Immediate Reactions - Ohio State Edition

By Brian Hall (@Hoosier_Hall)

IU vs. O$U

This game started out scary for IU. Half way through the first half, Indiana was down ten and didn’t look like they were going to hang close for very long. That all changed when OSU’s big men Sullinger and Thomas picked up their second fouls and headed to the bench. IU took advantage which lead to a one point lead at the half.

The second half continued to go back and forth with no team taking more than a five point lead. Oladipo and Hulls gently placed IU on their back and did not let OSU get too far ahead. Hulls got out of his funk from the MSU game and came up with some huge shots. Oladipo had some key steals and dunks that got the non-student crowd out of their seats and gave Assembly Hall a major lift. I had a similar feeling heading into this game that I had going into the Kentucky game and the last couple of minutes did not fail to bring back that recent UK memories.

Indiana ended up winning by the score of 74-70 over the #2 Buckeyes of Ohio State. This was a true team effort! Hull, Oladipo, Jones, Zeller, and Watford all were in double figures. The Hoosiers fought for half the game without their star Center. Zeller only played 21 minutes because of foul trouble. I could not be any prouder of this IU team. They never give up! Who knows where the Hoosiers will end up this year!

Hoo’s Next: vs. Michigan 1/5 9:00 pm

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Coach Crean Discusses Ohio State (Video)

See what Coach Crean has to say about upcoming opponent #2 Ohio State.

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A Quick Look at Coach Crean's Lineups

Substitutions and lineups are a hot topic right now after the Michigan State loss. We took some time to find the best lineups and most frequently used lineups by Coach Crean and apply our Plus/Minus analysis to it. Here is what we found:

I have finally figured out a way to track the lineups +/- per minute for the season by lineup. This will give a much better picture to the overall performance of different lineups under Coach Crean.



As you can see from the chart above, there are some telling stats here:


- First point of note: Coach Crean doesn't play many lineups significant minutes. This would lead to the thought that the Hoosiers aren’t actually as deep as many thought they were.
- The chart is filtered to show only lineups that have been used at least 2% of the time. (this eliminated 173 out of 182 other lineups)
- Crean’s favorite lineup (Hulls, Oladipo, VJ, Watford and Zeller) has been on the court for 25% of all of IU’s games scoring +71.
- The top 3 lineups account for 172 / 540 minutes played (33%). These three lineups consist of only 6 players (Hulls, Oladipo, Sheehey, VJIII, Watford and Zeller)

Based on this, it would appear the Hoosiers need to get more production deeper on their bench. Coach Crean doesn't appear to have much confidence in his bench as they don't see court as much as it appears.

For reference, below you can see the percentage that each player has been on the court for IU this season.

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Who's B1G Diary

12/28/11 at MSU

6:30am- Woke up. First thing on my mind: Hoosiers. First words out of my mouth: "Go Hoosiers."
7:00am- Woke up my fiance, "Game day."
8:30am- Dropped off my fiance at work. Her, "Have a good day. I love you." Me, "Go Hoosiers."
9:00am- Got to work. Checked Twitter to read #iubb tweets.
12:50pm- Lunch. Turkey sandwich with ketchup. Why ketchup? 'Cause it's red, like Hoosiers.
2:10pm- Began writing "A Hoosier's Dictionary."
2:40pm- Posted "A Hoosier's Dictionary" to btownbanners.com.
4:30pm- Stopped working an hour early because my nerves over tonight's game have taken me over.
5:03pm- Still at work, but not working. Wondering when I can crack my first Guinness and put my candystripes on.
5:12pm- So...Derek Willis wants to catch the IU vs. OSU game on New Year's Eve instead of the KY vs. Louisville game. Does he want to be part of The Movement part 2? Keep 'em comin' Crean!
5:30pm- Still slacking at work. Just read that Gus Johnson is calling the game. To my neighbors, I'm sorry, but it's going to be extra loud tonight. I love Gus.
6:26pm-Got home. Game day Guinness #1. Start on dinner: Spaghetti with Crimson Sauce and a touch of Crean cheese.
6:56pm-Rumors flying that VJIII is warming up. We'll need him. Chopping onions. Nervous. The dog looks hungry. Guinness #2.
7:16pm- Turned the TV on to Big Ten Network. OSU 77, NW 54. Bring it on Buckeyes!
7:30- Gus. Now I'm really pumped!
7:36- Tip off.
7:38- 0-4. So...Cody can...dribble.
7:42pm- Watford, like me, has a bit of beard swag. The dog still looks hungry.
7:43pm- 4-4. Guinness #3. Time to check on dinner.
7:47pm- 4-11. Can't get Cody the ball. Turning it over. MSU playing fast.
7:52pm- MSU defense is swarming. IU defense is sloppy. 8-17.
7:56pm- Dinner! 8-19. C'mon IU!...Oladiphustle!!!
8:01pm- Gus just used the term, "overwhelmed" to describe IU. I agree. IU is giving MSU more second chances than an insecure high school girl dating the cheating quarterback.
8:05pm- There must not be barns in East Lansing because IU can't hit the broad side of one.
8:06pm- 14-31. Is IU getting beat by a better team? Looks that way. Who's next? OSU. I might switch to Jack Daniels. This crowd at MSU pisses me off. Good crowd; just wish Indiana would give them a reason to shut up. The dog looks weak.
8:09pm- Roth for three! Again!
8:10pm- 25-34. 3 show! Whew! The spaghetti is good. Benchmob showin' up.
8:11pm- Oladidunk!!
8:12pm- 27-34. Dinner is finished. Full. Momentum is going IU's way.
8:20pm- 29-36. At the half. IU is lucky. Turnovers are killing us. Cody is a non-factor. Crean will have them ready.
8:24pm- Time to tweet. Guinness isn't going down so easy and neither are IU's shots. I need to pee, and the dog can't hardly stand. No time for that as Gus just announced the second half is starting up.
8:29pm- It will be interesting to see how IU can carry the momentum from the end of the first into the second half. Can they stop the turnovers? Can Cody Zeller (CZ) be a diamond?
8:30pm- I just saw a commercial for the Purdue/Iowa game next. Even from Iowa I can smell PU.
8:36pm- Start of the second half. C'mon Hoosiers!
8:37pm- Crean is pacing even before the ball is inbounded. First play- turnover off of Zeller's foot. Geez.
8:38pm- Gus: "Oladipo is Johnny on the spot!" I love Gus... Olablock. He's a nomination for MVP of this team. Straight hustle.
8:39pm- Hulls off defender's back and in for the layup. 33-36. Smart kid.
8:41pm- Watford rebounds and is in BEASTMODE.
8:42pm- 37-36. Zeller puts us ahead with his first 2 points!...Zeller slams it down! Codyboner. 39-36. Guinness tastes good again. I'm raging. My fiance is scared, but excited. The dog is famished and the cat is hiding. I'm sweating.
8:49pm- 41-36. Oladipo with ten points. Olaspin, Olascore, Olahappy.
8:52pm- Watford and 1! Maybe he's the MVP of this team...
8:53pm- VJIII and 1! So glad he's healthy.
8:55pm- 51-43. Tom Prichard puts it in! SENIOR.
8:56pm- Watford for three! Watboner. Did I mention I love Gus?
9:01pm- 54-53. I guess we can't trip while playing defense. Bummer. Izzone is loud. Cody is a non-factor. Where's Cody?
9:03pm- 54-55. Where's Cody? Forth Guinness. The house is silent except for Gus. My fiance is worried, as am I, but for different reasons I suspect. Me, about the outcome of this game. Her, about my fragile state of my mind.
9:04pm- And Hulls misses another shot. This time from half court.
9:05pm- Where's Cody on defense? 54-57...54-59. Turnovers. MSU slam. How will we respond?...With a shot clock violation. No good. 12-0 run by Sparty.
9:06pm- Guinness.
9:10pm- MSU alley-oop and I felt it here in South Carolina. Drinking heavy now.
9:12pm- IU down by 9, 54-63. Where's Cody?
9:17pm- IU can't stop Nix down low. Again, where's Cody? He's on the court, but where is he? I think the dog is dead...58-70. Nix with the steal. Transition=MSU easy points. Guinness has lost it's flavor.
9:19pm- 60-72. Derrick Nix is killing IU. Watford hits a three. That's nice. Need a defensive stop. 63-72.
9:20pm- IU in transition...blocked. Welcome to the Big Ten young Hoosiers.
9:24pm- Watford travels on the inbound pass along the baseline. Bright side: A few years ago IU was getting called for ten second violations. Wait, there's no bright side here...
9:25pm- 63-73 with less than two minutes to play. I'm sitting. Silent. My fiance has transitioned her attention to filing her nails. The dog has given up on getting fed, and life. The cat is still missing.
9:27pm- Cody has 4 points, and 4 fouls. Not such a diamond, more a CZ. 63-75.
9:29pm- Izzone is singing Bon Jovi. I hate this. Watford gets three foul shots...2/3.
9:32pm- 65-77 with :43 to go. The dog is lifeless with hunger. I'm sad....Now IU is starting to foul. My least favorite thing to see when down by more than 7. Down by 12 with :21 to go.
9:33pm- My fiance says, "Disappointing." My heart is broken because it's true.
9:35pm- 65-80 is the final. IU has lost 16 straight Big Ten road games. Ohio State, number 2 in the country, is next. The score doesn't reflect how close this game was. A real roller coaster of a game. IU's fist loss of the season, and it stings. The dog is mustering up her strength to crawl towards her food dish. Still haven't found the cat. I'll look tomorrow.

-Kenneth Languell
@AskTheWho

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Gm 13: +/- Player Analysis - Michigan State

Welcome back to another addition of the +/- Player Analysis for your 2011-2012 Indiana Hoosiers! This was a tough loss for the Hoosiers.  IU had stretches of dominant play mixed in with stretches of horrendous play.  How IU bounces back will be a very interesting question that will be answered on Saturday in Bloomington.

Key Players:

• Christian Watford - Watford came up huge for the Hoosiers again tonight.  Watford scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as he passed the 1000 point scoring mark for Indiana.
• Will Sheehey - This game was built for Sheehey.  I can see Sheehey playing a major role in the IU vs MSU game at Assembly Hall later in the year.
• Jordan Hulls - Hulls had one of his worst games as a Hoosier. His shots weren't falling (2-10 FG), he turned the ball over (4 TO) and he couldn't seem to get the offense moving.

With that being said, let's jump into the +/- Player Analysis

+/- Player Analysis vs Stetson
*Just in case you forgot, here is a quick breakdown as to what the +/- Player Analysis is looking at. Example: Here is a quick example of how the +/- stat is determined. Zeller, Watford, VJIII, Hulls and Sheehey start the game for IU. Therefore the score is 0-0. Coach Crean makes his first substitution at 15:00 with the score IU up 15-10. Oladipo comes into the game for Sheehey. For this stint in time, Sheehey would earn a +5 (while Sheehey was in, IU increased their lead by 5 points). The Lineup of Zeller, Watford, VJIII, Hulls and Sheehey also earned a +5. This will continue throughout the game.

Game Overall 

 

Key Takeaways:

• Being the first loss of the year, it is expected for Indiana's players to be in the red.
• Pritchard and Roth were the only Hoosier players in the green.  Their positive numbers were helped during their stint in the first half with 6:29 remaining with the Hoosiers trailing 14-28.  Led behind two Roth 3's, IU was able to cut the deficit to 7 points at the half.  The lineup of Hulls, Watford, Oladipo, Roth and Pritchard went +7 for this 6 minute stretch.
• Jordan Hulls is an interesting story tonight.  Hulls played all but 5 minutes of the game.  While Hulls struggled and couldn't find his game all night, he didn't hurt the Hoosiers as bad as you might think.  In fact, during the 5 minutes of the game when Hulls was out, IU was outscored by 14 points.
• Remy Abell recorded the worst Pts/Min of the season going -10 in 2 minutes of game time.  Remy was a part of a two minute stretch in the first half where Michigan State increased their lead from 21-14 to 28-14.
• I cannot stress this enough, anything in the GREEN, means the player had a positive impact on the game and helped IU's chances of victory.

Lineups of the Night: 

 

Key Takeaways:

• Here you can see the game flow throughout the night. The chart reads from the beginning of the game to the end from top to bottom.
• Overall, Coach Crean used 14 different combinations of players in the game. Of his 14 combinations, 4 were positive, 2 were neutral (0) and the remaining 8 were negative.
• Of all the stints in this game (19), there were 6 positive, 3 neutral and 10 negative.
• 3 units played multiple times tonight.

Best Lineup of the Night:
The best lineup of the night (+7) belongs to Hulls, Roth, Oladipo, Watford and Pritchard. This group played together once tonight in the first half.  With 6:29 remaining and IU trailing 14-28, Coach Crean subbed in Hulls, Oladipo, Pritchard and Roth for VJIII, Abell, Elston and Zeller (who just went -7). This group went on a tremendous 11-0 run before losing some steam at the end of the half.  

Worst Lineup of the Night:
The worst lineup of the night (-7) belongs to Abell, VJIII, Watford, Elston and Zeller.  This unit played immediately before the best lineup of the night.  The group entered the game at 8:41 remaining in the 1st half with IU trailing 14-21.  This group was replaced with the exception of Watford at the 6:29 mark after giving up 7 unanswered points.

Season to Date:
As many people like to point out, looking at the +/- for one specific game is not entirely telling. Tracking this over the course of the year, will give a much clearer picture as to what each player brings to the team. Below is the updated season to date +/- for each player.

• All players decreased their season averages including Roth and Pritchard (who went positive)
• Cody is still the top guy in the season to date.
• Austin Etherington improved his numbers considerably during the UMBC

Lineup Combinations Here are some quick stats related to the Lineups Tom Crean has used throughout the season:

• Coach has used 178 different lineups this year.
• Of those 178, only 53 are negative year to date. (Increased 11)
• Best lineup is +71 (went -4 vs Mich St; Crean's favorite unit (31 times) of Hulls, Oladipo, VJ3, Watford, Zeller)
• 2nd Best Lineup is +25 (went Even vs Mich St; New Lineup of Hulls, VJIII, Oladipo, Elston and Zeller who went +7 vs Howard)
• New worst lineup is -7. (Consists of Abell, VJIII, Watford, Elston and Zeller.)
• 49 (Increase of 7 this game) lineups have been used multiple times this year.

Lineup Creator! Here is your chance to play Coach Crean!What you can do is go to this link, "+/- Lineup Generator" and it will open an Excel file for you. Using the filters already on the page, you can filter the lineups for the year to see how all the different combinations of players play together.For instance, if you wanted to see how the team does when Oladipo and Sheehey are in the game together, filter both their columns. This will return all lineups for the year that Oladipo and Sheehey have been on the floor together!

Overall
This was one of the craziest seesaw basketball games you will ever witness.  I'm not sure if there was ever a point in the game where IU and MSU exchanged buckets on continuous possessions.  It seemed one team was always on a 10-0, 13-0 or even 20-0 run.  IU showed great poise in the first half to come back from an 18 point deficit.  To start the second half they took an 8 point lead, which most Hoosiers fans figured would spark the Hoosiers to their 13th win of the season.  Michigan State had different plans as they came back on a 20-0 run to put IU out of the game.  The Hoosiers have a lot of questions to answer, and there isn't much time for them to find these answers as #2 Ohio State comes to Bloomington on Saturday.


+/- Player Analysis for Every Game!

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Immediate Post Game Reaction: Michigan State

Postgame Reaction: IU @ MSU

This game was interesting to say the least. We started out slow and lazy and it was quickly looking like an IU game from last year. Turnovers, quick shots, poor time management were frequent in the first five minutes. We got down by 18 and looked dead in the water. The past few seasons, we would have panicked and trail by 30 at half time, but this team fought back. IU climbed back to a seven point deficit at half time.

In the second half, IU came out of the gate quickly and looked like a team that was going to blow the doors out of the stadium. Watford looked amazing throughout the game. He rebounded and scored like a first team all Big Ten player. IU pushed the lead to 9! I was jumping up and down thinking that IU was going to win by twenty...

...but then MSU shoved back up and went on a 20-0 run. I am not sure what happened during this streak. Coach Crean had Zeller on the bench with Elston and Pritchard in the game. Roth hit some quality shots, but he cannot play defense. Elston was dribbling and shooting shots like he was Victor Oladipo. WTF was that about. I hope Crean looks at the film and sits Elston down and explains that he is not in the game to dribble or take ill-advised shots. IU ends up losing the game by 15, but it was a much closer game than that.

Never thought I would say this, but thank God for Verdell Jones III. I was unsure if he was going to play in this game, but without him IU loses by 25. I am not sure what happened to Hulls. He had a few wide open shots that he did not hit. When Hulls is shooting a three I always think it is automatic, but this game he was way off.

Also, I am kind of glad Zeller was shut down in the first Big Ten game. Don’t get me wrong I don’t think he is over rated, but he, and all of Hoosier-nation needs to step back from crowning him as the best player in IU’s history. Hopefully, IU takes a look at the tape and figures out what went wrong before the next game. By the way, my in-laws are from Columbus and die hard OSU fans and if we play like we did tonight we are losing by more than 15!

Next game: December, 31st vs. OSU

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Breaking Down Lineups without Sheehey and VJIII

For the year, Coach Crean has used 152 different lineups of players.  Only 37 (19%) of those lineups didn’t include Sheehey and Verdell.  Those 37 lineups have been used 44 total times (out of 289, 13%).

 

The lineup used the most without both players has played together 4 times in mop up duty. (Etheringon, Abell, Pritchard, Roth, Elston).

 

If you just look at our big games (NC State, Notre Dame, Butler, Kentucky), Coach Crean has only used 4 lineups without Sheehey and Verdell.

 

JH, VO, CW, DE, CZ went +4 vs Notre Dame

JH, DM, VO, CW, CZ went +1 vs Kentucky

JH, RA, VO, CW, TP went E vs Notre Dame

JH, MR, VO, DE, TP went -2 vs Butler.

 

It’s safe to say we are in uncharted territory tonight without these players. 

 

 

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A Hoosier's Dictionary

Words/Phrases That Surely Will be Added to the English Dictionary:

(a work in progress)

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Hoo's Next: Michigan State

Who: Michigan State Spartans

Where: Breslin Center

When: 12/28/11, 7:30pm

TV: Big Ten Network

Conference play has finally arrived. While IU has proven itself a basketball contender over the course of its nonconference schedule, the true test for the Hoosiers will be how well they fare in the division. The Big 10 is verycompetitive this year, and with the hardest tests in the first couple of games for the Hoosiers (tonight’s game at MSU and a Dec. 31st road game at Ohio State), IU will need to pull off a couple of early wins in order to solidify its elite status in college basketball.

There’s a lot for the Hoosiers to be confident about coming into this game. There is no argument that IU is hot offensively. IU ranks fifth in the nation in FG%, is leading the nation at shooting 46% from behind the arc, and have many offensive options which makes them a threat.

However, the key to success for IU this game is rebounding. The Spartans boast a +10 rebounding margin against opponents compared to Indiana’s +4.5. DraymondGreen and his teammates are in the top 10 teams in the nation when it comes to grabbing from the boards. IU will need to improve this area of their game in order to get a win against the Spartans. Here are a couple of things to watch for as IU opens Big 10 play for the season:

Draymond Green

Green is one of the top players in the Big Ten right now. Green has scored __ consecutive double doubles this season, and scored 34 points against then-ranked #22Gonzaga. Zeller and the Hoosiers will need to step up defensively to minimize Green’s impact.

The Breslin Center

IU has not won a game at the Breslin Center since 1991 (17 consecutive games). This arena is one of the toughest environments to play in for the Big Ten. Coach Crean has mentioned it is important for the Hoosiers to silence the crowd and not allow MSU to score any large plays to allow the crowd to get into the game.

The key to success for the Hoosiers will be to reduce Green’s impact for the Spartans and to zone out the hostile crowd at Breslin arena.

By Mariel Yohe

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Contenders or Pretenders?

Quick note from BtownBanners.com:

We hope everyone had a great Holiday Season and spent some quality time with their families. As the Big Ten approaches, our coverage will increase and we look forward to following and updating you on this Indiana Basketball team. We take great pride in our growth over the last few months and we thank each and every visitor that helps make BtownBanners.com what it is today. We look forward to providing you great analysis and opinions on our Hoosier team. We primarily grow through word of mouth, and we appreciate you all for telling your friends and family about us. With continued growth, we will continue to increase our coverage and enhance the customer experience. The title of this article is “The Real Season Begins Wednesday”…. Same can be said about BtownBanners.com!

The preseason slate is complete. IU took care of business going an impressive 12-0 in the non conference. That is all great and something to pat ourselves on the back for, but that is like going undefeated in Preseason NFL football. Yes, the Hoosiers knocked off NC State and Kentucky. Both wins were great for this team, but IU trailed by 9 in the second half to NC State. IU dominated Kentucky for 38 minutes and let the lead slip away when it mattered most. IU has a lot to cheer about, but there are many questions about this team that Hoosier fans don’t want to see. NOW is the time where the Hoosiers will let us know if they are Contenders or Pretenders.

Starting Wednesday, The Hoosiers will open Big Ten play with a tremendously difficult three game stretch.

Wednesday December 28^th – at #16 Michigan State 7:30pm (BTN)

Saturday December 31^st – vs. #2 Ohio State 6:00pm (ESPN2)

Thursday January 5^th – vs. #18 Michigan 9:00pm (ESPN2)

Questions that might be answered on this 3 game Stretch:

- How do we handle a loss?

- How does Cody handle the bigger bodies in the Big Ten?

- If Cody gets in foul trouble, how do we respond?

- How deep can we go on the bench in big games?

- How do we play when the shots aren’t falling?

This stretch will be very important for our Hoosiers. Before the season, I had IU going 1-2 in this stretch with an “upset” over Michigan at home. Based on the landscape of college basketball today, the Hoosiers are the ones that could be “upset” in 2 of these 3 games. The real season begins Wednesday… let’s hope Coach Crean and his troops come prepared, because the Big Ten will BRING IT.

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Gm 12: +/- Player Analysis - UMBC Edition

This will be a short one as the holidays are approaching and IU completely destroyed UMBC.

Stats for the Game:
Stats for the Season: Lineups used in the game:

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Coach Crean discusses UMBC

See what Coach Crean had to say about IU's upcoming opponent UMBC. The 11-0 Hoosiers should have no trouble knocking off UMBC to move to 12-0 heading into Big Ten play.

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Christmas Comes in Crean

It's time, Hoosiers Nation, to turn the page. It's time to take down the posters from the 70's, 80's and 90's. It's a new era in our great basketball history, and we should celebrate it. 11-0 is nothing to get too hyped about, especially looking forward at the schedule. But seeing our team this year perform the way they have, and to listen to the buzz about how well practices are going day in and day out I am petitioning my fellow Indiana fans to finally let go of the past, and look forward to the now and what is to come in the future.

His name will be forever linked to Indiana, and it still echoes in the walls of Assembly Hall. His voice I'm sure is still heard loud and clear in the locker room. Even Dick Vitale, being a member of the "non-partisan" media, can't call an Indiana game without endorsing his name for the court inside the Hall. But it's time; after eleven years since his departure from Bloomington, it's time to let him go.

Bobby Knight is a LEGEND, don't get me wrong. I was recently asked by a friend, if I could drink with any three men, who would they be? Bobby Knight was on that list. My family has had a dog named after him, and in our house that is the highest compliment. When I met my soon to be wife, to get her to have a better understanding of me and who I am I showed her clips of Knight's great and not-so-great moments. I can say as a man I have love for Bobby Knight and for what he did at Indiana, and for what he did for me as a kid watching those great teams. I still shoot free throws the way he taught those at his basketball camps: look at the basket, dribble three times, fluid motion... and release. Agree or disagree with his methods Bobby Knight will forever be a big part of what Indiana Hoosiers basketball was, is, and what it will be.

But we have a new coach at Indiana who is the face of Hoosiers basketball, and it's time to celebrate him and his efforts and the success he's had so far. Tom Crean came to coach at Indiana for the right reason, "It's Indiana." And he came to do it the right way- the Hoosier way: fair recruiting, high expectations of winning, and even higher expectations off the court. He recruits boys who love their mothers, and he proudly wears Indiana on his sleeve. He's coaching Indiana the way that we as fans want our team coached- with enthusiasm and dedication to the continuous development of the program. He knows that there is no higher goal than banner number six.

I'm done hearing podcast hosts say, "There's just something I don't like about him." They use the word 'arrogant' when describing him. Folks, let us not confuse arrogance for confidence. Look at what he did at Marquette. He took them from nothing all the way to the Final Four and near the top of the national rankings. And then he had the guts to come to Indiana; a program forced into the hollows where a previous coach left us. Tom Crean came to Indiana to rebuild this program, and through strong recruiting of great young men, Indiana, and I love to say it out loud to whoever is listening, Indiana is back! Young men out of high school need a confident man to lead them. Tom Crean is that man.

Even from the state of South Carolina where I now live, with plenty of filter and buffer from the local Indiana media via Kentucky and North Carolina, I run into people who will see the IU on my hat or shirt and they say about Tom Crean, "He's no Bobby Knight." Well who is? And in today's game who wants a coach like that? In the age of Twitter, strong NCAA punishments, and 24 hour news coverage, who wants a coach who is always in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons? Not this guy. I want Hoosiers basketball to be associated with morals and values and all the other good things about sports, and, of course, winning. If we keep dwelling on the closure that we as fans never had after Bobby Knight's firing at Indiana we're going to miss out on one hell of a good coach, and a good man. This man Tom Crean came to us and we're lucky to have him. It's a new era at Indiana, and as heavy as the page is, muster up the energy Hoosier Nation and turn the page to the Crean Era. If we don't we just might see this coach somewhere we don't want to see him, and we might be left out in the cold, again. Let me paint a picture...

There is a program in college basketball that is easily the envy of all programs. It has a coach that we would all love to have associated with our basketball team, and with whom any one of us would be proud to send our own son to play for. Coach Krzewski, or Coach K., of Duke University is one of the greatest coaches in the history of sports. His record speaks for itself. He doesn't always go after the best talent; rather the best kid who he believes can fit into his program. He develops that talent and gets the best out of every single player. He is a direct descendant of Bobby Knight. There is an irony here that can only happen in sports.

Here's the harsh reality folks: Coach K. won't be around forever. And what sort of individual would be best suited to take over for a legend like that? Brad Stevens? Maybe, but I don't think he's the coach yet that Duke would be looking for. You need a coach who has maybe been in the position of being in the shadow of a legend before, and one who knows how to make and cast his own shadow. You need a man who takes pride in the development of boys into confident young men. Among other things you need a proven winner. Now fast forward three years, five years, ten years from now. After Tom Crean does what is shaping out to be done in Bloomington, and takes Indiana back to where it once was, don't you think he would be a strong nomination for that job in Durham? I can hear it now, "It's Duke. It's Duke." It would break my heart if that were to happen.

I miss our former coach, but I don't wish we could have him back. Recently in Bloomington there was a reunion of the 1987 championship team, but there was one key figure not in attendance. It's not like Coach Knight isn't around the game anymore, because I hear him break down games all the time as part of ESPN. But there is one team I have yet to even hear him mention, and it's a team that has fans that still yearn for him to come back and give us closure. The fans did not make the decision to fire him, and therefore should not be associated with his bitterness towards the greatness that is Indiana Hoosiers basketball. And if he doesn't want to give back what us fans gave, than let us focus on what we now have, and what we want for the future of Indiana basketball. I want to see Tom Crean with grey hair, wearing that nice suit with that crimson tie, pacing along the sideline for a long time to come. Maybe one day Knight will come back to Indiana to say hello again, or to say good-bye. But if he doesn't let us hope that we as fans can embrace another name for that court. Crean Court sounds pretty damn good to this Hoosier. In the meantime, we're 11-0, back in the top 25, and headed for greener pastures...Creaner pastures.

-Kenneth Languell
@AskTheWho

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Gm 11: +/- Player Analysis - Howard Edition

Welcome back to another addition of the +/- Player Analysis for your 2011-2012 Indiana Hoosiers! There isn't really much to say about this game as it was a complete domination from start to finish. Howard didn't stand a chance from the start. Check out Coach Crean and the player's thoughts of the blowout.

Key Players:

• Indiana's entire team. Did anyone play bad?
• Special shout out to Remy Abell who played his best game of the year.

With that being said, let's jump into the +/- Player Analysis

+/- Player Analysis vs Stetson
*Just in case you forgot, here is a quick breakdown as to what the +/- Player Analysis is looking at. Example: Here is a quick example of how the +/- stat is determined. Zeller, Watford, VJIII, Hulls and Sheehey start the game for IU. Therefore the score is 0-0. Coach Crean makes his first substitution at 15:00 with the score IU up 15-10. Oladipo comes into the game for Sheehey. For this stint in time, Sheehey would earn a +5 (while Sheehey was in, IU increased their lead by 5 points). The Lineup of Zeller, Watford, VJIII, Hulls and Sheehey also earned a +5. This will continue throughout the game.

Game Overall

Key Takeaways:

• As you can see, anyone who played significant minutes is extremely high in the green.
• 10 players were +1.0 pts/min.
• Oladipo (Check His Dunk Session) and Zeller were +50 and +48 respectively which is the highest I've ever seen in this statistic.
• Remy Abell - Abell had a great game tonight. This is represented in his +/- for the game. Remy will continue to see more minutes as the competition increases.
• I cannot stress this enough, anything in the GREEN, means the player had a positive impact on the game and helped IU get to their blowout win.

Lineups of the Night:

Key Takeaways:

• Here you can see the game flow throughout the night. The chart reads from the beginning of the game to the end from top to bottom.
• Overall, Coach Crean used 26 different combinations of players in the game. Of his 26 combinations, 16 were positive, 5 were neutral (0) and the remaining 5 were negative.
• Of all the stints in this game (28), there were 18 positive, 5 neutral and 5 negative.
• Only 1 unit played multiple times tonight. (Hulls, Jones, Oladipo, Watford, Zeller)

Best Lineup of the Night: The best lineup of the night (+16) belongs to Hulls, Jones, Oladipo, Watford and Zeller. This group played together 3 times tonight going +7, +3, +6. This group was the only group to play multiple times tonight so it makes sense that they received the highest plus/minus.

Worst Lineup of the Night:
Overall, there were 5 lineups that went negative. On a night like tonight, there really isn't any reason to point out which lineups went negative. If you must know, look above at the chart for Red to see which lineups went negative.

Season to Date:
As many people like to point out, looking at the +/- for one specific game is not entirely telling. Tracking this over the course of the year, will give a much clearer picture as to what each player brings to the team. Below is the updated season to date +/- for each player.

• Cody Zeller took over the top spot with his +48 tonight.
• All players improved with the exception of Moore who went negative on the night.

Lineup Combinations Here are some quick stats related to the Lineups Tom Crean has used throughout the season:

• Coach has used 152 different lineups this year.
• Of those 152, only 42 are negative year to date. (Did not change this game)
• Best lineup is +61 (went +16 vs Howard; Crean's favorite unit (31 times) of Hulls, Oladipo, VJ3, Watford, Zeller)
• 2nd Best Lineup is +25 (New Lineup of Hulls, VJIII, Oladipo, Elston and Zeller who went +7 vs Howard)
• Worst lineup is -6. (Consists of Hulls, Watford, VJIII, Sheehey and Pritchard)
• 42 (Increase of 5 this game) lineups have been used multiple times this year.

Lineup Creator! Here is your chance to play Coach Crean!What you can do is go to this link, "+/- Lineup Generator" and it will open an Excel file for you. Using the filters already on the page, you can filter the lineups for the year to see how all the different combinations of players play together.For instance, if you wanted to see how the team does when Oladipo and Sheehey are in the game together, filter both their columns. This will return all lineups for the year that Oladipo and Sheehey have been on the floor together!

Overall
IU looked incredibly focused tonight for a game that could have easily been an oversight. IU came out and established their game plan and executed at the highest degree. Howard was the worst team IU played so far this year, and it showed on the court. Holding an opponent to 15 points in a half is remarkable. IF IU can continue this type of play, it will be a good year to be an Indiana fan.

+/- Player Analysis for Every Game!

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Coach Crean and Players Talk Howard Blowout

See what Coach Crean and the players had to say about the Howard blowout victory.




See what Verdell Jones, Christian Watford and Will Sheehey had to say about the win.

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Oladipo Throws Down on Howard (Video)

Check out the huge dunk Oladipo throws down on Howard!  Great give and go from Zeller!

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"We're Back" T-Shirt Winner

 

Thanks to everyone for playing! The winner of the "We're Back" t-shirt give away is.....

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Hoosier Hysteria on the Brain

By: Kent Languell (@AskTheWho)

If you are anything like me, your life has been made even better by the start that the Hoosiers are having to their basketball season. I have compiled yet another list, this time of the signs that you may be suffering from Hoosier Hysteria of the Brain. Do not worry if you suffer from some, or all of these symptoms. There is no need for medical attention. As a guy who watches a lot of TV, I can say that the only cure for Hoosier Hysteria of the Brain is... MORE HOOSIERS BASKETBALL! The symptoms:

-You wake up all of the sudden throughout the night, only to find yourself in front of the TV or computer to watch the Watshot.
-You've petitioned to your boss to make it mandatory for all employees to wear candy stripes for the company Christmas photo.
-You've done all of your Christmas shopping, and during the wrapping process you've noticed not one single gift isn't Hoosiers paraphernalia.
-In discussing names with your spouse of your next born child, you are unable to think of any other name besides Cody.
-In the daily decision of what to cook for dinner, you find yourself asking, "What would Crean make?"
-During the decoration of your Chrismas tree, you removed all colored lights from the strands except the red and white ones.
-You are still wearing the same underwear that you had on for the Kentucky game.
-As you walk through crowded places, you chant, "Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoosiers!"
-You order your morning coffee with sugar and extra Crean.
-Dick Vitale's voice has recently become beautiful to listen to.
-You've declared December 28,2011 at 7:30 (first Big 10 game) a holiday and therefore will be leaving work early.
-You had plans for New Year's Eve with the wife, but then looked at the schedule and cancelled dinner reservations.
-You've started pricing tickets to New Orleans for March 31 and April 2.
-Andrew Luck and 1-13 mean very little to you anymore.
-You look ahead at the schedule, and you get excited if the opponent's name has a very small number next to it.
-Bobby who? is a thought you've let enter your mind.
-You were kicked out of the Hall for trying to adjust five banners over to the left.

As mentioned before, there is no need to seek a doctor is you suffer from some of these symptoms. It's completely normal to feel the emotion you have about Hoosiers basketball. It's been a long three years, and these feelings and actions might seem a bit foreign to you. Remember, there's nothing more important in life than family, but a very close second is Hoosiers basketball! Just grab a glass of red Kool-aid, breathe, and repeat five times, "We're baaaccckk!"

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Crossroads Classic: A Photo Story

A Crossroads Classic photo story by Brent Boles ( @Slumpbusting)

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Gm 10: +/- Player Analysis - Notre Dame

Welcome back to another addition of the +/- Player Analysis for your 2011-2012 Indiana Hoosiers! To be considered a good basketball team, you must be able to win the ugly games.  This would qualify as an ugly game.  Indiana started the game off shooting 0-6 from the field while allowing ND's Alex Dragicevich to start 3-3 behind the arc.  IU finally started to settle into their game, and put Notre Dame away.

Key Players:

• Cody Zeller - The Hoosiers went to Cody early and often.  Without Cody in this game, The Hoosiers probably would not have kept the game close enough to make a comeback and win.  It was nice to see IU feed Cody the ball as much as they did this game.
• Derek Elston - Elston had a beautiful arching pass from 40 feet with 6 seconds left in the 1st half that bounced nicely off the backboard and rim into Remy Abell's hands who completed the assist with the buzzer beater jumper.  That's not exactly what happened, but it was nice to see Derek still have the explosion he has had earlier this year.  Many fans were concerned when he did not play against Kentucky that he was injured again and wouldn't come back the same.
• Will Sheehey - This might surprise you to see Will in the Key players for the game.  While he did shoot 1-7 from the field, he grabbed 9 rebounds (4 offensive) which led to IU's 17 second chance points.  Will did a great job on the defensive end for the Hoosiers this game and that is reflected by his +/- for the game.

With that being said, let's jump into the +/- Player Analysis

+/- Player Analysis vs Stetson
*Just in case you forgot, here is a quick breakdown as to what the +/- Player Analysis is looking at.
Example: Here is a quick example of how the +/- stat is determined. Zeller, Watford, VJIII, Hulls and Sheehey start the game for IU. Therefore the score is 0-0. Coach Crean makes his first substitution at 15:00 with the score IU up 15-10. Oladipo comes into the game for Sheehey. For this stint in time, Sheehey would earn a +5 (while Sheehey was in, IU increased their lead by 5 points). The Lineup of Zeller, Watford, VJIII, Hulls and Sheehey also earned a +5. This will continue throughout the game.

Game Overall   

 Key Takeaways:

• The first lineup of the game (Hulls, Jones, Oladipo, Watford, Zeller) started the game with a -7 from a +/- perspective in the first 6 minutes of the game.  This means, over the final 34 minutes of the game, Cody Zeller went +23, Hulls +15, Watford and Jones +11, and Oladipo +7
• Cody Zeller - In Cody's 27 minutes, he accumulated a +16.  Cody was outstanding in every facet of this game.  The true test for the Hoosiers will be when Cody gets in foul trouble.
• Derek Elston - Elston came back with a solid contribution of +!0 in his limited 11 minutes.  Elston came in and provided some energy for the team which is reflected in this statistic.
• Christian Watford and Verdell Jones - Both did not have their best games, as reflected above.  Watford couldn't seem to find his game from last Saturday going 2-9  FG as Verdell went 1-5 FG.
• It's interesting to see Victor Oladipo as even from a +/- perspective.  Normally VO scores relatively high in this measure.  His low minutes due to foul trouble could play a primary role in this.
• I cannot stress this enough, anything in the GREEN, means the player had a positive impact on the game and helped IU get to their blowout win.

Lineups of the Night:  

Key Takeaways: 

• Here you can see the game flow throughout the night. The chart reads from the beginning of the game to the end from top to bottom.
• It is important to note, at the end of the game starting in lineup 255, Coach Crean when Offense/Defense with Zeller and Sheehey.  This would increase Zeller's +/- and decrease Sheehey's +/- for the game.
• Overall, Coach Crean used 19 different combinations of players in the game. Of his 19 combinations,  9 were positive, 5 were neutral (0) and the remaining 5 were negative.
• Of all the stints in this game (33), there were 16 positive, 8 neutral and 9 negative.
• Five units played multiple times tonight.

Best Lineup of the Night:
The best lineup of the night (+5) belongs to Hulls, Sheehey, VJIII, Elston and Zeller. This group played together 4 times tonight going +4, 0, -1, +2.  They did their damage at the 12:13 minute mark of the first half where they went +4 in 2 minute 30 seconds. They entered with IU trailing 8-15 and left with IU trailing 12-15.

Worst Lineup of the Night:
When you have a lineup that starts the game at -7, you would expect them to be the worst lineup of the game.  That definitely was the worst STINT, but not the worst lineup.  The starting group of Hulls, VJIII, Oladipo, Watford and Zeller bounced back from their -7 start to go Even (0) for the game.

The worst lineup of the night (-4) consisted of VJIII, Oladipo, Sheehey, Elston and Pritchard.  This lineup going the worst should not surprise anyone as this doesn't appear on paper to be a solid lineup.  This lineup came in during the second half with IU winning 48-35 with 9:27 remaining in the game.  They didn't last long, only playing 85 seconds and going -4.  Coach Crean quickly subbed Zeller and Hulls back into the game.

Season to Date:
As many people like to point out, looking at the +/- for one specific game is not entirely telling. Tracking this over the course of the year, will give a much clearer picture as to what each player brings to the team. Below is the updated season to date +/- for each player.

• Tom Pritchard is moving closer back to even for the year after his -4 against Notre Dame.
• Cody Zeller continues to impress in this stat as he is +210 for the year.  The next closest to him in points is Hulls with +164.
• Daniel Moore played for 1 minutes this week and went +2 so his Pts/Min increased again.

Lineup Combinations
Here are some quick stats related to the Lineups Tom Crean has used through the three regular season games:

• Coach has used 138 different lineups this year.
• Of those 138, only 42 are negative year to date. (Increased by 1 this game)
• Best lineup is +45 (went Even (0) vs Notre Dame; Crean's favorite unit (31 times) of Hulls, Oladipo, VJ3, Watford, Zeller)
• 2nd Best Lineup is +22 (DNP vs Notre Dame: Consists of Hulls, Oladipo, Sheehey, Watford and Zeller)
• Worst lineup is -6. (Consists of Hulls, Watford, VJIII, Sheehey and Pritchard)
• 37 lineups have been used multiple times this year.
• The top 4 used lineups contain these players: Hulls, Oladipo, Sheehey, Jones, Watford and Zeller.  Only Hulls and Zeller are in all 4 lineups together.

Lineup Creator!
Here is your chance to play Coach Crean!
What you can do is go to this link, "+/- Lineup Generator" and it will open an Excel file for you. Using the filters already on the page, you can filter the lineups for the year to see how all the different combinations of players play together.

For instance, if you wanted to see how the team does when Oladipo and Sheehey are in the game together, filter both their columns. This will return all lineups for the year that Oladipo and Sheehey have been on the floor together!

Overall
IU came out and did something they had to do... Beat a team they should beat.  This was another great step for this ball club as they continue to improve.  There were many questions going into this game on how IU would fare, it appears those questions were answered Saturday afternoon.  Look for IU to improve their rankings in the next weeks leading up to the big showdown in Bloomington vs top 5 team Ohio State.

+/- Player Analysis for Every Game!

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Post-game reaction: IU vs. Notre Dame

Rapid Reactions
This game started slowly for IU as they struggled for the first part of the first half against Notre Dame. I was half expecting a slow start coming after a week off following the win versus #1 Kentucky, but this was a little much. They could have also been a little excited about Purdue blowing yet another double digit lead in the second half against a team that IU previously beat by sixteen.

Whatever the reason #TGFC (Thank God for Cody) in the first half. At one point, Cody Zeller had 10 of the team’s 12 points. If it wasn’t for him, I am not sure that IU sticks close enough to be in it at half. At one point I was thinking that Coach Crean should put Daniel Moore in the game for a spark! I am still curious about what in the world Elston was doing at the end of the half with five seconds left on the clock and launching a half court shot, but thanks to Remy he was bailed out.

I never was nervous about this game in the second half. Notre Dame kept it close but they never scared the Hoosiers.  Even though Indiana had several key members in foul trouble, the bench filled in nicely and we expanded our lead to mid-teens and held on, unlike Purdue. I was proud of all the members of the Indiana basketball team and I cannot wait until the Big Ten season starts!

I grew up ten miles outside Notre Dame’s campus and currently live in Lafayette, so today was a good day for me being an IU fan!

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#IUpickem - Notre Dame

It's that time of the day again! Send us your predictions for #IUpickem. You can comment down below using your Twitter handle or Tweet at us @BtownBanners.

Include the score and winner of today's game with Notre Dame.

Good Luck and GO HOOSIERS!

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Hoo's Next? Notre Dame Edition

Who: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Where: Close the Gap Crossroads Classic, Conseco Fieldhouse
When: 12/17/11, 4:30pm
TV: ESPN2

IU plays Notre Dame tomorrow at 4:30pm at Conseco Fieldhouse for the Close the Gap Crossroads Classic. Here are a couple of things to watch for as the Hoosiers try to extend its winning streak to 10-0:

The million-dollar question: Can Indiana build off of its win over Kentucky?

The biggest question on everyone’s mind is how the Hoosiers will transition back after the monumental win against Kentucky last Saturday (and after a long finals week). There’s a new set of expectations for the Hoosiers now that they’ve shown they can keep up with the best.

This squad is drastically different than in year’s past. Besides the obvious addition of Zeller, the mostly-veteran squad now plays a smarter game, gained mass through offseason lifting, and vastly improved their shooting, which is now more consistent. Indiana, which is now ranked #18 in the AP poll and #20 in the coaches poll, still has a lot to prove. The Hoosiers will need to sustain the level of play from Dec. 10^th for the rest of the season to not only be successful against the stronger B1G opponents, but also gain back the respect it lost over the past few years. It will be interesting to watch now that things are swinging Indiana’s way, how they will adjust this new level.

Jack Cooley

Although Cooley had fallen ill earlier in the season, the past two games the Fighting Irish forward Jack Cooley has bounced back strong, posting only one rebound shy of back-to-back double doubles in his last two appearances. With the recent season-ending injury of ND’s star Tim Abromaitis, Cooley has stepped up for the Irish in the paint and provides a role it has lacked in Abromaitis’ absence.

Notre Dame’s perimeter game

Notre Dame’s 3-point game is not always consistent, but when hot, ND has a strong three-point shot, averaging around seven 3’s per game. Indiana will need a strong, outside defensive presence in order to shut down ND’s perimeter shot.

Will Derek Elston return Saturday?

Elston sat out last week’s game due to a back injury he acquired the week leading up to the Kentucky game. Coach Crean reported during his pre-game press conference Thursday that Elston has been feeling better and participated in practice this week. Hopefully Elston will be back on the floor tomorrow. Elston has a strong inside presence that will be needed to help Zeller shut down their inside game.

Outcome: If IU can come back down from the Kentucky win and focus on its defensive play against Notre Dame, IU should come away with the win.

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Coach Crean talks Notre Dame

See what Coach Crean had to say about playing in the CrossRoads Classic and IU's opponent Notre Dame.

h

Also check out our Team Store for The Hoosier Holiday Season!

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Top 10 Things To Do Between IU Games

BtownBanners.com is excited to announce a great addition to our site! You've read his guest posts before, but now Kenneth Languell is a featured writer for BtownBanners.com. Welcome Kenneth!

After a win like the Hoosiers had last Saturday, over the top ranked team in the country, it can be hard for Hoosiers fans to adjust getting back into the swing of things, and to get through the long days in between games. I've compiled a list of ten things to do to bridge the gap and get you through the week. Don't let the hangover last too long Hoosiers, it's a long season and there is still plenty of work to do for all; the players and coaches, and us fans as well. Without further delay, and for your benefit, the list:

10. Recap. Go to BtownBanners.com and check out the analysis of all Hoosiers games thus far. Let's face it fans, the only cure for Hoosiers basketball withdraw is... MORE HOOSIERS!

9. Sleep. The experts say the human body and mind need an average of 8-10 hours of sleep per night. If you think about it, dreaming about Hoosiers basketball is almost just as good as watching the real thing.

8. Do your Christmas shopping. Have you bought that special someone their special gift yet? Diamonds are a girls best friend, but nothing says "I love you" like a brand new IU shirt. In case you haven't looked around,BtownBanners Team Shop has plenty of new shirts for sale, and links to other great classics.

7. Get some exercise. Peel yourself off of your couch, grab a basketball, go to the gym, and escape into the fantasy land in your head where you yourself are Christian Watford, and as time expires you launch up and sink a three to win the game. I suggest bringing 17,000 of your closest friends to rush the court and mob you after the shot goes in.

6. Do some chores. If your home is anything like mine, then it has beer spilled onto the walls from all of the arms and legs flying around in celebration after Watford's shot got nothing but the bottom of the net last Saturday. Go ahead and clean that up, and get a head start on this weekends chores. There's another game coming up, and what kind of a fan would you be if you were scrubbing toilets while the rest of us watch Tom Crean coach those boys against Notre Dame? If nothing else, whistle the Indiana fight song as you knock out your Honey Do list.

5. Eat. It's winter time, and it's the holidays, so don't act like you don't have a surplus of food in your kitchen. It's cold outside, and it's time to insulate yourself to stay warm. Plus, you've got to keep your strength up to cheer on the Hoosiers!

4. Go to work. A mortgage to pay, kids to feed and other necessities, sure, those are important reasons to go to work. Want another important reason? Because I'm sure you work with other people who are possibly Notre Dame fans, or Purdue fans, or even Duke, North Carolina or Kentucky fans, and we need to do our community a service by reminding them of the event that occurred last Saturday. After that reminder, be sure to inform them that Hoosiers basketball is back!

3. Spend time with your family. We as Hoosiers fans are a loving people, and that love doesn't stop when time expires. Do your family a service and play some family games, or go outside and shoot some hoops with the kids. I mean, someone has to dish you the pass before you can take The Shot, right? Too cold to play outside with the kids? Play Hangman. Two words, first word two letters, second word eight letters... that's right, GO HOOSIERS!

2. Do some charity work. Go down to the soup kitchen and give some time. Go the the recreation center and volunteer to teach some kids the wonderful game of basketball. Drive to Kentucky and spray some air freshener around the nearest trailer park. Do what you can do, and do it like a Hoosiers fan does it and give it 100%.

And the number one thing to do to bridge the gap in between Hoosiers games is...

1. Watch a replay of last Saturday's game!Trust me, after watching it over and over and over again myself, it's the best fix you need to get through these six days.

Not too much longer!

Kenneth Languell
@AskTheWho

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Gm 9: +/- Player Analysis - Kentucky Edition

Welcome back to another addition of the +/- Player Analysis for your 2011-2012 Indiana Hoosiers! It's going to be hard to say anything about this game that Hoosier fans don't already know.  IU basketball is officially back to the National Stage!  I have re watched the game twice now and have picked up on things you don't notice during the actual flow of the game.  For instance, Christian Watford practiced his Buzzer Beater shot EXACTLY earlier in the second half.  This game was one for the ages, an Instant Classic.

Key Players:

• Christian Watford - Did he step up or what?  Watford was a man amongst boys in this game.  He scored, he completely shut down Terrence Jones (although Jones appeared to shut down himself), and Watford played Hero for the night.  This was one of Watford's best games of his IU career.  Christian came up big for IU hitting 4 of 6 from behind the arc.
• Cody Zeller - A lot can be said about Dick Vitale's comments about the Hoosiers lack of effort in feeding Zeller all night.  From listening to Vitale, IU shouldn't have won that game since we didn't feed Zeller every trip down the court.  I do however agree with Vitale, IU has struggled at times this year to get Cody the ball down low.  Our future success will depend greatly on our ability to get Cody involved on the low blocks.
• The Fans - That was deafening.  From 90 minutes before the game, to 90 minutes after the game, Assembly Hall was jumping.  If you don't think a crowd can influence a game, ask Kentucky's freshman what they thought.  This was a great crowd and hopefully we will continue to see the early arrival from all fans.

With that being said, let's jump into the +/- Player Analysis

+/- Player Analysis vs Stetson
*Just in case you forgot, here is a quick breakdown as to what the +/- Player Analysis is looking at.
Example: Here is a quick example of how the +/- stat is determined. Zeller, Watford, VJIII, Hulls and Sheehey start the game for IU. Therefore the score is 0-0. Coach Crean makes his first substitution at 15:00 with the score IU up 15-10. Oladipo comes into the game for Sheehey. For this stint in time, Sheehey would earn a +5 (while Sheehey was in, IU increased their lead by 5 points). The Lineup of Zeller, Watford, VJIII, Hulls and Sheehey also earned a +5. This will continue throughout the game.

Game Overall   

 Key Takeaways:

• Close Game - This was the first single digit game the Hoosiers have been involved in.  It's interesting to see that 4 starters remained positive and the one starter in the negative was Cody Zeller.
• Cody played a game high 37 minutes so he was on both sides of the big runs.  This would be expected.  The interesting thing of note with Cody is, during the 3 minutes he was on the bench, IU outscored Kentucky by +4.
• Coach Crean didn't go very deep on his bench at all.  Only 7 players saw significant time.  Coach Crean did say in his post game press conference that Derek Elston was cleared to play medically, but he decided not to use him.  Hopefully Derek will be okay and can continue playing at the high level he was in the early season.
• I cannot stress this enough, anything in the GREEN, means the player had a positive impact on the game and helped IU get to their blowout win.

Lineups of the Night:  

Key Takeaways: 

• Here you can see the game flow throughout the night. The chart reads from the beginning of the game to the end from top to bottom.
• This is where the analysis gets interesting.  IU had two stints in the game (+8, +10) where they dominated the Wildcats for a short period of time.  It was really only those two stints that won them this game.  They got beat during the rest of the game.
• I'll discuss the stints in more detail below.
• Overall, Coach Crean used 13 different combinations of players in the game (the fewest amount to date).  Of his 13 combinations,  5 were positive, 2 were neutral (0) and the remaining 6 were negative.
• Of all the stints in this game (19), there were 6 positive, 4 neutral and 9 negative.
• Only two units played multiple times tonight.

Best Lineup of the Night:
The best lineup of the night (+5) belongs to Hulls, Oladipo, Sheehey, VJIII, and Zeller. They only played together once Saturday night. They did their damage at the 8:13 minute mark of the first half where they went +5 in 1 minute 30 seconds. This was actually the 8th time all year Crean has used this lineup.  Only 3 other lineups are used more often.

Worst Lineup of the Night:
The worst lineup of the night (-4) consisted of Hulls, Sheehey, Jones, Pritchard and Zeller.  This lineup played in the first half immediately before the Best Lineup of the Night came in.  This game was back and forth, and judging from the chart above, there were plenty of groups who had some negative splits.

Season to Date:
As many people like to point out, looking at the +/- for one specific game is not entirely telling. Tracking this over the course of the year, will give a much clearer picture as to what each player brings to the team. Below is the updated season to date +/- for each player.

• In a close game like this, there isn't going to be many huge misses.  This game was extremely close and you can see that from the plus/minus data.  
• Every player in this games' Pts/Min decreased, which is expect able.

Lineup Combinations
Here are some quick stats related to the Lineups Tom Crean has used through the three regular season games:

• Coach has used 131 different lineups this year.
• Of those 131, only 41 are negative year to date. (Increased by 3 this game)
• Best lineup is +45 (went -1 vs Kentucky;Crean's favorite unit (19 times) of Hulls, Oladipo, VJ3, Watford, Zeller)
• 2nd Best Lineup is +22 (went -2 vs Kentucky: Consists of Hulls, Oladipo, Sheehey, Watford and Zeller)
• Worst lineup is -6. (Consists of Hulls, Watford, VJIII, Sheehey and Pritchard)
• 34 lineups have been used multiple times this year.
• The top 4 used lineups contain these players: Hulls, Oladipo, Sheehey, Jones, Watford and Zeller.  Only Hulls and Zeller are in all 4 lineups together.

Lineup Creator!
Here is your chance to play Coach Crean!
What you can do is go to this link, "+/- Lineup Generator" and it will open an Excel file for you. Using the filters already on the page, you can filter the lineups for the year to see how all the different combinations of players play together.

For instance, if you wanted to see how the team does when Oladipo and Sheehey are in the game together, filter both their columns. This will return all lineups for the year that Oladipo and Sheehey have been on the floor together!

Overall
What an outstanding game this was.  I apologize for getting the +/- Player Analysis out late, but Kirkwood was calling my name Saturday night.  The hall was rocking, IU is back into the top 25, and Kentucky went home a loser.... What a great night!

+/- Player Analysis for Every Game!

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Bangtime with Victor Oladipo (Kentucky Edition)

Victor Oladipo yet again threw down a thunderous dunk vs Kentucky which helped ignite the fan base. Victor's dunk was #6 on the Sports Center Top 10 that night. He can thank his teammate Christian Watford for keeping him out of the top 5! Check out the video here!

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The Shot Heard 'round B-Town and the World

The Shot Heard 'round B-Town

Hoosier fans rush the court in celebration.

Where does a Hoosiers fan begin when they try and describe the events and feelings that occurred last Saturday night? Does the entire experience begin at 5:25 when the ball was tipped off? Does it begin when we as Hoosiers fans woke up Saturday morning to do all of our chores early, just to be sure we were on our couch, or in the bar, or, for those lucky enough, in our seat in Assembly Hall? If you were one of the 17,000 plus fans with a ticket to the game, I’m sure that at 5:25 you weren’t sitting. And as I’m sure that my blood bleeds crimson, I’m sure wherever you were, you were not sitting down as Christian Watford released one of the most beautiful shots in Indiana Hoosiers basketball history. But for this fan, the experience of Saturday night’s victory over the then top ranked Kentucky Wildcats began long before Saturday.

I often repeat in my head two words that Tom Crean said when he got hired on as Indiana’s basketball coach, “It’s Indiana.” To those who question why I’m a Hoosiers fan, to those who don’t know why a coach would leave a Final Four team in Marquette to take a job for a program that is suffering, to those who don’t truly know why I often times schedule my social life around IU basketball games, I just tell them what Coach Crean told so many: It’s Indiana. It’s Indiana.

Saturday night was what I needed in my life when it comes to sports, and as conflicted as it makes me feel, it’s what I needed in my life to move on as an Indiana born man. When Watford’s shot went in, and Indiana “upset” Kentucky, I felt a rush of emotion come over me that I thought I would save for the next time IU won a national championship. Some may think that all of that emotion stems from watching IU do so poorly the past three years. Those people are correct, to a certain extent. I can’t lie and say that the past three years have been easy to watch, but as a true Indiana fan I knew that it was just a part of the process. I had to stick by my team, and their coach, and one day it would all come back. One day Indiana would be Indiana again.

But the emotion I felt as that three point shot went through the net, and the emotion I felt after pinching myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming, and the emotion I felt as I hugged my wife-to-be (proud to say a new Hoosier fan herself), that emotion stems from my bedroom closet when I was seven years old. When I was a kid (born in 1982, too young to remember the ’87 championship), I admit I was a bit of a trouble maker. More often than not I spent my time confined to my room for doing things I knew I shouldn’t be doing; hiding my report card from my parents, getting into trouble at school for taking the fish out of the tank and causing it to die, not doing my chores, etc. But even though I was told to go to my room after dinner, and not allowed to watch the Hoosiers play, I always had my radio that I would take into my big closet to set up shop with and listen to WOWO radio broadcast the game. In that closet is where I fell into a deep, never abandoning, never doubted love for Indiana basketball. In that closet is where Saturday night’s emotion stems from. That beautiful closet where my blankets where all laid out, where my stuffed animals kept me company and where my IU basketball calendar hung will forever be etched in my memory, right alongside a new memory I now have- the greatest shot I’ve ever seen taken by a Hoosier. Some say I’m living in the moment, and that’s fine. But I say, “No. I’m living in The Movement.”

 

-Kenneth Languell
@AskTheWho

 

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