Paging Marsh...

[jdubs30]

i love ya marsh but what is this monumental bs? indiana should have lost today and they finished 3-3 before the ncaa tourny. theyre a damn good team but its not like we're a 13 seed, we dont need some superhuman effort to beat those guys. we just blizted the best team in the country last week before we hit a wall.

One would think Louisville is better designed to beat us than IU is...They have GREAT guard play, shooters everywhere, good (and capable) big men, press like hell, and a center who can hit that foul line jumper or score from the post.

And we beat them in their house, arguably should have beat them in the Dome, and we up by double digits in 2nd half against them in the Garden.

EDIT: I also think UofL is more physical than IU.

 

[Marsh01]

i love ya marsh but what is this monumental bs? indiana should have lost today and they finished 3-3 before the ncaa tourny. theyre a damn good team but its not like we're a 13 seed, we dont need some superhuman effort to beat those guys. we just blizted the best team in the country last week before we hit a wall.

I just worry about the number of scorers they have. Its not about shutting down one guy. Its about shutting down. 3-4 guys. Mcw will need to play his best game at syracuse because oladipo will give him fits.

Look i think we can win this game. No doubt. I just laugh when i read stuff like zeller is a stiff and stuff like that. This is a top 3 team and we need to bring it. Temple would have been a much easier game and i still am disappointed that they didnt pull it out. For once i want the bracket to open up in our region.


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[ClamOtto]

IU is basically getting the minimum turnaround time you can have for the sweet 16: Sunday - Thursday.

 

[jdubs30]

I just worry about the number of scorers they have. Its not about shutting down one guy. Its about shutting down. 3-4 guys. Mcw will need to play his best game at syracuse because oladipo will give him fits.

Look i think we can win this game. No doubt. I just laugh when i read stuff like zeller is a stiff and stuff like that. This is a top 3 team and we need to bring it. Temple would have been a much easier game and i still am disappointed that they didnt pull it out. For once i want the bracket to open up in our region.


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I hear ya, it'd be nice to have an easy road once and a while. But our first 2 games we're nice for us, but at somepoint you'll have to play someone good.

 

[CorduroyG]

I just worry about the number of scorers they have. Its not about shutting down one guy. Its about shutting down. 3-4 guys. Mcw will need to play his best game at syracuse because oladipo will give him fits.

Look i think we can win this game. No doubt. I just laugh when i read stuff like zeller is a stiff and stuff like that. This is a top 3 team and we need to bring it. Temple would have been a much easier game and i still am disappointed that they didnt pull it out. For once i want the bracket to open up in our region.


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this i agree with 100%, i was screaming at the tv for temple to win. i really thought our bracket would open up, the ncaa gods owe us. but of course the top 4 seeds in the east are all probably gonna advance to the regionals. oh well, just gotta do it the hard way.

our defense is no joke, i dont see any team going off on us. our offense is another story..

 

[AluminNV]

I want us to win on Thursday just as much as the next guy, but I want what you're smoking if you think we'll only be a 2.5 point underdog.

I think 5-7 is much more likely.

Have you seen how small the lines have been? And were you impressed by IU today?

I was expecting 5 last night (thinking normally it would be 6-7 so similar thinking as you.) After IU's showing today I think its 2-3.

If its 4 or more that means the ML will be +180 or so for us or higher and lots of people will hammer that.

They aren't going to give out 2-1 odds on Syracuse after todays game. And that is what 5-7 points means.

 

[jgeorge322]

I rather play temple too and posted that in another thread. However, for comparison sake, I rather play iu then Michigan. Among others, I think mcgrary would be a terrible matchup.

I think the difference here is I just don't think college basketball is all that good this year. im not saying we win 9 out of 10. matter of fact, i think its more like a 40-60 game. but marsh makes it sound like a 20-80 game, which i definitely disagree with. i wont be surprised if we lose but i will be disappointed.

 

[PeteCalvin]

I just dont like the matchup. I will be all in and hope we play our best game of the season but i just wanted to avoid that team at all costs.


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We all knew this match-up was coming. If we can score, we win, and that's the bottom line. Our defense is one of the best in the NCAA right now. IU fans should be wary. As should we, but for completely different reasons. They are a superb team, but I'm not scared of them. JB is going to make them beat us with jump shots. If we continue our strong rebounding and find our offensive rhythm, we have a better than average chance of advancing against IU. They know that. It's all about SU's offense in this one. If we make the shots we clanged with ruthless efficiency against Cal, we should advance. We have a sub-par offensive performance, warm up the bus. Simple as that.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Kind of surprised at all the negativity. I have watched indiana about ten times this year. I think life will be difficult for hulls and Ferrell. I think we can make them turn it over more than they normally do. Mcw and bt have the ability to really bother them on defense. They aren't a great rebounding team. They dont have any shot blockers. We have a great opportunity to attack the offensive glass. Don't forget hulls isn't playing 100 percent. Indiana has played their share of meat grinders this year to.

 

[SaltLakeOrange]

I dont know how you can say you will be disappointed if we lose. With all of the stuff that we have had to deal with this season the end of the year slide and the many question marks that we have i am thrilled to be playing next weekend. Its not a defeatist attitude. Aside from the mantonio train i dont think there is a more optimistic person on this board. Im also a realist ams know this is a monumental task that we have ahead of us. I wish that they didnt have 5 days to prepare.


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5 days? I don't see more than 2. IU gets back to Bloomington tonight. Tomorrow, I understand, is an NCAA dictated day off. That leaves Tuesday to prepare. Wednesday is a travel day. Assuming they can get a practice in before trekking from Bloomington to Indy to Dulles, that makes 2 practices. I for one like our chances. We are a match up nightmare for IU. They are beatable.

 

[Marsh01]

5 days? I don't see more than 2. IU gets back to Bloomington tonight. Tomorrow, I understand, is an NCAA dictated day off. That leaves Tuesday to prepare. Wednesday is a travel day. Assuming they can get a practice in before trekking from Bloomington to Indy to Dulles, that makes 2 practices. I for one like our chances. We are a match up nightmare for IU. They are beatable.

I was referring to the coaches. They will prepare today through thursday mid day.


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[FreeFries100]

I just dont like the matchup. I will be all in and hope we play our best game of the season but i just wanted to avoid that team at all costs.


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I don't know you, but I respect your posts. But there is something about going up against and beating the best that you shouldn't want to avoid. I love it. I'll take IU over Temple anyday. It will be a great great game.

 

[SaltLakeOrange]

The coaches aren't one ones on the floor. The players make the plays and they won't have much time to prepare for our zone. And they have not been anything like it before. Won't be easy, but we can win...

 

[Marsh01]

I don't know you, but I respect your posts. But there is something about going up against and beating the best that you shouldn't want to avoid. I love it. I'll take IU over Temple anyday. It will be a great great game.

I would love to see it believe me.


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[HoustonCuse]

i love ya marsh but what is this monumental bs? indiana should have lost today and they finished 3-3 before the ncaa tourny. theyre a damn good team but its not like we're a 13 seed, we dont need some superhuman effort to beat those guys. we just blizted the best team in the country last week before we hit a wall.

I'm not trying to be pessimistic but if you have paid attention over the past 30 or so years, it DOES take a superhuman effort from us to win ANY sweet 16 game. Even when we are clearly the better team. IU will play their best game of the season, of that you can be positive. We will need a near perfect performance to win. Same as in every other sweet 16 game we have ever been in.

 

[FreeFries100]

We all knew this match-up was coming. If we can score, we win, and that's the bottom line. Our defense is one of the best in the NCAA right now. IU fans should be wary. As should we, but for completely different reasons. They are a superb team, but I'm not scared of them. JB is going to make them beat us with jump shots. If we continue our strong rebounding and find our offensive rhythm, we have a better than average chance of advancing against IU. They know that. It's all about SU's offense in this one. If we make the shots we clanged with ruthless efficiency against Cal, we should advance. We have a sub-par offensive performance, warm up the bus. Simple as that.

That's it. You called it. If our O is on, we win.

 

[FreeFries100]

I would love to see it believe me.


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I know you would. Just as i know you'll be be 6 PBR's deep by tip.

 

[jdubs30]

The coaches aren't one ones on the floor. The players make the plays and they won't have much time to prepare for our zone. And they have not been anything like it before. Won't be easy, but we can win...

Listening to the Mike Montgomery post game last night he had a really good idea of what to do to attck the zone, and I'm sure he went way more in depth about it with his players. Still didn't stop Crabbe, Cobbs, and company from having NO idea what to do or how to react once they were between the lines.

 

[HoustonCuse]

Listening to the Mike Montgomery post game last night he had a really good idea of what to do to attck the zone, and I'm sure he went way more in depth about it with his players. Still didn't stop Crabbe, Cobbs, and company from having NO idea what to do or how to react once they were between the lines.

But he specifically and repeatedly cited the short turnaround and his lack of personnel as huge factors. IU will have neither problem.

 

[jdubs30]

But he specifically and repeatedly cited the short turnaround and his lack of personnel as huge factors. IU will have neither problem.

Very true. I guess my point really was that the coaches can draw up everytthing they want, but it's up to the players to execute. I think Farrell and Hulls will have issues.

 

[HakAttack]

This to me is the game that if you're a Cuse fan you are forced to take two perspectives:

1.) You look at the team that absolutely STRUGGLED to score during large portions of BE play.

2.) You look at the team from the BET that for 2 1/2 games, brought as much intensity as has been seen the ENTIRE season, and blew the doors off three quality teams in Pitt, Georgetown and Louisville.

Which one are we more likely to see on Thursday? Yes, I think we can beat IU. However, we KNOW that a bunch of things have to happen.

1.) Our bigs cannot get into foul trouble.
2.) We CANNOT be as careless with the ball as we were for long stretches of the Cal game.
3.) Brandon Triche needs to get going early, and attack the basket instead of pulling up for 12-15 foot jumpers.
4.) CJ Fair needs to own whoever's guarding him.
5.) MCW needs to play within himself (which I think he's done a good job of so far in the tourney.)
6.) JS CANNOT get into foul trouble or we're done. Our offense is PUTRID with him off the floor, as he's really the only real 3 point threat.
7.) Keep the intensity up on the defensive end. We forced a TON of TOs during the BET and during the first two games so far.

Do I think we can win? Yes. Am I confident that we will win? No. Can anything happen on Thursday? You bet.

 

[Hoov50]

Indiana may very well beat us, but we have beaten much better teams with lesser teams in the past, granted, primarily in the regular season. I may eat my words Thursday evening, but I just can't see Indiana running us out of the gym. I think we are more than capable of playing with IU and sticking around the whole game even if we don't play our absolute best. Our 2-3 this season is one of our best that I can remember. I think that will help us turn it into an ugly game where our lack of half court offense won't be that huge of a liability. Even though IU may be the best team in the Big 10 I don't fear, maybe foolishly, their defense as much as the defenses of many of the other teams in the Big 10.

People have been saying that it is wide open for the last five or six seasons, but for some reason I really buy into that sentiment this year. Just when it looks like a team is peaking and has an edge on others that team loses a game or two or even three and that has continued in the tournament. Back a few years when we were gearing up to play Oklahoma in the sweet sixteen I knew we didn't have a chance. I don't have that feeling at all about IU, of course they are capable of beating us, but even with our struggles toward the end of the regular season I think we have just as good of a chance to win as anyone.

....unless the court is a jinx to us and we can't score 40 again!

 

[OrangeJEM]

L0ok at the bright side, at least we don't have to play FGCU.

 

[Hoov50]

But he specifically and repeatedly cited the short turnaround and his lack of personnel as huge factors. IU will have neither problem.

You can't simulate the zone in practice. It would be like a football team that runs the option trying to run a spread passing game in practice to get their defense ready for the game. I think that's why even teams who have a week to prep still struggle against the 2-3, especially if they don't see it very often. You can draw up the plays and run them against the backups, but it isn't even close to being the same as playing against our zone in a game.

 

[RF2044]

I'm not trying to be pessimistic but if you have paid attention over the past 30 or so years, it DOES take a superhuman effort from us to win ANY sweet 16 game. Even when we are clearly the better team. IU will play their best game of the season, of that you can be positive. We will need a near perfect performance to win. Same as in every other sweet 16 game we have ever been in.

This post is ridiculous pessimistic.

You are right about one thing: we are going to need to play well offensively to win. That certainly doesn't mean that victory is impossible, or that indiana can't be beaten.

We have an outstanding chance to advance. Doesn't mean we will, but this isn't UNLV 1990 we're facing.