Glass Houses

It has becoming increasingly difficult to write and talk about Indiana basketball as the season has worn on in 2010.

February was an 0 fer.

March has started the same way as the Hoosiers got off to another choppy start and were dismantled by Purdue, 74-55 in West Lafayette.

Layups, transition layups, layups off in bounds passes and turnovers were the downfall again.

11 straight losses overall.  I really don’t care now where that ranks all time.  I doubt anyone cares.

Now, Indiana has to beat Northwestern and hope Purdue beats Penn State on the road to avoid finishing last in the conference.

Again.

That’s reality.

That’s tough.

There’s no way around that.  Bill Parcells summed it up: “You are what your record is.”

Something has to change.

Wait ‘Til Next Year

Indiana will get better next season through subtraction.

Confused?

Not me.

Every year, teams are faced with attrition.  Some guys can’t wait to leave.  Some guys see the writing on the wall.  Some guys find out the cruel reality that they might not be able to play and contribute at this level.  Some guys simply have used up their eligibility.

This spring, Indiana will see Dumes, Jobe, Finkelmeier and Gambles leave the program.

If you believe the rumblings, rumor mills and message boards, more could follow.

Is this a bad thing?

How can it be?

Why would you want guys who don’t want to be here and sacrifice to make Indiana a winner again?

Sure, it would have been nice to have Williams and Story and their experience this year, but if they didn’t want to be here, so be it.  Adios.

Short term loss for long term gain.

You can’t get the program back with half of the guys on the bus and the other half not quite sure.

You can’t get the program back on track with 1o guys on the bus and two guys not quite sure.

Scholarships are one year rolling contracts, not four year guaranteed contracts like most people assume.

Not all of your recruits, last year, next year, the year after, etc., are guaranteed to work out.

Why keep people around who are hurting the program instead of helping it by not doing whatever it is the coaches need them to do?

Senior Night

We all have been waiting for that game from the Hoosiers where they break out and play some basketball like they did in January.  Or like they did against Pitt.  You get the point.

Why should I believe it should be Saturday?

The usually emotionally charged senior night still has tickets for sale on the website.

The usually emotionally charged senior night has three of the four seniors who have been here two years or less.

That’s reality.

Glass Houses
Two more to go.

Tonight in West Lafayette and Saturday lunch time versus Northwestern.

I mentioned the last time that the Hoosiers and Boilers got together that maybe the Boilermaker fans should do a little homework and learn their history a bit better before acting Billy Big Time.  Sure, having a great season, enjoying it, rivalry game, I get it.  I just nicely asked for some perspective before shooting off at the mouth.  Some did, I would guess, but most didn’t judging from the reactions I heard that evening as the black and gold barely snuck by a below average Indiana team.

Now?

Unlucky, Purdue Pete.

Wouldn’t vote for Karma would we?

Nobody likes to see a kid get hurt. Not even IU fans when it’s a Purdue kid.

Ask Indiana fans with Alan Henderson.

Ask Northwestern fans this year with Kevin Coble.

Ask Cincinnati fans, who cried when they didn’t get a number one seed in the NCAA tourney after Kenyon Martin went down (they lost as a two seed in round two).

Just don’t ask Indiana fans for “help” you tonight at Mackey tonight so you can have a piece of the Big Ten Championship.

You had your chance and you screwed it up.

The only thing about this season that I wouldn’t like to forget would be the Hoosiers beating the Boilers tonight and knocking them out of the race.

Remember, Indiana is playing their bowl game, cup final, whatever you want to call it tonight.

Good luck, black and gold.

If you have any left.

Glass Houses

Bucky Badger comes to town tonight to take on the Hoosiers at 9m.

The Hoosiers, losers of eight in a row, are looking for signs of life as they close out the last four games of the Big Ten season.

What should we look for playing against a team that absolutely left no doubt, 83-55, in Wisconsin?

Well, I’ll go first.

Anything.

Sounds vague.  Is vague.

Show some signs of life.

Get a technical foul.

Run a backdoor cut for an alley-oop to Watford.

Bleed.

Beat your chest.

Something.

Something else.

Somethings different would include better:

Help side defense.

On the ball defense.

Transition defense.

Quit standing around on offense.

Hoping for the bench to contribute.

Hoping for anyone besides Jones and Watford to hit double figures.

Playing harder than the normal hard.

Not scoring for large portions of the game.

Indiana hasn’t played since Saturday and in the recent past, Indiana has played well with extended rest/preparation.  Is tonight the night similar to last year against Michigan State here in Bloomington, when the Hoosiers put everything  together for one game late in the season and steal a victory?

Give me something to believe in Hoosiers.

It’s been a while.

Prediction:  Wisconsin 66  Indiana (+12.5) 63

Close again.

Go GITM

Sue Wanzer joined us this morning to discuss the current issues, gulp, effecting our local school system.

Oh, and this guy might make some headlines tomorrow

Take a listen below.

Glass Houses

Indiana is in the midst of a six game losing streak.

That’s not a  big deal considering who this team was facing when this streak started.

Iowa.  At Illinois.  Purdue.  At Northwestern.  Ohio State.  At Wisconsin.  Throw in Michigan State tonight and you have all five of the best teams in the league on that list.  And Iowa.

With the exception of Iowa at home, losing all of these games wasn’t out of the question.

Unfortunately, the new line of thinking around here is:

“This team isn’t playing as hard as last year’s team.”

Really?

Have they had some “hard” times recently?

Sure.

But because the top 5 teams in the league have beaten Indiana currently isn’t exactly a shock to me, so why is it to you, the fan?

I think most fans (short for “fanatic”) think just because Indiana had a  top ten recruiting class that this would translate immediately to wins on the court.

What most fans completely forgot or discounted is that teams in the Big Ten this season are actually preparing for Indiana.  Every time Indiana was on television last year, every announcer or color guy spoke about the disaster that Tom Crean inherited and the mess he was in charge of cleaning up.  You don’t think other Big Ten kids watch tv, do you?  They knew Indiana was going to stink.  They knew Indiana was going to be down.  Way down.  Last year, teams could just show up, push the Hoosiers around, make them turn it over and they would win.  Don’t believe me?  1-17 was the record. with Iowa being the only win.

Teams that have never won in Bloomington decided to take their chances last year knowing this.  Teams like Northwestern (by 22) and Penn State (by 10) mopped the floor with Indiana.  The big boys came to town, took Indiana for granted and won (Ohio State by 12, MSU by 5, Wisconsin 17) easily for the most part.  Michigan, who barely made the tournament last year, spotted Indiana 18 points before coming back to win in overtime.

But, according to “fans” that team played “harder.”

Whatever.

This year has been a totally different story.

When you have a nationally ranked recruiting class, you tend to get some attention.  When you have a nationally known transfer show up and his dad is the coach of the Boston Celtics, you tend to get some attention.    Your fans get excited, thinking that on paper, “hey, this team, on paper, is going to be pretty good!”

Rumblings of NIT, maybe going .500 in the league, maybe sneaking into the NCAA tournament were just SOME of the expectations that we heard on the phone, in the bar, on the message boards.

And with that attention comes attention to detail from your opponent.

Teams now wouldn’t take the chance just to show up and take their chances with the new and improved Indiana.  And it’s shown both at Assembly Hall and on the road.  There are no more “calling off the dogs” late in games.  There is no more Mr Nice guy.

Not with year two, not with a top ten recruiting class, not with a big transfer playing and surely not with Tom Crean in charge of the start of “his team.”

Did I mention that the early Big Ten schedule probably inflated expectations on top of all that?

Indiana won one game in the league and was “in” four others last year.  Over 18 Big Ten games.

This year, Indiana has won three games, and has been in three others (Illinois, Purdue, @Illinois).  Over 12 Big Ten games.

Don’t get unrealistic expectations confused with effort, especially when dealing with teams in the top half of the conference.

Prediction:  Michigan State 68  Indiana 62 (+10.5)

Glass Houses

After the egg that was laid during the Ohio State game, people are starting to wonder if Indiana will win another game this season.

Really?

That’s a little short sighted I think.

How can they play so well, yet lose, against Purdue and at Illinois and all of  a sudden be left for dead?

Fans.

Short for fanatic.

If you read this blog, you know one thing:  I try to be fair.

As fans, it’s not fun to be fair.  It’s fun to be reactionary.  “Almost” beat Illinois turns into NO WAY IN HELL we’re losing to Purdue!

Calm down.

Each game, each week, each day is different.

The reason Indiana played well against Illinois and Purdue was simple.  Indiana had multiple days of preparation leading up to these games.  The more time to prepare, the better young and inexperienced teams are going to play.

Indiana’s next step in this journey is to find out how to compete on short rest on the road.  The kids now have to know that just showing up doesn’t give them the best chance to win, especially not at Wisconsin.

Can they win this game?  Sure, but it will take a heroic effort on both ends of the court, a big number of threes and contributions from all eight players who hit the floor.

The problem with this theory is that it hasn’t been in effect many times this season.

Unfortunately, they take on a Wisconsin team that is 51-1 at home against unranked Big Ten teams.   Their only loss?  Tuesday night to Illinois.  Yikes.

Guess will have to wait until Michigan State at home on Tuesday.

Prediction:  Wisconsin 77 (-17.5)  Indiana 55

Glass Houses

Indiana vs Ohio State (-11)

After watching Wisconsin and Michigan State lose at home last night, the race in the Big Ten is definitely on.

The losses dropped Wisconsin into 5th place at 8-4 and Michigan State into a tie for first with Illinois at 9-3.

Purdue and Ohio State are both 8-3, one half game behind the leaders.

Can the Hoosiers win?  Of course.

Let’s hope the Hoosiers come out like they did against the Boilers.

We know at home that they USUALLY (see Iowa) come out fast and furious.

The Hoosiers need contributions from everyone on both ends of the floor, just not Jones and Watford.

The Hoosiers again will have to guard the three point shot as they struggled to do against Northwestern.

Foul problems could be our friend as well as the Buckeyes have a 6 man rotation.

Hoosier fans saw a bit of what Ohio State is capable of doing from the last time they played in Columbus.

We’ll see what this young team has learned as they only had two days to prepare.

Ohio State, after last night’s events, now know with a win they are in first place tie after starting 1-3 in league play.

Seven straight league wins, a chance to go top of the table and a healthy Evan Turner are enough for me.

Prediction:  Ohio State 80 Indiana 66

Glass Houses

Blue Monday

After a depressing Sunday afternoon, it took me a few days to get back in the saddle.  Not to mention, it’s impossible to get motivated with constant snow, wind and freezing temperatures.

At least that’s my excuse.

I learned one thing this weekend.  I’m still a fan.

Why?

I was angry.  No, that’s not the word.  Disappointed?  Nah, sounds too much like a disgruntled parent.

Pissed off?  Probably can’t use that here, but it works.

Just like most IU and Colts fans were at the end of Sunday night.

Angry at the way the Hoosiers just showed up in Evanston.

Disappointed at the way the Colts timidly went about playing a SUPER BOWL.

Smash all of that together and it made for a great Monday.

So, in order, let’s take a look back at Sunday and try to make heads or tails of what went on.

Northwestern 78  Indiana 61

Pretty close to what I expected, but I enjoy being wrong on these sorts of things.

The first pass of the game was a Rivers bounce pass on a straight line from the top of the key to the cheerleader in front row.  21-6  turned into 40-29 at halftime and the Hoosiers were never closer than nine the rest of the game.

I argued last week that Indiana’s closeness was a product of having multiple days of practice leading up to Illinois (six days) and Purdue (five days).  Obviously, the Thursday night, Sunday afternoon turnaround was not an easy task, but the Big Ten is about being comfortable and well prepared.  It’s about playing tough night in and night out.   Sure, the Purdue game was tough and emotional.  You think Northwestern was jacked up as they try to get wins to get them to their first NCAA tournament, all without their best player who was lost for the season?

Unfortunately, the Hoosiers know that now.

But, the frustrating part is the Hoosiers know that, but they have yet to find a way to translate that thought of being tough into action.

Inexperience and youth does this.

2-17 from three point land.

2 players who scored over 5 points.

That won’t beat too many teams in any league.

Super Bowl XLIV New Orleans Saints 31  Indianapolis Colts 17

Wow.

I’m still in shock about this one.

Not about the final score, but rather how the last three quarters of this game developed.

The Saints were doing their best Colts imitation and the Colts, well, looked like the Colts of the early 00’s again.

Dave and I broke down the entire game here so take a listen as I am not going to relive/transcribe that game again.

Sorry, ain’t happening.

Conservative, reactionary, indecisive, were just some of the adjectives that came to mind.

The Colts hoped things went their way.

New Orleans made things go their way.

I would have been happier if:

A.)  Colts were routed and turned it over 100 times.

B.)  Brees goes down the field with the last drive of the game and Colston makes a “Holmes” catch in the back of the end zone as time runs out.

I prefer to get beat than lose.  What team was that on the field Sunday?

It wasn’t a Colts team that I remember seeing this year.

Boo.

It’s good to be angry/disappointed/pissed every once in a while.

That’s what makes us fans.

Coming later:  Indiana v Ohio State preview and prediction

Glass Houses

Busy week for the Colts and Hoosiers so let’s not waste any time.

Indiana at Northwestern,  2: 30pm

Super Bowl XLIV Indianapolis Colts vs New Orleans Saints, 6:28 pm

Indiana vs Purdue wrap up from Thursday night.

In reverse order, we’re off!

Purdue 78  Indiana 75

Another close loss.  Another “almost” victory.  Another good effort.

For Indiana to win this season, they have to do about 9.5 things out of 10 correctly and without error.

This game was another example of why that is true.

Bench scoring?  Check (at least for a half)

Turnovers? Check, barely double-digits

Shoot it well?  Check.

Shoot threes well?  8-16, check.

Support for Verdell Jones?  Check, Pritchard, Dumes

Shoot free throws well?  Check, 13-15 until last three minutes.

That was the good news.  That’s why Indiana was in the game.  That’s why Indiana led 69-66.

While the performance and effort was encouraging, the Hoosiers still couldn’t close out the game.

Indiana was stuck on 69 points from the 5:44 mark until VJ III three pointer at :58 seconds.

Indiana missed three front ends of one and one, Hulls, Elston and Jones, which could have padded the lead, taken the lead or cut into Purdue’s lead.

Christian Watford and Tom Pritchard did not score in the second half.  Look it up.

Today’s game at Northwestern will be another challenge for the Hoosiers.

Indiana will not have three or four days of practice leading up to this game as they did before the Illinois road game and before playing Purdue at home.

It will be interesting to see how this team plays on a  short turnaround against a Northwestern team who’s disciplined offensive movement gives every team they play problems.   Oh, and they have some kids who can play.  Shurna, Crawford and Thompson can all play.

Prediction:  Northwestern (-9.5) 76   Indiana 63

Super Bowl XLIV

The Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints get together later this afternoon in Miami to settle the debate on who the best professional football team of 2009 will be.

The Colts have been here and done that, as they were victorious in Miami in 2007 over the Chicago Bears.

The Saints are the feel good story this year, the popular choice, the “I only tune it to watch the commercials” people will be rooting for them.

Good luck with that.

For a football fan, it’s the best and worst day of the year.

The best, as it decides a champion.

The worst, as it is designed for the “casual viewer” as the football is just as important as the commercials, half time show, and the human interest stories.

Drew Brees seems to be a nice lad.  Him and his wife love Nawlins and they have made significant donations to helping rebuild the city after the hurricane.

Good for them.

The city supports their team and think it’s nifty that they are playing for the world championship.

Good.  What city doesn’t support their team besides Jacksonville, Oakland or Detroit?

Boo.

I like football.

This game is about Peyton Manning, not Archie Manning.

This game is about not about cities and weather, it’s about blitzes and wide receivers.

This game is not about history, it’s about making history with a victory.

Unfortunately, the only drama in this game is going to be “how many.”

As in “how many” points the Colts are going to win by this evening.

We already know that Carrie Underwood is singing the National Anthem.  We already have seen most of the commercials on line.  We already know the set list for The Who at halftime.

The only drama left will be provided by the two teams.

As it should be on a Super Bowl Sunday.

Prediction:  Indianapolis Colts (-4.5) 34  New Orleans Saints 17

Glass Houses

Indiana and Purdue get together tonight for the first of two battles in hoops this season.

Purdue is flying, 18-3, so their fans should be in full voice tonight as they take on the 9-11 Hoosiers.

I don’t particularly care for Purdue, the World’s Largest Drum, Purdue Pete, or Boiler Up.

Never have.  Never will.

Let’s get some things out in the open before Purdue Pete starts getting excited for this year.

Since 1994-1995 season, Indiana has made one Sweet Sixteen, while our friends up north, Purdue Pete, have made 5.

Yikes.

Since the 1994-1995 season, Indiana has made one Elite Eight, 2002, while our friends up north, Purdue Pete and the Boiler Uppers, have made two, 2000 and 2001.

Comparable.

Oh wait, the Elite Eight in 2001 was for the NIT, sorry.  Didn’t know such accomplishments like that would be listed as an accomplishment…

Since 1994-1995, Indiana has made one Final Four and one championship game, 2002.  Purdue, well, they just haven’t.  They haven’t been to a Final Four in a while, 1980, if you are scoring at home, and they haven’t had the coaching turmoil that Indiana has had either.   I mean hand-picking the legend’s successor must have really put the Boilers up against the wall…

So, calm down, Purdue Pete.

Sure, go ahead, rub a little salt in it this year and maybe next.  Sure, tell us all about Indianapolis and the Final Four this year, your big class junior class, go ahead.  Sing a little song, shout the mindless “Boiler Up”, but at the end of the day, please remember one thing while giving it the Billy Big Time:

Your history.

You ain’t got none.

Don’t blame me or the facts and this ain’t a debate about football (before you go there, as per usual.)

I did you a favor by going back JUST to the 1994-95 season.

Oh, and before you start rolling out how many Big Ten titles you have, fair play to that, notice how many are after 1994-1995. That’s right, two for you and one for Indiana.  Killing it, you are.

So, enjoy your moment in this sun this year but never forget this classic joke:

Q:  Why is every seat in Mackey Arena a good seat?

A;  Because there are not FIVE banners blocking your view.

Enjoy the momentary view from the top and before you get too excited about this season, remember your history.