The best thing about C-Wat is the way he represents our program.

What to expect from IU/Ole Miss…

Ole Miss should clearly be ranked in the top 25. IU is at least a year away from that sort of ranking. IU is a seven to nine point ‘dog. Roth is out. So what can IU do to win?

On the offensive side: Rivers needs to be efficient (i.e. improve his assist / turnover ratio) against the Ole Miss guards’ NBA-level athleticism. Solid play from Rivers is a necessity. Watford has shown the ability to create shots and score, but his ability to compete at this level is still unknown. Creek has thus far played well within the scheme of the offense, but his mechanical – yet tremendously slow – shot release could prove to be an issue (note: this commenter picked Creek as the Pick to Click). Dumas has the athletic ability to be a factor, but his health and mentality may be an issue. Elston will have scoring opportunities, but those opportunities will come within the flow of the game. As Elston’s confidence grows, he may begin to force shots, which will hinder his scoring and efficiency (hopefully not in this game). VJ III may be the most important offensive factor in this game. VJ has the confidence and ability to carry this team, but he must improve his decision-making. Pritchard will obviously have to improve his finishing ability; luckily, Ole Miss does not have a lot of length.

On the defensive end: Look for Rivers to play a ton of minutes against a great Ole Miss backcourt. Hulls is not yet ready to defend against NBA-caliber guards, so IU will be forced to rely on Rivers and VJIII to defend well. Rebounding will be a huge problem for IU in this contest. Crean will likely be forced to substitute the big men frequently (Pritchard, Elston, Muniru, Robe, Capobianco), until someone steps up on the boards. Creek and Watford match up favorably on the defensive side, but neither has faced this level of competition. If the guards can stop penetration, and the bigs can board, IU will fare well.

In sum, IU has the talent to squeak out a victory. But, IU could also be blown out by a highly-talented SEC team. IU will need to rebound and play great transition defense (which is a whole different topic) to compete in this game. Oh, and IU needs to shoot (and make) more three-pointers. Against athletic teams, the long-range shooting will be the difference in close games.

Love the Damon Bailey SI Cover avatar. Nice!

living in georgia, we only get 5 iu games this year, and tomorrows one of them. but i have to work at the same time as the game! and i don't have a way to tivo or tape it.....so....i CANCELED WORK so i can watch the game

Just get the big ten network. I live in Georgia too and I couldn't stand not watching every game.

yea i can't stand it either. and what makes it worse is this is my fav hoosier team since i been part of the university (7 years ago). this team is a bunch of team first guys, who want to be hoosiers, unlike in years past where its been 1 on 1 play and guys w/ next level agendas padding their stats. even if we don't win more games than years past, better effort, passion, and representation to me is better than w's.

it will be on espn 360 as well as espn2

TC... Puerto Rico isn't another country... it's a territory of the US. Good luck IU, and I can't blame you Azur. I am DVRing it to watch with my dad...

I was thinking the same thing when he was talking about being in another country :) Was definitely laughing a little bit.

Anyone else really excited but really nervous at the same time? If they keep it respectable and go all out I will be happy. Christian Watford had the best line in the player interview video saying, "this is why you come to Indiana, to be put on the Big Stage and now it's time to go perform." Hope the whole team is carrying this same attitude.