IU Battles, Kentucky is Just Better

     I can take games like this...for now.  Indiana played one of the best halves they have played in quite some time and trailed Kentucky 42-41 at the break.  They hung with them through the first media timeout and Assembly Hall was rocking.  The next four or five minutes saw the bottom fall out and allowed Kentucky to reel off an 18-0 run and eventually walk away with a 90-73 victory.  IU played hard and they played pretty well.  Thing is, Kentucky is just a lot bigger, stronger and more talented right now.  

Maurice Creek is the Real Deal

For all of the hype about John Wall, well deserved and he is ridiculously talented, Kentucky did not have the best freshman on the floor Saturday.  Overall, John Wall, Eric Bledsoe and Damarcus Cousins are probably all better than Maurice Creek.  But on Saturday, Maurice Creek was the best freshman on the court.  Creek scored 31 points on 9-14 shooting and 8-8 FTs.  He also only had one turnover in 32 minutes of action.  John Calipari said after the game that Creek was the best player they had faced this season.  Keep in mind that his team has played North Carolina and UConn.  He has emerged as the number one threat for the Hoosiers.  Problem on Saturday?  No one else joined him in double figures.  

Size and Strength

I knew the Hoosiers would have a hard time rebounding against Kentucky.  UK averages 6'7" (tallest in the country) and IU was playing a zone.  But my goodness, they were outrebounded 49-24.  IU gave up 21 offensive rebounds!  This was the most glaring problem all game and there wasn't much IU could do about it.  Just get bigger and stronger and that doesn't happen overnight.  

Turnovers

Indiana has been taking care of the ball better and better every game.  They managed to only turn the ball over nine times against the pressure defense of the Wildcats.  If the Hoosiers can continue to take care of the ball like that, there is no doubt they will finish with more than one or two Big Ten wins.  

Big Picture

This season is still all about the big picture of IU basketball.  We know they won't be competing for an NCAA tournament berth.  At best, they will be around .500 (not likely).  You want to see progress and we are seeing that every game.  This was a good week.  Indiana beat an established Pittsburgh program in Madison Square Garden and hung around with the number four team in the country for 25 minutes on Saturday.  They need to play like that against the three lesser opponents they have coming up before the Big Ten season starts and go into conference play at 7-5.  Next up is North Carolina Central on Saturday.  Throughout this week, I will take a look back at how close my football predictions were.  Until next time, God Bless.