Indiana Hoosiers Basketball Finally Gets Signature Win

Jan 14, 2014; Bloomington, IN, USA; Indiana Hoosiers guard Stanford Robinson (22) celebrates with his teammates after the victory against the Wisconsin Badgers at Assembly Hall. Indiana defeats Wisconsin 75-72. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

It took 12 straight losses to the Wisconsin Badgers before Tom Crean and his Indiana Hoosiers basketball team notched a win against Bo Ryan. IU pulled off an upset of No. 3 and undefeated Wisconsin Tuesday night, marking the Hoosiers first big win of the season.

Indiana hung on to a 75-72 win off the combined will power of Yogi Ferrell and Stanford Robinson. The two players had IU’s final 14 points.

While it took Ferrell 24 shots (including going 1-for-8 from the arc) to get his 25 points, he proved that there are very few people in the conference that can guard him off the dribble. Robinson had the best game of his young career and showed flashes of great potential. If he keeps playing at that level, he’ll be earning a starting spot soon.

What IU did on offense is what they need to do for the rest of the season. If they can play like that, or near that level, then this team has a chance to make some noise in the postseason.

Right now, most bracketologists have the Hoosiers on the outside of the NCAA Tournament. The win against Wisconsin is literally the only quality win that the Hoosiers own. We knew that going into the season, the Hoosiers would have to do the hard work in conference play.

A few things stood out in this win though:

• What is up with Crean and bad substitutions? With just over a minute to play, 6-10 Noah Vonleh was subbed out for 6-6 Austin Etherington. What followed as 7-0 Frank Kaminsky scoring with ease and drawing a foul to cut the lead to one. The fans booed when Crean pulled Vonleh, and rightfully so. There is simply no way that Etherington is a better option on defense. Vonleh is bigger and more athletic. It would be one thing if he were in foul trouble, but he finished with two fouls. Crean has done this a few times recently and it really needs to stop. A bad sub is going to cost IU a game in the very near future.
• It wasn’t all bad coaching. Early in the second half, Crean pulled Ferrell and others due to a lack of effort. He proceeded to yell at them for a few minutes before sending them back into the game. This turned into improved play from Ferrell and a new level of energy when the starters retook the court. Its safe to say that this was the turning point in the game.
• The Jeremy Hollowell benching continues. Hollowell sat out another game for IU. What was surprising from this game was the lapses in effort from the guys who did play. You would think that benching Hollowell would send a message to the rest of the roster about what is expected from them. It remains unclear how long he will sit out, but Crean made it clear he hasn’t been happy with Hollowell recently.

Court Storming 

IU students storming the court after a big win has become national news. To their credit, they’ve only stormed the court a fews times in recent history. Back in 2007, when they defeated No. 2 Wisconsin. In 2012 when No. 1 Kentucky was taken down on a buzzer beater (prompting John Calipari to cancel the series with IU). And then on Tuesday.

My question: Who cares?

Court storming is a part of college basketball. Every student wants the opportunity to run down on the hardwood and celebrate a big win with the team. The Indiana fans are not rushing down after every win, and they didn’t do it at all last season when the team was ranked all season.

The argument that “They’re IU” and are above things like court storming doesn’t hold water. Its something old sports writers use when talking about the legends of college basketball. But here’s the thing, IU hasn’t won a championship in 27 years. None of those students rushing the court were even alive when IU won its last title.

IU students don’t need a lesson in being true fans. Let them have their fun and celebrate with the team following a big win. When the Hoosiers win another championship, then we’ll put a moratorium on court storming.

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