AxnJxn

FTFY

IMO, it's pretty clear that some of these guys are having issues mentally in games with open shots, particularly Parker and Rob. It's like Jon Lester not being able to throw to first or Ben Simmons from the foul line in the playoffs last year and whatnot. The form is there, they are getting good shots, so there's something between the ears that's causing them to miss, and that can be difficult to fix once it gets dug in.

Certainly seems like a good matchup, and a good draw overall. The last 100 minutes we've played is some of the best basketball we've played all year, but it was also on the heels of possibly the worst 20 minutes we've played this year. The Iowa game, while we did a number of things really well, also showed our two main Achilles' heels - an inability to hit open shots, and closing out games. Those are two bad things to continue to be problematic going into a tournament where parity rules, and games are generally tight. On the plus side, we're getting terrific guard play from XJ, TJD seems to be motivated, and our defense is among the best in the country. If anything, it's just nice to be in a situation where we could make a run in the tournament, and this team definitely has the potential to put it all together for a few games at least.

I literally closed my eyes when I saw Houston come up. That would have been .... weird.

I mean, I’m not even being sarcastic at this point - is it really worth it to win the BTT, or is it best to just get to Saturday? We get another day of rest/prep, our seeding difference would be pretty minimal, and I’m one of those old school hardheads that believes the regular season champion is the true champion.

I mean, if I’m running the committee, I’m doing what i can to get an IU/UK matchup. It used to be a terrific rivalry, it’s always a little extra intense, and it will get decent ratings, too. It’s a game that i think a lot of college basketball fans in general want to see. It really is a shame that they can’t figure out how to get this game back on the schedule every year.

Re: the offensive foul on TJD, we’re debating it with multiple angles, slo mo, etc., and we still can’t come to a definitive conclusion on whether it was a good call or not (personally, i didn’t really have a problem with it). The ref gets one angle in real time. Not sure how anyone can say it was an egregiously bad call considering those circumstances.

Ok, so you’re saying DD knew what was going on, but just didn’t say anything? I’m just trying to clarify what you were saying with that comment.

So, just to clarify, you think DD had no idea what was going on, yet he almost immediately kicked a bunch of guys off the team? That makes sense to you?

Gotta be honest - in a lot of situations, I’m not sure there’s much value in winning the B1G tournament. We got ourselves into the important tournament, and it’s likely better than we didn’t go further, because it could push us up into an 8/9 seed. There’s also the chance of injury, getting nicked up with something that could be nagging with playing another game - Ivey just took a hard fall on his back. In other words, I’m actually good with this result.

While it would have been great to play tomorrow and win one of these things, this might be a better result. We clearly got some confidence and are playing really well, we should be safely in the tournament, and we get an extra day of rest.

Cripes , i hate losing a game on a play that’s more luck than skill, especially when our defense was terrific on that play.

Nothing Iowa is doing defensively - zone. press, MTM - is all that concerning.

Completely agree. If Iowa goes crazy from 3, or if we get in foul trouble or something, that could cause issues, but i don’t see another way Iowa can win this. We’re better up front, we’re better in the back court, we’re better on defense, but they have better shooters. I’m sure we’ll see some zone, so will be interesting to see how we attack that, too.

No offense, but this really isn’t accurate at all, and it’s one of the issues that most people have with Dakich. Someone posted a rant of his on here a week or two ago, and he went after the players, their parents, and anyone else in their vicinity. He kicks people off his show all the time who simply don’t agree with his opinions, then belittles them, or at least he used to - i haven’t listened to him in years, but i can’t imagine he’s changed much. It’s not really complicated. You can make the same points he’s making in a much more respectful manner - he constantly goes for the lowest level of discourse. For example, there are disagreements all the time in this board, but you don’t see people calling each other morons, babies, or other names and whatnot, or attacking each other’s character. We’re having a disagreement on this subject and no one has had to stoop to that level to get their point across. As someone else noted, he’s a very different person when he’s not on his radio show, too - I was a big fan when he was doing color for ESPN, because he clearly knows the game and is good at teaching it to others. To me, that shows that he’s not “telling it like it is” when he acts like he does on his radio show, he’s just doing it for ratings.

What’s one of the most important things for success in the tournament? Guard play. We’re getting some excellent play from our guards, and if Rob can knock down a J or two, they’re pretty much a nightmare matchup for teams. What’s another significant bonus? Having an AA player who gets on a hot streak. TJD is playing some of the best ball of his career. Another bonus? Hitting key FTs. Throw in a defense that seems pretty relentless, and this is rapidly becoming a team no one wants to play in a one and done situation. We just beat our two worst matchups, and we match up extremely well with the remaining 4. Just sayin’.

I don't think I've seen anything that crazy in IU basketball since, what, 2002? The first 30 minutes were a combination of just atrocious basketball (missing open 3s all over the place, bonehead turnovers, missed dunks and other bunnies, and on and on and on) and atrocious referring (don't even know where to start with that one, but it was also ridiculously bad). The last 10 minutes were just pure energy and execution, and some of the best defense I've seen us play since, what, 2002? If anyone on the selection committee was watching, I don't think there's any way you can keep this team out of the tournament.

Probably because of things like this: Draft Notes A skilled big with decent length and a solid mid range and post up game. TJD is a high level athlete who is able to use his strength and athleticism to punish opposing college players in the paint. At this point in his career he does most of his damage in the paint and will have to expand his game to make it at the NBA level. Draft Projection possible second round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft

I'm pretty excited about next year, particularly if one or both of Race/TJD return, and XJ returns. I think my biggest concern is some sort of change of culture/mentality with these guys, as they seem to completely wilt as a unit down the stretch of games. I'm not sure how you fix that, but it dropped us from potentially competing for a B1G title to where we are. We'll have a really good mix of experience and youth, and it's going to be interesting to see how these guys improve and if they put in the work in the offseason. Can Trey develop an outside shot? Can Geronimo improve his handle and cut down on fouling? Can Bates take the next step? Can Leal carve out some P/T? Same with Lander if he returns, and so forth. I'm also interested in how much CMW and the staff learn from round one with this group. I think we're ahead of schedule defensively, but there will likely need to be adjustments made on the offensive end, along with the end of game issues. In short, every single person on this team has work to do, but the potential is certainly there to compete for a B1G title.

If anything, this game should show us how much we've learned and developed this year. We were down double figures for most of the first game, and it never really seemed competitive, even when it dropped to under 10 before the end of the first half.

I don't really know why you're saying that. He's clearly got the green light, not just from CMW, but also from CAM last year, so seems pretty obvious he's been hitting them regularly in practice even before he started hitting them in games, and it's really valuable to have a big that can draw the defense out that far.

He's hit 9 of his last 21 from there, and he's shot it with confidence all year, even when they weren't going down.

Appreciate what both of you are saying here, and we'll see what the staff can do with these guys. I do think Bates has the 'it' factor and can fill that role, and I think someone like Leal could knock down those shots in certain situations, and then there is the potential of the freshmen coming in. Very good point on PS and MK seemingly being exactly what we needed this year, and that not working out, too. I think my biggest fear is that we're sitting here at the same time next year kicking ourselves for not fixing the problem that was staring us right in the face.

Yeah, there's no way you say no to either of those guys if they want to return. In addition to their skills on the court, they're great ambassadors for the program, lots of experience, etc. BUT, you still have the same issue we've been talking about on this board ad nauseum, where we don't have guys that can knock down shots, especially in big moments, and I'm not sure that is fixed with a couple of freshmen and hoping a sophomore makes a jump to that role. With respect to Kopp, he certainly came along towards the end of the year, and I think his leadership skills are highly underrated, but he's also the same guy that was mostly non-existent offensively for a significant part of the B1G season. I guess my concern is if you run it back with this group plus the freshmen, I'm not sure you've addressed the biggest issue, unless CMW can do something to fix the mentality of this team down the stretch of games and get some of the same guys to hit open shots.

Well, then you start getting to the point where you have to decide who leaves to open up those roster spots. Three freshmen coming, if you want to keep Kopp, if you get a good wing in the portal, etc. The extra covid year could cause some issues across the game, with rosters backing up a bit due to guys not leaving and whatnot.