Ranked 4th in Lindy's Preseason
- Thread starter hoosierdug
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Do you think Crean broke out the ladder at AH and cut down the nets after getting his copy?
Gotta play defense. Horrible defense last year. If they turn it around they can get a lot better but I would absolutely not predict a final four. Too small and too far to turn around.
Talented guards though.
I'm saying! It's awesome! Bring it on! Given the talent level, we should be able to make a DEEP run in the tourney. (READ: better than a Sweet 16 exit. At the very least). D is taught by the coach(es). Our roster is stacked with highly ranked, great athletes who can play multiple positions. Getting them in a position to play solid D should NOT be an issue. We're good to go! Gonna be a great year! Bring. On. The. Hype.
How far has this program fallen when folks are excited over a predicted fourth place finish in the B1G? Sad.
You read this as ranked 4th?
http://athlonsports.com/magazines/athlon-sports-2015-16-college-basketball-preseason-top-25
In the BiG. Y'all are 3rd . . . .
Sheesh, gotta explain everything to PU guys . . . .
It was the newsstand copy of Lindy's. Evidently Holt was VERY important given the drop in ranking between the newsstand and online piece. I'm glad IU hoops is important to you.
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EDIT: It was Lindy's, not Athlon.
http://www.wdrb.com/story/29892922/...f-l-17th-in-lindys-college-basketball-preview
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im all for i
I read that as Lindys not Athlon as you stated in the title of your post.
I'm on board however. Let's call IU fourth in the land and let the games begin. We can call IU #1 if you like. It is September after all.
My bad. It was Lindy's. But I still say, BRING ON THE HYPE. Lots of talent. Expectations SHOULD be sky high. The higher, the better. Let's see what becomes of it.
I can see 4th in the big ten but we are no where near the 4th best team in the country. I will still stand by my prediction of us finishing 5th in the big ten but I hope I am wrong.
1) MSU
2) Maryland
3) Purdue
4) UW
5) IU
1) MSU
2) Maryland
3) Purdue
4) UW
5) IU
With an unbalanced schedule, you have to take that into account.
Purdue's conference schedule is very tough compared to IU's.
I can see IU as high as 4th, but as low as 7th. Teams like Michigan and OSU have potential to be better than IU. Not saying it will happen, but with previous conference results....
Its not what they bring in (and they bring in a lottery pick center in Stone http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft/2016/), its what they lost... and they didn't loose much from the only team to threaten Wisconsin last year.
They have a TON and I mean a TON of talent at every position. On paper, they are by far the best team in the B10.
But... I too think they are a bit overrated nationally.
Honestly with this conference schedule, anything outside of a top 3 should be considered a HUGE disappointment. Only see OSU, PU, MSU, MD, and UM 1 time each, our home and homes with Neb, Wis, MIn, Ill, and Iowa. Of the projected top 7 teams in the conference (IU, MD, OSU, PU, Wisc, UM, and MD) we only play 1 of them twice, return a talented roster with an AA calibur PG and a MCAA at the 2 and 5 with 2 solid 5th year guys coming off the bench, there will be no excuse to not be a top 3 team in the B1G
I won't argue they might be overated nationaly. However, with Trimble and the Duke transfer, they have the best backcourt in the BIG, on paper. They also have a front court to rival Purdue's. Don't see any weaknesses in Maryland. Maybe the Duke kid is poison, or maybe Stone fails to live up to his biling? In any case, they will be tough to beat in the BIG & they have potential F4 talent, on paper.
IU has 3 McDs and one of them is a Senior PG, a shooting guard who is among the best pure shooters in the country, and probable lottery pick at center to go along with multiple high ranked 3 star players and the best we can hope for, given ALL of that talent is 5th? Really? You serious? Why? On paper, IU has more talent than any team in the B1G not hailing from a state famous for crab cakes. Scott Van Pelt approves this post.
Why? How many times has Tom Crean finished higher than 5th in the B10? Let me help you.... once.
Lets take 2011-2012 as an example.
Zeller, Watford, Oladipo. Hulls, Sheehey, Abell, Elston... to go along with seniors VJ3, Matt Roth, and Pritchard.
That team...finished 5th. Now, why is this years team so much more talented than that team?
its not. the fan base is setting itself up for a major disappointment. This years team is marginally better than last years. 23-12 here we come! as I have said a million times: Crean has lost double digits 10/12 years in a Big 5 conference. Why argue with that "success"?
I just don't agree with the talent level because I think 3 of the teams I had above us has more experience talent. Also I don't just look at star ranking and base my opinion on that but what I actually see on the court.
Oh wait. You mean they actually coach up the players and they improve not just as individuals, but more importantly, as a team. Embrace the expectations. We should all expect more. A lot more this year.
It is a combo of talent and schedule that should allow us a top 3 finish.
MD plays PU, Wisc, OSU and UM 2 times
IU plays Wisc 2 times
PU plays MD 2 times, Wisc 2 times, and Mich 2 times
Wisc plays PU, MD, IU, and MSU 2 times
OSU plays MD, and MSU 2 times (light one like us)
Michigan plays MD and Pu 2 times
MSU plays OSU and Wisc 2 times
Of the top 7 teams (projected) we only play 7 games against the other 7 while MD 10, PU plays 9, Wisc plays 10 and MSU plays 8. Those built in games where we are playing the bottom half while the other top teams are playing each other much more frequently should have an advantage for us, we get the break that PU and UW got last year, not we need to take advantage of it
MD plays PU, Wisc, OSU and UM 2 times
IU plays Wisc 2 times
PU plays MD 2 times, Wisc 2 times, and Mich 2 times
Wisc plays PU, MD, IU, and MSU 2 times
OSU plays MD, and MSU 2 times (light one like us)
Michigan plays MD and Pu 2 times
MSU plays OSU and Wisc 2 times
Of the top 7 teams (projected) we only play 7 games against the other 7 while MD 10, PU plays 9, Wisc plays 10 and MSU plays 8. Those built in games where we are playing the bottom half while the other top teams are playing each other much more frequently should have an advantage for us, we get the break that PU and UW got last year, not we need to take advantage of it
This. When determining where you think teams will fall, you have to consider the strength of the B10 schedule. Maryland, MSU, UM, IU, OSU, Wisky and Purdue all have the talent to finish in the Top 3. Maryland and MSU likely won't be outside the Top 3 or 4, but the rest of the teams could be in the Top 3 or in 6th/7th and they are very close in talent with each having strengths and weaknesses. Strength of schedule is a big factor in that. IU has an easier schedule this year like Purdue had last year. I think that is a huge benefit for IU and that's why I think IU will finish ahead of Purdue.
IU record vs the bottom 1/2 the last 2 years:
Northwestern: 2-2
Penn State: 2-1
Minnesota: 1-1
Illinois: 2-1
Iowa: 1-1
Nebraska: 1-2
Besides Rutgers, who exactly is IU going to dominate for certain this year?
IU had 3 conference road wins last year, 2 in 2013-1014, 3 in 2011-2012, and 0 in 2010-2011.
If you take out the year IU had 2 top 5 NBA draft picks, IU has 8 conference road wins in the last 4 years (8 in the last 3 if you don't count 2010-2011).....and now we are just going to waltz into Minnesota, Iowa, Penn State, Michigan, and even Northwestern and expect a win?
If you can't see how we were at a disadvantage last year with Hartman playing the center some, then we don't need to continue this. Yes our defense has to improve, but with a legit big like Bryant, we won't automatically be at a disadvantage. It's really not to hard to see. The year before with Vonleh, we had zero outside shooting after Yogi. Both of the past two years are Crean's fault for roster mismanagement. But lets not act like he had a roster like Hulls, Wat, Vic, Sheehey and Zeller. We had players but both had holes.
exactly. Crean has proven to be a very poor road coach due to horrid defense. He is who he is - nothing will change.
If we don't make it to the Elite Eight with our roster, I think Crean gets the boot.
I would agree. Time for excuses are over. Final 8 at the very least. Hope he's getting his resume updated.
It's really a win/win for IU fans. The talent is there. If they don't make it, Crean will get the boot. I honestly don't care what happens because both outcomes are good.
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