IU fan here

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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 !
 
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Was just hoping to learn some about your team
Some of these guys are just rude mongoloids so please ignore them. This isn’t exactly a friendly place for fans of opposing teams though it’s not like you’re a gator or ND fan. I do appreciate you coming on here and providing that breakdown. I am not one who follows basketball - though I know not to say “What’s up Knight” to the wrong coach - so hopefully someone who does can add some things on our team.

Maybe @jkdood @Memnon or @IndayArtHauz know something about it???
 
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 !
Thanks for the insight. I came away impressed with IU and felt they were seeded correctly at 4.

I was displeased to learn that 2 of your 5* freshman are from Miami. We all have a small gripe with the current staff about not recruiting south Florida or even the entire state. It’s weird and I don’t understand it.

What you watched yesterday was our worst offensive game in multiple seasons. Despite what L said, it was not just Drake’s defense. Nijel and Wooga got theirs, but Wong hasn’t played that badly since he was physically sick and I cannot ever remember Miller being such a non factor. Wong I have a box for underperforming, Miller I do not, and I have to just assume it won’t happen again.

That said we played about as badly as humanly possible on O and still won, which is encouraging. On a normal day we aren’t shooting better from outside the arc than inside it, in fact I can’t ever recall that happening before. Also we are very sound from the stripe, but don’t always shoot it 28 times a game.

What makes Miami difficult to beat is usually the consistent scoring from a wide cast and good enough defensive pressure. We don’t have anyone averaging 17 ppg, but we average like 80 a game. Wong gets the headlines but it’s all the other pieces who make the battleship so hard to sink. Miller, Wooga, Pack, Omier to an extent, could all get 20+ and it wouldn’t surprise me. This has to be one of the best scoring teams of L’s tenure, and it makes winning that much easier.

That said, I think we have an athletic advantage against you but would expect to get roughed up in the paint again. IU has size and your freshman G aside most of that size is where the athleticism is. Miller is going to be critical for us, and we have to defend Davis’ when he has the ball and immediately switch when he distributes. If you all aren’t shooting well the job becomes obviously easier, but we can’t be trailing our guy when defending the perimeter. Kobb or whatever his name was cant catch and shoot without a body in front of him, let alone a hand.

Davis is going to score a lot, but we have to make it as challenging as possible (without Omier fouling out) and anticipate his outlets passes. We aren’t going to hold IU to 60 points, but we can make each basket **** by getting into passing lanes, causing turnovers and frustrating shooters.

Aside from a blowout, no outcome would surprise me. Both teams are balanced and have counters to each other that are real but to my eye not exploitative. I like what we can do on the wing though, and I like us in transition if we can disrupt your possessions. That is Miami basketball.
 
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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.
 
Thanks for the insight. I came away impressed with IU and felt they were seeded correctly at 4.

I was displeased to learn that 2 of your 5* freshman are from Miami. We all have a small gripe with the current staff about not recruiting south Florida or even the entire state. It’s weird and I don’t understand it.

What you watched yesterday was our worst offensive game in multiple seasons. Despite what L said, it was not just Drake’s defense. Nijel and Wooga got theirs, but Wong hasn’t played that badly since he was physically sick and I cannot ever remember Miller being such a non factor. Wong I have a box for underperforming, Miller I do not, and I have to just assume it won’t happen again.

That said we played about as badly as humanly possible on O and still won, which is encouraging. On a normal day we aren’t shooting better from outside the arc than inside it, in fact I can’t ever recall that happening before. Also we are very sound from the stripe, but don’t always shoot it 28 times a game.

What makes Miami difficult to beat is usually the consistent scoring from a wide cast and good enough defensive pressure. We don’t have anyone averaging 17 ppg, but we average like 80 a game. Wong gets the headlines but it’s all the other pieces who make the battleship so hard to sink. Miller, Wooga, Pack, Omier to an extent, could all get 20+ and it wouldn’t surprise me. This has to be one of the best scoring teams of L’s tenure, and it makes winning that much easier.

That said, I think we have an athletic advantage against you but would expect to get roughed up in the paint again. IU has size and your freshman G aside most of that size is where the athleticism is. Miller is going to be critical for us, and we have to defend Davis’ when he has the ball and immediately switch when he distributes. If you all aren’t shooting well the job becomes obviously easier, but we can’t be trailing our guy when defending the perimeter. Kobb or whatever his name was cant catch and shoot without a body in front of him, let alone a hand.

Davis is going to score a lot, but we have to make it as challenging as possible (without Omier fouling out) and anticipate his outlets passes. We aren’t going to hold IU to 60 points, but we can make each basket **** by getting into passing lanes, causing turnovers and frustrating shooters.

Aside from a blowout, no outcome would surprise me. Both teams are balanced and have counters to each other that are real but to my eye not exploitative. I like what we can do on the wing though, and I like us in transition if we can disrupt your possessions. That is Miami basketball.

Very well put.

Only thing I'd add; Miami has trouble closing out games in January and dropped four close ACC contests (including a blown eight point lead at Pitt in final two minutes and the Panthers going on an 11-0 run to close out)—part of a 3-4 streak the Canes followed up with an eight-game win-streak after a good bounce-back game against Virginia Tech and then a tough road win at Clemson, before waking Duke by 22 points and beating Louisville, North Carolina, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech (again) before a mojo-killing game against an eight-win FSU squad that rattled off 54 in the second half—an ACC-worst collapse as Miami led by 23 at the half.

The Canes haven't looked like their old February form self since losing to the Noles. Tough win over Pittsburgh (where Wong had a bad outing and Poplar saved the game with six 3's and Miller had a clutch 17-point outing) before surviving Wake Forest in teh conference tourney and falling to Duke when Omier went down in the first minute of the game.

Miami was 2-2 going into last night and came out tight, nervous, shell-shocked and with no mojo—but found some late with the full court press and a team huddle about not going out like this, followed by some more great defense and clutch free throws.

Did the Canes turn a corner last night, get that bad game out of the way and will they re-find their February form to reach the Sweet 16? Or will it be another ugly dogfight where they have to steal one late?

Agree with your point, off as Wong was—the uncharacteristically average outing from Miller was the shock last night and he needs to turn it around more than anybody. He had a good match-up last night and should've been more of a force, but played timid and wasn't aggressive.

Larrañaga said it last night; arguably the toughest defense Miami played all year last night—mixed with a horrible shooting night and awful start... but they played their worst and pulled it out, which for a good team would result in a solid bounce-back game.

We'll see where tomorrow takes the Canes, but really hoping this team can wake up and play to their potential for the first time in a few weeks.
 
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.
I think that is the style match up nightmare we need to utilize. Run em. Big is half court physical style basketball. Not sure we can win that ugly style match up against them, not with TJD on opposing team. We got to run and exploit that on ball defense I saw last night.
 
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We rank 350 in ncaa in taking the three point shot. It’s not really a part of our offense. We like rock fights in the 60s. I’m afraid if we allow 75+ to Miami it’s because we lost by double digits. Our common opponents this year we went 1-1 vs Rutgers , 1-1 vs Maryland. And beat North Carolina. I think this will be a very even matchup. Our most explosive guard Xavier Johnson went down in December with a broken foot and shut it down for the season With him I believe we could run with the best and had a final 4 caliber team. Now the offense is feed it to TJD and stand and wait for him to bail us out. He leads us in pts rebounds blocks and assists. Your guard play scares me. When we lose it’s because the opposing teams guards outplayed us.
 
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 !
a/s/l?
 
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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 !
During the game you better hope you see a lot of Anthony Walker, literal free points whenever he is on the court
 
I have watched IU a lot because my brother graduated from there. I hate IU because everyone who went there thinks they are special. IU hasn't won **** since 1987. Their fanbase is more delusional than our football fans. We will win this game. They do have TJD. Omier will make things tough on him. We are much better in the back court and nobody on IU can guard Miller. IU has one guy that can knock down 3's but he never shoots. He can't guard either. Love the Canes in this match up.
 
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I have watched IU a lot because my brother graduated from there. I hate IU because everyone who went there thinks they are special. IU hasn't won **** since 1987. Their fanbase is more delusional than our football fans. We will win this game. They do have TJD. Omier will make things tough on him. We are much better in the back court and nobody on IU can guard Miller. IU has one guy that can knock down 3's but he never shoots. He can't guard either. Love the Canes in this match up.

Excited Ric Flair GIF
 
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…
 
Thanks for giving us the keys to beating your team. I have forwarded this to Coach L.
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.
 
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.

 
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