You're listening to the back home network presented by home
field apparel. Welcome back to Crimson Cass.
Hail Claudius, got Caulfield joining me here on the show.
It is selection Sunday, March 12th. 20:23 is Indiana enters
today, for the first time in a while, and assured NCAA
tournament selection a top half of the bracket team, maybe even
a top quarter of the bracket team, as the Hoosiers, despite a
very disappointing loss. Yesterday in the semi-finals of
the Big Ten. Tournament finish off the
regular season with a 22 and 11 record.
We're going to talk about the game that happened yesterday.
Where a Talk about overall feelings of essentially, the the
first part of the postseason done and the the regular season
like now, completely over with, and we'll also talk a little bit
about some of the things to keep in mind as we get closer to
selection time here today. Scott, good to see you.
Happy Daylight Savings day. How are things with you?
Good? I'm very, very good.
It's snowing. He, I don't know what it's like
in Bloomington. We have snow last night, we have
like, you know, a full White Cover gets wild.
We don't have quite that much here.
We have a small dusting but it really didn't even dust.
It was like someone didn't completely sweep, the floor, you
know? But yeah, no, not the most
Pleasant thing to wake up to in the middle of March are always
like, hey, I'd like sunshine and warmer temperatures but in
Indiana, you're not always going to get that.
This time of year, we can leave a, a trivia report to the end of
the pods. And if people unsocial got very
interested in the, the trivia night last night, which was fun
finished. But we're with a group, and a
friend of ours, Megan who's very fun, and says wild stuff
sometimes just like, we're like talking about the daylight
saving. She's like, oh, is that the good
one or the bad one? It's a slightly not making.
It's a bad one. Like tomorrow's, the bad one.
See, I gotta say that, you know, it's the bad one and that you
lose an hour of actual sleep time.
But I actually think that the result is good because it does
mean that there's going to be more Daylight and the daylight
L-last later, you know, I know, I know that's so I'll I'll
always accept that it's not that bad for eating your vegetables
like it's right bad today but it's like it'll be good in the
Long Haul. It's like we're whereas the one
in the fall is, you know, it's like eating dessert.
Like it tasted good at the time and then you realize all of a
sudden, hey, it's going to be really bad for the next four
months of my days. My dad gone.
Yes, exactly. So anyway, the Crimson cast
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Now, I guess it is and we've been part of the back home
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Well Scott, we, you know, we talked pessimistically on Friday
morning about Indiana's game against Maryland and Indiana
came out and really surprised Us by taking control of the game in
the second half and to some degree cruising to a
double-digit victory. That is not what happened.
Yesterday, in fact, the exact opposite happened.
We praised Indiana. We talked about how we really
like the matchup. We like their chances.
We thought that they would take advantage of the opportunity
instead, they immediately looked like they were on their back
heels against this Penn State team.
Well, maybe not immediately, but Certainly, at the same hinge,
Mark that we always see Penn State.
After the under-16 timeout goes on in 1:42, run takes a 24 to 14
lead and you can't say they never looked back because
Indiana did fight their way back into the game twice.
Once with, you know, about 10 minutes left in the second half
and then again at the very end of the game, but they were both
efforts for not as Penn State picks up their second win on
Indiana on the Reason, they went 70, 72 73, Scott, what were your
takeaways from this game? They if I was, you know, as
people turn on the last pod, like I went to a wine tasting
with some friends. I was watching the game on my
phone. I would say there was about to
other people 11 we bumped into. Like it's a standing up like
will sidebars and Cooper's Hawk and Indie and like we bumped it
it's like oh sorry Simpson there.
Hold my phone watching the game with all the guys around me.
And then like the lady, I bumped into was like, oh no worries.
And she had her phone out. And she was watching the, the
game as well. The shoes Sally at Purdue fan
routing is so many Purdue fans around here.
It's bothersome like, we need to win more so.
So I don't have the most in-depth commentary, although
some will say, I never do, if I will, I will say this, when you
have the game log, it has like it keeps track of like the win
percentage of the game. And so if you know, You know,
yep, with Indiana was up 5:48, they were a 75% chance of
winning the game which is whatever it's like five minutes
in. But too often in these games are
win. Log looks like what it did is
that by middle of the first half its in Penn State side which
means they're more probable to win and it's like it just never
gets back to our side which obviously does happen when you
lose the game. But you feel this way in a lot
of these losses Wears Like Penn State, grabs control, they get
up by 10 and then it's kind of of like water just stays the
same and like we kind of just never never really call Black
and fight to get there in these games that we lost.
And then, yeah, we fought back a little bit.
It's very similar of like the Northwestern game at home where
it really was like a 10-point lost, but we just did a tummy.
Got a 16-2 to run at the end, is wild.
I get a in a three minute span, I mean, that's one way to look
at it and, you know, the three point, you know.
I do want to keep harping on three-point shooting but you
know, you shoot 14% 2414. three that's abnormal for Indiana Penn
State kind of shot normally but you know it's I hate to end my
thoughts on this but it is true that, you know, this is this is
unfortunately this is this team and it's just like there are
this is the way this team plays at times and they they let other
teams get control of the game and the pace and get comfortable
and they let it happen too often and for too long to a point
where suddenly Only now it's like you're down, you know, 61
253 with five minutes to go and it's like all right now we got
to mount a comeback. It's like all right well there
was 20 minutes before that you could have done something and
not just let Penn State kind of feel so comfortable and kind of
let the game slip away. So those are overall High
thoughts. It's a bummer.
But, you know, it is, it's not surprising.
And you know, what, why should we think that we get to play in
the Big Ten Championship gaming. This is it's fun.
All the thought we had, he was a good to play there.
Do you want to know Fresh for March like, well guess what?
We don't get to do that another year.
No Big Ten championship game and here we sit on selection Sunday,
but we still have a tournament to play.
Yeah, I mean, well, a lot to unpack there, but it's I'll sum
up my thoughts, I guess overall, on the game by the following the
game didn't matter in in any you like realistic sense and
honestly like even if through some you know largely unlikely
series of Ants. Indiana drops to a five seed.
I don't think that the game' actually caused that.
It certainly didn't help but you know this game happened
relatively late in the process and I wouldn't be surprised if
if I use a five seed, I still think they're going to be four
but if they are five that they would have been a five going
into the game, you know. So I don't think that if they
lost a whole lot on that front on the flip side, you know, even
though the game didn't matter, this was a game that Indiana
didn't have an excuse in my opinion, for not showing up in
and unfortunately, they just didn't show up in it.
They were tentative, you know, they looked afraid to shoot the
ball. They didn't play with the
defensive intensity that they had brought to the Maryland
game, and I'm not going to buy the argument that well, they
were tired because Penn State was tired to pain.
Stated played two games in a row, you know, I think where it
really shines through to me. Penn State as we've discussed is
one of the worst is not a lot of worse.
The worst offensive rebounding team in the country.
This is a this is a Penn State thing just their their entire
structure offensively is. We're going to try to take high
percentage shots and not turn the ball over.
We don't get offensive rebounds and we don't get to the
free-throw line. What did Indiana do in this?
They let Penn State grab nine offensive rebounds for a
percentage of 28.1% which is if you look at like, Penn State's
average offensive, rebounding percentage.
It's about 18 percent. So this is a significant
statistical threshold over what they're used to.
No, it's funny because I'm sitting there with my friends
watching on my phone. I'm like, you know, this is
telling people like this is the worst offensive rebounding team
in the country. Like I'm talking about, you
know, what, you guys talk on the pot.
I talk about that. Like, I feel good about that as.
And then, as the game is going on.
It's like out offensive rebound. After offensive rebound are kind
of looking at me. Like, are you sure?
That's test. Yeah, you got that.
Your podcasts, right? You're making me look, bad.
Do you guys clean your glasses before you read that
spreadsheet? Ya know what my buddies?
Like, that's another offensive rebound, dude.
Like a bow. Like I know, like, I know.
Where is it? Yeah, well, I'm here.
And the problem, and the problem was, again, it was an effort
thing. It really was, it was, you know,
I'm because I you does a pretty good job like they're they're
they're, you know, it's not a top-line thing with them but
they're pretty good at keeping opponents off, the offensive
glass, but they have not done a good job of keeping opponents
off the Since of glass as of late and it showed in this game.
And it was, I think probably the greatest harbinger of the
problems that were going to happen throughout the course of
the game. When we started to see Penn
State grab those, the other thing Penn State just does not
do is get to the free-throw line, they coming into the game,
they were the worst team in the country in terms of free-throw
rate. This is just not a team that
they don't drive to the bucket. They don't get to the free-throw
line. What did Indiana allow them to
do? Do they allowed them to, like,
normally their free throw rate as a team is, let me get the
number of here. 21.2. That means that, that's not
great. Like, you know, Indiana's by
comparison is 30 and they're not great either.
So what is Penn State do? They go to the free-throw line
and they shoot what was the final total in this game, Scott?
That it was they were 23 of 26 from the free-throw line and to
To be fair. This is kind of a new Leaf that
Penn State's turned over. They've actually done this in
all three of their conference tournament games, where they
have gotten to the free-throw line.
But again, like that's not part of Penn State's office.
This is something that Indiana was allowing them do lazy
defensive, rotations fouling when they didn't need to.
And probably the most egregious was that I, you did not get
aggressive and go get themselves to the foul line, either Penn
State was doing what they needed to do.
They were very Gage defensively in.
Not just let's score. But hey, if Indiana is going to
phallus, let's make the most of it.
Indiana. Who, you know?
They again, it's not a primary part of their offense but it's,
at least something that happens. Didn't get to the free-throw
line, nearly, as much as Penn State, which again underlines
kind of the relative lack of effort from Indiana and this
game versus what the Nittany Lions brought to the table one.
Not even, you know, bad rotations icons.
No rotations, there's that one play where it's like, top of the
key pick-and-roll, and they just passed down, and Like a wide
open dunk and again that's just that's just focus.
That's just paying attention like understanding those things.
And those things shouldn't be happening in the semi-final of a
tournament game at the end of March.
Well and you know and not just in a semi final game of the
tournament in March which yes 100% but also this is this Penn
State change. Not that good like this is not a
team full of top-level recruits or top level players, you know.
They're their best player was a transfer from the Metro
Atlantic. That conference this offseason.
So it's not like that guy's even been in the Big Ten for that
long and yet Penn State look more engaged.
They look more focused. They look like they had a better
plan and they look like they were had a greater desire to
execute that plan that Indiana did.
And, you know, for as much as people talk and I, you even
mention this yesterday, about how they would have rather face
Northwestern than Penn State Penn State's shooting outside.
Wasn't what did it for them? I mean, Penn State actually
ended up Only shooting after starting the game like 6 of 8
from three Penn State. Only hit two threes, the rest of
the game they finished. 84 for 23 from three like Indiana
figured out how to shut that down pretty quick, but it was
the will and that was bothersome that we lost.
That's what I'm saying. It was the will that won the
game for Penn State and more importantly lost it for Indiana.
And frankly, whether it was Penn State or Northwestern Indiana
would have lost this game with the effort and will they put
out? It was simply not acceptable for
this team. With this allow amount of talent
to allow a team as at a lesser level of talent to out effort
them throughout the course of a 40-minute game and that's
essentially what you saw and you know Scott unfortunately this
has become as well as I you played for that month.
Span between mid-January and mid-February.
I feel like we've kind of been making excuses for them for the
last month, but this is the pattern we've seen where Indiana
Anna has allowed themselves to get out effort, it in a lot of
these games and their innate Talent has saved them with the
exception of the game at Purdue where they were engaged and they
were they did bring that level of ever because they knew they
had to. But in a lot of these other
games the game at Northwestern the the game at home against
Iowa even the game at home against Illinois in the game at
home against Michigan. You know, these were games where
I you had every Advantage but effort and it took Until like,
the end, the closing minutes in a lot of those games for Indiana
to piece together effort, enough on both ends of the floor, to be
able to come up with the Victory and here, even though they made
a couple of game efforts to come back Penn State, always seem to
have that reservoir of effort. And as you said at the beginning
of all this, this is this team and it's really frustrating
because it felt like they had found a Groove and now it kind
of feels like you just don't know when this team can be
bothered enough to give a full level of effort.
Versus when they're just going to be like, well we can Coast
for this series of possessions or till the next time out and it
quickly spirals away from them on both ends of the floor.
What's frustrating is you go back to the first Penn State
game and again, the Ken Palm win probability chart is very
similar in the second half goes to Penn State's, I'd never comes
back but you know, you look at that game and Penn State goes
the line only four times, you know, but they hit, you know,
1831 from three and it would be something if I, you know, you
know, jail and pick it just went nuts.
He didn't go nuts in that game but if you know if you're like
all right, this is they hit a bunch of Threes And then they
beat us last night by hitting a bunch of Threes but this A 9/10
seed in the tournament, and this is like you said, it's not a bad
Penn State. Team is not a great Penn State
team. It's it's a bad look when they
beat you two different ways. Like, in my mind is like, it'd
be different if they just came out and they shot, you know, 48
percent from three again, it's like, all right.
Well, that team just that team has something that we can't
figure out or we need more time to figure out.
But they've now beaten us two times, I'd say pretty handily in
different ways which to me that's that's not a great look
when again. you're talking about a 9 10 C to be different if you
know it was Purdue or a team of that ilk and yet to your larger
Point that's that's really the frustrating part because all we
can see from our end were not, you know, not playing not in the
coaching staff but it at the end of the game, you know, when it
felt like Indiana started, putting some pressure on Penn
State Penn State made a ton of mistakes and we put together a
great run there at the end and all you can think to yourself is
like It was some of this pressure and effort, 10 minutes
ago. Like, it felt like that India
was kind of just, you know, where they were both an
agreement. Like, we're just trying to run
the clock out and get this. It's like a, you know, when my
six-year-old plays basketball, like everyone's wants to get out
of the gym because it's like bad basketball.
It's like, well, it felt like if you would have done some of this
or put on some pressure, you know, this is not a team that's
going, they're going to make some Penn State is going to make
some mistakes. But yeah, I think you said it
perfectly. It's like at times they feel
like they're not even you know they're not bothered to do that.
It's Like, kind of like they're just well, it's bizarre, it's
frustrating because it does feel like, if you guys could just
lock in for five or six minutes after halftime, you can get this
to a, you know, a tied game and then put some pressure back on
Penn State. Well, you know, I guess maybe
the larger issue for me, is this idea of why is this team always
so tentative in these moments? It doesn't make a lot of sense.
I look, I get it, we talked about it, you know, February's
grind. It's hard to maintain intensity
40 minutes night. In and night out, you're going
to have Ebbs and flows your opponent will as well.
Yeah, I think everybody everybody with a reasonable
basketball mind understands the talent that this group has even
missing Xavier Johnson, you know, even with some of the
different things that have happened, it's a very talented
group, but this has been their calling card for For Better or
For Worse over the course of really, the last decade has
been. You just don't see The level of
intensity where it needs to be in important moments from
Indiana, basketball. And, you know, you look at other
programs that have success, the program's Indiana wants to
emulate and, you know, Shirley I'm, you know, I'm sure
individual fans would say, well, if you watch them every time,
you're going to see similar things, I don't know.
I look at, I look at a lot of the teams across the country and
I look at the level of intensity that they bring to the table and
then I look at what Indiana brings and I'm like, it's not
quite there in school. Like Purdue like yeah, we're
tight. In the game.
Like it's like that's a Workman like team.
That's a that's a team that struggled down the stretch in
Purdue, but they came to came to Chicago and got their work done.
Yeah. I mean and and we've seen them
do it in spurts. We see them do it in spurts and
ever game it into different spurts in the game against Penn
State, you know. And and you know you look at
either Purdue game or the Rutgers game at home and there's
several other games that kind of fit into this mix.
Like when this team is active and engaged, it's among the best
in the country and I don't say that lightly.
They've got all the pieces and, you know, I think it's really
interesting because this year, I think in previous years Trace,
Jackson Davis was to some degree part of the effort problem.
In key moments like he would tend to shrink from the moment
he if you shut him down, he wouldn't get himself fully
engaged that has ceased. Being the case, I mean, you look
at race tracks and Davis's performances over the course of
this season, especially down the stretch and he has brought it in
big moments. I mean he's going to walk out of
the last Part of this season, the last four games of the
regular season. Having scored 26 27, 24 and 24
points incomes for consecutive games, but and he sounded
frankly exasperated by his team after the game.
I mean, some of the quotes that he had about, you know, we can't
be afraid to shoot from outside, which we've heard him say
several times. Like we there's no reason for us
to be playing tentative you know and you know we can't place
scared. He said I thought overall we
played kind of tentative Weren't shooting the ball when we could
have been. This is the problem with this
Indiana team over and over again.
And it's really kind of inexplicable.
You Know, Tamar Bates deserves a ton of credit for actually
coming in and taking some shots yesterday.
And after I think a couple of questionable efforts, he really
settled in and was the reason Indiana was even in the game at
the end to begin with Malik, renew came in and wasn't
tentative, was willing to go and put up shots, and yeah, he had a
couple of poor Plays. But overall, in the time that he
was allowed to play, I thought really perform well, then he
just inexplicably disappeared for the last 12 minutes of the
game, but the core players outside of Trace Jackson, Davis.
And to be fair, I don't think Jalen Hurd Trevino had an effort
issue, yesterday, just to get an off game, which he has been want
to do at times, but the other starters, race Thompson, Miller
cop tray, Galloway, really like that's become the big question
mark with this team. It's like can those Free play at
a sufficiently high level of intensity and focus, where
Indiana gets a flow going and there were some other quotes.
Forget it was Jackson Davis or Woodson.
That said, this in the postgame press conference about, you
know, the when something bad starts to happen, you know, the
team really suffers in other areas and we again it's
something we've talked about a bunch.
If this this team's just got a weird psychology about them and
It reminds, I mean, it honestly reminds me a lot of those
late-era night teams, you know that like, 96 to 2000, where you
knew they were talented, you'd see them play, great, individual
games, where they beat know, number one teams, or they beat
teams in the top 10 and then they'd turn around and they'd
have just these long stretches where they looked like they
didn't know what they were doing or how they were supposed to be
doing it. And it's like, like hat.
Like why is that? It's one of the things that made
the 2002 IU. Team, such a revelation, was
that that team? Even though they were
occasionally subject to those sorts of swoons, you know, when
that when they got important for that team, especially in the
tournament, they really focused maybe this team ends up doing
that in the tournament. But I'm I don't like the trends
here down the last month of the season and this game has
relatively meaningless. As it was was so frustrating
because this was a chance for this group to do that and
actually put themselves in a position to win something.
Well, I think it's a little bit different that I think you're
good on the, the end era of night teams.
But I look at this team and those teams made a lot of
mistakes and these teams make mistakes, but it just it, it's
such a feel thing where it's like, they just, they let other
teams get so comfortable and it's like, they're okay, kind
of, you know, over a ten minute span, just kind of keep it, you
know, where it's at or it's like they just get get down by 9 or
10 and then just Stay there and it feels like it's just kind of
like we're cool just kind of going through the motions and at
times when I've been making mistakes or just kind of not
putting a lot of pressure on other teams and they let other
teams get so, comfortable, where they're at, it's frustrating.
Know, and you're right that this would have been a night.
And this is, you know, when you talk about marks and I to always
talk about like it's, you know, you just want to give yourself
more advanced in the tournament and then, hopefully some years
things will break your way. When you look at the Big Ten
Tournament of which Get it at bat every year, you know you
couldn't have asked for the tournament to kind of break any
better you're doing instead of playing Minnesota.
It's like you got the lowest possible seed in the semifinal
round. And yeah, of course if a team
gets their, that means they're playing.
Okay? But this is, you know, the st.
Peter's Purdue thing. It's like, yes, a peers are
playing great. It's like they're still a 15
seat. That's still a flawed team.
They were, you know, Penn State was a 10 seed for a reason they
played more games, you know, this was the best you have Have
a 90% home crowd in Chicago. Everyone's fired up, people are
already excited for that possible.
Purdue matchup. And it's like everything broke
your way for a great tournament run and you didn't capitalize.
And that's the frustrating part, is we finally got an at-bat
where things broke our way and we didn't not even, they didn't
didn't win, or didn't capitalize.
It's like you just you, you you got down on that run by pending
whatever that, you know, 13-2 run by Penn State and then it
again, I don't want to say like, Opera just do the felt like you
were just, you were cool being down 10 and I say that because
then from 10 minutes of the first half until three minutes
to go in the game, you're downtown the whole time.
Well, go all except for that one period in the in the middle of
second half with it, came back and tied it.
But the but to your point it's like, hey great, hey, we
accomplished something and then it right went right back to a
double-digit deficit and I don't know.
I mean it's one of those things again where it's easy to over
react to these sorts of performances, and Say but then
it's easy to go the other direction afterwards and say
well I was upset in the moment but I guess it didn't matter
that much. They'll get it together.
But I feel like we keep saying that about this team like, you
know, like it's like the season like we're now at the end.
Yeah, this is the, this is the game, is the game is a
microcosm, the season. Like and we're, we're the end.
Now, there's just, this is the time you got to do that 62 to
run and we know when you think about it, it's like, yes, this
team is affected by the loss, is David Johnson.
We've talked about that. It's not as good of a team as it
would be without it, but it's still.
A pretty good team and, you know, I'm just curious.
Like, what's, what's the issue with the guys that are plug
getting regular minutes? It's, it's just, it's a little
bit strange. I mean, we know Miller cop is
just very hot and cold. I mean over the course of the
last three games he's made. Actually the over the course of
the last four games, he's made three total three-pointers and
he's only in those four games taken 13, Total so he's
averaging just like barely over three game that that's and it's
not like that's the only time he's been throwing the ball but,
you know, he's not he seems to have to have everything perfect
Before. He'll want to put a shot up in a
game like Penn State. You've got to be able to just
grab it and let it go at least a couple more times because it
ends up. If you don't do that, allowing
Penn State to play a very base level of Defense, where they
don't have to bother with guarding the perimeter, you
know, and That's where tomorrow Bates really did have the chance
to make a little bit of a difference and it's to some
degree. I think why cop didn't play a
whole lot down the stretch in this game, you know, Trey
Galloway. I'm very real quick on cop.
It's like the other thing too is he's also not and this is not an
ox like we want more out of him like outside of the the you know
62 point shots he attempted against Penn State the rest of
his lines since you know the Northwestern lost at home.
It's like to 1024 251. Like those are his Temps from
to, he's not shooting a lot. Yeah, so it's like and he's a
great again, he's a good three-point shooter, he's not
doing that a lot. It's like, all right.
I can make up for that of maybe he's like pump faking, you know,
driving in and taking that mid range which he's does sometimes
were driving to the hole. But he's he's not even doing
that like a stat line again, you know, to, to to point field goal
shots. And then three, you know, the
line against Iowa, where they lost, he was 2 for 4, from 2041
from three. It's like, he's takes five
shots. That's not enough for you.
When he's tries hard, he's good at rebounding at times but he's
not just going to be your best defender on the other side.
So if he's not bringing it all fensively again, it's like
you're kind of highlighting his weaknesses by just focusing the
rest of it on defense because that's not where he's going to
bring the most impact on the game.
Trey Galloway in his last four games is 5 for 21.
From the field for 13 total points with one made three.
And this is I mean coming off of a They're at Michigan State and
then at home versus Purdue where he scored double figures in both
games and was really integral across the board.
It's been some pretty disappointing performances out
of tray and you know, this is again, I mean, we see this a lot
with Trey, like, if you go back and look earlier on in the
season, like he had a stretch and Indiana won three of the
four but you know, the Rutgers Michigan Northwestern Illinois,
stretch. He only had 16 points total in
those four games. And, you know, this is a guy
Why? If you're going to start at the
to, you have to be a more of an offensive threat consistently,
or you have to be Distributing the basketball better, and
really he did neither in either of these games.
He's really looked off almost to the point that I'm wondering if
he's injured, and it hasn't been reported because he just hasn't
quite looked himself. He's not playing the same number
of minutes that you know, and then you got race Thompson, who
generally does enough in terms of putting things on the table
where you're like, okay, well I'm glad that Race Thompson was
there he ended up scoring 10 points.
He was Indiana's, third leading scorer yesterday, but he also
just had a bunch of mistakes and, and questionable judgment
calls, and some of it was Defensive oriented with
rotation. Some of it was just straight up,
turn over issues or just not making the right decisions on
things, you know, we've seen all three of those players play at
higher levels and what concerns me is.
You've got Trace Jackson Davis playing at a high level, you've
got Jalen at your feet. No kind of going wax on wax off
with the the Great Performances. But this is where Indiana can
look dominant one day and can look like an incredibly
pedestrian. Like borderline not in the NCAA
team. The next that does not bode well
for the actual NCAA tournament Scott and you just have to, you
have to wonder it. Give me.
Where does this team actually get it together or is, I mean
like well go ahead, please. No, I mean it doesn't I'm not
sure I agree with this but just trying to take Kind of the glass
half-full side of things is something.
We've also talked about is this is, you know, unfortunately,
this Indiana team does a couple things really well.
And as we said like Jalen hoods Ruffino and Trace Jackson Davis
or unique players, and they're both fantastic players.
But past that it becomes kind of a, you know, are these guys
going to be able to do it or they going to show up and
normally it's like you're your if you get a, you know, two and
a half good performances out of those three guys.
You're in a really Lee good spot.
If you get one and a half, it's going to be tight.
And if you're just getting, you know, pieces here and there,
it's not going to be a great day and all the teams in the Big Ten
know that he or so. Well, scouted and so this is
kind of like the end of a deathmatch.
Obviously, you know, because Penn State knows all this
everybody in the Big Ten knows all of this.
There is a world, again, trying to be optimistic where a lot of
teams in the NCAA tournament. Are they will you know, they
will scouted us they will have seen us but it's different when
you are now playing Trace Jackson Davis.
It's like oh wow. This Can do a lot of stuff.
Like I see it on tape, but I haven't seen it in person.
Whereas, Penn State has seen it, you know, only once this year,
it's not that again, my arguments not funny, part, a
little bit of the only ones, but they seen it, you know, multiple
years. That that's my hope.
Is that I do think we're an odd team to Scout or a tough team.
When you see it in person, it's like, wow, this is a lot
different. And then we have two guys that
I'm not sure a lot of other teams can handle.
I think that what we're running into is that in the Big Ten?
It's just so well scouted that they teams, the Big Ten know,
you know. They've already lost, you know,
they .1 .2, .3 of already been taken away and they're doing,
you know, fourth, fifth thing and pushing everything into
those. You know, guys aren't with three
names so that that's my pop, my Outlook.
But yeah, I mean that the, there's the negative side to we
can get to but that's the positive way to look at this is
again, this team can still look really good and, you know, other
teams don't quite know how to handle it at first.
This team can, you know, get a nice Little run and get a lead
in and then if maybe teams don't know how to do the next reaction
in the next reaction, and you, hopefully, we'll see more of
that in March because you're playing teams that just haven't
seen you or scouted you as much as you getting in the Big Ten.
I mean that's the hope I am right?
And we've China we have talked about it and maybe that's right.
Know maybe maybe it's just a but I guess the, what the problem I
have with that is that everybody knows trait, well, I've heard,
but it's I've heard that from a lot of other people.
I've even said us, but not sure I agree with.
I just saying we don't like the Big Ten scouting, the hell out
of Trace Jackson Davis and scheming against him and he's
still putting up 20-plus points tonight.
Wasn't him? Jalen Hurd should be no is still
getting open. Looks he hit them against
Maryland, he did and hit them against Penn State.
What worries me is the third fourth, and fifth options, the
things that should technically be open have been non-functional
in a lot of these games and you know that was what was what
hidden Deanna against Penn State was that you got essentially
very little out of Miller cop, you got basically nothing out of
Trey Galloway, you got, you know, maybe you know, a barely
something on the positive met side from race Thompson.
If you take everything into account, you know, Anna did
manage to get some good performances off their bench But
ultimately the lack of production from those other
positions was what did Indiana and when you compare it to what
Penn State got out of those same positions.
So let me now take the bit of the the - Siders the
pessimistic. Glass-half-empty side that you
know you could say since February 15th just been it's
basically been a month. You know this team has been win
one lose one. Well I guess just the way you
lose Northwest, you know, beat Michigan.
They rode losing Northwestern Illinois.
Oi fish, Michigan State win, at Purdue lose, I win win, lose win
lose, we lose. I guess you have a win-win with
the end of the Maryland. The first met you know in
Michigan game in the first Maryland game.
And you know you could just say this is kind of what this team
has fallen into. Like they had a nice run there
from the January 14th of February 11th, a nice month
where they went you know, five six eight and one.
And then you know, now they're kind of a 500 team and this, you
know, we talked to Jared earlier in the week and his kind of
final assessment was ringing in my ear.
Last night was, you know, he's like, well I think we'll
probably, you know, go 1-1 in the Big 10 and 11 in the
tournament and you know, I didn't, I didn't want to hear
that. I do kind of agree with them and
it would be bowed out. It bore out correctly here in
the Big Ten tournament and you know, if we're being honest with
ourselves, this team does have a high level.
This team had a very nice run in the middle part of the Big Ten,
not taking that away, but for the last month, just like during
that stretch from Wisconsin to Michigan, where they One you
know eight eight of nine. We had to kind of say look this
team is really different, they're putting together a run
in the last month since February 15th.
This team has been a 500 team and they win when they lose one
and that's kind of what this team is.
And you know I don't know if we're gonna have enough time to
shake it and turn back into that team that wins eight of nine.
But it feels like this is kind of what this team has settled
into is a team that can kind of, you know, like like he said,
Jay, let you know, kind of be on and off this is, that's yeah.
Probably where we might end in March as it's one.
And one that we're kind of just win one lose one will, that's
what we are right now as a team, if you look at.
And again, we've talked about these comparisons before, if
you, if you take the period, from a month ago, let's use
February 11th to today. And you look at these tortex.
Let's look at the tempeh free stats for just that time
Indiana's performance over that time, period ranks 84th in the
country, which is around the same level as Illinois.
Oi as Wisconsin as Oklahoma State, a seat in the hall.
They're all kind of in that same cluster and Indiana, where their
problems have really Fallen is that they have, they're not
scoring the ball efficiently. They're adjusted offensive
efficiency, efficiency in that periods. 112th, their effective
field goal percentage, has dropped to Fifty Point three
percent which is 192nd in the country.
They're not rebounding effectively.
Either offensively or defensively, they're not
generating. His, you know what they are
doing? Well, is they're still playing
really good. Defense their opponents,
effective field goal, percentage is, you know, under 50%, which
is pretty awesome. But everything else that they're
doing right now is essentially just holding on in games.
And, you know, it's weird. I mean, they're perform like the
84th best team in the country during that time period, but
they are wins against bubble, like they're winds above
expectation. Essentially, for a bubble level
team has been among the best in the country.
Three their 28th in the country in that stretch.
So, there's this is where this this team is a tough nut to
crack. Because statistically, they have
become a really, really pedestrian basketball team.
And, you know, they would, you know, but then, by the same
token, they have figured out a way to win games, that they,
otherwise would have lost statistically.
They can keep it close right near the end.
They can they're good and they can kind of lock in for two or
three minutes to gasp to get the women.
That's, that's kind of this team.
Again in a nutshell is they it seems like they're only able to
lock in and give full effort for 3 to 5 minutes at a time unless
it's Purdue I mean seriously. But yeah.
And this is where to some degree.
It's like you almost wish Indiana's a little further down
the seed list like you'd almost rather they had to play a brand
name team that they could get excited about.
Because I actually with this pattern like they they get up
for Purdue, they got up for Maryland.
They didn't get up for Penn State.
Eight, you know, like that's that's a little bit of an issue
in terms of who they're likely to play in the first round.
Because I mean, they get drawn against like, I don't know, Kent
State they'll be like who and then Kent State comes out and
wins by 15 points. I mean, it's one of those deals
where I've tried to build trust with this team.
I think a lot of IU fans have and they've given us a lot of
rewarding moments this year. You know, I think this, the
season has been a success given all the circumstances.
Is in a lot of different ways. But right now, I mean, what
worries me about this team is that they're standing on the
precipice of a lot of people having negative memories of this
season and this group because of how they finish not because of
what they did during the actual season.
Well, and that that, you know this, I don't know if I don't
want to annoy you but like this is something we were talking
about last night after the loss you know one of my friends is
like all right you guys you know this is what he does, he's just
always busting balls and Thrown out hypotheticals but he's like
all right you guys lose in the first round was the season.
A success like you know, you play in the NCAA tournament, you
guys lose in the first round of the four seed is the season to
success. It was like I had to really
don't like you know, I'm like probably a little bit it's like
I can't say definitively. Yes it's not a failure but it's
it's on the margins. Like and that's to your point.
That's what we're staring at is, you know, I think if they win
their first game in the tournament and Lose to, you
know, a five seed in this kind of fashion.
I think, then it's like, all right.
This is a six, like this is what this team is.
It's probably a successful season.
You've continued to kind of push the bar forward by a little bit
but yeah. I mean II think that's a
question. Everyone needs to kind of think
about now and hopefully we're don't have to answer it but
yeah, that they lose in the first round as a four or five
seed. You know, how do you view the?
We'll have time to talk about it later but it's just like an
interesting like I don't know and that's that's kind of what's
on the line. Line here is and this is
something I've talked about a couple of the pods this week.
I love this time because I think it's a time.
You can, you can look at the regular season kind of decoupled
from the postseason because rightly or wrongly you know the
next five days are going to color so much of the way that we
view this season. Looking back in maybe a right
way, maybe a wrong way, but it's like that is what's at stake in
this team? Wins three more games.
It's a success. And a lot of the the ills get
washed away. Lose in the first round.
It's like it colors everything differently.
And it's a, it's a unique. I love this time for that reason
they. Like right now we know this team
probably as well and like you can kind of see all the eventual
outcomes but like it's worth that point where now that's kind
of, you know, for a lot of reasons, that's what they're
playing for is how this season's going to be remembered.
And I think it can go in a lot of ways.
I think the next cup, the next two or three games hopefully are
going to really color that. But yeah it's that's the that
long way of asking if they lose first round, how do you Judge
the season success or not, like I'll play that game with you.
Well, you look, I think any season where you break such a
long streak of sub 500 conference records and, and get
back to the 20 Windmark for another season.
You know, after that being such an elusive thing for so long, I
think is at least some level of success.
I mean, you know again this is the first time Indiana had
double-digit wins in the For the student since 2016.
It was the first time they swept Purdue since 2013.
You know, they played one of the tougher non-conference schedules
that we've seen Indiana play in a while.
I mean, given that given the injuries?
Yeah, I think the seasons is Success.
Even if they do lose in the first round, is it where Indiana
wants to be know? And I I think a lot of how we
would view this earliest, how I would view this season, I don't
speak for anybody else. Would almost Most have to be in
the context of what happens next like in future Seasons because I
think if this season, if you're going to classify the success,
you can take all those things that I said in the short term
and say, well, those are indications of success.
You could just as easily say, well, they tripped over
themselves in the last third of the season and while they didn't
lose all the games, like they have in previous years at the
end of the day, they still stumbled over the Finish Line,
rather than looking good getting done with the season.
So I look at it and I say this this season will kind of be
probably for me judged in terms of what it sets up moving
forward. Kind of like 2007 probably would
have been. I mean in the moment, 2007
didn't feel like a huge accomplishment.
They only won two additional games from what they want in
2006. But it really was a turning
point or look like it was going to be at least, in terms of
mentality and how Indiana was approaching basketball games on.
It was because 2008 we were on the we're From now till you
know, this year to me, a lot of the effort issues, the intensity
issues, the execution issues, we've seen this team and I've
said it many times to the point that I get ridiculed some by
some people for saying it. But this team has demonstrated
that they are made of somewhat different stuff than previous
vintages of IU, but not entirely, like, not completely,
you know, and it's like, you've got a tank that's half full of
good, gasoline, and half full of bad gasoline.
And you know, you it's sucking down the good gasoline.
But you, occasionally, you still gotta go above that, bad
gasoline and the engine just hiccups and, you know, to me
this season's success. Yes, they could still make it to
the Sweet 16. I don't know that they could
make it beyond that this year, but anything's possible, but
they could also lose in the first round and either way, I
kind of look at this and say, how does IU basketball play from
this point forward? Do they play like the good
aspects of this season or do they play like, Like the bad
aspects of this season, which frankly look a lot like the
previous Seasons. So, you know, did this season
end up acting as a moderating influence, something that would
get Indiana back to the type of basketball that people are
expecting to see. And what you see out of
top-level programs on a regular basis.
So I can't really give you a complete answer Scott.
I think the table is set for that and I'm hoping that what
this ends up being is a cultural turn over more than anything
else and you going to have this like you see this in a lot of
programs that are trying Make themselves more than they were
before this happened. A lot with Virginia before.
Tony Bennett, kind of got that thing up and running.
There were a few seasons there where it's like, was that
progress? It was that not progress.
It's a little different with Mike Woodson, but I think that
the concept is the same. They're trying to get themselves
to a spot where the best that they played this year is the
norm and not the exception and it's still to some degree.
Feels like the exception at this point.
Now you're right and it's like the the frustrating part is like
the answer is always it. Sonic, Continuum because like
they're Virginia is a great a great cop because you know I
think it was like 2017 they lost in the first round to University
of wolves of Maryland it doesn't matter but they lost this as a
one seed, first one seed to ever lose and in a totality That
season you have to look at it as like, all right.
Well that was the utter failure but I always look at that as
like it's a Continuum of that and the next season where they
won the national championship. And it's like that actually
becomes a story of a That really had some unbelievable resolved
to come back from an epic failure, and come back and win.
And it really, you know, if I was a Virginia fan out there,
you know, just watching that from afar as I look at those two
seasons as a compartmentalize program.
And honestly, since then Virginia has been continued to
be stable. And it's like that that became
more of a blip that, you know, he was able to Tony Bennett in
that program is able to show they saw.
So all that to be said, I think you're 100%, right?
And it's frustrating because you do want to kind of
compartmentalize these things because what's this season is,
but I do agree. But I also think to bolster that
point, you know, what we do in March is going to make the
positive, Continuum push to next season easier or harder.
So, if they go and they win, two games, go to the Sweet 16.
It makes that positive momentum to next season easier, whereas,
if they go out and lose the first round and kind of a
non-competitive non interested game, then it's like, all right,
we have to pull ourselves up up. Often that and continue to push
the for think so. I think you're right.
But yeah, those they're still, you know, kind of a no shit.
Sherlock is a lot at stake in the next, you know, week and
it's just, it is frustrating because it's frustrating but
it's also like this is what this team is.
And in the end they go back to jerez.
I could probably going to go one-on-one in the tournament,
like, this is just what this team is right now.
Is they, they're not gonna be able to bring together six
games. It's they have high level final.
For type talent, but we've even seen here in the Big Ten
Tournament. When things break their way,
they have a hard time of kind of capitalizing on very good
scenarios for themselves. They just they make it harder
for themselves even during the game with Penn State.
It's like they just, you shouldn't be down 10 for
multiple, pedo for 10 plus minutes against Penn State.
And then you make it really hard on yourself to come back and
win. And so that's, that's the
frustrating part, is this team has that high level aspiration.
That's, that's where I think they.
They differ from those and night teams is like this team has
moments where you're, like, this team could go to a final four.
Yeah, like they really could. And they could be almost any
team in the tournament, but we know, I think we all know and
our core and our hearts, like, it's not going to happen because
they're not going to piece it together for 40 minutes for four
straight games. Yeah, I mean, look, the one
other Factor. I'll note is Trace Jackson
Davis. I think has clearly He's playing
at a level and is trying to lead in a manner that it's clear.
He does care about the Legacy that is leaving behind here and
that ends up becoming an interesting wild card.
I mean, I yes, I agree it. You know, the those comments
last they do post game yesterday.
I mean I was pretty eye-opening from Tres Jackson Davis and and
honestly Mike Woodson, I mean there was a line from Woodson,
you know. Basically it can to, you know, I
can yell like a scream, I can be nice like at the end of the day
it's up. To the guys to actually go out
and execute and you know, for those two to make those types of
statements. I think illustrates something
about the psychology of this team overall, that will be
interesting to see in a tournament environment.
You know, I think again, this team is capable of winning
pretty much any game that they play, but they're also capable
of losing pretty much any game that they play.
And, you know, the four trays Jackson Davis.
You know, I'm sure he's, it could be good or bad, bad, you
know, it could be one of those things where Trace Jackson Davis
comes out. He's as normal Transcendent self
it, it rubs off on the rest of the players.
And they go on a nice run or it could be a situation where Trace
is trying too hard and the rest of his teammates aren't shipping
in adequately enough and you end up with an early flame out.
You know, I think again both scenarios are equally possible.
I hope for tres is sake. That's not how it plays out.
Because I think from my perspective, I don't know what
else Racetracks and Davis could have done down the stretch.
He's not a guy's going to go scream at a teammate like on the
floor that's we've never seen him do that.
But he you know I mean you could if you were watching the tweets
from the game yesterday like he was doing the majority of the
talking and some of the timeouts and was really trying to talk
his teammates up, you know to do X Y or Z or reminding them to do
this or that like he was getting visibly frustrated at the bad
defensive switches. I think for you know, For him
and what he won. Let me finish this thought for
him as a leader to try to, you know, will his teammates to do
things that they seem to struggle to do even though we
know they're capable of doing it.
Because we've seen them doing it has to be incredibly frustrating
because at this point of the Season, you shouldn't have to be
asked or reminded to do things, that should be automatic at this
point and I, that's the thing. I don't totally understand about
this roster is how many guys struggle to just I seem to
remember what they're supposed to do from play to play or how
how hard they're supposed to be playing.
That's just a really odd sort of thing and and it's nothing new.
We've seen it for years, it's just a normally, the team has
also not been that talented and how they are.
And that's where I think a lot of the prostration is come in,
that's great point. And I was just going to say with
Trey. So you've been seeing it this
season. We talked about it after the
barrel and game, like he's he's added components to his game.
So he can continue to take over more, like he's bringing the
ball up and there are times that he brings the ball up.
Up and then just post up himself and, you know, gets a basket or
gets a good look for himself. And this is where, you know, a
couple of years ago, you better guard.
He's the leader of it's like it's really tough to be the
leader from the post because guys don't get you the ball in
the right spot. So don't get you the ball at
all. You can't do much as like he's
even solve that he's like, all right, I'm going to take the
ball, I'm gonna bring it up, it's a nice, it is a great
addition to our offense, but there does come a point where
it's like you're 69 power forward or, you know, Center or
whatever. Like you can't ask him to do
everything. Post and lead the team and then
start bringing the ball up and giving it to himself or dry you
creating his own offense. Like, as a, as a post, guys,
this is where you need somebody to help you.
And I agree. He's doing everything he can.
He's added components to his game so he can even take over
more from his physician, but it is limited and this is where
it's like you need people to help you.
And there are times you see it to where he gets the ball and
it's like he came to him the wrong position.
Like he's now got a push it back out.
Got to reposition. It's like I can't imagine how
frustrated he could be at times because he is putting out these
transcended efforts and you need someone else but you know that's
the debt and that is kind of the again.
What's going to be the odd Legacy of this team is like
they're you know in consistently inconsistent or they're
consistently inconsistent I should say but yet they have
maybe one of the most consistent players who ever had at IU in
Trace, Jackson, Davis, or this season.
He's been outside of a small stretch.
I think he was injured. He's been Since, you know, start
of 2023 had maybe the most consistent structure,
basketball, we may have seen the last 20 years at IU and it's
weird that like on a team that its Hallmark is going to be.
They just couldn't put it together and they were
inconsistent. It's like but they also had one
of the most consistent players. Yeah.
And it wasn't like, it wasn't like it's a fifth man or a six.
Get, you know, guy off the bench like no, like their best player
was also unbelievably consistent, you can guarantee
him for 25, you know, twenty five, eight and seven every
game. And it's like, but that team was
inconsistent. Let's switch gears.
As we wrap things up and talk about the tournament picture,
you know, this will all be out, you know, academic in seven
hours basically. But I wanted to give everybody
an update on where things were, you know, Indiana louandandy
yesterday, I had them as the first four seed in my group.
So 13th on the s-curve, which were the seed list, which ever
you prefer basically the true order rank of teams.
That is, that's, you know, is that the little out of step with
where they were ranked obviously, Indiana went in
ranked 19th? I think in the AP poll.
But that's, you know, you got to remember that.
The committee looks at a bunch of things at the AP poll.
Doesn't look at when they're ranking teams, you know, like
data. He does look at data, you know,
now the loss was unfortunate for Indiana yesterday because it
ended up being another tear quad to loss.
They lose to Penn State on a neutral floor.
So that's unfortunate to say the least because you know, one of
the Hallmarks of Indiana scheduled been that, you know,
they only had 2 quad 2 losses in the whole season and now they
pick up a third. But look overall, here's what
I'll say, I think Indiana is in is in pretty good shape
actually. Hey, breaking news Penn State.
Now, a quad one loss as they cut, their their met climbed
from 55 to 49. So, one of those where I you end
up inadvertently helping themselves, Everybody else in
the process, but here's where, you know, if I'm if I'm Indiana,
I still, you know, you're going to be I think at this point of
for seed or a 5 seed, and we've talked a lot about how we felt
like they were going to be solid Leah for the one thing I'm a
little bit concerned about right now, is Duke, who went on this
run at the end of the season. They are now what they won.
The ACC tournament last night, they now have five quad ones.
And they have seven quad 2's, they have no losses below quad
to and their head of Indiana. Now, in both strength of record,
which is a resume artifact, and they're also ahead of Indiana on
average in the power rankings. And so, I could absolutely see a
scenario where Duke because of this run their on even though
the ACC isn't very good. Duke's played well enough that
suddenly I could see them sneaking onto that for line.
So, I do Wonder with Indiana losing Galen, the media doesn't
like Duke. I mean, the media.
Very weird for Duke to be preferred in a college
basketball setting just, you know it's not like it's not like
them playing an unranked. North North Carolina Kim's.
Gonna make it on game day. Yeah I sit out here so you know
Galen come on ha ha. Well no it's funny though
because it's true. So anyway, they're the the thing
I'll say is this I think I you is still in good shape.
I think they're still in good shape for a four seed.
I won't be shocked if there are five seed largely.
Because again, as I I mentioned multiple times on this process.
We don't entirely know what the committee is prefer is like
acting in preference of and Indiana.
At the end of it, all is going to end up with a resume that is
right around that line. They were the top four seed in
the reveal. A few weeks ago, there's a bunch
of teams in the mix and it just a lot of.
It depends on how does the committee?
Look at those various teams. Did it look at Iowa, State and
say, we're going to take your quad one wins.
And we've got many of them. Iowa State.
As 10 quad one wins, they have to quad twos and that's going to
be the end-all be-all, you played a great schedule, you
want a lot of games, you know, the downside for Iowa State as
they lost 13 games and that, you know, even though none of the
losses were bad, that's still a lot of losses for a four seed.
Do they look at Tennessee and say, you know what?
Tennessee, again, we liked the quality of your wins.
Seven quad, one wins a neutral Court win versus Kansas neutral
Court. Win versus Maryland, you have no
bad losses, we're going to put you in.
They might do that ahead of Indiana because their predictive
Czar so good but you look overall at Tennessee and the way
that they're playing and it's like I like Indiana slightly
better because Tennessee just lost a key player.
You can do that with any of the teams in this mix.
And you know, ultimately it's hard to say exactly what the
committee is going to prefer and how much they're going to factor
in conference tournaments. Historically, they haven't
factored them in that much and so Early.
I will bracket not factoring in conference tournaments, that
much, unless it's one of those where it's like my new
differences in terms of where teams are lined up.
Seating wise, most Bracketology gist that I'm looking at still
have Indiana as a 4 and that is a pretty good like mental
consensus that has largely helped to track along with what
the committee's been doing. But every year there are some
wrinkles Indiana to some degree. Has a little bit of the best of
several different categories in terms of like They have plenty
of quad one wins. They have their best work is
done on the road or away from home.
They don't really have any bad losses.
They're pretty good and resume their pretty good in predictive
's they've got their kind of like the nice mid-level choice
for a 4 seed it just and and this is where I think Indiana
might actually come in a better spot than some other teams that
are heavy on wins, but may not be great.
In predictive Zoar, like Tennessee are heavy and
predictive but maybe not as heavy in terms of He wins.
So in a committee setting that tends to shine through because
if you've got eight by twelve people voting on a team's
Indiana might like consistently come in third or fourth across.
Everybody's ballot that might end up being what puts Indiana
on the for line. You know all that said honestly
Scott there's very little difference between being forced
to eat and being a 5 seed and you know I don't want people to
freak out. If Indiana does end up getting a
fine. Five, it's not a failure it's
the difference between it's really the difference in being
having the committee, right? You the 16th best team in the
country and the 17th best team in the country.
Like that one. Little number difference ends up
being the difference between being a four seed in the five
seat. And so I'm not overly concerned,
I think. Indiana solidly in one of those
two seed lines at this point. I just don't see them falling
much below that. And I think that win against
Maryland is going to help them a lot more than the loss at Penn
State would Hurt them prospectively.
So that's kind of my general thoughts at this stage.
I'm really curious to see how it plays out because ultimately,
you know, this the seating for Better or For Worse is going to
be treated as a referendum on how the season went by a lot of
people, which is kind of lame, but that's just kind of how it
is. And so I think it's a
fascinating exercise this year because Indiana is absolutely
right in the middle of the mix, but it's hard to Clearly say
where they're going to land. In the process.
The only way that I would, and I agree with all that, I would the
only way I would say it is a referendum on the Seas, which is
not. But, like the what you could say
is like they had a three or a four seed in their hands.
And I you just didn't grab it like, they made a lot of
mistakes down the way with bad losses and just, you know,
performances that really, you know, allowed the gave them the
spot to let the committee. Give them a five seed, and
that's the only thing I would look at.
But I agree with you. It's kind of you're gonna play
the one either. Yet you're looking at a matchup
against the one in the sweet 16, no matter what.
And you know what, you know, you're so far down the seed line
when you're a for that really is kind of almost luck whether you
do get preferential treatment in a regional.
It's like you're just there's so many other factors at play
there. The again, trying to be
positive, not a great compact. When you look at, you know, from
February 13th on in 2002, that team, I'm finished three and
three in the Big Ten, they went one and one in the Big Ten
Tournament, shocker, another team, another ayehu team that
didn't have a winning record making tournament.
But you know, that, that team, slid to a five seed that team
could have maybe been a four seed, didn't really matter.
And then, you know, they had to play a one and they play Duke.
And I distinctly remember that, you know, I was living in
Houston. I went to a bar at the game went
scores, I remember why I went and as I went in like, alright,
well have fun but there's no way you're beating Duke which is We
how I feel this year for playing Kansas or something and then
they played a great game and they locked it in to your point.
Like they kind of locked it in from that moment on for three or
four games and they were made a run to the final four.
Not saying this team can do it, but it's like that's, you know,
being at the 5 line, that's what you're looking at and but this
team can do that. Like, they can get to the second
weekend and then it's like can you just put together a focused
Purdue like performance? And then it's like you're off.
Off to the Races from there, and that that's what store here.
But you know, that 2002 team, I think, again, it gets clouded.
Remember, as I gots a team that like you just said earlier, in
the poly, kind of figure it out. Put together me, they were three
and three to finish the Big Ten season not like they were on a
roll or anything that was also a team that was anyway.
I'm going long on this point, but yeah, the difference between
of that was also team ranked 6 and efficiency.
Anyway, there's a lot anyway. There's a much better team.
It really was. Yeah, yeah.
That's why I'm off my own point, but to your point they'd ever
seen a five and a six, it doesn't really matter.
I would love to get it. Our location to me the as we
look at this before, selection Sunday.
I've been saying what Louisville the whole time that where I want
to be where I'm at now, I would love to stay away from the
Midwest region. Like I think that playing Kansas
at Kansas City in the second round that's going to be a
really tough putt for Indiana and I don't think that they you
know hopefully they don't put us there and they probably don't
want to have a rematch that early but you know, you You've
not given the committee. A lot of choices here by being
so far, down the seed line, like your kind of now stuck with
that. But that's, that's the one
matchup that I think would be the worst for for IU.
I think obviously Louisville would have the best crowd for
us. I think that, you know, Vegas or
New York or any of those regionals.
Like, as I look at, you know, playing that one seed, but
honestly, I'll end with this. Like I should also get myself
mentally prepare to this team should to like getting to the
second weekend is going to be a chore in and of itself and like
that's Not put the cart ahead of the horse, like we need to just
go in and focus on winning the first game.
And then the second game, like I probably should be worried about
the second weekend on a team that I'm not sure they can win
back-to-back games at this point.
Yeah, I mean that's ultimately I think we're a lot of this lands
is first of all obviously the seeding process is different
from playing the games and that's always the tough
transition for everybody. It's like where did you have
placed in the field and then it's like, oh here's what you
have to do. I think in this case though,
just focusing on the bracket, the bracketing stuff.
Look, I think Indiana has done enough to be in all these
conversations that are. They're having.
As you said, you know, they did have the opportunity to advance
put themselves in a better spot, they didn't and that's
unfortunate. But wherever they land, whether
there are four seed. When there are five seed in the
very unlikely event, they drop to a six seat there there, you
know, at the ultimate Be Wild It's very wild, it would be why
it would be, I'm, it would be absolutely unprecedented.
I think, at this point, Indiana hasn't been playing that badly,
and they've got plenty of stuff on their resume.
But, you know this, at the end of the day, the difference
between being a force, even being a succeed to use my
earlier. Numerical example, is the
difference between being the 16th best team in the country
and the 21st best team in the country, in the eyes of the
committee, that's it. Yeah, the difference between
being the last three seed and the best five seed is the
difference between being the 12th best team in the country
and the 17th best team in the country.
So again, we debate exactly where everybody's going to land.
We think we have a good idea at the end of it all.
You're talking about minimal variation and it doesn't really
matter like the honestly. If you're a 1 seed in a tour to
seed it matters, and if you're in the play-in game, it matters.
And other than that, I don't know that the seating especially
in recent years where we've just seen seating largely not matter,
Not much in terms of the actual outcomes it hasn't it doesn't
really matter that much. So I think you know, to me, you
know, as much as I focus on Bracketology and there's a focus
on trying to accurately predict what the committee's going to do
realistically speaking. The fact Indiana is placed
themselves in this tier where they're somewhere between the
12th best and 20th. Best team in the country is I
think, as much of a testament is anything to this season
ultimately being a success because there aren't that many
teams that can say that they've done all of that throughout the
course. Course of the Season.
Particularly the ones that have suffered ones like Indiana that
have suffered injuries and and issues trying to do have a
normal season. So that's that's how I would
look at it. Anyway, final thoughts.
No, it's this. We're at the precipice now.
We're going into. I mean, first off people.
We should enjoy this moment and I know it's where we want to be
back to. But you know, this is the first
time since 2016 and only the second time in ten years that we
go into a selection Sunday confidently, knowing we are in
the field. It's now just a matter of, are
we a protected seed or not? And that's, that's cool.
I think it like twice in ten years, it should be 8. 10 years
that we have this feeling, but we haven't.
So like a everybody should enjoy that feeling of not going into
this being like you know all right what time does the NIT
reveal their bracket? I got her back.
It's like we're at so that is that is something and for where
this program has been it's not nothing like that.
Is that is honestly something we should be happy with.
And then yeah you know it's going to be great seeing where
we go and I think I will just say, I think from a media
perspective If I think that Indiana is going to be picked as
one of two teams, I can see people when they start doing
their, you know, ESPN brackets, just media brackets.
Like I see us either being a sexy.
Dark Horse. Final four, pick or a
first-round flameout pick. I just, I think, yeah, t.
And that's it. Honestly, that's what this team
is. Yes, I think that's what a lot
of teams are going to pick us as and don't get too high on the.
Well, the fun of the the final four stuff don't get too low.
When people are, you know, he see somebody picking us as First
round find out because, you know, neither are right but both
are true and everything is probably right now.
This is yes, absolutely. This is absolutely a team that
you could make a compelling argument for either of those
scenarios. I mean, you could there you will
see at least one pundit, you know, based upon the bracketing,
pick Indiana to go to the final four.
Yes. And you will, and you will see
at least one pundit, maybe on the same show.
Picking the Anna to lose in the first round and, and be
confident about Bo. Both of and and I think both of
them will be probably like, you know, you could, you could make
arguments in either case. So that's that's where I would
just warn. People, don't get caught up too
much in that like Focus instead on what the implications are
overall. And look Indiana's, had a lot of
success as a five seed. You know, that they've the last
two out of the last three times, three of the last four times, I
think they've been to the Sweet 16.
They've been a 5 seed and so it's not like again.
A lot of it really comes down to now, what does Indiana do in the
tournament? As we talked about earlier on in
the podcast, that's where I get concerned about this team
because they're so hard to predict, but they've done enough
to put them in a decent position as they move into March you did
this before in one of your bracket, racket shows.
But now that things have solidified for IU, I want to ask
you this question as you look at the teams that we would play as,
either the 4 or the five, can you just give a real quick
synopsis like what team would you?
Be most concerned about seeing as a first-round matchup and
what team do you think is the best first-round matchup for
Indiana based on those kind of eight teams that could be in
that 1213 range? Well, it's funny you say that
because if those of you who haven't subscribed to bite-sized
bison which is of course the the newsletter that it is written by
our friend Taylor Layman you actually should do this because
he did this looking at the various teams that Indiana might
play in the first round, or second round.
And This actually, you know, I'll I agree with Taylor's
analysis, largely like the best teams for Indiana.
From a matchup perspective would probably be Creighton Duke, you
know. I think is statistically they're
kind of a questionable team. They're certainly playing very
well right now. So I'm saying that first first
round. Well, hold on, I'm going to work
backwards. Okay.
Because, right because because ultimately those those those 13
12 seed, teams are still a little bit in the mix, but you
look Sound like some of the other teams that you might want
Indiana play. I think Kentucky.
It is a good matchup for IU, st. Mary's is a good matchup for IU.
There's other teams that are more guard oriented or more
oriented towards perimeter play that you're worried about.
And that's, you know, like I'd hate to see Indiana like, you
know, having to play a team that was just, you know, able to do
kind of what Penn State does, because I don't know how well
Indiana is going to be able to handle that.
Now, the teams that Indiana might end up playing.
You know, it really one of the things I will note is that the
efficiency statistics don't always tell the full story with
some of these teams. You know, my preference is
always with this particular Indiana vintage.
Can you match them up against the team that struggles to score
particularly from outside? So like VCU, who we're going to
watch in a little bit here, as they play in the American, not
the American, the Atlantic 10, a final, their their offense is
very pedestrian 149th in the country, their defense.
This is very good. 17th, they don't shoot the three
particularly well. You know, that to me is a team
that they turned the ball over a lot.
They're exciting to watch but they don't have an overwhelming
physical presence in the post that they have nobody over 69 on
the team. I think that's the team Indiana.
I'd love to see. Indiana get matched up against a
lot of people have expressed fear from Iona and Iona is on a
big win streak right now. They've won 14 in a row, and
they've got Rick pitino's, he know is The shark in Jaws for
everybody right now but he's like he's just like swimming out
there. Like every team is scared of
playing them. And look, I mean they've shot
the three fairly well, but they've played nobody this year
at all. And you know, I mean, I watched
them last night against Marist and was rooting for Marist.
As you know any good Indiana person should that's Rik Smits
his alma mater. For those of you who don't
remember, but I don't see a lot in Iona that really makes me
scared, you know, they're They're a team that likes to get
up and down the floor, but so does Indiana.
And I think in that kind of a, you know, in the game where
Indiana isn't being artificially, constricted in
Tempo, I think Indiana would fare pretty well in a game like
that, you know, as far as teams I'd like to avoid seeing, you
know, I'm a little bit concerned about, you know, that looking
through the teams right now to see what's out, there is a
couple of loss, there were a couple of teams that were kind
of right on the borderline, there that are concerning.
Well, I'd prefer not to see Louisiana if at all possible,
that's a team that shoots the three extremely well, there are,
they're pretty efficient offensive team.
They're not great defensively, you know?
But I think that that team would be able to hit shots and score
at a level that would make Indiana uncomfortable.
And I don't know that Indiana would be assertive enough
offensively to be able to do what they needed to do in that
one. You know, there's others that
I'm just not sure about like Kent State played a really big
game against Toledo to knock off Toledo in the MAC Championship,
which was a shame for Toledo. That was their chance to go back
to the tournament for the first time in 43 years.
But our old friend, Rob sender off the head coach at Kent State
former IU assistant. Who as many of you might
remember got that was the first warning sign that things were
not going to go. Well in the 2008 season was when
they just randomly fired. This assistant coach for too
many phone calls back in like whatever was October or November
of 07. But like Kent State, you know,
they have kind of the profile of a team.
I wouldn't mind seeing but that that team is overall I think a
really good basketball team and they they they only lost to
Gonzaga on the road by seven. They lost Houston on the road by
5, they lost to Charleston on the road by to like that's a
team that knows how to play tight games.
So that's in the first round. Those are the types of teams I'd
like to avoid, is either teams like Louisiana that can score in
a really high level or teams that are battle tested.
Stood in a way that say like Iona despite their gaudy record
is not. So look at the end of the day.
I think this IU team, you know, the the probably the worst
matchup right now. I think in terms of like a team,
I would look at and say, this is a real problem is Oral Roberts.
They are Oral Roberts, is there 30?
And for they have a 17 game winning streak, that's actually
the largest win streak in the country, their 23rd in the
country and offensive efficiency there 50 or their seventh in the
Tree in effective field goal percentage their their best in
the country and turnover percentage.
The 35th in the country in three-point percentage.
They start a senior guard who is like across-the-board, awesome
Maximus. They also start a 75 Center
named Connor, vanover. Now IU has some experience
playing, you know, guys above seven feet tall obviously with
Zach Edie but that's just not a team that you want to draw.
Ah, in the first round of the NCAA tournament, that would be a
really tough matchup for IU. So let's let's avoid Louisiana.
Let's avoid Kent State. Let's avoid Oral Roberts if it
all possible. Yeah, it's funny.
If you're saying those Oral Roberts, set, it always feels
like, you know, I've always loved teams for upsets that
shoot three well, that have a senior guard but it feels like
there are these years and, you know, or wobble prove me wrong
but it feels like there's these years where there's teams were,
it's like they hit all the check marks for being upset, team.
And then it's like, well, oh, I like the question.
They're going to win. Look up, and it's like, oh,
they're down 25 to the force. He's like every year, it feels
like you. Once you find that team, that
like hits all the check marks for wapts that team should be.
It's like they just well, I'm out.
Lay an egg so much of it is matchup oriented like last year,
I think you could make an argument that, you know, among
the best automatic qualifiers was Vermont.
Vermont was the 13 seed. Vermont was in what were they in
the going into the tournament? They were.
I think there were 58 and Ken pom.
They were really good offensive team.
But they get drawn against Arkansas, who is all of that on
steroids, and they lose in the first round, you know?
And that was probably a team that you would have pointed to
and said that's a team that's going to win Games Chattanooga.
Last year, was another one, top 70 can Palm team.
They were 27 and 7 going into the tournament, they do.
They had they won, they beat VCU on the road.
Earlier in the year, they won everything.
You'd ask them to win, they're drawn against Illinois and
Illinois, just happens to play exactly the style that, you
know, that and just countering with Do and even then Illinois I
only won by one point but still that's your point is well-taken.
Like this idea that you can eyeball on record or on
statistical profile. South Dakota, State's probably
the best example of this last year, South Dakota State, 81st
and Ken Pon. They were 14th and offensive
efficiency. This was one of the best
offensive teams in the country. They were the best shooting team
in the country and they end up losing by nine to Providence.
In the first round of the NCAA tournament 2413 game.
You never know. So, again, if I'm an IU fan, I'm
saying to myself. I'm not going to get freaked
out. Because as I think I said in an
earlier pod, there is no magical road in the NCAA tournament,
where you're going to play all easy teams.
Everybody's going to be scary on paper in one way or another.
And so, I would just say, relax, enjoy it.
And look at how those guys might be thinking about Indiana and
understand that it's probably the same.
As how you're thinking of them. Yep.
Anyway, we got to wrap up as we've already hit almost an hour
twenty Market. I don't know if anybody's going
to be able to listen to this before the selection show
actually happened. So thanks to all you folks for
sticking with us as we talk through IU.
Basketball talk through some brackets stuff, Scott, we'll see
what happens here in a little bit.
As I, you wraps up the regular season and the Big Ten
tournament and ends up going to the postseason will see where
they're seated. Thanks to our friends at home
field apparel. Thanks to the back home.
Network and its family of podcasts for Scott.
I'm Galen this is Crimson cast. We will catch you folks on the
flip side. Bring back the Bison, so
everybody Network and its family of podcasts for Scott.
I'm Galen this is Crimson cast. We will catch you folks on the
flip side. Bring back the Bison, so
everybody