IU at Rutgers Game Thread

[Ajwhitis 705]

25 minutes ago, RevBuckle said:

With all the talk of Moore getting or not getting playing time, what causes me to smh is thinking how Priller didn't even see the floor in a blowout.  I've never understood the use of that scholly.

Got a feeling Archie doesn't either.

[pumpfake 3,940]

7 minutes ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

One win away from matching last year's conference win total. 

You know, that's almost incredible.  I know this season has felt disappointing, but given the circumstances it's been somewhat successful.  IMO, the progress the team defense has made in league play has been great.

[Stuhoo 80,901]

You know, that's almost incredible.  I know this season has felt disappointing, but given the circumstances it's been somewhat successful.  IMO, the progress the team defense has made in league play has been great.

Call me a sunshine pumper if you must, but for me?
This season has not been disappointing.


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[Ajwhitis 705]

This season hasn't been a real disappointment to me, in reference, last year at this time, I just wanted the season to end, right now, I don't at all.

[HooHooHoo22 3,902]

I just hope we get a NIT bid. I want to see our boys play a couple of extra games.

 

 

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[Stuhoo 80,901]

I just hope we get a NIT bid. I want to see our boy play a couple of extra games.


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Exactly.
Last year at this time we were fueling up the tank train.



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[ebridges24 2,441]

1 hour ago, bleedhoosier said:

Thank you. Mcswain is twice the player Moore is... Not trying to be an uber jerk but every time I see that comment about "can't understand why Moore isn't playing" my first thought is, obviously never played the game of basketball then. It's so obvious why he doesn't play. It's not that he's weak.. he is literally lost every possession on offense and defense. Let it go, lol.

And I'm with Arch, end this Prillerr crap. That's a symbol of a cheesy gimmicky era of IU ball. It's all business now and I love it.

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Well, to be fair, there were a lot of people wanting Freddie to stay on the bench until the MSU game. lol

[ebridges24 2,441]

watching the playback of the game and i've come to realize Robbie Hummel is really good at doing games.

[cbp4iu 1,476]

Man the improvements this team has been making. Can you imagine an off season Archie Miller program. I really think this team is going to be sneaky next year. They are starting  to click on half court sets. Defense the switching has been superb! Kudos to Green these past 3 games. I think he’s starting to get more comfortable with Archie and realizing his role with the team. I hope this off season Juwan takes Race under his wing and mentors him. 

[Trish 11,570]

1 hour ago, Stuhoo said:

Exactly.
Last year at this time we were fueling up the tank train.



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Ahh tank train days. I miss those days. 

All for a good cause. 

[Hoosierfan2017 21,467]

2 hours ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

I liked seeing Race Thompson celebrating on the bench after made buckets. He was getting into it. That stuff goes a long way.


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He's that way during every game that I've seen. I'm really excited to see what he can do next year. 

[Ajwhitis 705]

Do we believe this team will receive an NIT bid come seasons end? Just curious, I hope so if I'm being honest, get the young guys some kind of post-season play and more experience, right?

[Brass Cannon 24,814]

2 minutes ago, Ajwhitis said:

Do we believe this team will receive an NIT bid come seasons end? Just curious, I hope so if I'm being honest, get the young guys some kind of post-season play and more experience, right?

I think so if we are above .500

[LIHoosier 26,209]

7 hours ago, Brass Cannon said:

I think so if we are above .500

Its tougher since they started awarding NIT bids to every regular season conference champ that doesn't make the NCAA's. So when the #1 seed gets beat in a random conference tourney, its one less chance for a 16-15 type school to eek in.

[KB0 827]

I know it was only Rutgers, but you still have to beat the bad teams on the schedule. Glad it was a convincing win. There was a brief period, near the end of the first half, where Rutgers had the chance to cut the lead and get back into the game. Instead Indiana responded and ran away with it. That's progress. 

The next three games are winnable. If the team comes out with the effort they showed against MSU (home)/Purdue/Duke, they will be fine. After those three games, they have the chance to knock off Nebraska and OSU. Ending the regular season with a win at home against a good Oho State team would be a huge positive. I think they get that one. 

Things are looking up, but its important to remember the next few games still won't be easy. Shots won't always be falling and they'll have to find another way to win. 

I have faith. 

[Certified Sunshine Pumper 9,189]

9 hours ago, ebridges24 said:

watching the playback of the game and i've come to realize Robbie Hummel is really good at doing games.

Yes.. it was obvious when he knew how poor of an offensive foul call it was on Smith in the 2nd half, when he spun. 

[GnarlyTimGarl 1,433]

A few thoughts/opinions on this one... a little long, as per tradition...

- Defense. We made a struggling offense look downright pathetic in this one. Held them to 24% shooting from the field and 43 points total (some of which were due to questionable officiating where they got to the free throw line... more on that later.) We played the ball screens nicely (particularly Morgan... I love that kid) and pushed their offense away from the basket. We did a pretty good job fighting through screens and staying with our man. Our rotations were good. We almost always had a hand in their face on their jumpers and rarely gave up a good look. Again, it was against Rutgers, but this very same team dropped 76 on Purdue two days prior. This defense has improved dramatically from the Indiana State/Fort Wayne days. Very encouraging performances the past two games.

- Offense. It's good that we have seemingly taken a defensive identity, because half of our rotation is mentally spent on the offensive end. We have three players who look comfortable taking shots right now. Morgan, Johnson and Green. That's it. If we want to make any sort of run here in the last bit of the season, we're gonna need about 2-3 more guys who can step up and shoot at least 40% or so from the field on a consistent basis. It doesn't really matter who it is. It just has to be someone. Outside of Morgan, Johnson and Green, we shot 3-21. If that isn't a mental thing, I don't know what is. We're not a good shooting team, but we're better than that. We need to prove it. We're getting open looks... we just need to hit them. Particularly the gimmes. And the free throws.

- Court awareness. People don't talk about this aspect of the game much when evaluating players because it's hard to quantify. But it's a big reason why some players play and others don't. We saw that tonight with one of our guys. It's something that is particularly hard for some freshmen to get acquainted with. It's when to go for the block or when to block-out. It's knowing where the defense is around you. It's knowing where your teammates are within a play. After that, you see that execution can be hard for younger or inexperienced guys to follow through with. For example, another one of our freshmen is frequently in a position to make a great play, but has trouble finishing. An off-season of workouts could go a long way in him becoming a good player.

- Playmakers. This is why guys like McRoberts, McSwain and Green are getting the bigger minutes right now despite their limitations. They can make plays. McRoberts can disrupt plays on defense and create turnovers while making the correct passes on offense. McSwain can't shoot and struggles to finish, but he's active on the glass and in the paint. My perception of Green has always been that it looks like he's making the game much more difficult than what it is, but he's one of the few guys on the team who can hit a tough shot or make a high-level pass.

- The mental state of the team. We need some guys to break out of their mental funk in the worst way. We still need guys like Newkirk and Hartman this year because we don't really have anyone else right now. I hope our crowd really encourages those guys along with the rest of the team on Friday and gives them a boost because they need it. If they can break through, I think you could see us go on a little run to end the season and challenge for a postseason bid. If not, we'll struggle to stay above .500 overall.

- Robbie Hummel. I loved his game at Purdue (and I badly wanted him as a Hoosier... as much as Eric Gordon) and I love him as a color commentator. Doesn't babble or give arrogant or pointless opinions. Simple and straightforward. Calls the game. A great representative of the Big Ten. I look forward to hearing more of his games in the future.

- Finally... Officiating. Some folks say that no one ever complains about officiating after a big win, so here you go. The inconsistencies on some of the calls are mind-boggling. What wasn't a foul in the first half is a foul in the second. Evidently, you're allowed to blow the whistle on something that happened 3 seconds prior. If it's a slow game, spice it up with some whistles! The touch fouls around the post are ridiculous. Rutgers was in the bonus 6-7 minutes into the second half. The offensive foul call on the Smith fast break was absolutely atrocious. I know that officiating can be a very tough occupation, but let's not be naive... they are making VERY good money doing this. Why the Big Ten conference allows certain officials to continue refereeing the games is beyond my comprehension.

[Blackmon_for_3 1,533]

11 hours ago, Treesh said:

Rutgers is bad.

Like 1A Indiana High School Basketball bad.


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Hey there some pretty good 1A teams. Lol

[HoosierCoop 3,927]

11 hours ago, Stuhoo said:

Call me a sunshine pumper if you must, but for me?
This season has not been disappointing.


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I would agree with that.  We had the talent last year to make something special and to me that was more of a detriment.  We also didn't know how the coaching staff situation would turn out.  There was no glimmer of hope.

This season, new coach, new philosophy, creating a system that works basically out of nothing, THE UPSIDE IS HUGE FOR THE FUTURE.

[Lebowski 2,744]

Thank goodness for the D because 44.4% at the charity stripe typically doesn't cut it.  It was like the upside down last night.  McSwain went 4-4 from the line and Johnson went 2-6.  

But man, that D!  Absolutely velvet.