Saturday’s game can’t come soon enough for the IU men’s basketball team. They need a win, and they need it now.
After starting the Big Ten season 5-1 to earn a share of first place, the Hoosiers have lost their last two to move out of the top tier of conference teams.
That’s a bad thing for IU.
If the Hoosiers come out and don’t look determined to blow Rutgers out of Assembly Hall on Saturday, it’s time to give up on this team. They should be frustrated. They should be thirsty. They should want to destroy someone.
After watching them be exposed these last two games by Ohio State and Purdue, I feel frustrated for them, and I’m sure plenty of Hoosier fans are frustrated as well.
I’m not saying IU should be expected to go on a 15-0 run to start the game, but look for how the Hoosiers come out. Look for if they are playing like they did against Maryland compared to how they played against Purdue.
I wouldn’t even mind if there were a few hard fouls early on in the game. Obviously, don’t attack anyone on the opposing team or do anything outside of what belongs in the game of basketball, but play with attitude for crying out loud. Send a message to “Hoosier Nation” that you aren’t just lying down. Show it you’re upset with your performance.
To be honest, junior guard Yogi Ferrell has looked like the only IU player who is angry about the team’s performances. Everyone else looks sad. There’s no place for sad in basketball. This team is young, and they need to ignite that sadness into fire.
Losing to Purdue by 16 should be unacceptable for this team with NCAA Tournament aspirations. Coaches often preach to forget about the last game and focus on the current one.
I disagree.
Keep the Purdue loss in the back of your mind. Think of the thousands of black-clad Mackey Arena faces shouting and cheering for your demise. Use that, and channel it.
You’ll notice that I have barely even mentioned Rutgers in this column. That’s intentional. Rutgers is a bad team that IU should easily beat at home. Kenpom.com ranks them last of the Big Ten teams at 166th. That’s 44 places behind the next Big Ten team, Northwestern. But that isn’t the point.
Rutgers has three starters taller than IU’s starting “center.” That isn’t the point either.
The point is that this game is about sending a message — not by how many points they score or by how many 3-pointers they make. Nobody cares about that against Rutgers. This game is about showing that you can still play with passion, and two consecutive losses aren’t something this team plans on getting used to.
My Prediction: IU 85 - Rutgers 65
Casey Krajewski is 9-2 in predictions this season
crkrajew@indiana.edu
