Indiana basketball vs. Ottawa link roundup: The rest of the internet thinks things went pretty well, actually

Our newest addition to the line of poorly-carried out and often-forgotten about series, we introduce the Hoosier Hangover, where we round up all the links and takes about the Hoosier athletic contest from the night before. We'll get tired of doing this by December, because we're bad bloggers.

YOUR MEAT & POTATOES

Herald-Times beat reporter and friend of the show Mike Miller says Indiana's first outing "looked the part."

It was early November basketball, ripe with turnovers and mix-and-match lineup combinations. It was a dress rehearsal for IU’s four scholarship newcomers and a first look at IU’s attempt to shore up a porous defense.

And by the end of Tuesday evening, it was a 82-54 Indiana win over the University of Ottawa before a half-full Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers scored 23 consecutive points late in the second half to run away with the rematch win over the Gee-Gees, who won last summer’s exhibition in Montreal.

Zach Osterman of the IndyStar notes the quality of Indiana's opponent -- one that didn't do any poutine.

The emotional investment required for games that do not count is never very large. Even exhibition losses shouldn’t be terribly upsetting (Syracuse’s 30-win season in 2010, for example, included one).

Their greater crime? They just aren’t instructive to the general audience very often. Tuesday night proved an exception, thanks to the choice of opponent.

Ottawa spent parts of last season ranked No. 1 in Canada and played for its country’s national title. The Gee Gees – a nickname derived from their school colors, garnet and grey – actually got the better of IU during the latter’s foreign tour in 2014.

Moreover, Canadian college basketball doesn’t put limits on practice, and Ottawa arrived in Bloomington having already played nine games. The Gee Gees were both talented and tested, something we wouldn’t be able to say about an American exhibition opponent.

Jordan Littman made a return appearance to Inside The Hall, and says Indiana's closing was the difference.

But the storyline throughout Indiana’s 25-3 game-ending run was that it played the way it needed to in order to win. The Hoosiers turned the ball over just once. Players found open teammates for open shots. The defense stayed compact and aggressive. Ottawa finished just 5-for-26 on 3-pointers on the evening.

Put simply, the Hoosiers had their opportunity to pounce on the Gee-Gees. And they did just that.

I wrote on this terrible website that Tom Crean wants to play fast -- and probably sub faster.

Here's the thing. Running a ton make you tired. Tom Crean wants to run, and if Tuesday's exhibition was any indication, he'll have no problem trotting anyone and everyone off the bench and throw them into nearly any permutation he feels on the court. At one point during the second half, Crean trotted out Bryant, Max Bielfeldt, Ryan Burton, and two guards that are of no consequence here. Ryan Burton, a walk-on post player, was playing the 3. A wing. Small forward. It didn't last long, and it went fine, considering I have no distinct memories of anything terrible coming from that stretch of play. To hell with the opinions on Peegs or wherever other pseudocoaches hang out, Tom Crean wants all of his players to be able to play all of the positions on the floor. This showing made it clear he's completely serious about holding true to that promise.

HOT SAUCE & SPOILED EGGS

Rick Bozich of WDRB says the Hoosiers look mostly better than last season -- and a traditional lineup might be why?

For at least one night, coach Tom Crean has gone away from the three-guard lineup the Hoosiers featured last season. Robert Johnson started 33 of 34 games last season. Johnson did not start against Ottawa.

Crean went with a more traditional lineup – two guards (Yogi Ferrell, James Blackmon Jr.), two forwards (Troy Williams, Michigan transfer Max Bielfeldt) and a center (freshman Thomas Bryant).

The result was predictable. The Hoosiers were less perimeter oriented. They were not as frantic while searching for mismatches in their offensive approach. There’s more reason to feed the ball to Bryant than there was to give it to Hanner Mosquera-Perea. IU’s bulk made the lane more congested on the defensive end.

The final numbers reflected balance that any coach would celebrate – the five starters scored between 8 and 15 points.

But Bielfeldt and Bryant give the Hoosiers more meat on the glass. That was reflected by 18 offensive rebounds and an overall rebounding edge of a dozen.

"I have more confidence pressuring up a guy when Max and Thomas have our backs," Blackmon said.

Crean was encouraged by the way his team finished the game, averaging 2.5 points per possession over the final 9 ½ minutes while stopping Ottawa without a field goal on 13 of 14 possessions in one stretch.

BETTER CHECK THE SNAPCHAT STORY

Photos!

Here's Chris Howell of the Herald-Times -- shooting some fire as usual.

And here's Jamie Owens of Inside The Hall, if you'd like to check his work out.

WHY ARE YOU SO ANGRY THIS MORNING

Normally, we'll put mad message board comments here.

This was an exhibition game. There should be none -- and let's just pretend that's the case.

TWEET OF THE NIGHT

Coach Crean got no chill! #iubb pic.twitter.com/uhDiKErwwt

— Gay Hooters (@Gayhooters) November 3, 2015

The internet's favorite faux restaurant supports Indiana basketball.

BAD TWEET OF THE NIGHT

I bet the question that started this all was, "Hoosier favorite Twitter dot com account?" https://t.co/OBuzNyprUF

— Adam Jacobi (@Adam_Jacobi) November 4, 2015

Mute, block, report as spam.