IUProfessor

Also, while drawing Houston is great, there's a good chance we'd see Iowa if we make it that far. Not sure I like that matchup given what went down couple weeks ago.

Kent State is really dangerous. Very strong defensively. No marquee wins but only lost at Houston by 5, at Charleston by 2, and by 7 to Gonzaga. Going to have to bring our A game.

Bates has a world of potential, but at this point you kind of have to assume he is what he is until he proves otherwise. I hope he can take a big step forward next year, but am not so confident that I'd want to put all my eggs in that basket. Definitely a tough situation.

We are in a bit of a tough spot at 2/3, because at this point I don't think you can count on Bates, Gunn, or Newton the production you are going to need, but if you recruit over them from the portal by signing two more 2/3s you could risk losing a Gunn type who could be a nice piece in years 3 and 4. Will be interesting to see how Woody balances that.

Just to follow up on this, I just went back and looked, and only one team in the B1G consistently started someone 6'6" at the 4 -- Penn State. The majority of teams, especially in the top half of the standings, were consistently rolling out starting 4s in the 6'8"-6'9" range.

Not at the 4 in the B1G. Geronimo is already outsized at that position but can (kinda) get by based on freak athleticism. I don't see why we'd double down on 6'6" bigs. We need to get longer, not shorter.

But Race is 6'8". Ledlum is 6'6". That's too short for me for a 4 in the B1G, regardless of 3pt% (and yes, that applies to Geronimo as well from my perspective). Add in the subpar 3pt% over three seasons for Ludlum, and I have to believe we can do much better (or if not, we're in real trouble).

I may be in the minority, but I'm a pass on Ledlum. 6'6" and 29% career from 3 isn't going to get it done at this level. Especially if we're looking at him to play the 4.

But what if TJD returned, only to take a redshirt, so that we could run out a Cupps-Haralson (reclass)-McNeeley-Newell-TJD lineup in 24-25...

This definitely bodes well moving forward, if they can keep it up: This recent stretch by the Hoosiers doesn’t carry the earmarks of a fluke. They’re playing like one of the best teams in the country, ranking No. 7 nationally and No. 2 in the Big Ten in tempo-free efficiency stats while winning six of their last seven. The key? Balance. The Hoosiers rank 13th nationally in offense and 23rd nationally in defense in this span. Good combination. https://theathletic.com/4156296/2023/02/04/indiana-hoosiers-upset-purdue-boilermakers/

Saw Haralson (I believe) in the background of TJD's post game interview. Any word on who else was there?

I'd be surprised if he wasn't back by Saturday. He warmed up pregame yesterday before switching to street clothes, from what I understand.

She is going to be a beast by her senior year. Already so good. She is exactly what the men's team could have used this year (long, athletic, deadly from 3, but can also attack the rim).

This criticism may be mooted moving forward depending on XJ's status, but what's perplexed me this season is that we went away from the offensive adjustments we made last season that allowed us to get hot down the stretch. Specifically, TJD and XJ playing off one another in the PnR. We've seen relatively little of that this year, especially in the games where our offense bogged down. I think that expectations for this season were (reasonably) based on the assumption the team would build off the lessons and adjustments it made last year. But for whatever reason, the team doesn't seem to have retained those lessons. Until it does, its ceiling is lower than expected.

Need to upgrade our talent at the 2 and 3 in these classes...

The problem is that Reneau hasn't been nearly as good once the competition stepped up (he's become a foul machine), and Geronimo has been worse. So as poorly as Race has played, I still think he's our best option at the 4 at present.

Disagree. That sort of tirade would send a message to the team that the outcome wasn't entirely their fault, but largely due to poor officiating. Given how bad we played, I'd rather Woodson's focus be entirely on us, not the refs.

I hope you're right, but nothing about this series the past few years gives me any confidence that we'll beat them at home.

Rutgers has been the physically and mentally tougher team for quite some time. I was hoping this year might be different, but this was always going to be one of (if not THE) toughest game on the schedule before the new year. Then throw in JHS's absence, and the result so far isn't particularly surprising (although it is disappointing).

I know it's probably blasphemy for some, but this is the first time I've listened exclusively to Don Fischer in a while, and he's....not good. Rarely tells you when there's a substitution, doesn't make it clear it a made basket was a 2 or 3, etc.

UNC has been anything but impressive so far. I'm just hoping they can avoid an upset and hold on to #1 until the 30th.

I'd rank Romeo ahead of JHS in terms of scoring ability (especially before Romeo hurt his wrist). JHS is ahead on playmaking and defense. I'd say that Langford was a bit better overall at this stage, but reasonable minds could certainly disagree!

One thing that I think still remains to be seen is how well TJD and Reneau complement each other when both are on the floor of the same time. I hope I'm wrong, but based on Saturday, I'm not convinced that the two will be particularly effective playing next to one another. If I'm right, that will undercut some of our anticipated value from our frontcourt depth, as I would anticipate TJD will again see considerable playing time.

It's got to be a good sign that the two freshmen appeared to be the best players on the court, considering the veteran talent we're bringing back.

The Athletic Department has single game tickets available for the following games, if anyone is looking: Little Rock, Jackson State, Elon, Kennesaw State, and Northwestern. $54 each plus fees: https://iuhoosiers.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventList?groupCode=MBSG&linkID=indiana&shopperContext=&caller=&appCode=