Hoosiers Face Tough Test With #23 Butler Bulldogs

It’s finals week in Bloomington. Not a creature is stirring… Well, it’s Friday, some creatures are probably stirring (those lucky enough to have finished their exams, anyway), while most have joined the mass exodus they call winter break.

While I was busy complaining about the weather, Christmas shopping on Amazon.com, and writing absolutely killer sports columns (humor me), the Hoosier men’s basketball team has been busy all week preparing for their annual appearance in the Crossroads Classic at Bankers Life Field House. This year, the guys in the cream and crimson do battle with the #23 Butler Bulldogs at 2:30 Saturday afternoon.

Tom Crean brings his Indiana team into Indy, sporting a respectable record of 8-2. The Hoosiers are averaging 88 points per game, good enough to rank them fourth in the country. Their red-hot outside shooting continues as they are shooting 42% from 3pt range as a team, and shooting 50% overall, ranking them 10th in the NCAA. All things considered, IU is about where I thought they would be at this point in the season. Looking at their schedule at the beginning of the year, I fully expected losses to Louisville, and either Pitt or SMU. While losing to Eastern Washington was enough to likely require some Hoosier fans to be sedated and/or restrained, the Hoosiers have basically accomplished what they were supposed to accomplish thus far this season. That’s the good part.

The bad part? IU is allowing 71 points per game (ranking them 280th), while boasting a strength of schedule that comes in ranked by KenPom.com as 340th in division one. To put those figures in perspective, there are only 351 teams in division one basketball. Yes, really. If you just did the math in your head, yes, that is, um…. not good.

The Hoosiers easily disposed of visiting Grand Canyon University last week by 28 points, but honestly didn’t really gain anything in the win. To be frank, there are some good prep school teams out there that would have been able to at least compete with GCU. Try as they might, Dan Majerle’s Lopes are just downright terrible. They didn’t have the size or the talent to even test the Hoosiers. It didn’t help Indiana learn how to block out more effectively. It didn’t help Indiana learn to play against touch defense, and it sure as heck didn’t teach the Hoosiers a thing about playing team defense. IU had a season-low, four turnovers in the game. So what? It was Grand Canyon U.

The Hoosiers learned just where they are as a team when they faced Louisville the game before. Lack of size, lack of rebounding, and lack of defense ultimately doomed Crean’s club, even though they played arguable their best basketball of the year for the first 25 minutes of the contest.  Then UofL’s pressure defense and superior size took over. The Cardinals forced IU into committing 19 turnovers, and out rebounded he Hoosiers 52-34… No, that wasn’t a typo. Folks, I love my Hoosiers, but seriously,Indiana couldn’t have done worse on the boards unless their shoes were super glued to the floor.

Teams with quality size down low Are going to give Indiana fits all year-long. Get used to it. The Hoosiers aren’t going to grow any time soon, no matter how many times you rub that old lamp you bought at the antique shop.  Trust me, those things don’t work, or else I’d be living in Hyde Park and in early retirement.

Indiana will win some games we probably don’t expect them to win this season, and will most definitely lose some games that they shouldn’t. They’re three-point shooting will dictate their fate in every game they play.  Fans kind of knew that going into the season, but I think most didn’t realize how much it would be a factor.

Now, we come to Butler. The Bulldogs, under first year head coach, Chris Holtmann, also come in to this weekend’s contest with a record of  8-2, with impressive wins over #5 North Carolina, and Georgetown, but disappointing double-digit losses to Oklahoma and Tennessee.

Surprisingly, with several players that have made their reputation as shooters, Butler is only shooting 35.8% from three-point range this season, Kellan Dunham being the only exception at 45.5%. It’s no coincidence that the sharper shooter from Pendleton, Indiana also leads the team in scoring at 16.3 per contest. A homegrown Hoosier long-range gunner, Dunham was one player that many Hoosier fans had hoped would one day wear the candy stripes. I alway hate to see coveted homegrown talent line up against the Hoosiers. I fear that Kellan will have the game of his life this weekend. We’ll see.

Saturday’s game will also pit the Hoosiers against their former teammate and current Bulldog, Austin Etherington. Etherington is averaging just under four points per game, in 14 minutes per outing. I fully expect him to go off for 20 points against IU, though, because well, it’s what always seems to happen. (Tell me I’m wrong.)

The Bulldogs are fundamentally sound team that plays excellent defense. They’re opponents average only 55 points per game, shoot 39%, and only shoot a paltry 27% from behind the arch. The Hoosiers will have to be patient, move the ball, and make smart passes if they plan to compete, and possibly walk away with the W.

Butler isn’t incredibly athletic, and doesn’t really have the size and length of the prototypical team has given Indiana fits, but that’s never seemed to stop the Bulldogs before. Just ask former walk-on Alex Barlow, who hit the game winner against  two seasons ago to defeat the previously undefeated, #1 ranked Hoosier squad. If you’re wondering, yes, I’m still bitter.

Butler is good. They’ve show they can beat teams with superior talent. They’ve got good coaching, and coming into the game ranked #23 in the country, they won’t be intimidated by the name “Indiana” emblazoned across the Hoosiers’ chests.

This is a winnable game, but in order for that to happen, the Hoosiers have to play 40 minutes of solid basketball. They have to block out. They have to act like they want to play defense. They have to move the ball on offense. Hanner Mosquera-Perea needs to give two full halves of consistent effort and smart play. AND of course, above all else, Indiana has to hit their outside shots.

Like the Louisville game a few weeks ago, this will be a game of prototypical offense versus defense. Butler defends the perimeter well. Indiana is one of the nation’s best three-point shooting teams. Something will have to give. Will Austin Etherington come out with something to prove against his former team? Will Indiana’s speed an athleticism finally get the best of the Bulldogs? There’s certainly plenty of variables to consider in what figures to be one of the best match ups of  the young season.

I get the sneaky suspicion I may just get loud more than once during the game. Call it a hunch. I do think, though, that Tom Crean gets an inspired effort out of his young Hoosiers on Saturday, and they come out focused, determined, and ready to play. Let’s call it Indiana 74, Butler 71.

Oh, and Sunday morning, I won’t have a voice.