Analysis: Setting the table for IU in the B1G Tournament

[IndyHutch 1,718]

The Big Ten Tournament has never been a friendly place for Indiana basketball. The last time IU advanced out of the quarterfinals was 2006. Indiana will hope to do that on Friday when it faces Michigan at Noon at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Here is my take (and prediction) on what's to come.

Iowa looked flat and disinterested Thursday afternoon in a 68-66 loss to Illinois.

 

Wisconsin couldn’t shoot straight against Nebraska, hitting just 30.2 percent of its shots in a 70-58 loss to the Cornhuskers.

 

Ohio State was lucky to get away with a victory over Penn State, and Michigan needed overtime to beat Northwestern.

 

Bottom line: It wasn’t a great day for the favorites Thursday in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

 

Now, with that as a backdrop, No. 1 seed Indiana will open quarterfinal action on Friday against Michigan. The Wolverines could be playing like a desperate team as Michigan likely needs a victory to have a shot at qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.

 

Indiana fans are hoping for a rare semifinal appearance in the conference tournament with a victory on Friday against Michigan.

 

The bigger question for Hoosier fans, though, is whether Indiana can continue to play the way it has in the final five games of the season when it beat Nebraska, Purdue, Illinois, Iowa and Maryland to close out the season?

 

And IU will need to play well in a conference tournament that has not been a friend over the years.

 

Indiana will be looking to advance beyond the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2006. That year, IU beat Wisconsin in the quarterfinals only to lose 52-51 to in the tournament semifinals in Indianapolis.

 

The last time Indiana advanced to the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament was 2001 when the Hoosiers dropped a 63-61 decision to Iowa.

 

IU’s all-time record as the No. 1 seed in the tournament is 1-1. The Hoosiers’ all-time record in the Big Ten Tournament is 11-18. Tom Crean is 3-7 in B1G Tournament play.

 

Here’s something to chew on: Two of the teams that defeated Indiana in Big Ten play lost on Thursday in the second round: Penn State and Wisconsin.

 

In fact, the Hoosiers are 8-1 this season against the teams still remaining in the conference tournament field. The one loss was to Michigan State, a team that IU couldn’t play until the Sunday tournament championship game.

 

But first things first. First up is Michigan, a team that Indiana beat 80-67 back on Feb. 2 at the Crisler Center. That was the game where the Hoosiers had that crazy 27-0 run and blew the game open.

 

Yogi Ferrell had 17 in that game and Robert Johnson had 16. It’s not certain if Johnson will play this time around and the Hoosiers may be holding him out until the NCAA Tournament. OG Anunoby had 11 the first time the teams played, Troy Williams had nine and Nick Zeisloft had eight.

 

Zak Irvin led Michigan with 16 and Duncan Robinson had 14.

 

One number that jumped off the statistics page was IU’s ability to control the boards. The Hoosiers outrebounded Michigan 44-30 and had 14 offensive rebounds. IU scored 44 points in the paint and had a 13-6 edge in second chance points.

 

Thomas Bryant was limited to seven points in 21 minutes the first time the teams played.

 

This will be a big game for Indiana in that if the Hoosiers can win one would think that they could likely hang on to a No. 3 seed when Selection Sunday comes around this weekend. A quarterfinal loss to Michigan, however, could see IU slip to a No. 4 seed.

 

What do you think will happen? My guess is that Indiana will prevail by 10-12 points. We’ll see soon enough.

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[HoosierAloha 30,024]

Great article as usual Hutch.  I believe the run at Crisler got up to 28-0, 25-0 to end the first half and then an OG 3 to continue the run in the second half before Michigan fans went crazy when they finally scored.

 

I feel like IU will come out slow while Michigan shows an early "nothing to lose" attitude.  IU will settle down and find their offensive stride.  I have IU winning by 8-10.

 

Edit:  Also, a big key will be slowing down that "who is that dude?" coming in off the bench that keeps knocking down shots.  That one Wiscy player from several years ago in the tourney still gives me nightmares.

[rebelhoosier848891 9,588]

Good stuff.  Beat the Wolves!  Come on Hoosiers--it's time to finally win this tournament and get that monkey off our backs!

[GloryDays 5,913]

Really think we win this one going away.The next one looks to be a revenge game for the Toiletmakers,asuming they beat the Illlini and could be tough. Go Hoosiers.

[Alford Bailey 12,355]

Part of me has zero confidence we do anything in this tourney and part of me says we're due.

[Bobman1 2,909]

The background and history for us in this tournament makes me feel like we lose this game. I would not feel comfortable as a 4 seed. But this team is different! Hoosiers win by double digits.

[GnarlyTimGarl 1,433]

Just a quick note, I believe we went past the quarterfinals in 2013. We were the 1 seed and beat Illinois in the first game, then lost to Wisconsin in the semifinals.

 

But still, our success in this tournament is lacking. Point stays the same.

[Scooter D 928]

I like this match up better than if IU had to play Northwestern.  Olah is a load and TB would have serious problems with him...again.

 

Anyway...am saying the Hoosiers start cold, close the first half strong, up maybe 5, and then come out second half, tear it open, but win by less than 10.