Analysis: Three reasons IU is done in the B1G Tournament

[IndyHutch 1,718]

There are a lot of reasons why Indiana is not playing on Saturday in the B1G Tournament despite being a No. 1 seed and winning the conference regular season title outright by two games. Here are three of them.

I didn’t expect Indiana to win the Big Ten Tournament.

 

I also didn’t expect the Hoosiers to bow out as the No. 1 seed against No. 8 seed Michigan on Friday afternoon.

 

But unfortunately, of the two scenarios, I would have thought the latter had a better chance of happening than the former.

 

For whatever reason, Indiana basketball has not fared well in the conference tournament.

 

In 19 tournaments, the Hoosiers have been knocked out in the first game 10 times. TEN TIMES ONE AND DONE.

 

The last time the Hoosiers played on a Saturday in the Big Ten Tournament was 2006.

 

And now three times Indiana has lost at the buzzer in the Big Ten Tournament. It started with Iowa’s Luke Recker (when arguably the clock operator in Indianapolis started the clock a split second too slow) and later with Minnesota’s Blake Hoffarber in Dan Dakich’s interim season as coach.

 

The third time, and the charm if you will, was Kameron Chatman’s 3 from the right corner with 0.2 seconds to play Friday that eliminated the Hoosiers 72-69.

 

So what was Indiana’s problem Friday and how did the Hoosiers get knocked out of the Big Ten Tournament in the first game?

 

Here are a few takes:

 

1. Collin Hartman has to be better: He took two shots, both 3’s, and missed them both. He had three rebounds and one turnover in 20 minutes. But he just didn’t make an impact and when Indiana has played well, Hartman has made an impact. He also looked lost on a couple of back door cuts early that resulted in Michigan layups.
2. Indiana was 4 for 17 from 3-point distance: I’m not saying that Indiana has to be connecting from deep but … in the last nine games coming in to the B1G Tournament, the Hoosiers had made at least eight 3-pointers in each game and more than 10 five times. IU relies on the long ball and if that’s not going in, then the Hoosiers simply have to be more efficient inside. And that wasn’t the case on Friday.
3. IU has to be stronger with the ball: In the last 16 games, Indiana has had 15 or more turnovers three times. One of those times was Friday. In those three games, IU was 0-3. In the other 13 games, when the Hoosiers turned it over 14 times or less, Indiana is 12-1. Indiana simply has to be stronger with the ball.
So where does Indiana go from here?

 

The answer is that the Hoosiers will likely still be a top 4 seed on Sunday when the brackets are revealed but there’s now a chance that the Hoosiers could be sent out West or somewhere a lot farther away than St. Louis or central Iowa.

 

If that were to happen, IU would only have its self to blame after Friday’s performance .

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[odd thoughts 15]

Before most every game, I ask a friend of mine the same question...Which team is going to show up today? The good one or the team that plays down to the other team...Yesterday, we saw a bit of both...During the game, I made a comment, that they are a step slow.  Not overly bad, just a step behind...They pretty much were all day, with maybe an exception for about 2 minutes before the under 4 TO first half...For those couple of minutes, they looked like. gang busters, then TO and back to sleep...

Terry, mentioned a few players, I think I will to. 

Mr. Hartman...If you do one thing to improve yourself over the summer number 1 on the list should be the first shuffle step right or left against a dribbler...It is the one thing that gets you in trouble every game...You are averaging close to 4 fouls a game, and that is the reason...Having said that...if I could clone you, I would...As an x coach, having 5 of you and the way you play on the floor, sure would make me happy.

Freshman all three, glad to have you and for the most part impressed. 

3...Keep doing what you are doing, it's working.

13  Same applies for  you as well.

31...Mr. Bryant...Please learn something...On a basketball court the butt is a sensory organ...Years ago, in the Sampson era, there was a kid, whose name I forget, he was part of the in trouble group...The heavy one (some of us called him he 1 iron, mainly because you were never sure what your were going to get)  Anyway he would catch a pass posting on the block, and before he did made any move, he would bounce the ball exactly once, then make his move...Mr. B, you are doing the same thing minus the bounce...You catch the ball on the block, and freeze...Then you make your move...but if you sense where the guy is before the ball gets there, you don't have to wait...Comes with time, but watch the film...you can see it over and over...

My biggest fear this week going into the NCAA, is that we play down to the team we are playing.  If we can play like we did against Iowa, Maryland or P, we got just as much a shot at winning this thing as anybody else...When they play good, they are scary...However, if we do like we have done a lot this year, and play down to them (think PSU), we got a big problem...

Only time will tell