Sorry this is late, but four games in four days turned out to be a bit much. Would I have posted this earlier if even one of those four games had been wins? Maybe. Here's the box score from the GMU game. When IU fell behind 65-62 with 1:33 remaining, I thought it was over. Instead, IU tied the game only to give up a banked-in, well-defended three pointer with 6 seconds remaining. Tom Crean could not have asked for a better defensive effort on that last possession by GMU, and IU still lost.
The good news is that against both Boston U and George Mason, IU brought the turnovers relatively under control. Unfortunately, at the same time the IU shooting percentage has cratered. Against GMU, IU shot only 35 percent from the field. IU rebounded reasonably well, but a shooting percentage like that is tough to overcome...well, except Boston U shot even worse in the win over IU.
As ITH and others have noted, this IU team is difficult to gauge. Unlike last season, when turnovers were the plague, there isn't any one thing that IU has done horrifically throughout. Still, IU has been bad enough in varied areas to end up 2-3 after a lost weekend in Puerto Rico.
Now that we have some time to catch our breath, with no games until Saturday, I'll take a broader look at IU's season to date sometime this week. Unfortunately, the schedule doesn't ease up. IU plays Northwestern State on Saturday, but then faces Maryland at home in the BT/ACC, then plays Pitt in New York, then hosts Kentucky. If IU had held on against BU and George Mason, the Hoosiers could be 5-4 after that stretch. Now, 3-6 looks quite likely.