Column: I'm sorry I'm bad at this

After I rolled back into Bloomington Saturday night after witnessing the Purdue-IU beatdown in West Lafayette, I met up with some friends.

The first thing they said was, “You’re really bad at predicting games.”

When my mom called me Sunday, she started off the conversation by saying, “Stop with the predictions, Evan!”

I’m sensing a trend.

When Iowa (19-6, 8-4) comes to Assembly Hall on Tuesday for a late night showdown with IU (14-11, 4-8) at 9 p.m. on ESPN, you should take my advice with a pound of salt.

All the tweets, emails and criticisms from my mom are substantiated. I’ve struggled this year, going 9-6 in my predictions. To the fans who read my columns looking for advice, I’m sorry I’m bad at this.

But let’s take a look at the subject of analysis as I try to defend my woeful record — the 2013-14 IU men’s basketball team.

Has there been a more inconsistent IU team in recent memory? It’s like trying to predict what Frank Underwood from House of Cards will do next.

For those of you who haven’t watched House of Cards — first off, why not? And second off, the analogy speaks to the inconsistent nature of this IU team.

This team, which has suffered no major injuries this season, beat No. 3 Wisconsin and No. 10 Michigan.

And they are currently in the midst of a three-game losing streak to teams that are 15-23 in the conference.

I’m just as lost as you.

Iowa is the best team IU has faced since Michigan. The Hoosiers are in a
tailspin.

Long story short, Iowa is really good.

They have the fourth-best offense and 30th-best defense in the nation, according to kenpom.com.

Iowa’s six losses are all to top-25 teams. Its worst loss is to Ohio State, which isn’t too shabby.

The Hawkeyes play a fast, fun brand of basketball that isn’t typical of Big Ten teams. They are the 16th-fastest team in the nation and lead the Big Ten with 83.6 points per game.

Senior stud forward Roy Devin Marble gets the majority of the looks for Iowa. He takes 29.1 percent of the shots and has scored in double figures in every Big Ten game.

Sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell was effective against Michigan’s Nik Stauskas, shutting him down for six points.

But the 6-foot Ferrell will have a hard time guarding the 6-foot-6 Marble. Expect to see senior Will Sheehey check Marble.

The biggest unknown for me is if the Assembly Hall faithful will come out with the same intensity that made the Hall rock for the Wisconsin and Michigan games.

I say they will.

This current Hoosier squad has been reduced to spoilers for other teams. They aren’t making the NCAA tournament, so these last six games will serve as public practices for next year.

But they have one more great performance in them. Assembly Hall has one more great performance in it. At 9 p.m. on ESPN, Hoosier nation will show up.

My analysis — Sheehey will shut down Marble, Ferrell will go off in typical Ferrell fashion and freshman forward Noah Vonleh will prove too athletic for the Iowa big men.

Also, my first instinct was to pick Iowa, so naturally I go opposite of that.

Prediction: IU 74, Iowa 69

Evan Hoopfer is 9-6 in predictions this year.

— ehoopfer@indiana.edu