The Indiana Hoosiers return home to host Alcorn State

After a disappointing run in the Maui Invitational, the Indiana Hoosiers are back at Assembly Hall for the first time tonight against Alcorn State.

WHO: Indiana Hoosiers (4-2) v. Alcorn State Braves (0-3)
WHEN: Tonight, 7 pm ET / 6 pm CT
WHERE: Assembly Hall (Bloomington, IN)

TV: BTN
RADIO: Don Fischer
STREAM: BTN2GO

The Hoosiers
Tonight will be a good bounce back opportunity for Indiana. The Alcorn State Braves travel Bloomington at 0-3 on the season and are in the bottom seven teams offensively. Good news for the Hoosiers, as Indiana’s defensive display against Wake Forest was one of the worst performances in recent memory.

A number of players need to step up their game, most notably Troy Williams and James Blackmon Jr., who have been poor defensively and turn the ball over far too often for two of Indiana’s main ball handlers (also begging the question – why are they bringing the ball up the floor so often?).

The message sent by Coach Tom Crean by benching Williams to start the second game was delivered, but not necessarily received, by Troy. It was certainly received by his family, though, who took to social media to complain about the treatment the junior forward was receiving.

There are some areas Indiana needs to build on. Defense first, but even on the offensive end things look too rushed, too sloppy, and simply chaotic. Tonight is the first 0f many chances to rectify that.

The Braves
Sitting in the bottom four teams in the country in eFG%, Alcorn State probably won’t be putting up too much of a fight tonight at Assembly Hall. If they do, that’s an issue.

Their scout report is littered with all kinds of red on both ends of the floor, and though this isn’t a grind-it-out type of test Indiana could have had before hitting the road to Cameron Indoor Stadium Wednesday, it’s certainly a test of sorts that the Hoosiers need to pass with flying colors.

Next: Pacers struggle to put away Lakers but still win

After two losses in Maui, #iubb Twitter was ready to give up on the team, and Crean, before the season even gained its legs. Yes, the Maui games were ugly, and yes, this team has almost more issues than can be addressed now, but it’s also November.

Perhaps clearer, though, is that the expectations from the fan base need to be lowered while expectations within the program should be higher. Blaming your frontcourt performances by citing not having a player who is no longer on the roster is deflecting blame from the problem – the team. Right the ship now before too much is lost.