IU fan here

While I appreciate that you have watched a good deal of our team , it is apparent that IU is all lot better than Drake. A lot of analyst actually picked both drake and kent state to pull the upsets. Kent was known to have a very disruptive defense and strength was guard play. They gave Houston and Gonzaga all they wanted pre conference. Was actually surprised to see us walk away with double digit victory. If Miami makes < 8 three pointers IU wins this game. Because that tells me we played it at our pace and turned it into a rock fight and not a drag race. For all that are confident in either direction I wish I had that confidence because Vegas feels different and has this as a near toss up.
Or that Miami shot poorly. Bottomline, if Miami plays the game they are capable of, they win. They are the better team, better perimeter shooters.
 
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Jabari was more of a mid range jump shooter not a post up type of banger. Auburn did have 7 ft 1 Walker Kessler (DPOY Colley basketball) We got him out of the game due to our style. Auburn played into our style which played into our hands.

If we can turn this game into a track meet then we will win. If this turns into a half court game then it will be a tough night for us imo. TJD is a very skilled and physical college player. He will get his 20 and 10 but we must double down and turn him over his left shoulder ( make him go right). We need to push TJD off the block and keep him 8 ft out on his catches. Hopefully Omier plays smart (force him right.. stay on the ground on fakes) Omier needs to be physical and block out. I have confidence that we win this game.

Go Canes!! Canes by 8 pts
 
Jabari was more of a mid range jump shooter not a post up type of banger. Auburn did have 7 ft 1 Walker Kessler (DPOY Colley basketball) We got him out of the game due to our style. Auburn played into our style which played into our hands.

If we can turn this game into a track meet then we will win. If this turns into a half court game then it will be a tough night for us imo. TJD is a very skilled and physical college player. He will get his 20 and 10 but we must double down and turn him over his left shoulder ( make him go right). We need to push TJD off the block and keep him 8 ft out on his catches. Hopefully Omier plays smart (force him right.. stay on the ground on fakes) Omier needs to be physical and block out. I have confidence that we win this game.

Go Canes!! Canes by 8 pts

Spot on. I expect TJD to have to work hard on defense. A lot of high ball screens with Norchad pick and rolling. If Pack is on then we are good to go on half court sets. I like Norchad with a double double. 14/12 would be ideal.

We are going to want to run tonight and I think we can.
 
What makes Miami truly tough is what an opposing coach called Miamis defense controlled chaos. It asks for you to not allow the ball into the opposing teams front court because of our size disadvantage. And our offense lead the ACC in scoring we are dangerous when all the wheels are turning. We can run and I’m not so sure Indiana can run quite as well.
What makes Miami tough is Coach Larranaga
 
The 'Canes are going to have trouble defending the paint as their yearly statistics suggest plus their season-long lack of defensive commitment. They will have hit contested perimeter shots and try to get IU defenders in foul trouble although in tournament games foul calls are historically fewer as referees allow for physical play unless it results in huge advantages or obvious hacks. Tempo does not favor 'Canes with a smaller team as actually IU seeks to push the tempo from defensive pressure and forcing hurried 3 pt shots or initiate breaks from blocked shots. What is against IU this year is the follow-up game from an emotional win, not sure if it is physical fatigue or mental-emotional fatigue.

The biggest adjustment will be how the 'Canes adjust to the blocked shot on dives to the rim or the threat and altered shots from both TJD averages 2.73 per game (5th in the nation) and Thompson who averages 1.2 blocks per game in 22 minutes. The smaller lineup also invites an 8th-level substitute of Geronimo who has a 42-inch vertical leap and averages a block per game. Both Geronimo and Thompson were hurt during the year and appear to be recovering to full strength. IU's losses can be directly attributed to teams who can shoot and make more than 12 or more threes at 40% while shooting over 48% in twos. If IU is able to score more than 50 points in the paint they succeed.

If the 'Canes choose not to double TJD at the post he will score more than 30 and still dish out 5 or more assists. If they double then the pressure is on the supporting cast. Just giving the old timers a comparison, TJD has emerged much in the way Bill Russell played the game as he is not a typical #5 post player. He is 6'9" but has a wingspan that is normal to 7-footers, has the quickest recovery jump, and has a vertical leap of 39-40"s. His offense is limited to a strong left hand over his right shoulder but balances that with footwork and quickness that rivals swing forwards down low. He will also lead the break-off rebounds or will run out on long rebounds and beat his opponent to the basket.

IU's key to the game is whether Thompson, Kopp, or Bates contributes above their averages as IU will get a dozen from Hood Scafino and twenty points from TJD.
Speaking as a grad of both schools, you get Indiana more than the Hoosier fan that started this thread.

Miami will not win simply by athletic havoc or pushing the pace. IU has better athletes than the assesment here, and are flexible to that end stylistically more than just about any B1G team. Mike Woodson is a legit tactical coach, even if his hustle on the recruiting trail is ... about what you'd expect from a long time NBA coach. IU is very much a 2nd half team, and typically comes out with clear adjustments.

Miami's key to winning this that IU hasnt had their best on ball defender since December, Xavier Johnson. Pack, Wong, & Miller's creation and shot making in the half court will be critical, and they will need to do it versus arguably the top rim defender left in the tournament. They can do that though, and if the Canes can confidently hit the 40%/50% 3pt/2pt marker you alluded too, IUs lack of perimeter fire power becomes problematic.
 
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An interesting theme here is how Pack performs against his home town Hoosiers. On the other side Malik Reneau has figured out how to play without fouling, and it will be tough for IU to defend both TJD & Reneau in the post before we consider that Malik is playing his home town Miami Hurricanes.
 
Not exactly breaking news that if you score a lot of points you’re probably gonna win, but 75 seems to be the magic number for Indiana.

They have given up 75 points 9 times this season. They’re 1-8 in those 9 games. We gotta find a way to score the ball, which is obviously what we’ve been good at all year. We know the defense generally isn’t great, and Vegas has the line at 145.5, so they expect a low 70s game for both sides. But the 63 points Miami scored Friday night was a season low. And we somehow won. It’s gotta be more efficient tonight. I think if we hit 75, we win. I don’t think IU has the firepower to win a game in the 80s.
 
This game sort of Reminds me of the Auburn Game last year.

- Guard Heavy Miami team
- Slower paced Indiana team
- Emphasis on post play (Indiana)
- Not a great 3Pt shooting team (Indi)
- Miami is the more athletic Team
- Miami coming off a rough outting and Indiana coming off a solid game

In Miamis average loss has been by 3.8 points (excluding Maryland ) while averaging 74.8 PPG.

Indianas average loss has been by: 11.8 points while averaging 67.6 in those losses.

Miamis Best wins have been to:

- *Providence by 10
- Vs Rutgers by 7
- Vs Nc State by 7
- Vs UVA By 2
- Vs Duke By 22
- @UNC by 8
- @Vtech by 9

Our Worst losses have been:

*Maryland by 18
@Gtech by 6
@ PITT by 6
Vs FSU by 1

Indianas Best wins:

*Xavier by 2
Vs UNC by 12
Vs Wisconsin by 18
Vs MICH state by 12
Vs Rutgers by 6
@Purdue by 5
Vs Purdue by 7

Their worst losses:

@Rutgers by 15
@ Arizona by 14
@ Kansas by 22
@ Penn state by 19
@ Maryland by 11
@ MICH state by 15
Vs Iowa by 22

They struggled particularly on the Road this year. Especially on offense.

I know we only scored 63 but seeing Indians only score 71 against a much Worse Kent state team gives me confidence. Our team has more Depth/Scoring ability/Speed & the ability to force turnovers a lot better than Kent state does.

We may have only scored 63 but we also only allowed 56. Not to mention we came back from being down 54-47 with only several minutes to go. AND we had 3/5 of our starting Lineup in shooting slumps (Omier, Wong, Miller)

When we played Auburn last year our: Speed, Driving ability, ability to create Chaos on D & Guard play is what won us that game.

The game before we went from scoring 66 to 79 against a #2 Seed with two EXTREMELY talented big men. Personally i would also take Dukes 2 Bigmen in Livey/Filipowski + their Guards over the 2 Big men from indiana. They have average Guard play and I’m not sure they have the ability to consistently cover: Miller, Pack, Wong, Poplar, Beverly, Joseph consistently over a 40 minute period. They do not have the Speed/Guard depth IMO, Auburn had that same issue and we see how that turned out for them last year…

 
Not exactly breaking news that if you score a lot of points you’re probably gonna win, but 75 seems to be the magic number for Indiana.

They have given up 75 points 9 times this season. They’re 1-8 in those 9 games. We gotta find a way to score the ball, which is obviously what we’ve been good at all year. We know the defense generally isn’t great, and Vegas has the line at 145.5, so they expect a low 70s game for both sides. But the 63 points Miami scored Friday night was a season low. And we somehow won. It’s gotta be more efficient tonight. I think if we hit 75, we win. I don’t think IU has the firepower to win a game in the 80s.
The danger zone for Miami is that for all the reasons this is true, you also are taking a risk pushing the pace and pulling the trigger early in the shot clock. IU is very good in transition, so if you aren't hitting your shooting splits you give a team that lacks perimeter fire power easy opportunities without a set defense. There record in games that go over 140 is still like 14-6, so its not just pace that does it.

It's shot creators and shot makers on the perimeter. Miami has those horses, will they perform?
 
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Coming off such a skiddy offensive performance I look at that as a abberation. Miller and Wong will look to score quickly and often. Pack should have a strong game and Norshad looks like Norshad. Indiana has a good defense but not enough to thwart a Miami team that when it’s on can space you and race with you and play havoc with their defense.🙌🦍👍
 
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Some of these guys are just rude mongoloids so please ignore them.

Kobe Bryant GIF
 
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The danger zone for Miami is that for all the reasons this is true, you also are taking a risk pushing the pace and pulling the trigger early in the shot clock. IU is very good in transition, so if you aren't hitting your shooting splits you give a team that lacks perimeter fire power easy opportunities without a set defense. There record in games that go over 140 is still like 14-6, so its not just pace that does it.

It's shot creators and shot makers on the perimeter. Miami has those horses, will they perform?
Miami is 18-5 in games over 140 so I say bring it IU. Miami is also 13-3 in games where it scores 80 or more. Most importantly, IU is 0-7 when it gives up 80 points or more. And 1-7 when IU has given up 75 points or more. Miami is 20-3 when it scores 75 points or more.
 
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Here is a metric not discussed. In its last 7 games, IU has been outrebounded in 6 of them. Of our 7 losses, we were outrebounded in 5 of those games. And that includes Duke where we did not have Norchad. Win the boards and we are going to be in very good shape.
This is what you will see most IU fans discussing coming out of the Kent State game. Rebounding has been poor, rebound and lock in consistently. IUs defense is top 30 in adj efficiency, but it would be more accurate to say there's a top 5 defense and one closer to where Miami's sits in the low 100s. Actually fairly similar in regards to high ceiling low floor production.
 
IU fan here. Congratulations on your victory in the 1st round and excited to be playing Miami in the round of 32. With the day in between games really wanted to talk about the matchup. I can tell you about our team.

We all know the star of our team is TJD. He has improved immensely the last two years. I thoroughly believe he should be NPOY. He has put up stats that have not been seen in college in decades each game we get a factoid of him doing something that Hans been done in 30 years. Most recently it was a 20pt/10rebound/5 assist/5block game vs Kent. Miami will not be able to stop him truthfully nobody has. He’s going to get his and that’s okay. He stuffs the stat sheet but that does not translate to wins. Jackson Davis does not shoot jump shots. (Ever) has never made a 3 pointer and rarely attempts or makes shots outside of the paint. He’s prone to biting on pump fakes but generally stays out of foul trouble.

Jalen hood schifino is our best guard. A good ball handler and steady guard. Never gets too high or low. Being projected as a potential 1st rounder. Has an nba game. But a long way to go. He’s pretty good in the pick and roll but doesn’t have a game where he’s going to blow by you. His defense and athleticism are probably average. His bread and butter is the 15 ft jump shot. He hits it at a pretty good rate. A lost art in the game. Would venture to say nobody shoots that midrange shot more than JHS in college basketball. Has driven IU fans mad this season as he will often take the midrange shot 1 foot inside of the three point line which is the worst shot in basketball.

Race Thompson is our other big. Kind of our glue guy. 6th year senior. Big strong body. Gets a lot junk plays. Has a nice baby hook around the basket but will cancel it out with bone headed decision making at times. Not going to out athlete anybody more of a big bodied guy who rebounds and gets put backs. Typically left wide open on the perimeter because of his 20% rate from there. Did make a few last night as he has good form but gets his off rebounds and dump downs from tjd.

Trey Galloway. Your quintessential Indiana player. Coaches son. All heart. He hustles. He hustles and hustles some more. Sneaky athletic and plays good defense. Just pesky. He’s not gonna go get us 20 but he plays his roll of creating for others and causing havoc. Does have the ability to drive to the rim and can make the three ball if left open. Otherwise his wind up and release take too long to get off. Very prone to foul trouble.

Bench we use Tamar bates and malik reneau. Bates is currently in a sophomore slump. Highly recruited but the last 10 games hasn’t been able to find the bottom of the basket. Desperately needs to as we need another scorer. Kid can go for 15 any game due to being streaky and able to score at all three levels. But currently is giving us 0/_. Each game. Reneau is a Miami kid. His best days are ahead of him. Has a very soft touch around the basket. And is a good rebounder. Plays like a freshman though. Will be a future star in our league I believe.

That’s about it for our team. Miami has me genuinely worried. I think we played well vs Kent and I think Miami got their bad game out of the way. Our inability to shoot the three ball scares me. In our last 6 losses opponents have made a combined 45 more three throws than us. And that’s what worries me is that Miami comes out firing. Nigel pack is an Indiana kid and will have a lot to prove as he always wanted IU to recruit him but the prior staff didn’t.

If JHS plays well it means we won this game if he has an off night Miami wins. Either way this is a 4 point game either way. Tell me about your team !

Best of luck. Should be a great game. Look forward to it.
 
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