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Class of '66 Old Fart

IUBB @ Nebraska - Wednesday, 01.03.24 @ 9:00 ET on BTN

By Class of '66 Old Fart, in Indiana Men's Basketball

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Stuhoo    81,302

Stuhoo
Posted
40 minutes ago, Hovadipo said:

And 10-3 overall!

(baybeeeeee)

eeek...that 8-3 non-conference is less impressive. 

My thoughts on this team have remained unchanged:

  • Even if healthy we stood to have some really rough moments during the first half of the season.
  • Having only three returning guys that got playing time in the system last year is rough, especially when one is the starting point guard who has been injured for most of the season.
  • Woody's defense has taken time and gotten better during the season every year, and this year will likely be no exception
  • But the talent level and ceiling for this team is high, especially if we can keep our key pieces healthy. 
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IUFAN1976    3,293

IUFAN1976
Posted
27 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

eeek...that 8-3 non-conference is less impressive. 

My thoughts on this team have remained unchanged:

  • Even if healthy we stood to have some really rough moments during the first half of the season.
  • Having only three returning guys that got playing time in the system last year is rough, especially when one is the starting point guard who has been injured for most of the season.
  • Woody's defense has taken time and gotten better during the season every year, and this year will likely be no exception
  • But the talent level and ceiling for this team is high, especially if we can keep our key pieces healthy. 

I agree with everything you said but the biggest key is keeping key pieces healthy, actually it’s keep our top 8 players healthy because once again, our bench isn’t near as deep as it should be.   
 

The ceiling is high on this team but their learning curve has to accelerate now that the full B10 slate has arrived.  We can’t reach our ceiling in game 18 of the B10 season, that would not be acceptable. X not playing really hurt the chemistry, defined roles, and them learning the system.  Woody will now have to accelerate things and I hope X and Ware are back.

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IU_FanClub    1,680

IU_FanClub
Posted

Is it just me or has kenpom and other computer metrics been hammered home way more this year than before in college basketball as a whole? Seems like you can't look at anything without people bringing up computer rankings.

Frankly, I am sick of them. Sure they can be useful but games aren't played in kenpom's mom's basement.

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Home Jersey    7,957

Home Jersey
Posted
On 1/10/2023 at 12:04 PM, Loaded Chicken Sandwich said:

So after this week, Indiana likely to be 1-5 in conference. Two games after are AT Illinois and Michigan State. I think that puts us at 1-7. Then we play AT Minnesota. I think that's our most realistic win right now. Unfortunately fine to reset expectations for the remainder of the season. We are a bottom 4 B1G team now. 

At 1-7, I think they're should absolutely be talks, and very serious talks, about Woody stepping down and retiring. 

It doesn't irk me whatsoever that you predicted we'd go 1-7. I can even see where you'd think it's possible (not probable though, to Stuhoo's points below). Message boards are for sharing frustration and excitement as a fanbase/community. Some are more pessimistic than others. That is perfectly okay - a good thing, even. What DOES make me roll my eyes and scoff is the red bolded text. 

1 hour ago, Stuhoo said:

Not that it couldn't happen (anything is possible), but the chances of this happening are extremely low (as they were last year) and this is a window into pessimistic bias. For what it's worth, after eight conference games last year we ended up at 4-4 on our way to a 12-8 overall conference record. 

Finally, while it is fun to speculate, as Bill Parcells once famously said, "You are what your record says you are." And right now our conference record says we are 2-0, which is good to see.

At the time Chicken Little Sandwich made his 1/10/2023 post, we were 10-5 (1-3 B10). CLS was already willing to accept that defeat was inevitable and we'd lose the next 4. We went 3-1 (beat #18 Wiscy, @ #23 Illinois, and vs. MSU). "We are a bottom 4 B1G team now" We finished tied for second.

"At 1-7, I think they're [sic] should absolutely be talks, and very serious talks, about Woody retiring." 

People have such bold convictions based on scenarios they've completely made up in their own mind. 

There's something to be said about letting things play out and watching a season unfold. There are a lot of twists and turns for every single team over the course of the season. That's part of what makes it fun to watch/root them on. A handful of people here don't seem to agree/find that way of being a fan enjoyable. To each their own...

I know this program hasn't had the success we all want it to since the 80s, but some people are ready to throw the baby out with the bath water at the first sign of adversity. That's weak sauce. 

So sure, everyone can complain about our poor play or that they don't believe in Woody and why that is. He is by no means perfect - I don't think anyone believes he is, either. It's fun to hear other fans perspectives and speculate on things. But don't be surprised when others share an opposing view and let you hear about it when your doom and gloom or sunshine is demonstrably shown to be unwarranted. 

Just as some like to say "But we were told Gunn would be a stud" etc. (no you weren't) every time he plays poorly or our backcourt is being exposed, I may start saying after every win "But we were told Woody would go 1-7"

It's all in good fun :farting_smiley:

Mods, feel free to move to the Rant thread. 

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IUFAN1976    3,293

IUFAN1976
Posted
17 minutes ago, Home Jersey said:

Hoping that X comes off the bench tonight... he pushed it vs. Harvard and we saw what happened.

If he is not 100% I'd like to see if he can just give 10-15 mins of good perimeter D and scoring or playmaking. 

9pm is gonna take sooo long to get here. 

I agree, I think it should be for a few games until he is 100% and is in better game shape to start giving us 20-25 minutes per game.  I think 10-15 should be about right and that will help our depth, but knowing Woody, he will start and play 25 minutes.

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Home Jersey    7,957

Home Jersey
Posted

Nebraska site's pre-game read - Some interesting notes:

Trey Galloway is a glue guy having to do more because of limited guard play. Freshman guard Gabe Cupps is mostly just bringing the ball up the court and shoots at a Benny Parker like rate. 6'8" 215# Miami transfer Anthony Walker is nice depth but he's yet another post player who doesn't take outside shots.

The Skinny: 

2023-24 has been a down enough season for the B1G to the point that Indiana comes in as a Quad 3 opponent. Nebraska is simultaneously looking to rack up conference wins at home while avoiding resume killing loses. Indiana's 3 loses have come against some of the best in the country...can Nebraska make the grade?

Indiana presents a great style matchup for the Huskers. There won't be a ton of 3pt shooters for their defense to chase as the Hoosiers are one of the most 2pt heavy teams in D-1. Defensively, the Hoosiers should present plenty of open 3pt shots and expect Nebraska to take advantage. What could decide this one is Nebraska's ability to defend the paint without fouling as Indiana draws plenty of contact and Nebraska could be without Rienk Mast. Things could get real dicey if Nebraska has to play Diop or even CJ Wilcher at center. Despite their height, Indiana isn't an elite rebounding squad so it's possible for Nebraska to limit 2nd chance shots.

This is a getable game for the Huskers and look for them to have a great shot in this one, especially with their edge in FT shooting.

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HoosierHoopster    7,102

HoosierHoopster
Posted

My gut says we won’t be able to handle the combination of Neb’s outside shooting and rebounding, on the road. That said, if we have X and Ware back, we should have a legit shot, our guys are now battle tested. Do hope Bako’s back as well, don’t like all the iffs in this conf road game

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