CBS Sports: "Indiana is in some serious trouble"

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senior Evan Gordon before the season started:

“I think (fans) should expect a lot (from the freshmen),” Gordon said. “This is probably the most talented freshmen group I’ve ever seen or been a part of, so I think Noah, Troy (Williams), Devin (Davis), Luke (Fischer), a lot of these guys are just going to stand out"

 

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The Hoosier Scoop:

Even young Indiana teams are expected to make the NCAA Tournament, and that’s true again with the program now rebuilt.

With the loss to Nebraska, the Hoosiers are running out of opportunities to even make a push before an NCAA Tournament bid, as they are not really even part of the discussion right now. They still get the Cornhuskers at home, they have Purdue and Minnesota on the road and Penn State at home. They may have already gone past their margin for error in those games and they certainly can’t afford to drop another one. And every time they lose a winnable game, they need another significant upset over Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan or Iowa to make up for it. One more of those probably isn’t going to be enough at this point.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

senior Evan Gordon before the season started:

“I think (fans) should expect a lot (from the freshmen),” Gordon said. “This is probably the most talented freshmen group I’ve ever seen or been a part of, so I think Noah, Troy (Williams), Devin (Davis), Luke (Fischer), a lot of these guys are just going to stand out"

Keep in mind he played at ASU...

 

[broncosmitty]

The Hoosier Scoop:

Even young Indiana teams are expected to make the NCAA Tournament, and that’s true again with the program now rebuilt.

With the loss to Nebraska, the Hoosiers are running out of opportunities to even make a push before an NCAA Tournament bid, as they are not really even part of the discussion right now. They still get the Cornhuskers at home, they have Purdue and Minnesota on the road and Penn State at home. They may have already gone past their margin for error in those games and they certainly can’t afford to drop another one. And every time they lose a winnable game, they need another significant upset over Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan or Iowa to make up for it. One more of those probably isn’t going to be enough at this point.

They were never going to make the tourney. Id have been as surprised if Northwestern made the dance. And they've NEVER made the dance. But it'd be smart of Painter and Creen to stop letting homegrowns like McGary, Harris and Robinson leave the state.

 

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Inside the Hall:

Undefeated-in-the-Big-Ten Michigan heads to Assembly Hall on Sunday. A loss and the Hoosiers fall to 3-6 in conference, the road to an NCAA Tournament spot getting darker by the day.

 

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Sports Illustrated
Oct 7, 2013

Kansas’ “Late Night in the Phog” and Indiana’s “Hoosier Hysteria” celebrated the return of balls bouncing on the hardwood at a pair of schools where such a thing never really leaves fans’ minds. And while the cheesy dances, the campy skits and the promotional giveaways at these events have a carnival barker feel, fans tolerate all the nonsense just to catch a glimpse of their new team in action. Did the talented but slight power forward put on that additional 20 pounds during the summer? Has the point guard’s sometimes shaky decision-making improved? Were all those rumors about the transfer wing dominating practice legitimate? And what about those freshmen — are they as good as advertised? These and many other questions are nearly impossible to answer only a few days into the start of a long college hoops season, but fans know talent when they see it, and they saw it in spades in Lawrence and Bloomington over the weekend.
...
In Bloomington at Hoosier Hysteria, Indiana celebrated the hanging of a conference championship banner honoring its first outright Big Ten title in two decades (as Tom Crean said, “we don’t buy those things at Walmarts”). And although his preseason No. 1 team last season fell a couple rounds short of an expected Final Four run, it is clear that the program has righted and stabilized itself under his careful yet persistent direction. Even with the loss of two high NBA draft picks in Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller, Indiana returns enough talent in dynamic point guard Yogi Ferrell, do-everything wing Will Sheehey, Arizona State transfer Evan Gordon and superstar big man Noah Vonleh to keep the trip to Assembly Hall a daunting proposition for the rest of the Big Ten. Also, we learned on Friday night that if Crean ever finds himself in need of a player who can dunk two basketballs at once, he should probably give Hanner Mosquera-Perea a hard look.

 

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Thomas Beindit, Basketball Analyst for Wolverine 247 and BT Powerhouse:

Oct 23 2013

The Hoosiers are probably not going to live up to the team's performance last season. However, there are some really good returning pieces on this team, a transfer that could make an immediate impact, and probably the best incoming recruiting class in the Big Ten. Due to this, it's not crazy to think that Indiana could still challenge for the Big Ten title and make another run in the NCAA Tournament. Everything's there to do some serious damage.
Prediction: 4th in Big Ten, NCAA Tournament

 

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NBC Sports College Basketball Talk
Sep 30, 2013

"Indiana certainly has enough talent on their roster ...Without question, Indiana has the pieces to remain a contender in the Big Ten."

 

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Indiana Drops Costly Game, NCAA Tournament Bid in Serious Trouble

The Indiana Hoosiers may not even be a bubble team anymore. Their chances of making the NCAA tournament did not look very good, and then they dropped a costly game to Nebraska.

Indiana has Michigan next at home. A victory would be huge and may be needed at this point.

 

[broncosmitty]

i had to google Morgan and Horford to see who they were. I see they are Michigan players: #8 and #9 on team in mpg, #7 and #8 in ppg (5.4 and 5.0), that's why I didn't put them in the top 6.

Reading up on it, I see soph Mitch McGary (who I included in Michigan's top 6), got injured and got replaced by Horford and Morgan who are splitting time at the five position

Many of the Michigan faithful thought the worst
when super sophomore Mitch McGary was
sidelined with a back injury over a month ago
The Maize and Blue had dreams of a return
trip to the Final Four and a national
championship.
McGary’s injury seemed to crush those hopes,
but Michigan’s record is unblemished at 10-0
without the big man. The Wolverines beat three
top-ten teams in a week
That success is due, in large part, to stopgaps
eating McGary’s available minutes: Jon Horford
and Jordan Morgan .

It's nice to have "stopgaps". Especially when one has over 100 career starts.