Written by BTN.com staffAs always, we live blogged throughout the action – look back at our previous conversations here. Join BTN.com’s Tom Dienhart and Brent Yarina and the Big Ten Geeks here every week. And use BTN Connect to track the chatter surrounding your men’s basketball team.
Well, it was nice knowing you, Gophers. But, it’s time to leave the Big Ten contender’s suite.
Agreed. Make them mean something.
Swopshire and Hearn had great games. Andre Hollins and Rodney Williams? Not so much so.
Yes, 5 timeouts is WAY too many.
Here’s the Rodney Williams alley-oop:
No doubt about it, Northwestern has played a lot better recently. Reggie Hearn is in the convo for most underrated B1G player.
Give NU credit. Getting some timely shooting and lots of contributions from many people.
Who did? I thought the Gophers seniors would play better. Dre Hollins and Rodney Williams have disappointed. Too bad.
Didn’t see this coming.
How about throwing the ball into Mbakwe? Gophers are setting for bad jumpers.
Ladies and gentlemen, THAT is your slam of the night. Thanks you, Rodney Williams.
Only Northwestern. TCU hasn’t had anyone good since Lee Nailon. Before him, Kurt Thomas.
Andre Hollins is 1-of-7 for 3 points. What’s up with that?
By the way, who takes a hoop transfer from TCU?!?!? LOL
I’ve seen 2-3 NU guys I never have even heard of…..
With all the foul trouble, it’s only a matter of time.
Yes, it does seem like Minnesota should be winning this game by a LOT more.
Halftime recap:
No. 14 Minnesota has the lead at the break, 27-24, as well as the rebounding edge, which the Golden Gophers dominated by a 28-15 margin.
Tre Demps hits a buzzer-beater out of a timeout to end the half and make it a three-point game. Northwestern has neutralized Andre Hollins (14.3 ppg), Minnesota’s leading scorer, limiting him to three points.
Jared Swopshire led the way for the Wildcats in the first half, with 10 points. Minnesota’s Trevor Mbakwe already has seven points and eight rebounds.
Big shot. Northwestern doesn’t seem like they should only be down 3, but that’s where we are.
Rodney Williams has one point. Hope he doesn’t Tweet at halftime.
Demps makes Carmody look like a genius!
At least they didn’t go with the all-purple court.
I hope Northwestern changes its floor sooner rather than later.
A physical and athletic team.
I still don’t love Minnesota’s defense, largely because they don’t rebound on defense. It’s inexplicable, really.
That is too funny! Gotta like the Minny defense so far. I wonder if Minny plays too many guys. Is that possible?
Minnesota is rebounding nearly 70% of their misses. That basically means that a missed shot is literally as good as a pass.
Not since Carmody’s been the coach. They always have interior issues.
Has Northwestern ever been able to rebound?
Michigan almost has to be No. 1 if it wins. It’s been more impressive than Kansas, as far as one-loss teams go.
Some think Michigan is poised to be No. 1 if it beats Purdue and Illinois this week.
Wichita State game is close.
By the way, a lot of weird results tonight. Miami destroys Duke, Butler loses to La Salle, and Creighton is getting beat pretty bad by Drake right now.
Not too many easy wins at the top of the conference, so you can’t afford losses where everyone else is getting wins.
I almost think every game against the lower-tier teams is a must-win this year.
If they want to win the Big Ten, probably. NU is a bottom-3 team. Can’t lose those.
If it wants to win the Big Ten?
So, is this a must-win for the Gophers?
It wasn’t as fleeting as the Ryan-Crean shake.
Haha, I actually didn’t see it. I flipped over to Minn-Nu.
Grade that Crean-Chambers handshake, Brent.
Just needs to sharpen his shot.
Yogi Ferrell with a career-high 15 points tonight. This kid will be something special.
But there’s no way IU can completely replace all 4, probably not even 3 of them. That kind of efficiency doesn’t grow on trees.
I think Hollowell has a good shot. He’s just a freshman, and most improvement tends to come after the freshman season. The fact that he’s able to get some floor time in competitive games, with this roster, speaks to his potential.
If Oladipo leaves, Indiana could be in trouble. Sheehey would be No. 1? Maybe Hollowell and Abell make big strides, but I doubt it.
IU’s top 4 shot takers have efficiencies over 120. With that kind of weaponry, it’s hard for me to quibble with the shot distribution.
(Zeller, Watford, Hulls, and Oladipo. Incidentally, IU will lose at least 2, and maybe all 4, of those players after the season. Thus, Indiana could take a couple of steps back next year)
It’s about 20
Wait, not 50
Well, Zeller is IU’s #1 option. He has more than 50 FGAs than anyone else on the team.
Penn State out of timeouts with 8 minutes left. Ridiculous.
To me, Zeller is IU”s best option and should be treated thusly. He is unique and special, unlike any other Big Ten player. Why not feature him?
I don’t know–he has the talent to put up 20/10, but Indiana has so many options. Usually you see numbers like that in the college game with teams that lack solid secondary options. Guys like Brandon Paul, Tim Frazier, and Deshaun Thomas score about 20 a night, but that’s as much a reflection of their teammates as anything else.
Zeller should be 20-10 each night.
It’s actually pretty weird, considering this is Penn State. They foul a ton, and Zeller lives off of free throws.
Purdue always will have a shot to beat IU in Mackey. I have seen some average Boiler teams beat good IU teams in WL. Just the rivalry deal….
He’s a mid-60 percent shooter, be aggressive!
He doesn’t demand the ball, for one. There’s no excuse for him only having four field goal attempts.
What is up with Zeller? Why isn’t he dominating?
They could have a shot, depending on how much Indiana loses, of being close to equal. If both Oladipo and Zeller head to the NBA, IU will have a lot of high efficiency players to replace.
I think it’s going to be a couple years before Purdue beats Indiana.
They go at least 3-2. You heard it hear first.
And look at IU’s next five games: MSU; at Purdue; Michigan at Illinois; at Ohio State. Could IU go 2-3 in that stretch?
This game should be a lot worse, by the way. Indiana is shooting just 35% on 2s.
I think 7 will get in, provided Iowa takes care of business. I think Illinois will be left out.
OK, Josh: How many B1G teams do you have in the tourney right now?
Indiana now has 10 three-pointers on 17 attempts. Oladipo, Ferrell and Sheehey have combined to go 8-of-9 from beyond the arc. #iubb—
Justin Albers (@Justin_Albers) January 24, 2013
That personalized FatHead, however, is not bad.
It was bad.
Nice flop there. Getting tired of the flops. You see Marble flop the other night vs. Craft? Just shameful.
I don’t get why people even try anymore. This guy won: http://deadspin.com/5885404/this-alabama-fan-holds-a-giant-bug+eyed-cutout-of-his-face-at-games-and-it-scares-us
It’s over, folks. You’ll never top that.
When I was in Assembly earlier this year, they had a face of Kim Jung Ill. It was beautiful!
Why wouldn’t there be a panda, Josh? Ha, I have no clue.
The IU students have taken this face sign thing to some ridiculous levels. Why is there a panda?
Yep, we were saying same thing about Wisconsin prior to this week. Two straight losses, including one at home.
As Mike pointed out in today’s post, Michigan State has benefitted from some fortune by winning close games. Winning close games is usually a pretty good precursor for losing close games.
This probably will end up being a “clear the bench” game for IU. Is that it needs before the MSU game? IU needs to get an edge to it.
That said, it doesn’t matter how you get it done.
Agreed, I think Michigan is the best team. I have questions about Michigan State. Good, for sure, but it hasn’t really been impressive.
That visit by Michigan State to Indiana on Sunday is gonna be VERY interesting.
Yes, since that torrid first half vs. Minnesota, Indiana has only looked really good for stretches. I keep saying this is the Big Ten’s best team. But I’m thinking that honor may go to Michigan.
The Jermaine Marshall block is above. Here’s that Hanner Mosquera-Perea swat:
First-half recap:
No. 8 Indiana held Penn State’s offense to just eight first-half field goals, and the Hoosiers lead 33-19 at halftime. The rebounding edge belongs with Indiana, by a 24-18 margin on the boards.
The Hoosiers, who never trailed and led by as many as 15 points, hit 42 percent (5-of-12) of their three-point attempts and registered seven assists on 10 baskets. The Hoosiers also applied the pressure in the first half, earning second-chance opportunities with nine offensive rebounds, to just four for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State’s Jermaine Marshall led all scorers with nine points, while Will Sheehey broke out of his slump to lead Indiana with eight points. Victor Oladipo and Yogi Ferrell each chipped in with seven points.
Hoosiers have been different team since first half of the Minnesota game. Night and day.
These may end up being one of those “workmanlike” victories.
Hoosiers look flat. When Assembly Hall isn’t rocking, you know the team isn’t giving them much to cheer about.
Indiana averages over 80 points, and it has just 20 with 6 minutes left in the first half?!
Indiana already has eight offensive rebounds tonight. Penn State came in as the nation's second best team on the defensive glass. #iubb—
Alex Bozich (@insidethehall) January 24, 2013
But yeah, it’s interesting to consider. Zeller and Oladipo are guarantees.
I don’t think Watford is a pro. I’d be shocked if he gets drafted. His stock has probably dropped since coming back.
Don’t you wonder how many future pros are on IU’s roster? Zeller, Oladipo, Watford, Hollowell, Ferrell, Perea …
He certainly has the body. He still has a lot to learn and is very raw. Just looks confused out there a lot of the time.
Hanner finally gets a "woah" moment, one people have been waiting for.—
Ken Bikoff (@kbikoff) January 24, 2013
How about Hanner Mosquera Perea?! Guy is gonna be a stud!
Pat Chambers wasn’t lying when he said he’d have one of the best backcourts in the nation, had he had Frazier and Newbill. Newbill is as good as advertised.
It is fun to watch the PSU backcourt of Newbill and Marshall.
I’ve got to believe they’ll clip someone. At least once.
You think Penn State will win a Big Ten game this season?
Maurice Creek is hopping on the stationary bike to get warmed up. Will likely enter soon. #iubb—
Justin Albers (@Justin_Albers) January 24, 2013
Yogi says, “Take that, Big Ten Geeks!” and nails an early trey.
Tony LaRussa and Jack Harbaugh behind the IU bench.—
(@IndianaMBB) January 24, 2013
And we’re underway. I don’t expect this first one to be close. At all.
Watch Indiana in the second half. In four of IU’s five conference games — including the last three — the Hoosiers have been outscored in the second half.
I'm told Jack and Jackie Harbaugh, parents of the Brothers Harbaugh, are at the IU-Penn State game tonight. Just FYI.—
Bob Kravitz (@bkravitz) January 23, 2013
If a Big Ten fantasy league exists, D.J. Newbill would be a very nice undervalued player. He contributes across the board and gets plenty of opps.
“We have a lot of respect for this team.” – Tom Crean, on Penn State. Question: Does a coach ever say he doesn’t have respect for a team or that one won’t be a challenge?
Senior Nick Colella will make 2nd start of the season tonight in place of Ross Travis. He hit three treys, had 11 pts last year at Indiana.—
Brian Siegrist (@PSUSTRETCH) January 23, 2013
Starters: Hulls, Watford, Oladipo Ferrell, Zeller #iubb—
Shana Daniels (@IUShanaDan) January 23, 2013
Yep. Three losses in a row, and now they travel to Wisconsin.