After your beloved Hoosiers' latest win over Iowa, IU has, in effect, a very short break from Big Ten play. (The Hoosiers face Connecticut Saturday in Hartford.) So it seems like an opportune time to reassess the Hoosiers collectively. (Also, check back tomorrow for a player-by-player breakdown, much like we did after IU's close road loss to Duke earlier in the year.)
Before we get to the team stuff, though, here are a few couple random notes from last night's win over Iowa:
--- IU's crowd lived up to ESPN's "Spirit Week" billing last night. Sure, it may not have matched Oklahoma State's rowdy environment in the Cowboys' ridiculous Triple-OT win in Stillwater, but all the same, the crowd did well. The students piped up with another "stand up old people" chant, which got a positive reaction, and overall, the crowd did well.
However, students continue to show up pretty late to games. This is nothing new - it's been happening since I was a freshman, at least - but it's definitely a bit of a drag on the general environment at games. The one anecdote I heard from talking to some friends with courtside seats at halftime was that a huge group of girls walked in to their courtside seats with about 10 minutes left in the first half. My buddy a comment regarding their tardiness, at which they giggled. Cute.
Listen, I know it happens - I've been late to a football game I was covering, for God's sake - but apathetic, late arrivals like those certainly make first come, first serve seating sound far more palatable.
--- I had a chance to rewatch portions of the game today thanks to DVR, and man, how enthusiastic was Brent Musberger? Down the stretch, as Iowa made a lame late game push to cut the lead to 10 with barely 40 seconds left, Musberger was still stuck in Rose Bowl "Every Play Matters!" mode.
"Iowa basketball - do you believe it!?!" No, Brent, we don't, and neither should you.
--- Team-wise, IU had some of their best stretches of the season last night. They also had an uncharacteristic letdown late in the second half that allowed Iowa guard Adam Haluska and forward Tyler Smith to get their averages despite horrible first halves from both. (That letdown is also what got Brent so very excited.) Sampson basically divided the game into two segments: the first 32 minutes, which he thought were excellent; and the last eight minutes, which he said were brought on more by substitutions and a little lack of intensity down the stretch. He also said he wasn't too worried about the last eight minutes, which makes sense.
Nonetheless, the win leaves IU at 13-4 and 4-1 in the Big Ten. Those five games have been about as impressive as possible; the loss to Ohio State was a close game in Columbus, the wins over Purdue and Michigan State were blowouts, as was the Iowa win, and the road win against Penn State came thanks to a resilient batch of play from IU to get a tough road victory, a scarce commodity in the Big Ten.
Also, the Hoosiers are likely nearing their first jump into the Top 25 this year. A win over Connecticut Saturday would make that decision easy for a lot of voters, but if the Hoosiers lose a close game, IU might have to wait until next Monday, or perhaps the Monday after that, before they make a Top 25 appearance. With the way IU is playing right now, there's no reason to doubt their chances either Saturday at UConn or (especially, considering how mediocre Illinois seems) Tuesday at Illinois.
Still, as commenter Mike Coleman pointed out last night, IU has still not beaten a ranked team. So where do you see the Hoosiers collectively? Top 25 material? Still not good enough? Beating up on a weak Big Ten? Best of the non-Wisconsin, non-Ohio State rest? Let us know what you think in the comments.
