Three Things We Learned: Butler

Indiana got a huge win against a ranked Butler team, when the Hoosiers could have used a win the most. They're now 3-1 against Pomeroy top 50 teams with one neutral court game remaining against Georgetown. But what did we take away from this game?

It is impossible to understate how much Troy Williams has grown. Williams was just filthy today. The dude knew exactly what he was capable of and that Butler was not capable of stopping him. He finished with a career high 22 points to go with 11 rebounds and 2 assists. More importantly he was in control. There were times where he would attack the rim and you would think, uh oh here's bad Troy. But just at the last second he would make the right pass to either assist or set up a bucket for the Hoosiers offense. He was great, played in control and inspired me to up my thoughts on this team's ceiling if he can keep this play up consistently. If being the key term in that sentence.

James Blackmon is not only human, but he's a freshman. In a game where I suspect Blackmon wanted to do the most to show the state what he can do to an in state rival, he wilted. Very poor play throughout. He finished the game 2-12 from the field with some very suspect defense mixed in. At the end of the first half he held the ball for the final possession before losing track of the clock and wasting a great Hoosiers opportunity. It got him benched to start the second half. What we'll have to look for is how Blackmon can bounce back after several pretty poor games. Most freshmen would waiver and disappear. I expect Blackmon to rise up and overcome.

Indiana's non-conference schedule was a success. I believe Greg Rakestraw tweeted it late in this game and he's right. No matter what happens in New York City next week, the Hoosiers non-conference season was successful. They had a bad loss against a pesky Eastern Washington squad, but hung with Louisville for 32 minutes and won the other three high quality games they had on the schedule. I suspect that if it were not for that E. Wash loss, a lot of IU fans would be a lot less critical at this point in the season. That being said, it isn't over. Getting a win in NYC would make this non-conference season a resounding success and set the Hoosiers up to be very confident going into conference play at the turn of the new year.