You're listening to the Back Home Network presented by Home
Field Apparel. Welcome back to Crimson Cast,
Galen Clavio joining you. It is Friday, March 29th, The
last. Friday of March Hard to believe
it's. Almost over already.
We got April right around the corner here in.
Bloomington We've got little 500 festivities.
Starting to ramp. Up we've got Eclipse
festivities. Getting ready to ramp up in a
about a week and a half. It'll be a crazy next 30.
Days here in Southern. Indiana and I am appreciative of
all you folks for tuning in for this.
Crimson cast daily episode. We've been doing the shorter
ones here lately, since there's not a whole lot of ironclad
concrete news to talk. About with IU Basketball, but we
do. Have some today.
So we're going to talk about that.
We're also going. To talk a little bit about the
IU. Women as they head to Albany
today to take on South Carolina and what's going to be a
fascinating and difficult match up in the Sweet 16 and.
We'll talk a. Little bit about the men.
'S tournament as well. Some interesting results coming
down yesterday that might have some implications for IU.
Basketball we should. Maybe talk about Anyway, before
we get started on that, just a reminder.
That we are brought to you by Home Field Apparel Your place.
To go for the finest in college fashion.
The softest fabric. The coolest designs all.
Kinds of amazing stuff on home field apparel.com We're
transitioning out of hoodie season.
And into long. Sleeve and baseball tee season
and they got. You covered across the board
your. Favorite teams in college?
Sports. We've got some racing stuff
available. Now we've.
I think they're, you know, they're still.
Materials on there. For for Colts gear, if you're.
Getting excited about. The draft, All kinds of things.
To tackle on home field. Apparel.
And hey, if you find a shirt, you really.
Like and can't find. Another one like that.
But you just want the the. Core shirt itself, they do have
a core. Collection where you can.
Get the comfortable hoodies and crew necks and what like like
the one? I'm wearing right now without
anything on them, so if you just want to dress in comfort.
From Home Field Apparel without. Necessarily supporting a
specific team. You can go on the website and do
that. Use the code Home 20.
Three get 15%. Off your first order again, it's
home field. Apparel.com The finest in
college fashions. Also, just a reminder, we're on
sub stack, go to Crimson. Cast.substack.com Sign up for.
Free. We also try to throw.
In for our. Paid subscribers Which?
Is a nominal fee of 50. Dollars a month or.
Or excuse me, 50. Dollars a year.
Not not a month. $5.00 a month A better deal that way.
We try to throw some extra items in there.
Scott's got a lot of his IndyCar content coming on our VIP
channel and I've got some videos that will be coming out here I
think in the next maybe four or five.
Days. It's been a little bit hectic at
work here lately, so we are. Going to be bringing you folks
some more content and as the portal and late stage recruiting
continues to crank up, we'll have that coming for.
You as well, so. Again head.
Over to Sub Stack, give us a free.
Subscription We'd love to. Be able to deliver the podcast.
Right to your inbox. Let's start by.
Talking about the big news from IU men's basketball.
Yesterday, which was of course that five star.
Recruit Bryson Tucker. Committed to IU Tucker.
An interesting case this. Was a player who for a long
time. Was debating between Michigan
State, Kansas, and the G League Ignite.
Which is of course that like hyper.
Developmental League that the NBA launched a few years ago.
They actually just announced that.
They are killing that off, so I'm not sure if that
specifically played into. Tucker's decision, or if it.
Was simply. You know, maybe college.
Is the best place. For me, maybe the NIO money
just. Looked better.
It's hard. To 100%.
Say as all we really got was a quote out of Tucker that
essentially said that. Indiana's.
Play style suited. His game and that he was
looking. Forward to to.
To coming to IU. So it's an interesting one
because. Tucker is a fine.
Athlete and he's a really interesting prospect from the
standpoint. Of he's got a lot.
Going on in terms. Of his his overall approach to
the. Game on the inside.
He's a very smooth athlete. From all accounts, he's he seems
to understand. How the game is played?
There's multiple comments about a really high natural basketball
IQ, comes from an athletic family, good, you know, good in
transition, explosive athlete. These are kinds of things we
keep seeing about him. It's an interesting recruitment
in that I don't think anybody really.
Knows how to feel about it. Other than wow this sounds
intriguing and it is nice and and I think that.
You know, certainly the coaching staff deserves credit.
You lose a 5. * and Liam Mcneely, you.
Go out and get another highly regarded player.
I'm. Very curious to see.
You know, I don't want to parse words too much, but I'm curious
with the comment from Bryce and Tucker about Indiana system
fitting his game. One of the big.
Complaints and I think one of the things that's maybe keeping
people from leaping fully. In to getting excited.
About this IU Offseason is. The style of play itself.
And I think a lot of people have been hoping that perhaps Indiana
would be shifting their. Style of play.
To something different but. We'll have to see, I think one
of. The things that's fascinating
with the. Departure of Kalil Ware.
And. With the other roster
departures, but. The retention of Malik Renew.
The likely retention of Mackenzie and.
Bako is you know what? Exactly.
Does Indiana decide they're going to do as they head into
this upcoming season? You know and we've.
Obviously belabored it quite a bit on the podcast, but the idea
that the IU approach offensively.
Was going to change significantly with the departure
of Trace Jackson. Davis, which I think is what
everybody thought was going to happen.
Didn't actually happen as Indiana.
Played a very similar style. But it was much worse at it this
past year and. So I think.
There's going to be some folks out in the IU fan base who.
Are excited about this recruitment.
From a numbers perspective, from the fact that.
This is clearly a sought after recruit if.
Michigan State and Kansas are going after.
A player you can. Be pretty sure that they're in
the upper. Echelon of recruits, but I do
think. That there is some tempering of
expectations or excitement based upon the.
Idea that nobody really wants to see.
Indiana run it back in terms of style next year offensively and
you know that's going to be something that we'll have to
keep an eye on as the. Rest of these roster spots get
filled, so six additional roster spots still to be.
Filled. I doubt Indiana.
Will fill all of them. They're going to have to start
doing, you know, pulling some people specifically in in the
portal and I think. We'll see that over the next
week or two. As Indiana seems like they're
starting to get some traction with some of the.
Folks in the portal, we've heard rumors.
Tony Perkins, the point guard at Iowa, has been rumored.
You know Connor Hickman, I think his name is.
Out of Bradley is. A guy whose name keeps popping
up. Who knows, you know?
But I I I am really. Fascinated how Indiana ends up
constructing their roster and then what they decide to.
Do with it if there's. You know, a move.
Towards a a more perimeter. Oriented game, I think that that
would certainly. Suit what fans are looking for,
and more importantly, suit what modern.
Basketball seems to want, and there's no reason why Tucker
can't fit into that. Kind of a style.
It is just interesting and and I think Jared Morris put it really
well. On on the.
Discord for the Back Home network.
You know, it kind of feels like. To some degree you can like.
The fact that you get a talent like Tucker.
And he's he's a good mid range scorer but.
The player that. Indiana didn't get which was
Liam Mcneely the. The guy who backed.
Out of his commitment really seemed to fit what Indiana
needed. On the floor more.
Will Indiana change what they do?
I think that's going to be a really interesting question.
But again, I think it it will and should.
Largely be dictated on who. Else they're able to bring in
and then what kind of system can they construct around that so.
We'll see. What happens again?
I mean it's. Friday I.
Doubt we'll see another commitment.
Before this week is out, but I bet.
We'll see another one next week and I'm really interested to see
where Indiana goes with. All of this, they've.
Clearly been able to make a bit of an impact in terms of.
Of talking both to their own players and now.
To a potential incoming player who's now an actual incoming
player and Bryson Tucker. They've been able to sell all of
those players on the. Vision for what's going on in
this upcoming season, and certainly the nil money hasn't
hurt and clearly looks like Hoosiers connect out there doing
a. Lot of good work.
And and making sure Indiana's competitive in a lot of these.
Areas so I'm really. Fascinated to see what happens
next and it. Is a good thing.
Indiana pulls Bryce and Tucker in.
Let's see who. Else they're able to get, as
they've got quite a few holes left to fill this kind of.
Segues into the next thing I wanted to.
Talk about, which is this whole idea of.
What's working in college? Basketball at this particular.
Moment in time, and if you got a chance to watch last night, it
was an interesting night in the Sweet 16, the Thursday Games.
As you know, four teams went in favored.
Only one of the. Favorites actually ended up
winning the game. Connecticut just smashed San
Diego State, Which? Was if you've watched college.
Basketball. That was not surprising, but.
Iowa State loses to. Illinois and Iowa.
State was favored, I think by three.
Or 3 1/2, at least according to the.
The predictives. North Carolina was.
Favored over Alabama, Alabama. Ends up winning that game and
then of course Arizona was a big favorite.
I think there were 6 or 6 1/2 points at the start and Clemson
ends up beating them by 6. They almost completely flipped
that that number. So what?
What? Can we glean from all?
Of this, well, first of all I think.
It's important to note that there's no.
Absolutes in College Basketball And there's a.
Bunch of different ways the teams can win.
It is. Fascinating, I think, to look at
the teams that are remaining in. The We've got 12.
Teams left or. Yeah, I think.
That's right, 10 or 10 or 12 teams.
I think it's 12. I can't do math off on the top
of my head, but it is 12 right now since we've.
Got the other sweet? 16 games coming in and what's
fascinating to me is if you look at the teams that are left in
the teams. That have lost there's a every.
Team is in the top 30 offensively in Ken Palm.
The lowest rated offensive. Team left is Tennessee.
They haven't played yet. So if you take them out of the.
Equation The lowest rated. Offensive team is Clemson and
they're at 20. 4th You know so. Clemson, even though I think.
Some people look at them as. Kind of a secondary figure in
this tournament. They played really well
offensively over the. Course of the season that I
mean, having a top 25 offense is nothing to sneeze at.
You look at the. Rest of the teams.
And you look at the results that.
Happened yesterday and what I think is interesting is Alabama
who was. 4th. In Ken Palm, offense and only
104th in defense, knocks off a much more balanced North
Carolina team. Who wasn't quite as good
offensively? North Carolina ranked 16th in
Ken Palm offense, 8th in defense.
Illinois A-Team who is number 2 in the country right now in
offense, 84th in defense. They knock off Iowa.
State, who was 50? 3rd in defense and for, excuse
me, 53rd in offense and 6th in defense and.
You look at the. The rest of the teams that are
kind of in the mix and there's. Just a lot of really good.
Offensive teams you've got, obviously, UConn.
Who strolled through. They're the number one offensive
team. Purdue is third, Duke is. 5th
Illinois as we mentioned, is second.
Gonzaga is 7th. You know, Marquette's 19th.
Which is shocking because you'd think they'd be much better than
that Creighton's 10th. So.
The reason I bring all this up, you know, is.
That normally there's this paradigm.
Within college basketball that you have to.
Have a balanced team and that both your offense and your
defense need to be in the top 25 of Ken Palm.
And if you're going to have a chance of getting to a Final
Four or winning a title, And there's.
Individual exceptions, but that's.
Become kind of a. Statistical truism over the
course of the last. Seven or eight years, and
there's nothing surprising about that like of.
Course the best. Teams are probably going to be
balanced and have both. Good and.
Offense and good defense. But.
Chances are. That you know the.
If you've got a team that's really lopsided one way or
another, you could be ranked highly in Ken Palm, but you
would eventually be taken out by the more balanced team That
doesn't really seem to be. Happening so far.
In this tournament it. Feels like the scales have
tipped more towards the offensive side of the basketball
now. It's not perfect.
I mean, Baylor was a really, really good defensive team.
Excuse me. Really good.
Offensive team, Average defensive team.
They ended up losing. To a more balanced team in
Clemson. But by and large, you look at
the Iowa State result, you look I'm.
Really fascinated by Tennessee tonight because I.
Have a real suspicion. Creighton's going to win that
game. And you look.
At some of the other teams that are out there.
And again, while it's not perfect.
It does feel like the scales have tipped a little bit towards
the. Offensive side of the equation
in terms of which aspect of efficiency do you want to make
sure you have down first and I think something.
To do with that. You know.
Involve some of the rules changes that have.
Happened in college basketball. With the the block charge rule,
with you know some of the other items you've got to.
Ultimately be able to score consistently and efficiently
and. All of the teams.
That are in right now, with maybe the possible exception of
Tennessee. You know offense has.
Really been a key? Part of what they've done over
the course. Of the season, the other game
I'm really fascinated by. Today is this Duke.
Houston game because it's a It's going to be an interesting
example. Of a team that's really good
offensively. In Duke their 5th in Ken Palm
and and. Very good, but not.
Great defensively, their 20th versus A-Team.
That's amazing defensively in Houston, their second and
they're. Pretty good offensively.
They're they're 14th in Ken Palm.
How does that clash? Occur and who's able to win that
battle? Ultimately, I have a sneaking
suspicion it's going to be Duke with their offensive.
Efficiency and a. Lot of these teams.
You know if you if you look across their different profiles,
they all. Kind of share somewhat.
Similar characteristics in terms of the the really good.
Offensive teams, you know they tend to be.
Playing a style that, as we've talked about, emphasizes. 3
point shooting or. Emphasizes some individualized
aspect. Of of offense.
That makes it much more efficient for them to score so
like. You know.
Purdue's a fascinating case. I'll use them as an example.
They do a bunch of things well, but.
You know the things. That they do that contribute to
their offense. Efficiency the most are a.
They're the top. 3 point shooting team in the country
they shoot 41% from. Three they are. 6th in the
country and offensive rebounding percentage and they are also 9th
in the country. In free throw attempt rate you
look at. UConn like UConn.
Really earns their bones by being the best or one of the
best. Shooting teams in the country.
They're 7th in the country and effective.
Field goal percentage. They don't turn the ball over.
Which means they retain a lot more possessions.
They're 43rd in the country. And that.
And again. They're really good at offensive
rebounding. They don't, really.
Care too much about getting to the.
Free throw line comparatively. Speaking Duke again.
They rarely turn the ball over. They don't offensive rebound as
well as some of the. Other teams that are in the
upper echelon, but they compensate for that by shooting
incredibly consistently. From both. 3:00 and from 2:00
and then you take a team like Illinois.
Illinois does everything. Pretty well, they are top 60.
Five in the four. Factors.
Offensively, they're 30. 4th and effective field goal percentage.
They're 56th and turnover percentage.
They're 17th and offensive rebounding percentage and their
63rd in free throw. Rate.
So the reason I bring all this up is as we talk about IU.
And what they need to do from a systems perspective, I use got
to find something that they can hang their hat on that is a
primary methodology of. Here's how we're.
Going to score? Here's.
What our offense is all about. Last year, we know it was.
Getting to the free throw line. But then Indiana couldn't
actually convert. When they got to the free throw
line, they were 333rd in the country in free throw
percentage. But.
Where Indiana really struggled. Offensively, in terms of
efficiency was they didn't extend possessions because they
couldn't get offensive rebounds. They were two, 154th in that.
In turnover. Percentage.
They were 208th in the country offensively, which meant they
gave. Away a lot of.
Possessions and from an effective.
Field goal percentage. They were fine.
But they weren't that. Fine, because they only were
96th in the country and they were also pretty bad at
shooting. Threes so.
You know, I I bring these things up because as I was sitting
there watching that Alabama, North Carolina game last night.
I was like this feels like a. A different sport.
Alabama North. Carolina are playing.
This is so fluid offensively, you know, and Alabama.
Knew exactly what they wanted to do in terms of they were going
to hoist. Threes.
There was confidence among their players shooting it, but they
were also. A team.
That was really focused on, you know, doing.
The things that needed to be done to.
To to make sure that they were. Efficient and what they were
doing, I mean that was a team that fell behind twice I think
by. Double digits but you.
Get to the end of the game. Alabama ended up scoring
basically 1.25 points per possession.
Offensively, they shot 26 threes.
They hit. 11 of them which is a. Really good percentage at 42.
Percent, but they also got. Offensive rebounds on 38 1/2% of
Available Opportunities and they didn't.
Turn the ball over. They turned the ball over on.
14% of possessions. You know, and then North
Carolina was just as good. North Carolina only turned the
ball over 8 times. In the whole game, North
Carolina shot 38% from three, which is awesome.
It it's just amazing to me watching the offensive
efficiency that those two teams specifically.
Ran out there and it just. Got me thinking.
Like how far Indiana from a system perspective and from a.
Style of play, perspective has to go to get to that level and
whereas before I think you could make a.
Legitimate argument, that. Well, you can just.
Be a great defensive team and proceed in the NCAA tournament.
I don't think you can do that anymore.
Like, at the very least, you have to have.
An offense that's in the top 30 if you want to.
Get to the sweet. 16 and beyond. And that's going to require a
tremendous amount of triage in the offseason, not just in terms
of the players Indiana brings in, but also in terms of the way
that they're implementing those players.
And you know, you think even even last year when Indiana.
Was, you know, a pretty good team.
By the numbers, they were still only 28th offensively in Ken
Palm for that entire season, and that was with Trace Jackson
Davis, one of the most efficient individual scores.
In all of college basketball on the floor. 3738 minutes a game,
So just some things to think about as we reflect on what's
going on in the NCAA men's tournament on the women's.
Side really quickly, just wanted to basically say good luck to
the. Indiana Women's basketball team.
It was a tough. Draw getting drawn.
As the four. Seed in South Carolina's
regional. But.
I do think from the standpoint of how this meters out in terms
of the tournament, if you had aspirations of going to the
final. 4. Or winning a national title,
which I think Indiana. Clearly does.
You were? Going to have to beat South
Carolina at some point and does it matter where and when that
happens? Probably not.
This is South Carolina team that's been incredibly dominant.
They are 34 and O on the season. They've they.
Really have barely been. Touched they had.
To hit a last second three against Tennessee in the SEC
tournament to to win that one. But other than that, they've
basically been untouched almost the whole season.
But they were that way last year too, to a large degree.
Maybe not quite as dominant and they.
Lost to Iowa? In the Final Four.
So it's not an. Insurmountable circumstance for
IU, but South Carolina is incredibly good, and it's going
to take a much better shooting display.
And I think just a looser. Overall mentality than what
Indiana had in that game against Oklahoma on Monday.
And the nice thing is I think Indiana's got it in them to do
that. Obviously you've got Mackenzie
Holmes, who's going to be under a lot of.
Defensive pressure and South. Carolina is certainly going to
key on. Her, but as she.
Showed in that Oklahoma game, she can.
Face that and still figure out a way to get. 20 points in a
night. But Sarah?
Scalia, Mackenzie, Holmes, Yarden, Garzone, Chloe, Moore,
McNeil, Like. That group has got to.
A hit shots regularly from three they're going to, they're going
to have to have that. Extra level of.
Efficiency that comes with getting the extra point.
They're going to also just have to.
Play much better defense than I think.
We saw them play. Against Oklahoma or in the first
half against Fairfield and you know, we've seen Indiana be able
to do that. You know, we've seen them in in
certain games throughout the course of the season.
Be able to really, you know, clamp.
Down and make. It very difficult, you know they
played a very. Physical game, for instance
against. Iowa at home and.
That ended up being a a. Big success.
There's just a lot. Of things that will have to go
right for Indiana to win this game.
But. That's what happens when you
play the top teams in the country and I think Indiana, the
nice thing is, as we've kind of seen like they're.
That no one's. Expecting them to win this game,
but they are not a sacrificial lamb.
I mean, this is a team that was in the.
Elite 8A couple. Of years ago.
It's a team that was in number one seed last year.
It's a team that. Has beaten some.
Really good teams so far this season and I don't think Indiana
is going to be at all intimidated by South Carolina
and I think a lot of teams are intimidated.
By South Carolina North. Carolina certainly looked
intimidated. By South Carolina last.
Week when they got. Just obliterated by.
Them in the second round. So, you know, look.
It's one of those things where Indiana.
They get off to a good start. They hit some shots if they can
keep themselves in the game and keep that defensive intensity
up. I I really like their.
Chances of of keeping it close and getting it to.
The fourth quarter. Within, like, you know,
somewhere between three and six points.
But it's going to take their best effort of the.
Season and you know, we've seen them come out and play.
Well, to start with. I I think of the game at.
Iowa this year, where they started off well.
People started hitting shots. For.
Iowa Other than Caitlin Clark and things kind of unraveled.
A little bit for. Indiana and then in that.
Third quarter, Iowa just? Ran away with the game.
We kind of saw the same thing in the Big 10 tournament against
Michigan. We kind of saw it.
Against Ohio State up up there, we've.
We've seen this team struggle especially in in third quarters.
So it's going to take a level of of discipline and focus.
In terms of just keeping their mental capacities in the game
throughout the. Course of it all, but there's
certainly the. Talent there for Indiana and.
It's this. Is not like.
I think you see some of the matchups in in the women's
tournament where you'll have a team like South Carolina or like
UConn a few. Years ago Who's just so Uber?
Dominant that it's like. Wow, this feels.
Like a completely different. Level I don't.
See that with? IUI think if IU.
Can get some shots. To fall early, they're going to.
Be in a position where they. Could shock the.
World on. This and so I'm really excited.
To see what happens in the game games at 5:00 tonight, so be
sure to tune in and. Hopefully the Hoosiers have a a
great game and come. Away with a victory and end up
in the Elite 8 and they're playing on Sunday, so.
Anyway, that'll wrap it up. Relatively short episode.
Appreciate you all joining. And hopefully you'll have a
wonderful. Weekend Some beautiful weather
coming up here in Southern Indiana that we're looking
forward. To my thanks to all of our
friends. At the back home network, my
thanks to our presenting sponsor, Home Field Apparel
TuneIn for more Crimson Cast. Throughout the course of the
week. My name is Galen.
Clavio catch you? Folks on the flip side.
Bring back the bison. That's all everybody.