IUBB vs Illinois- 2/5/2022 @ 12:00 on ESPN

[Uspshoosier 45,679]

4 hours ago, lillurk said:

I don’t think the gameplan (or perhaps execution, based on the post-game comments, but my hunch is both) was very good Saturday. The offense is structurally better but still dealing with talent deficits. In general I think those issues have been addressed pretty well in ten months on the job.

Do you think things are no better than they were under Archie?

If so I’ll say this: IU spent Arch’s entire tenure either on the bubble or clearly out of the tournament, save about twelve hours between Fred Hoiberg wrenching on the bench and the 2020 tournament getting cancelled. And in year one, they are already nowhere near the bubble, which we literally could not say at a single point in Archie’s tenure. 

Not going to defend Archie but that last point about Archie never being off the bubble would be false.   In his second year they were comfortably in until the team decided to lose 12 of 13 and they still somehow found away to be in the first 4 out after losing 12 of 13.    His 3rd year they were never really on the bubble at all. They could of lost to Nebraska in the conference tournament and still would of been in with the resume they had compared to the cut line.    Stinks for everyone involved that year because they were playing good basketball at the end of the year and who knows what seed they would of ended up with if they would of made a little run in the conference tourney.  I had them as a 9 seed after the Nebraska game.      Last year they were not on the bubble until after the Sparty game on Feb 20th.    Before that they were 12-9 (7-7) in the B1G with the one if the toughest schedules in the country.  With the shortened season they were sitting in good shape before they decided to not win another game all year lol which took them from in the tourney comfortably to not being a factor.   Really small margin of errors when it comes down to it.   Archie was basically 4 different game outcomes from making the tourney 3 out of 4 years 

this is why IU fans are on edge even when every national person observing from the outside says this team is comfortably in.   IU fans have seen this song before.    IU is in great shape as of today and I personally don’t see a collapse from this team but I can’t blame people for worrying 
 

 

[lillurk 3,745]

37 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

Not going to defend Archie but that last point about Archie never being off the bubble would be false.   In his second year they were comfortably in until the team decided to lose 12 of 13 and they still somehow found away to be in the first 4 out after losing 12 of 13.    His 3rd year they were never really on the bubble at all. They could of lost to Nebraska in the conference tournament and still would of been in with the resume they had compared to the cut line.    Stinks for everyone involved that year because they were playing good basketball at the end of the year and who knows what seed they would of ended up with if they would of made a little run in the conference tourney.  I had them as a 9 seed after the Nebraska game.      Last year they were not on the bubble until after the Sparty game on Feb 20th.    Before that they were 12-9 (7-7) in the B1G with the one if the toughest schedules in the country.  With the shortened season they were sitting in good shape before they decided to not win another game all year lol which took them from in the tourney comfortably to not being a factor.   Really small margin of errors when it comes down to it.   Archie was basically 4 different game outcomes from making the tourney 3 out of 4 years 

this is why IU fans are on edge even when every national person observing from the outside says this team is comfortably in.   IU fans have seen this song before.    IU is in great shape as of today and I personally don’t see a collapse from this team but I can’t blame people for worrying 
 

 

This is all fair, though I would say that the losing streak team was “in” so early as to be meaningless, and the 2020 team was perpetually in that 9-10 seed range once things got close to the end and went like 9-11 on conference. Not a team that could let up in its first conference tourney game.

Not to say early season games don’t matter; they clearly do.

Maybe it would’ve been more accurate to say IU was never so secure this late in the season.

[Uspshoosier 45,679]

1 hour ago, lillurk said:

This is all fair, though I would say that the losing streak team was “in” so early as to be meaningless, and the 2020 team was perpetually in that 9-10 seed range once things got close to the end and went like 9-11 on conference. Not a team that could let up in its first conference tourney game.

Not to say early season games don’t matter; they clearly do.

Maybe it would’ve been more accurate to say IU was never so secure this late in the season.

2020 team was basically locked into the field even before the B1G tourney started. They had 9 Q1 and Q2 wins.  They were playing for seeding in the B1G tourney. IU fans might of had IU on the bubble that year but if there  was a tourney IU was locked in 
IU right now is basically in the same spot as they  were last year.   On Feb 20th last year IU was still looking good with just 6 games left in the regular season.   They lost all 6.   This years team is once again looking good with 8 games left in the regular season.    Can they avoid a late season collapse?  I think so but you never know.    Yes early season games are just as important as the late season games.   Every game matters 

[lillurk 3,745]

14 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

2020 team was basically locked into the field even before the B1G tourney started. They had 9 Q1 and Q2 wins.  They were playing for seeding in the B1G tourney. IU fans might of had IU on the bubble that year but if there  was a tourney IU was locked in 
IU right now is basically in the same spot as they  were last year.   On Feb 20th last year IU was still looking good with just 6 games left in the regular season.   They lost all 6.   This years team is once again looking good with 8 games left in the regular season.    Can they avoid a late season collapse?  I think so but you never know.    Yes early season games are just as important as the late season games.   Every game matters 

All fair, but one reason I’m positive about this year’s team vs. last years: this week last year the team was 5-6 in conference with a negative efficiency margin in conf games, 8th best by that measure.

The current team is 7-5 with the fifth best efficiency margin in a better conference.

(Note the charts at the bottom of those posts.)

I know that’s not everyone’s cup of tea but it’s the best predictor there is for a team going forward.

[chicagoHOOSIER 1,051]

5 hours ago, Rico said:

nice seats, Rico. I should be nicer to you.