AAAARGH!

No, it's not pirate day, Indiana just lost to Indiana State. Credit ISU with playing a smart, well-designed game, and utilizing their home-court advantage. But still, there's no way Indiana should've lost this game. rant follows:

The former D-1 players (Killer, Monore, Calloway- who originally played at New Mexico St.) combined for 15 turnovers all by themselves. If you can't face the pressure from the Sycamores, what's Saturday against Kentucky gonna be like?

Where the heck was Marshall Strickland? Senior leadship, where are you?

Have to say something nice:
Ben Allen looks better and better. Tell me again why he didn't play more than 1 minute in the Duke game? Oops.

Hey, I know let's play the what-if game? What if Sean Kline hadn't been sitting? What if DJ White was healthy? What if James Hardy and AJ Ratliff were ready to go? What if Mike Davis could actually motivate his team to win games not on national television? What if he didn't get out-coached every time he faced a team that has a chance of winning 15 games?

This was a must-win game, but noone looked like they realized it. ISU has beaten Indiana over and over on their homecourt, and why wouldn't you take them seriously? Looking good while losing to the likes Duke, UConn, North Carolina (last year), and Kentucky (every year) should be noone's goal. Winning every game on the schedule, one at a time, should be the goal of every Indiana team.

Actually, it may be good that White is sitting, because we're getting a much better look at how Davis coaches without White's natural ability& shot-blocking to make up for it.

The question becomes: What is Mike Davis? A coach who rallied together the post-Knight team to reach the National Title game with his own offensive style and tough defense, or some lucky chump who can't figure out how to get a team to play to its strengths, and not just his strengths.

And this aside, why can't Davis get his guys to execute down the stretch? This is a veteran team, they need to be able to get the shots they need to get and play the right defenses in clutch situations. Were Tom Coverdale and Dane Fife that savvy, that important as coaches-on-the-floor? I am sure that Davis cares and works hard, but he's not getting through, or he's not getting his guys to care about the right things. But, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

I can't figure it out, but I think it is safe to say that the Davis-watch has begun. We should get some answers pretty quick. If he doesn't beat Kentucky and Charlotte (on the road), he may be merely counting days until the end of the season. Oh, and the margin for error is now officially zero. Losses at Butler or at Ball State (which now looks very possible) will be nails in the coffin.

I know, one game does not a season make. But I hope the Hoosiers were overlooking ISU and concentrating on Kentucky, because it's gonna be ugly if this is how Indiana plays.