“Matt Roth, I would doubt very much that we’re going to be able to use him this season in the sense of him being able to recover right now. It’s been a slow process. It was a process that was moving in a good direction, but at the same time, it’s maybe kind of run its course so I’m not sure we’re going to be able to use him.”

“I think it’s pretty probable it’s going to happen right now (a medical redshirt), because that was the plan all along if he couldn’t play. I would say that it’s right there. I don’t think at this point it looks like he’s going to be cleared to play, so we’re just going to leave it where it is. I’m just going based on what I know.”

Some quotes from coach Tom Crean on his radio show last evening:

We’re getting closer to decision time,” Crean said on his radio show Monday night. “He’s ahead of schedule, what that totally means, we’re getting closer to finding out.”

“We’d really like him back,” Crean said. “And the thing about Matt is not only can he shoot it, but Matt moves the basketball. When that ball stops, and that thought gets out ‘lets see if I have a play before I make the next pass.’ That’s the stuff we’ve gotta go through, and it drives me nuts.”

If you remember back when the injury occurred in Puerto Rico, Crean did indicate that if Roth was still unable to play in February, the team wouldn’t bring him back aboard; instead they’d apply for a medical hardship and give Roth another year of eligibility.

We’re about at the breaking point here: Roth may be ahead of schedule, but if he’s still not good to go very soon, it’s likely he won’t play this season.

But let’s not reach that conclusion just yet. Let’s talk about where Roth fits in with this current incarnation of the Hoosiers. Roth is certainly no NBA talent, but he’s also a guy that can hit the outside shot like few others on this team. When he’s hot, he’s hot. It takes some serious shooting talent to be able to knock down nine threes — tied for an IU record — as a freshman. So where I see him fitting in sans Mo Creek is another option for IU in the corners or out on the wings to knock down treys. Think of him as a Jordan Hulls type, except without the point guard skills. I’m not sure his presence in Crean’s system allows this Hoosiers team another win or two, but who knows: when IU failed to hit a three against Iowa, a hot Roth could have been there to keep it closer at the end of that game. And if Crean is pointing out his passing value as well, he’d probably see some decent minutes off the bench this season.

If I had my druthers, I’d say it’s probably best to get Roth a redshirt season here, and use his shooting prowess down the road when IU is battling to get in the NCAA Tournament. No reason to rush him back now. Though, this decision could muddy up the scholarship situation at some point down the road.

So what say you ITH’ers? Would you want a bump from Matt Roth in the back half of the Big Ten season? Or would you prefer him not to burn a year of eligibility?

“It actually happened the first practice there. We started out with some two-hand rebounding and then we went to some one-on-one rebounding and that’s where he got hurt. He just got tangled and none of us knew it at the time. I don’t even remember him falling. But I remember him being in the drill and it was one those, we’re starting to get after it drills. And the way he described it is, he just got tangled up and his ankle didn’t move. Tim (Garl) was pretty sure and then Dr. Rink and Dr. Ahlfeld got there shortly after that to the practice and took him in to be x-rayed. It’s been confirmed that he’s got a fifth metatarsal break and he’s going to have surgery on Wednesday”

“And so, it hurts us. He’s made a ton of strides, he’s gained over 20 pounds and if you would have told me he’d had more two-point baskets in two games than three-point baskets I wouldn’t have believed it. You know, there’s no question that’s a guy that really, really spaces the floor and understands the angles and is a smart young man. What we’ll do is, he’ll have the surgery now, this got determined last night. And then we’ll just read it. He’ll rehab and try to come back in the sense of let’s see what happens this year. But if gets into that early February time or gets even into January and he doesn’t want to try I would never make him do that. I want him to do what’s best for his career. Now if its early January then I think there’s a decision to make and now maybe he’s right there back for the Big Ten. But if it gets into February, we don’t want him to burn his year.”

Hoosier Hysteria is on the horizon and it’s time for Inside the Hall’s player-by-player breakdown of the 2009-2010 Indiana Hoosiers. Today: Matt Roth.

When Matt Roth signed a Letter of Intent with Indiana, former coach Kelvin Sampson compared his shooting ability to Lee Humphrey, a catalyst in Florida’s back-to-back national championships. The comparison was a high billing considering Humphrey is the all-time leader in three-pointers made in the NCAA Tournament. The Washington (IL) native showed flashes of shooting brilliance as a freshman, but for the most part, he was a one-dimensional threat who lived and died by the three-pointer.

Roth attempted 174 shots in 2008-2009 and 153 came from behind the arc. While many considered Devan Dumes to be IU’s streakiest shooter, Roth was actually less effective than Dumes in shooting the basketball. If you throw out his extraordinary performance against Ohio State where he connected on 9 of 11 attempts, his three-point percentage checked in at just 34 percent.

So where does Roth fit in as a sophomore? That will be largely dependent on his improvement during the off-season. There is playing time on any team for a shooter, but IU has added a shooter in Maurice Creek. Roth will need to show that he can occasionally operate off the dribble, defend much better, contribute on the glass and hit open shots to consistently see the floor. One thing that he’s reportedly changed is his body: Tom Crean said on Thursday that he’s gained 20 pounds since last season.

Bottom Line: The good news for Roth heading into the season is that Crean is speaking highly of his progress over the summer. His experience should help him when minutes are divvied up in November, but beyond that, he’ll need to bring something other than just standing outside and waiting for an opening. Improvement on defense is probably his best bet to regular playing time in an ultra-competitive backcourt.

Quotable: “Matt has a quicker release, and he is trying to do more than just shoot threes. We’re actually trying to get him to move his range in, so that he has a quicker release and at points in time can break you down off of a shot-fake. He is trying to get to the offensive boards.“ – Crean on Roth.

Roth catches fire against Ohio State:

Indiana (6-18, 1-11 Big Ten) hit just 11 of 24 free throws and fell 65-52 to Illinois on Sunday afternoon in front of the first sellout crowd this season at Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers are shooting just 65 percent from the foul line this season, including 66 percent in Big Ten play.

After trailing 36-15 late in the first half, Indiana closed to within six at 54-48 with 6:27 remaining on a coast to coast layup by Malik Story. But the Illini (21-5, 9-4) immediately answered with a 3-pointer by Chester Frazier and Indiana never got closer than eight the rest of the way.

“We gave ourselves some chances at the end, but really, the way we played in the first half didn’t give us enough,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said. “Give them credit. They made enough plays and they went up to the free throw line and made the free throws.”

The loss set a school record for losses in a season (18) and tied a school record for Big Ten losses (11), a mark IU will almost certainly eclipse with six conference games remaining.

Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale scored 16 points apiece for Illinois, which won its third straight and remained in position to challenge Michigan State for the Big Ten title. The Illini are two games back and have a chance to make up one of those games in a March 1 meeting in Champaign with the Spartans.

Matt Roth was the only Hoosier in double figures with 13 points on 4 of 7 shooting. Verdell Jones III and Malik Story added nine points each and Nick Williams chipped in eight. Indiana was out-rebounded 37-27 and shot just 27 percent in the first half.

Up next: IU will host Wisconsin Thursday night at 9PM EST. The game will be broadcast on either ESPN or ESPN2.

Dumes still suspended; status unclear going forward: Devan Dumes served the second game of his indefinite suspension for his actions in the Michigan State game on February 7. No timetable for his return has been announced. “As far as Dumes’ situation, this is still very much a basketball issue. It’s nothing other than that. And so please don’t read into it that it is. This is a multiple incident type of thing over a couple of different games. I’ve been in consultation with the commissioner (Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney), I’ve been in consultation certainly with AD Fred Glass and pretty much that’s it,” Crean said. And then added: “Every day is a different day, but I’m fully ready for him to be back with us and that’s what I’m looking forward to.”

Crean not happy with free throw question: An unidentified student reporter, presumably from Illinois, asked Crean about the team’s free throw shooting and didn’t get the response he was looking for. The question was, “Coach, under 50 percent for free throws, do you emphasize that?” Crean’s response: “No, I don’t emphasize it. What kind of question is that? Come on now, seriously. I don’t mean to be a jerk here, but come on now. You think we don’t shoot free throws? Nobody’s up there trying to miss a free throw. Yes we emphasize it, we have to get better at it.”

No love for Bruce: Chants of “Shut up Weber” could be heard throughout the day in Assembly Hall as Indiana fans voiced their displeasure towards the Illinois coach over his behavior following Eric Gordon’s commitment to IU.

• Box score

THE GOOD:

The second half. During their first matchup, Illinois was one of the teams this year that IU was never in the game against. At halftime, it sure looked like that was going to be the case again this afternoon. But, as we’ve seen so many times this season, IU did not quit. The Hoosiers did not give up. They fought. And though they never seriously threatened to win this game — six was as close as they got — they showed some amazing resolve in front of a packed crowd at home. Crawling back from a 21-point deficit to come as close as six is never an easy thing.

It was a combination of two things: IU shot 57 percent in the second half, and as Greg Anthony alluded to, IU switched up to a triangle and two on the defensive end, which slowed the Illini down a bit. Oh, also: Illinois stopped blocking all our shots.

Individually, Matt Roth continues to show no fear, as he went for 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting.

THE BAD AND UGLY:

Free throws. IU lost this game by 13 points. They missed 13 free throws. If they make half of those that they missed — in the six or seven range — the Hoosiers are in better shape the last few minutes of the game. And if they made them all, or close to them all, who knows?

The first half. I’m trying to block that out my memory of it, so I will just say one thing: It was bad. Real bad.

For the game, IU only turned the ball over 13 times.

Thankfully though, the Big Ten Network brought him on  “Big Ten Tonight” to talk about it one more time. Watch as he answers what it feels like to “be in the zone” and how he should “do a temperature check” before tomorrow night’s game. Yippee.

The Hoosiers (5-15, 0-8 Big Ten) haven’t won since December 10 against TCU and Saturday’s 11th straight loss tied a record set by the 1943-1944 team.

“We knew it was a matter of time with him,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said of Roth. “He has been spending so much more time in the gym on his own. He is an excellent shooter and sometimes when you’re really good at something you can take it for granted once in awhile. He hasn’t done that.”

Roth finished with 29 points on 9 of 11 shooting from behind the arc and two free throws, but his remarkable display was overshadowed by Indiana’s inability to contain Evan Turner, William Buford and Jon Diebler.

“It’s really a hard situation there because they have so many guys that can score,” Crean said. “Like I said, they have four perimeter (players). I think you can make a case for this throughout the country but Turner is hard a matchup as there is.”

Turner scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Buford added 24 and Diebler 21. The Buckeyes (15-5, 5-4) shot 63 percent, including 10 of 17 3-pointers, and hit 25 of 30 free throws.

Besides Roth, two other Hoosiers reached double figures: Devan Dumes (13) and Nick Williams (11). Indiana shot 47 percent and hit 12 of 18 free throws.

Up next: The Hoosiers host Iowa on Wednesday night at 6:30 PM ET on the Big Ten Network.

Record tying performance: Roth’s nine 3-pointers made tied the mark set by Roderick Wilmont on February 28, 2007 at Northwestern.

• Box score
• Quotes
• Crean audio
• Roth audio
• Williams audio