Minnesota vs. Indiana HD Box 1-17-10

Minnesota vs Indiana
1/17/10 4:36 p.m. at Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Ind.

Minnesota               Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF PPWS
Sampson III, Ralph     37:35  + 1  17/69  3- 5  0- 0 11-15  5/44  1/21  0/61  3/59  2/33  1/24  4/35   5 1.40
Hoffarber, Blake       35:52  - 8   5/65  1- 3  1- 4  0- 0  7/44  2/19  2/57  1/58  0/31  2/27  1/30   2 0.71
Joseph, Devoe          26:10  + 9  19/42  5- 8  3- 6  0- 0 14/32  3/ 8  2/37  1/39  0/22  2/20  2/26   3 1.36
Nolen, Al              22:32  -16   5/31  0- 3  0- 1  5- 8  4/25  2/ 8  0/36  1/34  0/20  1/21  1/21   1 0.64
Carter, Paul           22:03  - 1   9/40  4- 8  0- 0  1- 2  8/27  0/ 9  1/37  2/38  0/20  2/18  8/23   5 1.01
Johnson, Damian        16:03  -17   4/17  2- 2  0- 0  0- 0  2/18  0/ 5  1/28  0/25  1/21  1/12  0/18   4 2.00
Cobbs, Justin          15:01  +10   2/35  1- 2  0- 0  0- 0  2/21  5/13  0/24  0/25  1/14  1/ 7  0/12   1 1.00
Williams, Rodney       11:39  + 4   6/24  1- 2  1- 1  1- 4  3/14  1/ 6  0/19  0/19  1/10  0/ 7  1/12   0 1.22
Iverson, Colton        10:20  + 3   2/20  1- 2  0- 0  0- 0  2/15  0/ 5  0/16  2/18  2/11  0/11  1/ 9   4 1.00
Bostick, Devron         8:05  + 6   2/13  1- 1  0- 1  0- 0  2/12  0/ 5  0/13  0/12  0/ 4  0/ 6  1/ 5   2 1.00
TOTALS                 45:00          78 21-41  6-14 18-29    55 16/27  6/72 11/71  7/40 10/33 21/41  30 1.13
                                          .512  .429  .621        .593  .083  .155  .175  .303  .512    

Indiana                 Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF PPWS
Jones III, Verdell     40:24  - 5  24/66  4-11  1- 2 13-19 13/48  3/14  0/64  2/63  0/38  3/36  4/31   3 1.09
Rivers, Jeremiah       38:08  + 3   3/69  1- 5  0- 0  1- 4  5/51  7/20  2/62  1/63  2/32  1/37  6/27   1 0.43
Watford, Christian     36:00  + 7  16/61  4- 8  1- 2  5- 6 10/44  0/14  0/55  4/56  1/33  4/33  6/29   3 1.25
Hulls, Jordan          27:44  +15   8/54  1- 1  2- 4  0- 0  5/40  4/16  1/43  1/46  0/27  0/26  0/21   0 1.60
Pritchard, Tom         21:14  - 4   7/29  3- 5  0- 0  1- 2  5/27  0/ 6  0/31  2/34  0/20  3/19  3/18   5 1.18
Dumes, Devan           18:48  - 8  13/33  1- 3  3- 8  2- 2 11/24  0/ 3  0/30  1/29  0/18  1/19  0/11   0 1.09
Elston, Derek          17:37  - 7   5/33  1- 5  0- 0  3- 4  5/21  1/ 7  1/28  0/26  0/14  2/17  3/11   2 0.72
Capobianco, Bobby      15:09  +10   5/39  1- 2  1- 1  0- 2  3/22  1/10  2/28  2/26  0/15  3/13  1/ 8   5 1.27
Moore, Daniel           4:52  + 1   0/10  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 4  0/ 3  0/ 7  0/ 6  0/ 5  0/ 1  0/ 3   2   --
TOTALS                 45:00          81 16-40  8-17 25-39    57 16/24  6/71 14/72  3/41 20/41 23/33  21 1.07
                                          .400  .471  .641        .667  .085  .194  .073  .488  .697    

Efficiency: Minnesota 1.099, Indiana 1.125
eFG%: Minnesota 54.5, Indiana 49.1
Substitutions: Minnesota 51, Indiana 31

2-pt shot selection
Dunks: Minnesota 3-3, Indiana 3-3
Layups/Tips: Minnesota 9-22, Indiana 8-17
Jumpers: Minnesota 9-16, Indiana 6-20

The HD Box Score is something created by Ken Pomeroy, which I've tried to duplicate for my own purposes. kenpom explains the data here. The only thing different here is the Points Per Weighted Shot (PPWS) column, which John Gasaway (the erstwhile Big Ten Wonk) told me about here.

Minnesota               Min   ScPoss  Poss    PtsProd FlrPct  ORat    Usage   OEff+/- DEff+/- EffMargin+/-
Sampson III, Ralph     37:35  8.84    13.70   17.08   0.65    124.65  23.22   41.95   56.93   -14.98      
Hoffarber, Blake       35:52  2.82    7.20    7.05    0.39    97.88   12.41   12.07   121.40  -109.33     
Joseph, Devoe          26:10  6.48    11.53   16.24   0.56    140.80  29.57   -4.81   -27.95  23.15       
Nolen, Al              22:32  3.86    8.09    6.96    0.48    86.01   23.80   -35.85  55.56   -91.41      
Carter, Paul           22:03  4.30    9.24    8.84    0.47    95.66   24.31   -9.89   16.53   -26.41      
Johnson, Damian        16:03  1.50    1.50    3.22    1.00    214.41  6.00    -64.61  30.52   -95.13      
Cobbs, Justin          15:01  2.36    3.04    5.41    0.78    178.17  12.15   46.52   2.08    44.44       
Williams, Rodney       11:39  2.24    3.99    4.97    0.56    124.51  20.99   22.47   3.38    19.09       
Iverson, Colton        10:20  0.76    3.43    1.65    0.22    48.10   19.07   1.68    4.46    -2.79       
Bostick, Devron         8:05  0.74    1.42    1.62    0.52    114.35  11.83   -1.84   -59.71  57.88       

Indiana                 Min   ScPoss  Poss    PtsProd FlrPct  ORat    Usage   OEff+/- DEff+/- EffMargin+/-
Jones III, Verdell     40:24  12.47   19.19   25.49   0.65    132.85  30.46   -61.90  -89.06  27.16       
Rivers, Jeremiah       38:08  3.44    7.42    7.57    0.46    102.07  11.78   -23.81  -104.66 80.85       
Watford, Christian     36:00  6.82    13.29   15.23   0.51    114.63  23.73   -16.07  -95.57  79.50       
Hulls, Jordan          27:44  2.81    4.76    7.97    0.59    167.32  10.35   13.55   -73.59  87.13       
Pritchard, Tom         21:14  3.27    6.47    6.73    0.51    104.04  19.02   -51.55  -23.55  -28.00      
Dumes, Devan           18:48  3.76    8.11    10.68   0.46    131.71  27.96   2.17    29.35   -27.18      
Elston, Derek          17:37  3.07    5.11    6.28    0.60    123.03  19.64   22.58   38.21   -15.63      
Capobianco, Bobby      15:09  2.02    5.45    5.10    0.37    93.59   20.95   58.70   -26.66  85.36       
Moore, Daniel           4:52  0.00    0.00    0.00    NaN     NaN     0.00    59.09   9.82    49.27       

Minnesota vs. Indiana HD Box 1-25-09

Minnesota vs Indiana
01-25-09 12:06 p.m. at Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Ind.

Minnesota               Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF PPWS
Johnson, Damian        36:22  + 6  18/64  7-15  0- 1  4- 5 16/50  1/17  2/59  0/61  2/33  2/30  4/33   3 0.98
Sampson, Ralph         30:19  + 6  13/57  6- 9  0- 0  1- 1  9/41  2/15  1/48  2/50  6/27  4/23  4/26   2 1.37
Westbrook, Lawrence    28:30  + 4  12/51  3- 4  1- 3  3- 3  7/37  1/14  1/49  2/50  0/28  1/22  3/27   2 1.42
Nolen, Al              25:52  - 1   5/41  1- 2  0- 0  3- 6  2/34  6/15  2/41  1/42  0/25  1/20  1/24   3 1.03
Abu-Shamala, Jamal     22:22  +18  10/56  3- 3  1- 5  1- 2  8/42  2/17  1/44  1/45  0/25  0/23  3/22   2 1.12
Hoffarber, Blake       22:06  - 9   3/25  0- 0  1- 3  0- 3  3/27  0/10  1/32  3/31  0/22  0/19  2/21   1 0.68
Joseph, Devoe          11:28  + 1   3/19  0- 1  1- 3  0- 0  4/18  1/ 5  1/17  2/19  0/ 8  0/13  1/ 8   0 0.75
Carter, Paul           10:01  - 1   3/11  1- 4  0- 0  1- 2  4/14  0/ 3  0/17  0/18  0/ 9  3/12  3/10   2 0.61
Iverson, Colton         8:18  - 5   0/ 4  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 3  0/ 1  0/ 7  1/ 7  0/ 4  0/ 2  0/ 4   2   --
Busch, Travis           3:38  - 2   0/ 3  0- 1  0- 0  0- 0  1/ 5  0/ 1  0/ 5  0/ 5  0/ 3  0/ 4  0/ 2   0 0.00
Bostick, Devron         1:00  - 1   0/ 4  0- 0  0- 1  0- 0  1/ 5  0/ 2  0/ 4  0/ 5  0/ 0  0/ 3  0/ 0   0 0.00
TOTALS                 40:00          67 21-39  4-16 13-22    55 13/25  9/65 13/69  8/36 12/34 22/35  17 1.02
                                          .538  .250  .591        .520  .138  .188  .222  .353  .629    

Indiana                 Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF PPWS
Taber, Kyle            30:33  - 9   4/45  2- 4  0- 0  0- 0  4/38  2/15  1/51  2/48  0/31  3/24  3/28   2 1.00
Dumes, Devan           26:10  - 6  19/45  1- 5  4- 6  5- 6 11/34  2/10  0/47  4/46  0/27  1/23  3/21   4 1.37
Jones, Verdell         25:29    0   7/45  1- 6  1- 2  2- 4  8/31  2/12  0/44  2/44  0/28  0/20  2/22   5 0.71
Williams, Nick         24:22  + 1   2/43  0- 5  0- 2  2- 2  7/37  1/17  1/45  1/39  0/25  2/22  4/21   3 0.25
Pritchard, Tom         23:49  - 7  10/33  4- 8  0- 0  2- 4  8/26  1/ 6  0/40  2/37  0/21  2/21  3/18   4 1.01
Story, Malik           22:07  - 2  14/32  4- 6  2- 3  0- 1  9/26  0/ 6  1/32  4/33  0/21  1/18  1/19   4 1.48
Moore, Daniel          14:28  - 4   2/18  1- 1  0- 0  0- 2  1/20  1/ 7  4/22  0/20  0/11  1/15  0/12   0 1.03
Roth, Matt             14:13  + 5   3/23  0- 0  1- 2  0- 0  2/17  1/ 6  0/19  0/21  0/13  0/13  1/15   1 1.50
Lewis, Broderick       12:03  + 7   2/26  1- 1  0- 0  0- 2  1/17  0/ 7  0/18  0/20  0/13  1/12  1/ 8   1 1.03
Jobe, Tijan             3:07  - 5   0/ 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 3  0/ 0  0/ 6  1/ 7  0/ 2  0/ 3  2/ 4   0   --
Finkelmeier, Brett      3:04  + 1   0/ 5  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 5  0/ 2  0/ 4  0/ 4  0/ 3  1/ 3  0/ 1   0   --
TOTALS                 40:00          63 14-36  8-15 11-21    51 10/22  7/69 16/65  0/39 13/35 22/34  24 1.03
                                          .389  .533  .524        .455  .101  .246  .000  .371  .647    

Efficiency: Minnesota 0.971, Indiana 0.969
eFG%: Minnesota 49.1, Indiana 51.0
Substitutions: Minnesota 29, Indiana 46

2-pt shot selection
Dunks: Minnesota 7-7, Indiana 0-0
Layups/Tips: Minnesota 7-13, Indiana 8-20
Jumpers: Minnesota 7-19, Indiana 6-16

The HD Box Score is something created by Ken Pomeroy, which I've tried to duplicate for my own purposes. kenpom explains the data here. The only thing different here is the Points Per Weighted Shot (PPWS) column, which John Gasaway (the erstwhile Big Ten Wonk) told me about here.

Minnesota vs. Indiana HD Box Score 3-14-08

Minnesota vs Indiana
Big Ten Tournament
3/14/08 9:26pm EDT at Conseco Fieldhouse - Indianapolis, IN

Minnesota               Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF PPWS
McKenzie, Lawrence     36:34  - 1  15/56  1- 4  3- 5  4- 4  9/53  0/44  1/53  3/54  0/34  1/35  4/37   4 1.38
Westbrook, Lawrence    34:30  - 8   7/45  1- 6  1- 4  2- 2 10/50  3/40  0/49  4/52  0/33  0/34  4/35   2 0.64
Williams, Jonathan     29:29  - 3   3/40  0- 3  0- 0  3- 4  3/37  1/34  0/46  1/47  0/29  0/26  4/34   5 0.61
Hoffarber, Blake       25:52  - 4   5/33  1- 4  1- 3  0- 0  7/32  1/25  0/42  2/43  0/23  3/23  2/27   0 0.71
Johnson, Damian        23:11  +16  17/40  5- 8  1- 3  4- 4 11/37  1/26  1/33  0/32  1/14  4/23  2/23   5 1.32
Nolen, Al              20:57  +12   2/36  0- 1  0- 2  2- 2  3/29  3/26  0/29  0/30  0/15  0/17  2/20   1 0.51
Coleman, Dan           12:54  + 1   6/24  3- 6  0- 1  0- 0  7/22  0/15  0/17  1/20  1/16  3/13  1/16   4 0.86
Busch, Travis          11:39  - 6   2/16  1- 3  0- 1  0- 0  4/15  2/11  0/19  1/19  0/12  0/11  0/10   2 0.50
Abu-Shamala, Jamal      4:52  - 2   2/ 5  1- 2  0- 0  0- 0  2/ 5  0/ 3  0/ 7  0/ 8  0/ 4  0/ 3  0/ 3   0 1.00
TOTALS                 40:00          59 13-37  6-19 15-16    56 11/19  2/62 13/61  2/36 16/37 26/41  23 0.93
                                          .351  .316  .938        .579  .032  .213  .056  .432  .634    

Indiana                 Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF PPWS
White, D.J.            39:32  - 1  23/58  6-13  0- 0 11-17 13/50  0/37  0/60  0/58  4/36  5/41  8/36   1 1.09
Bassett, Armon         38:28  - 1   6/56  0- 4  1- 5  3- 4  9/48  3/39  3/60  0/57  0/34  2/40  3/35   3 0.55
Gordon, Eric           37:06  + 3  16/57  4- 7  0- 6  8-12 13/46  2/33  0/57  5/55  0/36  1/36  0/32   2 0.86
Crawford, Jordan       28:34  +10   9/45  4- 8  0- 1  1- 2  9/39  0/30  0/43  0/43  1/22  3/31  3/27   1 0.90
Taber, Kyle            17:18  - 6   2/26  0- 0  0- 0  2- 2  0/17  0/17  0/26  1/26  2/20  0/15  2/20   1 2.11
Thomas, DeAndre        16:18  +16   2/26  1- 4  0- 0  0- 0  4/25  2/21  2/25  0/24  1/14  2/18  1/14   5 0.50
Ellis, Jamarcus        16:06  -15   0/21  0- 0  0- 1  0- 0  1/17  1/16  0/25  1/22  0/19  1/15  3/13   4 0.00
White, Mike             3:23  -10   0/ 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 5  0/ 5  0/ 5  0/ 4  0/ 1  0/ 5  0/ 2   0   --
Stemler, Lance          3:10  - 1   0/ 1  0- 0  0- 1  0- 0  1/ 3  0/ 2  0/ 4  0/ 6  0/ 3  0/ 4  1/ 6   0 0.00
TOTALS                 40:00          58 15-36  1-14 25-37    50  8/16  5/61  7/62  8/37 15/41 21/37  17 0.86
                                          .417  .071  .676        .500  .082  .113  .216  .366  .568    

Efficiency: Minnesota 0.967, Indiana 0.935
eFG%: Minnesota 39.3, Indiana 33.0
Substitutions: Minnesota 26, Indiana 23

2-pt shot selection
Dunks: Minnesota 1-1, Indiana 1-1
Layups/Tips: Minnesota 8-17, Indiana 14-17
Jumpers: Minnesota 5-19, Indiana 3-18

The HD Box Score is something created by Ken Pomeroy, which I've tried to duplicate for my own purposes. kenpom explains the data here. The only thing different here is the Points Per Weighted Shot (PPWS) column, which John Gasaway (the erstwhile Big Ten Wonk) told me about here.

Ask and Receive

Yesterday, I suggested that Indiana needed to figure out how to play some D in their game against Minnesota (HD box). And figure it out they did, holding the Gophers to a mere 0.887 points per possession. While Minnesota is no offensive juggernaut, that was an excellent defensive performance. I don't know if it was that the Hoosiers finally recognized that Dan Dakich is the head coach now, or if it was something else, but they should try to remember what it was and do more of it.

Looking at the play-by-play, it's clear that the Hoosiers salted this game away by getting to the free throw line and hitting them down the stretch. Sure, Bassett hit a huge 3 (on nice drive and kick from Gordon), DJ hit a jumper, and Gordon had a layup, but, after the last tie at 48-48, Indiana reeled off a 14 - 2 run to put the game out of Minnesota's reach. Half of those 14 points came from the line. Gordon also scored 7 of the points in that run (and 20 for the game), proving once again that he is an absolute weapon down the stretch in games.  However, he was not the player of the game for IU last night. 

DJ White had another very good game last night. He wasn't able to rebound as well as he normally does, but he was still a beast, posting a 125.6 O rating while using a less-than-typical-for-him 23% of the team's possessions while he was on the floor.  That slightly smaller usage can be attributed to Minnesota running a 3-2 zone for most of the night to keep it out of his hands. Granted, DJ still put up 20 big points, but he was not the player of the game for the Hoosiers.

The player of the game for IU last night was none other than Jamarcus Ellis, the same player whom I had suggested might not be completely on board with the new coaching regime. He was marvelous last night.  He only used 14% of possessions on the offensive end while he was on the floor, but he was deadly efficient with them, putting up a 159.8 O rating. Also, he was a terror on the glass on a night when Minnesota worked hard to keep DJ from getting rebounds. Ellis pulled down 17% of possible offensive rebounds and 33% of possible defensive rebounds, both of which are excellent numbers. But I believe that Ellis's real value to the team lies on the defensive end. While thinking about that, I played with some of the HD box score numbers to figure out how the team did on offense and defense while players were on the floor and off of it. Sure, the +/- column shows how the team did overall, and Ellis's +/- is appropriately the highest on the team.  But we can break it down a little more, and here's how it breaks down for Ellis:

	O Eff	D Eff	Eff Margin
On floor	113.0	77.8	35.2
Off floor	100.0	162.5	-62.5
Difference	13.0	-84.7	97.7

 

Remember that smaller numbers are better when talking about defensive efficiency. Thus, those numbers show that, while Ellis had a positive impact on the team's offense, his impact on the defense was much, much bigger. Goodonya, Jamarcus Ellis!

Overall, that game was just what the Hoosiers needed. If they can pull out a road win against scrappy Penn State on Sunday, and both Wisconsin and Purdue win their last conference games (in which they'll be prohibitive favorites), Indiana will have the #2 seed in the conference tournament.

Minnesota vs. Indiana HD Box Score 3-5-08

Minnesota vs Indiana
03/05/08 7 p.m. at Bloomington, Ind. (Assembly Hall)

Minnesota               Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF PPWS
Coleman, Dan           36:38  -18  14/46  4-10  2- 3  0- 0 13/45  0/32  0/58  2/58  3/32  2/31  6/29   4 1.08
McKenzie, Lawrence     29:55  -20  22/42  2- 5  4- 9  6-11 14/35  2/21  0/48  4/49  0/28  1/23  0/26   3 1.14
Williams, Jonathan     25:47  - 8   6/33  3- 4  0- 0  0- 2  4/32  0/28  0/38  3/37  0/18  0/21  2/21   3 1.21
Johnson, Damian        25:42    0   5/45  1- 2  1- 3  0- 0  5/38  0/33  1/39  0/40  2/17  1/23  5/18   4 1.00
Westbrook, Lawrence    25:03  -10   8/31  2- 5  0- 1  4- 4  6/29  2/23  1/38  3/38  0/21  2/19  2/18   3 1.01
Nolen, Al              23:22  - 2   0/32  0- 2  0- 0  0- 0  2/31  3/29  1/36  2/35  0/16  1/21  1/20   2 0.00
Tollackson, Spencer    11:43  - 3   0/15  0- 2  0- 0  0- 0  2/10  0/ 8  0/18  0/19  0/14  0/ 6  1/11   1 0.00
Hoffarber, Blake       11:31  - 5   0/23  0- 0  0- 3  0- 0  3/18  0/15  0/19  0/18  0/ 6  1/11  1/ 4   0 0.00
Abu-Shamala, Jamal     10:16  - 4   0/ 8  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 7  0/ 7  1/16  2/16  0/13  0/ 5  1/13   0   --
TOTALS                 40:00          55 12-30  7-19 10-17    49  7/19  4/62 16/62  5/33 11/32 19/32  20 0.96
                                          .400  .368  .588        .368  .065  .258  .152  .344  .594    

Indiana                 Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF PPWS
Bassett, Armon         38:07  +12  11/67  0- 2  3- 9  2- 2 11/50  3/39  0/59  2/59  0/30  0/28  3/30   0 0.92
Ellis, Jamarcus        33:57  +19  10/61  4- 7  0- 0  2- 2  7/50  2/43  4/54  0/54  0/18  5/30  8/24   3 1.26
White, D.J.            33:34  +16  17/61  6-11  1- 1  2- 2 12/47  0/35  3/53  2/52  2/23  2/27  3/24   1 1.31
Gordon, Eric           30:56  + 6  20/53  4- 7  0- 4 12-14 11/37  2/26  1/48  4/50  2/28  1/22  2/27   2 1.13
Stemler, Lance         22:29  + 4   2/33  1- 1  0- 3  0- 0  4/33  1/29  2/35  1/33  0/15  1/20  2/19   3 0.50
Crawford, Jordan       19:41  +10   7/38  1- 3  1- 4  2- 2  7/30  0/23  1/31  0/28  0/13  1/18  1/13   1 0.88
Taber, Kyle            13:05  + 7   2/24  1- 1  0- 0  0- 0  1/16  0/15  0/20  0/21  0/12  2/10  1/11   1 2.00
Thomas, DeAndre         5:18    0   0/ 8  0- 1  0- 0  0- 0  1/ 7  0/ 6  0/ 8  0/ 8  0/ 3  0/ 5  1/ 4   1 0.00
White, Mike             1:07  - 2   0/ 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 0  0/ 0  0/ 1  0/ 2  0/ 4  0/ 0  0/ 4   0   --
Ahlfeld, Adam           1:07  - 2   0/ 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 0  0/ 0  0/ 1  0/ 2  0/ 4  0/ 0  0/ 4   0   --
Finkelmeier, Brett      0:35    0   0/ 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 0  0/ 0  0/ 0  0/ 1  0/ 0  0/ 0  0/ 0   0   --
TOTALS                 40:00          69 17-33  5-21 20-22    54  8/22 11/62 10/62  4/30 13/32 21/32  12 1.07
                                          .515  .238  .909        .364  .177  .161  .133  .406  .656    

Efficiency: Minnesota 0.887, Indiana 1.113
eFG%: Minnesota 45.9, Indiana 45.4
Substitutions: Minnesota 25, Indiana 26

2-pt shot selection
Dunks: Minnesota 1-1, Indiana 1-1
Layups/Tips: Minnesota 7-20, Indiana 9-16
Jumpers: Minnesota 4-9, Indiana 7-16

The HD Box Score is something created by Ken Pomeroy, which I've tried to duplicate for my own purposes. kenpom explains the data here. The only thing different here is the Points Per Weighted Shot (PPWS) column, which John Gasaway (the erstwhile Big Ten Wonk) told me about here.

In Search of Some D

The Golden Gophers come calling at the Assembly Hall (IN version) tonight, and the Hoosiers could use a good performance.  Of course, they could also use a win, but they really need to figure out how to play D under Dakich. After the Michigan St. game, I pointed out that the Hoosiers had posted 2 of their worst 3 defensive performances for the season since Dakich took the helm, and that's something that needs to be corrected for any team that wants to play well in any tournament.

Since this is the second game IU is playing against Minnesota, I'd like to able to look back on the HD box score from the first go-round to get some idea of what might be key in tonight's game. Unfortunately, we don't have an HD box score for that game because Minnesota didn't release the substitution info for it. I made a go at generating that data myself from the game tape, but it didn't quite work out. However, the keys to that game were defense, turnovers (sort of), and free throws.

In the first meeting, the Hoosiers turned it over on 35% of their possessions, by far their worst performance of the season in that regard. The reason that was only sort of a key is that the Hoosiers managed to win 65-60 in spite of those turnovers, which is kind of amazing to me. Still, Indiana played excellent defense against the Gophers, holding them to 0.885 points per possession, their second best defensive effort in conference play (the game at Michigan was their best, at 0.883 PPP). Jordan Crawford was huge in that game, too, posting 16 points while hitting 4 of 6 3's. Even huger for the Hoosiers was Spencer Tollackson of Minnesota, who failed to hit even one free throw in 7 attempts. That vaunted Indiana free throw defense came through for them again (although the rest of the Gophers went 11 for 14 from the line).

Still, if a team with a potent offense like Indiana's can keep its opponents under 1 point per possession, you have to like its chances. And therein lies the rub: can the Hoosiers play any D in the post-Sampson era? Big A over at Inside the Hall suggested that there might be some issues with certain players not being fully on board with Dakich, and I could see that.  In fact, I wondered about it in this space after the Northwestern game. I can't say that I've seen much of that myself, but I haven't done a good job of watching for it, either. Let's hope the East Lansing beat-down served as a wake up call for the whole team.

With their pressing D, the Gophers are second only to Purdue at forcing turnovers in conference games. So expect more pressure tonight. The Hoosiers need to do a better job at keeping their hands on the ball and throwing it to players wearing the same color jerseys tonight. On the plus side for Indiana, Minnesota ranks eighth in the conference in defending two-pointers and defensive free throw rate, as well as tenth in defensive rebounding. Those are areas that IU might be able to exploit, given that the Hoosiers rank second in two point FG%, second in offensive free throw rate, and third in offensive rebounding percentage.

Conversely, Minnesota's offense is very good on the offensive glass and in getting to the free throw line, ranking second and fourth, respectively, in the conference in those categories. But that plays into the hands of the Hoosiers D, which is the best in the conference at defensive rebounding and fourth at keeping opponents off the line.

The numbers appear to favor the Hoosiers. They should also have emotion on their side, too, given that it's Senior Night in Bloomington. Hopefully, the attendant emotion can translate into elevated play for IU. The real questions are whether IU can hold onto the ball and whether the Hoosier D can rebound enough for the Hoosiers to pull out a win.

Down the Stretch They Come...

With their win last night over Michigan State, Wisconsin pretty much assured themselves of at least a share of the Big Ten title.  Oh sure, they could lose one of their two remaining games, but I give that a zero percent chance of happening.  For PTI fans, that's the big squadoosh.  They host terrible Penn State (5-10 conference, 13-14 overall) and then close out on the road against even more terrible Northwestern (1-14 conference, 8-18 overall).

It's a tougher road for Purdue.  They host Northwestern, then travel to Ohio State (8-7 conference, 17-11 overall) and Michigan (5-11 conference, 9-19 overall).  They should win out, but the road game at Ohio State looms as their potential stumbling point.

Indiana has the toughest remaining schedule.  They must travel to Michigan State (10-5 conference, 22-6 overall), host Minnesota (7-8 conference, 17-10 overall), and travel to Penn State.  Clearly the Michigan State game is the test.  The Spartans have lost 4 of their last 7 games... all losses coming on the road.  The only terrible loss was to Penn State.  The others were Purdue, Indiana, and Wisconsin... the top of the Big Ten.  They've not lost a conference game at the Breslin Center this season.

Here are the Big Ten Standings:

	Big Ten Conference			Overall
School	W-L	PF	PA	W-L	PF	PA	STRK
Wisconsin	14-2	1037	887	24-4	1903	1536	W5
Indiana	13-2	1076	971	24-4	2139	1785	W4
Purdue	13-2	1017	916	22-6	1915	1703	W1
Michigan State	10-5	984	913	22-6	2007	1733	L1
Ohio State	8-7	974	896	17-11	1887	1692	L3
Minnesota	7-8	1002	1012	17-10	1916	1725	L1
Penn State	5-10	922	1052	13-14	1778	1801	W1
Iowa	5-11	883	963	12-17	1633	1682	L2
Michigan	5-11	991	1066	9-19	1798	1925	L1
Illinois	3-12	940	955	11-17	1811	1734	L3
Northwestern	1-14	887	1082	8-18	1645	1783	W1