A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
On Thursday at 8:00 ET, the 23rd-ranked Indiana Hoosiers (18-6, 6-6) return home to face the Illinois Fighting Illini (16-7, 5-5), on the Big Ten Network.
As always, Jerod, Ryan, and Andy will be here with another episode of The Assembly Call as soon as the game ends with instant analysis and fan reaction.
On Saturday at 7:00 ET, the 20th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers (17-6, 5-6) travel to West Lafayette to take on their arch rivals, the Purdue Boilermakers (15-7, 5-4), on the Big Ten Network.
As always, Jerod, Ryan, and Andy will be here with another episode of The Assembly Call as soon as the game ends with instant analysis and fan reaction.
On Wednesday at 6:30 ET, the 20th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers (17-5, 5-5) head to Ann Arbor to take on the 22nd-ranked Michigan Wolverines (16-6, 6-3) on the Big Ten Network.
As always, Jerod, Ryan, and Andy will be here with another episode of The Assembly Call as soon as the game ends with instant analysis and fan reaction.
On Sunday at 6:00 ET, the 17th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers (16-5, 4-5) return to Bloomington to face the Iowa Hawkeyes (11-10, 3-5) on the Big Ten Network.
As always, Jerod, Ryan, and Andy will be here with another episode of The Assembly Call as soon as the game ends with instant analysis and fan reaction. [Read more...]
On Thursday at 9:00 ET, the #17-ranked Indiana Hoosiers (16-4, 4-4) travel to Madison to take on the #25-ranked Wisconsin Badgers (16-5, 5-3) on the ESPN2.
As always, Jerod, Ryan, and Andy will be here with another episode of The Assembly Call as soon as the game ends with instant analysis and fan reaction.
On Sunday at 12:00 ET, the #13-ranked Indiana Hoosiers (15-4, 3-4) hope to halt a three-game losing streak when they return home to face on the Penn State Nittany Lions (10-10, 2-5) on the Big Ten Network.
As always, Jerod and Andy will be here with another episode of The Assembly Call as soon as the game ends with instant analysis and fan reaction.
It’s hard to believe that Selection Sunday is now less than two months away, and the bubble watch will soon be in full effect. In the meantime, there continues to be a lot of movement thanks to the general inability of teams to win away from home.
With that in mind, here are this week’s risers and fallers.
In episode #18 of The Bottoms Line College Basketball Podcast, host Andy Bottoms is once again joined by Rob Dauster and Troy Machir of Ballin’ Is a Habit to discuss all the latest news and events in college basketball.
Well that sucked.
Indiana lost tonight 70-69 to Nebraska after leading by 13 at one point in the second half. There is a lot that can be said about tonight’s game, and we said most of it during tonight’s postgame show, but I think this collapse – and it was a collapse, an utter f’ing collapse – can be summed up with accuracy thusly: WTF?
Just a bad, bad loss for the Hoosiers. But thanks to Ryan and Andy, friends of the show like Chronic Hoosier, Ari, and Nick, I thought we put together a strong, emotional show filled with tough love and astute analysis.
You can be the judge. It’s there for your listening “pleasure” below.
We did our best. Sadly, that’s more than I think we can say of Indiana tonight. This was not the Hoosiers’ best, not close; and it would an insult to this team’s ability and potential to suggest otherwise.
If you missed it, here you go:
Time to step it up on Sunday. The Hoosiers need something good to happen…and fast. The abyss is right around the corner, and this team’s leadership has to find a way to avoid it.
I haven’t read it yet, but it’ll be apt: Zach Osterman’s postgame recap.
Banner Moment – In tonight’s “Banner Moment,” Jerod’s moment of the game was all in credit to Cody Zeller. Zeller finished with 18 pts and 7 rebounds. His continuous performance and consistent pounding of the defense gave Zeller the Banner Moment.
Bottoms Line – Tonight, Andy’s Bottoms Line is that horrible passing and horrible recognition, as well as failing to extend the lead, is what cost the Hoosiers. With Nebraska not shooting the 3 well, Andy thought IU should have easily made their shots and knocked off the Cornhuskers. Nebraska shot 33% from the 3-point line and just 38% from the field yet still knocked off the Hoosiers.
Ryan’s Rant – In Ryan’s Rant, he focuses on the lack of the composure the Hoosiers showed in the last 10 minutes of the game. Whether it was using some clock or waiting for the last shot, the better option was to not force up a shot. Ryan also expresses disappointment in Christian Watford, who put up 8 points and 11 rebounds, but still delivered an overall weak performance.
On Wednesday at 7:00 ET, the #13-ranked Indiana Hoosiers (15-3, 3-3) will try to break a two-game losing streak when they travel to Lincoln to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers (9-8, 1-5) on the Big Ten Network.
As always, Jerod, Andy, and Ryan will be here with another episode of The Assembly Call as soon as the game ends with instant analysis and fan reaction.
IU-Nebraska Gameday InfoAfter losing to both Minnesota and Ohio State last week, the Hoosiers are trying to get back on track, particularly on the defensive end. A matchup with the Huskers gives them a great chance to do just that with Nebraska scoring a league-worst 0.84 points per possession in conference play. That said, the schedule-makers certainly didn’t do the Huskers any favors in their first Big Ten campaign with their first eight games coming against Ohio State and Wisconsin twice plus matchups with Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan State.
From an efficiency standpoint, there aren’t many positives when you look at Nebraska’s tempo-free stats. They rank 177th in effective field goal percentage, 241st in turnover rate, 272nd in offensive rebound percentage, and 274th in free throw rate. They make just 32.4 percent from beyond the arc, and their low free throw rate doesn’t allow them to take advantage of how well they shoot from the stripe.
The Huskers are slightly better on defense, allowing 1.02 points per possession in league play. While their defensive rebounding percentage looks decent for the season, Nebraska is second-worst in the league during conference play. They do defend the three-point line well, which might make it difficult for the Hoosiers to get back on track from beyond the arc after hitting just 11-of-39 (28.2%) in their last two games.
LSU transfer Bo Spencer leads Nebraska in scoring with 14.8 points and 3.7 assists per game. While the scoring numbers look nice, Spencer isn’t particularly efficient. He’s taken 96 three-pointers despite hitting just 31.3 percent from deep, and his eFG% is a pedestrian 45.5%. He does have a solid assist rate and is a factor on the defensive end.
Nebraska has six other players scoring between 6.4 and 10.4 points per contest. Guard Toney McCray (10.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg) is the team’s top three-point threat and had a string of seven straight double-digit scoring efforts snapped against Wisconsin on Sunday. The other perimeter player to watch is Dylan Talley (9.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.0 apg). He has six double figure games to his credit and will be playing his fourth game since returning from a thigh injury.
Inside, the Huskers rely on Jorge Brian Diaz and Brandon Ubel. Diaz (9.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.3 bpg) also recently returned from a foot injury, but he scored at least eight points in his first 10 games this year. The 6-foot-11 junior is also adept at blocking shots, as evidenced by his 9.4 block percentage. Ubel (6.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg) is the team’s best offensive rebounder, and given IU’s struggles there in recent games, they need to find him when shots go up.
Tempo will be something to watch given the contrast in styles with IU wanting to get up and down while the Huskers want to grind it out. At the same time, the Hoosiers have to take better care of the basketball. They are 10th in turnover rate in league play, while that is one area where the Huskers have played well on the defensive end. Consequently, the play and decision-making of Jordan Hulls and Verdell Jones will be critical for Indiana.
While Nebraska has excelled at defending the three-point line, they have allowed a high percentage from two-point range, so the Hoosiers would be well-served to attack inside through Cody Zeller, who posted 39 points and 14 rebounds in two games last week. They also need Christian Watford to get back on track after going just 5-of-20 in the two losses.
Regardless of the individual matchups, it is imperative for IU to come out with the same aggressiveness and intensity that propelled them to a 15-1 start. They have not been getting nearly as many deflections on the defensive end and have failed to consistently show toughness in competing on the glass and for loose balls. Their level of effort and awareness will go a long way toward determining the outcome of this game.
As we have seen in the early going, the Big Ten offers very few opportunities to pick up road wins, but if the Hoosiers want to contend for a conference title, this is one they have to win. After a dismal first half in Columbus, IU showed fight in the second half against the Buckeyes, which has to carry over in the early going against Nebraska. The Huskers don’t come in with much confidence offensively, but if the Hoosiers don’t tighten up their defense and allow them to hang around, things could get interesting in Lincoln.
Listen to Andy tonight on The Assembly Call. Follow him on Twitter at @AndyBottoms.
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After yet another week where nearly half of the Top 25 suffered at least one loss, the exercise of putting together my latest power rankings has proven to be challenging once again.
The middle of the list has proven to be a complete mess, but since road wins have been so tough to come by, there are some teams that actually stayed put or even moved up despite losing.
It was a tale of two halves, but ultimately it was a tale of Indiana getting its ass kicked at Ohio State on Sunday afternoon.
The Hoosiers were down 35-14 at halftime, and all hope of a victory was gone. But the Hoosiers did scrap and claw for a 4-point victory in the second half, ultimately losing 80-63.
Tom Crean kept the team in the locker room for an hour after the game, showing up abnormally late for his postgame press conference. We can only hope that Crean was stressing to the team what Andy, Ryan, and myself stressed on the postgame show.
If you missed it, here you go:
Next up is Nebraska on Wednesday. We’ll be here with a preview Wednesday morning.
On Sunday at 4:30 ET, the #8-ranked Indiana Hoosiers (15-2, 3-2) travel to Columbus to take on the #5-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (15-3, 3-2) on CBS.
As always, Jerod, Andy, and Ryan will be here with another episode of The Assembly Call as soon as the game ends with instant analysis and fan reaction.
Indiana has won some home games this season that no one expected it to win. Tonight, the Hoosiers lost a game everyone expected it to win. Hopefully the loss carries with it some important lessons for a team that still isn’t good enough nor accomplished enough to take any game for granted.
We broke it all down, including Indiana’s lack of focus and energy, Cody Zeller’s strong performance, and some disappointing behavior from IU’s fans, on the latest edition of The Assembly Call IU Postgame Show.
Here is the mp3 of the IU-Minnesota postgame show. Download it to your computer, or click here to subscribe to The Assembly Hall on iTunes.
You can also use the player below to listen:
Here is a link to Zach Osterman’s recap of the game. I haven’t even read it yet. About to as soon as I publish this. But I’m sure it’s spot-on. Always is.
Hat tip to Jeff Rabjohns for the image of the night, which is IU senior Verdell Jones out on the Assembly Hall floor shooting after an 0-6 performance.
Image source: Here
At one point in the game, smatterings of boos could be heard after Verdell missed a shot, which everyone associated with The Assembly Call things was totally unnecessary. Critique his play, of course. But respect his effort and commitment to this program. Verdell Jones, nor any other IU player, does not deserve to be booed by his home fans. Ever. Shame on anyone who did so.
Let’s bounce back against Ohio State boys. Big game. Compete with defense first. Don’t forget what got us back in the top 25, otherwise we’ll right back out of it before we know it.
Indiana is back!
If you have followed college basketball even tangentially this season, you have heard this refrain. It was being whispered as a possibility even before the Kentucky game, and it’s been stated with certainty ever since that Kentucky upset was followed by another one over Ohio State.
Just this week, IU cracked the top 10 in both polls, the team is profiled in Sports Illustrated, Dana O’Neill of ESPN wrote a wonderful profile of Cody Zeller, and Tom Crean is scheduled to make an appearance today on Pardon The Interruption.
Indeed, in terms of national relevancy, Indiana is back!
Image credit: Joe Eke
If you know me, if you listen to The Assembly Call, if you follow my constant Hoosier tweets, you know that no one is more overjoyed about Indiana’s 15-1 start than I am. I’m already on record saying that this year’s squad is well on its way to joining the ’92-’93 Hoosiers and the ’01-’02 Hoosiers as my personal favorite IU teams of all time (for context, I was born in 1981). That is why I hesitate to say what I’m about to say, but I’m going to say it anyway.
Yes, the Hoosiers are back, but even as we get caught up in the excitement of #TheMovement happening one year early, let’s not lose sight of just far this program still needs to go to really, truly, fully be back. Because for Hoosier fans who can still remember attending games during the Knight Era and older, “back” is a relative term. And its up to those of us who remember to pass this on to those who don’t, because while our place in the college basketball world has changed over the last decade the standard, the expectations have not.
Before I go any further, don’t start calling me some kind of Negative Nancy here, focusing on a negative in the midst of overwhelming positives. My purpose in writing this to post is not to be negative. At all. What is there to be negative about right now as it relates to IU basketball?
Rather, my point is to make sure than in the excitement about the special season unfolding right now in Bloomington that we do not forget two very important points:
So let’s take a quick look at both before I tie everything together.
Here are a few facts about the recent history of IU basketball, before this season started:
I could go on and on, but you get the idea; and you probably are wondering why I’m wasting time rehashing all of this awfulness when we seem to have turned a page and moved past it.
We’ll get to that in a moment.
Before do though, a quick recap of the good stuff.
As you can see, and already knew, there is quite a large contrast from the first bulleted list to this second list. The reason why IU’s fall from grace seemed so epic is because it was so epic. Yes, there had been a slow erosion ever since the 1993 season ended, but the bottom totally fell out in 2008, followed by the crater that was the next three seasons, and only now have we finally started to show signs of digging out from underneath the rubble to resemble something like what we once were.
Already this year’s Hoosiers have:
There are a lot of good things happening in Bloomington right now, which is why the chants of Indiana is back! can be heard ringing throughout the nation, and with such good reason, from pretty much everyone expect boobs like the Doug Gottliebs of the world.
Okay, now that I’ve fully presented the context, allow me to make my point, which is really a directive to IU fans – especially myself: let’s not get too carried away proclaiming Indiana “back” and let’s not compromise at any point on our way back up the mountain, all the while enjoying every single step on the way up, especially the stuff we used to take for granted.
I don’t like the phrase Indiana is back because implicit in it, at least to me, is an inherent belittling of the history and tradition of this proud program. Yes, Indiana is back on the national radar screen, and it’s been a long time so that is definitely worth celebrating, but since when has that alone been satisfactory?
For Indiana to be back, Purdue needs to start suffering regular losses at our hands again. Selection Sunday needs to occur with Indiana’s name a given only what top 4 seed as the question mark. Big Ten championships need to be awarded with Indiana playing a major hand in their determination…and the Hoosiers taking them home at least semi-regularly. Opening weekend tournament losses need to be a cause of disappointment not for satisfaction.
When all of those things, and more, are happening on an annual basis, then Indiana will be back.
You may be thinking, well duh! Jerod, no one is saying that just because Indiana is 15-1 that Tom Crean’s rebuilding job is complete! Stop parsing words and creating semantics-based straw man arguments!
There is a level of truth in such an accusation; I admit it, even as I continue typing. But there is also a very good reason why I’m positing such an argument anyway, all while fully understanding its shortcomings: because I think taking a conservative, humble approach to Indiana’s resurgence makes it so much more worthwhile, enjoyable, and even sustainable.
Remember how you felt when Indiana beat Illinois at home last year? Sure, Hoosier Nation got ripped nationally for storming the court, but that was a real, cathartic outpouring of excitement after we finally beat a ranked team.
Remember how you felt when Indiana beat Kentucky this year? It is among the most jubilant sports moments I’ve ever experienced…and it was a regular season college basketball game in December.
Just this year, the road win over Evansville was thoroughly satisfying. The home win over Butler felt like a huge step (and was). Winning at NC State was cause for celebration. Beating Penn State in Happy Valley was ugly but still another big step.
The reason why these wins individually and collectively have had such meaning is because no one associated with the program could take them for granted anymore. Every win was the next step up the mountain, and every step was so exciting and necessary and satisfying in its own right.
As a sports fan, there is a big difference between the relief you feel from winning a game you are “supposed” to win and the unexpected, hard-earned jolt you get from winning a game you are not supposed to win yet you cheer for and root for and desperately hold onto optimism during anyway. After three years of barely even competing at a Big Ten level, a fan base becomes conditioned to expect the worst in every situation. It’s a horrible feeling. But the flip side, the sliver lining, is that the elation of winning can often be that much better because of it.
Actually, maybe “better” isn’t the right word. Something tells me fans of ’76 Hoosiers were pretty damn satisfied every time those Hoosiers won. Dominance can be fun too – and that’s the ultimate goal again.
For longtime fans of Indiana basketball, I do believe that the burden of unyielding expectation sapped some of the joy out of the final Knight years and really every other year since 1993 besides that magical run in ’02. We had a standard to live up to, and we just have not lived up to it much since ’93. That can make for a joyless fan experience, even when you’re winning a lot more games than you’re losing, and especially when you are losing a lot more games than you are winning.
It’s important, however, to not change the standard for excellence. In fact, it’s having that standard so high that makes the journey back towards it after the fall so rewarding.
Here is the good news: we don’t have much more time, if we even have any at all, of going into any games not expecting victory. Consider tonight’s matchup against Minnesota. This is a game Indiana is supposed to win. Getting that victory will bring some sense of satisfaction, especially if certain areas of improvement are seen, but not anywhere near the devastation that losing would bring. Yet just last year, IU fans were elated to beat Minnesota at home.
Therein lies the difference a year can make, and it’s a great feeling for any Hoosier fan. But it doesn’t mean that Indiana is back. Not yet. We’re going to get there. And I think we’re going to stay there for a while, which means that there will only be one full journey up to experience. So let’s experience it.
What IU fans are experiencing this season, because of what we’ve been though, is unique. It’s fun. It’s exhilarating. We know where we were, we know where we want to be, and it’s one hell of a ride in between.
But if we forget either of the end points, or rush to claim the journey complete, we waste an experience that, while we hopefully never have again, is one that we’ll also never forget.
So to all IU fans, and really to myself as well, I just want to be one subtle voice in the midst of all the happiness and hysteria that is a reminder of the big picture. And the big picture is that in some ways Indiana is back all right, but don’t forget how far we still have to go. It’ll make the journey there that much more rewarding.
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Join us tonight and after every IU game for The Assembly Call IU Postgame Show.
