Indiana BEATS Purdue! Also, More Thoughts on the Next IUBB Head Coach [341]

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Are the Hoosiers playing their best basketball of the season right now? It certainly seems like it, as IU finished off a stretch of 11 straight Quad-I games with an inspiring win over rivals Purdue.
Nithin and Matt give their reactions to the win and how it impacts IU's March Madness case. The guys also dive into the IUBB head coaching search and what factors need to be considered before officially making their decision.
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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
Folks, this season kind of looked dead. A few weeks ago,
it kind of looked dead. Indiana was suffering blowout losses.
Seems like Illinois and Iowa and Scott Dolson announced ay,
you would have a new voice to lead the men's
team starting next season. But all of a sudden, the

(00:29):
Hoosiers showing a little bit of response, showing a little
bit of toughness and resilience. A close home loss to Michigan,
a big road win at Michigan stayed, a close home
loss to UCLA, and then a big time second half

(00:49):
that will go down in the memory books. Folks, as
Indiana overcomes a twelve point deficit at halftime to win
by fifty against number thirteen Perdue, are you kidding you out?

Speaker 2 (01:07):
You don't like that? You don't like Mike woitson best.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
I don't know if I'm a fan of Mike wins,
but you know what, I'm a fan of double digit
wins over Purdue. I use seventy three Perdue fifty eight.
The hooteris goal plus twenty seven in the second half.
Matt and I are going to talk about our immediate
reactions to the win over Purdue. Give our thoughts here

(01:30):
on the IU men's basketball head coach opening. As we
continue to progress closer and closer to finding the next
guy to run this program, talk a little a little
bit about this Penn State game on Wednesday, and see
if the Hoogiers can string together a couple of consecutive
home wins, and so much more here on episode three
forty one of The Hoosier Sound, where we are the

(01:53):
official podcast of Indiana HQ. We were recording this edition
of The Hoosier Sound on Monday, February twenty fourth, twenty
twenty five. I'm your host, Nathan Christian. Here with me
is my normal co host, Matt Lukens. Matt, it's our
first double digit win over Produce since the Tom Crean era.

(02:15):
It's our first double digit win over a Quad one
team in two seasons, and Indiana was down twelve at halftime.

Speaker 2 (02:23):
I don't know. I don't know.

Speaker 1 (02:26):
I cannot explain those two hours. I can't explain college basketball, frankly,
what are your initial thoughts on IU's fifteen point win
over rivals Purdue.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
Well one, I'll fully admit it. I went to bed
last night because this game happened at three am. For me,
I went to bed last night thinking, you know, it's
gonna be another close. It's an IU perdue game. It's
gonna be close. Even when we're bad and they're good.
It's it's still it's a rivalry game. It's always pretty close,

(02:58):
Like it's this in assembly hall. It should be a
good game, but there's no way I you wins this.
And I wake up this morning to about twenty five
tests for people.

Speaker 1 (03:10):
Yeah, I was responsible.

Speaker 2 (03:11):
From from you're responsible for a couple, but I had
I had like half my phone list as texting being
like did you see that?

Speaker 1 (03:22):
Well?

Speaker 2 (03:22):
Did you see how they play? In the second elisod?

Speaker 1 (03:24):
My?

Speaker 3 (03:24):
All right?

Speaker 2 (03:24):
I hold up. I climb out of bed because I
don't have work today. I climb out of bed, I
roll my beds right here, I roll over here to
my computer, and I I recorded the game because I
always I always watch the games and recording even if
i'm if I miss it or even if if I
watch it, I recorded to watch it back in the
game because I know I'm I want to be able
to talk about the game. It's in pretty good detail

(03:45):
for you guys, So I roll over here it out.
I watched the game and it was I'm sitting there
and and and it's halftime, and I'm like, how did
we win this game? Like am I getting pranks? Like
I excuse me? Like they're playing that the last twelve
minutes of the first half, they played terrible basketball, and
I'm sitting there, I'm like, there's there's just no way.

(04:08):
And then they come out with their ass on fire
and in the second half and they just took it
to Purdue. They they wanted it more. They were more physical,
both inside and you know, inside the paint. Whether it
was renewed down there, or it was.

Speaker 4 (04:27):
Ballo who had some fantastic plays and fantastic catches on
the inside in that second half, or it was our
guards on.

Speaker 2 (04:37):
The outside, it was Anthony Leal getting physical, maybe sometimes
a little bit too physical. Yeah, we did doligible with there.
But you know, it was Miles Rice who had i
think his best half by far of the season. He
was getting down Haley's getting penetration, he was he was

(04:57):
kicking out shooters, he was he was able to shoot
him self. And then also he was playing really really
just really inspired defense.

Speaker 1 (05:08):
The different intensity, there was a difference.

Speaker 2 (05:11):
There wasn't on a canon or Canaan Carlisle minutes. There
wasn't like Canon Carlo mints in the second half. There
wasn't a lot of Embaco minutes in the second half.
There wasn't a lot of too big line up in
the second half. No Bryson Tucker, no Bryson Tucker in
the second half, and the team played its best basketball.

(05:32):
I think I've seen them play all season in that
second half. And to be fair, call me a little
bit of a hater, but I'm not sure if that
was Indiana playing well or Purdue being bad, or maybe
a combination of both. I'm want to tip my cap
to IU, but I what I was gonna say. I

(05:53):
think it was IU playing well and perdue being in
a bit of a slump, like they've they've lost now
four games in a row. Like, let's not hid our
starts here. We got up with the right time.

Speaker 1 (06:06):
But yep.

Speaker 2 (06:07):
Also, Purdue is still a very capable team. So like,
this is terrible analysis, but I win over will bounce back. Also,
any win over Purdue I will take in any sport
at any time, obviously, because you know Puckford.

Speaker 1 (06:24):
Yeah, yeah, Well now that's a good question though, Like,
is it more Indiana playing well, Purdue playing poorly. Purdue
looked a little tired in the second half. To be fair,
they have had a pretty tough stretch of competition here,
but a lot of Big Ten teams have had that too.
I will tip my cap to Ieu there because like
after halftime, they came out and they had a different

(06:45):
sense of purpose and a different level of intensity, which
again raises questions about why that wasn't there from the start.
But look, end of the day.

Speaker 2 (06:56):
You know, I think it was. They came out to
start pretty well. That's true. That right there was that
loll like I was saying, Purdue made a run, made
a run and then ran away with it right at
the end.

Speaker 1 (07:11):
Yeah, yeah, and you know, and that's that's I'm gonna
tip my cap to the coaching staff, to the players,
I'll be honest. Since Dolson announced Woodson's retirement, and I'm
phrasing that specifically, uh, Woodson has.

Speaker 2 (07:29):
Kind of cooked.

Speaker 1 (07:31):
Like a lot of people aren't gonna want to hear this,
but I don't really care. Like the occasional zone defense
and especially the extended zone defense to get a gigantic
Quad one road win at Michigan State, yeah, U c.

Speaker 2 (07:49):
L A was a bit of a stressful thing.

Speaker 1 (07:51):
But you know Mbaco got injured in the first half
after he started the game well, and you know Mbaco
is a streaky player, more than almost anyone in the
count Tree frankly and well against Perdue, he got off
to a rough first half and Woodson said, no, man,
like this ain't for you. In the second half, you
know this, this ain't your game, and I'm gonna run

(08:13):
with Rice in Galloway. And remember, you know, Woodson didn't
play Leal or Goodie for extended minutes. He didn't start
Leal and Goodie for a long time until recently, and
he put both in the starting lineup and having them
both begin the game has been very vital in getting
that road win against Michigan State, finishing Perdue off not

(08:34):
just by winning against Perdue, but winning by double digits,
which matters a lot in this net ranking era. And
then you know, I look up and down and I
see I see this team, and I'm like, you know,
you don't have to play your best basketball in December
and January.

Speaker 2 (08:55):
You don't.

Speaker 1 (08:56):
No, Now, you also don't want to lose by thirty
points to Louisville in Iowa, among others, double digits to
Nebraska thirty thirty by thirty to Illinois, which looks worse
and worse as the season goes out, nasty losses. But
at the same time, you don't have to play your

(09:17):
best basketball in December and January. And so I do
see this team coming together a little bit more. I
see the coaching staff pushing the right buttons a little
bit more, and I know we're going to have a
completely new voice in a month. But you know what,
finish this year strong to the best of your ability.

(09:38):
Because I am curious as a fan, which guys want
to stick around next season. Which guys can a new
coach look at and say, hey, Miles Rice, you can
take a step forward going into next year. Hey, Bryce
and Tucker, look at what Anthony Leal is doing on defense.
See if you can replicate some of that next year.
Malik renewed, I understand you were injured in January, but

(10:03):
when you're healthy, you look like you're an automatic fourteen
and seven. And then you know, when you play well
against Perdue, you go for a perfect seven to seven
from the field and score fifteen if you just cut
down the fouls a little bit. You could reach another
level in your play. And I don't know, like I
don't know what the next coach is gonna think of
this team, but you have a very legitimate chance. It's

(10:27):
securing a March Madness at Large bid with like four
more good performances and two more wins, like as long
as Indiana doesn't get their doors blown off of them
by Oregon and Eugene, or by Washington in Seattle, or
by Ohio State and Bloomington, or by Penn State and Bloomington.
Like if you play four good games and you win

(10:48):
two maybe three, like you are firmly in the discussion
this year. Previous year is maybe not. You are definitely
in the discussion this year. And so seeing Indiana not
just win against Purdue but with margin was wonderful. Was
absolutely wonderful to see. Matt. I have to really, really,
really really really emphasize how unbelievably important Anthony lel has

(11:13):
been to this team, especially this recent surge here over
the last several games. I know Indiana has won all
of these, but you definitely go back and think about
a close a close loss to Maryland, a close loss
to Purdue and Mackie. Of course, you respond in Bloomington
with the double digit win over Purdue in Assembly Hall,
but Anthony Lele and Lou Goody have both been integral

(11:36):
in helping the Hoosiers.

Speaker 2 (11:38):
Find another level this year.

Speaker 1 (11:41):
Lele is a perfect example of a guy who can
impact the game in so many ways without having to
shoot the basketball. Almost getting kicked out in the first
few minutes. I think all IU fans were dreading playing
an in state rival without Anthony Leel available, and then
the rest saved the day. You watched basketball for a

(12:04):
long time, Matt, and I know this just because we've
talked basketball for a long time, and I'm sure you
watched the game before that. Talk to me about Anthony
Leal in the sense that, like, how impressive is it
that he can change the game without really scoring points.

(12:25):
I mean, it's amazing to watch because it's noticeable when
you look at the game from start to finish.

Speaker 2 (12:31):
You know, I've weirdly enough seen IU players do this before,
like very similar to what Leo's done. I remember I
remember as Zach McRoberts playing for IU, who was literally
allergic to scoring the basketball, but was absolutely you.

Speaker 1 (12:54):
Had to play him problematic for the opponent when he
was on the floor.

Speaker 2 (13:00):
Yeah, he just did all the little things. And is
it a coincidence that both Anthony Leo and you know
and McRoberts are Indiana guys. It's not. It's not a
coincidence at all. I mean, I I can remember back
to Colin Hartman, m who at certain points he couldn't

(13:21):
score the basketball if he tried on some of those teams,
but a lot of it, Yeah, I mean like that
that's not that's not against him. It's just like he
would go cold, right like, but you know, he would
do all the little things. So it's not it's not
it's it's it's not a coincidence that these guys and

(13:42):
you know, that kind of theory and that kind of
you know, evidence kind of makes me sympathize a little
bit with the people to get me frustrated about us
not recruiting in state guys to come to the school.
Like I just a little bit, like I have a
little bit of sympathy there because there is a bit
there is something to it, Like there is raised getting

(14:02):
raised in the state, playing basketball, learning how to play
not just the right way, but how to play as
a good teammate. Right, there's a different There's a difference
between playing good basketball and playing good team basketball. Like
you can be a good basketball player. You can be

(14:23):
able to go iso on people, you can be able
to make tough shots, you can be able to rebound,
like Omar Bollo is a great basketball player. Sure he
does all those things well. When you watch him play
deep renew Some of these guys on our team, when
you watch them play defense, have no idea how to
be a part of a team. They are an individual

(14:45):
out there. Anthony Legal is a prime example of somebody
that knows what it is to be a part of
a team. He does all these little things well to
help other people, not just himself. And I'm not that's
not me saying that our players are selfish. I'm just saying, Oh,
it's just a different type. It's a different type basketball.
He's also brought up in an environment where that is stressed. Right,

(15:05):
there's different different kinds of basketball, like and different kinds
of youth basketball at every single level and in from
every single region in the United States. It's taught differently,
it really is. They each part of the US has
this very distinct style. The LA kids play very different
from the Atlantic kids who play very different from the

(15:25):
Indiana kids who play very different from the North Carolina
kids that play very different from the people that go
to the private schools in the northeast. Right, So all
of these, all of these kids grow up playing basketball
very differently. In Indiana, it stresses a team game. So
it's not not a surprise me the Goodie plays well
as a team. It doesn't surprise me that Tray Alloway,

(15:46):
even when he's not able to score, will do some
very important things. His passing at second half was about
as good as I've seen him, you know, distribute the
ball maybe in his entire career at IU Leo right
Leo doesn't play for like what three years, and think
about four years shows up and and it has been

(16:07):
maybe the most impactful player on the roster without even
top scoring once. I don't think he's I don't think
he's led in a single statistical category or of the
major three statistical categories all year long. But in you
could argue he has the most MVPs out of every
single out of our at least most like Hustle Award

(16:30):
or whatever you want to call it like he's been
the most impactful player on defense for Indiana basically every
game he's played major minutes.

Speaker 1 (16:39):
Yeah, and just think about, you know, when Purdue's great
or when I mean they're still arguing, but especially with
Notre Dame and Butler are great. They have players like this,
you know, like they have guys who are very disruptive,
who are very much bought into sort of a team concept,
who helped organize the five on the floor makes a

(17:03):
big difference.

Speaker 2 (17:04):
You could argue that Purdue is actually missing that guy
this year. You you could argue they're missing that dude
on the wing that they would normally have that's from India,
like a oh my god, not Sasaistan Stefanovitch, but Ryan Klein,
Ryan Kleine. Yeah, like like like they always have like

(17:26):
a I know, caveat. They're always shooters, but there's also
always they're always guys that just do all the little
things well. And plus they're a pretty good spot up shooter,
which is like a fantastic thing to have on your team.
It makes your it makes your team chemistry so much
better immediately by just playing that guy twenty five plus

(17:47):
minutes a game.

Speaker 1 (17:48):
Well, they had someone like Lance Jones last year. I
know Lance Jones is way more statistically proficient than Leal
this season, no question about it.

Speaker 3 (17:56):
But I'm not looking for what is his name, But
I mean guys like Zach Hahn at Butler that was
back when Brad Stevens was making final fours.

Speaker 1 (18:08):
You know that type of player. I don't care where
you're from or whatever.

Speaker 2 (18:13):
But like to your.

Speaker 1 (18:14):
Point, like Anthony Leal probably isn't this effective if he
plays for you know, Wake Forest, right, Like, no, no,
he's not, which again he could because Wake Forest, you
know they could use him. But at the same time,
you know, it's like it's one of those things where

(18:35):
he he isn't doing this at South Carolina, he isn't
doing this at Breton or Wake Force. So like seeing
Leo stick with it for multiple seasons and now clearly
prove that he deserves thirty plus minutes a game unless
he's just having a really, really rough one.

Speaker 2 (18:56):
It's great.

Speaker 1 (18:56):
It's absolutely great to see and it's a great lesson
for the next head coach who comes to this program,
Like you don't need to recruit five guys who can
score twenty points a game.

Speaker 2 (19:06):
There are there are.

Speaker 1 (19:07):
You know, basketball is a subtle competition. There's a lot
of gray area in the middle. There's a lot of
nuance in the middle.

Speaker 2 (19:14):
And by the way, like.

Speaker 1 (19:16):
It's not just heart, hustle and muscle, it is it is.
It is also true that Anthony Leal is a very
good rebounder for a size especially.

Speaker 2 (19:26):
It's a very very very very good rebounder.

Speaker 1 (19:29):
Technically sound excellent, a box outs excellent at high pointing
to basketball. He's also an excellent passer. He does turn
it over occasionally, and that comes with more playing time,
but with thirty five minutes yesterday against Purdue, he had
zero turnovers, get four assists, putting the ball on the
right spot.

Speaker 2 (19:47):
His post entry.

Speaker 1 (19:48):
Feeds are better than anyone in the country.

Speaker 2 (19:50):
Yeah, you ask me. You know, the way he either.

Speaker 1 (19:52):
Uses the bounce pass effectively or sort of looks the
defender off before feeding renew or ballow it makes a really,
really big difference. And so so I posted this on
Twitter through and d n HQ yesterday. If he's not
all defense in the league, there's a problem. Now, Yeah,
I mean, there's got to be a conversation at a
bare minimum. But if you're gonna find five guys in

(20:14):
the Big ten, and I know eighteen teams. It's a
lot harder this year than previous seasons. But if you
if you're telling me there are five better defensive players
in this league than Anthony Leal, I have a hard time.

Speaker 2 (20:28):
I have a hard time agreeing with you. There was
a possession in the second half that I remember watching
where Lele was on Braden Smith. I got switched on
the Braiden Smith and then switched on the ball screen
onto Kaufman w WHN and and guarded him. They guard

(20:49):
produced two best players and all first teamers. And by
the way, they did not score on that possession, right,
And so like it it is. It is no surprise.
And he's taken the hardest offensive assignment, Yeah, basically every
single game for the last like fifteen games, and proved

(21:13):
it could be a way doing that, Like guards multiple positions.
It doesn't matter. He switches to like four and a
half positions. I mean, obviously there's some there's other some
fives he can't switch on to, but like when they're
playing first or or Kaufman, when he was able to
switch on them, it's just ridiculous.

Speaker 1 (21:35):
And of course, uh Woodson smartly talk about Woodson cooking
here over the last few games, put Leal frequently on
Danny Wolf when Michigan came to assembly all and it
worked to a large degree, especially in the second half
when Indiana almost pulled off the comeback to get that win.
I mean, it's it's it's wonderful to see Anthony Leo

(21:58):
Bloomington guy step up again. He has to be all defense.
If he's not all defense, I'm going to throw a
fit on Indiana HQ. So prepare yourselves for that in
the league office if you're not ready. But you know,
Indiana is still in the mix. They're still in the fight.
But with all that said, Dolson announced Woodsin's retirement a

(22:19):
few weeks ago, and so Matt and I are going
to talk a little bit about what our thoughts are
now that the news has sort of settled in for
a couple of weeks. What are we looking for in
the next IU men's basketball head coach? Who are some
options that have sort of risen to the surface over
the last couple of weeks, Rip Brad Stevens. What else

(22:40):
are we going to look at coming up here? As
far as the coaching st are is concerned. All that
coming up in just a second, But first it's time
for who won the week this past week in IU sports,
And there are a lot of options to pick from.
But how about the women's team earlier in the week
at Assembly Hall as the women's team, like the men's team,

(23:01):
trying to fight for that Turney bid, but the Hoosiers
protect home court in a very similar fashion. Well, of course,
dated it first back in the midweek, back on Thursday,
knocking off top ten Ohio State by double figures seventy
one to sixty one. It was a clinic, it was

(23:22):
coaching tape on how to break a full court press.
Ohio State runs that full court press relentlessly. It's one
of the things that coach Kevin McGuff does well at
Ohio State from start to finish, and Indiana just consistently
found a way to get good looks in the first
half in the first three quarters of the game. A
little comeback at the end by Ohio State, but the

(23:44):
hooteris won by ten. I You also with a twenty
plus point win over Purdue at Assembly Hall last weekend,
a tough road lost to Michigan State on Sunday. But
I really set themselves up well. I would say at
this point they're off the bubble and into the field,
which in a transition season for Terry Morin. Are you
kidding me to kind of be off the bubble here
in mid late February, That's an incredible accomplishment for this team.

(24:08):
I can't wait to watch them in March madness, because
you know Terry Morin is going to have him ready
to play in that first round round of sixty four
game if they win that Round A thirty two game.
A lot of big matchups for this women's team here
Thursday night home against Maryland. That should be an absolute
omdinger at Assembly Hall. You finished the regular season at
Purdue and then Big Ten Tournament NCAA tournament. The Hoosiers

(24:32):
are definitely in the mix here when it comes to March.
So looking forward to see the women's team keep these
things rolling, ride along and look a lot of lessons
from Terry Morin squad that the next men's basketball coach
can pick up here as he takes over next season.
But folks, a quick reminder, not only did the women's

(24:55):
basketball team win the win the week this past week
in I U Sports. But from our standpoint, our following
keeps growing, our brand keeps growing. If you enjoy our show,
leave us a review, tell a friend, share our links.
Your support really helps us grow this podcast and reach
more passionate I you fans such as yourself, so much
good vibes around you. As it relates to the swimming

(25:19):
and diving program, guys crushing into the NBA clo where
it continues to do good things, which is wonderful.

Speaker 2 (25:25):
Even the heat keep choking away basketball games. But we'll
not talk about that.

Speaker 1 (25:29):
Yeah, we'll skip over that part. But yeah, definitely find
us on Twitter, social media, at the Who's Your Sound
or at Indiana HQ. Matt you know, a few weeks ago,
Scott Dolson says, Hey, Mike Woodson's not coming back in
the twenty five to twenty sixth season. We're going to
find a new voice. It's been sometime now, the news

(25:50):
is settled in, some of the candidates have risen to
the surface. Here as far as potential options for Scott Dolson,
how have you seen the situation WAH develop over the
last few weeks. What are your thoughts as it relates
to this IU men's basketball head coaching search and we'll
take it from there.

Speaker 2 (26:11):
So one. Obviously they had to move on from Woodson.
All were talking about that. The last time we podcasted.
I was complaining about, you know, Woodson to no end. So,
I mean it gotten to the point where Brad steven

(26:34):
says no, yep, allegedly, I'm I'm still okay, okay. I
hate to start this set. I hate to start the
segment off this way, but I'm not. I don't believe Goodman.
It's like a ninety eight percent. I believe them because look,

(26:58):
I've seen other coaches take jobs in college when they
have vehemently denied even considering or continuing to consider said job.
So the two percent of my brain believes that it's
still possible. That's why my profile picture on Twitter is

(27:18):
is of maoseedong On on Brad Stevens's face. That's on,
that's on, that's on coach Tit's face. That's why, that's
why it's there, because there's still two percent of my
whole being that believes that it is possible that he's
still considering it. That being said, he says, no, Dusty

(27:40):
make it's an extension at Michigan, right, yeah, but that's
the thing. I'm also I'm also like ninety five percent
sure there because there have been reports that. Okay, so
let's just let's just let me let's have a couple
of names we've we've we've heard, and then I can
go into the dusty make theory. We've heard mccaslin's from

(28:03):
Texas town, right, We've heard McCollum at Drake, We've heard
Scott Drew his name that had been thrown out there.
We've heard h mccronan, which is a name that's been
floated all around a lot, Brad Stevens obviously.

Speaker 1 (28:23):
So though.

Speaker 2 (28:25):
Dusty May, sure, the dusty parts interesting because I brought
up mccronan. Now, mccronin's buyout at UCLA, which is somebody's
name that's come up a lot, is ten million dollars
to buy him out of his contract. The new Dusty
May contract is seven and a half MILI. So if
you if you wanted Dusty over mccronan, you still have

(28:47):
to pay the less to get him out of Michigan.
Then you would have to pay to get mccronan out
of his contract at UCLA. Obviously, if he decides to
end his contract or they come to something negotiation where
he's going to step down. Then that obviously getting a
Freeman Cronin would be kind of nice. All that being said,

(29:10):
and I think there's a couple of I've seen somebody
throw Brunnel out there. Now I've seen some people throw
out it's all. Somebody throw out Becky Hammond's name, which
I found fascinating.

Speaker 1 (29:25):
But I'm still a big fan of him Burger, of course,
but it's going to be a top competition.

Speaker 2 (29:31):
Or to say I haven't seen I haven't seen him
my personal favorite, I don't know about you. My personal
favorite of those names mentioned that isn't Brad Stevens, who
were not getting and TJ. Alsoberger, who is going to
be very hard to get of the realistic options of
the easier road to take. I think McCaslin is my favorite.

(29:55):
Grant McCastle I Tech. His team plays good team basketball,
they win games, and they are at a talent disadvantage
at Tech, and he he just wins basketball games like
he wins a ton of games. I was looking at
a a red post the other day about there's something

(30:19):
in common with like the last thirty years worth of
college basketball coaches that have won a national championship, they
all have one thing in common. Do you know what
that is? Nothing? There? Men? Okay, they have two things
in common.

Speaker 1 (30:40):
No, I geez, I couldn't even think. Are they all like,
I don't know, sixty, No, Brad Stevens was young, but
he didn't win the national championship?

Speaker 2 (30:49):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (30:50):
Are they like sixty or more age?

Speaker 2 (30:53):
It has nothing to do with with with demographics. They
set the all times win record at a school. They
all have set an all times win record at a
certain school out of school, whether it was the school
that they won the national championship with or a previous stole.

(31:15):
By the way, I didn't mention Chris Beard this. But
of of the people that I you are looking at
and the realistic options, the people that have set the
all times win records at their school, there are three
coaches that I you is looking at allegedly that have
done that. McCaslin is one of them. He did it

(31:37):
at North Texas. He set the u n T all
time women's record with UNT with North Texas they made
it to the tournament. McCollum is on pace to do
it at Drake. Sure there's a chance he does it
this year, and then Beard at Tech. Those are the

(31:58):
three coaches that I was looking at. Cronen hasn't done it.
I think Dusty may hasn't done it. He might have
done it. Dusty might have done it at FAU.

Speaker 1 (32:12):
Yeah, I have to look at that.

Speaker 2 (32:13):
You have to look that up. I'm not I'm not
quite sure. Yeah, maybe, but Dusty might be on those.
Somebody might be the four. But that we're not considering
Dusty anymore, allegedly because he's got the new contract. So
of the three that are possible, Osselberger hasn't done it,
and a bunch of other coaches haven't done it. There's

(32:35):
only three that I you are looking at that have
done it.

Speaker 1 (32:40):
Yeah, it really makes you think. That's a pretty cool
stat So say it one more time.

Speaker 2 (32:45):
What was it?

Speaker 1 (32:46):
It was the last the.

Speaker 2 (32:48):
Last forty coaches or I guess maybe it's either the
last forty coaches or the coaches of the last probably
thirty years.

Speaker 1 (32:57):
Yeah, probably that.

Speaker 2 (32:58):
Yeah, coach all have one thing in all have one
thing in common is that they that at a stop
along the way or the stop that they won the
national championship on, they set an all times win record
for that school, so they set the most wins in
the season at that school or at another school.

Speaker 1 (33:21):
Right wow.

Speaker 2 (33:22):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (33:23):
And then I also noticed Grant mcchaslyn was an assistant
at Baylor for several years back in the early twenty tens,
which is a good sign. I always like when you
have that power conference the assistant experience, just because in
the big leagues and in the high major leagues you
have two quad one games per week, and of course
mccasly's getting that at Texas Tech now in some situations,

(33:45):
even though the Big twelve has kind of been diluted
a little with the addition of some of these new
teams in their league. But you know, while I'm gonna
say no means no for Brad Stevens and Dusty May,
what I am I'm also going to say is I
have a new Brad Stevens. You know who my new
Brad Stevens Isn't that I want to guess?

Speaker 2 (34:07):
Hit me.

Speaker 1 (34:09):
My new Brad Stevens is Kelvin Samson.

Speaker 2 (34:16):
My new Brad Stevens. Elaborate, elaborate Kelvin Sampson.

Speaker 1 (34:20):
Because look, I understand, folks, O seven eight, here are
some lean seasons, no question, and it was all Kelvin Samplin.
Kelvin Samson's fault. But look, the rules have changed. The
rules have changed, and phone calls are okay now compared

(34:42):
to seven eight, And of course you want to make
sure the culture part of it is good too, and
all that has seemed to be resurrected and cleaned up
at Houston. And you know, Houston doesn't have the meatia
A contract that the SEC or the Big ten does.

(35:03):
I don't know if Houston kind of gets sniped in
the first weekend in the March of the NCAA tournament unexpectedly.
Just I'm just looking at the win loss record that
Samson has had and the guard to backcourt development that
he's had there. And I know he's older, but I
don't care about age when it comes to this hire.

(35:25):
I know some people do, but there are a lot
of excellent one of ches.

Speaker 2 (35:31):
I'm one of them. Kelvin Sampson's sixty nine years nice,
sixty nine years old. Yeah, you know what.

Speaker 1 (35:39):
Matt Tomaso is an amazing coach, and Rick Patino's an
amazing coach, and.

Speaker 2 (35:45):
They're going to be done in two or three years.

Speaker 1 (35:47):
And at that point. If that happens, he has some
go hire Brad Stevens, Kellen's Dusty May's extension. Well, now
you know Kellen Kellen Samson as an emerging assistant. Houston
also has one or two other excellent assistants on their staff,
and you can try to pluck them and bring them
over as an associate head coach. And a's basketball standpoint,

(36:11):
But Houston's just been an absolute juggernaut over the last
few years. And I'm kind of I'm kind of saying, look,
he's I don't know. I look, Kelvin, I see, I
see what you're saying.

Speaker 2 (36:26):
Not even pick up the phone.

Speaker 1 (36:28):
There's no there's no way, but I you fans all.
I'm gonna tell the folks out there that are fans
of IU who who listen to this, most of you,
there's no reason to sort of turn your back to
Kelvin Samson. Now that was so long ago. That was

(36:50):
that was seventeen eighteen years ago, and the rules in
college basketball have changed drastically.

Speaker 2 (36:58):
You would have two national championships of sam just stated
at you, by the way, and again.

Speaker 1 (37:02):
I think Kelvin Samson needed to sort of reinvent himself
a little bit after all that happened at IU. But
all I'm gonna say is, uh, don't don't don't, don't
turn This is like Kelvin Kelvin Samson did is nothing
relative to I don't know someone like Chris Beard that
people are pandering for.

Speaker 2 (37:24):
Uh So, by the way people listen to podcast, if
Chris Beard didn't do the things that he said he did,
he wouldn't be at Ole Miss. One two. If Chris
Beard had not done the things he's that were alleged
that he did, he would be I used head basketball

(37:49):
coach tomorrow. Okay, he would be the most obvious higher
His agent is is is out on the streets like
uh like of like a Vegas stripper handing out cards
saying I want to come to Bloomington. Okay, like like

(38:09):
if I you wanted that to happen, it would already
be done. Guys. So and I know people are like, oh,
he has to finish the season at at Ole Miss. Wait,
you can accept a job somewhere else and say this
is at the end of the season. I'm believing, like
that is very possible. That seraway that you can do
that is done in football. So it's not like, that's

(38:31):
not excuse in basketball. It's not happening. It's not happening.
I don't care. He's a great basketball coach. He's a
great basketball coach. He is not a great person, straight up,
and the university does not want that guy associated with
their image. It's not gonna happen. They don't care at all.
Miss Okay, they don't care. They had the rebel flag

(38:51):
up until about ten years ago. That school does not care. Yeah,
and how you cares.

Speaker 1 (39:00):
I have to say, uh, we uh, We're gonna take
a bold stand here and say we are against the
rebel Confederate fundy. That's our stands.

Speaker 2 (39:10):
That's very bold, are Okay, that's my heritage you're talking
about there anyways.

Speaker 1 (39:21):
So so my thing too, Like in addition to the
names that have been thrown out, and of course so
Mike Mike, Kelvin Sampson or my Brad stevens Kevin Sampson,
my new Dusty may Is Otzelburgers like, I want IU
to pull out all the stops and try to get him.
He's still my favorite. I know it's gonna be tough.
I know he has connections to the state of Iowa,
but you know what, I'm pulling out the full pulling

(39:42):
out all the stops to try to get him.

Speaker 2 (39:43):
But with that said, like.

Speaker 1 (39:45):
The the value, you're already seeing the inherent value and
announcing this move a couple of weeks ago rather than
waiting until the end of the season. And this is
another win for Scott Dolson. And I don't know what
he's gonna do as far as the higher is concerned,
but it's another win for Scott Dolton as far as
announcing this move a little bit ahead of time. And

(40:09):
this gives the big wigs the front office at IU
a chance to like take a little bit of a
breath and consider what exactly they want for the next
person that runs this program. And I think right now
you're not seeing any news as far as people that

(40:29):
I you are pursuing because that people that IU is pursuing,
Because I think right now they're having a lot of
meetings in the north end zone Memorial Stadium to figure
out exactly what are the top priorities for the next
head men's basketball coach at IU. Right They're doing a

(40:51):
little bit of soul searching right now, and I think
Scott Dolson's part of that. I think Pam Witten's part
of that. I think Mike Woodson is going to help
consult as far as part of that, just in the
matter of, hey, what works when you coach IU men's
basketball in the twenty twenties and what doesn't work right?
And like we can talk about system all we want,
what type of basketball do we want to play? What

(41:11):
type of players do we want to have here? But
at IU, right there are several other aspects of this
formula that are not there in other schools. There just aren't.
You have a gigantic TV contract that is pretty exclusive
to the Big Ten, so the Big Ten separates itself
from other conferences in that fashion. You have a fan

(41:32):
base at IU that you need to weaponize, and you
need to add that to your home court advantage, because
Indiana's home court advantage should be levels better than Iowa's
or Nebraska's or in Minnesota.

Speaker 2 (41:48):
Is still Penn State last game and you.

Speaker 1 (41:51):
Saw you saw what that does in the second half
against Michigan, in the second half against Maryland, and the
second half against Purdue.

Speaker 2 (41:59):
When the team plays.

Speaker 1 (42:00):
Hard, plays with effort, crowd changes the game in multiple
ways that just don't happen at most other schools in
college basketball, you know, you have to have a few
other aspects of basketball nowadays that you didn't have ten
years ago or twenty years ago, with not just the portal,

(42:20):
not just realignment, but the net rankings era. You have
to you have to have a coach that knows how
to manage some of the net rankings and and and
the and the intricacies involved there. You have to play
play basketball and win games by twenty thirty points foot
on the gas NonStop. You have to have a very
very very keen understanding and strong armed relationship with what

(42:46):
do you want to call them? The Board of trustees,
the administrators at IU because politics play a big role
at IU.

Speaker 2 (42:53):
Men's the powers that be. Powers that be.

Speaker 1 (42:58):
You got to know how to deal with the You
gotta know how to deal with the admins, the a,
the athletic director, the president. Great news, though, I you
already has two coaches that do a great job of that.
Kurtzignetty amazing as far as his connection with the ad
the the president, the board of trustee, and Terry Moore

(43:22):
in too has done an unbelievable job. And that doesn't
even include someone like todd Yaglely who's been an amazing
uh you know, who's done an amazing job of that,
the whole swimming and that. Like, you know, you have
those folks that can serve as role models to help
the next head men's basketball coach. So by announcing this
a little bit ahead of time, you can have extended

(43:46):
conversations behind the scenes about this type of stuff. You
can bring in a coach that has a great offense.
Indiana did that with Tom Crean, but there were other
aspects of Tom Crean's employment that led to him getting fired,
including a little bit of a disappointing win loss record.
But there's more than that. Yeah, right, So so in

(44:07):
a nutshell, right, I think that's really what the focus
has to be here over the next few weeks. Again,
as I said not here a few minutes ago, my
Brad Stevens is Calvin Sampson. My new Dusty May is
t j Otzolberger. But at the end of the day,
though I really, really really will possibly regret saying this,

(44:29):
I don't think Indiana can screw this up as long
as they hire a high major head men's basketball coach
from somewhere.

Speaker 2 (44:36):
Okay, okay, all right, Well, then let me throw a
name at you, because our certain friend of the podcast
has been throwing a name out for the you job
for the last two weeks and it's gotten some mixed reactions.
So what would you would you take Bill self at? AYU?

(45:02):
I would? Yeah, I would.

Speaker 1 (45:03):
I would take Bill Sell.

Speaker 2 (45:05):
Let's go through your thought process. Why would you take
Bill self? And does do you have some worries about
him given how Kansas has looked over the last two years? Yeah?

Speaker 1 (45:17):
So like what that That's gonna make my argument for
me because what I'm gonna do here is not overreact
to a small two year sample, and I'm going to
more overreact to the twenty year larger sample. Where all
Bills Self has done is dominate the Big twelve and
consistently get into the NC Double A Tournament and win

(45:38):
the NC Double A Tournament. And I know, as of
late it's been a little gross, but I think he's
gonna learn some lessons too from this season, right, And
I think, you know, you know, think about what would
happen if I don't know. I'm sure Nick saban Or
or uh tom Izzo has had some seasons where they

(46:03):
win a little bit less than normal. And when that happens,
they come back and they look better than ever. Right,
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (46:10):
A couple of years ago Tom was going through a
little bit of a lull. They're fine, now I'm going
to loan. Yeah, you know, I I'd snap your hand
off to take Bill's self off of Kansas. Also, I
do that just to piss off the Illinois fans. Oh,
can you imagine all the vists reel you would get

(46:34):
from the Illinois fans, would would feed families. They already
hate that guy, and then they are they think I arrival.
So the way he left, how much they hate him
for leaving Illinois? Did just end up at Indiana like
twenty years later.

Speaker 1 (46:51):
Oh and by the way, you bring like Bruce Webern
as an assistant, maybe you know, you bring him out.

Speaker 2 (46:58):
Yeah, let's go all let's go, let's go all it
and just nu king Illinois.

Speaker 1 (47:05):
I'm so down and and look, Bill self has really
struggled in the portal. Like he swung and missed with
Nick Timberlake, he swung and miss with AJ Store. There
had been mistakes made by Bill Sell over the last years.

Speaker 2 (47:21):
That a mistake, No, the AJ Storre mistake. I think
of college basketball coaches would have made the same mistake,
like the way he looked at Wisconsin last year, which,
by the way, uh, Wisconsin's.

Speaker 1 (47:36):
Coach Greg Guard Guard Guard, yes, Guard, Yes, Greg Greg
Guard has completely reinvent himself.

Speaker 2 (47:43):
He might be among the top fifteen college basketball coaches
at this point. And he was on they were seat,
he was in the hot seat. What hot years ago?
Like hot hot, Yeah, like three years ago.

Speaker 1 (47:56):
If his staff punched Juwan Howard or vice versa, but
gotten or whatever provoked provoked Joan Howard punch. Yeah, Like
they look awful two seasons.

Speaker 2 (48:09):
Wisconsin just keeps chugging along. They they man, they they
find these guys and they developed them into really good players,
you know, and and that Wisconsin programs. They're solid, they're consistent.

Speaker 1 (48:24):
As I was saying with Terry Moore in like a
down year for Kansas is seventeen to nine to this point,
eight and seven in league play, lock for the tournament,
like yeah, but.

Speaker 2 (48:37):
Yeah, the aj Store thing. Nine coaches would have taken
a j Store in a heartbeat. The way he looked
at a Wisconsin last year. He's one of the best
players in the country last year at Wisconsin like that
was a no brainer. Hunter Dickinson has been kind of
underwhelming at at Kansas.

Speaker 1 (48:58):
Self still got Hunter Dickinson, you know, yeah when everyone
could have wanted him. Well, that final three was loaded.
I remember that. And by the way, uh, he landed
Flori Badunga out of Cocomo. Right, So guy, can you
know win top prospects from the state of Indiana without

(49:21):
really you know, living day to day life in the state,
So you know.

Speaker 2 (49:25):
You also could say you maybe missed a bullet with Bacco. Hey,
dodged the bullet there.

Speaker 1 (49:32):
Hey, you know what, I'm just gonna say, Bacco's streaky. Actually,
you know what, I'm looking forward to seeing him play
against Penn State on Wednesday. We'll talk about that game
just here coming up in a sec. But first, quickly,
a social media shout out folks, a reminder if you
enjoy our show, leave us a review, tell a friend,
share our links. That kind of support really helped grow

(49:53):
this podcast and reach more passionate IU fans such as
yourself on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. You can find it
at the Hoosier Sound or at Indiana hq Man on
Instagram or not Indiana HQ.

Speaker 2 (50:05):
But where are we, Indiana dot HQ.

Speaker 1 (50:08):
Find us there. Twitter keeps growing and growing and growing,
you know, definitely find us. We try to calmb.

Speaker 2 (50:15):
Through the BS for you.

Speaker 1 (50:16):
We try to keep it real, We try to keep
the We keep it facts only and throw some stats
and notes and nuggets out on there and retweet things
that you know, catch your attention. We try to keep
it simple. We try to eliminate the noise for all
of you. So if you don't like noise and misinformation,
follow us. We'll guide you in the right direction over

(50:37):
at Indiana HQ. Penn State comes to town on Wednesday, man,
and for casuals, you'll sit here and you'll say, oh, fun,
Penn State. Indiana finally doesn't play a quad one quad
one opponent. I think that stop the streak of ten
or eleven straight games against quad one Right fun, Indiana, Shacruz,

(51:01):
right wrong. One of the big reasons Mike Woodson is
not going to be the head coach next year because
IU has struggled to sustain success. Matt, you and I
looked this up before we started. But when Indiana lost
to Purdue and let me let me, let me rephrase
that when Indiana swept Purdue in the twenty two to

(51:23):
twenty three season, they didn't take those wins and keep
that level going. They didn't sustain that level. They didn't
elevate that level the first win over Purdue in Bloomington.
I just checked this. Within a week or two after that,
Mike Woodson suspended his entire team.

Speaker 2 (51:43):
I believe.

Speaker 1 (51:46):
Before that road lost to Northwestern. I think that was
that game.

Speaker 2 (51:50):
Yeah, I'll double.

Speaker 1 (51:51):
Check my facts there, but I know for.

Speaker 2 (51:53):
Sure president Northwestern game. Yeah it was that season, right, Yeah,
it was zavierd. Johnson.

Speaker 1 (51:58):
Yeah, and like I think there were four or five guys.

Speaker 2 (52:03):
Yeah, David Johnson, maybe Jakai Newton.

Speaker 1 (52:08):
And uh, well, i'll get you get I'll get the fact, right,
I can't say I can't say who we awoid this
information that. No, that doesn't sound right.

Speaker 2 (52:20):
I'll check that.

Speaker 1 (52:21):
But uh, not only did that happen after Indiana won
against Purdue in Mackie that season thanks to Jalen Hoodshaffino,
they came back home and got absolutely smashed by Fran
McCaffrey's IOWA team in Assembly Hall. And that was one
of the worst home games I remember watching because I'm

(52:45):
sitting here as we wind down the season, and Indiana
gets this gigantic road win against Perdue in Mackie, and
then you follow up with an ugly, ugly, ugly, ugly
home loss to Iowa, and.

Speaker 2 (53:06):
So hopefully we see Indian watched.

Speaker 1 (53:10):
By the way, that was absolutely putrid.

Speaker 2 (53:14):
Indiana.

Speaker 1 (53:14):
Dian's start, well, Indiana didn't respond. It was awful. And
so now Penn State comes to town. The good news
is that Indiana already has bagged to win over Penn State,
a road win, even though it was in Philly. By
the way, I just want to make one thing clear

(53:35):
for the people that are haters of that, that little subtlety.
Penn State's atmosphere and support at the Palaestra as well
as at the Rec Hall I believe, which is their
other campus arena that they play one game a year,
is astronomically more intense than it is a Bryce Jordan Center.

Speaker 2 (53:58):
Oh yeah, for sure, Bryce Sure in the Center is
just sleepy, sleepy, sleepy. That it's cemetery. Yes, it's it's
a library in there, dude, And so they play other places.
It's like whiteout level, but it's it's it's very lively.

Speaker 1 (54:14):
It's it's lively.

Speaker 2 (54:16):
It's a kin to an IU crowd on a non
conference game exactly.

Speaker 1 (54:23):
There's there's good spirit, there's good intensity. Wreck Hall for
the Poleestra give Penn State a much bigger home court
advantage then whatever that sleepy cemetery is at Bryce Jordan Center.
So Indiana goes out there to the Palestra and knocks

(54:44):
off Penn State down the road. It was kind of
an inspiring win. Indiana was going through a little bit
of stuff there and they go to Penn State and
they get the win and you feel good about things.
It actually broke Penn State to some degree. Penn State
for for several weeks after losing that game just really
never returned to that level, to the point where they

(55:07):
dropped out of the top seventy five and the net
rankings for a little bit. And what the significance of
that is is that Indiana's road win there was actually
quad two road win for about.

Speaker 2 (55:18):
A week yep.

Speaker 1 (55:21):
But over the last few days, over the last couple
of games, Penn State has bounced back.

Speaker 2 (55:29):
They played much better basketball.

Speaker 1 (55:31):
Zach Hicks, Janni Conan Niederhauser both back and more healthy.
Ace Baldwin's always a problem at the guard position.

Speaker 2 (55:40):
Penn State met.

Speaker 1 (55:43):
You know, Indiana playing at Penn State was always an
issue until the.

Speaker 2 (55:51):
Hoosiers won at the Palestra.

Speaker 1 (55:54):
Now you get the return fixed shared assembly hall, and
it's just been a nightmare as far as Indiana finding
any level of sustained success under Mike Winson. We know
the blueprint for Mike Rhodes at Penn State. He's gonna
play aggressive defense. Penn State knows how to get fouled.
They try to force turnovers, and they're on a two

(56:14):
game winning streak against decent opposition, a home win over
Nebraska and a road win against Minnesota. A road win
against Minnesota is a lot more impressive now than it
was a month ago. This Penn State team could cause
IU problems. How do you see this matchup going bad?
Especially with Penn State coming off back to back wins
where they look impressive.

Speaker 2 (56:37):
I think you can win this game. Obviously my favorite,
They will definitely be favorite. But Yennik Conan Needenhauser is playing. Neederhauser, sorry,
is playing some of his best basketball he's probably ever
played in his entire life. His last two games, he's
had like twenty plus points, like ten plus rebounds, and

(57:01):
like three blocks in each game. He's been killed. Now,
to be fair, the opponents that Penn State played the
last two games, or Nebraska and Minnesota, not that not
not two world beaters in the conference, but the Minnesota
is actually pretty feisty, and Nebraska's in the tournament.

Speaker 1 (57:25):
So far. They are Nebraska's in the field.

Speaker 2 (57:29):
Indiana, they're above Indiana right now. Yeah, you're above Indiana, right,
so that they're teams that have they're feisty teams. Right
They're a little bit underrated, if you know, just looking
at face value, and he's he's had a fantastic performance
in each Sorry, had nineteen points in the Nebraska game,

(57:53):
but Daniel twenty points. I knew we're gonna need one
of the better games that of the season out of
Omar Baalo and the leak renewed when they both play
the five. But what I was gonna say is you
can win this game if they go one big four out.
I think they really hinder themselves. They become very slow

(58:16):
and letharger on offense when they play the two big lineup,
and that's when somebody like Ace Baldwin just feasts, because
then he can just go co crazy on defense, get
a bunch of deflections and steals, and just absolutely hassle
your guards if you're if you're playing a more fast,

(58:36):
free flowing offense with four out, one in, and and
that that one big being a ballower renew Like I
think I you can actually cause Penn States some problems
on defense because their wings are much slower than I
use ARC, which is saying because I thin, because I

(58:57):
use got some pretty fucking sorry, pretty freaking slow footed
who wings my bad bad that's one of the curves.

Speaker 1 (59:08):
Wow. Yeah, that's like a that's like a fifty dollars
fine an il donation. Yeah, look, you're you're right though,
Like as far as Yanni Conan Niederhauser an excellent rim
running big that Penn State likes to put in pick
and rolls, lob threat, he's not khlil aware, but he's
Penn State's khlil aware, just as far as somebody who

(59:28):
can attack the rim, dunk it with ferocity, defend, protect
the paint on the defensive side, he doesn't stretch the
floor offensively like Where did, which is why Where is
potentially gonna win Roki of the Year in the NBA,
but with Penn State team, you know, you know, Yannick ConA.
Niederhauser is a little bit like Molik Renew for Penn

(59:50):
State too, in the sense that he was banged up
in January and lo.

Speaker 2 (59:54):
And behold uh.

Speaker 1 (59:57):
Once he recovers more fully from that ailment, he looks
a lot more dangerous. And then you get as Baldwin,
and then he gets Zach Hicks, who was also injured,
and he's starting to not necessarily pick up his play,
but he's a reliable force for Penn State over the
course of a thirty two minute playing time amount that

(01:00:20):
he gets DeMarco done Freddie de Leon, like Penn State
has seen a couple guys. When Hicks and Conan were hurt,
Penn State saw a couple guys have to step up
during that time, and even though they were losing games,
they were playing with a little bit more of a
respond level of responsibility. Guys like Nick Kern and De

(01:00:43):
Leon and Tamarco Dunn.

Speaker 2 (01:00:44):
And now.

Speaker 1 (01:00:47):
Mike Rhodes has his healthy starters back, and those role players, now, hey, look,
I'm more comfortable doing my job even if I get
a little bit less playing time. Here's the other factor.
We know Mike Rhodes plays aggressive defense, Penn State likes
to go to the free throw line. We know Mic

(01:01:09):
Roads likes to force turnovers. But you also have this
new wrinkle this season where teams in the bottom three
of the Big Ten standings are desperate, blood thirsty, playing
their tails off to make the Big Ten tournament. Yep,

(01:01:33):
and Penn State right now is in the bottom three.
They are. However, with the win, they all of a
sudden get into a tie with several other teams that
are at six conference wins instead of five where Penn
State is at right now. This was a long shot
a week ago when they were at just three, but
guess what. They beat Nebraska. They beat Minnesota, and life

(01:01:55):
in college basketball can change in a span of a
week and a half two weeks. Indiana knows that as
much as anyone, and Penn State's gonna look at this
opportunity in Bloomington and say, hey we can we can
knock them off, and then Penn State all of a
sudden returns home to play Maryland for Penn State Senior Day.
They're like, you know what, maybe we can win that
one too, and this is life in the league and Indiana.

Speaker 2 (01:02:20):
All I'm saying is.

Speaker 1 (01:02:22):
This reeks of trap game, like extreme reek of trap game,
because you obviously had.

Speaker 2 (01:02:29):
Is it a trap game or is it a letdown game?

Speaker 1 (01:02:31):
I think I'll call it anything, or you know, I'll
call it anything. And I do want to clarify that
was not the season where Woodson suspended a bunch of
guys for the Northwestern game. That happened the previous year
in Woodson's first year as IU's coach. This season, the
point still holds, though after I you beat Purdue in Bloomington,

(01:02:54):
they didn't sustain that level. They didn't elevate that level.
They had a couple of top boo booie oh yeah
that was the boo booy buzzer beater. Indiana won just
three of their next five games.

Speaker 2 (01:03:06):
They had a.

Speaker 1 (01:03:06):
Couple of ugly home wins over Rutgers in Illinois and
had a couple of a narrow road win over a
depressing Michigan squad. Indiana just never sustained that level and
they won a MACI and the level fell again for
that Iowa home game. But when it's all said and done,
like this is the type of issue that Penn State

(01:03:29):
is going to be desperate to fix this Wednesday night
at a thirty at Assembly Hall. Because, as you were saying, Matt, like,
is it a track game? Is it a letdown game?
It's a little bit of both, given that Indiana goes
to the Pacific Northwest this weekend and a lot of
teams they're okay as far as these West Coast road

(01:03:52):
trips are concerned, but then there might be a let
down the game before or the game after. So if
you want to call it a leftdown game, I'm perfectly fine.
But you know this one, reeks, and I know, and
for two hours I'm gonna hold my breath and clench
my teeth and batman nails. As Indiana, I think struggles

(01:04:16):
and struggles and struggles with Penn State. But Matt, you
know Indiana is going to be favored to win. In
their defense, they will be favored to win this game.

Speaker 2 (01:04:30):
But I don't know.

Speaker 1 (01:04:31):
I'm just so I'm just so nervous to see exactly
how this is gonna go. The analytics have this one.
I think as Indiana by five. My WiFi is freaking
out here, but I think Indiana is supposed to be
a five point favorite in this one. Who do you
think wins this game against Penn State? Who do you

(01:04:53):
think wins this game between Indiana and Penn State? And
by how much?

Speaker 2 (01:04:59):
I think India wins. I think they've grown in confidence.
I think you've seen that as a result of the
last couple of games they've They've they've really shown some
maturity and some some some fight. I think they'll continue
to show that with some pret gracious support at home.

(01:05:21):
And uh, I think I'm expecting a pretty big game
again out of trade Galloway, Ninus yesterday, Ninus is yesterday.
I mean, who's that was the best? I think I've
seen the best basketball? And I think maybe they're this
team has I'm gonna hate saying this, but I think
this team might have turned a corner. Like they they

(01:05:41):
might have they they they might they might have somehow
find their found their way over the hump. And I
think I probably wins this game seventy to sixty one.

Speaker 1 (01:05:57):
Okay, it's a little bit lower scoring in your mind,
then what the analytics are projecting. They say Indiana by five,
seventy nine to seventy four. I actually do think it'll
be lower scoring as well. With that said, I also
think Indiana is going to eke out in marriw one.

Speaker 2 (01:06:12):
I think it's going to be a nail bier.

Speaker 1 (01:06:14):
I think it's going to be like seventy two to
seventy one type of thing. I think it's going to
be a close one to the finish line. And I
don't think the net ranking will be affected too much
even if you win by one or two compared to
that five point expectation.

Speaker 2 (01:06:30):
Art isn't going to be able to take that.

Speaker 1 (01:06:32):
But hey, on the bright side for you though, it'll
be like a normal time for for a basketball game
over in in Asia. By the way, if I'm reading
ant writes tweet correctly, Indiana's net ranking moved up three
spots after the win against Purdue yesterday. It's now fifty six.
Indiana was in the sixties for a while, so IU

(01:06:53):
is progressing in the right direction. Here. It's important to
see where i U stacks up against some of the
other bubble team. I don't see Ohio state on ans
graphic for oh I do there Ohio states and that
is at thirty four. Nebraska this is at fifty four,
and Penn State is at sixty nine, which is helpful
to see because of course that road win over Penn State,

(01:07:14):
you want that to be classified as a quad one.
Top seventy five means that Penn State. Penn State's win
remains as a that Penn State road win remains as
a quad one. So good to see Penn State. They're
sort of ticking up over the last couple of weeks
because when it comes to the bubble, the teams Indiana

(01:07:35):
is competing with really struggle to collect quad one wins.
We're talking about ACC teams, Mid major teams, SEC teams
that I mean SMU for example, Folks has not played
a quad one opponent yet away from home, Yeah, which

(01:07:56):
is shocking given they're in the ACC. Indiana has played
something like seven or eight quad one teams.

Speaker 2 (01:08:03):
Away from all He's just bad, though, And.

Speaker 1 (01:08:06):
That's going to be an important conversation because Wake Forest
is on the bubble. I think Pitt is on the
bubble as well, and so Indiana is going to be
competing with some ACC folks. It doesn't help iyues caused
that got crushed about Louisville, but Louisville is also a
top twenty five team. Not one of these bubble squads

(01:08:27):
that Indiana's fighting with right now to get a March
Madness spot. There are teams in the SEC like Georgia.
I think they're two and eleven in Quad one games
this year. Oklahoma had a very good November and December,
but once conference play has begun, Porter Mosers team has really,
really really fallen off.

Speaker 2 (01:08:47):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (01:08:49):
I think Indiana's got a really really clear shot at
this tournament. Matt, as we wind down here on this Monday,
any final thoughts it relates to Indiana's tournament chances, anything
else that pops up in your head here. We've covered
a lot of ground at the coaching search. Just any
final thoughts as we wind down here on this Monday.

Speaker 2 (01:09:09):
Uh yeah, coaching search. I'm I don't think we'll actually
get any concrete evidence of anything happening with that until
after the tea and whenever that is. Obviously, I'm hoping
for the team to go as far yes as possible.
I think it would be the absolute funniest thing ever

(01:09:32):
if Mike Woodson gets forcibly retired and then somehow makes
it the lead eight. I think that would be so funny,
and that would be so terrible if that happened, I mean,
it would just be awful. I mean it would just
be absolutely abysmal. If he made the final four or
won a national championship with this team, that would that
would really really that would just really infuriate. I was

(01:09:54):
just making really mad. And then yeah, I mean the
fan base has been in a weird spot recently. And
I'll touch on this just for a second. There's been
a lot of hate directed towards the fans for being
maybe a little bit too uh toxic online towards players

(01:10:17):
and members of the staff. I I I think you
never tweet at players, and people that do that suck yep,
and you eat. And I've learned the hard way. Even
if you don't directly at a player and you mentioned
that person's name, they always search their name up online. Unbelievable.

(01:10:44):
How dare they be able to do that? And uh so, yeah,
just don't don't do that, or if you're going to
do that, do it in code. But like say that, like,
if you're going to be mad about a player and
you just you you just physically are unable to not
tweet it, why don't you just tweet their number? Just

(01:11:08):
tweet that they're just tweet their jersey number because it's
harder to look up eleven on the internet and find
number eleven. Then it is has been great, all right?
That is to look up Yogi Ferrell right or or
or or I'm gonna.

Speaker 1 (01:11:26):
Say eleven R eleven right now is bollow And I'm like,
he's doing all right.

Speaker 2 (01:11:29):
Right exactly? You look up Ballow like you know, like
you know, just just do that. And there's this this
fan base has so much passion for and and honestly,
the passion is now turned into desperation at this point,
because I think a lot of the fan base feels

(01:11:51):
like we're slowly being left behind by the rest of
college basketball. And it might be you know, it's been
so long since we've been insistantly good that it might
never happen again. Oh guys, it'll happen again. It's like
March next month. Yeah, maybe it might happen this month.

(01:12:12):
But but no, I mean, like, the the program has
too much money surrounding it. There's too many people that
care about the program that's that surround it. It's you still,
We've pulled five star recruits the last couple of years
and people haven't really been a huge fan of what's in.
We still have NBA players playing in the league that

(01:12:32):
have played for the program. The program has been in
dire straits for the last like ten years. It feels like,
but for the love of God, it's not dying. Like
let's let's let's chill out a bit. Also, the uh
emergence of sittance football season to now of the burn

(01:12:54):
the Burners has been a wonderful experience. I love I
love going on Twitter and I actually might be one
of the few people in the world that uses the
Twitter for you page because it actually shows me all
the top tweets I've missed from when I was asleep,
right because instead of scrolling through the recent stuff, I

(01:13:15):
can actually see what I've missed, and my timeline has
slowly turned into all Burner tweets. And I really appreciate that, guys,
so thank you.

Speaker 1 (01:13:25):
Yeah, I mean, you know, one way to not you know,
to to one way to reduce toxicity in a fan
base is by not calling a portion of the fan
base fake fans or real fans.

Speaker 2 (01:13:39):
You know what I'm saying. Yeah, you know what I'm saying.
And the players too, The players too.

Speaker 1 (01:13:44):
Picking fights and alienating certain fans, like going back to
last season, you know, Lou Goodie after the Illinois losses,
don't come back when we're when we're winning games. And
again Indiana hasn't won games. They won a couple of
games in the last month. And and before all of that,
yesterday you had a full house. They the camera showed

(01:14:04):
the balconies yesterday and it looked like the balconies were full.
You had an amazing environment at Assembly Hall, the fans
fully behind and supportive of the team, especially after they
started playing better basketball. It really helps when the coach
and the players don't pick fights with the fans. So

(01:14:25):
instead of doing that, maybe get you know, find ways
to get their full unanimous support. And all of a
sudden things look a lot better because guess what, Indiana,
it's one of the very very few schools to put
fifteen thousand, sixteen thousand butts in seats for every single
home men's basketball game. And Fox, for example, picked up

(01:14:48):
in Iowa and Indiana and Iowa men's basketball game for
primetime Saturday night last month. And it's not because of Iowa,
so no, so, so you know that stuff is happening
for a reason India.

Speaker 2 (01:15:02):
Has would all do disrespect? Yeah, correct answer?

Speaker 1 (01:15:08):
Yeah, Owen Freeman washed so washed? Look, oh yeah, and
you know last last point there, I know him. Mackenzie
Obaca didn't play after halftime against against against Purdue. But
when he's on, he's he's a game changer. He was

(01:15:29):
excellent against Michigan, he was very, very good against UCLA.
It's just a matter of knowing when he's on and
knowing when he's struggling. And remember when Indiana won at
Penn State last month, Mackenzie Imbaco was an absolute force
on the offensive side, especially scoring twenty points having a
huge part in indiana second half run there. So it's

(01:15:53):
just part of the game. Man. He's a streaky player
when he's on. Play him when he's not, don't. It's
kind of how it is. And Mike whitson pull you know,
pushed the right buttons yesterday, helping Indiana to a fifteen
point win over Purdue. But folks, that about wraps it
up for our three hundred and forty first show, the
Hoosier Sound.

Speaker 2 (01:16:11):
Thank you so much for joining us.

Speaker 1 (01:16:12):
We really appreciate your support to hear more fantastic episodes
like the one you heard today. Be sure to follow
us at Indiana Hq're at the Hoosier Sound to make
sure you don't miss any in the future, or you
can go to our website Indiana hq dot com to
find it all in one place.

Speaker 2 (01:16:26):
But as always, thank you for listening to Who's Your
Nation and we'll see you next time. I love