Tuesday, December 3rd and Saturday, December 7th couldn’t have been any different for both the Indiana Hoosiers basketball team, and it’s fans. On Tuesday against Florida State, which was IU’s first real test of the season, the Hoosiers displayed a tenacious defense and a willingness to share the ball on offense that resulted in a 16 point win that really wasn’t that close.

That first real test answered a lot of questions that had arose through the previous seven games of the non-conference schedule…or so we thought. Saturday’s game, a mere four days later at Wisconsin, taught us that the only answer that we learned against FSU was that the Hoosiers were more than capable of playing a quality game against a quality opponent.

The Badgers controlled Saturday’s game in the Kohl Center from the opening tip. Despite coming off of three straight losses, the last one being a complete dismantling at the hands of North Carolina St. in the ACC/B10 Challenge, they were not only the aggressors, they were confident and in complete control on both ends of the floor. They spread IU’s defense and moved the ball from a good shot, to a better shot, to a great shot, and they knocked them down at a clip they hadn’t all year.

Indiana has NEVER played well in the Kohl Center. In fact, yesterday’s loss was their 18th straight since winning their first game there in 1998. None of that should matter though, because each year is another chance to get a win. Winning on the road in college basketball is tough. Winning on the road in the B10 is really tough. Winning on the road when you don’t bring the same intensity, especially on the defensive end, that you do at home, is virtually impossible.

The most troubling thing for me was the fact that IU looked almost disinterested. The initial push out of the gate by the Badgers shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone. They were at home, against an opponent that they’ve obviously had success against, and it was the B10 opener. The surprise for me came when the second unit for IU basically had the same unwillingness to play defense that the first unit did. No matter who was on the floor, Wisconsin was able to get anywhere on the court they wanted to get and they consistently knocked down almost wide open looks from deep.

The second most troubling thing was that when the Badgers did miss, way too many times they out fought IU for the rebound and then capitalized on their second chance. The rebounding battle ended up 29-28 in favor of Wisconsin, but those totals were evened up after the outcome had pretty much been decided. Make no mistake, IU played better in the second half. In fact, they played Wisconsin even in the second half (37-37). But on a couple of different occasions the Badger lead grew to 30 points, and IU trailed by 20 at the half.

The Hoosiers gave up 47 points in the first half. FORTY SEVEN POINTS! That is ridiculous and inexcusable. Hell, even the 37 points they gave up in the second half is inexcusable in my opinion. Indiana is way too good, and way too capable defensively to allow that many points. But yet they did.

Some will point towards their less than desirable non conference schedule, which I can understand to some degree, but how do those people explain the FSU game? Some will say that all of the pats on the back after the FSU game and the 8-0 start to the season had the Hoosiers believing that they were just a little better than they were, and who knows, they may be right. Some might say they were unprepared. To that I say bullshit.

All I do know for sure is that the game film from Tuesday night’s win and Saturday afternoon’s loss have to look as different as Night & Day, for whatever reason. And I personally believe that the IU we saw against the Seminoles is closer to the Indiana Hoosiers we’ll see going forward this season than the ones we saw Saturday against the Badgers.

I make no excuses for their performance on Saturday. They stunk…PERIOD. Starting two freshman and not having your starting point guard, AGAIN, is not a recipe for winning on the road in the B10. But not giving the effort you’ve shown you can give is the recipe for disaster. Which is exactly what Saturday was, a disaster.

Does Indiana bounce back Tuesday in a neutral site game in New York against UCONN? I think so. I think Saturdays debacle is the perfect teaching tool. IU didn’t handle success very well. Now we’ll see how they handle adversity. I have no concerns about our talent. I have no concerns about our roster, once healthy. My only concern is a lot of the “firsts” that the young guys will face going forward, and how they handle them. Our upper classmen need to be leaders, both vocally and by example. Saturday they were neither.

The first seven games outcomes were exactly what we expected as fans. Going into the FSU game there were some concerns and questions. Coming out of it, there was a newfound belief that this team could make some noise in the B10 and be dancing in March. Saturday’s result had some IU fans showing their ignorance and declaring the entire season a disaster. In a nutshell, basketball is played on the court, not on paper. No matter your opponent, you have to play with passion, and you have to give maximum effort. You may still lose doing so, but you stand very little chance of winning if you don’t do those things. The past two games are the examples of both scenarios.

Back away from the ledge and let this season play out. There will be more “ups” and there will be more “downs” because that is what college basketball has become. For as mad and disappointed as I was yesterday, I’m equally excited for Tuesday to get here to see if the Hoosiers learned anything. After all, we know from experience that from one game to the next can be the same difference between Night & Day.

GO HOOSIERS!