You're listening to the back home network presented by home
field apparel. Welcome back to Crimson.
Cascading Claudio, Scott Caulfield joining me at once
again, it is Friday, the 10th, Happy Spring Break to those who
celebrate, which I think is Maybe Just the school population
here at IU, but for those of you in the eye, you system Happy
Spring Break and officially starts today and basketball
season upon us. I you back in the Big Ten
tournament in the quarterfinals as they play.
The Maryland Terrapins tonight. We promised you a preview
podcast and that's what we're here to do, Scott.
Good to see you already been a pretty wacky week in terms of
conference tournaments. We've I've lost a bunch of
parlays on one team, just completely crapping the bed.
Ed, so we know we're fully in the swing of things here.
How are you doing? I'm doing well.
I've actually done pretty well in parlays.
I need Alabama and Houston to both win today.
I put a lot on Pacers moneyline last name of the Pacers game.
Like the rockets. Look, horrible.
I'm like Pace with money online, easy.
And then it's like goes into overtime.
It's like just what nothing, be easy, huh?
Kuwait and what we need to give the full context.
Not only did you do that but you texted are gambling, like text
thread, which like James from Crimson cap.
Ash is on and you're like, put all your money on the Pacers
moneyline, the Rockets are terrible, and I'm sitting there
watching the score go by and you know, it's like rockets with in
like six or eight in the third quarter.
And I'm like, yeah, Scott don't text these things.
Like you're just, you're just, you're just giving the kiss of
death on these either, because you put it away, you put it
apart. It was like, what?
- 3000 or something like that for the cake.
We got there. Okay, got there.
They won. The money line.
Doesn't matter how we got there. You're in the throes of March.
It's Conference tournament time. I would also.
As for the listeners were recording this as the Purdue
Rutgers game is going on, so they will probably be.
This might be another one. We do live to tape play-by-play
of a, another big 10 game, it's been, it's been fun.
I mean, Rutgers jumped out to a big lead and then Purdue
scrambled back into it. And was I think leading at
halftime. But it's been a nip and Tuck
game all the way through. We're talking about that the
rest of the Big Ten tournament and what we've seen so far and
then Indiana's matchup versus Maryland.
First of all, just a reminder we are part of The back home
network that coke network is brought to you by home-field
apparel. Scott, they're bringing the
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The plunge. You can do a lot worse than the
bomber jacket. So anyway, let's go ahead and
talk about what's going on so far.
With the exception of the Maryland, Minnesota game
yesterday, all the games in the Big Ten Tournament thus far have
been won by the lower seeded team and, you know, that's
probably going to end today whether or not, I'm obviously it
ended last night. Well, you know, we just got the
news that Bryce Sensabaugh Liz is out today for Ohio State
which is going to put a pretty big dent in their desires to win
three and three. But you know I will say looking
through what we've seen thus far in the Big Ten tournament, this
is its wide open, like we talked a lot before, like you know
what, what can we expect from the Big Ten?
And from really all these conferences in terms of the way
that they're going to perform away from home and what we've
found so far, is that generally speaking?
A lot of Teams that have performed really well at home.
Haven't performed quite as well on the road, but we also have
seen the opposite. I mean, Penn State managing to
figure out Illinois and win that game.
Last night when Illinois was favored by a point Ohio State
doing everybody a favor and knocking off Iowa, in their game
was really impressive and, and even Rutgers Michigan.
I mean, that was one of the worst offensive performances
I've seen from Michigan in the Big Ten tournament since last
year, when they blew a second half lead of a pretty Arjun
against Indiana and lost. So anything that you've picked
up on that you think is particularly notable in these
early games that we've seen. No, I mean I think it's worth
noting and I'll be the first one to break the news.
I'm not sure Juwan. Howard is having a good year
Coach man. Throw that out these.
Yeah, that's a bold statement. But yeah, 18 minutes without a
field goal. It's also frustrating when you
see teams like, you know, Iowa who just torched us for like, 90
points and they get the neutral site, and it's like there.
Struggling to score points per possession around what they
finish off with but it's like would have been nice a week and
a half ago. No, this is you know, it's a lot
of upsets but it's like you have to remember that basically
outside of Minnesota winning which is an upset to be sure
because they're bad every other team, it's like you're talking
about whether it's a tie-break as to, why they they're a
underdog versus a favorite. It's a very, very tight Big 10
this year. So it's not surprising to kind
of have it break this way. I As a Indiana fan on an Indiana
podcast and Indiana boy and an Indiana night.
I was happy to see Penn State beat Illinois.
I just I would you know Illinois kind of worries me they have
some higher-end ability. I'm not super excited to play
Penn State either. I'd love to play Northwestern
coming out of that matchup but I think for Indiana, you know,
that the bracket is breaking nicely and it does, I'll stop
there. It does feel like things are
breaking nicely, and it was nice to get Illinois, out of our way,
you know, possibly We in the next round.
Yeah you know it's funny because when we were running through the
various scenarios you know that people tweet at the account and
say something along the lines of I don't want to play that team
or that team and I see this with n-c-double-a tournament draws
that will put up as well and it's like, you know, at the end
of the day, there is no magic pathway where you get to play
all easy teams, like everybody's pretty tough at this point.
And I think especially in the Big Ten Tournament where, you
know, especially now that you've got You know, these first couple
of games out of the way, it's like literally every team left
in it, including Ohio, State could win the Big Ten tournament
and I wouldn't bat an eye. And so that's where, you know,
when you think about Indiana and where they're at, yes, the
bracket is breaking fairly well, although honestly, I would have
rather played Illinois, then Penn State but it's one of those
where it's like, you know, I don't think it matters a great
deal. I don't know that we necessarily
match up any worse. It's just we know we can beat
Illinois because we've done it twice and I don't know that the
team doesn't know that they can beat Penn State.
I'm sure they assume that they can but it's a different kind of
vibe because you got blown out so badly in that first game.
Is it is funny after so many years of playing on, you know,
Wednesday or Thursday. That's it is wild.
It's like we're Friday at 1:30 recording this.
We still have another eight hours until now 75.
It's like it's like we're so schizophrenic.
Like we either play on Wednesday or we play like the, it almost
feels like conference. The weeks almost is almost over
and it's like we haven't even played our game.
Yeah, I know it's it's it's a kind of a peculiar thing in that
it just in especially when you play the last game.
I mean, remember last year like this, the game, the Purdue
Rutgers game is going on right now.
Was Indiana, Illinois last year and so it's like at least by
this point, you're in it, you know, it's very unusual for IU
fans at least being on the opposite end of the bracket and
having played this, like, they'll be the last team that
plays first in the Big Ten tournament.
And so, they take on a Maryland team today that That is, you
know, I look at them and I say to myself, this is a team
clearly that is a bit Mercurial but at much as we've praised, I
you for the way that they finished the season, you have to
kind of do the same with Maryland.
You know, they ended up winning. They were three and five at one
point in the Big Ten and I really even if you want to go
back a little bit more, they were 2 and 4 but we'll stick
with the three and five like since going since getting to
that three and five mark They've, you know, they managed
to go eight and four down the stretch in the Big Ten and of
the four losses. One of them was a overtime loss
at Nebraska. One of them was a five point
loss at Michigan State and one of them was a one-point loss at
Penn State, which frankly I think has to go down as one of
the two or three, most freakish endings to a game that we saw
like the the number of things that had to happen in terms of
the shot that was taken, you know, the All getting knocked
out of the marrow and player's, Hand by another player on
Maryland. And it going right to the Penn
State player, having be right in position to lay it up, like
Marilyn should have won that game I guess is my point.
And so when I look at this Maryland team I say to myself
this is a better team than I think a lot of people are giving
them credit for to some degree. I almost think the HomeAway
split thing has been perhaps in this applied to Maryland in that
like IU has been outside of the game at Purdue.
Really struggled in a lot of their Road games, whereas
Maryland down the stretch here really has, and like, the game
at Ohio State was the one outlier, but everything else is
looked really good. And if you look at it, if you
take the, the tempo free statistics from Maryland, over
the course of like February 1st until now, because that's about
when things started to turn around for Maryland, they lost
the game against Purdue, you know, on the road on the 22nd of
July of a Jill of January, and then, from there, They went
eight and four since February 1st, Maryland, is 18th in the
country overall, in adjusted efficiency, their 27th in the
country, in offensive, efficiency their 35th and
defensive efficiency. They've been real slow.
Like they've played like a Purdue Tempo down the stretch
here in terms of what they've tried to do and you compare that
to Indiana who in the same stretch even though Indiana's
one one more game. Indiana, 6 and 3 in that stretch
Five and four actually they're six and four now in that stretch
Indiana's 54th in the country. In overall efficiency, Indiana
is 63rd and offensive efficiency.
Their 73rd and defensive efficiency, Indiana has been one
of the worst rebounding teams offensive or defensive in the
country since February 1st. It's all part of this plan that
Mike Woodson has been putting into place to try to maintain
offensive, efficiency. Overall, they've kind of
sacrificed the board's now. Deanna is one games in that
time, period. They've actually they've racked
up the wins. They need to be a protected
seed, but if I'm looking at these two teams and trying to
Divine, who the better team is right now, in terms of how they
played, it's hard to look at these two teams and not say that
it's Maryland. Yeah, I'm gonna go sorry, excuse
me, I'm gonna go back to what you said earlier about.
You know, like at this point you're going to play tough team
so it's like there's no easy path as we think getting ready
for this and I'm thinking about it, you know, in a weird way.
I'm less interested in the ponent and kind of more turning
Inward. And what I mean is that we've
seen this throughout the year that very few games have any
that I can think of have we lost outside of maybe Arizona and
Kansas where you would Like that team was doing stuff that we
couldn't stop and we had no answers for X, not the player
but you know, x-ray of the variable, it's that we lose
games because there are times that we look disengaged or
unfocused and really. So it's almost more.
How are we going to show up? Because I think if we are
focused and engaged for 35 of the 40 minutes, just because
we're not going to, we can't seem to get 40 minutes, we're
going to win. And we've shown that that you
look through the and even the games that we've lost It's like,
you know, the game at Northwestern, you know, we were
engaged for the last 15 minutes. We made a huge comeback after
being kind of disengage from the start Michigan State.
We had moments where he made runs we looked engaged then we
kind of didn't and I'm not saying that, you know, we're not
getting beer. It's not, you know, it's all
just we don't pay attention but it's just, it does seem like the
Iowa game. They were going to do whatever
they wanted, you could say. Oh, it's tough to stop stop
Chris Murray, but it's like, it's also, he was getting pretty
damn good. Looks like we were just kind of,
we were kind of checked out so that I look at that for this
gaming, it's Maryland for Odyssey.
All the games moving forward is we have this kind of super high
ceiling and pretty low floor against all of these teams.
Where if we come in locked in, I think we can win this whole
thing, but I think, if it, if we become unlocked or unfocused for
more than 10 plus minutes in the game, we're going to lose.
And I think that's kind of dip, doesn't matter.
On the opponent, whether it's Purdue, Michigan State,
Maryland, like they all present different issues and different
things we can talk. About.
But I think the main key is how are we going to attack the game?
And if we attack the game with focus with intensity, with
high-level defense, I think we win three in a row.
You're in a far more optimistic spot than I am.
What up? What up?
I think, I agree, I agree. No, I agree.
There's nothing that says that Indiana couldn't do what?
You just described. All the pieces are there, and
there's a type of team that stops.
But swear, it's like this team. Does this and wants no, no, I
agree. I mean, even Northwestern and
Iowa, who were bad matchups. I mean, you know, three of those
four games were very close. I, you know, but the problem for
me with this IU team right now is what happened in that Iowa
game and what happened in the Michigan game.
And I just this team, I can't tell if this team is actually at
the end of its rope. Or if they have gathered
themselves for one, big push towards the end of the season
and we're conserving energy, I have it.
My tendency is to think that it's the former, that this might
be a spent Force. At the end of the day, because
I've been monitoring stats closely.
I've been looking at what Indiana's been doing, they just
haven't looked good lately in terms of either their offense or
their defense, or their effort overall, to kind of go to the
larger point that you were making Like, they've really
struggled to maintain consistency.
They've they struggled to get coincidentally occurring, good
effort games from multiple players simultaneously, and
that's kind of the kiss of death.
And, you know, it's interesting because the defense has been
about the same for the course of really, the last month.
And it's been the offense. That's really started to
nosedive. I mean, you know, as of the
beginning of February, like, Right after Indiana and Rutgers
played Indiana, will had been one of the the most efficient
offensive teams in the country, you know?
I think they were like in the top 15 on a rolling average with
liked or vicar with Eric Haslam's statistics, since then
their offensive efficiency ranking has dropped from.
Like I said, about 14th, or 15th all the way down to, about
thirty Fifth. And, you know, that's a lot of
negative momentum that we've seen build up over time and a
lot of it is Is there not rebounding there, they're not
turning the ball over which is a really interesting aspect of all
of this but they're not doing a good job on the board.
So they're not extending possessions and they've created
this kind of weird environment where if they hit shots like
they did against Purdue. They've got a good chance of
winning the game when they're not hitting shots, or when
they're letting their opponent hit shots, they're they're in
real trouble and they don't seem to be able to like Play with the
same level of forest, they were playing with in that stretch
where they, they won eight out of nine games.
And while that was not aired because in this fret just kind
of been the emergence of jail Hood Jiffy know, like he was
doing well, but this is kind of where he's emerged, so to speak,
it's weird welding those things. That so it's odd though,
because, you know, it's funny, if you look at his game by game,
like, offensive rating, it always it's just like it is
completely danced around. And what his overall average is
a player. And, you know, so it's like he
had an above average game against Michigan.
He had a significantly below average game against Iowa.
He had a significantly above average game against Purdue
above average game against Michigan State below average
against Illinois, below average against Northwestern, and then
right at his average in the first Michigan game.
So, you just don't know what you're going to get out of jail.
New trophy, no consistently and unfortunately like, you know,
outs, if you know, the Purdue game was. 2nd best game.
He's played in the last month and a half.
Yeah, I mean, the Ohio State game at home is probably his
magnum opus from the season, but that Purdue game is right up
there. The rest of the games in
February, he was essentially a net negative with the one
exception of the game at Michigan.
Like he was, he was slightly above average on that in that
one. And and that was a game where
most of his contributions came in terms of the assist, he was
dishing out but the rest of the time he has kind of turned into
a Score first. Guard and there's nothing
inherently wrong with that, but it's not really how Indiana set
up to play properly. And I think that because he's
had to take over so much of the offensive initiative.
It's created a scenario, where Indiana ends up being very boom
and bust and you could say they've been just as much bust
as they have been boom. Really since then the game at
Northwestern where you just like they'll fall behind and games
that have these long stretches. Don't play particularly well.
And again that Purdue game is really the only one where you
could say they can They carried it all the way through?
So I'm going to be really fascinated coach.
Fino, had a terrible game at Maryland.
I think you could actually make the argument that, that was the
worst game. He played the whole season.
Yeah, you know, and you know, if you forgotten that I mean he was
he was 1 for 14 from the field. It forces four turnovers and he
had an offensive rating of 32. Which wow.
Like for a starter that. Is real bad.
He's unlikely to play as bad and, you know.
Now, most most starters, don't normally have a game where they
score more than their worst game of offensive rating, like to
have a game where you scored 35, and then also have a 32 off, it
goes into wild. Wow.
And anytime your point guard has more turnovers than points in a
game. That's a bad side.
So look, this is, we're not here to criticize jail and Ruffino.
But we are here to say that I, you has to have Didn't see, you
know, I think it's not just the the bench, the bench has gotten
a lot of attention and certainly I you needs to get contributions
from people off the bench if the game against Michigan showed
anything, it's like this team is so much more.
It's how do I put this? This team is so much better when
they are able to not have a huge drop off as soon as somebody
goes off the floor and that seems very Elementary like you
would be like, why are? You know, we should be beyond
that, but clearly Indiana has struggled with that.
And so tomorrow, Bates ends up being the difference between
Indiana beating Michigan and losing to Michigan at home.
I don't know how much we can trust the bench and I also don't
know how much we trust. The individual members of the
starting lineup. Trace Jackson.
Davis seems to be back. He had a really big game against
Michigan. That was nice to see, but what
are you going to get out of the rest of the team especially
defensively and Scott this kind of goes back to your effort
point, this Indiana team so much?
What they do offensively? Well, seems to stem from
defensive effort and it's like, when one starts to go away the
other just vanishes and that's going to be a really fascinating
Trend to watch. As we see this game on full
tonight. Yeah.
No. It's they are.
They are intertwined. And it's like the effort on
defense helps the effort on offense.
No, I agree. It's the, there's a lot of
people on this team that are kind of boom and bust and it is
it's tough. But again, I look at it as, you
know, I hope that they can find ways to got to use the word.
Hope, I shouldn't be doing that. But, you know, they say that
there's a way that you can, you know, get a little more locked
in and that, you know, being on a neutral site is going to help,
you know, some of those and maybe some of that, you know,
lack of effort is either not lack of effort, but lack of
focus is more on, you know, tough road crowds being little
too hyped at home. Like maybe maybe a neutral
Court, will help this team Thrive and help some of the, you
know, I don't know. You're bumming me out cause that
you're talking. I breathe everything.
I agree. No, I agree with everything
you're saying and it is, you know, in the end that is like I
talked to Jared the other day that, you know, I do think you
know, it's tough because this team has such a high ceiling and
that is true. Like when things are firing on
all cylinders, this team could win the Big Ten Tournament could
go to a final four but like in the end they're probably not
going to do either just because of all the things.
Things that you said, I think that end that doesn't mean that
it's bad or negative, or this was a bad season, but I do think
everything you said is valid. And I do think that, you know,
I'll speak for those who like I've got to keep my emotions and
my, you know, aspirations in check because I get a little bit
like you. I can't wait like, you know, it
all looks good. We had, you know, because we're
just we're never going to be at 100% high level performance for
40 gate 40 minutes a game for three games in a row.
Just this team has not shown any history of doing that all
season. And even the micro or the macro.
So it's you know, I do think that's kind of where you know we
need to reset it just be like you know at some point that's
what's going to fail. This team is just their ability
to execute on a you know minute by minute and play-by-play
basis. I will say as pessimistic as I
sound and I know I sound pessimistic, I don't understand
what's going on with the betting line for this game.
So both teams started off plus one, which I don't think I've
ever seen. That's not how it's Opposed to
work with that was still mine earlier.
Everybody. Here is both teams were plus one
on draft kills everybody. There was no favorite.
Now what's happened since then though, what's happened?
What's happened since then? And we're recording this about
1:45. And for those of you who don't
gamble, please understand that. The betting line is a proxy for
the way. The public feels about the game,
and a way that the sports books, feel about the game based upon
information they're getting so whether or not you're gambling
or not, the point spread is actually a good thing to watch.
Indiana is Two and a Half Point favorite in this game according
to bed, MGM. And that's really interesting to
me because if you look at the projection on Ken pom
Maryland's, a two-point favorite, you know, even on
torvik Maryland's, a one-point favorite.
So I am really curious why the line has gone, the way that it
has like where this confidence in Indiana is coming from.
I can't tell if this is just public money coming in and then
the sharps are going to come in and grab things but Maryland at
plus two and a half. I mean, that feels like
something. I might want to jump on.
I won't because I can't bet against Indiana.
At least not under normal circumstances, but I do look at
that. And I'm like, I wonder what
what's going on at this point. So, great call, I'm not even
looked into that. I've, I've had such bad history
betting on or against Indiana this year that I'm, they are a
complete. Stay away team for me, I just, I
don't, I don't know them. Yeah, it's I've been, I will say
if anybody was tempted to wager. This game.
This is a tough one because it's these are very evenly matched.
I mean, you look at you know, we talked about Eric Haslam's
website a bunch because it's a good way to do like in the
moment comps of the two teams that are playing and like today,
Indiana, Maryland, it's Maryland by three essentially on that and
yet you look at the actual individual numbers and it might
be even slightly closer than that.
And so these are very, very evenly matched teams, according
to the computers. Let's talk about and a little
bit, you know, in the first game that these two teams played
against each other. You know, it was, it was really
kind of, I mean, Jamir young and Dante Scott, both had really
good games. Young with was 346 from three,
Maryland did not score incredibly well in this game.
They only, you know, ended up with 1.06 points, per
possession. However, Indiana scored
terribly, like, Maryland really did a good job defensively on
them. Indiana was Only what they were
20 1456 from the field, they were 18, 445 from to try.
Jackson Davis, had a pretty good game.
He had 18 points, 15, 20 18 points and 20 rebounds, which is
still nuts to think about. And the, and race Thompson was
actually fairly good internally or inside, like he was over two
from three, but he was 4 for 6 from to race and Trace combined
to go 7 for 8, from the free-throw line.
And no one else was in double. Jurors Miller cop had a decent
game. He got hit 2 out of 3, 3, excuse
me, one out of four, 3s scored seven points.
Overall, everybody else really struggled, we mentioned Jalen
Hood. Fino.
As one who struggled quite a bit IU, has got to figure out how to
score points and how to get the tempo up.
Maryland in the game in College Park.
Absolutely took Indiana out of their element.
They made them play a Tempo, they weren't happy with and
they, You know, despite trailing early.
I mean I you Forget was up seven.
I think in that game in the first half, with about 10
minutes to go, Maryland, just gradually made it harder and
harder for Indiana to do anything offensively.
I don't know if they'll be able to pull that off quite at the
same level on a neutral floor. They haven't played as well.
Defensively away from home, but I do think that, you know, if
I'm Indiana I've got to be thinking about.
Well, gosh, if I can, we've got to figure out a way to continue
to score in the post, but where's the The outside shooting
like where's where are the three is going to come from?
Can we get people open? That's I use not going to be
able to win if they try the same pattern that they did before
where they're just dumping it down low constantly and trying
to score in the paint all the time.
I do think Tres Jackson Davis has made a lot of strides even
from that game which was not that long ago in terms of
looking a bit more to throw passes out to the perimeter when
he's getting doubled and so that might have something to do with
it. Also with Jalen atrophy no can
Like even a third of the shots that he missed in that game
maybe that helps with the offense a bit.
But certainly you don't look at the first game at least I don't
and say this is an impossible task for IU.
I just I know what Indiana needs to do in this one in terms of
Indiana, probably needs to score. 70 75 76 points in this
game. I don't know if they're going to
be able to do that. Given how they've played over
the course of the last few weeks.
Yeah, I mean that first game, Marilyn had a 13-2 to run and
then there is also a stretch from about the sixteen and a
half minute Mark in the second half until the 10-minute Mark
were Indiana, went from 37 points to 42.
So they scored five points and like a sediment is span or six
happen is fan. And you just you can't that's
something that we just, we can't do.
And as the tournaments go deeper and the teams get better.
You just, you can't have that. And that's where your point.
Like if you're dumping it in we have to score or if Trace is
passing it out. Like that's where you look at a
guy like tomorrow baits. Like those those bench guys or
tray Galloway, Cop, like they have to start hitting some of
those 3s or taking them because you just need some points.
Like you can't have multiple lulls in a game like this,
probably for the rest of the season and expect to get away
from it. And the trouble is, as you
mentioned, it's like we have a history of even recent history,
our last couple games of doing that, you'll make the Michigan
game. I think it was like something
like 5210 over a period of time. Like there was a huge like long
extended run any and that's get that gets back.
To it as this team is susceptible to like a 14-2 to
run a quick hitter but they're also susceptible to these like
runs that don't show up on the Ken Palm chart just because like
a 5210 run is like 90% of the game or they just kind of go
comatose for 38 minutes and it's hard to show and that's you
can't have really either of those or if you do you've got to
like get out of it real quick, so yeah.
I think ultimately, I mean, I here's the thing as we've talked
about, with this team quite a bit, I won't be shocked if they
win handily. I also won't be shocked if they
lose. Actually, I take that back.
I will be shocked if they win handily because I you doesn't
seem to win games handily at this point.
Now, maybe again, this is the one factor for me is like, how
much like did the fact that they've gotten some days off?
That they've had a chance to rest and recuperate that they
realize that the end is in sight?
Like they're out of February, there into March, it's a
different thing. You know, do they look at this
game and say you know what we you know we're going to be able
to bring 100% effort and intensity and and do so in a
way, I think, you know, Trey Galloway had such a terrible
outing against Michigan. He's certainly do for a good
outing overall and I think really kind of needs one against
Maryland, as he didn't have a great game.
You hit a couple of Threes which was nice but didn't do a whole
lot else. And also picked up four, fouls
like he's got to keep that in check.
And you look across the board with this IU team, you know,
race Thompson, Trace Jackson, Davis, Jalen Hurd Ruffino, you
know? And and Trey Galloway.
That's really become the group that you have to get something
out of consistently and then Miller cop.
If he can. Add something on the end is a
nice bonus Indy. The big thing for Indiana here
to me is like, can they get their three-point shooting to
the point where it takes some pressure off their offense?
And can they keep their defensive intensity up with the
idea that Maryland at the end of the A is not an overwhelming
offensive force that they're trying to deal with, you know,
Maryland is they're they're they're fine offensively.
They're fine defensively but most of the time like you mean
they're not a good three-point shooting team.
They're an okay to point shooting team.
You know, the I guess the the the other thing that I get
concerned about with this matchup for IU, is that where
we're Maryland really thrives as they don't turn the ball over so
they're able to get shot volume, you know, they're getting shots
on all their possessions. Possessions and Indiana isn't
turning teams over very much right now and really hasn't all
season. So, you know unless Indiana can
can actually do that. I think of it unless Indiana can
get some scrambles going where Maryland starts to feel
uncomfortable starts to turn the ball over.
I do worry that Maryland just going to have enough Shots by
volume that they'll be able to score enough points to beat
Indiana. I'm very curious to see how that
goes though. I will say this just taking
aside from the As, you know, the thing that this Indiana team for
the most part this season, whether it's at Xavier the home
game against North Carolina, table to the home game against
Purdue the second. Go first game against the home
game against Rutgers. I would also the home game
against Illinois, the road game against Purdue, and then the
home game against Michigan. You know, when when the lights
are bright and like, when this is a kind of a really, a key
game, this team has shown up where they seem to falter is
where, you know, we won the key game or were in the midst of a
winning stretch and like, we're just going to Kind of mentally
take a break, you know, whether it's that the game at me,
unfortunately, the, the at Maryland game or, you know, the
middle of the Iowa game on the road, or, you know, the Rogaine
Michigan was just such a Michigan.
State was such a bizarre game, kind of putting it off to the
side but like, the, the home game against Iowa.
It's like this team seems to falter, or lose focus more.
When they've already accomplished, you know, the hard
tasks right, and they're getting better at it, but we do the game
of the home game against Rutgers was, then, you know, kind of
solving that a little bit after winning.
The Purdue, but most of the games weren't kind of comes in
with a lot of hype. And a lot of, you know, eyeballs
on it has been where they have done.
Well, so, that makes me feel like I could see them winning
tonight. Winning handily tonight based on
that. Yeah.
And then maybe letting their foot off the gas either, you
know, tomorrow against Northwestern or even in the
final against whoever they decide to play.
It seems like that's more in. The mo of this team is kind of,
you know let let let their foot off the gas when they've
accomplished a little bit but not a lot, we'll see what
happens. And I think if I had to register
an official projection for this game, I think I've got Indiana
coming up, just short in a tight one.
Yeah, I agree with everything you just said, I think Indiana
does tend to come out at least recently when the lights are
brighter and I think this is, you know, this team's gonna have
a measure of Revenge in mind because of the way that they
played at Maryland, they're going to know that they have to
play better and that does help. I just the fact that Maryland
got to play yesterday and kind of got warmed up.
I always think that that's a bit of a disadvantage to the higher
seed. Team.
And in this case, we know that Maryland has the as multiple
guys that can shoot from outside, we know that they can
defend pretty well and that combination concerns me when it
comes to what i is going to be able to do so I think Indiana
comes up maybe three point shorten this one.
I'll say Maryland winds like 73 to 78 would be my projection
which again I don't think it hurts Indiana very much.
There's an outside chance they might drop to a five seed.
Do you know? But honestly at this point being
a four or five, I don't think it matters that much larger because
of what's going on around them, in terms of like teams winning
in the conference tournament. Whether there's some minut
changes in seating. But also, I think if this is
closed, I do think it really affects Indiana one way or
another. I would like to see them win.
I just don't have a great feeling going into this game.
II for what I from what I just said.
I think the is going to win. I can see them winning by like
four or five, maybe, you know, 72 65 or something I tend to,
you know, what I look at some of the your more the bracket
ologist than I, but as a bit more of an amateur side, it does
feel like based on some of the, you know, Xavier Virginia doing
well Miami Florida doing well. But it this could drop Indiana
to a five if they lose this, which to your point isn't the
end of the world but you know, maybe it does.
Lose them, the ability to have maybe a placement in the South
Region. Maybe it doesn't me at this
point. It does feel like we're kind of
near the bottom of the four seed, line and Marquette Xavier,
or going to take the preferred well, first, round region.
So it's like there's not because of other teams in the area being
close to us. And we're we're kind of in the
pecking order. Feels like there's really not
much advantage or disadvantage. We're not getting much Advantage
being at the bottom of the four line.
Just because all the teams that are above us are all regionally
close to us. So, therefore kind of all the
advantages. Are being sucked away.
We'll see what happens is we move forward here.
Indiana taking on Maryland tonight and will be around
tomorrow to talk about what happens and either preview the
next game or wrap up the first part of the postseason for.
I, you will see what happens when are the other anyway, we'll
keep it short, thanks to you Scott, and thanks to you folks,
for listening and thanks to our friends at home field, Apparel
in the whole family to back home, network will be back
tomorrow to talk what happened in this game and and see what
comes up next. Whatever that happens to be for
Scott, I'm Galen. This is Crimson, cast will catch
you folks on the flip side, bring back the Bison, so
everybody