#IUpickem Results - Chattanooga

Every game day we will tweet out asking for your predictions.  We will have a year long competition with some sort of prize at the end (still a work in progress!)  Here is how the competition will be scored:

Rules:

• Each week you will submit the winner of the game, and the score for each team
• The top 10 each week will be awarded points (1st= 10, 10th = 1).
• Scoring:
• You will only be eligible to score points if the team you selected wins
• Assuming many people will pick IU all year long, we have a detailed tie breaker.
• 1st Tiebreaker is: Closest to total points in the game
• 2nd Tiebreaker: Closest to total points for IU
• 3rd Tiebreaker: Closest to total points for Opponent
• If this continues to be a tie, you both will split the points for your position.

With that being said, here are the current standings!

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Hulls, Oladipo, Moore Reflect on Win

Check out Jordan Hulls, Victor Oladipo and Daniel Moore as they discuss the Hoosiers victory tonight!

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Gm 2: +/- Player Analysis - Chattanooga

Welcome back to another addition of the +/- Player Analysis for your 2011-2012 Indiana Hoosiers! IU took on the Mocs of Chattanooga on Sunday evening and showed Hoosier fans this isn't the same old team as they won 78-53.

Key Players:

• Victor Oladipo: "Know Me" Victor jumped out of the building again tonight and showed his new offensive skill set. He couldn't be stopped from getting to the lane tonight and should be able to slice through defenses all year long. The key for VO, will be converting his free throws, because he will be living at the line if he continues to attack the basket with that kind of tenacity.
  
• Jordan Hulls: He has developed a DEADLY quick release three pointer. His 18 points tonight all came from behind the arc. The beauty of Hulls is he doesn't force these threes. If anything, he is probably too passive when it comes to shooting some of threes that fans would love to see him shoot.
  

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

+/- Player Analysis vs Stony Brook
*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:

• Christian Watford got the honors of the highest +/- for his time in the game tonight. This might come as a surprise to most, as Watford has been much more quite throughout the games so far. Watford was 1-7 from the field for 2 points in his 20 minutes of play. He did however contribute with 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
  
• Cody Zeller -As I predicted after Stony Brook's game, I thought Cody Zeller would lead the team in Gross +/- for the many games this year. It almost happened again tonight. The team functions much better with Zeller in the game. I will dig into this further down below.
  
• Daniel Moore - I mentioned during the game that Moore would stand out again. If you watch the game, and get over the fact that he is a walk on player that you don't feel should be playing (He is a D1 basketball talent as he had a full ride to Boston U!), you will see a player that hustles and gives 100%. Moore continuously comes up with loose balls and positions himself to be in the right spots at all times. We will see it time and time again, IU increases leads when Moore comes in to provide that spark.
  
• 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 25pt win.

Lineups of the Night:


Key Takeaways: (click to enlarge)

• 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.
• For the 2nd straight game the Hoosiers couldn't find the right lineup to shake their rusty starts. It wasn't until their 9th lineup of the night that they started to turn things on.
  
• Overall, Coach Crean used 27 different combinations of players in the game. Of his 27 combinations, 10 were positive, 10 were neutral (0) and the remaining 7 were negative.
• The Best Lineup of the Night just so happened to be the only unit Coach used multiple times (3).
  

Best Lineup of the Night:
The best lineup of the night (+11) goes to Hulls, Oladipo, VJ3, Watford and Zeller. This unit was used three different times in the game. Coach Crean named this group the Starters of the game. They earned a +2 for their first 5 minutes in the game. The big push for this unit came in the at the start of the second half. The group played together until 15:40 mark and they were able to increase the 12 point half time lead to 21 pts. An interesting side note, the best lineup of the night from the Stony Brook game consisted of 4/5 of this lineup. The only difference was Elston plugged in for Watford.

Worst Lineup of the Night:
The worst lineup of the night came at the end of the game with IU leading 65-38. Obviously at this point of the game, the game was all but wrapped up. However, this unit did not consist of walk-ons. The worst lineup of the night goes to..... (drum roll please).... Hulls, Oladipo, Sheehey, VJIII and Elston. The group ended their 2+ min stint only scoring 3 points while allowing 7. They at the 4:40 mark with IU leading 68-45.

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.
For statistical accuracy, I have dropped the Exhibition game from the stats I used last week. The stats below are only related to Stony Brook and Chattanooga.

• Daniel Moore leads the pack as the player that provides a great spark for the team. Moore is a constant fight between IU fans. Many fans feel he isn't needed and do not see why Crean plays him. Some feel Moore is a great addition as he goes in and hustles and makes things happen for IU. We will let Hoosier Nation continue that fight. We will focus on the stats. In IU's two regular season games, IU outscores their opponents by 1.53 points per minute Daniel Moore is on the floor. You can argue all you want, the kid helps IU's team.
• After saying my dialogue about Moore above, I wouldn't place a ton of reliance on these stats right now. It is still very early on in the season and these stats will regress to the mean for each player.
  

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

• Coach has used 44 different lineups this year.
• Of those 44, only 9 are negative year to date.
• Best lineup is +10 (team mentioned above)
• Worst lineup is -5. (Worst lineup from Stony Brook, they did not play vs Chattanooga)
  
• 5 lineups have been used multiple times this year.
• Hulls, Oladipo, Watford, VJ3 and Zeller have been on the court together 5 separate times this year are statistically the best Lineup for IU right now.
• Cody Zeller is present in the top 6 lineups for +/- this year. The next highest presence is Hulls and VO (3 of 6).
  

Overall
IU played another great game tonight. It will be extremely interesting to see how they look on the road at Evansville. Evansville will be a great early season test as they just beat Butler this weekend. Check back to the site for a preview of the IU @ Evansville game. Also make sure you follow us on Twitter to be a part of our IUpickem Challenge!

Game 1 : Stony Brook +/- Analysis

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The New and Improved Hoosiers

It is still extremely early, but a lot has been learned after the Hoosiers’ first two games. There is more than enough room for improvement, but what I have seen so far is much more than what I had hoped. Cody Zeller has arrived, and he is the real deal. He is very mobile for his size, a tremendous passer, and an unquantifiable value to this team. The pre-season media “experts” who predicted the Hoosiers to finish near the very bottom of the Big Ten are simply wrong. The two main woes from last year, turnovers and fouls, are much closer to being corrected. It is still to be seen just how much we can expect from this squad, but one thing is for sure. Tom Crean’s team will be competitive all season long.

Crean has spoken often about the importance of a deep team that can challenge each other for minutes. He finally seems to have it. I don’t expect this team to have a consistent top scorer as there are several players who could put up the most points on any given night. The team also seems to have enough discipline defensively this season for players to be held accountable. Perimeter defense will likely be a struggle all season, but strides have been made and will continue to be made on the defensive end. Victor Oladipo appears to have made himself the lock-down defender that Indiana will so greatly need as the season progresses.

Offensively, Oladipo has looked fearless. His ability to get to the rim has always been there, but his shot looks to be much improved. Apparently nothing gets Victor fired up like a Seawolf or a Moc. His energy is contagious, and he has clearly given the Hoosiers a big boost. His athleticism is crucial to the Hoosiers as they must be effective in transition to be successful. Combine this with shooters like Jordan Hulls and Zeller’s ability to run the floor, and Indiana will win games.

After two games, I am projecting the Hoosiers to finish the year 18-13 heading into the Big Ten Tournament. Brace yourselves for this one...I also expect the Hoosiers to finally crack the top 25 once again this season. Yes, you read that correctly but let me explain. I anticipate the Hoosiers to head into the game against Kentucky (Dec. 10th) with a perfect 8-0 record. Highlighted by wins at N.C. State and home against Butler, it should be convincing enough for voters. After that, it’s a mystery how Crean’s team will fare against much stronger competition.

I have heard several players listed as the “X-Factor” for this ballclub. Players like Maurice Creek before his injury and Verdell Jones have been mentioned. In my opinion, the player that will determine just how good or mediocre this team will be is Christian Watford. Will his presence be diminished by that of Cody Zeller, or will the two team up to be one of the most feared front courts in the Big Ten? It is just one of the many questions we will have to wait to learn, but it will be fun to watch nonetheless.

--Travis Cunningham

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Chattanooga Postgame Immediate Reaction

Well this game was a great game to watch. Indiana started off a little slow and kept Chattanooga around early in the game. The Hoosiers, especially Watford and Jones III, were playing out of control and taking early shots, but later calmed down and began to play confidently. Led by the one and only Victor Oladipo!

Oladipo ended the night with a career high 21 points, many of which were scored in high flying fashion. Jordan Hulls hit six three pointers and had a few nice assists to help out the Hoosiers in the second half.

Daniel Moore sparked the Hoosiers coming off of the bench and as @Chronichoosier noted" another “Pepperpot.""

Issues:
Some of the issues I found during this game were the number of turnovers IU had vs. Chattanooga. 18 turnovers against a Southern Conference team are WAY too many. What is going to happen when we play a team from the Big Ten? Also, one word Watford! OK I will stop obsessing and be grateful for the product we are putting out on the court.

Up Next: @Evansville November 16th

-Brian Hall

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Hoo's Next? - Chattanooga Edition

Who: Chattanooga Mocs
When: 5:00pm ET - Sunday November 13, 2011
Where: Assembly Hall, Bloomington Indiana
TV: Big Ten Network
Line: Hoosiers are favored by 17.



The Scoop:
Chattanooga is opening their season this evening in Bloomington vs the Hoosiers. Last year, Chattanooga finished 16-16 with a 12-6 conference record. The Mocs are relying heavily on transfers this year, as 4 out of 5 starters all came from other D1 schools. The Mocs will try to get in your face and make it a physical game, IU needs to keep the game fast pace and they should pull away.

What to Expect:
Expect another big effort by The Super Sophs and Zeller. These guys are the fuel to IU's team and will continue to help the Hoosiers win ball games. For more on what to expect, check out our Pre-Game Notes - Chattanooga post from earlier this morning.

Outcome: Chattanooga will show it's experience earlier. Unfortunately for them, IU will be too much and will overpower the Mocs. I'd expect IU to take this on 84-68.

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PRE-GAME NOTES: IU vs. Chattanooga 11/13/11

Coming off a great victory on Friday against Stony Brook, the Hoosiers have a quick turnaround and will face Chattanooga tonight at 5pm. Here is the breakdown of what to watch during tonight’s contest.

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