No matter how you slice it and dice it as the calendar rolls over from 2019 to 2020 the Indiana University Men’s Basketball team is 11-2. And if everyone is being completely honest that is about what their preseason prediction would have been for the Hoosiers heading into the new year, give or take a win or a loss.



Now, the two losses may not have come from the games that they had figured IU would lose, but that also means that they won two games that some, if not most, had figured to be losses. So, the Hoosiers could easily be 13-0, and they could also just as easily be 9-4.

I personally had predicted IU at 12-1 heading into the break, with the lone loss coming at the hands of Florida State. And although I felt Arkansas could cause the Hoosiers some matchup problems, I still felt IU would come away with a win due to the preparation time leading up to the game, as well as it being played in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.



And I think we can all agree that the even with the Hoosiers lack of success in the past at the Kohl Center, the Wisconsin loss was a shock. Maybe how they played was more of a shock than the loss itself because most felt like “this was the year” but once again, for reasons unknown, the Hoosiers simply didn’t show up to play and the Badgers played their best game to date.



So here we are with our team at 11-2 awaiting the gauntlet that is the Big10 this year. There is truly no other word to describe the conference this year. I mean lets be honest, the Big10 is ALWAYS hard, but I’ve been following Indiana since 1975, and therefore the conference, and in that time there have been very few years that it’s been this strong from top to bottom. There’s not really that one team that is head and shoulders above the rest like in years past.



I know it’s a cliche’ but you had better bring your “A game” EVERY night or you will get your ass beat. And that’s what’s the most concerning to me in regards to the Hoosiers and the remainder of the season. Their “A game” is good enough, Hell, their “B game” can be good enough some nights, but they’ve yet to show the ability to bring either on a consistent basis. They’ve even shown two different levels of play within a single game.



Rob Phinisee missing so much time has effected that to some degree, and still is. He simply doesn’t look comfortable to me. Inconsistent outside shooting, which we all knew would be somewhat of an issue, is just that. Getting dribble happy for whatever reason is the head scratching one for me. The Hoosiers are very good offensively when they move the ball with the pass and when they cut and screen with a purpose. But they can go from looking incredible on the offensive end for long stretches to standing and watching someone dribble until a forced shot or pass has to be taken as the shot clock winds down.



The same can be said on the defensive end. which by the way is where I think IU’s identity needs to come from. Due to the lack of consistent shooting they need to find a way to understand just how good they are when they are locked in defensively. They have had what some call ugly wins this year, and I guess I agree. But in those ugly wins Indiana fought every single possession on defense and looked like a damned good defensive team doing so.



I was in the hospital for Sunday’s night game against Arkansas and saw very little of the game live. And what I did see, I didn’t really remember. But my Monday morning Twitter feed suggested that the sun wouldn’t be coming up in Bloomington that morning. I was finally released that day after a 4 night stay and was able to watch the game at home on my DVR. Point blank, the Hoosiers should have won. And that’s no disrespect to the Razorbacks, because they stayed true to what they do and the Hoosiers went cold, so they won.



Indiana’s lack of success for quite a few seasons now has the fan base ready for a winner...period. But it also makes them have knee jerk reactions to losses. Everyone has their own belief as to where they want IU to be and how they can get there. But the reality is, if you look around college basketball right now there are very few consistent teams.



Shoulda. Coulda. Woulda....The bottom line is Indiana is 11-2. And some quality wins negate the weak non conference schedule argument for me. The inconsistency is the thing that troubles me the most. Here’s to hoping that consistency is the theme for the Hoosiers as we head into the new year.



Have a safe and Happy New Year! Go Hoosiers!