Continue reading this post »

Illinois fighting Illini

Current record: 16-7 (5-5)
Current RPI: 41 (IU is #16)
Current Sagarin: 44 (IU is #9)
Current Pomeroy: 41 (IU is #9)
2010-11 record: 20-14/9-9 (lost to Kansas in NCAA Tournament Round of 32)
2010-11 RPI: 48
2010-11 Sagarin: 25
2010-11 Pomeroy: 18
Series: tied at 83
Last IU win: 1/27/2011 (52-49 in Bloomington)
Last Illinois win: 3/5/2011 (72-48 in Champaign)
Last Illinois win in Bloomington: 1/9/2010 (66-60)
Pomeroy scouting report
TV: 8 p.m., Big Ten Network
Blog: Hail to the Orange

IU and Illinois have similar records, but the two programs' seasons, and the programs themselves, give the impression of moving in opposite directions. Illinois, like IU, started the season strong, losing only to UNLV and Missouri in the non-conference and giving Missouri a run for its money. Like IU, the Illini are .500 in the Big Ten, but while IU finishes with 4 of its final 6 Big Ten games at home, the Illini hit the road for five of their final eight on the road, including trips to Michigan, Ohio State, and Wisconsin. While IU moved back to .500 with a road win to the Hoosiers' intrastate rival, Illinois lost at home last weekend to intrastate rival Northwestern. The Illini remain in the NCAA Tournament hunt, but need to find a surprise or two.

Continue reading this post »

IU has a few days to rest before hosting Illinois on Thursday night. In light of that, a few random thoughts:

• As hoosierdaddynow pointed out in the comments, I can't believe I was remiss in failing to mention Will Sheehey's block of a Lewis Jackson layup attempt. What can I say, I was writing my recap surrounded by screaming kids. It was, without a doubt, the crucial play of the game. Purdue had pulled to within four with about 2 minutes to play, but Sheehey's out-of-nowhere block prevented the game from getting very dicey. From that point forward, IU scored the final 13 points of the game.
• What do we make of the Tom Crean/Matt Painter issues at the end? I got the sense, based on nothing more than watching the game, that Crean wasn't happy that Purdue kept fouling so late, and that Painter wasn't happy about the late timeout that Crean called, with 13 seconds remaining, to get a couple of walk-ons onto the court. Were they yelling at each other on the sideline? I really couldn't tell, but it looked possible. Crean gave Painter the blow-by handshake when Painter seemed to be trying to say something to him. On the other hand, they seem to have resolved the issue pretty well. I don't believe Painter commented on it after the game, and Crean said he had talked about it with Painter in the hallway. Frankly, particularly given recruiting issues, it's unlikely that the coaches at Indiana and Purdue can be good friends. Crean's lively demeanor does tend to rub people the wrong way, which is fine with me, and Painter hasn't done himself any favors over the years with complaining about the on-court demeanor of opposing players publicly (Michigan State's Branden Dawson most recently; Earl Calloway of IU a few years ago). Of course, it was noted in ESPN's hit piece on IU and the A-HOPE organization that Crean suspected Purdue of shoveling dirt, and I imagine we've all heard the rumors of Painter berating kids who have spurned him for other schools. Perhaps it's a step forward for Painter that if he was unhappy, he kept it to himself rather than ranting in the press conference. He is a protege of both Gene Keady and Bruce Weber, so it's really a miracle that he doesn't suck on a pacifier on the sideline.

Continue reading this post »

Wow. That felt pretty good, didn't it? Playing without starting point guard Verdell Jones III and in an arena where IU had won only 11 times previously, the Hoosiers asserted themselves for the entire game and won 78-61. The final score doesn't truly reflect the reality that the game could have gone either way until the final couple of minutes, but as it stands, this was IU's most lopsided win at Mackey since 1984 and Purdue's most lopsided home loss since a loss to Ohio State in 2007. It also was Tom Crean's first win over the Boilermakers after an 0-5 start, and IU's first Big Ten road win against anyone other than Penn State since 2008. I have said before that I thought the "road struggles" meme was overplayed, and this may not even have been the best of IU's four road wins this season (NC State is now 17-7 and 6-3 in the ACC). But it's been a constant source of discussion, and a comfortable win at Purdue is about the best way imaginable to put that issue to rest.

Continue reading this post »

Purdue Boilermakers

Current record: 15-7 (5-4)
Current RPI: 54 (IU is #23)
Current Sagarin: 34 (IU is #11)
Current Pomeroy: 36 (IU is #14)
2010-11 record: 26-8 (14-4), lost to VCU in NCAA Tournament round of 32
2010-11 RPI: 12
2010-11 Sagarin: 13
2010-11 Pomeroy: 9
Series: Purdue leads 112-84
Last IU win: 2/19/2008 (77-68 in Bloomington)
Last Purdue win: 2/23/2011 (72-61 in Bloomington)
Last IU win in West Lafayette: 3/1/06 (70-59)
Pomeroy scouting report
TV: 7 pm Saturday, BTN

Blogs: Hammer and Rails, Boiled Sports, The Railroad Tie

Having fallen under .500 in the Big Ten for the second time this season, IU seeks to get back to even at the venue that has been a very tough place for IU to win for as long as it has existed, Purdue’s Mackey Arena. I’ve said this many times before, but it has been extremely rare for IU to win at Mackey without some combination of a) IU having a much better team than Purdue; and b) Purdue not having a very good team. Obviously, neither of those things is true this year. Here is a quick rundown. Although Mackey opened in 1967, IU didn’t win there until 1975.

Continue reading this post »