The Minute After: Evansville

by Ryan Corazza in The Minute After | November 16th, 2011

Thoughts on a 94-73 road win over the Purple Aces:

SO MUCH FOR THAT

They said the Purple Aces would test the Hoosiers. They said this could be Indiana’s first loss. After all, Tom Crean’s crew hadn’t won on the road in its last 17 attempts. And these Purple Aces were coming off a win over Butler.

They were wrong.

Indiana got off to a strong start from the opening tip on Wednesday night inside the Ford Center and never looked back. In the first 20 minutes, Victor Oladipo and Will Sheehey shut down Colt Ryan. Christian Watford, Verdell Jones, Jordan Hulls and Cody Zeller did the scoring. By half, they were up by 24. And though the second half wasn’t as crisp and got sloppy at times, the Hoosiers finished the night with a 21-point victory.

This team played with confidence. With hunger. With a chip on it shoulder. With strong shooting (65.3 eFG%), ball sharing (24 assists on 33 baskets) and defense. Three wins. Zero losses. On to the next one.

THERE’S CHRISTIAN

Watford failed to shoot well in Indiana’s first two games coming off injury, but Crean told the media after Sunday’s Chattanooga game he wasn’t worried.

And tonight, he came through for his coach. Watford got into the action early with two scores around the rim and also hit a couple threes. For the evening, the Alabama native finished with 15 points (5-of-7, 2-of-3 from three) and eight boards.

Another game, another guy stepping up and shooting lights out for the Hoosiers.

III

Jones hasn’t gotten enough love in this space. But he’s a big reason why the Hoosiers’ offense has looked strong this season. He’s not forcing the issue or doing more than he has to. And he’s finding the open man time and again. The senior dished out a team-high seven assists tonight to go along with a team-high 17 points, which was aided by a perfect 4-of-4 mark from beyond the arc.

SCATTERED THOUGHTS …

+ Hulls continues to shoot with efficiency (5-of-7, 2-of-3 from three for 14 points) and it was nice to see him taking it to the rack for some easy buckets when it was there for him this evening.

+ The Hoosiers didn’t struggle to get Zeller involved tonight (14 points on 6-of-7 shooting, nine boards), and he even seemed a bit more assertive himself, dunking with authority on a few occasions and showing off a nice score with his left hand in the first half. You wonder if he had a little more energy playing just 45 minutes away from Washington with what was reportedly a strong contingent of hometown fans — including his mom and dad — making the trip to see him.

+ Too early to start discussing this team’s ceiling? Anyone at least locating their dancing shoes at this juncture?

Tags: Evansville Purple Aces

stonaroni

I have been waiting for 3 years to see our offense take shape, sure we have been able to score, but the first half was beautiful. Zeller was involved and the spacing and ball movement was outstanding. Passing, not dribbling is what creates defensive movement and open shots.

The Good:

+Watford was very solid tonight
+VJIII was shooting well but loved the 7 assists and passing more
+CZ seemed better on defensive positioning
+DE is looking very solid coming off the bench and is not getting lost as he has at times in past
+Our athleticism is Top 20 caliber now, I like the way we push the ball up the floor
+This team is showing the ability to extend leads and put the opponents away
+There is an energy with these guys, I think the preseason 9th place Big 10 prediction only works in our favor.

The Concerns:

+3 pt D seemed to fade in second half
+ Remy and AE need Moore’s 11 minutes and Roth’s 6 minutes last night; Moore and Roth are not helping us win a championship, Remy and AE will be here when we do, get them experience
+CZ was not aa focal point like he was in the first half, I believe he had 10 pts at half.
stonaroni

If the shooting fades, he is still finding rebounds. I am liking what I see, and I think he can be solid backing up CZ and CW in the post.
Anonymous

Didn’t see the game either and the first thing that went through my mind was “that has to be a misprint”. I had such a hard time believing it that I read through most of the cover it live part just to see if it was a misprint.
Anonymous

Moore is giving us fewer fouls and turnovers this year; so far I’m more comfortable seeing him in the game than Abell. Certainly Abell has more potential than Moore, but until that turns into results, I’ll take Moore. Regarding Pritchard, I have to think that he’ll be needed when we have to guard the gorillas inside during the Big Ten season; hopefully he’ll step up his game like the others have.
stonaroni

Kelin, I agree with the “pick your poison” analysis. I was thinking the same thing watching the game last night. Now that we have a post presence, if a team wants to shut that down, we have shooters, and CZcan find them. If they want to defend the perimeter, CZ is an efficient big man with a good skill set who can hurt you. If a team wants to grind it out, we are extremely athletic in the half court game. If a team wants to push the tempo, we have acrobats like VO and WS and one of the faster big men in the country, and assassin like shooters like Hulls.

I am not going to be too bold here, but I predicted before the season started that this team could win 21 games. We now have a team that can beat some good teams especially when the opponent is having an average night.

Michigan ST is beatable, Purdue is not deep at all, Wisconsin plays so slow we may be able to force our will on them. Michigan is always streaky and Ohio St has a few chinks in their armor as well.
Forrrr the Hoooooosiers

I don’t know if I can agree with ‘Top 20′ athleticism. Yes we are more athletic than we have been in the past, having CZ in the post and an improved VO and WS, but we still have 3 starters who have below average athleticism in the B1G.

We are definitely looking improved over last year, no doubt about it, but remember we went 6-0 against the cupcakes last year as well. I think next Sunday’s match up against Butler will be very telling of the type of team we can expect to see during league play.
Anonymous

I don’t understand why everybody is so down on DM and MR and clamoring so much for AE and RE. DM had 4 assists and 0 turnovers. MR is a great shooter, although I think AE is just as good and probably better. RE’s still a little raw offensively and AE needs to stop fouling on d (2 fouls in 4 minutes).

With IU blowing teams out and playing so well lately, there’s no need to rush AE or RE along quickly, even though RE has as many points as MR with more playing time on the season.
CreamandCrimson

This wasn’t on the Big Ten Network. Blame ESPN. The Missouri Valley Conference had the rights to this game and they have a contract with ESPN. Per their contract with ESPN, the MVC has no control over what platform ESPN decides to put their games on. ESPN chose to broadcast this one on ESPN3 instead of ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU. BTN makes mistakes but this one is on ESPN.
Anonymous

WOW! What a good game for IU. But the stat sheet still shows some problems. Ryan, Holmes and Harris, Evansville’s top 3-point gunners were 6/9 (66.7%) on threes (yes I know some were during “garbage time” but each second on the floor counts). More importantly, a team with no player over 6’8 and most around 6’5, got 38 rebounds to IU’s 39. Defense, Defense and Rebounding, Rebounding! This team is good on offense and 24 assists on 33 made baskets is great!
Anonymous

If you notice it is an 8 man rotation with Danny Moore getting around 10 quality minutes. He continues to play well. Now if Pritchard can up his game to become a beast in rebounding and defense for 10 minutes, Indiana will have great depth. Cody has been whistled for 4 fouls/game in the last two games. We need Pritch to play well when he is called upon.
Anonymous

Both Remy and Austin are in that part of the freshman year when they are slow and not aggressive enough because they have to think about what they need to do and worry about their mistakes. Each can play and will get better. They just need some time to get there.
Anonymous

I like the “think only of the next game” approach that Coach Crean and this team have adopted!
Anonymous

Very Interesting for our NCAA hopes!
JohnFromBeyond

One thing that makes this team so fun to watch is the balanced attack. Last year we never had more than 3 scorers on the court at once, and had no inside game. This year we have 5 scorers and can go inside or outside. The opponents can’t key on one aspect, and can’t leave anyone open.

We are finally a TEAM!
Anonymous

I think that is about right right now. But each team will grow during the season.
Anonymous

I agree!
So_Cal_Hoosier

You can watch replays of the game on ESPN3.. It’s just like having it on DVR
Anonymous

Actually I thought that Watch ESPN wa light-years better than the Big 10 digital fiasco. The commentary was pretty good.
Anonymous

It does not suck. It’s role is to expand the offering of games that are not carried on the networks so some fans can follow their teams. They did that well last night.
Anonymous

Good points.
Anonymous

Now that would be “life sucks”! Which everyone agrees with!
Anonymous

Very good point!
Anonymous

Yes, but at Duke and UNC the faculty can take some pride, at KY not so much.
Anonymous

If you did not read it on this site, then please do not try to comment on unspecified rumors. I have not read any comments like that on ITH.
Anonymous

I guess what I’m getting at is if we still had ESPN+ instead of BTN, I would have been able to watch the game on t.v. I really don’t consider the broadcast of this game as a mistake, because while the quality wasn’t tremendous, it was good enough to watch and enjoy, and the commentary was better than almost any game televised on BTN — this of course doesn’t count Gus Johnson games. Anyway, IU played great in this game. I hope they can keep up this game-to-game improvement. This was their best outing this year IMO.
Anonymous

Actually I think that he plays too close to the baseline, he needs to step back so he can move and shoot without leaning back into play with no ability to explode up.
Anonymous

Which is great, but remember when you could see EVERY IU game on t.v. – including the Athletes In Action games?
Anonymous

Every time you pass one test, another looms before you. That is called progressing to a higher level. The goals are a top 5 or better finish in the Big 10 and playing in the NCAA with 20+ regular season wins!
Anonymous

I agree with your excellent points.
Anonymous

Right now Pritchard does not have a role on this team. He needs to become a rebounding and defensive beast good for 10 minutes/game. So far he is “missing in action”.
Anonymous

He played very well and I will shut up about him not having 3-point range after 4-4 on the road!
Anonymous

best game I have seen from him too, especially in the context of not forcing anything, getting teammates involved, and letting the offense come to him. I really liked the starting lineup; they set the tone from the beginning
Anonymous

i don’t see pritch playing near as much as last year, but he will see plenty of important minutes. He is still going to be depended on a lot when he is on the court
Anonymous

That is exactly what I read in an article that was on the Indy Star website. There was also one or two people, who claimed to be in the know about these types of things, saying in the comment section that it still could have been shown on some other station but that whatever station decided to show it would have to fork out some money. I know this came from an unnamed source and in a comment section so I called a good friend of mine that is very knowledgeable in this type of stuff and he said that that was correct and it was just a matter of whether or not the station that showed it was willing to put out the amount of money it would take to do it. Said he had not read the contract but he would be very surprised if he was wrong cause it created a situation where they could still show it like they did and make money plus make even more money by charging someone else to air it. He also said ESPN airs certain games, in certain markets, this way knowing that their will be a large outcry by the fans thus increasing their chances that some other station will put out the money and show it.

ESPN screwing over fans to try to make a extra dollar or two ? That just doesn’t sound like them DWS
Anonymous

i watched the whole game as a “replay” well after the game was already over. I had no problems at all — I could rewind and fast forward with ease.
Joe B

This comment was so good Eamonn used it for his ESPN blog on the Hoosiers.. he just can’t stay away from his old stomping ground haha
INUnivHoosier

I’ll blame BTN. Instead of showing Women’s Volleyball on both HD channels, they could have had IU v Eville on one and the ladies on the other. I’m not saying that Women’s Volleyball should be pushed aside for IU Men’s Basketball, but… actually, yes I am.
http://www.insidethehall.com/ Alex Bozich

BTN doesn’t control the rights to non-conference away games.
INUnivHoosier

I should have read this before my previous comment. Mea culpa.
Michael Jay

As hard as it is for me to say it, the Purdue announcers were very good, and profuse in their praise of Indiana. Would trade 6 Laskowski’s for one of them to do color on our games. Their best line –”Kentucky has more NBA players than some NBA teams.”
Anonymous

best fundamental TEAM performance I have seen in quite a long time
Anonymous

I’ve been plenty critical in the past, but don’t have much after this game. All around great game. I enjoyed watching the starting five play for over 7 minutes starting the game – they set a tone that echoed the whole game. IU appeared bigger and faster and Evansville was just outmatched in this game. They could not stop IU on offense at all – not even close. They looked like they prepared perfectly for this game and executed it from the beginning to the end for the most part.

Great game to watch!
11th and Done (Dunn)

Dude! Your comment made espn! Is this an ITH first?
Knucklledrager

I watched it through “XBOX” gold, but it said replays were .99$. Which it was worth it.
IUJeff

Ramblings.

Game was fun to watch in between my pc locking up 6 times.

Zeller is very polished for a frosh and has great composure. I loved the elbow all up under the chin during the wrestling match.

Guess I have to take back what I said about VJ and CWAT should not be shooting 3′s..

I am hoping to see a break out game from Austin soon and was hoping Remy would be a really stong dribble driver right away. Looks like we have enough scorers though.

I think we are at least + 10 points from last year for sure due to better D, player development, the return of DE, the addition VJ IIII, and the addition of CZ.

Given that we lost 11 games by 10 points or less last year and were 12 – 18, this year we are a 21 win team and CTC is coach of the year.

All IMVHUO (in my very humble and un-scientific opinion).
IUJeff

23 win team…
Anonymous

THE PURPLE ACES LOOKED GOOD AGAINST BUTLER,BUT INDIANA’S TERRIBLE TEN TOOK CARE OF THEM VERY EASY
Bleeding Crimson

Call the Ticketman (Randy) 812.336.5906 or go on ETAtickets.com
stonaroni

I am just thinking about the future and want all facets of the team to be solid and have experience.

Moore hustles, I love his energy, but this isn’t the MAC or Horizon, this is the Big 10. So he looks ok against the cupcakes, but he gets exploited by bigger and better teams. And, on most nights, he gives up as much points defensively as what he is responsible for on offense.

Roth is a good shooter when he has an open 3. He cannot create a shot, cannot rebound and cannot defend against anyone in the Big 10.

I call for AE and remy because they are taller and have better bodies and better talent already. I feel that CTC should play the future now. I appreciate the dedication of Roth, Moore, and TP but now is the time to turn the page and start playing for the future. AE and Remy are part of the future.

And, If VO or WS get hurt this year we will need the 2 FR to fill that space, not Roth and Moore.
Aceman_Mujezinovic_07

I agree loop! I was happy with WatchESPN and the game was pretty well commentated for an online feed. I sure do miss the days when all games were broadcast on channel 4/29 with Laz and Kitch commentating!!!

The Minute After: Evansville

ITH on Twitter

Resources

Recruiting

Comments