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(01/25/18 5:40pm)
https://soundcloud.com/user-303673382/the-other-guys-iu-season-so-far-tom-crean-the-announcer-and-gameday-to-bloomington
The Hoosiers hit the halfway point of conference season, and Tom Crean shined as an analyst Tuesday night. Austin Render, Connor Hines and Jacob Vinson break it all down on the first episode of The Other Guys podcast.
(01/23/18 6:32pm)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxmfnah4_84
Saturday was another historic day for Indiana’s senior leader Tyra Buss. She broke the scoring record at Penn State a few weeks back, but Saturday at Michigan State, Buss eclipsed the 2,000 point mark, becoming the first IU women’s basketball player to do so. She has a drive to be the best player and to make her team the best they can be each and every time they take the floor. While she cares more about wins and losses than records, this is still a milestone she and her coach are very proud of.
[embed]https://twitter.com/TheHoosierNet/status/955529224902889473[/embed]
(01/22/18 4:40pm)
Glad to see you came back for more power rankings. Here’s a quick summary of this week's Big Ten men's basketball action…
After starting to make a climb last week, Penn State and Indiana go a combined 0-3. Illinois, Iowa and Rutgers continue to struggle. Michigan slips up in one of their three games this week. Michigan State starts to look like they are back to being a legitimate one-seed. Finally, Purdue and Ohio State continue to remain unbeaten in conference play, preparing for their early-February showdown.
With all that said, here is how I have the big ten stacking up as we approach the halfway point of the conference season…
14. Illinois (10-10, 0-7)
Last Week: 75-50 LOSS at Wisconsin
This has been a season to forget for Illini fans, but this was to be expected. Coach Underwood knew he would have his work cut out for him with this roster. With that being said, outside the Wisconsin game on Friday night, they have been very competitive this conference season. They lost to Minnesota and Michigan by 10, Iowa by seven in overtime and Nebraska by one. They’ve been competitive, they just haven’t broken through in conference yet.
Previous Ranking: 14
13. Iowa (10-11, 1-7)
Last Week: 80-64 LOSS at Rutgers; 87-64 LOSS vs Purdue
Iowa doesn’t have a lot to work with, but they still should be better than they have been this season. You would have to think Fran McCaffery is on thin ice in Iowa City. Two ugly loses to Rutgers and Purdue this week didn’t help the cause. There’s a good chance Fran is coaching for his job down the stretch of the season.
Previous Ranking: 13
12. Rutgers (12-9, 2-6)
Last Week: 80-64 WIN vs Iowa; 62-47 LOSS at Michigan
I do believe that Rutgers is making progress. It isn’t showing in their record, but you can see it in their games. They dominated Iowa for 40 minutes, and they were competitive in Ann Arbor against Michigan. The record doesn’t show what Steve Pikiell is doing in Piscataway and Rutgers fans should be optimistic about the future.
Previous Ranking: 12
11. Wisconsin (10-10, 3-4)
Last Week: 78-50 LOSS at Purdue; 75-50 WIN vs Illinois
Ethan Happ can make any team a tournament caliber team, with the proper supporting cast. Injuries have hampered Wisconsin’s chances this year, but the roster is also just not what it needs to be to make a tournament run. Wisconsin still has a chance to play spoiler in the Big Ten with Purdue, Michigan State and Michigan all coming to the Kohl Center later this year.
Previous Ranking: 11
10. Minnesota (14-8, 3-6)
Last Week: 95-84 WIN at Penn State; 77-66 LOSS at Maryland; 67-49 LOSS vs Ohio State
Some people still have Minnesota on the fringe of their tournament predictions. I’m off their bandwagon at this point. Without Amir Coffey and Reggie Lynch, this team just doesn’t have the firepower and the depth to contend in the Big Ten. People are still holding on to the top-15 team they were back in November, but they aren’t anymore. It will take a lot to get them back in the tournament conversation for me.
Previous Ranking: T9
9. Northwestern (12-9, 3-5)
Last Week: 71-65 LOSS vs Ohio State; 70-61 WIN vs Penn State
Last week I tried to keep my hopes up for Northwestern, knowing the talent and the potential this team has. It’s not that they underperformed, it’s that they missed an opportunity. Beating Ohio State at home would have been a huge boost to what is a very lackluster resume for the Wildcats. Still unclear of what went wrong for Northwestern this season, but they need a late season surge to have any postseason hopes.
Previous Ranking: 8
8. Penn State (13-8, 3-5)
Last Week: 95-84 LOSS vs Minnesota; 70-61 LOSS at Northwestern
I really thought Penn State could make an NCAA Tournament run this year. While it’s not over yet, this week really hurt them. In the Big Ten this season, you have to win your home games against the middle of the pack, and steal a few against those teams on the road. Penn State lost to both Minnesota and Northwestern this week, dropping them to 3-5 in the conference and arein dire need of some big wins coming up at Ohio State and Michigan State in the coming weeks.
Previous Ranking: 6
7. Maryland (15-6, 4-4)
Last Week: 68-67 LOSS at Michigan; 77-66 WIN vs Minnesota
I realized that most people are higher on Maryland than I was last week. That plus good performances against Michigan and Minnesota this week brought them up a few spots in my rankings. They have a lot of talent on the roster even without Justin Jackson as Michal Cekovsky, Darryl Morsell, Anthony Cowan and Kevin Huerter all scored in double figures against Minnesota. Cekovsky could be a matchup nightmare against IU, especially if Morgan is out.
Previous Ranking: T9
6. Indiana (11-8, 4-3)
Last Week: 85-57 LOSS at Michigan State
This ranking could get worse depending on the severity of Juwan Morgan’s apparent ankle injury he suffered toward the end of the first half against Michigan State. Robert Johnson is doing his best to keep the Hoosiers alive, performing well in the three-game win streak. But they will need more than him down the stretch, and they will definitely need a healthy Morgan. Maryland and Illinois are must wins this week and Purdue is a huge tournament resume opportunity at home on Sunday.
Previous Ranking: 5
5. Nebraska (14-7, 5-3)
Last Week: 64-63 WIN vs Illinois; 72-52 WIN vs Michigan
This was a great week for Nebraska. Yes, they squeaked by Illinois at home, but nothing is handed to you in the Big Ten and James Palmer Jr. hit a big shot to win the game. Then they dismantled Michigan at home. If this team wants to jump into the tournament conversation, a win at Ohio State Monday night would help. They could also use Palmer Jr.’s play to continue, scoring 24 and 19 this past week.
Previous Ranking: 7
4. Michigan (17-5, 6-3)
Last Week: 68-67 WIN vs Maryland; 72-52 LOSS at Nebraska; 62-47 WIN vs Rutgers
Michigan’s schedule was the cause of a sloppy start to the week, squeaking by Maryland and getting the doors blown off them in Lincoln against the Cornhuskers. With the new Big Ten schedule this year, Michigan has played five games in the last 12 days. Road wins are hard to come by anywhere in the Big Ten, so a loss at Nebraska isn’t a complete shocker. They get another shot at Purdue this week when they travel to West Lafayette after losing in the last seconds when Purdue came to town on January 9.
Previous Ranking: 3
3. Michigan State (17-3, 5-2)
Last Week: 85-57 WIN vs Indiana
I think we got a glimpse at the Michigan State team that was ranked No. 1 earlier this season. Granted, IU had no answer in the paint against the likes of Ward, Jackson and Bridges. However, Michigan State showed us why they can win it all come March. One game isn’t enough to fully say that the Spartans are back, but they only have one ranked team left on the schedule, a home game against Purdue, so they will have plenty of time to get their act together before March.
Previous Ranking: 4
2. Ohio State (17-4, 8-0)
Last Week: 71-65 WIN at Northwestern; 67-49 WIN vs Minnesota
I keep waiting for Ohio State to lose. There’s no way this team can continue to run the table, right? Well they keep winning, and in impressive fashion. I thought a road game at Northwestern could do it, and they showed a lot of fight and won a big road game in the Big Ten. Then, after a slow start against Minnesota in Madison Square Garden, they didn’t miss a beat and blew out the Gophers. Ohio State has passed every test out there, and now they have four straight games at home against middle-of-the-pack Big Ten teams. Good chance for Ohio State to realistically be 12-0 when they head to West Lafayette.
Previous Ranking: 2
1. Purdue (19-2, 8-0)
Last Week: 78-50 WIN vs Wisconsin; 87-64 WIN at Iowa
This team is good. If you haven’t accepted that at this point, it’s time. Can they win a national championship? Sure, but I’m positive there are plenty of Purdue fans that have seen this show before, and need to see success in March before they buy in fully. But, they have been arguably the most impressive team since November, having not lost on the mainland all season. The combination of Isaac Haas and Vincent Edwards in the front court and Carsen Edwards in the backcourt is something most teams can’t match. The difference between this Purdue team and past Purdue teams, they can really shoot the 3-ball. They hit a Big Ten record 20 threes in the win over Iowa.
Previous Ranking: 1
(01/15/18 6:58pm)
Big Ten basketball has been as unpredictable as winter weather in Indiana this season. We started the season with Michigan State being the heavy favorite, followed by the second tier of Purdue, Minnesota and Northwestern. Coaching changes were expected to hamper Indiana, Ohio State and Illinois early on, and the likes of Michigan and Nebraska had big question marks around them after losing talent from the previous season.
Since then, Minnesota has lost Amir Coffey to injury and may or may not be losing Reggie Lynch. Northwestern hasn’t looked anything like the NCAA Tournament team from a year ago, even though they returned virtually everyone. Ohio State and Michigan have stepped into the upper tier, if there is such a thing in this year’s sluggish Big Ten. And Purdue is crushing everyone in their way. Here’s how they stack up a third of the way through the season…
14. Illinois (10-8, 0-5)
Last Week: 104-97 LOSS (OT) vs Iowa
Illinois had a 20 POINT LEAD at home against Iowa, and they had to hit an off-balance three just to send the game to overtime. They now head on the road to Nebraska and Wisconsin next week before hosting Michigan State.
13. Iowa (10-9, 1-5)
Last Week: 104-97 WIN (OT) at Illinois
This win pulled Iowa out of the cellar of the Big Ten, for now. It’s been a long season for Hawkeye fans and for Fran McCaffrey’s anger, including an ejection at Maryland. Iowa visits Rutgers and hosts Purdue this week.
12. Rutgers (11-7, 1-5)
Last Week: 76-72 (OT) LOSS at Michigan State; 68-46 LOSS vs Ohio State
Rutgers has shown at times this season they can compete. They took Michigan State to overtime, beat Wisconsin and upset then No. 15 Seton Hall. But they’ve also lost to Stony Brook, Howard, and just got the doors blown off of them by Ohio State Sunday. Steve Pikiell seems to be the right guy for the job, but they need more than Corey Sanders to make any noise this season.
11. Wisconsin (9-9, 2-3)
Last Week: 63-59 LOSS at Nebraska
I’m as shocked about this ranking as you are. Wisconsin has been top four in the big ten the last 17 years. That is in serious jeopardy this year. Injuries have hurt Wisconsin. Both Kobe King and D’Mitrik Trice are “out indefinitely.” Ethan Happ has to do so much for this team, and when it’s not enough to beat Rutgers, Wisconsin could be in trouble.
T9. Maryland (14-5, 3-3)
Last Week: 91-69 LOSS at Ohio State
Don’t let that 14-5 record fool you, this team is hurting with star sophomore Justin Jackson out for the season. Guys like Anthony Cowan, Kevin Huerter and Bruno Fernando have to really step up their play, and they didn’t the other night in Columbus. Maryland hasn’t been competitive on the road as of late, and now they head to Michigan this week.
T9. Minnesota (13-6, 2-4)
Last Week: 83-60 LOSS at Northwestern; 81-47 LOSS vs Purdue
Minnesota is free falling. The loss of Reggie Lynch and Amir Coffey has hurt this team more than we could have ever imagined. Since it all went down, they’ve lost to IU, Northwestern by 23, and Purdue by 34. This could be a long finish to the season for Minnesota fans.
8. Northwestern (11-8, 2-4)
Last Week: 83-60 WIN vs Minnesota; 66-46 LOSS at Indiana
Northwestern has heavily disappointed this season. They returned almost everyone from last year’s magical tournament team. However, their performance has dipped tremendously, and a 20-point loss at IU seemed to uncover more issues in Evanston. The effort wasn’t there, they couldn’t make shots, and for periods of time they couldn’t defend Indiana’s perimeter shooting. This team could be one of the biggest disappointments across college basketball.
7. Nebraska (12-7, 3-3)
Last Week: 63-59 WIN vs Wisconsin; 76-74 LOSS (OT) at Penn State
Nebraska has been a pleasant surprise in the Big Ten this year. Tim Miles was arguably on the hot seat to start the year, but they have had a solid season. They beat Minnesota in the early Big Ten slate, then competed on the road with top-25 Creighton and took Kansas down to the wire, losing by one. They’ve returned to Big Ten play with wins at Northwestern and against Wisconsin, and lost in overtime at Penn State. Nebraska is not an easy out this season.
6. Penn State (13-6, 3-3)
Last Week: 74-70 LOSS at Indiana; 76-74 WIN (OT) vs Nebraska
Penn State lost at Indiana, but they were missing Josh Reaves. Still without him, they got a big win over a solid Nebraska team in overtime. Those are the games you have to win to make the tournament, and that’s what Penn State did. The combination of Tony Carr and Lamar Stevens will be tough to answer for any Big Ten team.
5. Indiana (11-7, 4-2)
Last Week: 74-70 WIN vs Penn State; 66-46 WIN Northwestern
The Hoosiers have been a roll as of late, and they’re playing “Archie ball.” IU is winning with defense, and the guard play is getting better and better each game. Indiana needs to continue to feed off their defense and knock down some threes to stay in the conversation in the Big Ten. IU travels to Michigan State Friday with a huge opportunity to prove they’re a force to be reckoned with in the Big Ten.
4. Michigan State (16-3, 4-2)
Last Week: 76-72 WIN (OT) vs Rutgers; 82-72 LOSS vs Michigan
Don’t get me wrong. Michigan State will be in the national championship conversation come March, but for now, they are in a lull. They had two home games this week, beating Rutgers in overtime, and losing to in-state rival Michigan by 10. Until they figure things out, I’m going to continue to slide them down the rankings.
3. Michigan (15-4, 4-2)
Last Week: 70-69 LOSS vs Purdue; 82-72 WIN at Michigan State
Michigan has been playing some great basketball as of late. Their only losses are on the road at Ohio State and a loss to Purdue on some interesting officiating down the stretch. They just went to East Lansing and won, which is why they are, for the moment, ahead of Michigan State. John Beilein always makes his teams better as the season goes on, and he’s doing that again this year.
2. Ohio State (15-4, 6-0)
Last Week: 91-69 WIN vs Maryland; 68-46 WIN at Rutgers
This could be the Big Ten’s biggest surprise of the year, and one of college basketball’s biggest surprises. Chris Holtmann was said to have a huge rebuilding process ahead of him in Columbus, but Keita Bates-Diop had other plans. The Buckeyes are undefeated in conference, and have won by 16+ in their last 3 games, including Michigan State. The showdown with Purdue on February 7 is all the sudden squaring up to be a huge one for the Big Ten.
1. Purdue (17-2, 6-0)
Last Week: 70-69 WIN at Michigan; 81-47 WIN at Minnesota
They still haven’t lost on the mainland this season. And if that’s not enough, they are dominating teams. They beat Rutgers by 31, Nebraska by 12, and now Minnesota by 34 on the road. Purdue is the best all-around team in the Big Ten and maybe even the country. There is a big gap right now between Purdue and the rest of the conference. Vince Edwards and Carsen Edwards are playing incredible, and no team other than Arizona (who Purdue dominated) can match the two 7+ foot big guys down low in Isaac Haas and Matt Haarms.
(01/11/18 5:14pm)
By Austin Render
Remember the 2014-15 college basketball season? The one that left Kentucky undefeated until Wisconsin upset them in the Final Four, and Duke took home the title? Yeah, that’s the one.
There was also a team from Bloomington that snuck into the tournament as a 20-14, No. 10 seed, resulting in a quick out to Wichita State. That IU team, led by junior Yogi Ferrell, had its ups and downs throughout the season, and most thought they wouldn’t make the tournament. But in the end, they still did.
If you take a moment to compare that team to this current Indiana team, the similarities are evident.
Bad Nonconference Losses
Indiana welcomed Eastern Washington to Assembly Hall on November 24th for a Thanksgiving break matchup in the Hoosier Showcase. What was expected to be an easy win for a then 4-0 IU team coming off a solid win over No. 22 SMU turned out to be a thriller, the wrong way. Indiana ended up losing 88-86 to Eastern Washington on their home floor.
Back to this season, Indiana hosts Indiana State to start the season, a game that was a good test for IU but one that nobody thought they would drop. But then they did, 90-69. Add in the second loss to Fort Wayne in as many seasons, and you have yourself some bad home losses in the nonconference slate.
While this team did it twice, both teams still dropped a home nonconference game they shouldn’t have.
[embed]https://twitter.com/ZainPyarali/status/943146470638841856[/embed]
Crossroads Classic Wins
In 2014, an 8-2 IU team, hobbling into Bankers Life Fieldhouse after a 20-point loss to Louisville in NYC, came to the Crossroads Classic searching for a much needed marque win away from home. The Hoosiers defeated No. 23 Butler 82-73, led by Yogi Ferrell and Troy Williams combining for 42 points.
This season, IU suffered numerous close losses and came to Bankers Life Fieldhouse with one more chance at a solid nonconference win. In an absolute classic, Indiana came back from a double digit deficit to defeat Notre Dame 80-77 in OT, led by Juwan Morgan’s 34 points and game winning dunk.
[embed]https://twitter.com/ZainPyarali/status/942475063277838336[/embed]
Junior Star Power
Yogi Ferrell in his junior season led the 2014-15 team scoring 16.3 points per game. Ferrell was a freshman when he played with a Sweet 16 team, led by Victor Oladipo, Cody Zeller, Christian Watford and Jordan Hulls.
This season, it has been the emergence of junior Juwan Morgan, leading the team with 16 points per game. He too played for a Sweet 16 team his freshman season, led by Yogi Ferrell as a senior in addition to now NBA players Troy Williams, Thomas Bryant and OG Anunoby.
[embed]https://twitter.com/IndianaOnBTN/status/950951478235054080[/embed]
Big Man Goes Down
Hanner Mosquera-Perea. Remember that name? He was the big man on the 2014-15 Hoosiers squad. While he played in 26 of IU’s 34 games that season, starting 22 of them, he did miss eight due to injury, leaving undersized Collin Hartman and freshman Emmitt Holt to fill in for him.
This season, De’Ron Davis suffered a torn Achilles causing him to miss the remainder of the year. That leaves Hartman once again, as well as Freddie McSwain and freshman Justin Smith to fill the void in the frontcourt for IU.
Both Mosquera-Parea and Davis averaged 4.3 RPG in their respective seasons.
[embed]https://twitter.com/TheHoosierNet/status/951178898540236801[/embed]
Familiar Faces
In 2014-15, Hoosier fans got their first glimpse of Robert Johnson as a freshman. He averaged 8.9 points per game and shot 39 percent from beyond the arc. Collin Hartman was also a part of that team, averaging 4.8 points per game and shooting 47.5 percent from deep.
This season, Johnson and Hartman are two of the most important players for IU. Johnson isn’t shooting the 3-ball as well, just 30 percent, but he is averaging 13.4 points per game, including career high 28 points at Minnesota.
Perhaps the most important thing for Hartman and Johnson are the experiences that they have been through in their Indiana careers. Both were on the 2014-15 squad and as past Big Ten champions as well, they know what it takes to get to the NCAA tournament.
Now in the final months of their Hoosier careers, one would expect they don’t want to end it with back-to-back trips to the NIT.
[embed]https://twitter.com/TheHoosierNet/status/951167775833280512[/embed]
Don’t Give Up Yet
In 2014-15, Hoosier Nation started to give up on that team. IU finished 4-8 down the stretch before the Big Ten Tournament, and people like myself were ready to write the team off. A decent win over Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament helped their tournament resume and to the dismay of most Hoosier fans, the committee gave them a 10 seed.
At times, this year’s team is hard to watch. They still can’t shoot the three, make poor decisions with the ball, and have lapses with poor defense letting opponents go on runs.
While 20 wins may not be in the forecast for this team, a tournament berth still could be. I’m not telling you to expect it; I’m telling you to have some hope and some faith in Archie Miller and these Hoosiers.
So on Sunday, a win over Northwestern would put the Hoosiers at 4-2 in Big Ten play keeping them in the top five of the conference standings for now.
Much like the 2014-15 season, you never know what may happen.