I’ve tried to be consistent in my expectations for this team this year. My opinion of where we are as a program didn’t change after we beat Iowa, or lost to Rutgers. To me, it’s really simple and comes down to things that are strictly mental. More on that later....
This season is all about WHEN you play someone, as opposed to who or (or where) you are playing. Covid has complicated things, and I expect that the scheduling will really be impactful as far as final results.
IMHO, there has never been more parity in this league. I don’t look at Iowa, or UM, or Wisconsin and see great teams. Conversely, I don’t look at PSU, NU, or Maryland and see bad teams. The league is deep. The bottom is pretty good, the top is good. I expect to see a bunch of teams make the tournament. Scheduling will determine if any can get a #1 or even #2 seed.
IU has been very consistent in how they are as a team over the Miller era. They have shown that they can beat anyone (except PU?), and that they have a tendency to play down to their competition as well. Look no further to the 12 of 13 losing stretch 2 years ago, with the 1 good game being at MSU. Look no further than Iowa/Rutgers. Look no further than getting hammered at home by Nebraska (2-3 yrs ago?), the continued struggles against Evanston’s Wildcats, the wins versus State.
Our program for the last 4 years reminds me of Denonte Green.
We just seem to be fragile between the ears, where it most matters. We have become extremely consistent at being inconsistent. Lackadaisical is often our middle name.
There is absolutely NO reason we shouldn’t beat the Illini on Tuesday. None, zero, nada.
(Except, of course all of the reasons I just stated above).
Even so, with over a week off to prepare, and coming off a loss where it was clearly a complete lack of preparation, effort, and toughness, how in the would can’t we come out with our best effort of the season?
Has anyone checked out Iowa’s schedule? They lost on Friday, play Tuesday, again on Thursday, and then play us next Sunday. They were clearly fatigued in the second half when we beat them. Don’t be surprised to see us easily beat them, don’t be shocked to see Iowa start to unravel. They will limp into Bloomington strictly on fumes.
then there are even bigger question that will come down to scheduling. Will we end up with make up games ourselves? Will we play UM twice, once, or not at all (my prediction).
So, it should be an interesting few weeks.
my expectations remain the same. In a nutshell, 6 seed or bust. This team, if it just gets it’s crap together, should be a team that should finish in the top 5-6 in B10, should be a top 25 team, should be able to show a tangible, real jump as a program from last year. It’s year FOUR, for goodness sake.
If we can do that, if we can finally put to rest the ghosts of “12 out of 13”, the Jekyll and Hyde personality and the Lackadaisical mindset I’ll feel better about our programs trajectory.
If, OTOH, the wheels come off , well I’ve seen that train ride as well. It could be ugly. Or, even worse, it could mean limping into the tournament as a 10 seed, and people pointing to clear improvement based on something like Kenpom (being top 25 in Kenpom really did PU a lot of good last year).
buckle up, these next 2 games will be critical.
This season is all about WHEN you play someone, as opposed to who or (or where) you are playing. Covid has complicated things, and I expect that the scheduling will really be impactful as far as final results.
IMHO, there has never been more parity in this league. I don’t look at Iowa, or UM, or Wisconsin and see great teams. Conversely, I don’t look at PSU, NU, or Maryland and see bad teams. The league is deep. The bottom is pretty good, the top is good. I expect to see a bunch of teams make the tournament. Scheduling will determine if any can get a #1 or even #2 seed.
IU has been very consistent in how they are as a team over the Miller era. They have shown that they can beat anyone (except PU?), and that they have a tendency to play down to their competition as well. Look no further to the 12 of 13 losing stretch 2 years ago, with the 1 good game being at MSU. Look no further than Iowa/Rutgers. Look no further than getting hammered at home by Nebraska (2-3 yrs ago?), the continued struggles against Evanston’s Wildcats, the wins versus State.
Our program for the last 4 years reminds me of Denonte Green.
We just seem to be fragile between the ears, where it most matters. We have become extremely consistent at being inconsistent. Lackadaisical is often our middle name.
There is absolutely NO reason we shouldn’t beat the Illini on Tuesday. None, zero, nada.
(Except, of course all of the reasons I just stated above).
Even so, with over a week off to prepare, and coming off a loss where it was clearly a complete lack of preparation, effort, and toughness, how in the would can’t we come out with our best effort of the season?
Has anyone checked out Iowa’s schedule? They lost on Friday, play Tuesday, again on Thursday, and then play us next Sunday. They were clearly fatigued in the second half when we beat them. Don’t be surprised to see us easily beat them, don’t be shocked to see Iowa start to unravel. They will limp into Bloomington strictly on fumes.
then there are even bigger question that will come down to scheduling. Will we end up with make up games ourselves? Will we play UM twice, once, or not at all (my prediction).
So, it should be an interesting few weeks.
my expectations remain the same. In a nutshell, 6 seed or bust. This team, if it just gets it’s crap together, should be a team that should finish in the top 5-6 in B10, should be a top 25 team, should be able to show a tangible, real jump as a program from last year. It’s year FOUR, for goodness sake.
If we can do that, if we can finally put to rest the ghosts of “12 out of 13”, the Jekyll and Hyde personality and the Lackadaisical mindset I’ll feel better about our programs trajectory.
If, OTOH, the wheels come off , well I’ve seen that train ride as well. It could be ugly. Or, even worse, it could mean limping into the tournament as a 10 seed, and people pointing to clear improvement based on something like Kenpom (being top 25 in Kenpom really did PU a lot of good last year).
buckle up, these next 2 games will be critical.