Crean's best team

[hoosierdug]

This team has been tremendous this year. I truly believe they have all the necessary ingredients to be in the Final Four. I like Crean's chances this year. He's going to do it. He's just assembled too much talent to be denied. He's pushing all the right buttons right now. I think he's turned a corner.

 

[ZildjianZLine]

This team has been tremendous this year. I truly believe they have all the necessary ingredients to be in the Final Four. I like Crean's chances this year. He's going to do it. He's just assembled too much talent to be denied. He's pushing all the right buttons right now. I think he's turned a corner.

I hope you're correct... it's just I don't think he's any different than he's always been. I hope this year is different; I think we'd all love to for you to be right.

 

[Tasmanian Devil]

This team has been tremendous this year. I truly believe they have all the necessary ingredients to be in the Final Four. I like Crean's chances this year. He's going to do it. He's just assembled too much talent to be denied. He's pushing all the right buttons right now. I think he's turned a corner.

I put together a list of statistics on Crean's teams compared to other coaches last spring, and statistically this team is more balanced than any he's possibly ever had.

Several keys I see:

1) Turnovers. Gotta cut them down. Showed Riki the other day results from the last 5 years from the tournament and we had a game we nearly lost (VCU '12) because we had double the TO's. Can't give away possessions.

2) Defense. If we play with the intensity of the Carolina game all the time, it will go a long way. This will be big on that 2nd weekend.

3) Seeding. Gotta finish strong, Butler & Louisville game are big. Would help to win both RS and BTT. A top 3 seed is no guarantee of success, but it improves your chances. Getting there is dependent on doing well thru early March.

Ought to be a interesting winter, that's for sure.

 

[IUBBALLAWOL]

If this team(TC) can win the games they are suppose to and not have the typical let down it will be a great season. Problem being TC has proven he can coach them to a couple loses that are head scratchers. He has proven me right already once this year and i have predicted at least two more bottom feeder loses. Just what his teams are. And forget a 1 or a 2 seed. Won't happen.

 

[Tony20]

Just give the Big 10 Champion a 1 or 2 seed and the rest will take care of itself. 5 seed is almost as absurd as what just happened to Penn St.

 

[bsmitty08]

Just give the Big 10 Champion a 1 or 2 seed and the rest will take care of itself. 5 seed is almost as absurd as what just happened to Penn St.

What happened to PSU?

 

[tru123dt]

What happened to PSU?

Think that he is talking football.

 

[YOTHN]

Just give the Big 10 Champion a 1 or 2 seed and the rest will take care of itself. 5 seed is almost as absurd as what just happened to Penn St.

It's the entire picture. If winning the B1G was all that mattered, then why play a pre-conference schedule?

Pre-conference
OSU beat BG by 67, Tulsa by 45 and at Oklahoma by 21.
PSU beat Kent State by 20, Temple by 7 and lost to Pitt by 3.
OSU wins that out right.

Conference
OSU lost to PSU due to 17 late unanswered points. But beat everyone else.
PSU squeaked out a win against OSU but lost by 39 to UM.
PSU wins the tie-breaker but only because it was a H2H win. Otherwise, OSU wins.

Overall, OSU wins out. I hate them as much as the next person but pre-conference has a lot of weight and OSU won that portion more convincingly than PSU did in conference. 2 losses to 1.

 

[Tasmanian Devil]

Just give the Big 10 Champion a 1 or 2 seed and the rest will take care of itself. 5 seed is almost as absurd as what just happened to Penn St.

When you look at the entire resume - bad early losses, Big 10 in a down year (conference RPI was 5th best), our horrible NC-SOS, early exit in BTT - we got about the exact seed we should have.

 

[rikki-tikka-tava]

Saw this initial post last night before shutting down and thought to offer the one-word response - "incoming", but remarkably civil/constructive banter here the last couple days. Color me surprised - keep it up Hosers.

On a side note, being utterly waxed by Michigan (30+/- pts.?) indemnifies the selection committee from leaving PSU out of the FF and charges of "absurd". Or so I imagine.

Expect tomorrow's outing against the mighty Huskies to be a "takin 'em to the woodshed" type of affair - if IU doesn't double up the score and/or hold HBU to less than 50 I'll be disappointed. Single digit TO count would be a telling bonus although to even imagine same feels like fantasy. All the same, 101-45 IU.

 

[iubud]

I put together a list of statistics on Crean's teams compared to other coaches last spring, and statistically this team is more balanced than any he's possibly ever had.

Several keys I see:

1) Turnovers. Gotta cut them down. Showed Riki the other day results from the last 5 years from the tournament and we had a game we nearly lost (VCU '12) because we had double the TO's. Can't give away possessions.

2) Defense. If we play with the intensity of the Carolina game all the time, it will go a long way. This will be big on that 2nd weekend.

3) Seeding. Gotta finish strong, Butler & Louisville game are big. Would help to win both RS and BTT. A top 3 seed is no guarantee of success, but it improves your chances. Getting there is dependent on doing well thru early March.

Ought to be a interesting winter, that's for sure.

Based on last year, Crean has learned that as the year goes on, practices need to be scaled back and it would seem he has ended physical practices on game day and just has simple walk through sessions.

I believe this team will continue to improve as Davis and the other freshmen continues to develop. OG getting back on the court and back into shape without any setbacks will be critical. I've heard OG is getting better and is day to day. I would hope he could play this weekend, but is allowed another week to heal.

Whether it was by design, or luck, Crean has a group of talented and intelligent kids that seem to enjoy playing together. That is a winning combination. I am hopeful we can play into a top 3 seed and have a clearer path to the elite 8 and the possibility of a Final 4 run.

 

[Fro]

I hope you're correct... it's just I don't think he's any different than he's always been. I hope this year is different; I think we'd all love to for you to be right.

To Crean's credit, he finally figured out last year that he needs to cut down the intensity/length of practices in February/March so the team doesn't burn out and run out of gas.

 

[jsig]

Don't really want to get into football but here it is. I don't see an issue with OSU being chosen over PSU. The Pitt loss really did PSU in. How many times has 2 loss teams ever been able to play for or voted the title? I would say never because I'm .to lazy to research.

 

[kkott]

I put together a list of statistics on Crean's teams compared to other coaches last spring, and statistically this team is more balanced than any he's possibly ever had.

Several keys I see:

1) Turnovers. Gotta cut them down. Showed Riki the other day results from the last 5 years from the tournament and we had a game we nearly lost (VCU '12) because we had double the TO's. Can't give away possessions.

2) Defense. If we play with the intensity of the Carolina game all the time, it will go a long way. This will be big on that 2nd weekend.

3) Seeding. Gotta finish strong, Butler & Louisville game are big. Would help to win both RS and BTT. A top 3 seed is no guarantee of success, but it improves your chances. Getting there is dependent on doing well thru early March.

Ought to be a interesting winter, that's for sure.

So basically we need to do better at all the stuff we always need to do better at? This does feel different!

Lucy, you're not going to snatch that football away again are you?

 

[iubud]

So basically we need to do better at all the stuff we always need to do better at? This does feel different!

Lucy, you're not going to snatch that football away again are you?

I am encouraged that we are ahead of where we were last year with room to improve. If we can avoid the injuries we had last year, this team has a much higher potential than a Sweet 16 team with Niego as our only backup guard and two wounded players in Hartman and Morgan.

 

[hoosier48]

I am happy with this team even with the bad loss. I would rather have that loss and 2 wins against the top five any day. With that being said I believe Hartman's injury is more important than some realize. Sure we are deep, but don't underestimate his senior leadership come tournament time.

 

[bsmitty08]

It's the entire picture. If winning the B1G was all that mattered, then why play a pre-conference schedule?

Pre-conference
OSU beat BG by 67, Tulsa by 45 and at Oklahoma by 21.
PSU beat Kent State by 20, Temple by 7 and lost to Pitt by 3.
OSU wins that out right.

Conference
OSU lost to PSU due to 17 late unanswered points. But beat everyone else.
PSU squeaked out a win against OSU but lost by 39 to UM.
PSU wins the tie-breaker but only because it was a H2H win. Otherwise, OSU wins.

Overall, OSU wins out. I hate them as much as the next people but pre-conference has a lot of weight and OSU won that portion more convincingly than PSU did in conference. 2 losses to 1.

Agree just look at total resume and Ohio st is ten times better. 3 top 10 wins for Osu and only loss was to a top 10 team.

 

[Catfish_ Crazy]

I put together a list of statistics on Crean's teams compared to other coaches last spring, and statistically this team is more balanced than any he's possibly ever had.

Several keys I see:

1) Turnovers. Gotta cut them down. Showed Riki the other day results from the last 5 years from the tournament and we had a game we nearly lost (VCU '12) because we had double the TO's. Can't give away possessions.

2) Defense. If we play with the intensity of the Carolina game all the time, it will go a long way. This will be big on that 2nd weekend.

3) Seeding. Gotta finish strong, Butler & Louisville game are big. Would help to win both RS and BTT. A top 3 seed is no guarantee of success, but it improves your chances. Getting there is dependent on doing well thru early March.

Ought to be a interesting winter, that's for sure.

I think it is about time for IU to win a BTT.

 

[YOTHN]

I think it is about time for IU to win a BTT.

I agree. I look around at the rest of the B1G (Iowa with 5 losses, MSU with 4 losses) and it looks like a train wreck all around us. This is a year Indiana looks to just be better than everyone else in the B1G. Not that I don't expect PU and Wisconsin to compete but the teams like Illinois and OSU who a lot thought were going to be more competitive, are starting to look shaky. It's a long season and everything resets come conference time but with each passing day, I begin to see the future getting brighter and brighter.

So back to my point, I would like to see us bring some serious intensity into the BTT and leave on a good note for once. Not that everyone looks at the BTT as the one and only but if we can sweep the conference and win the B1G title, I think a lot of people will soften their stance at least a little. We'll just have to see.

 

[ORG]

I hope you're correct... it's just I don't think he's any different than he's always been. I hope this year is different; I think we'd all love to for you to be right.

Sometimes, when it comes to CTC, people use only 1 metric when they evaluate whether or not CTC has improved . . . getting past the Sweet 16.

 

[hondo314]

Sometimes, when it comes to CTC, people use only 1 metric when they evaluate whether or not CTC has improved . . . getting past the Sweet 16.

haha. well, he did pick a result-oriented profession.

all the other metrics in the world could be stellar, but sports is about winning.

winning.

you are a good dude but your post is everything wrong with the 10% who don't expect much more. weird af

 

[IndianaHoops]

I agree. I look around at the rest of the B1G (Iowa with 5 losses, MSU with 4 losses) and it looks like a train wreck all around us. This is a year Indiana looks to just be better than everyone else in the B1G. Not that I don't expect PU and Wisconsin to compete but the teams like Illinois and OSU who a lot thought were going to be more competitive, are starting to look shaky. It's a long season and everything resets come conference time but with each passing day, I begin to see the future getting brighter and brighter.

So back to my point, I would like to see us bring some serious intensity into the BTT and leave on a good note for once. Not that everyone looks at the BTT as the one and only but if we can sweep the conference and win the B1G title, I think a lot of people will soften their stance at least a little. We'll just have to see.

Agreed....

The B10 isn't doing us any favors with helping our seed.

Not only OSU and UI....but even Michigan looks average.....Iowa did just beat ISU but looks like a bubble team at best. Minny has looked awful at times. Besides PU and Wisky, there just aren't many quality wins this year. When Northwestern is competing to be the 6th or even 5th best team in the B10, you know the league is down.

Got to beat Butler and UofL, 14 conference wins, and at least quarter finals of the BTT.....to me thats a 2 seed.

 

[jsig]

Agreed....

The B10 isn't doing us any favors with helping our seed.

Not only OSU and UI....but even Michigan looks average.....Iowa did just beat ISU but looks like a bubble team at best. Minny has looked awful at times. Besides PU and Wisky, there just aren't many quality wins this year. When Northwestern is competing to be the 6th or even 5th best team in the B10, you know the league is down.

Got to beat Butler and UofL, 14 conference wins, and at least quarter finals of the BTT.....to me thats a 2 seed.

Wow, the league is down yet 4 RS conference losses plus a round of 8 loss right off the bat in the BTT is worthy of a 2 seed.

 

[snarlcakes]

This team has been tremendous this year. I truly believe they have all the necessary ingredients to be in the Final Four. I like Crean's chances this year. He's going to do it. He's just assembled too much talent to be denied. He's pushing all the right buttons right now. I think he's turned a corner.

It better be his best team. If it's not, he gone.

 

[hondo314]

To Crean's credit, he finally figured out last year that he needs to cut down the intensity/length of practices in February/March so the team doesn't burn out and run out of gas.

He apparently cut down practice intensity last year and still his 3rd best team ever was 2-2 in the post season.

I think it's his game strategy that needs fixing, not over working 18 to 22 year old kids.

 

[IndianaHoops]

Wow, the league is down yet 4 RS conference losses plus a round of 8 loss right off the bat in the BTT is worthy of a 2 seed.

Sorry, I meant semi-finals of the BTT.

So, RS champs and 1 - 1 in B10 tourney....for a final record of 27-6 with wins over UNC, Kansas, Butler, UofL, Wiksy (home), and Purude (home). Thats probably 2 top 10 wins with 4 top 20 wins.....for a total of 6 top 20 wins.

2 Seeds last year.....Oklahoma (25-7), MSU (29-5), Nova (29-5), Xaiver (27-5).

I doubt anyone is going to have wins to compete with ours (of course....got to beat Butler and UofL).....

I think that's a low 2 seed.....or the best 3.

Last year our best wins were Iowa (H/A), Maryland (H), and Purdue (H). Which was 0 top 10 wins and 4 top 20 wins. Throw Wisky in there for 5 top 25 wins.

 

[hondo314]

It better be his best team. If it's not, he gone.

agree! he's either gone or will be signed to a fat extension. i see it going either way.

 

[T.M.P.]

This team has been tremendous this year. I truly believe they have all the necessary ingredients to be in the Final Four. I like Crean's chances this year. He's going to do it. He's just assembled too much talent to be denied. He's pushing all the right buttons right now. I think he's turned a corner.

Puking.

 

[T.M.P.]

Sometimes, when it comes to CTC, people use only 1 metric when they evaluate whether or not CTC has improved . . . getting past the Sweet 16.

Thats not a metric its a result.

 

[mobilehoosier]

How about let's kick everyone's A$$ and earn a one seed.

Respectfully,

 

[Zizkov]

This team has been tremendous this year. I truly believe they have all the necessary ingredients to be in the Final Four. I like Crean's chances this year. He's going to do it. He's just assembled too much talent to be denied. He's pushing all the right buttons right now. I think he's turned a corner.

 

[TheOriginalHappyGoat]

I think it is about time for IU to win a BTT.

I will go so far as to make this prediction:

If we don't win the BTT, we will not get a 1-seed. The committee has made it clear what they care about: SOS, big wins, going on the road, conference tournament success.

We'll have the big wins, but already screwed the poach on SOS and road games. That only leaves the BTT to top off our resume.

 

[burnthemallralphie]

@hoosierdug : Thank you so much for making a positive post. I am tired of all the DAMN HATERS with their endless statistics about turnovers and sweet 16 roadblock talk. This is our year, I can feel it. This is a FINAL FOUR team, if not better.

To those off you being negative: shame on you! Give me your tickets if you hate CTC so bad. Just because he makes $3.7 million a year doesn't mean he deserves to be treated like GARBAGE by a spoiled what have you done for me lately fanbase.

To those of you attempting to threadjack a positive thread: shame on you and punch yourself IN THE FACE. Finally a good thread, and you guys poo all over it with your Ohio State Suckeyes talk.

Stay off of the bandwagon, HATERS.

 

[burnthemallralphie]

@ TheOriginalHappyGoat:

I think the fans here want to enjoy the moment of having a top ten team and not be bothered with things like recruiting and winning the BTT. At least the non-HATERS do anyway.

I will go so far to make this prediction: I predict you are a HATER.

 

[Rakkasan29]

Anything less than a Final Four with this team will be a MAJOR disappointment.

 

[burnthemallralphie]

@Rakkasan29: I agree, but only because I have the FAITH that this team is going to make it. I cannot wait to rub the faces of the haters in the all the crap they have been posting here for 8+ years. But just wait, all of the haters will be like : "We was always fans" and will put their "We are Back!" shirts back on....the ones that didn't burn those shirts, that is.

 

[T.M.P.]

@hoosierdug : Thank you so much for making a positive post. I am tired of all the DAMN HATERS with their endless statistics about turnovers and sweet 16 roadblock talk. This is our year, I can feel it. This is a FINAL FOUR team, if not better.

To those off you being negative: shame on you! Give me your tickets if you hate CTC so bad. Just because he makes $3.7 million a year doesn't mean he deserves to be treated like GARBAGE by a spoiled what have you done for me lately fanbase.

To those of you attempting to threadjack a positive thread: shame on you and punch yourself IN THE FACE. Finally a good thread, and you guys poo all over it with your Ohio State Suckeyes talk.

Stay off of the bandwagon, HATERS.

Puking even more.

 

[TheOriginalHappyGoat]

@ TheOriginalHappyGoat:

I think the fans here want to enjoy the moment of having a top ten team and not be bothered with things like recruiting and winning the BTT. At least the non-HATERS do anyway.

I will go so far to make this prediction: I predict you are a HATER.

I respect your right to hold these opinions. We are all IU fans, after all. May the baby Jesus bless you and keep you.

 

[burnthemallralphie]

@ T.M.P. : Well, if it isn't King Turd of Poo Mountain, the biggest hater of them all. Give me your address so I can send you this book:

Amazon product ASIN 0253008581

 

[IDontWannaLargeFarva]

@hoosierdug : Thank you so much for making a positive post. I am tired of all the DAMN HATERS with their endless statistics about turnovers and sweet 16 roadblock talk. This is our year, I can feel it. This is a FINAL FOUR team, if not better.

To those off you being negative: shame on you! Give me your tickets if you hate CTC so bad. Just because he makes $3.7 million a year doesn't mean he deserves to be treated like GARBAGE by a spoiled what have you done for me lately fanbase.

To those of you attempting to threadjack a positive thread: shame on you and punch yourself IN THE FACE. Finally a good thread, and you guys poo all over it with your Ohio State Suckeyes talk.

Stay off of the bandwagon, HATERS.

Hey. Just chill out man.