IUBB @ Northwestern - Wednesday, 01.22.25 @ 7:00 ET on BTN

[Dave from Dayton]

10 hours ago, WeeDerkaNaut said:

Reneau plays...Do I assume he's gonna be motivated to go off and change my prediction again OR do I feel like he's going to be tentative and not play to full capacity? It does feel like a must win to save the king...ugh, changing it again LMFAO 

3 out of 4 times that I have changed my prediction; I lost big points on the change.  

Share the ball, defend, keep fouls down, rebound, do not dribble into trouble ...if Mgbako gets out of his slump...Neither he nor Reneau are shut down defenders...but NWern has some questionable defenders, too.

And if Coach Woody keeps a good mix of players on the court and they show some serious grit when things inevitably get rough/tough.

I think that Ballo will be fine, in part because Reneau just may be available for breathers.  

To me it is the PG matchup.  If Miles Rice does not lose his cool and/or get into foul trouble, that just might get IU over the hump at NWern.

And overall turnovers...they are the big killer.  The pressure is going to be on the guards.

It is apparent...that any team can beat any other team.   It is going to be a fun game.

 

[TTT]

Coach talking about team ball should not matter who is playing as they had a group who played winning basketball vs Ohio State.  He fixed it.  

[Stuhoo]

21 minutes ago, TTT said:

Coach talking about team ball should not matter who is playing as they had a group who played winning basketball vs Ohio State.  He fixed it.  

Agreed. When we got hit with adversity at the end of regulation at OSU, the team remained focused and did what it took to get a win in overtime. When things aren't going well if that kind of improved response  becomes a trend, this team can be better than anyone expected a week ago. 

Tonight will be interesting; NW is a tough place to play these days and needless to say we have had trouble when we get rattled. 

[WeeDerkaNaut]

3 hours ago, Dave from Dayton said:

3 out of 4 times that I have changed my prediction; I lost big points on the change.  

Share the ball, defend, keep fouls down, rebound, do not dribble into trouble ...if Mgbako gets out of his slump...Neither he nor Reneau are shut down defenders...but NWern has some questionable defenders, too.

And if Coach Woody keeps a good mix of players on the court..

I think that Ballo will be fine...to me it is the PG matchup.  And overall turnovers...they are the big killer.  The pressure is going to be on the guards.

It is apparent...that any team can beat any other team.   It is going to be a fun game.

 

There are just so many questions. If Reneau is playing again does that also mean we go back to the two big setup and several player rotations that are dysfunctional or has Woodson learned from all this? Will we be affected by the crowd and wilt to the pressure? And will that affect our shooting? The whole team can just collectively slump at times, as made evident by our 1 for 20 from three showing but we couldn't really shoot from anywhere that night and it's not the only time it's happened. Unless Mgbako has been putting up tons of threes while working on his form in practice he's not making them. He has been bricking them for multiple games now, but when he goes into the paint he either gets a free bucket or draws a foul. I know his scouting report says he's a three guy with limited drive potential due to a lack of burst but it appears to me he has been improving in regards to his in the paint work while heavily regressing from the perimeter. I question whether or not he's been working on his form while practicing threes or if he's just chucking them up for the sake of chucking them up. We have mostly shored up the turnover problem but that leads me back to how they will respond to the pressure of the Northwestern crowd. The PG matchups are a big factor in our success I agree. Rice usually always plays hard, so the question then lies with Galloway's level of effort combined with Carlyles shot selection. I'm usually not worried about Leal as he tends to just do his thing and find success. In all of this our biggest killer is consistency. It's just simply impossible to predict which IU team will show up on any given day. My guess though is Woodson knows he has to at minimum not get the doors blown off tonight even if we do lose. So I predict it being a very close game. Do we win? No idea. Will it be close? Very. Just my take though so have a grain of salt with it.

[reconmkd]

Brooks "p0rn stache" Barnhizer for 30 tonight!

[Scotty R]

I guess I am not tbe kind of person who can root for my team to lose. Even though I want a coaching change I just can't bring myself to hope we lose a game. The OSU game I tried to but it just I had a sickening feeling hoping for a loss.

[TheWatShot]

13 minutes ago, Scotty R said:

I guess I am not tbe kind of person who can root for my team to lose. Even though I want a coaching change I just can't bring myself to hope we lose a game. The OSU game I tried to but it just I had a sickening feeling hoping for a loss.

I just try to be indifferent until the games end. It really sucks to be in this position. 

 

The worst part is seeing other fanbases enjoying their teams and laughing their a$$es off at us rooting and hoping for losses. 

[DChoosier]

15 minutes ago, Scotty R said:

I guess I am not tbe kind of person who can root for my team to lose. Even though I want a coaching change I just can't bring myself to hope we lose a game. The OSU game I tried to but it just I had a sickening feeling hoping for a loss.

I’m with you in that I want IU to win every game.

The thing that has changed with me, however, is that losses don’t really bother me anymore as I view them as one more nail in the coffin.

[AKHoosier]

Woodson's back is against the wall, I think we win tonight.

We have a way of responding just when it appears the bottom is about to fall out.

I would not be surprised at all if a little 3 game win streak started last Friday night.

[Scotty R]

10 minutes ago, DChoosier said:

I’m with you in that I want IU to win every game.

The thing that has changed with me, however, is that losses don’t really bother me anymore as I view them as one more nail in the coffin.

Losses use to stay with me for days but not today. I hope some of that is that I got older and grew up.

[DChoosier]

4 minutes ago, Scotty R said:

Losses use to stay with me for days but not today. I hope some of that is that I got older and grew up.

Losses would bum me out but didn’t stay with me for days with a few exceptions (Calbert’s team losing to Kansas, the Teddy V Duke game, Cody’s team losing to Syracuse and a few others).

[IUHoosier5]

Decided to buy two tickets to tonight’s game. This will be my first time going to their arena. If anyone has been and has recommendations for parking, please PM me. SeatGeek did not have any parking passes available. 

[Hoosier987]

I think we win tonight. Honestly, the best circumstance for this team after the rout at home against Illinois was to go on the road for the next couple of games against very average teams. No doubt Woodson will be walking in with his head held super high on Sunday if we beat a mediocre NW team.

[johnsoniu]

1 hour ago, IUHoosier5 said:

Decided to buy two tickets to tonight’s game. This will be my first time going to their arena. If anyone has been and has recommendations for parking, please PM me. SeatGeek did not have any parking passes available. 

I’ve always parked in the Ryan Field lots, but I think those are closed due to stadium construction. They should have some campus lots open with shuttle service, be sure to give yourself some extra time.

[IUHoosier5]

Just now, johnsoniu said:

I’ve always parked in the Ryan Field lots, but I think those are closed due to stadium construction. They should have some campus lots open with shuttle service, be sure to give yourself some extra time.

Thank you! 

[RaceToTheTop]

39 minutes ago, johnsoniu said:

I’ve always parked in the Ryan Field lots, but I think those are closed due to stadium construction. They should have some campus lots open with shuttle service, be sure to give yourself some extra time.

Whenever I've been to a game at Northwestern, it's been about 50% IU fans, 50% Northwestern fans.  They have the student section set up at one end to give the illusion of home court, but there really isn't much of one.  The home court advantage is more about the fact that they play trash ball and the refs won't call all of the fouls.

[Golfman25]

1 hour ago, IUHoosier5 said:

Decided to buy two tickets to tonight’s game. This will be my first time going to their arena. If anyone has been and has recommendations for parking, please PM me. SeatGeek did not have any parking passes available. 

I would second the lots that are right there.  But check before to see how they are given construction.  Second option would possibly be the Metra spots off of central and poplar.  Good luck and have fun.  

[HoosierCoop]

3 hours ago, reconmkd said:

Brooks "p0rn stache" Barnhizer for 30 tonight!

Man, you beat me to it!!!

[American HoosierX]

1 hour ago, RaceToTheTop said:

Whenever I've been to a game at Northwestern, it's been about 50% IU fans, 50% Northwestern fans.  They have the student section set up at one end to give the illusion of home court, but there really isn't much of one.  The home court advantage is more about the fact that they play trash ball and the refs won't call all of the fouls.

I live in Chicago and would normally always go to this game. But I can't bring myself to spend money watching this team. (after dropping $800 to watch IU in playoffs haha)

I'll be curious as to the fan split tonight and whether I'm an anomaly or the norm.

[IUHoosier5]

48 minutes ago, Golfman25 said:

I would second the lots that are right there.  But check before to see how they are given construction.  Second option would possibly be the Metra spots off of central and poplar.  Good luck and have fun.  

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