Nobody on the IU men’s basketball team, coach or player, will admit they are thinking about the big ?picture.
The go-to answer for tournament-related questions always involve taking it one game at a time and focusing on the next opponent.
However, at this point in the season, it’s still important to think of each game in terms of the Big Ten standings.
This is the first year four teams will receive a double-bye to the third round of the Big Ten tournament.
The change comes because of the addition of Rutgers and Maryland to the conference. That makes it all the more important for the Hoosiers to finish in the top four.
Wisconsin is all but guaranteed the top seed, but five or six teams have a legitimate shot at the other three spots behind them.
IU is currently sixth but just one game back of second-place Maryland. With the easiest part of their schedule ahead of them, the Hoosiers should be considered a favorite for a top-four seed.
IU will square off with Purdue on Thursday and Michigan State in the regular season finale, two teams currently ahead of them in the standings.
Both of those games are at Assembly Hall, which is good news for the Hoosiers.
But in many ways, the old game-by-game adage is ?correct.
There’s no reason to worry about the next game if you can’t beat Purdue. And IU is definitely capable of that.
In the first meeting, Purdue dominated IU inside on both sides of the court. Senior center A.J. Hammons blocked a career-high eight shots, and the Boilermakers piled up 46 points in the paint on offense.
There’s a simple solution to the first problem and a more complicated one to the second.
First, don’t drive at Hammons. Time after time in the first matchup, an IU guard would slice through the Purdue perimeter defense and try to force up a shot over the 7-footer. It just doesn’t work like that.
Instead, try penetrating and looking for sophomore forward Troy Williams cutting to the basket for a face-breaking throw-down. Or, dish back outside to an open shooter. IU just set the program record for 3-pointers in a game. Everyone is hot right now.
As far as stopping Purdue from scoring inside, IU should do a better job than it did in the last meeting.
It wasn’t Hammons and freshman center Isaac Haas dominating inside — they only combined for 15 points. It was the penetration of Purdue’s perimeter players against IU.
With the way junior forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea has rebounded from his injury, he should see about 20 minutes of playing time and provide a shot-altering presence down low — a body to bang with Hammons and Haas.
IU needs to make this game less about big men and more about guards. When at home, IU is better at playing to its advantages.
I also guarantee IU hits more than four 3-pointers Thursday. That’s the number the Hoosiers hit in the first meeting and a major reason they scored their third-lowest total of the season.
In the first game against Purdue, I predicted IU would win 80-69. I think perhaps I had the right score but the wrong game.
My Prediction: IU 80 – Purdue 69
Casey Krajewski is 14-2 in his predictions this season.
crkrajew@indiana.edu
