A Final Analysis on the 2015-16 Hoosiers

[IndyHutch 1,718]

For the third time in five seasons, the Indiana basketball season ended in the Sweet Sixteen. Some feel the season was a success while others were disappointed with the finish. Here's my take.

There’s a simple reason why Indiana was eliminated from the 2016 NCAA Tournament by top-seeded North Carolina Friday night in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center.

 

 

 

 

 

The Hoosiers lost to the better team.

 

 

 

 

 

You can flip this one any way you choose, but in the end that should be your conclusion. In 18 years covering IU basketball, I've seen a lot of seasons end where you were convinced that wasn't the case. Friday night, that's exactly what happened though: IU lost to a better team.

 

 

 

 

 

This wasn’t 2013 when Indiana was a No. 1 seed and lost to a No. 4 in Syracuse because it couldn’t solve the zone defense.

 

 

 

 

This wasn't a team that lost to Cleveland State or Richmond or Kent State or a host of other opponents where IU was heavily favored.

 

 

 

This was a No. 5 seeded Indiana team that beat a good Kentucky team to make it to the Sweet Sixteen and then simply went up against a red hot North Carolina team. A North Carolina team that when it reached the Sweet Sixteen was considered a co-favorite with Kansas to take home the national title. 

 

 

 

 

 

Indiana didn’t play poorly Friday night. North Carolina just played better.

 

 

 

 

 

Sure, we all would have liked to have seen a contribution from Nick Zeisloft.

 

 

 

 

 

We all would have liked to have seen Troy Williams play in the first half like he did in the second.

 

 

 

 

 

We all would have liked to have seen what Indiana could have done had Robert Johnson been cleared to play.

 

 

 

 

We would have liked to have seen what would have happened if North Carolina wasn't in the bonus in the second half before the first media timeout.

 

 

 

We all would have liked to have seen Indiana come charging out of the second half locker room and quickly get the deficit into single digits and get back into the game.

 

 

 

 

 

But none of that was to be because North Carolina is a really good basketball team. If the Tar Heels play the way they did Friday night against IU, I think they win the national championship.

 

 

 

 

 

They were that good Friday night.

 

 

 

 

 

What I don’t get is the people I’ve encountered in message board threads and Twitter today who are taking Tom Crean to task for the way the season ended. They somehow want to place all the blame there for the fact that North Carolina couldn’t miss from the field and was too much for IU inside.

 

 

 

 

 

A buddy of mine sent me a text after Indiana beat Kentucky and asked me if I thought that victory would silence the Crean haters at least for this season?

 

 

 

 

 

I gave him my standard, canned answer on that topic: I told him it would silence the critics until Indiana’s next loss. That’s simply the nature of the beast with IU basketball fans.

 

 

 

 

 

But here’s my take there: I think this was Tom Crean’s best coaching job at Indiana. Hands down. If we go back to the way this team looked through the first eight games, how it played in Maui and how it looked against Duke in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and then fast forward to IU winning the outright Big Ten title by two full games, I don’t know how you could reach any other conclusion.

 

 

 

 

This wasn't a GREAT Indiana basketball team. It was a good Indiana team that played its roles really well. And Crean and his staff are responsible for getting players to accept those roles.

 

 

 

Crean got people to buy in. Players did a great job in embracing their roles. And the days of IU playing a turnstile type of defense came to an end. And because of that, this was a fun team to watch. A team that never gave up and had three wins in games where it trailed by 10 points or more.

 

 

 

 

 

It was a team that got IU fans excited about Indiana basketball again. A few hours before the game, I was across the street from the Wells Fargo Center and saw a crowd of more than 1,000 IU fans packed in a sports bar called McFadden's for the Big Red Warmup. It was a madhouse. People were excited. People believed that IU could do the improbable and knock off the No. 1 seed in the East. They believed in Indiana basketball and that was fun to see.

 

But I think that's because Crean and his staff got this team to a place that few would have expected them to be, especially after that 5-3 start to the season. It was a team filled with the kinds of kids you wanted wearing the IU basketball uniform. It was the kind of team that you truly felt had a chance to win every game they played.

 

 

 

 

 

That’s also why Friday night was disappointing. Because you got the feeling that Indiana was playing its best basketball at the absolute best possible time. You didn’t feel like the team had run out of gas like you did in the last few years with Bob Knight at the helm, or more recently, perhaps how you felt in 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

This team had confidence, energy, focus and a cast of characters that you wanted to root for. Players like O.G. Anunoby, Thomas Bryant, Juwan Morgan, Collin Hartman, Yogi Ferrell, Max Bielfeldt, Nick Zeisloft, Robert Johnson and Troy Williams were players who endeared themselves to IU fans everywhere.

 

 

 

 

 

In the end, however, the Hoosiers went up against a better team.

 

 

 

 

 

And that’s the reality, plain and simple, coming out of Friday night’s 101-86 loss to North Carolina.

 

 

 

 

 

Indiana lost to the better team.

 

 

 

View full article

 

[jmsgws 2,181]

Nice write up to end the season Terry.  In an earlier thread you asked about the season, and I said it basically comes down to the way it ends.  Like you I didn't think IU played that badly, though the score doesn't reflect that.  So I guess I will call this a good season.  I like your take on Crean and the coaching job.  I think he really did learn and change a lot this year.  

 

[MadAboutIndiana 402]

This was one of the most enjoyable seasons in a LONG time IMO. As you say, what a cast of characters.

Can't ever take away 15-3!

[Class of '66 Old Fart 84,650]

8 hours ago, IndyHutch said:

For the third time in five seasons, the Indiana basketball season ended in the Sweet Sixteen. Some feel the season was a success while others were disappointed with the finish. Here's my take.

There’s a simple reason why Indiana was eliminated from the 2016 NCAA Tournament by top-seeded North Carolina Friday night in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center.

 

 

 

 

 

The Hoosiers lost to the better team.

 

 

 

 

 

You can flip this one any way you choose, but in the end that should be your conclusion. In 18 years covering IU basketball, I've seen a lot of seasons end where you were convinced that wasn't the case. Friday night, that's exactly what happened though: IU lost to a better team.

 

 

 

 

 

This wasn’t 2013 when Indiana was a No. 1 seed and lost to a No. 4 in Syracuse because it couldn’t solve the zone defense.

 

 

 

 

This wasn't a team that lost to Cleveland State or Richmond or Kent State or a host of other opponents where IU was heavily favored.

 

 

 

This was a No. 5 seeded Indiana team that beat a good Kentucky team to make it to the Sweet Sixteen and then simply went up against a red hot North Carolina team. A North Carolina team that when it reached the Sweet Sixteen was considered a co-favorite with Kansas to take home the national title. 

 

 

 

 

 

Indiana didn’t play poorly Friday night. North Carolina just played better.

 

 

 

 

 

Sure, we all would have liked to have seen a contribution from Nick Zeisloft.

 

 

 

 

 

We all would have liked to have seen Troy Williams play in the first half like he did in the second.

 

 

 

 

 

We all would have liked to have seen what Indiana could have done had Robert Johnson been cleared to play.

 

 

 

 

We would have liked to have seen what would have happened if North Carolina wasn't in the bonus in the second half before the first media timeout.

 

 

 

We all would have liked to have seen Indiana come charging out of the second half locker room and quickly get the deficit into single digits and get back into the game.

 

 

 

 

 

But none of that was to be because North Carolina is a really good basketball team. If the Tar Heels play the way they did Friday night against IU, I think they win the national championship.

 

 

 

 

 

They were that good Friday night.

 

 

 

 

 

What I don’t get is the people I’ve encountered in message board threads and Twitter today who are taking Tom Crean to task for the way the season ended. They somehow want to place all the blame there for the fact that North Carolina couldn’t miss from the field and was too much for IU inside.

 

 

 

 

 

A buddy of mine sent me a text after Indiana beat Kentucky and asked me if I thought that victory would silence the Crean haters at least for this season?

 

 

 

 

 

I gave him my standard, canned answer on that topic: I told him it would silence the critics until Indiana’s next loss. That’s simply the nature of the beast with IU basketball fans.

 

 

 

 

 

But here’s my take there: I think this was Tom Crean’s best coaching job at Indiana. Hands down. If we go back to the way this team looked through the first eight games, how it played in Maui and how it looked against Duke in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and then fast forward to IU winning the outright Big Ten title by two full games, I don’t know how you could reach any other conclusion.

 

 

 

 

This wasn't a GREAT Indiana basketball team. It was a good Indiana team that played its roles really well. And Crean and his staff are responsible for getting players to accept those roles.

 

 

 

Crean got people to buy in. Players did a great job in embracing their roles. And the days of IU playing a turnstile type of defense came to an end. And because of that, this was a fun team to watch. A team that never gave up and had three wins in games where it trailed by 10 points or more.

 

 

 

 

 

It was a team that got IU fans excited about Indiana basketball again. A few hours before the game, I was across the street from the Wells Fargo Center and saw a crowd of more than 1,000 IU fans packed in a sports bar called McFadden's for the Big Red Warmup. It was a madhouse. People were excited. People believed that IU could do the improbable and knock off the No. 1 seed in the East. They believed in Indiana basketball and that was fun to see.

 

But I think that's because Crean and his staff got this team to a place that few would have expected them to be, especially after that 5-3 start to the season. It was a team filled with the kinds of kids you wanted wearing the IU basketball uniform. It was the kind of team that you truly felt had a chance to win every game they played.

 

 

 

 

 

That’s also why Friday night was disappointing. Because you got the feeling that Indiana was playing its best basketball at the absolute best possible time. You didn’t feel like the team had run out of gas like you did in the last few years with Bob Knight at the helm, or more recently, perhaps how you felt in 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

This team had confidence, energy, focus and a cast of characters that you wanted to root for. Players like O.G. Anunoby, Thomas Bryant, Juwan Morgan, Collin Hartman, Yogi Ferrell, Max Bielfeldt, Nick Zeisloft, Robert Johnson and Troy Williams were players who endeared themselves to IU fans everywhere.

 

 

 

 

 

In the end, however, the Hoosiers went up against a better team.

 

 

 

 

 

And that’s the reality, plain and simple, coming out of Friday night’s 101-86 loss to North Carolina.

 

 

 

 

 

Indiana lost to the better team.

 

 

 

View full article

 

2 thumbs up!   After the early season start, playing this late into the NCAA tournament was the farthest thing from my mind.

[Walking Boot of Doom 18,170]

Consider this: before our stretch of wins against the top of the B1G late in the season, people were uncertain whether or not we had a tournament resume.

[biteoftheapple 4,115]

Thanks Terry. Now to begin this book. Something like "Missing Banners."

[IndyHutch 1,718]

39 minutes ago, biteoftheapple said:

Thanks Terry. Now to begin this book. Something like "Missing Banners."

I hope you enjoy the book. Drop me a note and let me know what you think.

[Alford Bailey 12,373]

Totally agree Terry. This wasn't anything like the Syracuse loss. We were prepared. Similar to 2012 when the better team won.

[Scooter D 928]

Totally agree Hutch. 

Upon reflection...after where this team started, this season has got to be one of the most rewarding as a fan.  The turn around from November/Early December was really remarkable.  They came together as a team with kids that the IU fan base could rally behind.  

I believe that it may be a season like this may be able to turn the tide with higher profile recruits and get IU back to really competing on the national stage.  Crean showed that he really cares for his players and the players for him...and both for the university.  This season really highlighted player development and at the end of the day, I would much rather root for kids that do it the right way and are not bought and paid for as hired guns who do not care about the university and its fans.   I look forward to next season and the promise that it brings.  Go Hoosiers!

[jhoosier 49]

Really fun season, it has me excited for next season! I sure hope we get the pleasure of watching Mr. Bryant in candy stripes another year.

[OliviaPope40 6,514]

This season was more enjoyable than 12-13 to be honest I had fun watching them this year more so than in the past. My mom was so surprised by the fact that I was calm during the UK game because I normally scream and pace when games don't go well. 

[IndyHutch 1,718]

2 hours ago, Alford Bailey said:

Totally agree Terry. This wasn't anything like the Syracuse loss. We were prepared. Similar to 2012 when the better team won.

As hard as it is to agree with that point about 2012, you're correct. My fear was that Indiana would beat North Carolina and get to the Elite Eight and lose to a worse seed and then people would be bellyaching. And that would have been more understandable. 

[IndyHutch 1,718]

2 hours ago, Scooter D said:

Totally agree Hutch. 

Upon reflection...after where this team started, this season has got to be one of the most rewarding as a fan.  The turn around from November/Early December was really remarkable.  They came together as a team with kids that the IU fan base could rally behind.  

I believe that it may be a season like this may be able to turn the tide with higher profile recruits and get IU back to really competing on the national stage.  Crean showed that he really cares for his players and the players for him...and both for the university.  This season really highlighted player development and at the end of the day, I would much rather root for kids that do it the right way and are not bought and paid for as hired guns who do not care about the university and its fans.   I look forward to next season and the promise that it brings.  Go Hoosiers!

That relationship between Crean and his players, and they for him, has been a constant in his 8 seasons at IU. I know CTC pretty well and that much I know to be accurate. I think you saw it a little more this year because of how a lot of these guys wore their emotions on their sleeves. I also agree with you about player development. We really saw players get better -- even Yogi -- and that was impressive. It''s a lot more fun to follow IU basketball when there are kids on the floor that you are truly hoping succeed.

[IndyHutch 1,718]

1 hour ago, OliviaPope40 said:

This season was more enjoyable than 12-13 to be honest I had fun watching them this year more so than in the past. My mom was so surprised by the fact that I was calm during the UK game because I normally scream and pace when games don't go well. 

I have to think that when Kentucky cut it to two (before Bryant hit those two free throws with 10.4 seconds to play) that you were screaming a little bit and perhaps pacing. If I had been watching it as a fan, and not from my seat on press row, I'm guessing those would have been my reactions.

[IndyHutch 1,718]

1 hour ago, jhoosier said:

Really fun season, it has me excited for next season! I sure hope we get the pleasure of watching Mr. Bryant in candy stripes another year.

I'm sure he's going to explore his options but kind of like Cody Zeller, while I think he could go out and be a top 15-20 pick this year, I think if he waits he moves into the top 10. That is if he can build on the season that he just had.

[Kko658 3]

Completely agree with the whole article! Had Indiana been in the lead during the whole game and then lost in the final seconds like Wisconsin did, it would have been a tougher pill to swallow.  The comment that haunts me though, is the one made by Roy to Coach Crean after the game. He said, we haven't shot the ball like that all year. The irony was...we HAD games like that where we just didn't miss. Doesn't take anything away from the season, it was awesome,  fun and I'll certainly miss those seniors and their spirit.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 84,650]

18 minutes ago, Kko658 said:

Completely agree with the whole article! Had Indiana been in the lead during the whole game and then lost in the final seconds like Wisconsin did, it would have been a tougher pill to swallow.  The comment that haunts me though, is the one made by Roy to Coach Crean after the game. He said, we haven't shot the ball like that all year. The irony was...we HAD games like that where we just didn't miss. Doesn't take anything away from the season, it was awesome,  fun and I'll certainly miss those seniors and their spirit.

Welcome aboard!

[IndyHutch 1,718]

59 minutes ago, Kko658 said:

Completely agree with the whole article! Had Indiana been in the lead during the whole game and then lost in the final seconds like Wisconsin did, it would have been a tougher pill to swallow.  The comment that haunts me though, is the one made by Roy to Coach Crean after the game. He said, we haven't shot the ball like that all year. The irony was...we HAD games like that where we just didn't miss. Doesn't take anything away from the season, it was awesome,  fun and I'll certainly miss those seniors and their spirit.

Welcome to Btownbanners. Like I told someone else, I really believe that losing to North Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen is better from a perception standpoint with some IU fans than losing to either Wisconsin or Notre Dame in the Elite Eight because both would have been worse seeds and both would have been teams IU had already beaten this season.

[GnarlyTimGarl 1,433]

Good article, Terry. A few additional final analysis/thoughts...

- IU was projected to be a Top 15 team preseason. They took a major nosedive at the start of the year, but fought hard to earn that ranking in the end.

- I am very surprised with how successful they became post-Duke. I was highly disappointed in this team before then (I was quite grumpy during Thanksgiving, haha!) but was very proud of how they regrouped from that point forward.

- Was this season a success? That's in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I don't think one can deny that there were successes. Indiana Basketball is judged by championships and the boys brought one home from Iowa City. We'll get to add to our Big Ten Championship banner and that is meaningful. Years down the road the road, no one will say "yeah, but they had an easy conference schedule in 2016."

- IU was dealt a very difficult hand in the NCAA Tournament. Everyone knew that our success in the tournament would be determined by match-ups and we didn't have much go our way in that regard. Still, IU made it out of that first weekend by defeating a favored Kentucky squad in the second round. They fought. They made a little run.

- This year was needed to stabilize the program. Consistent success on a yearly basis will be the next barrier to overcome.

[HoosierCoop 3,927]

Well written and very accurate.

I think many of the IU fans had one foot out the door (including myself) of each game that IU played.

That was the biggest mystery to this team; which team would show up.

I see the team's success from a long time fan viewpoint of faith.  I have faith that we can be great again.

There is definitely an excitement next year that this team will be great.  We should have all the elements to be winners.

Our team got a taste of top level talent and competed.

Our Freshman will mature nicely and we will have upperclass leadership.

We all need to carry this momentum and mindset over to the next season.

Sadly, that is now many months away.