Column: Improvement, Big Ten Player of the Year and one more win?

In Triple Threat, IDS men’s basketball columnist Nathan Hart will look at three issues concerning IU, the Big Ten or college basketball in general.

Better than last year?

It’s a question that’s been tossed around more and more as IU’s season ends with a whimper. Is this year’s team really no better than it was last year?

A cursory glance at the record, especially in the Big Ten (3-13) and in road games (0-12), and here’s the initial conclusion: if this year’s team is better, it’s only slightly better.

Ultimately the win-loss column is the only thing that matters.

IU finished 10-21 last season, and if form holds, it will only be two games better this season (IU is currently 12-17 and will be the underdog in its two regular season remaining games and any Big Ten tournament game).

However, the “slightly better” answer probably needs clarification. Last season, IU lost 10 Big Ten games by at least 15 points.

This year, that’s happened just twice — both at the hands of Ohio State, the current No. 1 team in the nation.

The bigger issue may be that this question is being asked when, at the season’s beginning, it seemed that improvement would be a foregone conclusion.

Purdue’s Johnson deserves Big Ten POY award

As the Big Ten season opened, it seemed everyone would be chasing Ohio State freshman Jared Sullinger for the conference’s player of the year award.

Well, Purdue senior JaJuan Johnson has surpassed Sullinger, and unless something goes horribly awry in the last week, it will be a Boilermaker, not a Buckeye, winning the individual award.

Sullinger’s 12-minute, 5-point, 7-rebound effort against IU on Sunday can easily be dismissed as his worst outing of the year, but Sullinger has shown some inconsistency in Big Ten play with several good — but not great — games.

Meanwhile, Johnson has scored 20 points in 11 of the last 13 games and has scored in double digits every game. Of course, scoring isn’t the only factor, but that stat shows consistency.

It’s enough consistency for Johnson to win the award.

Is there Any chance for another Hoosier win?

IU will finish its regular season schedule with a game vs. Wisconsin at 9 p.m. Thursday. About 36 hours after that finish, IU will play its last game of the season against Illinois (noon, Saturday).

The Hoosiers hung with the Badgers for most of the game when they played in Madison, Wis., but it just seems the Badgers have improved since then. Jordan Taylor continues to emerge as an all-Big Ten player, and Wisconsin has more to play for.

The game at Illinois is probably IU’s best chance for a victory, mainly because the Illini have been a train wreck this season.

A preseason top-20 team, the Illini are just 5-8 since Jan. 11 (including a loss at IU).
Their senior core has been criticized recently for their inability to close out games.

IU will be underdogs in both contests. If the Hoosiers lose both games, they would currently face Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.

I would not be surprised to see IU’s season end on a listless 9-game losing streak — not for a lack of effort, but simply because the final stretch of opponents is brutal.

E-mail: nmhart@indiana.edu