You're listening to the back home network, presented by
home-field apparel. What about the Crimson cast
Galen? Clavius?
Got Caulfield joining you. Once again, it's Monday night,
January, 3rd, 2022. Scott, Happy New Year, Happy New
Year to you, too. How was the celebration or was
there a sellout? Did you stay awake for the new
year? I guess.
That's what everybody wants to know.
I'm sure everyone's asking all the inquiring minds.
Yes. So real quick for those who want
to know we booked a trip to Tucson.
We've canceled it three different times because of covid
and we almost can't do it again because the weather in Tucson
was awful. It was colder there than it was
here and it rained. But every day we were there.
We stayed at the hotel but had a water slide.
We never got to use it. Went to the desert.
I told my two boys, like enjoy this, there's not many times in
your life going to come with the Tucson desert and get rained on.
But we flew back on New Year's Eve.
We landed 11. My eight-year-old son.
We told him he could stay awake for the ball.
Drop. He fell asleep in the car will
come up. We got we got home at like 1157
he watched it. So yeah, it was nice to ring in
the New Year. And then I went back outside
like to get stuff out of the car and I'm like, this feels better
than it felt the entire week of the week.
We were in Tucson. But not going to complain.
We got the trip. We had a great time.
I saw a Titan missile, silo at a great time.
Hey, I mean anytime you can you know, relive Fallout 3 or
whatever. I guess that would be Fallout
New Vegas. If you're in Tucson, that would
be a bit closer or Wasteland but it was like war games because
they talked a lot about the guys with the guns like you do shoot
the other guys in turn the key. And yeah, okay.
Well, hey, I'm glad you had that experience.
I did about you. Well, we have the with the mat
blasko wedding on New Year's Eve that which did not go all the
way. It could have gone all the way.
Midnight, but my mom was babysitting the kids.
So we had to get back and spring her and then I did not actually
stay awake for New Year. I was exhausted.
I fell asleep. I like 11:20.
Honestly, I've come to the conclusion.
I think New Year's is maybe the most over that was say,
overrated. But it's the least consequential
of all of the potential holidays that are out there.
Like, I've, as I've gotten older, like nothing about New
Year's is great. Eight, once you're past like age
26 and you're not out partying with people in the middle of I
mean you could certainly do that when you get older than 26, but
every year that you do that over the age of 26 you start to lose
a bit of the respect of your fellow human beings.
And so you end up with this situation.
There's nothing on TV because the CNN stuff is horrific and
you know, most of the stuff on the other networks isn't very
good either. And there's no like good
alternate New Year's programming that Found.
So you just end up, unless you've got people at your house.
You're just kind of sitting around waiting for a time on the
clock, that maybe you make it to on a normal night.
I normally don't fall asleep till like 12:30 or 1.
So, like being up at midnight. It's no big deal to me.
But of all the other holidays versus New Year's night.
It's just it all kind of feels like, it doesn't amount to a
whole lot the big scheme of things and and I don't know.
Honestly, I you I was thinking for a while that that was me
being old and Only, but it's instead.
I realized I felt that way for a long time.
Like, of all of the celebratory moments.
Like, I'll take like, Thanksgiving dinner coming out
or Christmas when everybody starts, unwrapping presents or
the Fourth of July, when the fireworks start to go off or
really the whole day. Before that or Memorial Day like
any, any one of a number of different options and above New
Year's. At this point is really low on
my list. It's low enough that.
I mean, for us to that we decided to travel on that day.
I was like, all right, like what?
We'll come back on New Year's Eve, two other quick things.
New Year's Eve related. We had some friends neighbors
who were having a party on our street and they waited for us.
I can do. We got back.
I was, let's have a drink and they like they said they pause
the countdown. So I had a fun moment where he
walk in like always pause the countdown as they start playing
with like two minutes to go and I'm like, oh so you guys don't
know what happened to the ball. Look at me.
It's like, just feel like I just really had a great moment.
You're a jerk. I just want to say that.
So It's a good moment. I will let everybody know this.
And anybody who wants to join, is welcome to me.
My favorite part of the New Year's Eve day experience is for
me. I've always loved watching the
Rose Bowl Parade. I just I love watching the Rose,
Bowl Parade. I've always said, you know, if I
you makes a Rose Bowl I'm going like I just I want to experience
all of that. And as I'm getting up in age
with you, sit there watching with my wife, my kids.
I'm just like f it, like we're going to the Rose Bowl.
Parade, like I we are like I'm not going to For IU football
team. After they've I gave him 40
years, there have been waiting for 43 years, there might not
know there might not be a California.
If we wait let alone a Rose Bowl Parade.
Like there's a chance that whole thing could just like, you know,
get get taken by the Sea at some point here soon.
So I think you're thinking is valid here.
My wife is a teacher. So it's like next year.
The first is on a Sunday and they start school on the Monday
the next day. So I think that's undoable the
week after I think it's on a Wednesday or Monday, which means
they might start. On Wednesday, so New Year's Eve,
New Year's Day is on a Wednesday in January 1st. 2025.
I'm going already put my calendar.
I know this sounds crazy. But only three years old.
So 20, 25 January 1st. I actually have a friend who he
lives out in California. He'll it steady.
He listens to this pod. He married a beautiful sweet
woman, but she was a queen at the Rose Bowl.
So she's part of like, she knows the parade.
So I have an inn on tickets. I hope II texted him today and I
was like, we're coming through. Fear, as he's like great, that's
that's planning at. I'm going January 1st 2025.
Anybody who wants to join, by the way, Tom Allen.
If you're listening, feel free to win to 11 games and join me
to like, you're more than welcome to join me.
Yes, that's my plan. Say this.
I like this. I like this methodology because
it's like, instead of waiting for IU football, to take us.
There you go. And you bring IU football with
you. I think this is, this is really
the fact that nobody's thought of this up, to this point is
actually kind of surprising to To me, so I good on and home
field making sure like, let's make a shirt January 1, 2025.
Let's go. Well, we'll get them on that.
Speaking of home field. They are that's gonna be awful
watching Ohio State play Oregon. Like there you go.
Speaking of home-field. Yes.
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You've got your Marshall hoodie on and we didn't plan this.
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I'm making, you know a know and my wife is wearing her vintage
crewneck. I you like 50s logo shirt.
So yeah, this is what we do. We loud planning.
We're both going to the IU game. This Thursday.
What can I wear the Bison? Like, what are you youth?
The bison and the divorce? You take sweets, not a It's a
trial separation. Stop.
But no, you, you can have the Bison.
I won't wear the Bison this week.
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While you can get a bunch of stuff while you their home
field. Apparel.com presenting sponsor
of the back home network. Let's talk about IU, basketball,
as the Hoosiers. Well, we thought we were going
to have a couple of games to talk about between the last time
we talked in. Now, one of the games got
canceled and the other one should have been canceled as
Indiana, traveled to Penn State. The weakest team in the
conference by several different metrics.
I think you could say, probably the most important one being
record. Well, I guess they weren't
technically the weakest because Nebraska exists on the planet,
but they were very ver down the list that and played in three
weeks, three and a half weeks and they hosted an Indiana team.
That seemed like they were on a bit of a role seemed like, they
were playing decent basketball. And we got a very typical very
ugly Road game in the Big Ten, a game that looked suspiciously
like most of the IU basketball games.
We've seen in the Big Ten over the last five years and the
Hoosiers end up losing the game by, you know, not an
embarrassing margin, but you could make Argument that any
loss to Penn State this year is a little bit embarrassing or
not. You know, I think it's some
narratives that came out of this game that were valid and worth
talking about. I think there were also some
narratives that were kind of over reacting a bit to the loss.
But let's talk about it first and foremost.
The Hoosiers went into this game, and they were projected to
win. It was one of those games where,
you know, coming in, at the beginning, you're thinking to
yourself. Well, not only is this a game
Indiana should win? It's really a game Indiana needs
to win because of the relative weakness of Penn State and the
fact that Penn State is has been on a pause because it covid.
We didn't know how many players are going to have available and
they really haven't done a whole lot.
Particularly. Well, this year, you know, you
look across at Penn State's overall numbers and they haven't
been embarrassing, but they've been really slow.
They've, you know, they've they've just done kind of a
mediocre job on offense by and large their defense.
Has been kind of, okay. Just a really blah team, their
best wind coming into the game, was a neutral Court Victory
against Oregon State, a team that I can tell you right now is
not going to the NCAA tournament.
So you would have figured this was a game that Indiana needed
to win, because there aren't a whole lot of quote-unquote,
winnable on paper games in the Big Ten on the road and yet
Indiana really came out and struggled from the beginning.
It never looked like they had control of the game.
The offense was a clogged basically the entire time and
the defense wasn't good enough to make up for that.
You know, Scott, it was a disappointing game and it was
certainly a frustrating one. What were your overall
Impressions after having watched this thing?
You hit a lot of them. I mean, it's just it sucks and
it's just, it is. It's just God's.
It's no fun being a fan right now.
Like I remember a year ago, those like we're getting into
the Glory Days. Like, we just had I know these
things are totally unrelated, but it's like for kind of
Indiana Regional sports fans. Like we just had an awful awful
football season for a lot of reasons.
Like someday that, you know, the Colts lose a game that they
could have one to make the playoffs.
You have the Pacers who are just can't figure it out and getting
last second shot at all the time.
And it's like, all right. Well, at least you can watch
Indiana, you know, beat up on Penn State and kind of make a As
the sun shines, and they don't, and it's just, I hate being in
this position. I feel like we've been in this
position a lot. It's, I'm not saying this as
like anything on the woods, an era where this team goes.
I think it probably still make the tournament via 6 or 7 seed,
but it it it sucks it. Now.
We're in a spot where we're already on January 3rd.
Like we got to play a little bit of ketchup.
Like we probably need to win the next two home games and one of
his against Ohio state who's a really good team and you got to
beat Minnesota who is also like, I'm not sure we're there.
Rat, but again, you have another, you know, first-year
coach who has a team, what 11? And one with a win over
Michigan? It is it's tougher than you also
see, you know, in the same day you have, you know, Michigan
State playing, you know, a lower tier team in Northwestern and
then having a tough time, but winning.
And then the other game was Nebraska and Ohio, State and
same kind of thing. Like it's a tough game, but they
find a way to win. And this is a game where there
was multiple times. Indiana could have found a way
to win, but they didn't. Still see some of the same
things like what the Penn State went in, like a 13-2 to run, you
know, with with five minutes to go Penn State's up, 54 252, you
know, and then it goes until what the like, the 3-minute mark
that nobody scores for like two and a half minutes in really the
big moments of the game. And I said it before, I'll say
it again. It's going to be a broken record
all season, you know point guard play is going to hurt this team
and you get to these points where we are as a team.
Unable to get traced Jackson Davis the ball Either get him
the ball period or get him the ball in a good position where he
can score. We're not able to do that.
And that that is the Achilles heel of this team.
I'm not sure we're ever going to get that solved because it's
January and those things don't, you know, and so I don't see a
way to get that solve with the roster.
We have that's a bummer but that's the problem you saw again
in this game. You saw it in the Wisconsin gave
you see as much in the Syracuse game, but you had these two
games Wisconsin and Penn State where you need to kind of just
get a couple points and you're shutting them down.
You shouldn't Penn State down but you can't score because you
really can't effectively get your best player the bowl.
Yeah, I mean, I think it's more than just the point guard play
is bad. And I think that this has been
such a long-standing thing that frankly most of us have
forgotten what good point guard play looks like a tie you and
and yet it's you can't talk about point guard play without
also acknowledging that it's handcuffed to the offense.
And while the offense of system has been Been better.
And I think that certain aspects of it particularly shooting
percentage have borne that out. The reality is this is still not
a team that's wired to score. It's still not a team, that's
wired to be great offensively. And we do, we talked about it
earlier on in the season. It is this a situation where
Indiana can get better over the course of the year.
And I think that most of us are hoping that it can and will But
the reality is, this may just be a team that's permanently
crippled on offense because it just doesn't have Personnel that
can run offense effectively in the Big Ten.
And the reality is you look at the last four or five years of
Indiana basketball, and there's been something bad holding
Indiana back in play during that whole time.
And, you know, you go back, obviously through the Archie
Miller era and the offense always ended up being the
problem child. When it came.
To try and figure out what was going on with this team and why
they couldn't get over the hump, you know, there were times when
the defense wasn't great either but the offense was always a
problem and you know, I think Archie Miller certainly deserves
a lot of the blame there but as much as the blame has been dealt
to Archie as far as the offensive system, he ran which
felt very Cro-Magnon in a lot of ways.
Like it was just a very it was very retrograde offense.
A lot of the blame I think for Archie and his staff.
It has to be on the players that they were recruiting because
that is the core of the team that you've got out there right
now. And yes, there's no question.
Trace Jackson, Davis has improved even more over last
year. I think as an overall offensive
weapon, but you still have the core issue of.
He doesn't have a lot of range. He's constantly like the whole
idea of, we got to get him, the basketball implies.
We gotta get in the basketball on the low block and let him go
and work, and it's like, well, you know what?
That's a flaw in the system where If that's your offensive
output, of course, teams are going to make that difficult.
And if you don't have something in place that can break that
down, you got some issues. And, you know, look, I think
that there's two different ways. You could look at the offensive
output from that Penn State game.
You can blame Mike Woodson for not having a better system.
And, you know, certainly, I think that there's going to be
growing pains with Woodson. And maybe Woodson felt like
players, we're going to grasp what he wanted to do and work
things out. Zout better faster, but I think
you also have to look at the players on the floor and realize
that a lot of these players as much as we enjoy them.
And as much as we respect them as players that put on the
Indiana uniform just aren't able collectively to play on the
offensive end in a way that's going to, you know, be
impressive in a lot of these games, doesn't mean they can't
win games, but you're going to get games like this, where
everything just fails and Indiana comes up short and this
is the DNA of Indiana. Basketball right now.
This is the DNA that Tom crean recruited at the end of his
tenure and Archie Miller recruited throughout the course
of his tenure. So you can blame Mike, Woodson
certainly for not doing more with what he's got.
But I think you also have to look at the players that are on
this team right now, you know, least the ones that have been
around for a while, because I think the younger ones, maybe
you can't hold quite as accountable.
And say, this is pretty much a continuation of what we saw last
year in the idea that a coaching.
In change was going to wave a magic wand and will cause all
that to go away was probably a bit overly optimistic.
If not outright naive. Yeah.
And you know, to talk about the players, they'll be enough talk
about point guard, play between Xavier Johnson and finishing all
that, but I will set you as, you know, Trish acts and Davis has
been awesome and he's very good. I'm very happy.
He's here, but this is kind of what I was talking about at the
beginning of the Season, kind of joking that he needs.
I love to see you. Take two or three threes a game.
It wasn't so much taking threes. It's just to your point.
He's very limited in. Like you have to get him the
ball in certain spots, and then it makes it very easy for the
defense to double. If I don't know, if it's on
coaching or on him, but I wish I would have seen some point in
some, of these early games. Some offensive possessions were
traced takes the ball at the top of the key or outside the three,
maybe there's a shooter three, but like try and break someone
down on the dribble or you try and dribble drive and see what
happens. You'll Race Thompson's done some
of that. That, but we haven't seen any of
that from Jackson Davis. And that to me, is part of the
problem of this team is, you need to have some times where
it's like. All right, we have two minutes
to go. I don't want Xavier Johnson
running the show right now. I want to get the ball in the
you. I want to get traced Jackson
Davis the ball, even if he gets it 30, you know, 25 feet from
the basket. I'd love for him to be able to
try and do something or just see it again.
Maybe not in Big Ten play, but I wish you would have seen it at
some point but now it's too late and so to your point he didn't
have the most effective game, but that that is where I It, you
know, Trace that if he did take a three, I was thinking of that,
like, in the last shot was a three other.
This would be a great making your first three as a Hoosier to
at least send the Penn State game to overtime, but I don't
know. So, I think that needs to be
looked at like, you just I think this is going to be something
that is going to hamper this team because it you mentioned
the Archie are like that was the, you know, Devonte, green
drove, people nuts, but at times it was like, well, at least he's
doing something click, at least he's That's kind of what you get
with the Xavier Johnson versus fantasy.
A fantasy is very controlling, but nothing seems to happen and
then you get Xavier Johnson, which is kind of like frenetic.
But at least things happen. I don't know if I totally agree
with that but I think I disagree with a lot of it but the but
I'll but here's why you don't want to race tracks.
In Davis, handling the ball 25 feet from the basket because
he's not a natural ball handler and he also hasn't really shown
an ability to pass more than about four feet in any
direction. If he's got the ball at the top
of the key, where is it going after that?
Because if he's just taking it and driving it, that'll work for
one play, and then everybody will collapse on him and he
won't be able to get the ball anywhere.
The problem for me. Is that just real quick?
I'm saying, like as he stands now, I agree.
But what I'm saying is like, I wish you would have come into
this season. Yeah, I'm making some of those
skills were. It's like, I just don't think
it's part of his repertoire. Don't think it's, I mean, it
might, it might be when he's a pro, but I just don't, I mean,
even if he had worked on that aspect of his game, all All
summer. He wouldn't have been able to do
the array of things. He's doing in the post right
now. I guess is my thought process.
So you take a lot off the table to gain like C- to see skills in
that area. The the other thing though, and
then to me, this is the much larger issue, regardless of
who's handling. The ball, is that the the
Indiana offense has kind of degenerated over the course of
the Season. It felt like at the beginning of
the year. You had better spacing, you had
players. You know, getting into position
to take shots from outside and and those shots were more likely
to go in. You know, it's weird to me
because you look at the people who should be shooting the
basketball and you have players like, for instance, Parker
Stewart, who's hitting forty, seven and a half percent of his
threes. He's 57 in the country right now
and yet he barely shoots. Yeah.
I mean, I was shot more threes than the rest of his teammates
have certainly. But for a guy who shoots
Shooting at that level. You would think that there would
be a greater effort to get him some volume in terms of the
shots. But I mean, you look over the
course of four shots against Penn State.
Yeah, and and you know, and if you just take threes, he took to
against Penn State to against Northern Kentucky for against
Notre Dame and he have three of them and two against Merrimack,
you know, it's so it's almost like that Wisconsin game.
He was on this stretch. Where, from Louisiana to
Wisconsin. He took five.
He's 53 is 5. 3 is 12 3 6 3 + 5 3 S and it's like in the last
four games his outside shooting as just disappeared.
And I don't think it's because, you know, part of it might be
the offense, but part of it is you got to take shots when the
ball is passed to you or you've got to be able to quickly
redistribute the ball. Because if you're not open, it
means somebody's probably over playing you based upon where the
ball can be inside. Meanwhile, you've got Miller
cop. Well, so it's real quick.
Your son Parker. It's like heat again.
I'm not only me feel like he's, he has a hard time creating off
the dribble as well. So he's a great catch and shoot
guy and I but I think the book might be out on him.
It's like, I just play him Titan.
Can't really drive. And it's like, again, you have
all these pieces that are kind of good at one thing, but
they're Limited in other areas and it makes it tough that like
parkour, can't drive and get his own shot.
But see, I don't, that weird thing is, is in the one year
that he was at, Tennessee Martin.
He used, he took up twenty eight and a half percent of
possessions, which is a lot like that was about 100 in the
country that year this year. He's taking up 12.6% of
possessions. He's just not I mean, he's just
not he's got a very limited usage rate and it's very, very
confusing because he's shown the ability to score, and you would
think that if Tennessee, Martin's offense, could get him
open enough to take that many shots and utilize that many
possessions that somehow that would work its way into what
Indiana is doing. Now.
I think a lot of that is the point guards, and I think that
the point guards in the way that they're playing, and they both
present particular problems. Xavier Johnson can have great
Court Vision, but then he can also have possessions where he
doesn't look at anybody else on the floor.
Except race Jackson Davis. If, if he even looks at Tres
Jackson Davis, sometimes he just looks at the basket.
It says, I'm going to run towards that thing with the bowl
and we'll see what happens. Rob fennessy.
Kinda has the opposite issue were robbed overthinks
everything. A lot of times when Parker
Stewart has been open or Miller copper whoever in the perimeters
been open. The ball doesn't get there in
time. And so then they're no longer
open and the offense stagnates. As we've seen it, do the last
few years. And so, you know, when I look at
Stewart, when I look at Miller cop who again is shooting 40%
from three. But is not using that many
possessions cop isn't as big of a surprise, because even though
cop was a cop's having from an offensive rating perspective,
his best to testicles. Season.
But he's also using fewer possessions.
He's not shooting as well from to.
And, you know, he's he's out there and sometimes he makes
plays, but I'm always surprised when Miller cop makes a play,
because it feels like he's so far in the background, like
everything revolves around. Whoever the point guard is Tres
Jackson Davis and then race Thompson, but only because race
in many cases inserts himself into the play with hustle, which
is great. Now the other thing I want to
touch on offense We that is problematic.
So I just mentioned Parker Stewart, you know, needs to
shoot more. Like he just needs to get more
shots out. I would say, Miller cop does as
well, you know, who does not need to be shooting as much from
outside. Despite.
What commentators have said in the last three, basketball games
that Mike Woodson said he wants to see race Thompson, needs to
stop shooting from three. Do you know why?
Because race Thompson so far on the season and I love every
other part. Erases game racist, 3418 from
three. He is shooting 16.7%, you know,
we I'd love to see him have that part of his game is something
where you can knock a couple down a game.
I don't think it's going to develop at this point and you
have to yes, he hit a three against Penn State.
Can you tell me without looking Scott the previous game where
race Thompson? Hit a three point shot.
Marshall. That's exactly right.
That was the last time for the guess.
That's a complete. Get us.
But yes, it was, it was Marshall.
It was the 27th of November and it's not like he hasn't shot a
huge amount since then, but the fact that he hasn't like made a
basket from three since then should tell us any, you look at
his overall numbers. That's just a bad percentage.
He has dialed back on it a little bit but he, you know,
he's 1 for 3 in this game. I'm not seeing that as As being
something that needs to regularly, be happening out
there. I feel the same way frankly
about, you know, some of the other guys shooting out there,
you know, on occasion. Now, Rob fantasy has gradually
climbed back into a position where his shooting numbers
aren't like threatening worst all time, but he still only
shooting 30% from to, and 31 percent from three.
He had some shots in that Penn State game and I tip my hat to
him on that, but there's just, I see possessions Used in an
inefficient manner. A lot of times by this team and
earlier on in the season and frankly still, now, to some
degree, a lot of that's come through turnovers just
carelessness with the basketball bad passes, you know, things
that aren't directed the way that they should be, but bad
shots or Shots by guys, who shouldn't be taking them are not
much better than turnovers as far as I'm concerned.
I mean, you lose the chance that an offensive rebound, but you're
still pretty much just as likely to have The Possession and right
there. I don't know if that's fixable.
Oil with this group. I really don't, you know, but
it's going to be interesting watching this coaching staff,
try to dial it back in. So I've got one last point, but
I wanted to see if you had anything else to say on that
front. Before I moved on.
No, I've another point to, but I'll let you go.
And then I'll staccato back. One thing.
I will say is, you know, it's tough to separate the past from
the present. And I think that all big problem
that a lot of people myself included, just even the last
thing that I said. There.
How do you parse out who this team is?
Internally versus what's the effect that the coaching staff
and Mike Woods. And in particular are having on
the team and a lot of people off of that game yesterday were
like, you know, different coach exact same results that I Tada,
you know, I'd someone text me and be like, look, I don't
understand. Why are you fans are so upset.
It's a first-year coach. It's a relatively.
You got two, three new guys in the starting lineup essentially
like games. Like this are going to happen,
especially on the Road. And yes, it was a Penn State
team that has not played well and doesn't really have any
significant wins on its record. But you also have to look at the
team as an internal mechanism that is essentially being
reworked. And this is the kind of, you
know, thing we talked about a couple of weeks ago.
And I think I mentioned it on my New Year's Eve podcast.
Or it's like, there's going to be some games where Indiana
plays way above their head. And you're like, wow, this is
what it could be. Like if this team really, you
know, dialed in and I'll play It on the same page and then, you
know, you saw that last year remember that game at Iowa,
which now, I guess, famously on Big Ten Network is the last Road
game than Indiana, one of the conference tied up, but that
Iowa team at the time, was considered to be one of the top
four teams in the country and Indiana win and beat them by 12.
And I remember thinking, wow, look at, look at this IU team.
Look at what they're suddenly able to do.
Maybe things are finally coming together.
And then, of course, Indiana turned around and lost at home
to Rutgers the next. Name, you know.
That's so this is where it's like it's a, it's a new coach,
you're going to get these wild swings as this coach and this
these players try to dial in with each other.
But this is also essentially still the DNA of this Indiana
basketball team. And yes, you've got some new
pieces, but the core like veteran pieces of this team.
This is essentially the performances that have been
turned in over the last four to five years.
So, in that sense, I don't find it that surprising nor do I even
find it that panic-inducing? Yeah, I would just say that, you
know, it's frustrating where it seems like we are always and
don't, don't construe this into like Panic or anything, but it
does seem like in other places first-year coaches.
Are able to make a little bit of change, like oh I see what
they're trying to do. And it's it's frustrating seeing
a lot of the same issues and it it's like we're always the
program that's like you need a three-year resets.
Like, oh, we got to recently, new coach can expect anything
different and like all the same bad, habits are all still there.
That's the Frustrating part I'll speak for kind of some of the
other fan base where you know, it's just that that's
frustrating. It is.
I just want to see some of the Improvement the other.
The other point from this game that I thought was interesting,
that is interesting. Maybe worrisome is, you know, I
say this every beginning of the Season that people tend to
unfortunately, look at like everybody on the team having the
best possible offseason and you know, their rating going from,
you know, 84 to 97. And you know and say a video A
game parlance like everyone's just going to have a good
offseason, the you don't see that and it's always funny.
The beginning of the year, you're doing some of these
previews of I'm guilty of this as well.
You're like my God, we're so deep.
Like there's so many people and then you get to a point where in
this game yesterday. We played six guys Furniture,
atomo played nine minutes, Tamar Bass played six, Leo played,
five Dura played five, you go to the Notre Dame game.
You basically played, you know, seven guys, with Lido, playing
16 minutes, you know, the Wisconsin game, same kind of Get
dressed a little bit more you maybe, you know, Toronto with
eight, ten minutes, you have eight, guys, but you kind of
have a core of six or seven and that's but it was really
noticeable against Penn State, you five guys.
Like and so this is I'm concerned, you know, Leo had
some minutes and legal didn't have minutes that, you know,
where are we going to solve any of these problems?
Because it seems like this is the Tito in Hoosiers movie
speak. It's like my team is on the
floor, my team, you know, I'm not sure where the solutions are
going to come and I would I'd love to see more out of Tomorrow
bait, but it didn't, you know, six minutes.
No points. You're going to have games like
that for freshmen to. But I would just say that's the
frustrating part is it always feels like we're always in the
spot where not you but it's like just being told like well, hey,
it's a first-year coach, you know, these are problems as like
but you look around like other teams, you know, Chris holtmann
at Ohio State. Just I know he took over.
It's like everything is always different but so he took over
his first year and like things just changed.
I just I wish we could see little bit more Improvement on
some of the issues. Is that we had for the previous
four years. Well, but I that again, I think
the problem is you've, you know, coach that IU has hired
literally since well brilli ever.
Maybe I think the last, I think the last coach that really took
over a fully stocked Indiana program and was able to do
things effectively with it was probably Branch McCracken who
took over for Everdeen and that was 1938.
I mean it This is the problem. Like, people forget this bob
Knight took over a program that was in complete decays repair.
Mike Davis, took over a really well stocked program.
I guess maybe he was the last one.
People didn't think it was well stocked, but the core of that
team, you know, was a four seed that year in the tournament and
then made the national title game the next year.
But Calvin, Samson certainly didn't take over that
well-stocked of a roster, you know, Tom crane took over no
roster. Archie, Miller took over a
roster that had been so horrific lie.
Recruited that a guy got bounced from his job a year after
winning the Big Ten title. And Mike Woodson is taking over
for an Archie Miller team that didn't make the NCAA tournament
in for, you know, where three of the four years and barely would
have made it in the fourth year. So, you know, I think the
problem is you look at because I know what you're talking about
and everybody's like, well, why does it take so long?
It's because frankly Indiana hasn't had the Graham building
that you've needed to be successful over the course of
really the last couple of decades, you know, Chris
holtmann takes over from Thad Matta.
And yes, that was a disappointing last year for
model, but that was still a really well-built program.
You know, you look at Michigan. It wasn't like Juwan, Howard
came in and took over from from Tommy Amaker.
He came in and took over from John beilein who had been
incredibly successful during his time there.
So I think for a lot of the programs that Hannah looks at an
Indiana fans, want to say, well, why can't they be us?
It's because a lot of shortcuts have been taken in or just bad
decisions. Have been made in terms of
recruits, in terms of the way things have been structured
inbuilt. I'm not necessarily saying that
Mike Woodson's the answer on that front, but we're that's a
different thing. Like in three or four years.
We can judge how Woodson built the program, but I think
expecting Woodson to come in snap his fingers and have the
kind of turnaround success that people wanted to see.
See as much as I was hoping that was going to be the case.
I don't think it's the case and you know that said I think
Woodson's actually gotten a lot better defensive performances
overall out of this Indiana team.
They were actually pretty good on defense and that Penn State
game Penn State was hitting some shots that are not going to go
in for them in most other games this year.
And with all that are some wild three, you know, they barely
average to point per possession, even with those shots going in,
I mean, Indiana, they did default back to their defense
and it almost Won the game for them.
It was their offense. That's the issue but that's been
the issue across the board. And so, you know, look, I think
people people are very frustrated.
I get that and I'm look certainly was frustrated with
the outcome of the game, but I also not surprised by the
outcome of the game because I think it's just going to be a
bumpy road as we go through this season.
And I still think even with that bumpy road if this team can
figure out how to limit the mistakes that they're making,
and then figure out how to play offense.
Effectively again, they've still got a chance at winning 12 games
in conference. Like I still don't think that
that's gone in. They were even with the loss to
Penn State. Yeah.
That's a, that's a road when you would have liked to have had.
So it means you win won another game at home or you nip somebody
on the road that maybe you weren't expecting to.
So, you know, look, it's it's not to excuse the loss.
But we tend to forget that these kinds of losses happen in pretty
much every season like even during the good Years under
night and, and crane, you'd have these head-scratching games
where you like? I don't understand why the team
played like crap. Today.
Does that mean that something's wrong, and a lot of times it
just means they came out and played like crap that day.
And there's not there's not a larger meaning to it other than
they're not talented enough to, you know, be able to overcome
the bad days simply by the fact that they're so talented.
And you know, the one thing I will say and again, I don't
think this is something that Woodson can change.
There's just this team. Still lacks a controlled.
Killer Instinct to go in and try to grab games.
I mean, I will say they fell behind by 9 with about what 10
minutes to go in the second half.
And you were like, well, this is it.
This team is not going to come back and they did come back at
that point, but they couldn't finish the game off.
It's very similar to what happened at the Syracuse game.
Now, last year. I don't even know if the team
comes back even to that level like not even to get close
enough to lose it at the end. But this team really has a
mentality issue where they still don't look like they belong.
Believe in themselves, and they don't believe that they should
be able to take control of a game and win.
I don't know how you fix that other than bringing in players
that do have that mentality. But that was one of the big
things that seem to be missing from our cheese era.
And those are largely, the players that you're seeing on
the floor right now for Indiana. Still.
No II. Completely agree with that.
There are these moments in the game you could feel or Penn
State went on that run where it's like, oh, they're they're
they're trying to win this game. Like they're there.
This is the time you got to do something and we don't do it.
Here, all you said what concerns me that everything you said is
valid, but what concerns me is like, you know, quoting the very
relevant, quote, quoting Yogi, Berra.
Look, it gets really gets late, really quick.
Now, you know, you got to almost go 1 and 1 or 2 and 0 against
Ohio State and soda at home because then you have two Road
games against Iowa, Nebraska and then your home for Purdue in
Michigan and then your home for Penn State, a team.
You did just lose to that, you think you should win at home,
but I thought we'd win at Penn State, so it the road.
Ed gets tightened by the way, the back half of the Big Ten
schedule is also not like super easy.
So, that that's, that is where I am concerned is, you know,
you've got to, you gotta now, make some hay and you're right.
You can pick some of these games off, but you kind of got to do
it on Thursday and Sunday, like, it's like, it's yeah, I kind of
turn around and do it sooner rather than later, because you
can't, you can't lose your next three games.
And then when Nebraska, and then lose Purdue Michigan me, there's
there's a tough road ahead. If you can't start picking some
of those games off, like, Now before January 23rd, well, maybe
I don't know. I look, I feel like every year
we analyze the schedule and then we're completely wrong at the
end of the year and we never acknowledge it because we don't
go back and talk about what we were really wrong about that
stretch. I mean, last year.
We, you know, I think a lot of people thought, well, then, you
know, the schedules kind of, it's a little bit easier down
the stretch, especially since Michigan state was so bad last
year. And, you know, you had Anyway,
you lost both games to Michigan State, down the stretch last
year and you almost lost to Northwestern last year.
You know, I'd go to double overtime to beat them in
Evanston. Like there's there's a there's a
bunch of different. No one expected, Indiana to
sweep who Iowa last year and yet they did.
Yeah, and so I hear what you're saying and I think ultimately
the big issue for Indiana right now is they need to pick up some
Road wins? Preferably against teams that
are relatively Good, not great necessarily, but I mean but a
teams that that you know, Penn State, frankly fell into this
category, like the tier two teams or things like that and
you know, you've got some of those left on the schedule.
So it's not the end of the world.
I mean Nebraska they have to win that but you know, Maryland on
the road that's a game that they probably need to win the game at
Northwestern the game, you know, the app Minnesota like those
three right there, give you opportunities to pick up the
kind of Road wins that just helped stabilize.
Belies. Your, your, your resume for the
postseason and that's where the Penn State lost to me hurts the
most, but it's not like the committee is not going to look
at that loss and say, will you lost a Penn State?
That's a bad loss. That's not just, that's not how
the committee works on these things.
It's it's a marginal top hundred team and you lost to them on the
road. Well, guess what?
That's what most teams do. Against top hundred teams on the
road. So I'm with you, they need to
win games against Superior competition.
But I think a lot of opportunities to do that if they
knock off the bat offense and and they start figuring out ways
to score and be effective. By the way, while we're taping
this, we've got Wisconsin and Purdue playing watching this.
Yeah, and I'm wondering like if you're choosing to root for
either, Purdue or Brad Davidson, like, that's basically, like,
how do you make that decision? That's, that's like the Sophie's
choice of bad things to root for, is it not?
Like, who you leave behind there?
I know. Wisconsin right now with the
minutes when he left is up five at Purdue, which is I guess kind
of proving my point to some degree.
I don't think a lot of people were looking at this Wisconsin
team and saying, yeah, they're going to go in and knock off
this top five Purdue team in Mackey Arena.
So the you're going to get games like this.
And you mentioned, the Ohio, State game on the road.
You mentioned the Michigan State game on the road.
And yeah, those teams were able to take care of business at the
end, but they've Easily could not have you're going to get
these back before? They did what they did know and
and there's no question that they have DNA that says we win
these games and Indiana doesn't at this point, but that is a
player thing with the coach and right now we don't know about
the coach, but we do know about the players for Indiana because
we just haven't seen enough evidence that they can win those
games regularly. And I hope that changes but
thus, far we haven't seen it with what you seen thus far and
where we sit to you as making the NCAA.
Tournament still the goal. Yeah.
Well, of course, the still the goal and it should be.
That should be your Baseline expectation.
I think not making the NCAA tournament.
This year should be considered to be a really bad thing.
Now. I don't think it's it's by no
means a. Well.
The Mike Woodson higher was a mistake if they don't win the
NCAA. Because again, I think, as I've
said, the first year coach with this particular group of players
who has not shown an ability to get to the NCAA tournament at
all. At least not more than just the
fringes and we still don't know for sure.
If that actually would have happened that, you know, it just
to me, it would just demonstrate that there was a larger hole
that had to be dug out of with this Indiana basketball program
that, you know, wasn't at the level necessarily of of when Tom
crane took over or even when Archie Miller took over, but
there was still a hole to dig out of yeah.
Anyway, speaking of the NCAA tournament.
It's time to go inside the numbers.
And look at Indiana's, NCAA tournament set up right now and
what they need to be thinking about and just a reminder that
when you want to go inside the numbers for college sports or
pro sports, check out the power rank, our friend, Ed Fang uses
data, and analytics to provide you with an Insider.
Look, a PhD level. Look at how stuff works and it
helps with your own edification of sports.
It can also help you with wagering.
If you're into that kind of thing.
I know you are as well. Preview is great.
Yeah, it's both. We did.
You did it work out for you at all.
It did I? Well, it's virtually being out
of town for a little bit. It was, it was more my
scheduling. But yeah, a lot of his picks
were dead-on and he helped me on the other two national
championship games. Or semifinals.
That's good. Pretty easy.
It was a tough one this year because a covid, but no, add to
always is a great job. You can check out the power
ranks free newsletter, which you should certainly subscribe to
another goodies. They are go to the power
rank.com / AC and you'll find out all the information that you
need. Again, the power rank.com., And
that said, Fang who runs the power rank.
Be sure to check about they are a sponsor of the back home
network. We we did enjoy having you check
them out. We've certainly enjoyed it.
It was we've looked at it throughout the course of the
year for both football and for basketball.
So let's talk about Indiana's tournament status right now.
Obviously, you want to go check out a me bottoms and is bracket
analysis. He does a great job.
He's one of the top bracket ologists coached on Sony and his
group up, but at Delphi High School, do a great job every
year, you want to check them out at Delphi Bracketology.
They're going to give you in the moment projections, because
that's how Bracketology works. And I can tell you, you know,
you look at the bracket Matrix right now, Indiana at least
going into this year is, or this year.
This week was rated somewhere in the 9:51 seed range.
They, if you look at the, the collaborative bracket at the
highest seat. I've seen the mat as a X, the
lowest have seen the mat is not in the tournament but by and
large, I'm seeing them around a 9 or 10, maybe in 11 and that
sounds about right. Indiana.
Right now on the season with one win away from Assembly Hall.
Of course, that being the victory against Notre Dame, and
while that's not the most impressive win.
It's still a win away from home and will probably help them
overall, in terms of their resume down the line.
And, you know, On that you've got a home win against st.
John's that's probably not going to count for a huge amount as
you get into the regular season here of the Big Ten.
There's going to be a lot of opportunities for Indiana to
pick up victories and where Indiana is really going to need
to focus on is again picking up Road and neutral Court wins
because ultimately when you think about the NCAA selection
committee, that is one of the primary things that they focus
on along with certainly Power Rankings and things like that,
on the power ranking front. Still doing fairly.
Well, you know, in can pom, they are 30.
Second right now, in Bart torvik.
They're still 24th. And its overall, I think a
pretty good setup for Indiana as you go into into the the stretch
of Big Ten Play. Because ultimately, what you're
trying to do is keep those power ranking somewhere in that
somewhere in the 40, or above range because that is
essentially, Where most of the at largest come from and then
give the committee, some things that they can look at that where
they can say. Oh, yeah.
This team is actually picked up some wins away from home because
as the way they look at it you have to win games away from
home. If you're going to be successful
in the NCAA tournament. Now one of those metrics, we do
know that the NCAA committee looks at his BPI Indiana's 36th
right now in be Pi, which is that's ESPN's measure.
These are still measures that are Be kind of dialing
themselves into shape, but overall Indiana still in good
shape. Despite.
What happened at Penn State, they're going to need to pick up
some wins and we named a few of the games.
That would be the most likely candidates.
But if they can marry those winds with enough wins at home,
where they can get to that 10, 11 12 win range in conference
before they get to the Big Ten Tournament.
They should be just fine. You know, if you're at, if
you're below 10 still not the end of the world, but you're
going to have to have demonstrated at that point that
you can win. Couple of games away from home,
maybe even again slightly better competition than the names that
I threw out there earlier on. Yeah.
I mean that's the trouble is you said, you know, neutral site
victories that would imply winning Big Ten tournament games
which, you know, we haven't haven't been able to do and it'd
be really nice. You know, I think we're going to
get out of playing on, you know, whatever Wednesday but it would
be nice to have a protected a so-called protected seed on
Thursday, where you're, you know, in the 5 or the 6 range,
so too. Like that's where you'd like to
get for the Big, Ten Tournament. Yeah, it's, I will say I'm
frustrated and I'm looking ahead and I'm nervous or what I see.
But this is the good and the bad of playing in the Big Ten.
If you're gonna have a lot of opportunities to get a lot of
scalps. There's just a lot of games.
And even if you hold serve at home, maybe lose one of the
Purdue Michigan games, but you hold serve the rest of the way.
That's probably going to be enough because you're going to
get some pretty big win, but Stanley Hall and you'll be like,
you know, Nebraska And you know Northwestern like you got to win
a couple of those garbage Road games like the Penn State which
I thought was on that list, but you got to win those games, but,
you know, I'm not saying you got to win at Purdue but as long as
you kind of hold serve against, let's say Northwestern and
Nebraska on the road and then you went all.
But one at home. That's probably enough to still
make the tournament. If you can bang out, you know,
one good game in the Big Ten tournament.
That, that's the nice thing always about playing in the Big
Ten is. It's a tough road, but like you
said, teams kind of ebb and flow.
Yeah, it teams it. Four times and you know, you're
going to end the season. It's funny that they're showing
all those replays of the Iowa game.
I kind of maybe blocked out most of last year.
It's like, oh, yeah, that team last year that really annoyed.
Me beat a top four. Team on the road.
Yeah, like it's like one of the best teams the country with
maybe one of the best players the country, they beaten by 12
and so it's, it is funny looking back at that.
You're good at you said you're going to have some of those
wins. It just you know, it's it's it's
going to come up quick and your Before, you know, it in three
weeks, we're going to have, you know, six or seven more games
under our belt. The the other thing to note, the
NCAA and I haven't even noticed. I haven't quoted the net, which
is of course what the NCAA uses internally.
It's interesting. You mentioned the loss to Penn
State because that dropped Indiana and the net from 42 to
49. The bit, the other big thing,
besides the road, a neutral games.
And the reason I haven't mentioned it here is because it
really matter that much. But wins again Squad 1 quad to
opponents right now, Indiana's 0 and 1 again Squad.
And to, again Squad to Alder wins have come again, Squad, 3,
and quad 4, which are obviously the lowest to.
But any, as gonna have plenty of opportunities to pick up quad
one and quad quad key victories in conference play and they're
going to have to do that mind you.
But if you win, you know, you figure that if you get to 11 or
12 wins in conference, that's an additional ten or eleven games.
And I would say of those probably eight of them are going
to be again Squad 1 or quad two teams, which is going to be more
than enough. For Indiana and you know, if
you're, if you're thinking, well gosh, that's just not that many
wins again Squad 1 or quatuor. There's hardly any there.
There's very few teams that have more than three.
In fact, the only teams I think right now that have more than
three quad won victories total Michigan State's got four
because, of course, they do, and Providence has for, you know,
so, you're just, this is not a category that most teams have
any wins in at this time of year.
And I think a lot of IU fans, tend to just look in Micro at
the team's situation and they think to themselves.
Well, gosh, how terrible do we look?
We certainly don't have any chance of getting to the
tournament? I saw a lot of that.
It's like this team isn't going to the tournament his loss to
Penn State. That's not the way that it
works. Yeah.
Now if the team is 2 and 7 in the Big Ten a month from now and
they still don't have any quad one or quad two victories.
Let's talk at that point. But as of now, I would say tap
the brakes. I think Indiana still in pretty
good shape overall. They certainly have to play
better as they move forward. Word, but even with that
setback, I don't think it did too much damage to them.
Anyway, that's a look at the NCAA set up right now for
Indiana. We'll see how it plays out.
So there's eight games between now and a month from now Gap.
Where do you think we sit in the Big Ten a month from now?
Well, I would say, Are, you know, I think Indiana honestly,
could probably be. Let's say, seven and four.
I don't know where that would land them necessarily in terms
of standings, but I think, I think seven and four or even
eight and three is still very much on the table for this team
in conference. That's a lot.
I know you looking at me funny, but a lot of games at home, you
know, in this stretch and, you know, Ohio State, Minnesota,
Purdue, Michigan, Penn State. All those games, frankly are
winnable games at home for Indiana.
If they can play solid, 40-minute games and that seems
perhaps unlikely to a lot of people, but there's some games
there that I think Indiana is going to be really fired up for
an even if they lose a couple of those games.
They've got some games on the road that aren't the most
daunting on the planet. I'm not overly frightened about
Iowa. Certainly not frightened about
Nebraska, and I'm no clue what to make of Maryland at this
point, other than I look, Look at them, and I say that's a team
that you should be able to beat with proper scouting.
It's just going to kind of depend on how many lessons
you've learned from losing at Syracuse and losing it.
Wisconsin, and losing at Penn State in terms of how to handle
your business on the road. So I actually think this is
where Indiana can make up a lot of ground and can really
demonstrate what they're doing. They got to get themselves
together. But, you know, again, you know,
the fact that they came back in the Penn State game that didn't
give up when they could have with about 10 minutes to play
and even A really bad offensive game.
They were in a position that they could have won the game on
the last shot. If they done anything worthwhile
on that last possession, you know, I I look at it or not won
the game. They could have tied the game
and send it over time. But I look at it and I say
that's about where I would expect them to be at this point
seven and four eight and three you probably don't agree with
me. Um, I 8 + 3 would be awesome.
That would just you know, One loss and you have a, do you have
a Purdue game in there that I think is going to be really
tough. So that's just assuming we're
going to roll through. I mean, there's there's two ways
to look at it. I'm probably leaning a little
bit more on the on the - Wait the glass half-empty way to look
at it in the glass half-full? Is that of the three losses?
We really could have won all three of those games.
I know you can always like but you know, you say I do this and
that and this and that but nothing really, you know, the
Syracuse is a double overtime game.
The Wisconsin game, all three of those games.
We just couldn't close it out. Like that was our problem is
like, when Come to nut crunch in time.
We could not close it out. If you can change that then, you
know, this team could be 13 and 0 and really, you know,
barreling down like a freight train.
The more glass half, empty view, is the things we were talking
about earlier that this team has systemic problem, you know,
systemic problems. It has point guard problems.
It has a trouble getting a ball to it's, you know, best player.
And the reason it can't close out games because it can't
effectively really run its offense when it needs.
He's too. And when it has to get Buckets,
it has a really hard time, effectively running it offense
when things slow down and they have to do it.
Yeah, and I don't know what changes in the next six days.
I mean, they're what makes me nervous is.
I don't disagree with you. This team could go on a run, but
it's just that all has to change between now and January 9th.
Like, well, you gotta, it's just it happened so quick.
Here's so I and I realize some people are probably going to be
like, what, what are you smoking Man by saying?
But look, I also don't think basketball operates in a vacuum.
I just don't. And the all the problems
Indiana's. Having I think you go around to
every fan base in the conference including Purdue who just lost
at home to Wisconsin. And you could, you could find
people pointing their fingers at a whole bunch of things with
their individual teams. And this is where I think you
have to take the passion out of it for a little bit and pretty
lots of Rutgers. Yeah.
I mean honestly, even if Indiana went five and five it was five
and five at that point in the season at the halfway point.
Point in the conference season. I think that would actually be
fine. I like I would look, I think
they can go 7 & 4, & 8, & 3 or B, 748, and 3, once they get to
that halfway mark, But even if they're, you know, if there was
there, I guess they'd be six and five, not five and five, but
like they could be, they could have that number of losses and I
think they would still be on track to get to where we think
that they should get to, which is the NCAA tournament.
I just, I look at where Indiana's at right now and I The
pieces are there and the tougher games that they're going to be
playing or going to be the games that they have at home, where I
think they are going to have some advantages that are going
to also relate to disadvantages that other teams have.
Because we're just, you know, we're in a lot of cases, not
seeing teams travel particularly.
Well. Now, you know, obviously like,
you know, Purdue what do plays in Mackey Arena just lost at
home to Wisconsin. Who knows, but I also think
looking at the numbers looking at everything even with the Isms
of the offense. I think that this IU team is
still a top half of the conference team.
I think it's still a team that gets to double digits in wins.
And while it's hard to process all of that coming off of a
loss, to Penn State and feel any confidence in saying it looking
at the way that the schedule generally plays out and hoping
that Woodson's had enough of an impact on this team and that,
you know, some of the players that are on the team are going
to be able to have similar impacts and improve their games
a little bit. I think that they're going to
hold Serve by and large and they're going to like I said
before, they're gonna win some games that we don't expect them
to at this point. Because even with the loss to
Penn State like Pomeroy still has Indiana projected that 10
and 10 in conference torvik still has Indiana projected at
11 and 9 in conference. Well, you know, what, if they're
going to be 10 and 10 or 11 and 9, they're going to win several
of these games coming up. I mean, all those games we just
quoted from Ohio State to Maryland.
You think I'm being overly optimistic, but Pomeroy's got
Indiana, winning six of those eight games, so that, you know,
I know that people don't want to hear that right now because
everybody's decided that they want to have a big bitch Fest
about the, the program and I get that.
But the reality is statistically, that was a bad
game against Penn State, doesn't mean it's been a bad season or
that it's a bad team. Yeah.
So anyway, I think I'll wrap it up as we're just about at the
hour. Mark, any final thoughts.
No, I'm happy. I got the Bison for Thursday are
the are the students back for that game.
Or is it solid breaking? Well, they'll be they'll be
stew. I don't think it's in the
student package because okay, students.
We don't start class until Monday of next week.
So it will be an older crowd but you know, look those has been
good, crowds have been good, crowds in general and I think
that This particular game against in Ohio State team that
certainly has had Indiana's number quite a bit.
I think it'll draw a nice group of people out there to watch.
And then from there point that point on, he got the students
back, and I've got will certainly help the energy, but I
think it'll be fine for this week.
Yeah. I'm excited.
I think that's this is, you know, a great time to have two
games in home, quick back-to-back.
And I'd love to see obviously like a Muslim win, loves him, go
to, and oh, but I, I do think that the Ohio State, Game looms
large because that's a nice way to get a pretty nice to win.
But at a pretty low bar, like you're not asking to beat
Michigan State on the road. You're not asking to beat, you
know, Purdue team, who I know, just lost tonight.
But, you know, it's a good name, but I don't think it's a bridge
too far for this team and especially being at home a
fired-up Assembly Hall. I think it could, you know, help
turn things around. I mean, it would be a huge win.
It's a win. Indiana needs to have, like, I
don't think you can go out and lay an egg offensively against
Penn State, the way that they It and not come back and respond.
And you know, look, I mean, this is where we start to see what
kind of an effect Mike Woodson can have on his team in terms
of. How does he motivate them.
How ready, does he have them ready to play?
How well, do they respond to playing poorly?
And you know what, tweaks to see make in the way that he
approaches things as we head into this game.
So well, or I would expect to see hopefully, a really big game
from the bench because again, going back to that, you know, he
had six, guys, play Penn State basically, so it's like if
you're on the bench, if you're Geronimo, if you're Anthony,
only love your Tamar Bates and those guys on the bench, you
know, Michael dirr even. It's like, all right.
Now, it's time to show up. Like, now's your time to really
show up because basically showed like, all right.
I'm going to play without you, if you don't play.
So, I think I would expect them to come up, you know, really
fired up, or at least I hope so. Do it.
Hope. So, now, we'll see what, the,
what goes, what goes on here with this thing.
It's it's going to be fascinating.
As always. I you basketball can't just be
boring, good. It has to be fascinating bad and
that's we are the We are the the chaotic - of or what is?
I forget, that quadrant, whatever we come up with your
own quadrant listing for IU. Basketball, at think, it'll
probably be pretty descriptive of how everybody feels at this
point. Anyway, we'll wrap things up.
Scott is always a pleasure. Thanks for joining me and thanks
to all you folks for listening in.
As always. We'll be back.
Probably over the weekend, will have some thoughts on that Ohio
State game, since we're both going to be there.
Say, hi. Have you see us?
And we'll hopefully it's my football news, although nothing
seems to be on the horizon. Horizon right now.
So for Scott I'm Galen. This is Crimson cast part of the
back home. Network will catch you folks on
the flip side. Bring back the Bison so
everybody.