No Moral Victories

The Indiana Hoosiers fell to the Maryland Terrapins 80-68 on Tuesday night. I saw a lot of improvement and this was a game the Hoosiers would not have competed a year ago. They probably wouldn't have competed in this game a week ago. The positive news is that there is progress being made. The negative news is that this team is still a long way away from challenging for an NCAA tournament. That's not shocking and no one should have been surprised Indiana lost to Maryland. Thing is, this was a winnable game and IU could have won if a few plays would have been made.

Freshmen Play Well
Christian Watford looked great and Maurice Creek continues to show off his scoring ability. Derek Elston had nine rebounds in 20 minutes (he needs to be on the floor more) and Jordan Hulls had a very nice game. I really love the progress these young guys are making. They appear to be ready to lead this team into the future.

Shooting Woes
IU really struggled to shoot the ball. They were getting some good looks but their shooting fell apart in the final ten minutes and Maryland ran away with the game. Verdell Jones was 3-15 (not worried about him), Devan Dumes was 2-10 (he looks horrible), and Derek Elston was 2-10. Overall, the team shot 32.9%. Maryland shot 47%.

Rebounding Improvement
IU rebounded the ball very well on Tuesday night. They were +2 on the glass against a team that traditionally rebounds well. Again, Elston was active with nine boards in 20 minutes. Verdell Jones had ten rebounds and Jeremiah Rivers had six. The only disappointing rebound stat was Tom Pritchard with four in 25 minutes. Can someone tell me why he is getting more minutes than Derek Elston or Bobby Capobianco?

Scoring Droughts
If Indiana is going to beat a few teams that they shouldn't this season, they have to focus for 40 minutes. They focused for a total of about 32 minutes against Maryland and the eight minutes they didn't focus got them beat. They could have won this game but scoring droughts absolutely killed them. They seem to have a couple of stretches every game where they can't hit a shot, turn it over a few times in a row and have some defensive lapses. You can't beat good teams that way.

Next Up
IU will get another chance to beat a team they probably shouldn't when they play Pittsburgh next Tuesday night in the Garden. The game is right after a very interesting contest between Butler and Georgetown. The Bulldogs and Hoosiers could both use wins over quality opponents.

Congratulations to the Big Ten. They finally beat the ACC in the Challenge. Wisconsin stunned Duke (never, ever doubt Bo Ryan) and Illinois came back to knock off Clemson. Northwestern, Purdue, Penn State and Ohio State also won. IU, Michigan State, Minnesota, Iowa and Michigan (they are really struggling) were on the losing end.

Until next time, God Bless.