Good, Bad and Ugly: Penn State

by Ryan Corazza in Good Bad Ugly | January 21st, 2010

THE GOOD: BENDING, NOT BREAKING.

Heck of a win tonight in Happy Valley.

Sure, Penn State was a meek 0-5 in the Big Ten heading into this game, but a young Hoosiers team like this isn’t supposed to get conference road wins, no matter whom the opponent is. And unlike we’ve seen in previous road adventures, IU came out of the gate tonight and controlled the game from the onset. They hit shots early — was that Jeremiah Rivers hitting two jumpers? — didn’t look scared, and played with a swagger and confidence we’ve yet to see outside of Assembly Hall in conference play.

It was really just the perfect set of circumstances for the Hoosiers tonight: they came off arguably their biggest win of the year against Minnesota on Sunday, and their next game just happened to be against a team that had yet to win in conference play. They had confidence, and showed it tonight.

But what was even more impressive to me this evening was not the double-digit lead IU was able to mount in the first half thanks to a hot start, it was withstanding Penn State’s run in the second half, especially when you factor in Jeremiah Rivers was basically a non-factor with his foul trouble. (Sidenote: how great is Rivers at that chase-down block on layups? Love that.) When the score got to 40-40 with 13:44 to play, and the momentum shifted in the Nittany Lions’ favor, IU held court.

Watford came down, made a nice move in the post and scored. Penn State came up empty, then Verdell Jones — who along with Devan Dumes were big keys on the offensive end — hit a three and suddenly IU was up 45-40. And though there were a few moments where I thought Penn State might have a shot to get back into it after that, there was never any real OH CRAP IS IU GOING TO WIN THIS OR WHAT moments tonight.

Calm, cool and collected on the road? I can get used to that.

THE BAD AND UGLY: BLANK SLATE.

I’ll leave this one up to you guys. I wasn’t expecting a win on the road this year, especially after how the Hoosiers looked against the Buckeyes and Wolverines earlier Big Ten season. Therefore, no gripes from me tonight.

Tags: Penn State Nittany Lions

Robert

Here’s the deal with the Good, Bad and Ugly. Ryan does a great job with it – and it’s impressive that this quality analysis gets posted so soon after a game. Ryan does so much better in the same amount of time as ESPN.com’s “Instant Reactions” to NFL games, for example.
But it’s the nature of having one good item (the good) and two bad ones (bad and ugly) that makes these posts very pessimistic and cynical. And then it’s nearly impossible to be pessimistic and cynical after a win – and it’s been tough on Ryan, too. On two of the three Big Ten wins this season, Ryan simply skipped the bad and ugly.
If you’re going to call it a bad and ugly, have a bad and ugly! But I have a better suggestion – after a win, there should be two good points and one bad point to focus on. You know a “Great, Good and Bad” (although that name suggestion is awful…I’m sure someone could think of something decent). That gives Ryan freedom to point out two good things IU did well (and this season when there’s a win, there got to be a couple things to point out) and then Ryan only has to find one bad thing IU did (and again, with this season, even in wins, there’s normally something bad to point out).
So keep Good, Bad and Ugly for losses. And have a similar catchy phrase for wins, but just focus on two positive things instead.
Keep up the good work ITH. And yea, don’t read this as a knock on Ryan. He does great with it – it’s just the nature of the post that I think could be better.
Go Hoosiers!
Mike

The Bad: Fouling way to much, and just dumb fouls, like Watford 35 ft from the basket.

The Ugly: Gave up way to many offensive rebounds. If IU hits the glass the Penn State never gets back in the game.
peaychris

i will take a shot at the bad.. fouls… i expect pritch to get his 5 and sit but rivers disappointed me a bit. if he plays a normal game i think he contains battle and IU wins by 15. but overall it was nice to see the team take a win on the road! i really liked VJ3 taking the ball into his hands in clutch time, it was like he was saying this is MY time.. without creek we need that kind of leadership!
http://twitter.com/StopCommotion Ryan Wagner

Some of you may see this as really reaching for a silver lining, but after tonight's game I've realized that the last 2 years have made me really appreciate IU winning games. 5 years ago… beating Minnesota and Penn State in back to back games? Normal. Now? Seems amazing. Hopefully this new level of energy is felt by others and will carry over when we return to those wins being expected.
ldiu

Good: Let's all be honest…….Dumas's shooting was very good and I'll forgive the pass that went into the 10th row. Also, shooting by Elston (who must be the leader in pints per minute), Hulls and Jones was also very good. Rivers stated out ok, but then reverted back to normal.

Bad: Rebounding was not good at all.

Ugly: The pick of Jones and then the foul by Pritchard could have really hurt…………but we escaped with the 1st true road win!! YEA!!!
Taskmaster75

Totally agree with you. Every program goes through this time period (Look at UNC even), and going through this will make the fanbase better down the road.
Taskmaster75

I would say fouls if anything, Rivers had an aberration of a game, but the big men rebounding was bad? Who was that guy they got rocked by down low constantly Ott or something like that? Anywho, Dumes was key, Hulls seemed to play really well, but Moore drives me crazy with the bounce pass. Chest pass man!
tmeaster

Good – two games in a row they lost momentum and a big lead, but held court regained momentum and came out with the W – this time on the road. That wouldn't have happened last year (or even two weeks ago for that matter)

Bad – let another lead slip away. It might be too much to ask for this year, but it would be nice to see them stretch a lead out and really put some one away.
slyslim

When Dumes plays under control, with discipline, and with confidence, that REALLY helps take the pressure off the young guys and gives our guys an awesome boost offensively. Also, props to DMoore for the clutch free throws at a key time in the game.
Taskmaster75

Yeah, that impressed me, if he made a chest pass on a breakaway instead of a bounce, i would be ecstatic
http://www.facebook.com/people/Shannon-Straub/1680600021 Shannon Straub

They played well tonight. Looked like a team with confidence.. Everything clicked..What really made Me happy was when Penn made their run We kept out composure and went back after them.
http://www.prinsportsblog.com BGleas

Not trying to be picky here, but how did Rivers “revert back to normal?” He was hampered by foul trouble, but beyond that was playing a very good and under control floor game. He only had one turnover.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Shannon-Straub/1680600021 Shannon Straub

May I add Elston is goin to be a major factor in the future. His Confidence is going through the roof!
http://www.insidethehall.com Alex

I think he was probably talking about his offense after he hit the two jumpers.
http://matthewjenks.blogspot.com/ Matt_J

For me, personally, the Bad AND the Ugly was the messed up audio on ESPN2. I don't know if everyone else's feed was bad, or if it was just a Time Warner Cable thing, but the video and the audio were out of synch by about four seconds. It was very frustrating.

Other than that, I was pretty happy to see the team withstand two runs by Penn State in the second half and still not panic down the stretch when the full-court press came at them.
aceman07

Missed most the game working late doing pickups in an old truck with no radio so thanks for the great coverage and wrap up here. Thanks to the ITH guys and all the great IU fans!
http://www.prinsportsblog.com BGleas

Good point, the jumpers did get a little out of hand.
nathanzimmerman

I love Derek Elston!!!! what a hoosier.
GFDave

Interesting take with some merit to it.
GFDave

The team is really picking up confidence. I know its a little thing, but at a timeout I saw Hulls pull the ball back towards himself with his toe and run it up his foot and into his hand. He's probably done that a million times, but to me it was a sign of confidence and composure. His body language being, “Hey we're out here playing some ball and I'm perfectly at ease.”

I think the scoring droughts will continue, but we even improved upon that today. If we stay composed and don't turn it over we can compete with just about anybody.

Hoosiers win. Caps beat Pens. Feeling good.
rusty95

Superb: Confidence, Control, and ball movement
Solid: Maintaining with Rivers on the bench
Uncool: Bigs seeming to be out of position on D alot tonight

I like the idea of having to positive tiles on win nights..
http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/IDGU6UXKXTTOL6WAG4UPNCXTEE Andrew Z

Agreed.. the Good, the Better, and the Best.
IUMIKE1

Good idea. Worth a test run. Maybe everyone could vote on which way they like it at some point but in the end it still your baby Alex and I will continue to come here to read and even comment once in a while.
http://ryancorazza.com Ryan C.

Thanks for the kind words, Robert. Having these three categories does paint me into a corner at times, and tonight is a good example of why it sometimes doesn't work.

For Sunday's game against Iowa, I may switch things up so I'm not as pigeonholed on doing something ugly, when there is no ugly to speak of.
aerialM

I didn't get to see the game, but why does Elston only play 7 min? I keep hearing that he might transfer. geez, I hope not – he's going to be special…why doesn't he start over Pritch?
RW

I thought for the most part we played well. Although I was a bit concerned when it seemed think everyone on the floor was jacking up threes. Seemingly going for a knockout punch. With that Devan Dumes looks great when he has his head in the game but just as before some of his shot selection is questionable but when he is in the zone his range shows flashes of Bracey Wright. The movement on offense concerns me and taking a dribble without advancing your position at all. And maybe revisiting how to use a shot or ball fake close to the rim.
I like many others want Indiana basketball back to where it deserves to be as soon as possible and am sort of tired of saying they are young, etc., but I like the way we compete lately other than at Ohio State, 2nd half @ Michigan and the last 6 minutes of the Illinois game. But the last two we had our chances then where would we be??? And with Creek in the lineup??? I can not wait until Sunday to see what unfolds and how we get out of the gate. GO HOOSIERS!!!!
BigRed3588

Watch Elston and Pritchard closely on defense and you'll see why. Pritchard gets into foul trouble, but for the most part, he knows where he needs to be. Elston has a tendency to get lost out there. I think once Elston puts on a little weight and, more importantly, gets his assignments down, we'll see a large increase in his minutes.
plane1972

A missed jumper and a defensive rebound is the same as a turnover. I think that is where the concern over his Rivers’ jumper is coming from BGleas. But, you’re right, he played a controlled game, and I’m not as concerned as another poster was with his fouling out. At least, he’s being aggressive.
jerryct

On Pritchard:

He does things for us NO ONE on the team can do or is even close to doing:

1) When he wants a spot on the floor it is his, nobody moves him
2) He sets a screen you can count on it, unlike Elston, Watford, Capo, Bawa…..
3) He hedges the point guard better than anyone I have seen on any team practically taking Battle last night again all the way to the out of bounds line
4) has a good pass first/team mentality

But what frustrates me is his lack of assertiveness in trying to contribute his points to the offense. It is like we are playing 4 on 5 in the half court. I really want to see him break out…….maybe Iowa
Anonymous

OK, so I took a day off from work today and I was flipping through the tv and saw that the BigTen network was playing a classic game from 2003 IU v. Iowa and I’m finding it tough to watch not only was it just an average season that year for the Hoosiers coming off the national runner up year but everything feels like it was a long long time ago. Things I have noticed that have changed not only the players on the team but everything from the old score board, nike being our sponsor, and the the hall as crazy as I used to remember, not that the hall isn’t crazy now but back then we were cheering for a good and competitive team and now it seems we are just trying to give the team support as if we feel like we have no chance right now and just waiting for the team to get blown out or give up a lead late. As I sit here watching Tom Coverdale, AJ Moye, and Jeff Newton play along side Marshall Strickland and Bracey Wright aka Ball Hog lol, it made me think about the BIG picture, and that CTC is working his ASS OFF to rebuild from the mess that was left for him but I’m not going to feel sorry for him because he took the job knowing what he was taking over but I sure hope he does get this team back to the good ‘ole days because I seriously LOVE CTC, but let me point out the obvious here if your going to win at a high level in D1 and BigTen basketball you have to have upper class man leadership and mix in the younger talented freshmen and sophomore players to have success or go the Kentucky route in getting half a roster of 4 and 5 star freshman but lets get real we are doing this the right way and the way it has to be right now, once this years class and last year class become upper class man and mix in the next couple of classes look out boys and girls become the more I watch this team the more I can see something brewing and it might not be 2 or even 4 years till we compete for National Titles but we are going to have a team to be proud of. GO HOOIERS!!!
SnoopSanders

Good
* Played with a lot of confidence early on. Crisp passing, got good looks running the offense
* Team is starting to feel pretty deep, with Capo and Dumes and Elston playing well. I don't get worried when anyone is in foul trouble.
* With VJIII now we've got a guy who wants the ball at the end of a close game. Can't win many without that, which we didn't have earlier in the season

Bad
* Why isn't Pritchard better?
* Didn't show the energy on the boards that we did in the MN game
* Too much fouling, would have allowed a better FT shooting team to beat us
* Why the talk about Elston transferring? Hewas born to play Indiana basketball
* I think Bawa is going to be good, and I think he should play more
Mike

Hey everyone, make sure to taunt your Purdue friends with the fact that IU and Purdue are tied in the Big Ten for now. We all know it won’t end up like that, but it’s fun to finally have something to taunt them about.
MikeinNC

I love that they didn't let down after the big win against Minnesota, and that they hung tough at the end and closed our a win on the road in the Big Ten. Even though this was a weak opponent I think this was a huge win psychologically.
ldiu

After hitting his first 3 shot, he then missed his next 4. His shooting
just scares me to death. I cannot understand why Elston does not play
more……….he had 8 points in just 7 minutes. Pritchard had 0 points in
25 minutes.
hoosierbd

Happy for IU road win – that is important unto itself. Reading comments here I agree Elston can be contributor, he seems to be good offensively, but a defensive liability, that's where Pritchard has edge, but his fouling is ridiculous. To me when he gets that 2nd foul in the first half all his tenacity goes away and he gets in no rhythm.

VJ3 seems clutch down the stretch and wants the ball – I'm glad for a player like that. And props to Dumes for finally stepping up when given more of an opportunity.
http://www.prinsportsblog.com BGleas

I agree on his shooting, but anytime JR has only one turnover, I'm happy. I think that's the key for him.

I would like to see more of Elston too, but I think the one stat you can look at for him last night is the rebounding column, especially since PSU had 18 offensive rebounds. Elston only had 1 rebound, and I remember PSU getting more than a few offensive rebounds while he was in the game.
GFDave

Yes to all that you said. Pritch gives us a lot that does not show in a stat line. Also, his confidence is coming back up. I hope upon hope that he works on his face-up jumper and gets confidence in it from 10 feet in. That would be big.
DJ5

I didn't have a problem with the amount of fouls, but I did have a problem with how dumb they were. I was at the game, and you could see so much reaching far away from the basket and frustration swipes after misses on the offensive end. I will chalk it up to youth I guess. Rivers charge call was pretty awful I thought, but his 5th foul was just dumb for any player, let alone your “veteran” point guard.

I used to think that this team was made up of a bunch of role players, but after last night, I think that it's more of a group of balanced players. With the exception of Bawa and Moore, every lineup on the floor last night had 5 guys who could defend, rebound, pass, and score. It's a good mix of shooters (Hulls, Dumes, Elston), drivers (Jones, Rivers, Watford), and the inside guys (Capo, Pritchard) who can finish around the rim. While Creek was a guy who was balanced offensively, I think Jones and Watford have the potential to do the same thing if they can get a more consistent jumpshot.
plane1972

Do you think Penn State students would have rushed the court if they had won?
JerryCT

Great team effort. Finally we got 26min from Dumes by accident and he ended w 15 pts, 3 steals, 1 blk, 2 assists, 2 rebs and defended as usual.

I cringed when Pritchard turned down an open mid range shot w time running out on the clock. I didn't care if it went in or not I just want ed to see him particiapte in the offense for christs sakes
BFowler

The Good: Say it out loud Hoosier fans, “Big Ten winning streak.”
We saw the good Devan last night. His defense was good on TB.
VJ3 was again hitting the big shot.
It was a road win.
It was good to see Watford in the post a lot, those shots will fall.
Hulls was extremely solid.
71.4 percent from the line.
The Bad: Too many offensive rebounds (18) given up.
21 to 13 fouls means more FT attempts for PSU. Although only 1 less made.
The Ugly: whatever, nothing to report here.
tonyh812

Great win last night. TC has the team coming around. Would someone please tell TC to play Derek Elston 30 minutes per game! This kid has a chance to be great. The good: Dumas is under control and plays well. The bad: Rivers plays very little and fouls out. The ugly: Doc flies to game to see his son sit on the bench. GO HOOSIERS.
Joe

Thoughts on if we’re maybe better w/out Rivers on the floor. Really like Hulls, Dumes, Jones in the lineup at same time. I love Rivers drive ability, but his lack of shot really limits him. All I know is he played only 17 min and we won first road b10 game in 2 years.
Bored_in_the_Offseason

A couple of observations:
1) Great to see Dumes play within the game, for the most part;
2) A lot of 'freshman' fouls committed a long way from the bucket last night, which is discouraging but easily rectifiable;
3) It was exciting to see these kids hold off the multiple PS surges last night and continue to fight back;
4) For all the griping that went on following losses at OSU and Mich, these two wins should reaffirm that Crean has this program headed in the right direction -no matter what you think of the competition;
5) I will finally commit myself to the “Leave Pritchard on the bench for Elston/Capo” bus. Both offer higher offensive/defensive reward than the aforementioned. In fact I was pretty content when Pritchard went to the bench after his quick second foul;
6) Despite Rivers ugly shooting, his ability to penetrate the lane and collapse the defense is priceless to a team that has a hard time creating its own shots. To have Roth and Hulls sitting in the corners while he goes to work is an exciting possibility, which leads me to my last observation;
7) I am starting to become thoroughly impressed with Hulls shooting abilities.
http://www.prinsportsblog.com BGleas

I agree, I don't like seeing him put up a ton of jumpers. I don't have a problem with 1-2 a game to keep the defense honest, though. He did take it a little far after he made the first two, although I think sometimes that's just natural after you hit two.

As long as he's keeping the turnovers down, playing under control for the most part and playing lights out defense, then I'm good.
CreamandCrimson

Great win. I can't believe IU is tied for fifth in the Big Ten right now. This was the second straight game where I feel like the bench has given some really strong contributions. Devan Dumes and his 15 points, Bobby C with some good hustle plays, Daniel Moore with a nice steal and the two free throws, Derek Elston with quality minutes.
This team isn't close to competing for any Big Ten titles or deep tournament runs. However, I think we are beginning to see them gain some confidence. They now know what it takes to win in the conference and that will be crucial as we move forward. Let's go get Iowa for three in a row!
Kreigh_Smiths_Short_Shorts

Ok, again, I have to take credit for this win. There was NO Pick to Click winner coming from me on this game (same as Minnesota AND the first Michigan game). To further the mojo and cement this victory, I picked Penn St. to win in the ITH poll. If I start betting on the other 10 teams on a regular basis, IU may just win the conference outright.
GFDave

Pritchard is much stronger in the post and does a good job getting defensive position. He also comes out and sets those high ball screens better than anyone on the team.

I think the fundamental issue with playing time, be it Pritch, Elston or The Situation, is that we don't have a high level post player, so the flaws of who we do have are routinely exposed. But all of these kids are getting better and its a pleasure to watch.
GFDave

Rivers had to take the early shots, PSU was begging him too. If the opponent leaves him that open he just has to try and make them pay. But I agree that jump shooting isn't his game.
plane1972

No offense, btowncain, but most days that involved Bracey Wright were not the good ol' days to me. Looking back on it, that team frustrates me more than the mess we are coming out of now. This may be completely unfair to the guy, but I never felt like Bracey Wright was a part of “the program.” He always felt like an island unto himself and Mike Davis gave him carte blanche on the court. I can't imagine him ever coming back to Assembly Hall.

Good, Bad and Ugly: Penn State

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