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11-0 start has merit, but work remains for Indiana

by in Commentary | December 20th, 2011

Do you remember the last Indiana team to start a season 11-0? Some of you may. Others, like myself, were not alive to witness it.

The answer is the 1975-76 national championship team — also the last team in college basketball to finish undefeated.

This year’s group of Hoosiers matched the feat last night with a 107-50 clubbing of Howard. An IU victory on Thursday against the University of Maryland — Baltimore County, which KenPom puts at a 99% probability, will match last season’s win total before conference play begins.

This is a start no one, save for the most extreme optimist, saw coming.

The Hoosiers are winning in a manner that suggests the turnaround in Bloomington has arrived a year earlier than expected. The only movement on this team’s mind is into the top 15.

The first sign was a blowout win at Evansville, which was just the second true road win in Tom Crean era. Indiana shot the lights out and their effective field goal percentage has remained in the top ten nationally ever since.

Up next was a grind-it-out statement win over two-time defending national runner-up Butler. Those suggesting Crean could be replaced by Brad Stevens at season’s end received their first call to silence.

IU backed that up with an 11-point win at North Carolina State after trailing by seven late in the second half. This was a game that teams in previous seasons wouldn’t have fought back and won. It also provoked a few votes in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Top 25 Poll.

Still, some asked, who has Indiana beaten?

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Howard notebook: Hulls automatic from 3 — even with his left hand

by in Media | December 20th, 2011

Indiana shot the ball so well in the first half Monday night against Howard, it seemed as if everything the Hoosiers threw up was going to go in.

The No. 17 Hoosiers (11-0) made nine 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes of their 107-50 win, capped by Jordan Hulls’ fourth of the half with 49 seconds left. The fact that Hulls connected on a three was not a surprise. The way in which he did it, however, was certainly unorthodox.

With the shot clock running down, Hulls dribbled hard to his left. When he was unable to get past his defender, the right-handed junior shot and made a left-handed 3-pointer while still on the move.

Will Sheehey called it “the best 3-pointer I’ve ever seen.”

“That’s pretty impressive,” said Indiana coach Tom Crean. “His teammates and the coaches see him do that a lot, especially when he comes out and warms up or when he’s just shooting after practice or before practice. But he’s very gifted with both hands. I don’t think he would have taken it that way if he didn’t feel like he could make it.”

Hulls finished with a game-high 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. He’s shooting 24-of-41 from three for 58.5 percent, the fourth highest mark in the country.

As a team, the Hoosiers hit 11 3-pointers on 20 attempts with seven players making at least one.

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Podcast on the Brink: Don Fischer

by in Podcast on the Brink | December 20th, 2011

Podcast On The Brink returns this week with a visit from legendary play-by-play announcer Don Fischer to discuss Indiana’s 11-0 start and his call of IU’s buzzer-beating victory over top-ranked Kentucky.

Fischer, who is in his 39th year as the “Voice of the Hoosiers,” gives his take on IU’s turnaround season as well as what its been like to cover the Hoosiers this season in comparison to the recent past. Fischer also gives an inside look into his call of Christian Watford’s game-winning three and talks about where the moment ranks personally in games he’s called over the years.

“The Voice” also compares Cody Zeller to Kent Benson and explains why the freshman might be ahead of the curve compared to the former great. Fischer goes into detail on why Zeller is so effective and points out other players who have been instrumental to IU’s success this season.

So tune in and enjoy. As always, feel free to drop us a note at podcastonthebrink@gmail.com.

Listen in the embedded media player below, download the episode, subscribe via iTunes or subscribe to the RSS feed.

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HD Video: Tom Crean on Howard win

by in Video | December 19th, 2011

Tom Crean met with the media following Indiana’s 107-50 drubbing of Howard on Monday evening at Assembly Hall. Watch and listen to his comments in high-definition video in the embedded player below:

HD Video: Jones, Sheehey and Watford on Howard win

by in Video | December 19th, 2011

Christian Watford, Verdell Jones and Will Sheehey met with the media following Indiana’s 107-50 win against Howard on Monday evening at Assembly Hall. Watch and listen to the entire press conference in the embedded player below:

The Minute After: Howard

by in The Minute After | December 19th, 2011

Thoughts on a 107-50 win over the Bison:

Jordan Hulls hits a flailing left-handed three as the shot clock expires, and it’s just that kind of the night for the Hoosiers — one where eveything seemed to be going in the bucket.

Consider these numbers from the first half: Indiana scored 1.53 points per possession, registered  an effective field goal percentage of 85.7 and assisted on 14 of its 18 buckets, nine of which were threes (9-of-14). Things slowed a bit in the second half. But for the game, Indiana still put up some silly numbers: a season-high eFG% of 77.9 (75.0 percent on twos, 55.0 percent on threes), a free throw rate of 71.2 and 27 assists on 35 field goals. It also scored 1.45 points per possession for the contest, its highest mark in the Tom Crean era, according to Big Ten Geeks.

By the time Indiana got up 50ish midway through the second half, Crean started using the game as a glorified scrimmage, as the Hoosiers worked on a seldom-used 1-3-1 zone with most of his starters still on the court. As the final minutes waned, Indiana was even getting scoring from deep in the bench. Raphael Smith hit two free throws; Kory Barnett made a three. And despite going over the century mark, this was an incredibly balanced attack, as six Hoosiers scored 10 or more points (Hulls with 16, Verdell Jones, Cody Zeller and Will Sheehey with 12, Christian Watford and Victor Oladipo with 10).

Indiana was a heavy favorite in this one from the onset. (The line was 28.5 points.) Still, a performance this dominant and efficient speaks to how well this team continues to play together on offense, and it’s yet another strong step on their path up this season’s mountain.

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