Tuesday, December 30, 2014

At a Glance: The Nebraska Cornhuskers (NEB -3.5) 5:30 BTN, Pinnacle Bank Arena


Quick Facts
-Established in 1869
-First basketball season in 1897
-24,593 students
-Located in Lincoln, Nebraska
-Main colors- Scarlet & Cream
-2013/2014 results: 19-13 (11-7 in B1G)
-Warren Buffett attended
-Final Four appearances- 0
-6 regular season conference championships
-6th matchup between the Hoosiers & Cornhuskers (2-3)



Results Thus Far (8-4/0-0)

11/16 vs. Northern Kentucky        W 80-61
11/18 vs. Central Arkansas           W 82-56
11/22 @ Rhode Island                   L 62-66 (OT)
11/25 vs. Omaha                            W 80-67
11/28 vs. Tennessee-Martin           W 75-64
11/26 @ Florida State                    W 70-65
12/07 vs. Creighton                        L 55-65
12/10 vs. Incarnate Word               L 73-74
12/13 vs. Cincinnati                      W 56-55 (2 OT)
12/22 @ Hawai'i*                          L 58-66
12/23 vs. Loyola Marymount*      W 50-42 (OT)
12/25 vs. Ohio*                             W 71-58

*Denotes Diamond Head Classic in Hawai'i



Nebraska Head Coach Tim Miles 
Kenpom Rating- 89th  
PPG-67.7 (150) 
Opponent PPG- 61.6 (73)
Avg. Scoring Margin- +6.1 (90)
APG-10.5 (277)
RPG-35.5 (134)
Turnovers/game-15.0 (290)
Fouls per game-19.2 (201)





Scoring/Breakdown

                                                                                Category Leaders


Terran Petteway leads Nebraska in scoring
Points
F #5 Terran Petteway-19.3
G/F #31 Shavon Shields-17.2

Rebounds
G/F #31 Shavon Shields-6.9
F #2 David Rivers- 5.4

Assists
F #5 Terran Petteway-2.7
G #3 Benny Parker-2.3


         I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed with the result against Georgetown, just like all Hoosier fans. However, I did sense a bit of optimism coming out of the game heading into conference play. Most importantly, speaking for most of Hoosier nation, we are in a better place than many of us thought we might have been heading into the second portion of the season. We sit at 10-3 with a questionable loss at the hall to a directional team (who by the way isn't as bad as we thought), we competed with Louisville for much of the game until it got out of hand, and finally hung with Georgetown until the post play was the determining factor in the end. Perhaps not another 'season on the drink' as Chronic Hoosier so eloquently put it last year. Unfortunately, and somewhat fortunately as well, the B1G is looking like a much weaker conference than a season ago. On one hand it could help our conference record and we can potentially pick up some much-needed conference victories...on the other...several losses can really eat away at you since not as many bids may be given out as in the past. First up is Nebraska.

Pinnacle is NOT an easy place to start out B1G play. I think all of us Hoosiers know that very well, seeing that we lost there last time we faced the Huskers. To add on to that, the Hoosiers also lost the last time they faced big red in their former arena. Needless to say we tend to struggle in B1G away games and this is going to be a tough test even if the Huskers have struggled up to this point. Right now they are not a tournament team but part of me is just frightened of Pinnacle and Tim Miles. He finds the best in his players and realizes the magnitude of the game tomorrow, make no mistake about it. Their offense has been sloppy as they have struggled to find a rhythm (hence the low assists figure) and tend to turn the ball over quite frequently. That said, I do not see tomorrow's contest having much continuity or fluidity to it whatsoever. Hard-nosed, B1G basketball in Lincoln will be on display at it's finest. If they allow IU to run and gun with the 3s it could get out of hand...but not Miles and not at home. I see this as a tough road test and yet another way for us as fans to evaluate where this team is and what they are capable of doing. Take care of the basketball, fire away, and focus on the task ahead. Go Hoosiers and Happy New Years!

Score Prediction: IU 64 NEB 62

IU Most Valuable Player Prediction: Troy Williams

Quote Before the Game: I've never predicted anything. All I have ever said is, that we will do the very best we can -Bob Knight

The Venue


Pinnacle Bank Arena,  Basketball Capacity-15,147 














Short but sweet. A great clip






Drink of Choice 

Goes down smooth every time...

For the glory of old IU...

Monday, December 1, 2014

At a Glance: The Pittsburgh Panthers (IU -3.0) 7:00 ESPN2- Assembly Hall


Quick Facts
-Established in 1787
-First basketball season 1905-06
-28,649 students
-Located in Pittsburgh, PA
-Main colors- Blue & Gold
-2013/2014 results: 26-10 (11-7 in ACC)
-Sean Miller (Head Coach at Arizona) attended
-Final Four appearances- 1, 1941
-10 regular season conference championships
-Third matchup between the Hoosiers & Panthers (1-1)

Results Thus Far (4-2/0-0)

11/14 vs. Niagara                     W 78-45
11/16 vs. Samford                    W 63-56
11/21 @ Hawaii                       L 70-74
11/24 vs. Chaminade                W 81-68
11/25 vs. #15 San Diego St.     L 57-74
11/26 vs. Kansas State              W 70-47



Jamie Dixon holds a 262-86 record at PITT
Kenpom Rating- 37th  
PPG-67.6 (154) 
Opponent PPG- 59.2(#47)
Avg. Scoring Margin- +8.4 (76)
APG-16.4 (26)
RPG-31.6 (266)
Turnovers/game-11.0 (30)
Fouls per game-18.2 (121)

Scoring/Breakdown




Category Leaders


Michael Young leads PITT in scoring


Points
F #2 Michael Young-14.7
G #0 James Robinson-12.7

Rebounds
F #2 Michael Young-8.3
F #11 Derrick Randall- 5.0

Assists
G #0 James Robinson-5.8
G #13 Josh Newkirk-4.0




         Alright…not quite the start we wanted for the beginning of what is one of the easiest of non-conference schedules in all the land. However, Tuesday evening gives us an opportunity to step up our game in an amped up atmosphere at Assembly Hall on the national stage. While PITT has a couple blemishes on their record, any team coached by Jamie Dixon is not to be taken lightly. Even with a bad loss to Hawaii, the Panthers sit comfortably within the Kenpom rankings, almost 30 spots ahead of the Hoosiers. They don't score in droves, but are in the top 50 when it comes to opponent scoring. More notable is PITT's apparent passing ability as they sit almost crack the top 25 in that particular category. What is slightly confusing is the comment we heard from Crean after last game regarding PITT's rebounding…that they would be 'nasty' on the glass. Up to this point it doesn't necessarily look like they are dominating on that front. As we all know, however, the Hoosiers struggle mightily on the boards.

This is a MASSIVE game for our team both in terms of confidence and NCAA tourney hopes. With one already sorry loss to Eastern Washington we will need a couple of quality wins between PITT, Louisville, Butler & Gtown. Personally I feel that we NEED to win this game. Louisville will be an extremely tough match up for this young team on the road and Gtown is no slouch. Butler is definitely the most winnable game among the 4 but having 1 win going into that one would be better than none. For the game against PITT, attendance should be back on track since students have returned from break as well. For whatever reason I have a feeling we will show up like we did against SMU and find a way to pull it out when we are against the ropes. If we can't, some alarm bells will be sounding as Butler and Gtown then become huge non-conference must-wins. Louisville would be a complete shock to my system to say the least. Let's rally the troops tomorrow and have the hall rocking again. Enjoy the game, Hoosier nation!

Score Prediction: IU 63 PITT 61

IU Most Valuable Player Prediction: Yogi Ferrell

Quote Before the GameThe will to succeed is important, but what's more important is the will to prepare- The General-Bob Knight

B1G/ACC FLASHBACK 



Drink of Choice


Bell's Oberon- WINNING

For the glory of old IU...