Point Taken?

I don't know what we really know about the Hoosiers after their first two games, other than that they will undoubtedly be a constantly-evolving and likely-improving team over the course of the season. The one thing that's interesting to me after the first two games is the point guard play. Verdell Jones, III has been the starter for both games, and he seems to have flashes of brilliance, and a lot of potential upside (as Hubie Brown might say). He has been occasionally spelled by a short, scrappy walk-on from Carmel High School: Daniel Moore. What's interesting is how the team has played with them both on and off the floor. Here are team efficiency numbers with both of them on and off the floor in the Bemidji State game.

	Min	OEff on floor	OEff off floor	DEff on floor	DEff off floor
Jones	25:22	100.0	103.4	83.7	60.0
Moore	18:14	100.0	102.7	69.4	78.4

 

And here are the numbers for the IUPUI game

	Min	OEff on floor	OEff off floor	DEff on floor	DEff off floor
Jones	17:30	48.3	143.8	110.0	75.0
Moore	23:40	150.0	41.4	78.8	106.9

 

Again, it's probably too early to try to make any sweeping conclusions. However, in the first game, neither player's presence on the floor seemed to help the O, but the team did play better D while Moore was on the floor and worse when Jones was out there. The results were drastic against IUPUI, when Moore's presence coincided with greatly improved offensive and defensive efficiency, while Jones's PT coincided with poor team performance on both ends of the floor. We definitely can't attribute the team's play to the presence or absence of either player, but it is something I find interesting to look at. It will be even more interesting to see what happens as we move forward throughout the course of the season. Of course, the point may be moot, since I don't know the status Jones's ankle injury.

Speaking of moving forward, I don't think it matters who the Hoosiers trot out against Notre Dame this evening. As John Gasaway points out, the Irish are comprised of a scoring machine of staggering efficiency in Luke Harangody, surrounded by a bunch of guys who do little other than shoot -- and make -- 3's when the defense focuses on the big man. I'm not really sure what IU's approach will be. You don't want to play zone and sag in on Harangody because the perimeter guys will light you up. On the other hand, you Harangody will destroy the smallish and youngish Hoosier frontcourt if they try to play him straight up. The Hoosiers lack of rebounding chops is so much gasoline on the fire. I fear that Tom Pritchard, Kyle Taber, and Tijan Jobe will be hard-pressed to stay on the floor for any appreciable length of time due to foul trouble. All in all, I don't expect IU to have a good chance against what is a superior team on paper (or in this blog, anyway). But, as Kenny Mayne says, they don't play games on paper; they play them in TV sets. So let's see what happens.

IUPUI vs. Indiana HD Box Score 11-18-08

IUPUI                   Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF PPWS
Ashworth, John         39:04    0  15/57  3- 6  2- 4  3- 4 10/56  3/46  1/58  1/61  0/25  0/36  4/30   0 1.26
Young, Alex            34:29  + 7  15/57  4- 9  2- 7  1- 4 16/49  0/33  0/51  2/54  0/21  3/29  2/24   1 0.84
Nobles, Leroy          33:55  - 6   7/47  2- 6  1- 5  0- 0 11/47  1/36  0/50  2/52  0/21  0/31  2/27   3 0.64
Pettiford, Billy       33:15  - 4   4/48  2- 4  0- 0  0- 0  4/45  3/41  1/50  2/51  0/22  4/29  6/28   4 1.00
Glenn, Robert          32:19  + 3  12/55  5- 6  0- 0  2- 2  6/45  2/39  0/49  3/50  2/21  3/26  4/23   4 1.73
Avery, Jon             16:30  + 3   4/16  2- 3  0- 0  0- 0  3/22  0/19  2/24  0/23  2/ 9  1/15  2/12   2 1.33
Moss, Adrian            5:57  - 4   0/ 5  0- 1  0- 1  0- 0  2/ 7  1/ 5  1/ 8  1/ 8  0/ 4  0/ 5  0/ 6   0 0.00
Stone, Larry            2:16  - 7   0/ 0  0- 1  0- 0  0- 0  1/ 5  0/ 4  0/ 2  0/ 3  0/ 1  0/ 5  0/ 0   1 0.00
Smeathers, Jason        1:49  - 7   0/ 0  0- 1  0- 2  0- 0  3/ 4  0/ 1  0/ 2  0/ 3  0/ 1  0/ 4  0/ 0   0 0.00
Siakam, Christian       0:24    0   0/ 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 0  0/ 0  0/ 1  0/ 0  0/ 0  0/ 0  0/ 0   0   --
TOTALS                 40:00          57 18-37  5-19  6-10    56 10/23  5/61 11/62  4/25 11/36 20/30  15 0.94
                                          .486  .263  .600        .435  .082  .177  .160  .306  .667    

Indiana                 Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF PPWS
Pritchard, Tom         33:32  + 7  19/55  7- 8  0- 0  5- 7  8/44  1/36  0/52  1/51  2/31  3/27  7/29   1 1.68
Dumes, Devan           32:22  + 3  10/46  1- 3  2- 9  2- 2 12/42  3/30  0/51  4/48  0/30  0/26  2/31   3 0.77
Williams, Nick         28:33  - 3  10/39  4- 8  0- 1  2- 3  9/34  1/25  0/46  5/42  0/28  2/22  7/28   0 0.96
Moore, Daniel          23:40  +22   2/48  0- 0  0- 0  2- 2  0/27  6/27  1/33  2/32  0/20  1/13  1/21   2 2.11
Roth, Matt             23:12  + 8  12/37  0- 1  4- 9  0- 0 10/26  0/16  0/33  0/34  0/19  0/15  1/22   1 1.20
Jones, Verdell         17:30  -19   2/14  1- 3  0- 2  0- 0  5/22  3/17  0/30  1/29  0/18  0/17  0/15   2 0.40
Taber, Kyle            16:00  -13   5/18  1- 2  1- 1  0- 0  3/17  0/14  2/25  0/22  0/14  2/12  4/ 9   1 1.67
Story, Malik           15:58  + 5   0/29  0- 0  0- 2  0- 0  2/23  2/21  0/22  0/24  0/15  0/13  3/12   2 0.00
Finkelmeier, Brett      6:13  + 7   0/11  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 8  1/ 8  0/10  0/ 9  0/ 7  0/ 4  0/ 8   0   --
Jobe, Tijan             2:57  - 2   0/ 3  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 2  0/ 2  0/ 3  1/ 4  0/ 3  0/ 1  0/ 5   2   --
TOTALS                 40:00          60 14-25  7-24 11-14    49 17/21  3/62 14/61  2/37 10/30 25/36  14 1.08
                                          .560  .292  .786        .810  .048  .230  .054  .333  .694    

Efficiency: IUPUI 0.919, Indiana 0.984
eFG%: IUPUI 45.5, Indiana 50.0
Substitutions: IUPUI 30, Indiana 34

2-pt shot selection
Dunks: IUPUI 3-3, Indiana 2-2
Layups/Tips: IUPUI 8-13, Indiana 10-18
Jumpers: IUPUI 7-21, Indiana 2-5

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.

Northwestern State vs. Indiana HD Box Score 11-15-08

Northwestern State      Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF PPWS
McConathy, Michael     25:56  - 5   7/43  1- 6  0- 5  5- 7 11/45  2/34  3/58  5/57  0/25  1/35  1/24   4 0.49
Jones, Damon           22:18  - 8  17/34  3- 5  3- 6  2- 2 11/39  0/28  1/47  3/47  1/25  1/31  1/22   4 1.42
Clark, C.J.            20:56  - 9   2/36  0- 5  0- 1  2- 2  6/35  3/29  0/49  0/49  4/21  2/26  6/24   1 0.29
Mosley, William        18:41  - 8   2/32  0- 0  0- 0  2- 4  0/33  0/33  1/37  1/38  0/19  2/25  2/11   2 1.05
Hancock, Keithan       17:57  -20   8/24  1- 5  2- 8  0- 0 13/27  2/14  2/38  5/40  0/22  1/22  0/21   1 0.62
Porterie, Kalem        17:30  -17  12/24  6- 7  0- 0  0- 3  7/27  0/20  0/37  2/40  0/22  3/22  3/20   4 1.42
Petravicius, Deividas  15:07    0   4/31  2- 4  0- 0  0- 0  4/27  2/23  0/33  2/32  0/17  2/18  1/14   3 1.00
McConathy, Logan       14:03  -13   0/22  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/24  4/24  0/28  2/30  0/15  0/19  3/15   3   --
Knight, Dominic        11:24  - 9   1/17  0- 0  0- 0  1- 2  0/20  0/20  0/26  4/28  0/ 8  2/15  3/15   5 1.05
White, Devin           10:09  + 4   5/20  1- 4  1- 1  0- 0  5/17  2/12  2/20  1/21  2/10  2/11  2/10   5 1.00
Brooks, Aramie          7:17  - 8   0/ 8  0- 4  0- 0  0- 2  4/14  0/10  0/16  2/15  0/ 7  4/14  3/12   2 0.00
Watkins, Dwayne         5:23  + 2   0/10  0- 3  0- 1  0- 0  4/12  0/ 8  0/13  0/11  0/ 1  1/10  0/ 1   1 0.00
Hulbin, James           5:23  + 2   2/10  1- 2  0- 0  0- 0  2/12  0/10  1/13  1/11  0/ 1  1/10  0/ 1   0 1.00
Clark, Charles          5:19  - 7   1/ 5  0- 1  0- 0  1- 2  1/ 8  0/ 7  1/ 8  1/10  1/ 7  0/ 9  0/ 4   0 0.51
Richardson, Darius      2:29  + 6   4/ 9  1- 1  0- 0  2- 4  1/ 5  0/ 4  1/ 7  0/ 6  0/ 0  2/ 3  0/ 1   0 1.38
TOTALS                 40:00          65 16-47  6-22 15-28    69 15/22 12/88 30/88  8/40 27/54 25/39  35 0.79
                                          .340  .273  .536        .682  .136  .341  .200  .500  .641    

Indiana                 Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF PPWS
Williams, Nick         28:22  +22   6/66  2- 4  0- 1  2- 4  5/39  0/34  2/63  6/61  0/30  2/23  6/36   1 0.87
Jones, Verdell         25:00  +14  18/52  4- 9  0- 2 10-13 11/39  5/28  3/53  3/52  3/27  1/26  3/31   3 1.05
Dumes, Devan           24:40  +13  21/54  2- 2  4- 8  5- 6 10/33  1/23  1/53  2/54  0/33  0/20  3/36   2 1.63
Pritchard, Tom         24:26  +16  13/54  5- 8  0- 0  3- 5  8/34  1/26  1/50  1/51  1/25  4/22  6/32   4 1.25
Taber, Kyle            23:33  +14   4/49  2- 6  0- 0  0- 0  6/35  2/29  1/53  3/48  1/33  4/23  2/33   0 0.67
Roth, Matt             18:00  +13   9/37  1- 1  1- 4  4- 4  5/30  0/25  2/38  0/37  0/18  1/24  1/27   1 1.30
Story, Malik           14:41  +16   3/38  1- 4  0- 0  1- 2  4/18  4/14  2/32  1/35  0/23  0/11  1/20   4 0.61
Moore, Daniel          14:26  +12   6/32  2- 2  0- 1  2- 3  3/26  3/23  0/31  2/32  0/19  0/21  1/21   5 1.36
Finkelmeier, Brett      9:41  + 3   2/17  1- 3  0- 0  0- 0  3/18  1/15  3/22  0/18  0/ 5  2/14  2/10   0 0.67
Jobe, Tijan             7:08  - 7   0/ 8  0- 1  0- 0  0- 2  1/ 8  0/ 7  0/16  0/15  0/11  0/ 8  1/12   1 0.00
Schutz, Kipp            2:57  - 6   1/ 3  0- 0  0- 0  1- 2  0/ 0  0/ 0  0/ 7  4/ 8  0/ 3  0/ 1  0/ 3   0 1.05
Barnett, Kory           2:29  - 6   0/ 3  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 0  0/ 0  0/ 6  0/ 7  0/ 3  0/ 1  0/ 3   3   --
Lewis, Broderick        2:08  - 8   0/ 1  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 0  0/ 0  0/ 5  1/ 6  0/ 3  0/ 1  0/ 3   0   --
White, Evan             1:49  - 7   0/ 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 0  0/ 0  0/ 4  0/ 4  0/ 2  0/ 0  0/ 3   1   --
TOTALS                 40:00          83 20-40  5-16 28-41    56 17/25 15/88 23/88  5/47 14/39 27/54  25 1.10
                                          .500  .313  .683        .680  .170  .261  .106  .359  .500    

Efficiency: Northwestern State 0.739, Indiana 0.943
eFG%: Northwestern State 36.2, Indiana 49.1
Substitutions: Northwestern State 60, Indiana 46

2-pt shot selection
Dunks: Northwestern State 0-0, Indiana 3-3
Layups/Tips: Northwestern State 13-31, Indiana 16-30
Jumpers: Northwestern State 3-16, Indiana 1-7


Indiana                 ScPoss  Poss    PtsProd FlrPct  ORat    Usage
Barnett, Kory           0.00    0.00    0.00    NaN     NaN     0.00    
Dumes, Devan            6.31    10.85   15.78   0.58    145.35  20.10   
Finkelmeier, Brett      1.52    2.75    3.24    0.55    117.92  15.28   
Jobe, Tijan             0.00    1.57    0.00    0.00    0.00    10.44   
Jones, Verdell          10.02   17.66   20.34   0.57    115.20  33.96   
Lewis, Broderick        0.00    1.00    0.00    0.00    0.00    16.67   
Moore, Daniel           3.18    5.95    6.54    0.53    109.79  18.61   
Pritchard, Tom          6.40    9.63    12.76   0.66    132.55  18.88   
Roth, Matt              3.46    5.30    8.45    0.65    159.36  14.34   
Story, Malik            2.43    5.51    5.07    0.44    91.90   15.75   
Taber, Kyle             3.07    8.54    6.57    0.36    76.98   17.79   
White, Evan             0.00    0.00    0.00    NaN     NaN     0.00    
Williams, Nick          3.36    11.68   6.34    0.29    54.28   19.15   
Schutz, Kipp            0.65    4.89    1.00    0.13    20.40   61.15   

Northwestern State      ScPoss  Poss    PtsProd FlrPct  ORat    Usage
Knight, Dominic         0.83    5.07    1.33    0.16    26.31   18.10   
Brooks, Aramie          0.33    5.14    0.67    0.06    13.00   34.29   
McConathy, Logan        0.67    2.67    1.64    0.25    61.50   8.91    
Clark, C.J.             1.60    4.39    3.68    0.37    83.80   8.97    
Watkins, Dwayne         0.08    1.94    0.17    0.04    8.60    17.67   
McConathy, Michael      4.21    14.13   8.04    0.30    56.89   24.79   
White, Devin            1.89    4.29    4.87    0.44    113.66  20.41   
Richardson, Darius      1.51    1.99    2.37    0.76    119.41  33.12   
Petravicius, Deividas   1.97    4.90    4.32    0.40    88.08   15.33   
Hancock, Keithan        2.86    12.51   7.96    0.23    63.57   31.29   
Jones, Damon            4.53    9.85    11.71   0.46    118.88  20.96   
Porterie, Kalem         2.76    6.65    5.90    0.42    88.62   16.63   
Hulbin, James           0.77    2.24    1.65    0.35    73.63   20.35   
Clark, Charles          0.66    2.37    1.00    0.28    42.22   23.66   
Mosley, William         1.49    2.97    2.33    0.50    78.57   7.81    

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.

Report: Vick not playing organized football in Kansas prison

...as opposed to the "organized" football he played for the Falcons.

Article here

Arkansas vs. Indiana HD Box Score 3-21-08

Arkansas vs Indiana
3/21/08 9:39pm at RBC Center, Raleigh NC

Arkansas                Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF PPWS
Weems, Sonny           37:36  +16  31/82  9-10  3- 4  4- 4 14/47  1/33  2/60  2/59  0/36  3/24  2/35   1 1.95
Beverley, Patrick      36:39  +10  12/79  1- 3  2- 4  4- 8  7/44  3/37  2/60  0/61  0/38  0/23  5/33   2 1.11
Ervin, Gary            36:38  +14   7/82  0- 1  0- 2  7- 8  3/43  7/40  0/61  3/62  0/36  0/21  3/34   3 1.03
Townes, Darian         33:06  +16  17/71  6-11  0- 0  5- 6 11/44  2/33  0/50  2/48  0/31  4/21  8/31   1 1.23
Hill, Steven           17:57  +13   2/41  1- 2  0- 0  0- 0  2/18  0/16  0/32  1/34  3/20  1/ 9  1/20   3 1.00
Thomas, Charles        11:09  + 3   8/30  1- 3  0- 0  6- 7  3/12  0/ 9  0/22  2/23  0/13  1/ 7  4/11   3 1.26
Hunter, Vincent        10:37  - 2   3/19  0- 0  1- 2  0- 0  2/11  1/ 9  0/17  0/16  0/10  0/ 5  0/10   3 1.50
Washington, Michael     8:16  - 1   0/14  0- 1  0- 1  0- 0  2/11  0/ 9  0/14  1/14  1/ 8  0/ 8  1/ 9   2 0.00
Welsh, Stefan           6:37  + 1   6/12  0- 0  2- 4  0- 0  4/10  0/ 6  0/12  1/11  0/ 8  0/ 7  1/ 8   0 1.50
Rakestraw, Nate         0:40    0   0/ 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 0  0/ 0  1/ 1  0/ 1  0/ 0  0/ 0  0/ 2   0   --
Britt, Marcus           0:40    0   0/ 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 0  0/ 0  0/ 1  0/ 1  0/ 0  0/ 0  0/ 2   0   --
TOTALS                 40:00          86 18-31  8-17 26-33    48 14/26  5/66 12/67  4/40  9/25 25/39  18 1.35
                                          .581  .471  .788        .538  .076  .179  .100  .360  .641    

Indiana                 Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF PPWS
Gordon, Eric           37:32  -10   8/72  3- 9  0- 6  2- 6 15/61  1/46  3/63  3/63  1/29  2/36  1/24   2 0.45
Bassett, Armon         36:39  -10  21/69  2- 2  5- 7  2- 2  9/57  7/48  2/61  3/60  0/29  1/33  2/23   1 2.11
White, D.J.            33:21  - 4  22/64 10-16  0- 0  2- 4 16/53  0/37  1/51  0/52  1/27  2/31  7/20   3 1.23
Ellis, Jamarcus        24:21  -10   6/43  0- 2  2- 2  0- 0  4/41  1/37  1/39  0/40  0/17  1/26  2/16   4 1.50
Stemler, Lance         22:44  -12   9/40  0- 1  3- 5  0- 0  6/37  0/31  0/40  0/39  0/18  1/21  0/18   5 1.50
Crawford, Jordan       22:17  -17   0/38  0- 3  0- 2  0- 0  5/35  4/30  1/40  0/40  1/19  0/23  2/13   3 0.00
Thomas, DeAndre        14:35  - 3   4/19  2- 6  0- 0  0- 0  6/20  1/14  0/22  3/21  0/11  3/14  1/10   4 0.67
Taber, Kyle             5:35  - 3   2/13  1- 1  0- 0  0- 0  1/ 7  0/ 6  0/ 8  0/ 9  0/ 4  0/ 3  0/ 0   1 2.00
White, Mike             1:13    0   0/ 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 3  0/ 3  0/ 2  0/ 2  0/ 1  0/ 3  0/ 1   0   --
McGee, Brandon          1:00  - 1   0/ 2  0- 0  0- 2  0- 0  2/ 4  0/ 2  0/ 3  0/ 3  0/ 0  0/ 3  0/ 0   0 0.00
Ahlfeld, Adam           0:40    0   0/ 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 2  0/ 2  0/ 1  1/ 1  0/ 0  1/ 2  0/ 0   0   --
TOTALS                 40:00          72 18-40 10-24  6-12    64 14/28  8/67 10/66  3/31 14/39 16/25  24 1.03
                                          .450  .417  .500        .500  .119  .152  .097  .359  .640    

Efficiency: Arkansas 1.284, Indiana 1.091
eFG%: Arkansas 62.5, Indiana 51.6
Substitutions: Arkansas 39, Indiana 30

2-pt shot selection
Dunks: Arkansas 3-3, Indiana 1-2
Layups/Tips: Arkansas 5-13, Indiana 9-19
Jumpers: Arkansas 10-15, Indiana 8-19

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.

Searching for Identity

During the Big Ten conference schedule, the Hoosiers established pretty clearly the areas in which they excelled. A gander at the Big Ten tempo-free stats shows that the Hoosiers were second best in the conference in 2-point FG% (only Ohio State was better) first in free throw rate, first in free throw percentage, and first in defensive rebounding. So they hit their shots in side the arc, got to the line (where they were deadly efficient), and kept their opponents from getting offensive rebounds.

Recently, though, either those strengths deserted IU, or Indiana got away from them. In their loss to Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament (HD Box here), Indiana still got to the free throw line a ton, but they didn't hit them with anywhere near their normal accuracy, hitting just 67.6% in that game when they connected at a 77.9% clip during the conference season. Especially different, though, were the two-point shooting and defensive rebounding. IU hit a paltry 41.7% of their 2's (and an atrocious 1 of 14 3's), and they allowed Minnesota to rebound an incredible 43% of their own misses. When you compare that to the conference season number of 28%, something was clearly amiss.

But there's no point in nattering on about such things. Everyone in the country probably knows that there's something amiss with the team. I will confess something, though. After all the missed free throws at the end of the game, when DJ finally hit the freebie to give IU the lead with just over a second left, I told the girl, "IU doesn't deserve to win this game. If Minnesota hits some ridiculous shot to win, I won't be surprised." Well, the only thing everyone in the country knows better than that something is amiss with the Hoosiers is that Blake Hoffarber hit an absurd left-handed almost hook/prayer to beat both the buzzer and the Hoosiers. The Girl was not the least bit pleased with me, claiming that I jinxed the team. If that's the case, please accept my apology.

But I say again that we should dwell on something else.  How about Indiana's NCAA game against Arkansas? First, a look at the kenpom scouting reports (IU Ark) makes me wish that I had full tempo-free conference stats for all conferences at my disposal, because both teams numbers are significantly worse for conference games only. The overall numbers predict a 73-69 IU win in 70 possessions, while the conference numbers predict a 70 - 69 IU win in 67 possessions. Either way, a close game is predicted by the numbers.  So let's look at some details.

When Arkansas Has the Ball

Arkansas' biggest strength on O seems to be their offensive rebounding, as the Razorbacks rank 21st in the country in O rebounding percentage. Couple that with their 48th best 2-point field goal percentage, and it seems that they are pretty strong inside. That's not really surprising, as the Razorbacks boast 5 players on their roster at or about 6'8". Four of those are 6'10" or better. That height has more of an impact on defense, according to Ken Pomeroy, but it plays out some on O, too. These Arkansas strengths lie in direct opposition to Indiana's defensive strengths. We mentioned above that IU was #1 in the Big Ten in defensive rebounding, and they are also 28th in the country on the overall season in that category. The Hoosiers are also 44th best in the country on the season in 2-point FG% defense. So it will be interesting to see how those elements play out.

The Arkansas offense turns the ball over quite a bit, shoots poorly beyond the arc, and doesn't get to the free throw line much, but the Hoosiers D rarely forces turnovers, doesn't defend 3's terribly well (but not terribly poorly, either). The Hoosiers are pretty good at keeping opponents off the free throw line, though, and they are excellent at defending the free throws they do give up.  ;-)

When Indiana Has the Ball

Interestingly, given their height, is that the Razorbacks are not especially adept at defending 2-point field goals. That seems even odder when you note that they are 13th best in the country at blocking shots. Furthermore, Arkansas is pretty middle of the road at keeping opponents off the free throw line. What the Arkansas defense excels at with all of that height, aside from blocking shots, is defending 3-pointers. All of those factors seem to play into the hands of the Indiana team we saw play throughout most of the Big Ten season, as 2-point shooting and free throws are the best pieces of Indiana's O.

However, the only other tall, shot-blocking defense the Hoosiers have played was UConn, and that didn't go their way. Still, UConn was good at stopping 2's but not 3's, and Indiana doesn't shoot a whole lot of 3's.

Really, the way the teams' strengths and weaknesses align, it seems like the Hoosiers should have the advantage.  But that's only if the team we saw play for most of the season shows up. If the team that has been frequently ineffective since the beginning of the Dakich era shows up, Indiana won't have to worry about how they match up with North Carolina.

What Exactly is a Hilltopper?

Watching the Drake - Western Kentucky game today, the Girl was looking at the Western Kentucky mascot and asking me what the hell it was supposed to be. After I said they were the Hilltoppers, the Girl indicated that she thought the big red blob might more closely resemble a placenta. Be they Hilltoppers or Placentas, Western Kentucky had to enjoy winning on the first buzzer beater of the tournament. In OT no less. Marvelous game! Madness, how we love ye!