinnati.. But I wasn’t thrilled with Miller coming back. Besides the FBI crap, he’s a whiner and sweats all over the place.

Sean Miller.

Yeah, that was amazing. Never saw an opposing crowd do that at Cintas.

IU 91, Miami 57

This x 1000. Cant complain about the heart these guys have. Or how they compete.

I can agree with this. Gotta love how these guys compete - especially Reneau. Kid is gonna be a force to be reckoned with.

It was posted TJD said Xavier’s bench was taunting Johnson, then he turned and hesitated running back down court to taunt back.

I agree with you. But you really think you’re going to get the calls on the road? Why take the bait and get caught up in that?

Some guys do it to pump themselves up, I get that. Some guys try to get in the head of the opposition (cue Reggie Miller), I get that, too. Still in Cincinnati at our hotel and haven’t watched the replay. If it is true the announcers said it’s a point of emphasis this year, even more reason to be restrained. I’d have hated to have lost last night because we wanted to “one up” the other team. Not worth it.

From where I sat, it sure looked like he did. He hit the 3, turned and gestured toward the bench. if you going to do anything, don’t make it obvious. Both guys did - and got called for it.