The Indiana University men’s basketball team begins its 118th season today against the Indiana State Sycamores at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Surprisingly, given their in-state proximity to one another, it will be only the 23rd all-time meeting between the programs, with the Hoosiers leading the series 17 to 5. It may be a mistake to assume that Indiana will cruise to an easy victory on its home floor. The Sycamores have been a thorn in the Hoosiers’ side in the more recent games in the series. 3 of the Sycamores’ 5 series wins have come in the last 6 games. …
Author: Mike Schumann
Indiana University will tip-off its 118th season of men’s college basketball on November 10, 2017 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall against the Indiana State Sycamore. Indiana has played at SSAH since 1971. Below is a summary of the more significant all-time national and conference accomplishments of the program going into the season: Head Coach: Archie Miller (29th head coach at Indiana) All-time record: 1801-1019 (11th all-time in wins) Winning percentage: .639 (21st all-time) NCAA Tournament Appearances: 39 Years (7th all-time) NCAA Tournament Record (66-34 record) (7th all-time wins) Final Fours: 8 (9th all-time) NCAA Championships: 1940, 1953, 1976, 1981 and…
Collin Hartman attempted to do something on Friday night against Indiana State that we believe is an Indiana Hoosier basketball first — returning to play for IU after giving a senior night speech at Assembly Hall. Instead, he missed the game with a groin injury, thereby perfectly illustrating the dramatic twists and turns of his IU career. And why shouldn’t he follow an unusual path — it has been that way for some time now. Collin Hartman didn’t grow up an IU fan. He lived in football crazed Nebraska in his early years, hundreds of miles from Indiana and its…
On Sunday we described why Tom Allen was not able to accomplish the Indiana football break through in 2017. We suggested that one of the reasons was that it may have been unrealistic to expect it to happen in year 1 of Allen’s tenure. Today, we take a look at some of the most notable program turnarounds in college football history. For each we note how long it took to complete the transformation. In each case it took at least three years, with the full transformation being defined as winning a conference title. For what it’s worth — we reject…
Before we officially kickoff the 2017-18 season let’s dream a little and think about 2018-19. To do that let’s first look back to 8 months ago when Tom Crean was fired. The immediate concern was defections, perhaps mass defections — of both the current players and the recruiting class. Could it be 2008 all over again? In relatively short order we got the great news that all of the players and recruits would be returning, with the exception of OG Anunoby, Thomas Bryant and James Blackmon, Jr. declaring for the NBA. Except for those guys going pro, which we suspect…
FIrst things first, the season isn’t over. Indiana is 3-6 and could clearly end up 6-6 based on its remaining strength of schedule (at Illinois, Rutgers, at Purdue). Based on what we’ve seen of these opponents and Indiana we’d say that such a running of the table isn’t likely. Each game is likely a coin toss, give or take a few points either way. But this isn’t about winning out or bowl games. This is about “breaking through”, and breaking through has always been about beating the big boys. Indiana’s 2017 schedule was full of big boys. Specifically — Wisconsin,…
Former Indiana University baseball players registering MLB statistics during the 2017 season: Micah Johnson Positions: Second Baseman and Outfielder Team: Atlanta Braves AB – 10 R – 2 H – 2 BA – .200 HR – 0 RBI – 0 SB – 1 OBP – .200 SLG – .200 Josh Phegley Position: Catcher Team: Oakland A’s AB – 149 R – 14 H – 30 BA – .201 HR – 3 RBI – 10 SB – 0 OBP – .255 SLG – .336 Kyle Schwarber Positions: Outfielder Team: Chicago Cubs AB – 422 R – 67 H – 89 BA…
Every year we get to endure to the joy of being reminded of Indiana football’s futility against Michigan (30 year winless streak) and Ohio State (29 year winless streak). Recently we have however experienced the joy of ending long winless streaks against Penn State (20 year streak broken in 2013 via a 44-24 Hoosier win), and Michigan State (10 year streak broken in 2016 via a 24-21 Hoosier win). Unfortunately there is another winless streak that is getting a little long in the tooth, and the Hoosiers will have the opportunity to address it this weekend. Indiana’s last win against…
Halloween means one thing in Indiana — less than two weeks until IU basketball tips off. Ok, that, tighter pants and a bunch of sugar buzzed little people running around. In the Halloween spirit and with an eye towards the November 10th tipoff with Indiana State, we request one treat from each of the expected key contributors to the 2017-18 roster. No tricks allowed, in numerical roster order: Curtis Jones: Find the Kansas game magic. We know it’s there. The kid clearly has talent. It just looked like his confidence took a hit as the season wore on. This is…