Exile on Waveland

He stopped and talked to Bo Ryan for quite awhile after IU's loss in the Big Ten Tournament. Mainly, he just does not like Thad Matta at all (and the feeling is mutual). He did it to Bo like 2 months ago. And he made a point to rectify this "issue" (which is totally a non-issue anyway). There are dozens upon dozens of games that Crean has lost at IU at which this did not occur--basically, the entirety of his first three years--but this "issue" has been magnified based on a couple instances. It's deeply silly, and blatantly factually incorrect to say Crean is petulant after every loss (besides, he acted petulantly at Michigan after they won the Big Ten Championship outright).

He stopped and talked to Bo Ryan for quite awhile after IU's loss in the Big Ten Tournament. Mainly, he just does not like Thad Matta at all (and the feeling is mutual).

Exhale. I've said all year long I was really worried about the second game. Fran Dunphy is a really good coach so I'm not surprised he had the blueprint; I am,however, surprised Temple (102nd in defensive efficiency, 200th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 139th in tempo) had the capacity to do that. Fortunately, they really only have one good player, any more and they win. I'm also pretty surprised IU won, as this is the first time all year they've won such a game. Syracuse should be interesting. It's hard for me to say if it's a really bad or a really good match-up. They are big and athletic, and offensive rebound very well. They play excellent defense and are a slower tempo team. On the flip side, they're not the muck-it-up halfcourt style team that has given IU the most fits. And IU has some things they should be able to do well against the zone. Zeller/Watford/Sheehey should be able to cause damage at the free throw line shooting (latter two) and passing out to shooters (former two, hopefully all three). Louisville offers up a great blueprint in the second half of the Big East Championship Game with Dieng at the free throw line. I'm also glad IU is playing Syracuse the first game of a weekend, so they have longer to prepare (Crean is very good at game-planning, it's adjustments that are an issue). It should be interesting. On Illinois, I thought in real time and replay the ball was clearly off Miami. It's even worse than that, though, because in general that is the exact kind of close call the officials almost always will defer to the offensive team (especially if that team is losing). (Though perhaps there is some angle proves imb right?)

Michigan State matches up great with Duke and I expect them to win (assuming Duke beats Creighton...).

He's going to dominate the league inside next year.

Pittsburgh is god awful. Real glad I picked them.

Sounds like Kyle Wiltjer is going to transfer. He's going to make somebody (Gonzaga?) very happy.

Last night was glorious. Don't overthink it.

Robert Morris! :yahoo:

They seem tailor-made to give Gonzaga problems. They're big, physical, and pound the crap out of the offensive board (fourth highest offensive rebounding percentage in the nation). In short, they're Pittsburgh. That is Gonzaga's biggest weakness, to the point even Mark Few yesterday admitted his team had struggled with physicality at times.

Apologies for turning this into a ticket exchange forum . . . but I have four tickets and almost certainly will be looking to sell two of the four, if you have more friends interested.

Yes, they avoided the teams I was most afraid of early on (obviously, this is the tournament so crazy stuff happens regardless . . . but match-ups matter). They could have, just based seedings, Pittsburgh as the No. 8 and St. Louis (eek) or even Kansas State in the Sweet Sixteen. That would have been much worse. As for NC State, assuming they beat Temple, they certainly have the talent to play with IU (though they've only beaten two tournament teams, Duke and North Carolina, all year). Their frontline could cause issues. But they play bad defense and try to outscore opponents. I'll take my chances against such teams. I have Indianapolis tickets too (and Dayton). Will still go unless someone offers me an insane amount. Could potentially have Louisville, Michigan State, and Duke there. The last time the regional was in Indianapolis, Michigan State beat Louisville in the Elite Eight.

Same here. After seeing the Midwest I'd prefer the East. Mostly avoided the slow tempo teams (at least early on). NC State has talent but hasn't put it together and doesn't play great defense. Temple isn't as good as recent years, in my opinion. I could see UNLV doing their best Minnesota impression with their huge frontline, but I'd rather see them than, say, St. Louis, who was a nightmare for me. Syracuse, I don't know, they haven't been playing that well in my opinion. (Obviously anything can happen, so not saying anything is given. But, hey, no Wisconsin!) No reason to even worry about farther than potential Sweet Sixteen match-ups.

I can't believe he's sustained a decent program after he was basically ran out of Iowa city. But yeah, he has to love the rpi. He's a good coach (albeit an arrogant sonuva). He did much better at Iowa, relatively, than commonly acknowledged. Cue the Iowa fans. (Before they go crazy on me, I think Iowa may be top-10 good next year.)

Can he even name all the teams in the B1G? He knows Michigan. Ha ha, well done.

Yeesh. These people are clueless. Never thought I'd say this: but put Seth Davis, Greg Anthony, and Doug Gottljeb back on screen.

What was said? Paraphrasing . . . Anthony said IU shouldn't be a No. 1. Gottlieb said compare the resumes, including Gonzaga, citing IU's road wins. Davis cited Gonzaga's undefeated WCC record. Gottlieb asked what their record would be in another conference, like the Big Ten. Davis lamely said they would have had the "chance" for better wins. Gottlieb responded with "like at home to Illinois?"

I heard that too. I think IU's falling off the top 1 seed in favor of Louisville, but they're still, at worst, the third 1 seed. Yeah. I like IU's resume better than Louisville's overall, but it's close and Louisville is playing better. I'd understand that. But IU not being a No. 1 would be rather inexplicable.

That was great. Not just the pro-IU argument, but the Gonzaga stuff was outstanding.

They can win in spite of him. I keep thinking the zone will be scrapped, but it's not. But as has been said, it's all about the half court execution on offense. And despite Crean, IU can win because they are most likely going to have the best players on the court in any game they will play. Zeller, Watford, and Oladipo are all capable of taking over regardless of the play called. Of course, none of them have shown the personality to do so on a consistent basis. Our first game you lost smply because Zeller didn't get enough touches. That was an inexcusable way to lose a game IMO. That said you did correct it the second time we played. Not getting Zeller enough touches has been an ongoing problem for two years. I am expecting that when/if IU loses in the tournament, a lot of fans will look at the box score and scratch their heads as to why he only had eight or nine shots from the field.

Maybe not. But it's sure nice to be in the conversation again. Including this year, IU has only been higher than a No. 5 seed three times since 1993--and two of those are Crean teams (and both were No. 4 seeds prior to this year). IU had not been much of a national player for twenty years. They are again.

Well . . . your analysis is not wrong. I think your conclusion is though. I think IU "can" win a title under Crean --he wouldn't be the worst coach to win a title -- though who knows if that happens.

Me too. But IU is pretty much clueless in physical half court games. It's why the second/third NCAA Tournament games concern me (maybe moreso than playing some other top-tier teams). It's not the players. It's Crean. This team has all the pieces you look for in a half court offense. 7-footer in the middle, inside/outside combo big that's a matchup problem, one of the best shooters in the country, the most athletic player in the country on the wing, a high basketball IQ, pass-first PG and a versatile slasher off the bench. There's need to be more running Hulls off screens. More high/lows with Watford and Zeller. More pick and rolls. And for God's sake scrap the damn zone defense. Agreed. And I expect this to be a continuing problem (it may be way, way worse next year). Crean's system and recruiting style are geared towards up-tempo finesse, which can be difficult in the Big Ten (at some point, IU could really use a bruiser inside). Under Crean, I could envision IU developing into sort of being the anti-Wisconson, in that they're better out of conference than in. Be honest, I know Crean has really turned you back in the right direction, but don't yo wish you could get Stevens to get back over the hump? I know Stevens at IU would scare the crap out of me. Sure, today I would take Stevens. Who wouldn't? I wish he was coaching this year's team. If he was, I'd be pretty confident IU would win the title (as confident as you can be with these things). That said, it's counter factual from "today." Crean did a really great job restoring the program, and who knows how another coach, including Stevens, would have done. Quite a few opposing programs/fans were all but writing IU's obituary as a national player. Crean will always be owed a debt for that. I know you'll say that "IU recruits itself" but it sure didn't for about fifteen years prior to Crean. Crean is recruiting at a very high level, and IU is going to be consistently nationally competitive under Crean.

Going to be interesting. Think winning the best conference outright should keep IU as a #1. But Kansas won their conference (albeit much weaker) and Miami may win theirs (with the best #2 team in it). Either way, I don't think IU keeps #1 in the midwest. Louisville has earned that. I'm thinking IU goes to #1 in the South if Miami loses and #1 East if they lose (Kansas #1 South). Yeah, I'm expecting Louisville in the Midwest, with IU probably in the East.

Me too. But IU is pretty much clueless in physical half court games. It's why the second/third NCAA Tournament games concern me (maybe moreso than playing some other top-tier teams). It's not the players. It's Crean. This team has all the pieces you look for in a half court offense. 7-footer in the middle, inside/outside combo big that's a matchup problem, one of the best shooters in the country, the most athletic player in the country on the wing, a high basketball IQ, pass-first PG and a versatile slasher off the bench. There's need to be more running Hulls off screens. More high/lows with Watford and Zeller. More pick and rolls. And for God's sake scrap the damn zone defense. Agreed. And I expect this to be a continuing problem (it may be way, way worse next year). Crean's system and recruiting style are geared towards up-tempo finesse, which can be difficult in the Big Ten (at some point, IU could really use a bruiser inside). Under Crean, I could envision IU developing into sort of being the anti-Wisconson, in that they're better out of conference than in.