The Crimson Quarry

Northwestern 73, Indiana 58: Hoosiers' season ends with Big Ten Tournament loss to Wildcats.

2010-03-12T17:55:04Z

2 days ago: Northwestern's Michael Thompson (22) goes up for a basket against Indiana's Jeremiah Rivers (5) in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the opening round of the Big Ten conference tournament in Indianapolis, Thursday, March 11, 2010. Northwestern defeated Indiana 73-58. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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And that's that. For the second consecutive year, IU's season has ended on the first day of the Big Ten Tournament. Unlike last year's loss to Penn State, the Hoosiers led for much of the way and for most of the game appeared likely to advance to the quarterfinals. Because of some combination of luck and IU's defense, Northwestern's horrid three point shooting carried over from Saturday's game into this one (the Wildcats were only 2-18 in the first half from deep). Yet again, however, for reasons I can't fully explain (I suppose the zone defense is something of a factor, particularly given that IU doesn't ordinarily play zone), a generally poor rebounding team dominated the offensive glass. IU had 19 defensive rebounds to NU's 17 offensive rebounds, and in the first half, when NU was shooting poorly and IU could have opened up a bigger lead, NU led rebounding 10-9 at its end of the court. A key sequence in the first half was when IU, with a five point lead and the opportunity to play for the last shot, committed an over-and-back violation and NU pulled to within three on a putback at the buzzer. Still, given the way IU's offense wilted in the second half under NU's 1-3-1 zone, I'm not sure that 4 or 5 point swing would have mattered much.

IU's shooting percentages were relatively steady, but the old familar foe, turnovers, returned: after committing only six turnovers in the first half, IU committed 13 in the second half. In a 61 possession game, that's horrible, and it's disheartening to note that IU's turnover percentage of 33 was the worst of the season. There were some glimmers: Derek Elston continued to play with promise, and Verdell Jones III continues to impress with his midrange game and committed only one turnover. Still, at the end of the season, there is not much point in a detailed breakdown of this particular game.

The offseason does present some interesting storylines. Will there be any attrition? If so, will be be voluntary or encouraged? Who will succeed Roshown McLeod as assistant coach? Will there be any other staff changes? Will IU add a spring recruit (or more, depending on the answers to the questions above)? Obviously, some of these answers are days or weeks away.

Also, what will the offseason bring for this site? First, football season is only...wait, never mind, it's a hell of a long way off. Still, before then we have spring practice, I'll be adding some coverage of the defending Big Ten champion baseball team, I'll talk NFL Draft as it pertains to the solid crop of Hoosier candidates. Tempting as it is to walk away from the season, keep looking for basketball content as well. After all, "it's Indiana." now that the book is closed on the 2009-10 Hoosiers, it will be easier to compare this year's team to last years, and I may dig into some detail on tom Crean's Marquette teams. Finally, while I missed the anniversary, March 3 made it one year since I jumped to SB Nation. In the 374 days since then, IU has won a combined 14 football and men's basketball games. It hasn't always been easy to write about, and I'm sure not easy to read about either, but thanks for doing so. My hope is to expand coverage before football season begins, and hopefully a better 2010-11 awaits IU and its fans.

#10 Indiana v. #7 Northwestern: Big Ten Tournament, round one (game thread).

2010-03-11T19:30:29Z

Go Hoosiers! I'm opening this one early in case anyone wants to discuss the scintillating Iowa-Michigan matchup that precedes the IU game.

Big Ten Tournament, round 1: Indiana v. Northwestern, again.

2010-03-11T14:00:36Z

More photos » Nam Y. Huh - AP

IU beat Northwestern on Saturday but did not stop John Shurna.

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Northwestern Wildcats
Current record: 19-12 (17-11)
Current RPI: 117
Current Sagarin: 77
Current Pomeroy: 80
2008-09 record: 17-14 (8-10), lost to Tulsa in the first round of the NIT
2008-09 RPI: 78
2008-09 Sagarin: 59
2008-09 Pomeroy: 70
Series: IU leads 108-46
Last Northwestern win: 2/7/2010 (78-61 in Evanston)
Last IU win: 3/6/2010 (88-80 in Bloomington)
Pomeroy scouting report
TV: approximately 5 p.m., ESPN2

Blogs: Lake the Posts, Sippin' on Purple

Indiana and Northwestern meet for the second time in 6 days but for the first time ever in the Big Ten Tournament. IU and Northwestern split the regular season series. Northwestern won the game in Evanston handily and IU won in overtime just a few days ago. As I noted yesterday, Northwestern is the only school that IU has never played in Big Ten Tournament play. This is IU's fifth appearance on the tournament's first day. Northwestern, on the other hand, has played on day 1 in each of the previous 12 tournaments and has made it to Friday only four times. For IU, 2009 was a year of negative milestones, and last season IU exited on Thursday for the first time.

I don't know what to expect. IU was fortunate that Northwestern shot poorly in last weekend's matchup. Certainly, IU's 2-3 zone did seem to cause some struggles for Northwestern, and the Wildcats shot only 31 percent from three point range (season average: 36-4). After a week of preparation, can the Hoosiers successfully limit NU again?

Northwestern's scoring balance in the two games was dramatically different. In the first game, all five Northwestern starters scored in double figures. In the most recent game, John Shurna (31 points) and Michael Thompson (25 points) accounted for well over half of NU's points.

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
John Shurna	31	36.4	6.5	13.9	46.8	2.4	6.5	36.8	3.1	4.1	75.6	1.8	4.6	6.4	2.6	1.9	0.8	1.0	2.1	18.5
Michael Thompson	31	37.8	4.3	10.2	42.1	2.5	6.1	40.7	2.8	3.4	82.9	0.4	1.4	1.8	4.2	1.6	1.0	0.1	2.7	13.9
Drew Crawford	31	27.1	3.5	7.6	45.5	1.5	4.1	35.2	1.6	2.5	63.6	1.4	2.5	3.9	1.9	1.5	0.5	0.7	3.0	9.9
Jeremy Nash	31	34.5	2.8	7.4	37.7	1.2	4.0	30.6	2.3	2.7	82.4	0.8	3.0	3.8	3.2	1.5	1.7	0.6	2.9	9.0
Luke Mirkovic	31	26.3	2.9	6.0	48.1	0.3	0.8	34.6	1.5	2.8	54.7	2.0	3.9	5.9	2.4	1.5	0.8	0.9	2.2	7.6
Alex Marcotullio	31	14.2	1.6	4.0	39.5	1.3	3.4	37.1	0.5	0.8	70.8	0.3	1.0	1.3	0.9	0.6	0.9	0.0	1.7	5.0
Kyle Rowley	27	9.0	0.6	1.4	41.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.7	1.3	52.8	0.7	1.5	2.2	0.4	1.0	0.0	0.2	1.7	1.9
Mike Capocci	23	7.6	0.7	1.4	53.1	0.0	0.2	25.0	0.3	0.5	63.6	0.3	1.3	1.6	0.6	0.6	0.3	0.2	1.2	1.8
Davide Curletti	21	7.7	0.4	0.9	50.0	0.1	0.2	75.0	0.4	0.9	50.0	0.4	0.9	1.2	0.6	0.4	0.2	0.1	1.4	1.4
Ivan Peljusic	21	6.6	0.4	1.4	31.0	0.2	0.6	30.8	0.2	0.4	55.6	0.3	1.0	1.3	0.6	0.6	0.2	0.3	0.7	1.3
Nick Fruendt	18	3.1	0.3	0.7	41.7	0.1	0.4	28.6	0.2	0.2	100.0	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.9
Reggie Hearn	12	2.0	0.2	0.3	50.0	0.1	0.2	50.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.4
Jeff Ryan	1	14.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	0.0	1.0	0.0
Austin Nichols	5	0.8	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Maurice Creek	12	25.4	5.8	10.9	52.7	2.5	5.6	44.8	2.4	3.2	76.3	1.6	2.3	3.8	1.8	1.5	1.4	0.4	1.8	16.4
Verdell Jones III	30	31.3	4.8	12.0	39.9	0.6	2.4	25.4	4.6	6.1	75.3	0.9	3.0	3.9	3.3	2.9	0.9	0.4	1.7	14.8
Christian Watford	30	28.3	3.9	10.3	37.9	0.5	1.5	31.8	3.8	4.8	79.7	2.0	4.1	6.0	0.6	2.3	0.5	0.6	2.1	12.1
Devan Dumes	29	18.1	2.1	6.3	33.3	1.1	3.4	31.3	1.5	2.1	70.5	0.4	1.6	2.1	1.1	1.8	1.0	0.1	2.0	6.8
Jordan Hulls	30	24.9	2.1	5.1	40.8	1.5	3.8	40.4	0.7	0.9	78.6	0.6	1.5	2.1	1.5	1.1	0.6	0.0	1.9	6.4
Jeremiah Rivers	30	28.7	2.1	5.4	39.5	0.0	0.2	0.0	1.7	3.0	57.8	0.9	3.5	4.4	3.5	2.9	1.4	0.6	2.6	6.0
Derek Elston	30	15.1	2.2	4.7	46.5	0.3	0.8	37.5	1.0	1.5	65.2	1.7	2.3	4.0	0.4	1.1	0.7	0.4	1.9	5.7
Tom Pritchard	30	20.2	1.8	3.0	60.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.6	1.6	36.7	1.7	1.8	3.5	0.5	1.0	0.5	0.6	3.2	4.2
Bobby Capobianco	30	11.8	0.9	2.2	40.9	0.2	0.5	31.3	0.3	0.7	45.5	1.3	1.3	2.7	0.3	0.7	0.4	0.3	2.3	2.3
Matt Roth	2	5.5	0.5	1.0	50.0	0.0	0.5	0.0	1.0	1.0	100.0	0.5	0.5	1.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	2.0
Daniel Moore	27	7.3	0.4	0.7	50.0	0.1	0.3	28.6	0.5	0.6	82.4	0.2	0.6	0.7	0.3	0.5	0.4	0.0	1.0	1.3
Bawa Muniru	18	3.4	0.2	0.4	50.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.4	37.5	0.4	0.3	0.7	0.0	0.2	0.1	0.3	0.5	0.6
Tijan Jobe	21	4.6	0.2	0.4	44.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.5	0.7	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.2	1.0	0.4
Brett Finkelmeier	12	2.1	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.3	0.5	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0
Kory Barnett	11	2.1	0.0	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0
Steven Gambles	7	1.7	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.1	0.6	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0

Well, we will see how it turns out. This is one of Northwestern's best teams ever, and I'm sure NU will be motivated to knock off IU after losing last weekend. The Hoosiers, of course, along with Penn State and Michigan, have no hope for postseason play absent a miraculous 4-game run in this tournament. The winner faces Purdue at 6:30 Friday.

Hoosier Headlines for March 11, 2010: Big Ten Tournament, day one.

2010-03-11T11:24:32Z

More photos » Darron Cummings - AP

7 days ago: Indiana forward Christian Watford, left, grabs a rebound from Northwestern guard Jeremy Nash during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Bloomington, Ind., Saturday, March 6, 2010. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

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IU opens tourney with Cats in rematch of season finale (Post-Tribune)
"After losing on the road to the Wildcats by 16 points earlier this season, the Hoosiers sought and claimed revenge, playing like a completely different team Saturday."
Fife visits Indiana practice (The News-Sentinel - Fort Wayne IN)
"Dane Fife plus an open assistant coaching position plus Fife’s appearance at Wednesday’s Hoosier basketball practice plus coach Tom Crean’s appreciation of ex-IU players equals what? The correct answer, at least for now, is zero."
Rare victory re-energized Hoosiers for tournament (The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Ind.)
"What people saw was the confidence of the young guys throughout the game," IU coach Tom Crean said Monday. "Some players who came in contributed. We got solid minutes from everybody who was in the game. When you get that, you are probably going to win."
Hoosiers, Wildcats set for quick rematch (Evansville Courier & Press)
"IU coach Tom Crean wasn't divulging his game plan, but suffice it to say that Northwestern will have to prove it can beat the zone before the Hoosiers change up anything."
Big Ten Tournament Eve (Lake The Posts)
Preview: Northwestern vs. Indiana: Glory's Last Shot (Sippin' On Purple)
"Going into conference play, many NU fans thought there would be post-season implications on the line in today's game; unfortunately no one thought the 'Cats would find themselves on the wrong side of the NIT bubble."

Regular season in past, IU starts fresh at Big Ten Tournament (Indiana Daily Student)
"IU’s body of work over the last nine weeks secured them the No. 10 seed in an 11-team conference tournament. It wasn’t a pretty season and certainly IU is not expected to make many waves up the road in Indianapolis. But a 30-game season ended last weekend and a new one begins today for the Hoosiers."

IU focuses on deep ball in third meeting with Northwestern (Indiana Daily Student)
"But there’s one thing IU knows Northwestern won’t change when the two teams play in the Big Ten Tournament’s first round at 5 p.m. Thursday: its volume of 3-point attempts."

Quick turnaround could pose problems for Hoosiers (Indiana Daily Student)
"And while common sense might say playing an opponent twice within one week is good for IU — especially since the Hoosiers will have a hometown crowd in Indianapolis — a quick rematch hasn’t always worked in the past."

Creek sees Indiana's future (The Courier-Journal)
"The frustrations of watching his Indiana University teammates lose game after game caught up with injured freshman guard Maurice Creek last Wednesday night following a loss at Purdue. As his teammates shuffled into the locker room at Mackey Arena, Creek sat down in a chair, put his head in his hands and began to cry."

Jeremy Nash taking responsibility as Northwestern’s senior leader (Chicago Tribune)
"I felt like it was my fault," Nash said. "I should have been more aggressive and made sure guys followed him after he hit his first couple of 3s. It's kind of personal now, and I don't plan on letting it happen again in the tournament."

Questions heading into the Big Ten Tournament ( Hoosiers Insider | The Indianapolis Star)
"This much I know for sure. McLeod's dismissal had nothing to do with NCAA problems or compliance issues. All Crean has said on the issue publically is that it was something that needed to happen immediately moving forward."

Crean: Trust, loyalty important for next assistant coach (Inside the Hall)
"The second-year coach was also asked about the dismissal of assistant coach Roshown McLeod, who has yet to speak publicly but plans to do so in the coming days via a press release."

Big Ten Tournament History and trivia.

2010-03-09T17:18:44Z

More photos » Darron Cummings - AP

NU and IU ready for the rematch.

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Here is a brief look at the history of the Big Ten Tournament and how IU and other teams have fared. These are actual results, including ultimately vacated wins by Michigan and others.

Tournament champions

Illinois, 2 (2003, 2005)

Iowa, 2 (2001, 2006)

Michigan State, 2 (1999, 2000)

Ohio State, 2 (2002, 2007)

Wisconsin, 2 (2004, 2008)

Michigan, 1 (1998) (vacated)

Purdue, 1 (2009)

Most wins

Illinois, 22

Ohio State, 15

Wisconsin, 14

Iowa, 13

Michigan State, 13

Michigan,9

Minnesota,9

Indiana, 8

Purdue,7

Penn State,6

Northwestern, 4

Winning percentage

Illinois, .688 (22-10)

Ohio State, .600 (15-10)

Wisconsin, .583 (14-10)

Iowa, .565 (13-10)

Michigan State, .565 (13-10)

Michigan, .450 (9-11)

Minnesota, .428 (9-12)

Indiana, .400 (8-12)

Purdue, .388 (7-11)

Penn State, .333 (6-12)

Northwestern, .250 (4-12)

In Indianapolis:

Iowa: 6-4

Wisconsin: 6-3

Illinois:7-5

Ohio State:7-4

Minnesota: 6-5

Michigan State: 5-5

Indiana: 3-5

Michigan:4-5

Northwestern: 1-5

Penn State:2-5

Purdue:3-4

IU vs. opponents in Big Ten Tournament:

Illinois 1-5

Iowa 0-2

Michigan 1-0

Michigan State 1-0

Minnesota 0-2

Northwestern 0-0

Ohio State 2-1

Penn State 1-1

Purdue 0-1

Wisconsin 2-0

Notes:

This will be IU's fifth appearance on the first day, but the fourth in eight years.
No current IU player has won a Big Ten Tournament game.
IU's 2009 loss to Penn State was the first time the Hoosiers had been eliminated on the first day of the BTT (IU lost its first game of the tournament in 1999, 2000, 2005, 2007, and 2008, but had the bye in each of those seasons).
Now that IU is playing Northwestern, IU now have played every conference school in the BTT at least once.
Before 2009, Purdue was 0-4 in Indianapolis and ranked dead last in winning percentage.
Illinois is 15-5 in Chicago but only 7-5 in Indianapolis.
Northwestern is the only team that has never earned a bye. NU's best seed was #6, in 2004, and the Wildcats, who are the #7 seed this year, were also #7 in 2002. The Wildcats are 3-1 in their four BTT games as the higher seed.

Hoosier Headlines for March 8, 2010: Roshown McLeod is out, and Northwestern postgame coverage.

2010-03-08T14:20:35Z

More photos » Darron Cummings - AP

7 days ago: Indiana forward Derek Elston, right, puts up a shot against Northwestern forward/center Luka Mirkovic during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Bloomington, Ind., Saturday, March 6, 2010. Indiana defeated Northwestern 88-80 in overtime. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

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Crean fires IU assistant McLeod (The Indianapolis Star)
I have no idea what to make of this. IU issued an official release, and the construction was interesting. He says that Crean informed him of the decision on Sunday, but McLeod was absent from Saturday's game. It's strange to make a move like this when, barring a miracle, the season will be over within the next few days. I'm sure we haven't heard the last of this.
McLeod dismissed (The Hoosier Scoop) (ADDED ON EDIT)
The H-T reports that McLeod was recruiting on Saturday and fired on Sunday. McLeod declined to comment.
Indiana takes aim at Big Ten Tournament (The News-Sentinel - Fort Wayne IN)
"At key moments against Northwestern coach Tom Crean went with four freshmen and a sophomore. This would have been terrifying in November. In March, with basically a season of games and experience to draw on, it’s mostly interesting."
Led by youngest members, IU avoids worst ever losing streak (Indiana Daily Student)
"The Hoosiers were one loss away from the worst overall losing streak in school history, and, while one win can not salvage a season, Crean seemed to have a better sense of his team’s future direction Saturday."
Freshmen trio emerges, likely key to IU’s future (Indiana Daily Student)
"But it was also a day in which three other freshmen — guard Jordan Hulls and forwards Derek Elston and Bobby Capobianco — emerged as the other pieces that could eventually help turn around the IU basketball program."

Indiana should keep up attack (Evansville Courier & Press)
"And I think that’s why it’s going to turn around. There are moves to be made and we’ve got to continue to do that in different facets of the program to move forward. But we’ve got a pretty good core."

Crean: McLeod will not return as basketball assistant (Indiana Daily Student)
"He played in the NBA for three seasons from 1999-2001 out of St. John’s and Duke. An injury ended his career in 2002 and has been coaching at the high school, AAU and collegiate levels since. "

Looking back at IU-Northwestern (Hoosiers Insider | The Indianapolis Star)

Hoosiers freshmen sendseniors out with victory (Post-Tribune)
"It took two emotional halves, a spirited run in overtime and career performances from four freshmen, but in the end, Indiana came out victorious on senior day, snapping an 11-game losing streak with an 88-80 victory over Northwestern."

Freshman Elston finishes with flourish (The Indianapolis Star)
"In the past four games, the freshman forward from Tipton has scored 44 points and pulled down 26 rebounds. Saturday, he had a career-high 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds in IU's 88-80 overtime victory over Northwestern on senior day at Assembly Hall."

IU suddenly perks up (Evansville Courier & Press)
"But when the Indiana University basketball team, labeled "soft" by coach Tom Crean during an 11-game losing streak, needed someone to flex his muscles on Saturday, Hulls was ready for the job."

Senior Day Speeches 2010 (Hoosiers Insider | The Indianapolis Star)
Central Indiana News - IndyStar.com is the home page of Indianapolis Indiana with in depth and updated Central Indiana local news. Stay informed with both Indianapolis news as well as headlines and stories from around the world.

College basketball winners and losers (College Basketball - Rivals.com)
"No one needed a win more than Crean and the Indiana Hoosiers, who had lost 11 straight before defeating Northwestern 88-80 in overtime."

Hoosiers, Hoops Gods Stymie NU 88-80 (OT) (Lake The Posts)
"I called this one a month ago, but I did not in my wildest nightmare expect to go 2-4 against Iowa, Indiana and Penn State - the worst three teams in the league (yes, I know Penn State is playing like a top tier team right now). Northwestern may very well face these same Hoosiers - in INDY - depending on how things shake out."

Indiana 88, Northwestern 80 (Sippin' On Purple)
"There were numerous momentum swings in the game, but I thought the biggest came midway through the 2nd half. The 'Cats had turned a 6 point halftime deficit into a 4 point lead, and using full court pressure to get consecutive steals, they were on the verge of breaking the game open. But twice they failed to score in transition, first when Shurna missed both free throws after getting fouled, and second when Jeremy Nash threw up the ugliest looking reverse lay-up attempt I have ever seen."

Indiana 88, Northwestern 80: Hoosiers hang on for Senior Day win over Wildcats.

2010-03-07T16:01:32Z

More photos » Darron Cummings - AP

7 days ago: Indiana guard Jordan Hulls, left, and forward Derek Elston reacts after Indiana defeated Northwestern 88-80 in overtime in an NCAA college basketball game in Bloomington, Ind., Saturday, March 6, 2010. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

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Here's the box score. Like so many games in the last two seasons, Indiana allowed a game that was in hand to get away, but fortunately, thanks to a hot start in overtime, IU held on to beat Northwestern and send the seniors away with a win. IU led by 8 with 3 minutes remaining in regulation but allowed NU to make a 8-0 run to force the game to overtime. After NU tied the game with 1:11 remaining, IU didn't get another shot, turning the ball over on both possessions. Still, IU then loosened up and dominated overtime, taking a 7 point lead in the first two minutes and never allowing NU to get closer than 5.

IU struggled with turnovers, as usual, and shot only 43 percent from the field, but IU won the game on the offensive boards, behind the arc, and at the line, and the 2-3 zone that IU employed seemed to stymie Northwestern for long stretches of the game. IU rebounded 18 of 34 misses, which was even better than Northwestern's 21 of 47. The Hoosiers shot 26-32 from the line compared to 9-15 for NU. Both teams shot lots of three pointers. NU shot 31 percent on 42 three point attempts, while IU was 10-23. Of course, freshman Jordan Hulls was the hero, scoring 24 points on 8-12 three point shooting. How did IU's other individuals fare?

Derek Elston started and scored 17 points on 5-11 from the field and had 8 rebounds.
Christian Watford shot only 3-10 from the field but scored 14 points thanks to a strong defensive performance. He also had 11 rebounds, 10 defensive.
Bobby Capobianco scored 8 points and had 7 rebounds in 24 minutes.
Verdell Jones scored 18 points.

The Hoosiers ended Northwestern's longest winning streak in this series since the 1930s, and avoided the indignity of two consecutive home losses to a program that until 2009 hadn't won in Bloomington since 1968. IU finished 4-14 in the Big Ten, which is a bit of a disappointment after a 3-3 start, but is progress. Readers of this site know that I don't do many predictions around here. Still, in December, I wrote an IU preview for another Big Ten blogger who never bothered to post it. Here's what I wrote on December 22, hours before the loss to Loyola Maryland and a few days before the devastating injury to Maurice Creek:

I'll predict 5-13 for IU. I predict that IU will sweep Iowa, will beat Michigan at home, will win one of the three games against Northwestern/Penn State, and will pull a home upset against either Minnesota, Ohio State, Illinois, or Wisconsin. I wish I could predict an upset of Purdue or MSU, but I think that's a bit much to ask this season.

Obviously I was doubly wrong about Iowa but right about Michigan. IU got one more win than I predicted against Penn State/Northwestern and did upset Minnesota. I certainly don't want to make a Mike Davis-style argument--"hey, we were picked 8th! What are you complaining about?"--but considering my read on the season made after the Pitt win but before the Loyola loss and before the Creek injury, the season certainly could have been worse.

IU now is locked in to the #10 seed and will begin Big Ten Tournament play at around 5 p.m. Thursday. If Michigan upsets Michigan State on the road today, then Michigan will move into the #7 seed. Otherwise, the Hoosiers will play another game against Northwestern. Purdue is locked into the #2 seed, so an IU win on Thursday would lead to the first IU-Purdue Big Ten Tournament matchup since the inaugural event in 1998. Also, this will be IU's first BTT game against Northwestern. IU has played every other school at least once. More coverage as the week continues.

Northwestern at Indiana (game thread).

2010-03-06T18:07:41Z

Yeah., sorry it's late. One of those days. Seems appropriate, somehow.

Indiana v. Northwestern: the Hoosiers last shot.

2010-03-06T01:54:12Z

Northwestern Wildcats
Current record:
Current RPI:
Current Sagarin:
Current Pomeroy:
2008-09 record: 17-14 (8-10), lost to Tulsa in the first round of the NIT
2008-09 RPI: 78
2008-09 Sagarin: 59
2008-09 Pomeroy: 70
Series: IU leads 107-46
Last Northwestern win: 2/7/2010 (78-61 in Evanston)
Last IU win: 2/23/2008 (85-82 in Evanston)
Pomeroy scouting report
TV: noon, BTN

Last season, Northwestern won in Bloomington for the first time since 1968. The current winning streak, a whopping three, is NU's longest streak since the 1930s. Much like last season, Northwestern flirted with an NCAA Tournament bid before falling apart. The Wildcats have lost four of their last six, including a game at Iowa and two games against Penn State. Northwestern hasn't won on the road since winning at Michigan on January 10. This is a game, much like the annual football game between the schools, that each team (or at least each fan base) firmly believes it should win. Northwestern thrashed the Hoosiers on Super Bowl Sunday in the wake of IU's tough week of close losses to Illinois and Purdue.

I don't have much to say about this matchup. It's Senior Day, the last home game for Tijan Jobe and Devan Dumes. It's the last regular season game, although IU seems likely to play Northwestern again in the 7/10 game in the Big Ten Tournament. Here are the stats:

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
John Shurna	30	36.1	6.3	13.7	46.2	2.4	6.4	37.0	3.1	4.0	76.7	1.6	4.5	6.2	2.6	1.9	0.7	0.9	2.1	18.1
Michael Thompson	30	37.5	4.2	9.9	42.1	2.3	5.8	40.5	2.8	3.4	82.5	0.4	1.4	1.8	4.0	1.6	1.0	0.1	2.7	13.5
Drew Crawford	30	27.4	3.5	7.7	45.9	1.5	4.1	35.5	1.6	2.5	64.0	1.4	2.5	3.9	1.9	1.5	0.6	0.7	2.9	10.1
Jeremy Nash	30	34.2	2.8	7.2	39.2	1.2	3.9	31.4	2.3	2.8	81.9	0.7	3.1	3.8	3.0	1.4	1.7	0.6	2.9	9.2
Luke Mirkovic	30	25.7	2.9	6.0	47.8	0.3	0.9	34.6	1.6	2.8	56.0	1.9	3.9	5.7	2.4	1.5	0.8	0.8	2.1	7.6
Alex Marcotullio	30	13.9	1.5	3.9	39.7	1.3	3.3	38.0	0.6	0.8	70.8	0.3	1.0	1.3	0.9	0.6	0.9	0.0	1.6	4.9
Mike Capocci	22	7.7	0.8	1.5	53.1	0.0	0.2	25.0	0.3	0.5	63.6	0.3	1.3	1.6	0.5	0.6	0.3	0.2	1.2	1.9
Kyle Rowley	27	9.0	0.6	1.4	41.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.7	1.3	52.8	0.7	1.5	2.2	0.4	1.0	0.0	0.2	1.7	1.9
Davide Curletti	20	8.0	0.5	0.9	50.0	0.2	0.2	75.0	0.5	0.9	50.0	0.4	0.9	1.3	0.7	0.4	0.2	0.1	1.5	1.5
Ivan Peljusic	21	6.6	0.4	1.4	31.0	0.2	0.6	30.8	0.2	0.4	55.6	0.3	1.0	1.3	0.6	0.6	0.2	0.3	0.7	1.3
Nick Fruendt	17	3.2	0.3	0.6	50.0	0.1	0.3	40.0	0.2	0.2	100.0	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.9
Reggie Hearn	12	2.0	0.2	0.3	50.0	0.1	0.2	50.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.4
Jeff Ryan	1	14.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	0.0	1.0	0.0
Austin Nichols	5	0.8	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

And for the Hoosiers:

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Maurice Creek	12	25.4	5.8	10.9	52.7	2.5	5.6	44.8	2.4	3.2	76.3	1.6	2.3	3.8	1.8	1.5	1.4	0.4	1.8	16.4
Verdell Jones III	29	31.0	4.8	11.9	40.0	0.6	2.3	27.3	4.5	6.0	74.9	0.8	3.0	3.9	3.2	2.8	0.9	0.4	1.7	14.7
Christian Watford	29	27.9	3.9	10.3	38.1	0.4	1.4	31.7	3.7	4.7	79.3	2.0	3.9	5.9	0.5	2.3	0.5	0.6	2.1	12.0
Devan Dumes	28	18.3	2.1	6.4	33.5	1.1	3.5	31.3	1.5	2.2	70.5	0.5	1.6	2.1	1.1	1.7	0.9	0.1	2.1	6.9
Jeremiah Rivers	29	29.1	2.2	5.5	39.6	0.0	0.2	0.0	1.7	3.0	57.0	0.9	3.6	4.5	3.6	2.9	1.4	0.6	2.7	6.0
Jordan Hulls	29	24.2	1.9	4.8	38.8	1.3	3.5	37.3	0.8	1.0	78.6	0.7	1.4	2.1	1.4	1.0	0.6	0.0	1.9	5.8
Derek Elston	29	14.7	2.1	4.5	46.6	0.3	0.8	36.4	0.8	1.3	63.2	1.6	2.2	3.8	0.4	1.1	0.7	0.3	2.0	5.3
Tom Pritchard	29	20.3	1.9	3.1	60.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.6	1.7	36.7	1.7	1.9	3.5	0.4	1.1	0.5	0.6	3.2	4.3
Bobby Capobianco	29	11.3	0.9	2.2	39.1	0.2	0.6	31.3	0.2	0.6	35.3	1.2	1.3	2.5	0.3	0.7	0.3	0.3	2.2	2.1
Matt Roth	2	5.5	0.5	1.0	50.0	0.0	0.5	0.0	1.0	1.0	100.0	0.5	0.5	1.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	2.0
Daniel Moore	26	7.6	0.4	0.8	50.0	0.1	0.3	28.6	0.5	0.7	82.4	0.2	0.6	0.8	0.3	0.5	0.4	0.0	1.0	1.4
Bawa Muniru	18	3.4	0.2	0.4	50.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.4	37.5	0.4	0.3	0.7	0.0	0.2	0.1	0.3	0.5	0.6
Tijan Jobe	20	4.6	0.2	0.5	44.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.6	0.7	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.2	1.0	0.4
Brett Finkelmeier	11	2.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.4	0.5	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0
Kory Barnett	11	2.1	0.0	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0
Steven Gambles	7	1.7	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.1	0.6	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0

Purdue 74, Indiana 55: Hoosiers provide little resistance to #6 Purdue.

2010-03-04T14:17:56Z

More photos » Michael Conroy - AP

10 days ago: Indiana's Verdell Jones III, right, shoots over Purdue's Chris Kramer in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in West Lafayette, Ind., Wednesday, March 3, 2010. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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Here's the box score.

This was a strange game. I thought, for the most part, that IU played hard and with more heart than they have shown in most of the games in the 11-game losing streak, which I suppose isn't saying much. IU never led and never seriously threatened Purdue, but on the other hand, after Purdue quickly extended its lead into double digits, the game settled into sort of an equilibrium and did not turn into the complete bloodbath that I expected. That's not to claim that this game shows many positives for IU. The Hoosiers struggled to get good looks and seemed a bit lost against Purdue's motion offense. IU deliberately sagged off Lewis Jackson, who has not shot well in his limited playing time this season, and he shot 3-4 from the field. Chris Kramer, described by some idiot as "an excellent defender but isn't much of a scoring threat within the offense," was Purdue's offense, scoring 18 points on 7-8 from the field. Purdue shot nearly 50 percent, turned the ball over only 8 times, and got to the line 31 times to IU's 5. I certainly can't blame officiating for last night's loss, at all, but is it really possible for a team as physical as Purdue to commit only one foul only four minutes? Of course, it was the overextended old folks officiating crew, with Ed Hightower, Jim Burr, and the slightly younger but hopelessly compromised Rick Hartzell (the Northern Iowa athletic director who screwed the 2005 Hoosiers, who were on the bubble with UNI, in a game at Wisconsin). The most egregious almost-call would have gone in IU's favor. An IU player deflected a ball off another IU player and it then went out of bounds. This happened right in front of Jim Burr, but Hartzell had to come in and overrule him. Who could have made that crew more annoying? Ted Valentine? Tim Higgins?

The Hoosiers box score is entering Groundhog Day territory. Poor shooting, too many turnovers, only 7 assists on 23 field goals, and so on. The only positive glimmer was on the defensive boards: IU had 24 defensive boards to only 5 offensive rebounds by Purdue. As for the individuals:

Derek Elston played well off the bench, scoring 13 points on 5-10 from the field and grabbing 7 rebounds in 24 minutes of play. Unfortunately, Elston and Tom Pritchard, in a combined 41 minutes of play, committed 10 fouls.
Verdell Jones III led IU with 15 points, but was only 6-15 from the field and got to the line an uncharacteristically low 3 times.
Jordan Hulls and Jeremiah Rivers combined for 14 points and 7 turnovers.
Bawa Muniru looked like he knew what he was doing out there, but played only three minutes before being smacked in they eye by his teammate Tijan Jobe.

Well, that's over. I was dreading this game, and while the Hoosiers were picked apart by a superior team, I didn't think they gave up. The Hoosiers have two games remaining, and absent some really remarkable upsets, IU's next two games both will be against Northwestern. Iowa has four wins and swept the Hoosiers, so IU cannot ascend any higher than the #10 seed. IU is tied for 10th with Penn State but won the only matchup between the two teams, and the Nittany Lions play Michigan State tonight and Purdue this weekend. Northwestern, which swept Michigan, is locked into the 7th seed unless IU beats NU and Michigan wins at Michigan State. Also, Minnesota could get into the 8-10 mix if the Gophers lose at home to Iowa. In any event, the Hoosiers have one final chance to show some improvement in the regular season, and hopefully it will happen.

Indiana at Purdue (game thread).

2010-03-03T23:30:18Z

Go Hoosiers!

Indiana at Purdue: Hoosiers try to ruin Senior Night for the Boilers.

2010-03-03T15:00:44Z

More photos » AJ Mast - AP

Even with Hummel out of uniform, the Boilermakers seem likely to roll.

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Purdue Boilermakers
Current record: 24-4 (12-4)
Current RPI: 10
Current Sagarin: 8
Current Pomeroy: 9
2008-09 record: 27-10 (11-7) (lost to Connecticut in Sweet 126 of NCAA Tournament)
2008-09 RPI: 20
2008-09 Sagarin: 14
2008-09 Pomeroy: 18
Series: Purdue leads 108-84
Last IU win: 2/19/2008 (77-68 in Bloomington)
Last Purdue win: 2/4/2010 (78-75 in Bloomington)
Last IU win in West Lafayette: 3/1/06 (70-59)
Pomeroy scouting report
TV: 6:30 pm, Big Ten Network

Purdue edged IU a month ago in a surprisingly competitive game. Both teams have taken turns for the worse since then. IU's problems are well-documented here, and it's no exaggeration to say that IU hasn't competed with any team for a full game since Verdell Jones's potential tying three point shot was off the mark. Purdue, on the other hand, was playing as well as any team in the country until Robbie Hummel tore his ACL 13 minutes into Purdue's game at Minnesota. Purdue allowed a huge run by the Gophers after the Hummel injury but came back to win at the Barn, but in the 67 minutes since the Hummel injury, Purdue, which other than a rough week in the middle of the Big Ten season hadn't lost a game all year, has been outscored 97-77 and lost by 9 at home to Michigan State.

Now Purdue, which looked like a Final Four favorite and title contender just a week ago, becomes a fascinating story for the rest of us. How will the Boilers fare in the Big Ten Tournament? If they fare poorly, how with the Selection Committee handle it? Of course, Purdue is fortunate to play the two worst teams in the Big Ten to finish the regular season. Purdue in its current state is better than several teams that slaughtered IU (Iowa, Northwestern, Michigan, Minnesota, and maybe even Wisconsin). I think the fact that Purdue's ultimate goals are likely out of reach makes it more likely that tonight's game will be a bloodbath.

Here are the teams' numbers:

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
E`Twaun Moore	28	31.0	6.3	13.2	47.4	1.5	4.0	37.2	2.8	3.9	72.2	0.9	2.6	3.5	2.9	2.3	1.3	0.3	2.3	16.8
Robbie Hummel	27	30.3	5.0	11.0	45.6	1.6	4.4	36.4	4.1	4.5	90.2	1.6	5.3	6.9	2.1	1.0	1.1	1.0	2.1	15.7
JaJuan Johnson	28	30.8	5.3	10.4	50.9	0.0	0.1	0.0	4.1	5.7	72.3	2.5	4.6	7.1	0.8	1.8	0.8	1.9	1.8	14.7
Keaton Grant	28	21.3	2.2	5.4	40.7	0.8	2.8	27.3	1.4	1.7	83.3	1.0	1.8	2.8	1.8	1.1	0.7	0.2	2.0	6.5
Chris Kramer	28	27.4	2.2	3.9	55.5	0.1	0.6	25.0	1.6	2.1	73.3	0.2	2.8	3.0	2.4	1.2	1.6	0.4	2.0	6.1
Kelsey Barlow	28	15.9	1.4	3.1	45.5	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.7	1.4	47.5	0.8	1.3	2.1	1.8	1.3	0.5	0.2	2.6	3.5
Ryne Smith	25	12.5	0.9	2.7	32.8	0.6	2.2	29.1	0.4	0.4	100.0	0.2	0.8	1.0	0.8	0.3	0.4	0.0	1.2	2.8
John Hart	18	9.6	1.0	2.9	34.0	0.5	1.6	31.0	0.2	0.3	50.0	0.6	0.5	1.1	0.4	0.3	0.2	0.1	1.1	2.7
D.J. Byrd	24	8.9	0.6	2.4	25.9	0.4	1.6	23.7	0.4	0.8	55.6	0.4	0.4	0.8	0.6	0.5	0.2	0.0	1.7	2.0
Mark Wohlford	21	7.0	0.6	0.9	63.2	0.4	0.7	57.1	0.2	0.4	44.4	0.3	0.5	0.8	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.0	0.7	1.7
Lewis Jackson	9	17.2	0.8	2.2	35.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.7	1.3	2.0	2.7	1.0	0.3	0.0	2.1	1.6
Patrick Bade	28	7.0	0.6	1.7	36.2	0.0	0.1	33.3	0.3	0.5	53.3	0.6	1.1	1.7	0.1	0.5	0.1	0.3	1.5	1.5
Dru Anthrop	6	2.0	0.2	0.2	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.3	100.0	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.7
Bubba Day	6	1.7	0.2	0.5	33.3	0.2	0.2	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.5
Stevie Loveless	6	2.5	0.2	0.8	20.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.3
Kyle Coleman	6	2.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.3	0.0

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Maurice Creek	12	25.4	5.8	10.9	52.7	2.5	5.6	44.8	2.4	3.2	76.3	1.6	2.3	3.8	1.8	1.5	1.4	0.4	1.8	16.4
Verdell Jones III	28	30.9	4.7	11.8	40.0	0.6	2.3	26.6	4.6	6.1	75.0	0.8	3.0	3.9	3.2	2.9	1.0	0.5	1.8	14.6
Christian Watford	28	28.0	4.0	10.3	38.5	0.4	1.4	30.8	3.8	4.8	79.3	2.1	3.8	5.9	0.5	2.3	0.5	0.6	2.2	12.2
Devan Dumes	27	18.5	2.2	6.6	33.5	1.1	3.7	31.3	1.6	2.3	70.5	0.5	1.6	2.1	1.1	1.7	1.0	0.1	2.0	7.2
Jeremiah Rivers	28	29.1	2.1	5.4	39.5	0.0	0.2	0.0	1.8	3.1	57.0	0.9	3.6	4.5	3.7	2.9	1.4	0.6	2.8	6.0
Jordan Hulls	28	24.0	1.8	4.7	38.6	1.3	3.5	36.7	0.8	1.0	78.6	0.7	1.4	2.1	1.5	0.9	0.6	0.0	1.9	5.7
Derek Elston	28	14.3	2.0	4.3	46.3	0.3	0.6	38.9	0.8	1.3	61.1	1.6	2.1	3.7	0.4	1.1	0.7	0.4	1.9	5.0
Tom Pritchard	28	20.5	1.9	3.1	60.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.6	1.8	36.7	1.6	1.9	3.5	0.4	1.1	0.5	0.6	3.1	4.4
Bobby Capobianco	28	11.3	0.9	2.1	40.7	0.2	0.5	38.5	0.2	0.6	35.3	1.2	1.3	2.5	0.4	0.6	0.3	0.3	2.2	2.1
Matt Roth	2	5.5	0.5	1.0	50.0	0.0	0.5	0.0	1.0	1.0	100.0	0.5	0.5	1.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	2.0
Daniel Moore	25	7.6	0.4	0.7	55.6	0.1	0.2	33.3	0.6	0.7	82.4	0.2	0.6	0.8	0.4	0.5	0.4	0.0	1.0	1.4
Bawa Muniru	17	3.4	0.2	0.4	42.9	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.5	37.5	0.4	0.4	0.7	0.0	0.2	0.1	0.3	0.5	0.5
Tijan Jobe	19	4.7	0.2	0.5	44.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.5	0.7	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.2	1.1	0.4
Brett Finkelmeier	10	2.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.4	0.6	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0
Kory Barnett	10	2.0	0.0	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0
Steven Gambles	7	1.7	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.1	0.6	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0

Both teams now can gaze longingly at some impressive but moot numbers at or near the top.

All year, one of the concerns expressed about Purdue, as compared to other top 5 teams, has been depth. Obviously, there is a huge dropoff in offensive production after the top three of Hummel, E'Twaun Moore, and JaJuan Johnson. Replacing Hummel necessarily involves relying on a player or players who have not been forced to carry a heavy load before now. Keaton Grant has struggled offensively all year. Chris Kramer is an excellent defender but isn't much of a scoring threat within the offense. Lewis Jackson has struggled offensively since his return. Patrick Bade isn't ready. Hummel is such a complete player that his absence inevitably will have an impact. Of course, most teams would kill for Purdue's problems. Absent an implosion, Purdue probably will end up as a 2 or 3 seed and still will have a decent chance at reaching the Sweet 16.

As I said, IU has been so far from competitive in the last 8 games that it's really difficult to preview this game. IU last played well against Purdue, and hopefully that will resume, but I have no reason to believe it will happen. Even under much better conditions and much worse Purdue teams, Mackey has been a tough venue for the Hoosiers. Given how the scrubs have been known to shine when IU plays at Mackey (anyone remember Ije Nwanko), I fully expect Bade to do a Bill Walton impression tonight. Still, I've been surprised at this team's rapid decline, so hopefully the surprise can be pleasant for once.

Hoosier Headlines for March 3, 2010: Purdue pregame.

2010-03-03T12:01:47Z

Hoosiers face tough task to avoid 20th loss (The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Ind.)
"Our kids have been resilient and have come to practice each day with the mind-set that they are going to get better," IU coach Tom Crean said Tuesday. "Our margin of error is so small that I think sometimes the focus tends to be on what might not go right or what we didn’t do well."
Indiana sophomore leaves impression on Purdue coach (Journal and Courier)
"Jones has had a lot of success against us," Painter said. "He is a good player ... a guy who has good size for a guard. He has a nice pullup and a nice in-between game."
Indiana looks to "grind out" a win (The News-Sentinel - Fort Wayne IN)
"Crean wants "players" who take care of the ball, value possessions and make plays. What he’s gotten during this 10-game losing streak, six straight losses by at least 14 points, is bad basketball."

Purdue seniors Grant, Kramer gain inspiration from 'Titans' characters (The Indianapolis Star)
"Grant and Kramer, roommates as freshmen, are one victory from setting the school record for wins by one class. The Class of 2010 has 98 victories, tied with the classes of 1996 and '97 for the most in program history."

Boilers looking for more rebounds (Evansville Courier & Press)
"Matt Painter is trying to remain positive, but he still doesn't have proof that his Purdue University basketball team can compensate for the season-ending knee injury suffered by junior forward Robbie Hummel."

Historic streak or upset on line at Purdue (Indiana Daily Student)
"During this 10-game losing streak — one that will become a record-low if it stretches to 11 — IU has lost by an average of 15.2 points per game in its road losses."

'Pressing' need for change (Indiana Daily Student)
"But it’s been 41 days since IU’s last victory, as one-by-one the Hoosiers have been hit by a storm of losses ever since the Jan. 21 victory at Penn State."

Purdue remains tough despite loss of Hummel (Indiana Daily Student)
"Purdue has a ton of experienced guys who have been battle-tested," Crean said. "And you could see in their games recently that they have risen to the occasion more times than not."

Hoosier Headlines for March 2, 2010: Mo Moriarty returns to Bloomington, and more.

2010-03-02T17:41:23Z

IU hires Moriarity as offensive line coach (The Hoosier Scoop)
Moriarty is one of the greatest high school coaches in Indiana history. He led Bloomington South to two state titles before coaching IU's tight ends from 2002-2004 under Gerry Dinardo. He has been the coach at Carmel High School since 2005 (if I recall correctly, he accepted the Bloomington North job after Dinardo was fired but left before coaching a game), where he won a state title and lost the last two 5A title games in excruciating circumstances (big comeback by Center Grove in 2008, horrible call against Warren Central in 2009). Of course, this hire inspires a reading of the tea leaves concerning the future of Bill Lynch. Moriarty, who is 55 years old, walked away from one of the best high school jobs in the state to accept a job with a coach who will be on all of the preseason "hot seat" lists. Is Moriarty bullish about IU's chances in 2010, with a fine nucleus of skill position players returning? Has Bill Lynch been guaranteed 2011 by Fred "contracts mean something" Glass? Do he and his wife simply want to return to Bloomington, where they lived for nearly 20 years, even if it means he's back on the job market in December? Who knows. Still, this can't hurt from a recruiting perspective.

Mo Moriarity resigns as Carmel football coach (The Indianapolis Star)
"It's bittersweet," Moriarity said. "It's never easy leaving. This is one of the best high school football jobs in the Midwest, but the opportunity to coach at Indiana was something I couldn't pass up."

Indiana names Moriarity as O-line coach (Big Ten Blog - ESPN)
"Moriarity replaces Bobby Johnson, who left last month to become assistant offensive line coach with the Buffalo Bills. A 33-year coaching veteran, Moriarity will begin his second stint with the Hoosiers after coaching IU's tight ends from 2002-04."

Crean: Offseason development key (The Hoosier Scoop)

An update, albeit brief, on Maurice Creek (Inside the Hall)

Women’s Big Ten bracket set (Hoosier Hype | Indiana Daily Student)
Contrary to promises, I never did do anything regarding women's basketball this season. IU finished the regular season with a 14-15 (7-11) record, and is the #8 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, which begins Thursday at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Iowa 73, Indiana 57: Hawkeyes sweep Hoosiers.

2010-03-01T14:00:49Z

More photos » Brian Ray - AP

13 days ago: Iowa's Eric May drives past Indiana's Jeremiah Rivers (5) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. Iowa won 73-57. (AP Photo/Brian Ray)

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The Good news, I suppose, is that if any of us had been told on December 20, in the wake of the Creek injury, that IU's Big Ten season would include 15 and 16 point losses to Iowa, most would presume an 0-18 record. It's close enough to that as it is, and I can barely remember what it's like to see the Hoosiers contend in a game, let alone win. Here's the box score. It was a pretty comfortable win for Iowa, and the Hoosiers never led. Once again, turnovers were a huge problem for IU. IU turned the ball over 20 times in a 66 possession game, including eight times in the first ten minutes. Verdell Jones, who has been IU's only scoring threat in recent games, turned the ball over 5 times himself. There were no particular glimmers of hope in this game. Christian Watford was only 3-7 from the field but did manage to go 8-10 from the line. If Watford adds some strength that will allow him to bang inside a bit, he's going to be a very dangerous player given his shooting ability. Perhaps the Hawkeye scorer is stingy with assists (Iowa had only 9 on 22 field goals), but the Hoosiers assisted only four of 18 baskets.

Well, it's almost over. The Purdue game will be a bloodbath. Northwestern is back to being Northwestern, losing bt 19 to Penn State, but nothing the Hoosiers have shown in the last month indicates a capability to compete with any Big Ten team with a pulse. As always, I'll be watching to hope they prove me wrong, but I have no analysis to offer.

Hoosier Headlines for March 1, 2010: postgame coverage of the ugly Iowa game.

2010-03-01T11:46:13Z

More photos » Brian Ray - AP

13 days ago: Iowa's Eric May (25) puts up a shot in front of teammate Aaron Fuller (24) and Indiana's Jordan Hulls (1), Verdell Jones III and Jeremiah Rivers (5) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Brian Ray)

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Turnovers costly to young team (The Indianapolis Star)
"When it was over, IU committed 20 turnovers that resulted in 23 points in Iowa's 73-57 victory over the Hoosiers at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. A good number of the turnovers, especially in the first half, were a result of traveling."
IU loses 10th straight (The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Ind.)
"Sophomore Matt Gatens scored 25 points and Iowa beat the reeling Hoosiers 73-57 Sunday to snap a three-game losing streak."
Hawks on the attack in victory (Quad City Times)
"Iowa won with effort, something that was absent in a 17-point loss at Northwestern on Thursday and something mentioned frequently in the days leading up to the Hawkeyes' home finale."

IU drops 10th straight with loss (Indiana Daily Student)
"While the Hawkeyes didn’t make it easy for the Hoosiers, they also didn’t present the same problems that Wisconsin did on Thursday. IU continued to make the same mistakes that has plagued them in this stretch. "

Turnovers, poor post-play lead to IU demise in Iowa City (Indiana Daily Student)
"It might be impossible to make Iowa look better than it did against IU on Sunday night."

IU its own worst enemy in defeat (Indiana Daily Student)
"Following the Wisconsin loss, the team went through a film session in which individual players were asked to call out their own mistakes. Crean might have his team do the same following IU’s 73-57 loss at Iowa, but this team seems guilty until proven innocent."

Iowa men's basketball: Gatens nets career high; Hawkeyes pound Hoosiers (The Des Moines Register)
"Iowa had a double-figure lead for the last 131/2 minutes of the game. But Indiana was hanging around until Gatens, who had missed his first five 3-point tries of the game, went to work."

73-57: In Which We Gather Little From a 16-Point Win (Black Heart Gold Pants)
"Iowa defeats Indiana 73-57. Is there anything to take from the win, or is this just an inconsequential whipping of an inferior opponent?"

The Minute After: Iowa (Inside the Hall)
"It’s easy to chalk this one up as uninspired effort by the Hoosiers. But this loss was somewhat different than what we’ve seen lately."

Iowa 73, Indiana 57 (The Hoosier Scoop)
"Tom Crean challenged his team to show up for this rematch with Iowa, which beat the Hoosiers in Assembly Hall earlier this year and sent them skidding, with intensity and renewed fight. It, once again, did not."

Indiana Hoosiers at Iowa Hawkeyes (game thread).

2010-02-28T23:00:26Z

Can the Hoosiers avenge last month's blowout loss in Bloomington?

Indiana at Iowa: the last best chance for a victory? (plus Hoosier Headlines for February 28, 2010).

2010-02-28T16:31:03Z

More photos » Nam Y. Huh - AP

Jarryd Cole owned the Hoosiers in Bloomington.

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Iowa Hawkeyes
Current record: 9-19 (3-12)
Current RPI: 193
Current Sagarin: 168
Current Pomeroy: 147
2008-09 record: 15-17 (5-13)
2008-09 RPI: 121
2008-09 Sagarin: 81
2008-09 Pomeroy: 91
Series: IU leads 94-70
Last Iowa win: 1/24/2010 (58-43 in Bloomington)
Last IU win: 2/4/2009 (68-60 in Bloomington)
Last IU win in Iowa City: 1/2/208 (79-76)
Pomeroy scouting report
TV: 6 pm, BTN

It's easy to forget that barely more than a month ago, IU's season looked halfway promising. At that point, despite some ugly nonconference losses and the Maurice Creek injury, IU was 3-3 in the Big Ten, had narrowly missed a win against Illinois, and was on a two game winning streak that included IU's first road win of the Crean era (at Penn State) and an upset of a tournament contender (Minnesota). Unfortunately, the Iowa game began a nine-game losing streak that continues to this day and began a run of seven blowout losses in that nine-game stretch. Unfortunately, IU lost that game, badly, despite a less-than-excellent performance by Iowa. Here's what I said in my brief wrapup:

I knew a loss was possible. And Iowa win wasn't any bigger an upset than IU's recent wins over Minnesota and Penn State. Still, I didn't think IU was bad enough to be dominated by a 7-12 Iowa team that didn't even play that well. I don't mean to poor-mouth the Hawkeyes: they did some things very well. Most conspicuously, the Hawkeyes rebounded 18 of their 31 misses. IU had only 13 defensive rebounds. I can accept that something like this could happen this season against Michigan State or Purdue. I can't accept it against Iowa. Still, Iowa shot only 47 percent from the field and had 21 turnovers to IU's 16.

The Hawkeyes, currently tied with the Hoosiers in ninth place in the conference, haven't done much since the game in Bloomington, but have done much more than IU. The Hawkeyes manhandled a decent Northwestern team at home on February 10 and took Michigan to overtime, also at home. Iowa's blowout win over IU in Bloomington last month is Iowa's only road win since winning at (in?) The Citadel on November 20, 2008.

As I noted above, the most disturbing thing about the first game between these teams is that Iowa manhandled IU on the boards. The Hawkeyes were far above 50 percent on the offensive boards. After that debacle, IU made much more physically in the next two games, heartbreaking losses at Illinois and to Purdue a home. Unfortunately, the team has shown not a hint of that caliber of play in the six games since the Purdue game. IU has played worse in February than any other Big Ten team. Can the Hoosiers return that crown to Iowa? Are we going to have to wait until November to see the Hoosiers win again? We'll see. Here are the Hawkeyes' stats:

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Matt Gatens	28	36.6	3.9	10.5	36.7	1.9	5.5	34.4	2.6	3.1	84.1	0.8	3.8	4.6	3.4	2.8	0.9	0.1	2.2	12.3
Anthony Tucker	11	31.9	4.1	11.3	36.3	2.7	8.7	31.3	1.0	1.8	55.0	0.5	3.0	3.5	2.9	2.9	0.5	0.0	1.9	11.9
Eric May	28	30.8	3.3	8.1	40.1	1.3	4.5	28.3	1.4	2.0	66.7	1.3	3.6	5.0	1.5	2.0	1.1	0.9	2.4	9.1
Aaron Fuller	26	23.1	3.2	6.9	46.1	0.2	1.1	20.7	2.4	3.4	70.5	2.8	3.2	6.0	0.7	1.5	0.4	0.2	2.2	9.0
Cully Payne	28	33.0	2.9	7.9	36.4	1.3	4.0	32.7	1.4	2.3	58.5	0.2	2.9	3.1	3.8	3.2	0.5	0.0	1.9	8.4
Jarryd Cole	28	24.6	3.3	5.6	58.2	0.1	0.2	40.0	1.5	2.4	65.2	1.9	3.1	5.0	0.5	1.5	0.4	0.4	3.2	8.2
Brennan Cougill	27	15.7	1.6	3.5	46.8	0.7	1.7	40.0	0.5	0.8	66.7	1.2	1.9	3.1	0.5	0.7	0.1	0.2	1.5	4.4
Devan Bawinkel	28	15.6	1.1	2.9	39.5	1.1	2.9	39.5	0.1	0.1	50.0	0.0	0.9	0.9	0.5	0.2	0.3	0.0	0.5	3.5
John Lickliter	17	9.5	0.7	2.2	31.6	0.6	2.0	29.4	0.3	0.4	83.3	0.1	0.4	0.4	0.8	0.6	0.3	0.0	0.9	2.3
Andrew Brommer	18	7.8	0.4	1.0	44.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.9	1.2	81.0	0.6	0.7	1.2	0.4	0.4	0.3	0.2	1.6	1.8
Nick Neari	6	1.3	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.3	50.0	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2

Amazingly, Matt Gatens remains the only active Hawkeye in double figures. As for the Hoosiers:

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Maurice Creek	12	25.4	5.8	10.9	52.7	2.5	5.6	44.8	2.4	3.2	76.3	1.6	2.3	3.8	1.8	1.5	1.4	0.4	1.8	16.4
Verdell Jones III	27	30.7	4.6	11.9	39.1	0.6	2.4	26.6	4.5	6.1	73.8	0.9	3.1	3.9	3.3	2.8	1.0	0.5	1.7	14.4
Christian Watford	27	27.8	4.0	10.4	38.4	0.4	1.4	31.6	3.7	4.6	80.0	2.1	3.7	5.9	0.6	2.3	0.5	0.6	2.1	12.1
Devan Dumes	26	18.2	2.2	6.5	33.1	1.2	3.7	32.6	1.5	2.2	71.4	0.5	1.7	2.2	1.2	1.6	0.9	0.1	1.9	7.0
Jeremiah Rivers	27	29.4	2.2	5.6	39.3	0.0	0.2	0.0	1.7	3.1	56.0	0.9	3.7	4.6	3.9	2.9	1.4	0.7	2.7	6.1
Jordan Hulls	27	23.7	1.9	4.8	38.8	1.3	3.6	37.5	0.8	1.0	78.6	0.7	1.4	2.1	1.5	0.9	0.6	0.0	1.8	5.9
Derek Elston	27	14.4	2.0	4.3	47.0	0.3	0.7	38.9	0.8	1.3	61.1	1.6	2.1	3.7	0.4	1.1	0.7	0.3	1.9	5.1
Tom Pritchard	27	20.9	2.0	3.3	60.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.7	1.8	36.7	1.7	2.0	3.6	0.4	1.1	0.6	0.6	3.2	4.6
Bobby Capobianco	27	11.0	0.9	2.0	41.8	0.1	0.4	33.3	0.2	0.6	35.3	1.2	1.3	2.4	0.3	0.6	0.3	0.3	2.1	2.1
Matt Roth	2	5.5	0.5	1.0	50.0	0.0	0.5	0.0	1.0	1.0	100.0	0.5	0.5	1.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	2.0
Daniel Moore	24	7.7	0.4	0.8	55.6	0.1	0.3	33.3	0.6	0.7	82.4	0.2	0.5	0.7	0.4	0.5	0.5	0.0	1.0	1.5
Bawa Muniru	17	3.4	0.2	0.4	42.9	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.5	37.5	0.4	0.4	0.7	0.0	0.2	0.1	0.3	0.5	0.5
Tijan Jobe	19	4.7	0.2	0.5	44.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.5	0.7	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.2	1.1	0.4
Brett Finkelmeier	10	2.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.4	0.6	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0
Kory Barnett	10	2.0	0.0	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0
Steven Gambles	7	1.7	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.1	0.6	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0

One need not look at the tempo-free stats to see the inefficiency in this offense. IU's top six active scorers are shooting below 40 percent. Tom Pritchard is shooting 60 percent from the field but only 36 percent from the line and is rapidly entering Steve Sax territory at the line (Google it, kids). It's an ugly line, except for the guy at the top.

And now, the promised headlines:

Iowa men's basketball: Devan Bawinkel set for last home game(The Des Moines Register)
"The lone senior on the roster, Bawinkel will play the final home game of his college career Sunday when Iowa hosts Indiana. Bawinkel will be honored in a pregame ceremony."
Crean pushes Hoosiers to finish strong (The News-Sentinel - Fort Wayne IN)
"The Hoosiers are struggling, reeling, collapsing and Tom Crean has had enough. He's voice is in tatters. He's eyesight is worsening. His sleep is, well, who has time to sleep or eat when there is a program to rebuild, a tradition to restore, a nine-game losing streak to end."
Indiana men’s basktball looks to beat Iowa, end nine-game losing streak (The Courier-Journal)
"Crean said there's no question in his mind that his players overlooked Iowa the first time the teams met. Since that game, the Hawkeyes dropped seven of eight games."
AL HAMNIK: Crean, IU fans play the waiting game (NWI Times)
"What it looks like to me is those two losses to Illinois (72-70) and Purdue (78-75), back to back, just sucked everything out of them," said Dakich, now a fixture on the Big Ten Network. "They lost confidence and a little bit of hope. It happens even at the pro level."
Hoosiers are 'tired of losing' (Evansville Courier & Press)
But in front of 16,078 at Assembly Hall, the Hawkeyes battered the Hoosiers. Iowa not only won 58-43, it dominated rebounding 39-23 (including 18 offensive) and limited IU to 16-of-45 shooting with an astonishingly low three assists. "This all came down to our lack of willingness to be in a fight today," IU coach Tom Crean said afterward.
Hoosiers take long look at themselves (Post-Tribune)
"Indiana lost its ninth consecutive game Thursday and has been spending a lot of time since the loss in the film room. Rather than focus on Iowa, IU coach Tom Crean wants his players to focus on themselves, and take a good, long look at the way they played during a 32-point blowout to No. 19 Wisconsin."

Wisconsin 78, Indiana 46: no relief.

2010-02-26T13:25:15Z

More photos » Darron Cummings - AP

16 days ago: Indiana coach Tom Crean, right, is held back by assistant Tim Buckley after Crean received his second technical foul during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Wisconsin in Bloomington, Ind., Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010. Indiana forwards Christian Watford (2) and Bobby Capobianco help to restrain Crean. Wisconsin defeated Indiana 78-46. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

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Wisconsin handed Indiana its most lopsided loss in the 39-season history of Assembly Hall. As bad as the final score is, the game was competitive for most of the first half. While Wisconsin led nearly the entire way, the lead generally alternated between two and four points before Keaton Nankivil hit three pointers on consecutive possessions to expand the lead to 10 with just over five minutes remaining. With that, the rout was on. Wisconsin led by 17 at halftime and the lead gradually crept up until the final, ugly result. Tom Crean, who had only one technical in his first 57 games as IU coach, received two in a short span about halfway through the second half and spent the rest of the game in the locker room. As has become the trend, this performance was a complete failure: IU shot poorly, allowed Wisconsin to hit 55 percent of its shots and 8-11 from behind the arc, turned the ball over too much, the usual.

The only individual performance of note was that of Derek Elston, who scored 12 points on 5-6 from the field and grabbed 7 rebounds in only 18 minutes of play. The Hoosiers other than Elston combined for 28 percent shooting.

I have no profound analysis after this debacle. IU has shown nothing in the last month that would suggest that this team is capable of beating anyone anywhere. IU travels to Iowa for what theoretically is a winnable game, but the Hawkeyes' blowout win in Bloomington a few weeks ago was the first red flag of the Big Ten season, and despite strong performances against Illinois and Purdue that came after, the Iowa game seems to have been some sort of negative turning point. I don't envy the players and coaches. Fans can walk away from it, and they have to live it.

Wisconsin Badgers at Indiana Hoosiers (game thread).

2010-02-26T02:00:28Z

Let's hope for the best as IU plays the late game against Wisconsin.