Indiana Hoosiers Basketball Weekly Preview

Dec 7, 2013; Bloomington, IN, USA; The Indiana Hoosiers bench react during the first half of the game against the North Florida Ospreys at Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports

Last week, the Indiana Hoosiers basketball team faced its toughest test of the season. Ultimately, they failed that test with a bad loss at Syracuse.

IU wa competitive against the Orange for a half, then the team fell apart. It was a clear case of a team lacking the focus and experience to deal with a top five opponent on its home court.

IU was 1-1 last week, bringing their season to 7-2 so far. The Hoosiers lost by 17 at Syracuse and then dominated North Florida by 21 (full disclosure: there is a bit of a talent gap between ‘Cuse and UNF).

Coach Tom Crean was not happy with his teams performance at Syracuse.

“For eight games in, I would have really liked this team to have had a measuring stick,” Crean said. “The view we have tonight, I don’t like very much, and I hope it’s not that accurate.”

“I sure would have liked to have seen it, if we were actually going to compete and fight aggressively in the second half, but we’ll never know. We’ll never find out where we could have been.”

Crean may be concerned, but this is still a painfully young team. It is going to take time for them to come together as a unit and start being consistently competitive.

Pomeroy currently ranks the Hoosiers 38th in the country. Their offense is 98th, but the defense is 17th. The Hoosiers are still receiving votes in the AP Top 25, but its not nearly as many as it was a week ago.

Renovations for Assembly Hall Planned

The iconic Assembly Hall has often been under scrutiny for its odd design, obstructed views, antiquated facilities, and long walks to the upper levels. It isn’t the best place to phyiscally watch a game from, especially if you are in the last rows of the lower level or at the top of the upper deck.

Before the scoreboard was replaced in 2005, there were seats where you couldn’t see the score. The only saving grace of the stadium was its atmosphere.

Some have suggested that they need a new stadium, but now that won’t happen. A $30 to $40 million renovation is in the works for the stadium.

The list of changes includes replacing the scoreboard with a jumbotron, adding luxury seats, and renovating the south lobby. The updates seem long overdue and are much preferable to building a brand new stadium.

For more, check out Zach Osterman’s piece in the IndyStar.

Up Next

Dec. 10 – IU vs Oakland, 7pm

The Golden Grizzlies are 2-7 and currently riding a two game win streak. This is basically another gimme game that the Hoosiers should win. It is a good chance for the Hoosiers to tighten up on both sides of the ball before heading to Indianapolis to face Notre Dame.

The biggest problem will be stopping Tyler Bader from the three point line. Bader averages 21 points per game, and shoots 40.8-percent from behind the three-point line. He’s also attempting over 10 three’s per game.

If the Hoosiers can stop Bader, they will basically shut down Oakland’s entire offense which averages just 70 points per game.

Pomeroy has Oakland the 160th ranked team. the Grizzlies offense 84th, but the defense is an abysmal 259th. IU will have plenty of scoring opportunities, and if they’re hitting threes like they did against North Florida, this game will be over by halftime.

IU runs away with this one, and improves to 8-2.

Dec. 14 – IU vs Notre Dame, 3:15pm

The Hoosiers will face the Irish in this years Crossroad Classic. We will have a full preview of the event later in the week.

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