Indiana 84, Illinois 71: Hoosiers bury Illini inside and at the line.
by John M (The Crimson Quarry) on Feb 10, 2012 7:08 AM EST
in Indiana Hoosiers Basketball
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- Cody Zeller was very good after a tentative start. He finished with a game-high 22 points on 5-8 from the field and 10-12 from the line.
- Christian Watford rediscovered his offense. He scored 18 on 6-11 from the field, 2-4 from 3, and 4-4 from the line.
- Victor Oladipo followed up on his career game against Purdue with another very good one: 18 points, 4-8 from the field, and 10-12 from the line, although he did have 5 of IU's ten turnovers.
- Jordan Hulls shot very well from the three (3-4) and finished with 15 points. Surprisingly, he missed two free throws.
- Those four starters accounted for 73 of IU's 84 points.
- Verdell Jones III missed another game with a shoulder injury. I'm sure it was disappointing that he didn't get to play in what might be his final opportunity against his hometown team.
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hey do you have the link to that Peegs poll?
I was trying to find it the other day, but Rivals’ search engine is essentially broken.
-Contributing Writer at The Crimson Quarry.
I don’t, and I don’t even know if the archives go back that far, and it may have been on the premium board. But it basically was a steep bell curve peaking at 18 with 17 and 19 well-represented as well.
The Crimson Quarry, SB Nation's Indiana Hoosiers blog
by John M (The Crimson Quarry) on Feb 10, 2012 8:30 AM EST up reply actions
right
I remember the poll but I can’t seem to find it. I wanted to take a look at the numbers for comparisons sake between pre-season expectations and the proceeding out-performance of said expectations.
-Contributing Writer at The Crimson Quarry.
my thoughts
I really would love Myers Leonard on this team. The dude is a meast with near unlimited potential. Inevitably we’re going to compare him to Zeller, so I will say that I like that he is more aggressive than Zeller. Although Zeller eventually started to fight back, the opening aggression on the part of Leonard’s part was what set the pace to start the game. I really hope he goes pro this season (he shouldn’t) because another year against him could be brutal. That being said, he does lack the basketball IQ that Zeller possesses. That aggression bit him in the ass, when he came back in from taking that shot from Zeller. You saw the look on his face and knew he was going to do something stupid. That is his biggest flaw by far.
Zeller really responded and even though he didn’t wear his emotions out there you could tell by his body language he was up to the physical challenge. The kid was really banging down low and battling it out with the aggressor. Now if we can just get Cody to bring that mentality to every game without having to be instigated into it, he’d be unstoppable. He never got emotional but you could see on his one big dunk that he turned and made brief eye contact with Leonard before heading down the court. That little look said, “bitch, what?!” and I was a fan of it.
Remember how I said we missed VJIII at times in West Lafayette? We didn’t tonight. I loved that starting lineup and Oladipo and Hulls did a great job of beating their men off the dribble before dishing. I’m afraid VJIII may have lost his job to injury as the extra athleticism from Elston and Sheehey was a big boost to our game last night. If Hulls and Oladipo continue the types of games they had last night, there is no way Yogi Ferrell starts next year.
Good lord, I love a good free throw shooting team. IU’s 35 free throws made is the same number Purdue has made in its last 3 basketball games (was going to use Butler as they’re an even worse FT shooting team than Purdue, but they hit 21 in their last contest. Therefore the facts don’t fit the narrative.)
Don’t let people tell you IU got the benefit of the officiating last night. Despite a few wild moments of inconsistency to start the half, it was a pretty well officiated game. I didn’t like how tight it was called on some of the tic-tac fouls but they were called consistently so no real complaints. The fact that Illinois settled mostly for jumpers instead of taking it to the rim accounts for the major difference in FT shooting numbers. Oladipo and Hulls getting the ball into the lane and then to the basket through passing always had their defense a step late. This crew should officiate more games.
-Contributing Writer at The Crimson Quarry.
Bob Donato, Ray Perone and John Gaffney were the officials
-Contributing Writer at The Crimson Quarry.
Well-said.
I really love how this team has overcome the adversity of previous games and regained its early-season composure. Of course, the schedule easing up helps a lot, but it’s good to see the team clicking at this time of year. I hope they keep it up.
A sassy, brassy, classy lassy.
by LoneStarHoosier on Feb 10, 2012 8:44 AM EST up reply actions
makes you feel confident about the first round or two of the tournament
but a little less confident about rounds 3-4. Hopefully a neutral site will help negate the road woes against high quality opponents. IU fans do travel very well, so there should be a solid presence wherever we wind up.
-Contributing Writer at The Crimson Quarry.
The nice thing about this year’s NCAA Tournament is that four of the eight first weekend venues (Louisville, Nashville, Columbus, and Pittsburgh) are within a fairly easy weekend trip from central Indiana. So even if IU doesn’t get a top 4 seed we have even odds of being in a place where we can bring a crowd. Since playing in Indy in the opening rounds in 1993, the closest to home that IU has played on the first weekend has been Buffalo and a couple of visits to DC. Of course, that doesn’t include the awesomeness of the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games at Rupp Arena in 2002, where IU had an enormous crowd advantage (even the UK fans were rooting for IU over Duke—don’t think that would happen this year).
The Crimson Quarry, SB Nation's Indiana Hoosiers blog
by John M (The Crimson Quarry) on Feb 10, 2012 9:11 AM EST up reply actions
louisville would be amazing.
"It's an easy game, man. Easy game."
~Edgerrin James
by 87 Rides A Surfboard on Feb 10, 2012 9:24 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
The only problem is that Kentucky almost certainly will be there, so tickets would be really tough.
The Crimson Quarry, SB Nation's Indiana Hoosiers blog
by John M (The Crimson Quarry) on Feb 10, 2012 9:30 AM EST up reply actions
I remember 2 instances where Leonard got hacked pretty hard and there was no call.
But I also remember one pretty blatant no-call on what should have been a foul on Sheehey. So I agree, it wasn’t too bad. The difference is that on one of the no calls on a Leonard hack he decided to bitch to the officials instead of get back on D which lead to a beautiful Hulls-assisted Zeller dunk. Gotta keep your head in the game, Leonard.
"It's an easy game, man. Easy game."
~Edgerrin James
by 87 Rides A Surfboard on Feb 10, 2012 9:21 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
But, or also,
Leonard should have fouled out with about 18 minutes to go. The early shove heading down the court should have been a foul. Also, if I recall correctly, he was initially called on a charge, that got changed to a blocking foul. Should have been a charge.
by hoosierdaddynow on Feb 10, 2012 9:30 AM EST up reply actions
nah
Elston’s heel was on the line. That was the right call. Didn’t know you could go back and review it (which I think is a little bogus) but they got it right.
-Contributing Writer at The Crimson Quarry.
That's actually missing one.
On one of IU’s outside shots, I saw Zeller go flying and Leonard standing in the lane in rebound position. He hip-butted Cody into the pad on the goal. No whistle. I was screaming at the TV.
--------
"First they came for the ugly, and I did not speak out because I was not ugly.
Then they came for the nerds, and I did not speak out because D&D IS A RESPECTABLE GAME WITH A LARGE PLAYERBASE OK MOM???
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because let's be real they always come for the Jews.
Then they came for me, and I did not speak out because they actually came for me back when they came for the nerds."
--
"How can a pickup truck contain enough mass to unfold into a towering machine? I say if Ringling Brothers can get 15 clowns into a Volkswagen, anything is possible."
there were no doubt some missed/bad calls in the game
it is impossible to be perfect, but overall it was pretty well done in the context of the officiating job over the entire year by the B1G.
-Contributing Writer at The Crimson Quarry.
This
Oladipo and Hulls getting the ball into the lane and then to the basket through passing always had their defense a step late
A million times over. If O can work on his ballhandling skills in the offseason, which are still a bit raw, he can become almost unstoppable out there. At that point, given his athleticism, you also start talking about whether he has an NBA future (IMO, needs to work a lot on his shooting). Also, I love how Hulls has been able to parlay his shooting ability into tighter defense, and then working hard to drive like that.
by hoosierdaddynow on Feb 10, 2012 9:21 AM EST up reply actions
Efficiency
Is there a way to distill efficiency figures per half? Because, if I think back, I don’t recall many empty possessions in that second half. We totally dictated the pace of that game, and seemed to be able to score at will. Also, and h/t to ITH for this tidbit: Free throw rate for last night’s game was 100% (42 FTA, 42 FGA). Zeller shot one fewer free throw than the entire Illinois team.
It’s one thing to do that against a bad Iowa defense. It’s something altogether different to do that against Illinois, which, for all of its other faults, is a good defensive team.
by hoosierdaddynow on Feb 10, 2012 9:17 AM EST reply actions
I don't understand that 100% free throw rate.
How are FTA and FGA related like that? What is the significance? Surely that doesn’t mean we shot a free throw on every possession?
A sassy, brassy, classy lassy.
by LoneStarHoosier on Feb 10, 2012 9:26 AM EST up reply actions
Take this with a huge grain of salt
Because I am not a stats guy. But I understand that Free Throw Rate is simply FTA divided by FGA. A high Free Throw Rate is obviously good. I believe that the significance is that teams that get to the line often tend to score a lot of points. Which sounds obvious. But it’s also a good indicator of some of the nuances of last night’s game, as noted by AJ, above. IU got to the rim and drew fouls. Illinois settled for jump shots and did not draw fouls. They made themselves much easier to defend.
by hoosierdaddynow on Feb 10, 2012 9:33 AM EST up reply actions
It’s just a ratio, a way of looking at how often the team gets to the line. Absent an offensive rebound, a possession includes either free throw attempts or a field goal attempt. Instead of simply saying “42 free throw attempts,” which has vastly different meaning depending on whether the game is played at IU’s pace or, say, Wisconsin’s pace, it tries to put it in context.
The Crimson Quarry, SB Nation's Indiana Hoosiers blog
by John M (The Crimson Quarry) on Feb 10, 2012 9:33 AM EST up reply actions
those numbers are skewed a bit
as it doesn’t count as a FGA if you miss the shot and are fouled. So Zeller especially, took more shots than the 8 he was credited for, but they weren’t counted in the box score. That’s the reason that our scoring in the paint wasn’t through the roof, because when we had a shot in the paint we were hacked. The ensuing free throws don’t count as points in the paint on a stat sheet.
-Contributing Writer at The Crimson Quarry.
Weird, I didn't know that about shots that are missed because of fouls.
So, it’s theoretically possible to have a free throw rate higher than 100%?
This is what happens when you take Finite Math rather than Statistics in college. Wish I had done the latter.
A sassy, brassy, classy lassy.
by LoneStarHoosier on Feb 10, 2012 9:41 AM EST up reply actions
yes
theoretically this is possible. In fact, I’d imagine early in the first half it was occurring.
-Contributing Writer at The Crimson Quarry.
closest I could find in the first half was 19-16
21-16 at the half.
21-26 in the second half, but we finished on a 1-10 run.
-Contributing Writer at The Crimson Quarry.
In yesterday's preview
The question was posed: “Who is going to go off tonight?” Turns out everyone did. Today’s questions:
Who’s big game were you most pleased with? For me, it’s O. I’m glad to see that the Purdue game was not a fluke. Also, if he keeps doing that, he adds yet another dimension to this offense that makes it really, really potent.
What do you do with VJ3 when he returns? IMO, he’ll play about 25 minutes a game still. I expect him to start; that’s a comment on my sense of Crean’s loyalty, more that a comment that he should start. It’s a good problem to have 5 guards worthy and capable of playing time (and I throw Roth in that mix). Jones’s mid-range game is something that the others don’t have.
by hoosierdaddynow on Feb 10, 2012 9:59 AM EST reply actions
this is very true
Oladipo still doesn’t have the mid-range pull up, which is what limits him somewhat. He’s either going to pass or take it all the way to the rim. You don’t have to worry about him jump stopping at 15 feet and getting an easy basket because you’re racing him to the rim… yet….
-Contributing Writer at The Crimson Quarry.
"Yet"
That “yet” part is one of the more exciting things about this season. I love the progression that Sheehey and Oladipo have made in their games from last year to this year. I love the more nuanced ways that Hulls’s game has evolved in his three years. I can’t wait to see Zeller as a sophomore. If O’s development is in any way linear, then he’ll be outstanding next year. Maybe it won’t be — it’s entirely possible that he’s reaching his ceiling, which is still very, very good. But I appreciate the apparent ability of Coach Crean and his staff to develop players.
Credit where it is (grudgingly) due: Weber and his staff seem to have done a pretty good job of developing Leonard, too. The same could also have been said about Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis, who were basically stiffs that turned into decent players.
by hoosierdaddynow on Feb 10, 2012 10:26 AM EST up reply actions
it's hard to pick just one.
Zeller did a great job keeping his composure and hitting FTs. I applaud him for constantly attacking. He didn’t kick the ball out as often as he usually does and I like that. As the best offensive weapon on the team he needs to learn that it’s ok to be a little selfish with the ball.
Watford finally broke out of his shooting slump which was good to see. I love it when he shoots that ‘kentucky 3’.
Jordy really was doing all the little things last night. Took care of the ball, pushed the tempo when it needed to be pushed, pulled it back towards the end when we needed to run clock, and made some gorgeous assists. The 3 balls didn’t hurt anything either.
VJ3 will start again and will get 20-25 a game when he’s healthy and he deserves it. If he starts playing wreckless Crean can always just take him out for a bit. I LOVE our guard options btw. Especially with Remy’s confidence continuing to increase.
We’ll make some noise in the tourney. Just you wait.
"It's an easy game, man. Easy game."
~Edgerrin James
by 87 Rides A Surfboard on Feb 10, 2012 11:17 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
lol
does he ever miss that Kentucky 3? I don’t think he has once this season and it is one of those shots that I perk up every time it is about to happen.
-Contributing Writer at The Crimson Quarry.
when Watford shoots that shot
I get the same feeling that comes whenever Roth shoots…from anywhere. I just feel like there’s no chance that it’s going to miss.
"It's an easy game, man. Easy game."
~Edgerrin James
by 87 Rides A Surfboard on Feb 10, 2012 11:43 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Yep. It reminds me of an early 90s tecmo NBA basketball game my roommate had on Sega Genesis where certain players literally could not miss from certain spots.
The Crimson Quarry, SB Nation's Indiana Hoosiers blog
by John M (The Crimson Quarry) on Feb 10, 2012 11:47 AM EST up reply actions
VJIII will still be a contributor
but I would really like to see him coming off the bench. He is simply not part of the best 5 we can put out there. If he accepted the role I think he would be a valuable role player.
by WhySoSeriousCaptain on Feb 10, 2012 11:18 AM EST up reply actions
What I really loved
was our toughness the last two games. Both PU and IL thought they could intimidate us, but we didn’t back down and out toughed them. I jumped up when Cody answered Leonard’s cheap shot with an in your face elbow to the mouth when Leonard got too close. Coach has really been preaching this, and the players are listening. We’re really gelling, and we could win the rest of our league games. IMO, we are the third best BIG team after OSU and MSU.
An indicator that we are learning and improving is
that didn’t happen at Wisconsin – we let them push us around. NO MORE!
Ok, potentially controversial statement here:
Everyone’s been on Leonard – and for good reason – for how he played last night. Like I’ve been saying: Thuggery in the pivot. But really (and here’s the potentially controversial statement), was he doing anything any different from Wisconsin’s Bruesewitz? I’m telling you all, the only difference is that Bruesewitz hides it better and avoids the whistles. I state that I think Cody got fouled and abused more against Wisconsin than he did last night against Illinois. The difference was, the refs actually called some of it last night.
Really, to me, Leonard is just the more blatant version of Bruesewitz. It’s just that for some odd reason, the latter gets away with it. Anyway, that’s the potentially controversial statement: I don’t think Leonard did anything much different than B does for Wisconsin.
--------
"First they came for the ugly, and I did not speak out because I was not ugly.
Then they came for the nerds, and I did not speak out because D&D IS A RESPECTABLE GAME WITH A LARGE PLAYERBASE OK MOM???
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because let's be real they always come for the Jews.
Then they came for me, and I did not speak out because they actually came for me back when they came for the nerds."
--
"How can a pickup truck contain enough mass to unfold into a towering machine? I say if Ringling Brothers can get 15 clowns into a Volkswagen, anything is possible."
The refs feel bad for Bruesewitz
for being born a ginger
by WhySoSeriousCaptain on Feb 10, 2012 4:49 PM EST up reply actions
LOL!
Who was it during the Iowa game at the beginning when it looked like they were going to keep up with us? It was something like “I’m sick of goofy looking tow headed white boys lighting it up against us”. 
Granted, “tow headed” means blonde rather than than redhead… but still the point was doofy looking white guys – who aren’t dark haired 
– suddenly looking like their the second coming of Larry Bird’s jumper. It was driving me nuts too, which is why I remembered it. 
--------
"First they came for the ugly, and I did not speak out because I was not ugly.
Then they came for the nerds, and I did not speak out because D&D IS A RESPECTABLE GAME WITH A LARGE PLAYERBASE OK MOM???
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because let's be real they always come for the Jews.
Then they came for me, and I did not speak out because they actually came for me back when they came for the nerds."
--
"How can a pickup truck contain enough mass to unfold into a towering machine? I say if Ringling Brothers can get 15 clowns into a Volkswagen, anything is possible."
A sign that this is a good season
I’m disappointed that they aren’t playing this weekend, which would not have been the case the past three seasons.
I'm pretty sure that was his first dunk in his collegiate career
-Contributing Writer at The Crimson Quarry.
Cleveland Sports Bars....?!?
I’m going to be in Cleveland when we play Minnesota (God help us this time!!)…I’m not familiar with Cleveland and don’t know where to watch the game. Anyone know of any “IU Bars” in Cleveland?
go to the largest and most popular bar you can find.
There’s bound to at least be a small contingent of IU fans there.
"It's an easy game, man. Easy game."
~Edgerrin James
by 87 Rides A Surfboard on Feb 14, 2012 12:34 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
You might contact the IU Alumni Association. The Cleveland club looks like its website is a bit dead, but someone at IUAA might be able to tell you if there is an official gamewatch location.
The Crimson Quarry, SB Nation's Indiana Hoosiers blog
by John M (The Crimson Quarry) on Feb 14, 2012 2:43 PM EST up reply actions
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