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 Game: The 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...

Lamar Post Game Thoughts

Well...it wasn't pretty, but it was a win. The way I see it, it's still super early in the season, things will get better for the team, they're just gettin warmed up. After the recent off-court string of bad luck, I think our boys are doing fine, even though they should've blown out Lamar, they still got the W. I can honestly say I believe this team will drastically improve and end up proving the haters wrong. I see something in this team, something most other teams don't have. I see a true brotherhood. These guys share a bond with eachother, they are a family, and that is what will be the key to having a winning season. Im not saying they will go undefeated and hang a banner this season, (even though that would be a dream come true) but I am saying that as the season goes on, their bond will only get stronger, and the wins will be against some of the best teams out there. People are underestimating this team, which is a mistake, because there are some serious weapons on this squad, Troy "I can fly" Williams is the perfect example of a true athlete, and good ol James Blackmon Jr. is a 3 point sniper. This team is a loaded shotgun with a hair trigger, and they have the Big Ten in their crosshairs. Don't get me wrong I'm sure there will be a few tough losses this season, but there will also be some amazing wins as well. So put on your seatbelt, Hoosier Nation, cause you're in for a ride. 

At a Glance: The Lamar Cardinals (IU -29) 8:00 EST BTN

Quick Facts
-Established in 1923
-14,889 students
-Located in Beaumont, TX
-Main colors- Red & White
-2013/2014 results: 4-26 (3-25 in Southland Conference)
-Kevin Millar (MLB player) attended
-Final Four appearance- Never. Sweet 16 in 1980
-7 regular season conference championships
-Inaugural matchup between the Hoosiers & Cardinals

Results Thus Far (1-2/0-0)

11/14 @ #22 SMU                   L 54-93

11/16 vs. LSU-Alexandria       W 78-75

11/19 @ Texas State                L 55-65

Lamar Head Coach Tic Price- his first season

Kenpom Rating- 348th  

PPG-54.5 (298) 

Opponent PPG- 79.0 (#294)

Avg. Scoring Margin- -24.5 (325)

APG-8.0 (307)

RPG-31.0 (262)

Pts. Against-79.0 (294)

Fouls per game-22.5 (270)

Scoring/Breakdown

Lamar's Anthony Holliday leads the team in scoring

Category Leaders

Points

G #1 Anthony Holliday-12.0

F #5 Tyran de Lattibeaudiere-10.0

Rebounds

F #5 Tyran de Lattibeaudiere-7.0

F #21 Donovan Ross- 3.5

Assists

G #22 Preston Mattingly-2.0

F #5 Tyran de Lattibeaudiere-1.5

         Folks, there is not too much to say about this one. Based on all the above statistics and Lamar's short & poor track record we should be able to run & gun like there's no tomorrow. Not only are they only a few teams away from being ranked the worst team according to Kenpom, they don't even break the top 250 in a major stat category. Lamar's previous coach was Pat Knight, son of the general himself.  After going 29-62 the university decided enough was enough and is now giving coach Tic Price's hand a try. Price has held several different assistant coaching jobs and has been the head coach at New Orleans, Memphis, McNeese State & now Lamar, boasting a respectable .571 winning percentage overall. Knight has since moved on and is a scout for the Indiana Pacers.

           For the Hoosiers, they are coming off a solid win against a ranked SMU team that put up a good fight in the hall, while exposing some of the Hoosier's weaknesses in the narrow loss for the Mustangs. Even though this game may not be a true test of the inside game, IU needs to focus on getting the ball down low and letting HMP get some touches for his confidence. By no means can we survive this season by taking 30+ 3's, and I know we will not survive playing that game in the B1G. This game provides us another learning opportunity and a chance to get those players coming off suspension another run and more minutes under their belt. These 3 games before playing PITT at the hall are seemingly easy games on paper, so the Hoosiers should take care of business and use them as steps toward the B1G/ACC challenge. After PITT, there will be one more cupcake and then comes the tougher cardinal matchup with U of L. I'm not saying that the team shouldn't focus on these games or deem them important (they all are), but USE these games against the weakest of opponents to simulate and anticipate pace of play for the rest of the season. See you all tomorrow in Main Concourse D.

Score Prediction: IU 92 Lamar 58

IU Most Valuable Player Prediction: James Blackmon (again)

Quote Before the Game: "There are a lot of people who follow our every move and give us a lot of support. They give us pride. We are playing for those fans every time we run out on the court." ~Jarrad Odle

FLASHBACK

Drink of Choice

For the glory of old IU...

Get them now!

Finally here http://teespring.com/thebalconyseats you can get your first edition shirts now. We only have 9 days to get these shirts printed. Get them now and give them as Christmas gifts or do like I am and keep them for yourself. Thanks for your support.

Coming Soon

We are currently in the works on some T-shirts. Who is interested? This is just one more step to getting us placed on the #iubb map. Thanks for your support. Please let us know if you would be interested. Details coming soon.

At a Glance: The Southern Methodist Mustangs (IU +2.0) 8:00 EST BTN

Quick Facts
-Established in 1911

'Hacksaw' Jim Duggan

-6,300 undergraduate students
-Located in University Park, TX (Dallas)
-Main colors- Harvard Red, Yale Blue
-2013/2014 results: 27-10 (NIT Championship loss to Minnesota)
-'Hacksaw' Jim Duggan (pro wrestler) attended. No clue who this is…see right…
-Final Four appearance- 1956
-13 regular season conference championships
-Have not met since both IU & SMU were classified as 'major' schools back 1979-80.

Results Thus Far (1-1/0-0)

11/14 vs Lamar              W 93-54

11/17 @ #13 Gonzaga   L 72-56

SMU Head Coach Larry Brown

Kenpom Rating- 41st 

PPG-74.5 (96) 

Avg. Scoring Margin- +11.5 (91)

APG-16.0 (57)

RPG-39.0 (92)

Pts. Against-63.0 (116)

Fouls per game-20.5 (190)

Scoring/Breakdown

Ben Moore leads in scoring for SMU

 Category Leaders

Points

F #0 Ben Moore-16.5

C #2 Yanick Moreira-11.5

Rebounds

F #0 Ben Moore-8.5

C #2 Yanick Moreira-6.0

Assists

G #11 Nic Moore-5.0

F #0 Ben Moore-3.5

            Well, the season is now FINALLY here folks with Indiana hosting their first real competitive opponent in the hall tomorrow evening. The Southern Methodist Mustangs have a decent resume, but would certainly look more imposing if Emmanuel Mudiay hadn't decided to go play professional ball in China. Mudiay was one of the highest ranked players in the 2014 class. The Mustangs took a good beating the other night in Spokane against the Zags facing their first formidable opponent and have dropped off to 41st in the Kenpom rankings (buy into that as much as you would like). Nonetheless, they still have a legendary coach in Larry Brown whose acumen is extremely sharp and always a threat for any opponent. Clearly Indiana has shown its shooting prowess early on, something we have struggled with in recent years. This year though, the switch is flipped to the big-man role. Hanner has shown much improvement since last season but has not faced a skilled big man. Looks like Yanick Moreira will at least present a decent matchup, a center who can both score and rebound (he should be rebounding well at 6-11 by the way). We have an extremely small sample size to analyze from an offensive standpoint but I am confident IU will hold their own in that realm. Defense is the question since this will be the first real test of Crean's adjustments and tuning in the offseason.
             Most importantly for the cream and crimson, Devin Davis was released from the hospital today. On top of that, Troy Williams, Stan Robinson & Emmitt Holt will return to action against SMU, although in what capacity no one is really sure at this point. With our strong backcourt, lets run, run and then run some more against this team. When the game slows, hunker down and stick to the game plan on defense while being disciplined. For me, this game is the first reading on the thermometer of where we stand. Extremely early reading, but a reading nevertheless. By the way SMU…we don't often lose in Assembly Hall. Let's get at it Hoosiers.

Score Prediction: IU 79 SMU 72

IU Most Valuable Player Prediction: James Blackmon

Quote Before the Game: "When we play our game, our rhythm, our spacing and just take care of the basketball we’re a pretty good basketball team." ~Mike Davis

THIS IS INDIANA BASKETBALL

Drink of Choice

For the glory of old IU...

Keep on Keeping on

   I know it's the first game of an early college basketball season but what an opening. The opponent may have been subpar but who saw this shooting performance coming? Hopefully Coach Crean did, the Hoosiers came out shooting and making those shots, a lot of them.

  I wrote last season about needing a shooter. This year it appears we have a couple of them. Not to mention "The stat sheet filler" Tim Priller.

  No better way to start the season off right than with an overall good performance from everyone who touched the ball. When they touched the ball good things happened. I am not going to break down the numbers tonight. Instead I am gonna celebrate.

  Multiple players in double digits. Multiple players reaching career highs, multiple reasons to celebrate the first victory of the season.

  The Good:  The Hoosiers can shoot and spread the floor. Yogi is still Yogi and can and will take over games as needed. But this year he has some shooters to dish the rock to. The shots will fall and the shots will be fired by young Hoosiers full of confidence.

  The bad: In truth we still only have one big man. If  he gets in foul trouble, our team will without a doubt be in trouble. That will make it a necessity for those shots to fall. Those shots fell tonight, so I am not gonna complain about a career high in rebounds for Hanner. I am gonna celebrate. Plus he stayed out of foul trouble, overall the bad was a good team performance.

  I have been waiting months for this and it's finally here. Basketball season in Indiana, no matter the weather we are all B1G winners tonight. This is exactly the start I wanted and needed to see.

  With that being said it's game one. Let's keep this momentum running into game two. Keep spreading the floor, keep moving the ball, keep out of foul trouble, keep knocking down the threes and most importantly keep on winning. Because in Indiana that is what us as fans love to see. Most importantly as a team keep playing as a team.