#IUMS vs Michigan State 3pm. Game moved to BTN and Big Ten Title on Line

[Aaron 4,293]

First off as you can see from my headline game is now on regular BTN and not BTN+ so you no longer need a subscription so that's good for most people.

As for the game MSU is not good but completely the opposite of the previous cellar dwellers we played. OSU and Rutgers did really well in non conference and hit the skids in conference. Both also possessed decent offenses but are atrocious on D.  MSU on the other hand was terrible in pre-conference but has beaten the cellar dwellers in conference and posses more talent overall. Also instead of having a good offense and a bad defense they have a pretty good defense but don't hardly score at all and are dead last in offense in conference. This to me is a bit scarier because they can potentially keep the game scoreless a while and steal the win late. With that said this is a game we should win but you are probably looking at a 1-0 or 2-1 win rather then a demolition since it is on the road and defensive teams tend to keep games closer.

To win Big Ten outright IU needs a win or a Penn State loss or tie (Lions play Rutgers so wouldn't count on that). Hoosiers clinch a share and no. 1 seed for Big Ten Tournament with a tie and Penn State win. A loss and a Nittany Lions win sends IU to second place. The good news is a top 2 seed guarantees an opening home game against one of the three awful Big Ten teams at home in either OSU, Rutgers or Wisconsin at home. We dominated all these teams in the regular season unsurprisingly and none of those teams posses much of a defense. 

[Aaron 4,293]

This is important and tells me what I kind of thought:

https://www.ncaa.com/news/soccer-men/article/2019-11-01/georgetown-tops-di-mens-soccer-committees-top-16-reveal

This is the committees official seedings for NCAA tourney as of today and right now we are the 10 seed. A 10 seed only guarantees you one home game so really need to do some damage in Big Ten Tourney and at least make finals to get a top 8 so we can guarantee two home games. Not going to get a top 4 regardless I don't think. Would love to move up to an 8 with SMU the 9 as they look a bit like a paper tiger. St Johns and UCF also look less strong to me and would not mind a match up. The top 5 of Georgetown, UVA Washington, Clemson and Wake are legit and we want to avoid them as long as possible as those are undoubtedly the best teams in college soccer by a lot this year.    

[Uspshoosier 45,787]

Out of my element but IU scored in the 29th minute on a PK. They win 1-0. Hoosiers win the B1G outright

 

 

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[Brass Cannon 24,817]

Today has been insanely busy so glad to see this. 15 wins and one very lopsided loss is a pretty incredible 2 year record. 

[Aaron 4,293]

Sorry saw the whole the game but was trying to do 100 other things so posting was not on my mind.

Like I said MSU is a lot tougher and more talented and we prevailed with the PK as mentioned above. MSU has a really good defense and is not easy to score on but their finishing leaves a lot to be desired which is why they lost so many close games this year. Every attack they tried in the second half to equalize broke down without a great attempt which sums up their season.

I will continue to say that recruiting rankings matter and when you recruit top classes as we have last four years you can turn things over with little fanfare. The reason we have gone back to the glory days of the 90's last four years is because Yeagley finally put his player development and in game coaching which are top notch with terrific recruiting which lacked his first 6 years (they were not bad classes but they were decent and not elite). I kind of wonder if Yeagley was trying to get less involved with the one and dones like Penn and Morris but realized you must do it if you want to win big. I hate comparing Yeagley to Coach K because the former is a class act and the latter is a snake but if you remember Coach K held off on one and dones for a while but then made a deal with the devil and is top notch again. Now soccer recruiting is no where near as dirty and no money changes hands nor are there bribes but its quite possible and even probable that Yeagley held off on top talent in favor of less talented 4 year guys only to realize they are a necessary evil. You can still have your 4 yr development projects but mixing these 5 star 1-2 year recruits has made all the difference in the world and IU soccer is finally back to what is expected and should be here to stay if we keep moving through top talent as we are now.

As for the Big Ten Tournament we get the winner of Rutgers and OSU so fortunately unless we do something wrong we are finally facing leaky defenses in this round and should win easily. Nice change after 3 years of park the bus central against NW and PSU who posses good D's and bad offenses and required late winners each year. Also amazing how NW and especially PSU are doing much better by getting forwards and actually attacking a bit. I think like Yeagley those teams' coaches have had light bulb moments and realized doing nothing but parking the bus gets you nowhere. 

Assuming we trash the garbage in the first found that is Rutgers or OSU we would face the winner of NW-Maryland. Fortunately that game is in Evanston so maybe NW has a chance as getting Maryland in College Park is less than ideal. I do like either Michigan or PSU if we make finals as both those teams are solid but not terrific at anything and they posses good but not great talent. We do need to win the Big Ten Tourney probably (or at least get to finals) if we want to be guaranteed two home games instead of just one in NCAA tournament (we have a top 16 seed locked up baring a collapse to OSU or Rutgers who have to play each other day before they play us). For those asking I would be stunned if we get to a top 4 seed and guaranteed home games all the way to college cup regardless of what we do. 

This year's coaching job has been Yeagley's finest hour with the whole roster changing over but bringing in the top tier freshman gave us a chance and this team grew up before our eyes as the year went on for a terrific regular season.

[Aaron 4,293]

1 minute ago, Iugradman said:

I am glad the soccer team is getting a much needed facility upgrade next year. They have more than earned it.

Hopefully that happens. Last I heard this was a go for after the season but there have been a lot of contractor issues. This is something though I can easily get an update on once the season ends and will let you know what I hear and where this is at.

Glad we got the new playing surface in the off-season which is a 100 times better then the old one. 

[Brass Cannon 24,817]

So Aaron would you say we are the favorites to win the big ten next year. Assuming nobody unexpected leaves?

[WayneFleekHoosier 48,397]

So Aaron would you say we are the favorites to win the big ten next year. Assuming nobody unexpected leaves?

I’m not quite as informed as Aaron but yes, I am pretty certain we are. We are a young team this year.


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[Brass Cannon 24,817]

1 minute ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

I’m not quite as informed as Aaron but yes, I am pretty certain we are. We are a young team this year.


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That’s my feeling too. Only team I could imagine challenging us on Talent is Maryland 

[Aaron 4,293]

1 hour ago, Brass Cannon said:

So Aaron would you say we are the favorites to win the big ten next year. Assuming nobody unexpected leaves?

We should def be the favorite.

We will almost definitely lose Penn to the pro's (and I have some insider knowledge on this that it will most likely occur) probably Morris and maybe Maher (although his brother coming in as a recruit may entice him to stay one more year) but a returning core with the other freshman of Bezerra, Endeley, Bebej, Celantano and Goumballe back and a year older and guys like Glass, Munie, Black, Palo and Schmidt back we should absolutely be the favorites. The only guys we lose as seniors are Kleyn and Caulfield who were benched earlier this year for bad play, Ahlinvi who's been injured 3/4 of the time and Waever who is the only regular contributor. Unlike this year we should return the majority of the team and be in position again with lofty expectations.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 84,777]

 Indiana men's soccer sophomore Jack Maher was selected to the Top Drawer Soccer team after a stellar two-game stretch to close out the regular season. 

The honor is the second of his season for the Hoosiers after he was also named to the team on Oct. 15 and comes on the same day he was named to Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
 
Maher helped lead the charge in an Indiana shutout of Michigan State, 1-0, on the final day of the regular season to clinch the outright Big Ten regular season championship for the second time in as many seasons. Not only was the defense suffocating against the Spartans, but Maher scored the only goal of the contest. 
 
After MSU committed a foul inside the 18-yard box, Maher was awarded a chance from the spot. He caught the keeper guessing the wrong way and slotted home the penalty kick with ease. The goal was the third of the season for Maher.
 
Freshman Victor Bezerra was named an honorable mention selection to the team after scoring a career-best five points in the Indiana victory over Ohio State on Oct. 29.
 
He found the back of the net twice in the first 10 minutes of action in the 5-1 triumph over the Buckeyes. His first goal came on a redirected cross right in front of the goalkeeper and into the right corner of goal. He then capitalized on a free-kick opportunity from 22-yards away after placing the ball in the upper-right corner to beat the keeper. Bezerra also tallied an assist in the win.

The No. 9-ranked Hoosiers will be in action at 1 p.m. ET on Nov. 10 at Armstrong Stadium for a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal match. Indiana will square off against the winner of the first-round matchup between Ohio State and Rutgers. The game will stream on BTN+.