Game Thread: Indiana vs. Arizona (12/10) 7:30 p.m. EST on Fox

[NashvilleHoosier 3,624]

5 minutes ago, IU - Kaulie said:

We’re close.  Their guards don’t get what they got with JHS.  Big difference between JHS fighting over a ball screen as compared to Bates/Xavier.  On the other end he could have gotten what he wanted against their starting guards similar to the UNC game.

I think our backcourt and wings are better than what they got.  The problem is their two bigs.  We couldn’t guard them.  TJD is going to give up buckets against that kind of size but seeing him not rebound and not getting up and down the floor is pretty disappointing.

I’m not going to lie. I love this post. I’m not convinced JHS makes the impact you say, as the UNC game was his best game, and so far, a bit of an exception. I most certainly hope that becomes the norm when he’s back in the lineup, but not guaranteed that he has a UNC-like performance tonight if healthy. 
 

Whole heartedly agree with your disappointment with TJD. Didn’t seem assertive at all tonight and we are toast if we have a hesitant and passive TJD.

[RaceToTheTop 23,450]

17 minutes ago, kreigh8 said:

Arizona's size should have been the perfect opportunity for him to see the floor though no? 8 minutes seems a bit light especially with TJD having an off night. He need Race to play poorly or get in foul trouble to see the floor more than 8 minutes? Just odd to me looking at the box score. Bates having the night he did and IU playing from behind and needing more offense likely played a role. Just 8 minutes makes me feel bad for him as he came back and now has all this talent in front of him at the 4 and 5

Yes, 8 minutes is light but that wasn't what I was responding to.  Lots of guys get to power five conferences and aren't capable of even seeing the floor -- guys like Anthony Leal, Khristain Lander, etc.  Geronimo is a guy who will be on a tournament team for his sophomore years at a power 5 conference team and average in double figure minutes.  He is a power five player....just not a power five starter.  Being honest, I don't see any team in the Big 10 that he isn't in the rotation on.

In terms of his size being perfect opportunity for him to see the floor tonight, I would disagree.  He's an undersized power forward.  Would say he's a better matchup against smaller teams.

[RaceToTheTop 23,450]

30 minutes ago, kreigh8 said:

Playing for a team who needs him to play the 3. Woodson had him out there at the spot in the 2nd half for a bit but was short lived

Happened for a couple of minutes in the first half as well when the players on the court were Galloway, Kopp, Geronimo, Thompson and TJD.....happened after Bates picked up his third and X had 2.If JHS was healthy, no way you would have seen Kopp at the 2 and JG at the 3.

[IU - Kaulie 1,855]

8 minutes ago, NashvilleHoosier said:

I’m not going to lie. I love this post. I’m not convinced JHS makes the impact you say, as the UNC game was his best game, and so far, a bit of an exception. I most certainly hope that becomes the norm when he’s back in the lineup, but not guaranteed that he has a UNC-like performance tonight if healthy. 
 

Whole heartedly agree with your disappointment with TJD. Didn’t seem assertive at all tonight and we are toast if we have a hesitant and passive TJD.

I just think in that kind of atmosphere and at that pace that’s where he really stands out.  Not sure he would have been as hot like he was against UNC but I wasn’t impressed with the Arizona guards.  He would have been a huge difference on defense and he could have gotten whatever shot he wanted against their guards. The only question is how many he makes but I think he punks either of them.

[RaceToTheTop 23,450]

I think where we missed JHS most was defensively.  He's 6'5" and has a nice wing span.  Would have made it more difficult on Kriisa and Ramey.

[Alford Bailey 12,218]

If JG deserved more minutes he’d get them. Every season we have a conversation about a guy that “needs to play more” and the fans are never right.

[NashvilleHoosier 3,624]

8 minutes ago, IU - Kaulie said:

I just think in that kind of atmosphere and at that pace that’s where he really stands out.  Not sure he would have been as hot like he was against UNC but I wasn’t impressed with the Arizona guards.  He would have been a huge difference on defense and he could have gotten whatever shot he wanted against their guards. The only question is how many he makes but I think he punks either of them.

I can’t say I wasn’t impressed with their guards. Krissa and Larsson were pretty damn good and that guy Bal off the bench hit everything he threw up. I don’t think JHS’ impact changes much. 

[IU - Kaulie 1,855]

1 minute ago, NashvilleHoosier said:

I can’t say I wasn’t impressed with their guards. Krissa and Larsson were pretty damn good and that guy Bal off the bench hit everything he threw up. I don’t think JHS’ impact changes much. 

They were hitting shots but again big difference between JHS fighting over a ball screen as compared to Bates.  I think JHS has a big impact on this game and I think he is the best guard on the floor.  Now we still lose with that TJD performance however.

[str8baller 4,720]

One final positive is that hopefully Race found his shot. He was about 40% from 3 at the end of last year, then he laid an egg to start this year. 
 

If he can be a stretch 4 we can play some good small ball. Especially if Bates shoots it well. 

[rcbowla 6,730]

Not being a 25 minute player doesn't mean he isn't a Power 5 conference player. 

Yeah agree. He brings things that are power 5. And tbh I'm not sure what he did or didn't do tonight to deserve the criticism he's getting. He didn't play badly he just didn't play much. MO

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

[RaceToTheTop 23,450]

1 minute ago, rcs29 said:

Yeah agree. He brings things that are power 5. And tbh I'm not sure what he did or didn't do tonight to deserve the criticism he's getting. He didn't play badly he just didn't play much. MO

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk
 

Yes, he simply didn't play much.  Reneau had a stretch where he was decent but still finds himself in way too much foul trouble.

The bench was shortened tonight which is likely what it will be against really good competition.  Outside of Bates, our bench didn't play many minutes.  

[Alford Bailey 12,218]

Didn’t feel like it but both teams shot 40% 10/25 from three. The difference was FTs and rebounds.  TJD poor play was key. Outscored 42-22 in the paint.

[HoosierFan1994 4,585]

Losing sucks..no doubt about it. But I'm d**n proud of this team and how they fought back. I don't think any less of this team. 

1) I thought Arizona was going to win comfortably especially without Jalen. Score was much closer than it actually was. Credit them. They're one of the 4 best teams I've seen this year. Indiana is not there yet. I really like Kerr. Ballo pushes off but he's a beast down low with Tubelis. Man, I'll be stunned if they aren't in Houston. 

2) Indiana is a good team. You can say even very good. 2nd Round/Sweet 16. Just don't think they're elite...yet. What's the theme with both losses? They gave up massive runs. Rutgers in the 2nd half. Arizona early in the game. You can't do that. 

3) Honestly, lots of positives to take away. I hope this game gets Tamar and Race going. Miller Kopp has been awesome. Hope he continues to score 10 plus a game as well. 

4) This team misses Jalen-Hood Schifino. Do I think IU wins with him? I don't know. I don't think they get blown out at Rutgers with him and I don't think Arizona goes on a crazy run if he's out there. I hope he's back soon. One of my worries this off season was what if JHS and X get into foul trouble/suffer an injury. Who runs the point? I thought that hurt us tonight. Galloway and Bates are okay at time but not for long stretches. 

5) Our kryptonite is going to be teams that have bigs that can slow Trayce down. Happy others stepped up, but you aren't going to win with a below average game from him. 

6) Not why we lost but it's time the officials are held accountable. Between that goaltending and the Purdue-Nebraska game.

I actually think IU matches up well with Kansas. But it's going to be hard to win there. I still like this team. The Big Ten is going to be brutal but lots of opportunities to show up and get a big win. 

[HoosierFan1994 4,585]

1 hour ago, Bowhunter said:

We might be a top 20 team. We might be the 4th best team in the Big. We will get better but not a national title contender. 

Curious who the top 3 are? Not saying we are/aren't but I think it's way too early for that. I don't think Purdue is as mighty as we think. Illinois got smacked around by a sneaky good Penn State team. Maryland...? Big Ten is going to be a battle. 13-7 might get you a share of the title. 

[HoosierHoopster 5,985]

4 hours ago, HoosierAloha said:

We still have no idea how good we are this season. We had plenty of games last season, and one this season, where after getting punched we went through the motions and really didn't compete.

Missing JHS is killing us, it’s night and day. Healthy we are a strong team, not a FF team but a SW16 team easily. The one thing that is bothering me is the unwillingness to play and further develop JG, it’s a mistake. Against this kind of team, running and scoring bigs, we are at a disadvantage without our athletic bigs. Ren is getting there , the foul rate will go down, JG needs more floor time 

[Hoosierfan2017 19,856]

4 minutes ago, HoosierHoopster said:

Missing JHS is killing us, it’s night and day. Healthy we are a strong team, not a FF team but a SW16 team easily. The one thing that is bothering me is the unwillingness to play and further develop JG, it’s a mistake. 

He’s not good enough to play more right now. There are plenty of minute available on the wing. He can’t play on the wing, though, so he’s stuck fighting Race and Malik for minutes at the 4. 

[RaceToTheTop 23,450]

1 hour ago, HoosierHoopster said:

Missing JHS is killing us, it’s night and day. Healthy we are a strong team, not a FF team but a SW16 team easily. The one thing that is bothering me is the unwillingness to play and further develop JG, it’s a mistake. Against this kind of team, running and scoring bigs, we are at a disadvantage without our athletic bigs. Ren is getting there , the foul rate will go down, JG needs more floor time 

At the end of last year, I was all for giving JG a run at the 3 this year.  And that was the focus of what the staff was looking to do with him and that started immediately after last year ended.  The fact that he isn’t getting minutes there is indicative of not an unwillingness to play him there but rather his inability to do so.

[colonel06 1,913]

I think we may be putting too much stock in JHS.  Yes he is a terrific freshman and the team misses him particularly X but from the comments I’m reading it sounds like he is the silver bullet for these hard losses we’ve had.

[IU - Kaulie 1,855]

5 hours ago, colonel06 said:

I think we may be putting too much stock in JHS.  Yes he is a terrific freshman and the team misses him particularly X but from the comments I’m reading it sounds like he is the silver bullet for these hard losses we’ve had.

I don’t think he is a Savior but it’s a different game with him.  Have you ever seen JHS fight through a ball screen as compared to let’s say Bates?  On the other end he could have gotten whatever he wanted against their guards.  Don’t know how many he makes but he gets to whatever spot he wants and gets up whatever shot he wants.  
This game goes down to the end with him  so we will never know.  I get a sense that in that atmosphere and when the lights shine the brightest JHS shows out.  Each game is different.  I think we still get smoked at Rutgers with him in the lineup.

[JSHoosier 19,529]

Why do we give up so many offensive boards?  Do we just not box out?  Do we completely sell out for blocked shots?