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(03/02/14 5:54pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When IU defeated Iowa last Thursday in Assembly Hall 93-86, it was the most entertaining game of the year, in this columnist’s humble opinion.It was fast paced. It was high scoring. And there was basically no defense being played – which is awesome because I hate defense.Well, get ready for the polar opposite on Sunday.No. 22 Ohio State (22-7, 9-7) comes to Bloomington at 4:00 p.m. to face IU (16-12, 6-9) in what is sure to be a defensive struggle. A defensive struggle televised on CBS.The halftime score of the IU-Iowa game was 52-49, which I could see being around final score of this game.Why? Because Ohio State loves defense. The Buckeyes eat defense for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They sprinkle defense over their Captain Crunch and dip their French fries in defense.Ok you get it, Ohio State likes defense.But let me tell some statistics to back up my point. The Buckeyes have the second best defense in the nation according to kenpom.com.They force the most steals in the country, and they allow their opponents to shoot only 27.3 percent from behind the arc, which once again is the best figure in the nation.Translation: Ohio State closes out on shooters really well, and their active hands on defense force a lot of turnovers.Seeing as IU has the worst turnover percentage in the Big Ten, this is not the most ideal matchup for the Hoosiers.Its no secret IU’s weakness has been turning over the ball. The Hoosiers average 15.1 turnovers a game, and have an average turnover margin of minus-2.46 per game.The only other conference team that has a negative turnover margin is Northwestern, who has an average turnover margin of minus-0.64 per game.Who is the leader in turnover margin? That’s right, you guessed it: the Ohio State Buckeyes.They lead the Big Ten with an average of plus-3.41 turnover margin a game.That’s not good for Hoosier fans.Ohio State has been anemic on offense at times this year. In the last four games, the Buckeyes have scored over 64 points just once.But the fact that possibly the nation’s best defender, Aaron Craft, will be matched up against the Hoosiers best scorer, Kevin ‘Yogi’ Ferrell, presents a problem for IU.With the exception of the last game against Iowa, where Will Sheehey and Stan Robinson combined for 47 points, the Hoosiers have struggled to score beyond Ferrell.But Iowa played horrible defense that game. Compared to the Hawkeye defense, the Buckeye defense will be a night and day difference.Ohio State’s defense will be too suffocating for the Hoosiers to overcome. IU could run with Iowa, but they can’t grind it out with the Buckeyes.Prediction: Ohio State 63, IU 55Evan Hoopfer is 12-6 in predictions this year.@EvanHoopfer
(02/28/14 5:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When the stars from last year left the team, everybody knew IU probably wouldn’t be hanging another banner.But fans did expect this to be a mid-tier, scrappy and hardnosed Big Ten team.Last night was the preseason vision coming to fruition.Even though IU (16-12, 6-9) probably aren’t going dancing come March, a 93-86 victory over No. 20 Iowa (19-9, 8-7) sure tasted sweet to Hoosier Nation.Charles Barkley has a theory that I subscribe to. He says at home, you can almost expect your role players to flourish and do well. But on the road, that’s when the stars have to step up.The lack of a third and fourth banana has plagued this team all year.Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell and Noah Vonleh have been magnificent all season. Vonleh has lived up to the hype and is destined to make a lot of money in the NBA. Ferrell has stepped up and proven hecan be a legitimate No. 1 option.But beyond that, it’s been slim pickings.The lack of depth has hurt IU this year. Ferrell and Vonleh have carried too much of the burden. So if the dynamic duo doesn’t play well, the Hoosiers have little to no shot at winning.Well, except for last night.While Ferrell and Vonleh combined for just 12 points on 3-of-7 shooting, senior Will Sheehey and freshman Stan Robinson both had career highs.Sheehey poured in 30 points on 12-of-20 shooting while Robinson was 5-of-6 from the field for 17 points.Even more impressive for Robinson was his effectiveness at the line. He was 7-for-10 after coming into the game shooting a woeful 51 percent from the charity stripe.To be effective as a slasher and have confidence in his own shot, Robinson desperately needs to improve free throw shooting. And at least for last night, he did.Whether you prefer #Sheebinson or #Robinhey — personally I prefer #Robinhey, but #Sheebinson is solid as well — there’s no doubt the combination of the senior and the freshman willed IU to victory.Role players needed to step up this entire season. And tonight they did. It might be too little too late for this season, but next season the role players need to make last night a regular thing.IU has the talent, and last night it showed how dangerous it can be once the talent plays up to their potential.Robinson is a freshman. Hollowell, who has actually been playing terrific the last couple games, is a sophomore. Ferrell is a sophomore. Vonleh is a freshman, but could be making millions next year playing in the NBA.Besides the potential loss of Vonleh and the graduations of Sheehey and Evan Gordon, this could be one of the most talented teams in the conference next season.As a Cubs fan, I have a certain motto that I’ve adopted not by choice, but necessity for my own sanity. Most of the time it’s said with tongue and cheek, but for IU fans this could really be the truth if certain pieces fall into place.Just wait until next year.ehoopfer@indiana.edu@EvanHoopfer
(02/27/14 4:16am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It’s no secret that if IU basketball had a mascot this year, they’d have two: Jekyll and Hyde.IU fans have seen both this year. Against then-No. 3 Wisconsin and then-No. 10 Michigan at home, it was Mr. Hyde making an appearance at Assembly Hall, and the fans demanded an encore.Against Penn State and Northwestern at home, Dr. Jekyll reared his ugly head, characterized by epic collapses and poor perimeter shooting that sent Hoosier fans cursing not-so-under their breath as they walked back to their cars.Bold prediction — Hyde has locked Jekyll in a closet somewhere in the Villas, and IU will come out and shock the conference tonight.No. 20 Iowa (19-8, 8-6) comes to Bloomington to face IU (15-12, 5-9) at 9 p.m. on ESPN. It’s a makeup game from last Tuesday after Assembly Hall broke.There’s no doubt Iowa is good. The Hawkeyes stand at 8-6 in arguably the nation’s best basketball conference. They have the fourth most efficient offense in the nation, according to kenpom.com.You might have thought IU dominated the glass, but you haven’t seen the Hawkeyes play. They lead the conference in offensive rebounding percentage and free throw rate.Translation: Iowa draws a lot of fouls, and gets a lot of offensive rebounds. The Hawkeyes score 25.7 percent of their points from the charity stripe, once again best in the Big Fourteen — ugh, I mean Big Ten.So the case for Iowa coming in and steamrolling the Hoosiers can be made. But the opposite argument, I believe, is stronger.Iowa has been struggling lately. The Hawkeyes fell to Wisconsin on Saturday at home, and then lost in the Barn to Minnesota just two days ago when they allowed 95 Gopher points.It’s their first multi-game losing streak of the year, which is troublesome if you’re a Hawkeye fan. You need to be playing your best basketball as the calendar turns to March on Saturday.Iowa is the fastest team in the Big Ten. IU has seen mixed results playing at a fast clip this year. Sometimes they look like those Phoenix Suns teams with Steve Nash at the helm, and sometimes they turn it over more than 20 times in a game.But all these points are moot. Because there is only one question that really matters: which IU team will show up tonight?IU is talented, no doubt. It lacks consistency, which makes it incapable of being a legitimate contender.But one thing inconsistent teams can do is become giant killers and spoilers. IU plays to the level of competition. The Hoosiers can duel with the Hawkeyes in the talent department.Can they play focused basketball for 40 minutes? Not every game, but today they will.The bright lights. Nine o’clock game. ESPN. These are reasons why Assembly Hall will be rocking just as long as IU makes this a game.Assembly Hall will be ready and the Hoosier nation will be there.But which IU team will show up?Prediction: Hyde 71, Iowa 65Evan Hoopfer is 11-6 in predictions this year.ehoopfer@indiana.edu@EvanHoopfer
(02/26/14 6:07am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>If college basketball games were 20 minutes, IU would be an upper-echelon Big Ten team.Alas, the NCAA regulates 40-minute games. IU (15-12, 5-9) fell to No. 14 Wisconsin (23-5, 10-5) last night, 69-58.The Hoosiers were rolling in the first half. They led 29-19 and held the usually proficient Wisconsin offense in check.Then halftime happened.For whatever reason this season, IU has had consistent trouble at halftime. And this isn’t an anomaly. It’s a definite trend.IU has played 18 games against BCS schools. That means all 14 Big Ten games, plus Washington, Connecticut, Syracuse and Notre Dame. The Kennesaw States and Stony Brooks of the world were not evaluated for the following data.Of those 18 games, IU has held a halftime lead in nine of those games. So, in the first half against stiff competition, IU is 9-8-1 (IU and Illinois were tied at halftime on Jan. 31, and IU lost).Yet, the Hoosiers record in those 18 games is 7-11. Moreover, IU has been outscored in 11 of 18 games in the second half.Amazingly, in those 18 games, IU has actually averaged a lead at halftime. They’ve outscored opponents by an average of 1.1 points in the first half.In the second half, you guessed it, the Hoosiers continually get beat. They’ve been outscored by an average of 2.7 points in the second half.Recently, the second half woes have gotten even worse. In the last nine games, IU has led at halftime in eight of them.Eight of nine games.If I were allowed to use exclamation points, I would, to illustrate how crazy that number is. In that one game where they didn’t have the lead, against Purdue, IU was only down by five.Those last nine games have also featured four double-digits point swings. Against Nebraska, IU was outscored by 18 in the second half. Against Minnesota — 12. Purdue — 13.And last night was the worst of all.After outscoring the scorching-hot Badgers by 10 in the first half, Wisconsin proceeded to drop 50 points on the IU defense and outscored the Hoosiers by a staggering 21 points.As a columnist, I’m supposed to assert my opinion. But, in this case, I don’t need to. The numbers speak for themselves. The great thing about numbers is they aren’t biased. They don’t have an agenda. They don’t lie.The facts are, in the last nine games, IU has held leads in eight of them. The Hoosiers are 8-1 with halftime leads.In those nine games, IU’s actual record is 3-6.Once again — facts.Who knows what happens at halftime. Do the players just become lackadaisical and lose focus? Is IU that easy to figure out strategically, so opposing coaches just have to make a few adjustments, and then the other team can stop the Hoosiers with ease?I don’t know the real reason. It’s probably a combination of all of those things.But whatever the reason, the second half showings for the Hoosiers this season, with a few exceptions, have been abysmal.That’s a fact.@EvanHoopfer
(02/25/14 3:59am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Remember when Wisconsin lost to IU, proceeded to lose four of its next five games and everybody in Madison, Wisc., was worried?Me neither.When IU (15-11, 5-8) travels to No. 14 Wisconsin (22-5, 9-5) for a 9 p.m. showdown on ESPN, the Hoosiers will be met by a raucous Kohl Center and a smokin’ hot Badger team.Wisconsin has won five games straight, and it’s not like the Badgers have been playing the cupcakes of the Big Ten.The Badgers knocked off then-No. 8 Michigan State. They are fresh off road victories against Michigan and Iowa, who were both ranked No. 15 at the time.IU isn’t as good as any of those teams.The last IU-Wisconsin matchup was a memorable one.The Hoosiers beat then-undefeated and No. 3 Wisconsin. Hoosier nation rushed the court, which outraged thousands of grayhaired 50-somethings who hate to watch college students have fun.Assembly Hall was a fantastic atmosphere Jan. 14. For most of the game, my table on press row was literally shaking. Besides having a slight headache and almost spilling my water 5,000 times, it was an amazing experience.Tonight, fans dressed in red will once again be a factor. Only, this time, it will be Badger nation making life difficult for IU.IU recently took a baby step when it beat Northwestern in Evanston, Ill., last Saturday. It was the Hoosiers’ first road win in 42 days.It was a baby step because legitimately half the crowd was wearing crimson. The 8,117 capacity Welsh-Ryan Arena felt like a pseudo-home game for IU.But there will be far fewer Hoosier fans in the 17,230 capacity Kohl Center.If you were playing the NCAA March Madness video game — which you can’t because the game isn’t produced anymore, but the point remains valid — the screen would be shaking violently the entire time when IU had the ball because of the ferocity of the Badger crowd.If winning at Northwestern was a baby step for the program, winning at Wisconsin would be a giant lunge forward.But this team isn’t ready.Wisconsin is better. Plain and simple. Back on Jan. 13 after the Hoosiers barely won at Penn State, I wrote that this team wasn’t a NCAA tourney team.And it isn’t. This year.But the future could be bright for IU fans. These remaining five games — all against teams that have winning records in the Big Ten — will serve as public practices for what needs to be a bounce back into relevancy year next season.I’m excited to see how this team responds to a hostile environment. They fell flat on their faces against Purdue in a deafening Mackey Arena. They hung tight against Michigan State in East Lansing.But this Wisconsin team is too good, and is on too much of a roll. They’re not letting the Hoosiers get in their way.Prediction — Wisconsin 73, IU 57Evan Hoopfer is 10-6 in predictions this year.ehoopfer@indiana.edu@EvanHoopfer
(02/24/14 11:15pm)
IDS men's basketball staff writers discuss the past week in IU basketball and preview a testing slate of games.
(02/24/14 4:59am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>EVANSTON, Ill. — It was a win. That’s all that matters.When IU (15-11, 5-8) took down Northwestern (12-16, 5-10) Saturday night 61-56, it wasn’t always the prettiest of affairs.The Hoosiers finished the game shooting 27 percent from behind the arc, and shot a woeful 9-of-18 from the free throw line.But balance and consistency outweighed the lack of sharpness. IU secured their first road win in 42 days.Will Sheehey, Noah Vonleh, Troy Williams and Yogi Ferrell all scored 12 points.Sheehey and Vonleh finished with identical lines, both going 5-of-11 from the field. Ferrell was 5-of-10 and Williams was the most efficient, finishing 5-of-7.When IU has this kind of consistent scoring balance from four of their starters, they are tough to beat. IU doesn’t have to play perfect. They just have to play good enough.This is something lacking from this current squad. They either play out of their minds, or lay an egg. Gray has not been an IU color this year.But credit has to be given to the Wildcats.The first words out of Coach Chris Collins’ mouth in the post-game press conference were, “I’m so proud of my team.”He absolutely should be.Collins said Northwestern had only about seven viable players in the rotation due to injuries and suspensions.“Chris is going to be an outstanding coach for a long, long time,” IU Coach Tom Crean said.Northwestern cut it to a four-point game with 2 minutes 21 seconds remaining. But a Troy Williams layup followed by an enormous Sheehey three as the shot clock wound down gave IU the necessary cushion.The Wildcats are not an exceptionally talented team. But man, they bust their behinds. That’s why this Hoosier win was so impressive.Nobody wearing a cream and crimson uniform had an amazing day. The best performance was Williams, who had a Big Ten-high 12 points and no turnovers in 23 minutes.Williams usually has no regard for his own safety. He flies around like a mad man, not afraid of breaking his or his opponents back. This aggression has both good and bad consequences.But Williams has had better games. Every player on that IU roster has had better performances. The Hoosier attack wasn’t proficient, but balanced.IU fans have seen this team win with their A game (Wisconsin and Michigan).Against Northwestern in a campus brimming with A’s everywhere, IU won with their B game.Which is even more impressive, arguably, for this team.—ehoopfer@indiana.edu
(02/24/14 4:54am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU had trouble getting off the field with two outs this past weekend.“You get an out away, and it seems like every little mistake we make, teams are capitalizing,” IU Coach Tracy Smith said.The struggles continued for the Hoosiers, going 1-2 in the PAC-12 Big Ten challenge to fall to 2-5 on the year.“You’ve got to dig your way out,” Smith said. “And not panic and press. The more you press, the more difficult the results.”On Friday, IU throttled Washington 8-2. Both the pitching and the defense were proficient. Senior pitcher Joey DeNato went six innings and gave up just one earned run. Junior catcher Kyle Schwarber went 4-for-5 with three RBI.This year, the Hoosiers are 2-0 when DeNato starts and subsequently 0-5 when he doesn’t.IU fell 5-4 Saturday during a 15-inning game against Utah that lasted more than four and a half hours.The game was back and forth, featuring five lead changes. In the 13th inning, IU took a 4-3 lead and the Utes were down to their final out. But freshman Jake Kelzer couldn’t get the save, as Cory Hunt recorded an RBI single on the first pitch he saw to tie up the game.In the 15th inning, it was again Hunt at the plate with two outs. And once again, Hunt came through with the RBI single, this time on a 1-and-1 count, to score the winning run.“That was frustrating,” sophomore pitcher Will Coursen-Carr said of the loss. “We fought hard.”Schwarber and junior first baseman Sam Travis finished the game a combined 2-for-13 in the game.The next day against No. 2 Oregon State, the team that ended IU’s season last year in the College World Series, the Hoosiers were trailing just 2-1 in the seventh-inning stretch.Once again, it was two-out woes for the cream and crimson. This time the damage happened in the bottom of the seventh.After Coursen-Carr got two outs, he was pulled. He went 6.2 innings and struck out six. He gave up five runs but only two were earned.“I would say a B-minus,” he said when asked to grade himself.After Coursen-Carr came out, that’s when the wheels fell off.With two outs, Oregon State managed to score six runs to put the game out of reach. All six runs were unearned also.“Yeah it sucked,” Coursen-Carr said. “But that’s baseball.”The Beavers 8-1 victory dropped IU to a 2-5 record this year.Despite starting the season No. 3 in the preseason poll and opening the year 2-5, both Coursen-Carr and Smith said the team isn’t worried or anxious.“It’s a proven offensive team,” Smith said. “They’re the same human beings that we’ve had in uniform for the last couple years. We know they’re going to hit.”Follow reporter Evan Hoopfer on Twitter @EvanHoopfer.
(02/23/14 4:58am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>EVANSTON, Ill. – It was a win. That’s all that matters.When IU (15-11, 5-8) took down Northwestern (12-16, 5-10) on Saturday night 61-56, it wasn’t always the prettiest of affairs.The Hoosiers finished the game shooting 27 percent from behind the arc, and shot a woeful 9-for-18 from the free throw line.But the Hoosiers balance and consistency outweighed the lack of sharpness. The Hoosiers secured their first road win in 42 days.Will Sheehey, Noah Vonleh, Troy Williams and Yogi Ferrell all finished with 12 points.Sheehey and Vonleh finished with identical lines, both going 5-for-11 from the field. Ferrell was 5-for-10 and Williams was the most efficient finishing 5-for-7.When IU has this kind of consistent scoring balance from four of their starters, they are tough to beat. IU doesn’t have to play perfect; they just have to play good enough.This is something lacking from this current squad. They either play out of their minds, or lay an egg. Gray has not been an IU color this year.But credit has to be given to the Wildcats.The first words out of Coach Chris Collins’ mouth in the post-game press conference were, “I’m so proud of my team.”And he absolutely should be.The Wildcats showed true guts. Collins said Northwestern had only about seven viable players in the rotation due to injuries and suspensions.IU Coach Tom Crean said, “Chris is going to be an outstanding coach for a long, long time.”The Wildcats stayed in the game and tried their best to break the hearts of Hoosier fans.Northwestern cut it to a four-point game with two minutes and 21 seconds remaining. But a Troy Williams layup followed by an enormous Sheehey three as the shot clock wound down gave the Hoosiers the necessary cushion.The Wildcats are not an exceptionally talented team. But man, they bust their behinds. That’s why this Hoosier win was so impressive.Nobody wearing a Cream and Crimson uniform had an amazing day. The best performance came from Williams, who had 12 points and no turnovers in 23 minutes.Williams usually has no regard for his own safety. He flies around like a mad man, not afraid of breaking his back or his opponents’. This aggression has both good and bad consequences.But tonight, Crean summed it up best when he quoted John Wooden, “be quick but don’t hurry.”But Williams has had better games. Every player on that IU roster has had better performances. The Hoosier attack wasn’t proficient, but balanced.IU fans have seen this team win with their A game (Wisconsin and Michigan).Against Northwestern in a campus brimming with A’s, IU won with their B game.Which is even more impressive, arguably, for this team.
(02/21/14 4:34am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Then-freshman shortstop Nick Ramos’ ground ball rolled toward third base. The throw reached first before Ramos, recording the final out of the game.The out also secured the final out of the best baseball season in IU history.Oregon State beat IU 1-0 last year in an ultimate pitchers’ duel in the College World Series, ending the historic run.“It will definitely be in the back of our minds,” senior pitcher Brian Korte said.No. 10 IU (1-3) will get another shot at No. 2 Oregon State (4-0) at 1 p.m. Sunday in Surprise, Ariz.“It’ll be nice to see them again,” Korte said.The Oregon State program has been a baseball powerhouse. Ever since Coach Pat Casey took charge in 1995, the Beavers have had just two losing seasons. In 2006 and 2007, Oregon State was the national champion.This year appears to be no different. In all the major polls, Oregon State is ranked in the top four in the nation.In the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll, the Beavers are No. 1. This could be the best team the Hoosiers face all year, IU Coach Tracy Smith said.“Unless they come up with a team that’s (ranked) .5,” Smith joked. “Yeah, it doesn’t get any better than that.”Smith seems to be leaning toward sophomore Will Coursen-Carr for the start Sunday. He said he wouldn’t save senior ace Joey DeNato for Sunday because the Beavers are just another opponent and shouldn’t be treated as special.In his first start of the season against Texas Tech, Coursen-Carr gave up five earned runs in 4.1 innings.“The schedule is to do Coursen-Carr on Sunday,” Smith said. “But if we have to bring him in Friday or Saturday then we’ll definitely do that.”Follow reporter Evan Hoopfer on Twitter @EvanHoopfer.
(02/21/14 4:33am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As the old adage goes, lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice.This saying applies to IU and Northwestern. But instead of lightning, the adage should say “an abysmal offensive performance that set basketball back 40 years can’t strike twice.”It doesn’t have as good a ring to it, but it’s true.When Northwestern came to Assembly Hall on Jan. 18 and beat IU 54-47, I was surprised.I was surprised not with how well the Wildcats played, but instead with how bad the Hoosiers were.I mean, IU missed a total of 49 shots. They were a downright horrid 25 percent from the field. It was the worst offensive performance by far for the Hoosiers this year.Sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell must have left his Superman cape at the dry cleaners. The usually good Ferrell was 2-for-14 from the field for just nine points.That was the only conference game where Ferrell has scored single-digit points. In fact, that’s the only time Ferrell has scored fewer than 14 points in Big Ten play.The point is, Ferrell is really good at scoring points. He won’t have another 2-of-14 game against Northwestern.Freshman guard Stanford Robinson played only 11 minutes in the first meeting. Even though he’s been struggling lately on the offensive end, Robinson is still a great perimeter defender.Robinson, in addition to Ferrell, should do a better job of shutting down the backcourt of Tre Demps and Drew Crawford.The Wildcat backcourt combined for 32 points on 13-of-27 shooting.Freshman sensation Noah Vonleh had a monster game. He had 17 points and 12 rebounds. The Wildcats didn’t have an answer for Vonleh.But he was pretty inefficient. Vonleh was only 5-of-15 from the field. For a big man, he should be a little better. Expect the Hoosiers to dump the ball inside more to Vonleh, and see him convert more of his opportunities this time around.Look, I’m not saying every Hoosier has to have a Yogi vs. Michigan game — Ferrell went 7-of-8 from three en route to a dazzling 27 points in case you forgot. The Hoosiers just have to be average to beat Northwestern.Neither team has been playing well lately. IU has lost three straight games. And Northwestern has lost four straight after winning five of seven conference games in the middle of the season.In this battle of potential National Invitations Tournament teams, it won’t be the best who wins.The key will be who can be the most average.And IU’s average is better then Northwestern’s average. I think.In the first matchup, IU played well below their average. In fact, the Hoosiers were horrible.The IU coaches will adjust the game plan, and the terrific tandem of Ferrell and Vonleh won’t go a combined 7-for-29 again. They just can’t.IU will get off the schneid and pick up its second road win of the season.Prediction: IU 62, Northwestern 51Evan Hoopfer is 9-6 in predictions this year.Follow columnist Evan Hoopfer on Twitter @EvanHoopfer.
(02/19/14 4:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>I have taken only one nap all semester.And, you guessed it, my slumber occurred right as the news broke about Assembly Hall.When I finally woke up, I discovered one of the biggest breaking news stories of the year for IU basketball had occurred.A 50-pound piece of a metal plate fell from the ceiling of Assembly Hall.The plate falling postponed the men’s basketball game against No. 15 Iowa, which was supposed to happen on ESPN Super Tuesday at 9 p.m. As of Tuesday night, a makeup time has not been announced.It’s fortunate that the event transpired when nobody was in Assembly Hall.A video shown on ESPN spread throughout social media. It shows the piece of metal, which looks terrifyingly big, traveling 100 feet down into the lower bowl of Assembly Hall. The plate would certainly have done some damage.An event like this doesn’t happen every day, obviously. Today, thanks to social media, word quickly spread that the sky was falling for IU basketball.The use of Twitter got me thinking. How would this have been covered differently if this happened in the past without Twitter?So I went back on my timeline and did some research as to who got the story first, and from then on, how fast it spread.Spoiler alert: the story spread really, really fast.Below is a chronological account of what happened yesterday.2:30 p.m.This is when the beam fell from the ceiling, Athletic Director Fred Glass said. He said he was in the midst of a meeting to discuss the new renovations to Assembly Hall.Glass was pulled out of the meeting and told something had happened in the lower bowl of Assembly Hall.2:50 p.m. Glass and other IU officials arrived at the scene about 20 minutes after he was pulled out of the renovations meeting, he said.3:30 p.m.Glass and other University officials made the decision to postpone the game at about this time., Glass said. The game against the Iowa Hawkeyes, originally scheduled for 9 p.m. on ESPN, would not happen.Once Glass made the decision, he told Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery, representatives at the Big Ten Network and the athletic director at Michigan University.The athletic director at Michigan was notified because an IU women’s basketball game was scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday.The women’s game, Glass said, will take place as scheduled. Glass consulted with chief University engineer Jeff Kaden, who said the stadium would be able to play host to the women’s game.“My understanding is Michigan is on their way to Bloomington,” Glass said.3:36 p.m.Announcer Dan Dakich, who was calling the game for ESPN, sent a tweet that said, “Metal piece fell inside Assembly Hall in Bloomington damaging seats. Being assessed as we speak... will let you know on status of tonight’s game.”This was the first acknowledgement on Twitter that something had happened at Assembly Hall. As of Tuesday night, this tweet had 229 retweets.3:54 p.m.The IU men’s basketball beat reporter for the Indianapolis Star, Zach Osterman, tweeted: “BREAKING: Indiana announces that tonight’s game against Iowa is postponed. More coming. #iubb”This was the earliest announcement I found on Twitter from a member of the media acknowledging that the game had been postponed.Osterman’s tweet, as of Tuesday night, had 237 retweets.4:02 p.m.Jordan Littman, a reporter for Inside the Hall, saw Dakich’s tweet and said he went to Assembly Hall to find out what had happened. He wanted to see.Littman, a former reporter for the IDS, was in his apartment in Smallwood when he asked his roommate to drive him to Assembly Hall.He had to be dropped off because he wasn’t allowed to park, because the IU-Iowa game was supposed to happen later that night.Littman got to Assembly, and walked in without obstruction. The first door he went to by the bleachers was locked. Littman then went around to the press area by the north area of building.“I literally just walked in, and, sure enough, I was right in front of the damage,” he said.Littman snapped a picture, which showed damage to five seats. He said in the tweet, “PHOTO: A view of the damaged seats at Assembly Hall. Can confirm game is postponed. #iubb” He tweeted it out at 4:02 p.m.As of Tuesday night, the tweet has 217 retweets.The picture was one of a kind, as no other media outlet was able to gain more access. Neither Littman nor I saw any other photos like it on Twitter. Littman’s picture ran in the Indianapolis Star’s story about the situation, along with several other media outlets.Littman estimated he gained about 60 twitter followers after he tweeted the picture.At about the same time as Littman’s tweet went out, a press release from IU’s men’s basketball public relations department was sent out.In the press release, it said the game against Iowa was being postponed. The subject line read, “TONIGHT’S IOWA VS. INDIANA MEN’S BAKSETBALL GAME POSTPONED.”4:05 p.m.A tweet from the official IU Athletics account, @OurIndiana, said, “Tonight’s @IndianaMBB game vs. Iowa has been postponed. Stay tuned for more information. #iubb”This was the first public announcement the University had made about the postponement after the game I could find.From this point on, it was a frenzy.Everybody with a twitter account had access to the information from either the IU account or the accounts of the media members covering the event.4:35 p.m.Chris Hassel, an anchor of ESPN’s Sportscenter, sent out a vine video on Twitter. The video was footage from Assembly Hall, and showed the beam falling from the ceiling and landing right on a chair, basically obliterating it.The text of the tweet said, “Video of falling metal beam at Assembly Hall from SC.” As of Tuesday night, the tweet had 602 retweets and was still rising.A look back on the event is fascinating, especially taking into account the role Twitter played into it.If this had happened 10, or even five years ago, the news wouldn’t have spread as fast. Twitter has revolutionized journalism and the way people consume media. Once a story is out there, it takes off like a rocket for the whole Twittersphere to read.Yesterday was a prime example of how quickly a story can spread with the use of Twitter.It also takes away the importance of being first. Back in the day, journalists’ entire careers were made because they broke stories.Now, once you tweet something out other people know instantaneously. It is an immediate impact. Everybody can see it, and everybody knows it.So while there is always a first with stories, the gap between first and second has dropped considerable. Nowadays, the gap is literally seconds between the first person breaking a story and the second person.Who is to thank? Twitter.And a prime example of why I should never take a nap again.— ehoopfer@indiana.eduFollow columnistEvan Hoopfer on Twitter@EvanHoopfer.
(02/18/14 3:22am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>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 69Evan Hoopfer is 9-6 in predictions this year.— ehoopfer@indiana.edu
(02/17/14 11:40pm)
IDS men's basketball writers Evan Hoopfer, Alden Woods and John Bauernfeind discuss a troubling week in IU basketball and preview the Hoosiers' final six Big Ten games.
(02/17/14 4:22am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On the first pitch of the season, leadoff hitter Will Nolden hit a double that took one hop before hitting the right field wall.Kyle Schwarber then grounded out to the shortstop but advanced Nolden to third. The next batter, Sam Travis, hit a high fly ball to center field.It allowed Nolden to tag up and when he crossed home on the sac fly to give IU the 1-0 lead in the first inning. It was the only scoring that took place.IU won the season opener 1-0 against Texas Tech.The next 27 innings were very different.IU was outscored 23-7 in the final three games. The Red Raiders took three of four from the Hoosiers to open up the year.“I kind of thought this team needed a little bit of a reality check,” IU Coach Tracy Smith said. “We’re had a long offseason of everybody telling us of how good we are.”Last year IU never dipped below .500.This year the Hoosiers will have to dig themselves out of an early hole as they start the year 1-3.“There’s no excuses,” Smith said. “We got beat. We got beat in every facet of the game ... I hope this serves as a wakeup call for all of us that it’s not going to be easy.”Both the offense and the pitching struggled in Lubbock, Texas. Senior ace Joey DeNato was the lone Hoosier starting pitcher to slow down the Red Raider attack.DeNato went six innings Friday, giving up three hits and no runs.The rest of the starting pitchers struggled. Junior Kyle Hart, along with sophomores Christian Morris and Will Coursen-Carr, recorded the three losses.They combined to give up 16 hits, 12 earned runs and nine walks in 12 innings pitched.Hart, who went 8-2 last year with a 3.01 ERA, gave up a grand slam in game two of the series. Because of his poor first start, Hart’s ERA stands at 15.0 on the year.“That was an unusual outing for him,” Smith said.Because it’s still early in the season, Smith said the starting rotation will be revisited and evaluated often.The Hoosier offense wasn’t much better.The much-ballyhooed unit scored just eight runs in 36 innings, averaging only two a game.“We had some immature at-bats,” Smith said.He said since it was one of the first times playing outside, players tend to get out in front of the ball and never make adjustments.“Guys are a little jumpy,” he added.Next weekend IU will participate in the PAC-12 challenge, which includes playing No. 2 Oregon State. The Beavers ended the Hoosiers season last year in the College World Series.“Next week it’s not going to get any easier,” Smith said.Follow reporter Evan Hoopfer on Twitter @EvanHoopfer.
(02/16/14 1:17am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>WEST LAFAYETTE – This might be the worst seven-day stretch for IU basketball under Tom Crean.That statement might appear overblown, but considering the team went 0-3 and one of their rotation players was arrested on Friday morning, this might be rock bottom.The ‘seven days in hell mini-series’, which won’t sell a lot of copies in Bloomington, ended with humiliation in enemy territory.Purdue (15-10, 5-7) beat the living daylights out of IU (14-11, 4-8), 82-64 in the two schools' only meeting this season.Flash back one week, when IU traveled to Minneapolis, Minn., to face a Gophers team that had lost their previous three games.IU held a 36-30 lead at halftime, and then got outscored by 12 points in the second half.Disappointing? Yes. But completely demoralizing? No. There is no shame in losing at Minnesota.Flash back to Wednesday night in Assembly Hall.Now that was demoralizing and shameful. Another 36-30 halftime lead, another loss.No need to rehash the epic collapse. The quick story is – IU led by 11 with three minutes and 19 seconds left. And somehow lost.Then early Friday morning news broke that sophomore forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea, who is averaging eight minutes a game, was arrested for operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.And on Saturday – wow.IU and Purdue were playing well and making shots in the first half. IU even had a five-point lead at one point. And then the wheels came off.It's no secret shooting is one of if not the biggest weakness for this team. And in the middle first half to the start of the second half, IU shot themselves out of the game and relevancy in the Big Ten.From 8:03 left in the first half to 13:04 left in the second half, IU made exactly one field goal.One field goal in nearly 15 minutes of game time.One.During that time frame, Purdue outscored the Hoosiers by 19 points. Purdue ran away from the Hoosiers which, you know, happens when you don’t score.Suddenly what looked like was going to be a rivalry week showdown turned into a rivalry week beatdown.Give it to Purdue. They came out with intensity. They shot 57 percent from the field in the second half. On the game they were 10-for-18 from behind the arc. And their defense stifled the Hoosiers to 32 percent shooting for the game.And that crowd.The crowd was one of the best I’ve witnessed. For 40 solid minutes the Purdue faithful created an environment so hostile and loud, I actually had trouble hearing for about 10 minutes at the conclusion of the game.This brings up an important question – with the Hoosiers season in a tailspin, will the fans continue to show up with that patented Assembly Hall passion that carried IU to wins against Wisconsin and Michigan?We’ll find out Tuesday when a talented Iowa team comes to town. But optimistic fans have something to look forward to.There’s nowhere to go from rock bottom but up.I think.
(02/14/14 5:55am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Purdue fans, meet senior forward Will Sheehey.I guess I don’t need to introduce the two of you. You probably know him quite well. He’s the guy who has averaged 12 points a game in six career contests against Purdue.And when IU (14-10, 4-7) travels to West Lafayette to play Purdue (14-10, 4-7) at 4 p.m. Saturday he’s the Hoosier who will reach an IU milestone.Sheehey has scored 999 points in his career. His next bucket will make him the 47th Hoosier to reach the 1,000 points club. That will give IU one more member of the 1,000 points club than Purdue has.Just another edge IU basketball has on Purdue basketball.There’s no reason to mention the comparison of NCAA national championship banners (five to none), final fours (eight to two) or NBA draft picks (73 to 44). That’d just be beating a dead horse.There’s also no reason to mention that in the last 24 games, IU has gone 16-8 against Purdue. And that’s even with the Boilermakers getting the benefit of playing those post Kelvin Sampson-era teams.IU has won four straight against Purdue. Last year in the two games against Boilermakers the Hoosiers beat them by a combined 65 points.Woof. Wow. Jeez. Holy smokes.I can’t think of any more newspaper-friendly exclamations to express the complete dominance the Hoosiers had over the Boilermakers last season.This season the two teams come in with identical records but very different futures.On the one hand, IU has proven it can beat anybody in the country — see No. 3 Wisconsin and No. 10 Michigan — and proven it can lose to anybody — see Northwestern and Penn State.This IU team is as inconsistent as that Plinko game on “Price Is Right.” Sometimes they come out gangbusters, and sometimes they come out and fall flat on their face. But there is no denying the gobs of young talent that just needs more time to grow and improve.On the other hand — Purdue is just bad.The Boilermakers best conference win was at home against Minnesota. And it took them only three overtimes and an injured Andre Hollins to win.Naturally, Purdue fans get a little grumpy about being second fiddle, and their little brother inferiority complex rears its head as ugly as Purdue Pete when IU comes to Mackey Arena.And that brings us back to Sheehey. The “Paint Crew” harassed and made its personal mission last year to torment Sheehey.And I get it. He’s cocky. Sometimes he’s arrogant. But most of all, as the janitor from “Scrubs” would say, “He’s so. Damn. Talented.”In other words — he’s a Hoosier.So boo him. Torment him. Try and make his life miserable. But Sheehey is not as much as a “bad boy” as he’s been in years past. He’s tamer and less emotional.But I hope he reignites that Sheehey swagger for this game. Remember last year what he did after he drove the lane, got fouled and made the basket?Oh, you had already left Mackey Arena because of the 37-point beat down? Let me fill you in on what happened.Sheehey ate up the boos. He pounded his chest and flexed for the Purdue students.That flex was 40,000 Bloomington natives strong. Sheehey will graduate next year. The “Paint Crew” can find new Hoosiers to hate.But it doesn’t matter.You can take the Sheehey out of IU, but you’ll never take the swagger out of Indiana.And “This is Indiana,” dammit.Score prediction: IU — a lot, Purdue — much less, Sheehey flexes — hopefully at least four timesEvan Hoopfer is 9-6 in his predictions this year.— ehoopfer@indiana.edu
(02/14/14 5:16am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In 120 days, the eight best college baseball teams in United States will compete in Omaha, Neb., for the right to call themselves national champions.The IU baseball team was among those eight teams last season, and will be doing everything in its power to return to Omaha come June.The No. 3 Hoosiers will play 52 regular season games, plus additional contests in the Big Ten Tournament, and potentially the NCAA Regionals and NCAA Super-Regionals.The journey to Omaha begins Friday when IU travels to Lubbock, Texas, to face off against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at 3 p.m.The road trip is a four-game series that begins 3 p.m. Friday, continues with a doubleheader with games at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday, and finishes Sunday.Coming so close to a national title last year helped IU Coach Tracy Smith and his team realize what it takes to win it all.“It’s tough to talk about a national championship, it’s tough to talk about Omaha if you haven’t been there,” Smith said. “This group from the end of last year, they said we have some unfinished business to do. And that’s their goal at this point.”The preseason expectations are unprecedented for IU and for the Big Ten conference. Before last season, the Hoosiers had never been ranked in the polls. They finished the year ranked No. 7 by Baseball America and were slotted No. 3 in the magazine’s preseason poll.The last Big Ten team to be ranked this high was the 1988 Michigan Wolverines, 26 years ago. One thing is clear for this IU team: it’s a national title or bust.Smith recalled reading what junior first basemen Sam Travis had written down for his season goals. Smith asked his players to reflect on several different topics. Travis’ answers were simple.“Team goals:” Win National Championship“Individual goals:” Win National Championship“Describe the Culture we want at IU baseball:” Carry ourselves as a National Championship caliber team.“What are some potential distractions, and how do we eliminate these distractions?” No distractions.When IU suits up for the first time this season, senior Joey DeNato will throw the first pitch for the Hoosiers. The California native was the ace last year for IU and had a 10-2 record with a 2.52 ERA.DeNato is third in IU history for career wins with 24. He needs just seven more to be the sole owner of the record.Pitching on Saturday for IU will be junior Kyle Hart and then sophomore Christian Morris. Hart was the second starter for IU last year, too, and finished the year 8-2 with a 3.01 ERA.Morris saw limited action, going 1-1 with a 4.68 ERA. The Sunday starter has yet to be announced.Last season, Texas Tech went 26-30 and 9-15 in the Big 12. The Red Raiders finished eighth out of nine Big 12 teams.Smith jested with reporters on why the IU baseball program chose to open up their season in Lubbock.“I guess everybody likes to say that’s Bob Knight country, isn’t it?” Smith said while smiling. “Actually I didn’t think about that until just now. But that didn’t go into our decision, I’m joking.”Follow reporter Evan Hoopfer on Twitter @EvanHoopfer
(02/13/14 4:27am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When Jeremy Hollowell’s free throw went through the net with three minutes and 19 seconds remaining, giving IU the 64-53 lead, there was one thing on my mind.“Wow, I have a chance to get my prediction of IU-68, Penn State-55 pretty darn close.”Then that thing happened.That thing was an unbelievable, train wreck of a collapse by the IU men’s basketball team. I watched the whole game. I swear I was there. But as Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell’s desperation, off-balance jumper went careening off the rim and Penn State (13-12, 4-8) knocked off IU (14,10, 4-7), 66-65, I couldn’t believe the final result.I’m still not sure how IU fell to Penn State. The reasons why IU should have won outweighed why they should have lost. There were zero ties. And only one lead change happened — with 6.1 seconds remaining. IU led for 39 minutes and 54 seconds of the game.The Hoosiers shot a fantastic 51 percent from the field. Penn State shot a mediocre 40.7 percent.IU held Penn State guard D.J. Newbill to just seven points on 3-of-12 shooting. Coming into the game, Newbill was leading the Big Ten in scoring. Only one Hoosier had a “bad” game. Evan Gordon went 1-of-6 from the field for four points. Even though Ferrell wasn’t shooting at a great clip (4-of-13), he still finished with 16 points.IU was in control the whole game, but Penn State was lurking just on the edge of contention. And in the final two minutes and 25 seconds of the game, the lurking Nittany Lions attacked the suddenly lethargic Hoosiers. Penn State ended the game on an 11-1 run and put one more nail in the coffin of IU’s dreams of dancing in March.All the credit has to be given to Penn State. They were ferocious. They didn’t quit. IU turned the ball over again and again trying to inbound the ball.And guard Tim Frazier was magnificent. The 23-year-old senior made a beautiful move to the rim, alluding the Hoosier defense to give Penn State their first lead of the game with 6.1 seconds remaining. It was a mighty good time to take your first lead of the game. I have a confession. If you’re reading this for a breakdown of X’s and O’s, I have bad news for you. I have no idea what happened. I know the 20 turnovers sure didn’t help. But as the final two minutes and 25 seconds unfolded, there was a thought that kept recurring in my mind.And I hate this certain thought, because it’s the easy way out. It takes no intellect to say and even less to write. But for the final two mintues and 25 seconds of the Penn State-IU game, it was true.Penn State wanted it more.That’s it. That’s the explanation. Sure, Penn State was great in denying when IU tried to inbound the ball. But IU players weren’t scrapping and clawing to get open.And, sure, Penn State hit a couple threes. But IU was a step slow in closing out on defense.Until IU plays with consistent intensity for 40 minutes, this program can’t take a step forward.The Hoosiers have to want to get better. When they make that choice, this talented team could do some scary things.Until then, the only scary thing this team can do is blow an 11-point lead with three minutes and 19 seconds remaining in a basketball game.Follow columnist Evan Hoopfer on Twitter @EvanHoopfer
(02/12/14 4:01am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The phrase “must-win” is overused in sports.But when IU (14-9, 4-6) welcomes Penn State (12-12, 3-8) into Assembly Hall, the Hoosiers must win to keep their already slim hopes of being an NCAA tournament team alive.To go dancing in March, they will have to be pretty close to perfect the rest of the season. But they still have a chance. If they go 6-2 in the remaining eight games, it would be hard for the committee to keep IU out of the tournament.But that means going at least 2-2 against Iowa (home), Wisconsin (away), Ohio State (home) and Michigan (away).That also means the Hoosiers' games against Penn State, Purdue, Northwestern and Nebraska all have to be wins. The two road games in that cluster are Purdue and Northwestern. And knocking off the Wildcats will be no sure thing, as IU couldn’t beat Northwestern in Assembly Hall.That makes this matchup tonight against the Nittany Lions that much more vital for IU’s NCAA Tournament aspirations.So yes, this is a must-win game.And luckily for IU fans, this should be a relatively easy victory for the Hoosiers. The Nittany Lions are just 3-8 in the conference, tied with Illinois for the cellar in the Big Ten.IU already beat Penn State this year at University Park by three. It was the team’s first and only road win. Expect the Assembly Hall bump to give IU the extra oomph necessary to beat Penn State for a second time.The Hoosiers are a different and better team than they were 32 days ago when they beat Penn State for the first time. Freshman guard Stanford Robinson hadn’t emerged yet, and sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell wasn’t on his current hot streak.Penn State’s D.J. Newbill went off for 24 points while Tim Frazier was held to 10 points on 2-of-7 shooting. Expect to see defensive stoppers Robinson and Ferrell to defend these guards very well.The Nittany Lions don’t have anyone who can keep up with Noah Vonleh. But to be fair, not a lot of teams have anyone who can corral Vonleh.The freshman phenom only played 27 minutes in the last game. Lately, Vonleh has been playing a few more minutes per game. So expect to see a heavy, heavy dose of Vonleh.But on the other hand, nothing about this IU team surprises me anymore.This is the same team that beat then-No.3 Wisconsin and four days later lost to a sub-.500 Northwestern team. Both games were in Assembly Hall, as is this one today.So if the Hoosiers come out and lay a brick against Nittany Lions, it will be the first brick of building for the 2014-15 season — this current season will be done.But I don’t see that happening. IU is too good for Penn State. They have much more talent. And as long as they maintain the focus they need to have over the next eight games, they should take care of the Nittany Lions.The Hoosiers will win the must-win.Prediction- IU 68, Penn State 55Evan Hoopfer is 9-5 in predictions this year.Follow columnist Evan Hoopferon Twitter @EvanHoopfer.