Holiday Hiatus
Like everyone else, I'll probably won't be posting until after the new year, but enjoy all y'all's family & friend time.
Hopefully, Mike Davis doesn't unwind too much and takes the next two games seriously.
The game tomorrow at Butler looks to be really tough and New Year's eve outing at Ball State won't be any party either. Butler is the superior team (and proved on 12/3 on BSU's court, winning 64-53) but Ball State ain't too shabby either, going 4-2 with the only other loss being a one-point heartbreaker at Indiana State. But like the Western Illinois game, as long as IU comes to play and executes, the Ball State game shouldn't be too tightly contested. The Cardinals are just too small (starting backcourt averages 5-8 1/2), and without Peyton Stovall, the pressure is on 6-3 Skip Mills to do everything.
Butler, on the other hand, while also small, uses this to their advantage creating mismatches and getting open shots with their outside shooting and quickness. 6-6 forwards Brandon Crone & Brandon Polk gets all the hype, but the starting perimeter crew tosses in 33 ppg as well, led by yet another Graves' 14.3 points.
Butler also lost by a single point to Indiana State (albeit at home), but hung tough in road losses to Ohio State and Michigan. On their home floor, they are sure not only to be tougher, but also will definitely be fired up to play the in-state basketball icon of college hoops.
We may see 6-7 Brian Ligon play a lot more than 13 minute-average, as he's the only other "big" besides Crone and Polk on the roster, and Marco's size will be hard to match up with.
If Davis can light a fire under Marco, and get him to put the sort of effort together that we've seen (Nicholls State, Duke, Kentucky) before, he won't even have to score 20 as long he holds on to the ball and doesn't get unfocused and rely on complaining to the Refs. He can & should score a lot of points, but his assists will be more important.
And once again, as a plea to Mike Davis, if you get up 20 on these teams in the second half, it'd be a great time to play Ben Allen & Cem Dinc a little and get them used to just being on the floor.
That's all, folks, Have a good one!
posted by Indiana Fan @ 10:14 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Dude, you vomit out comments at such a rate, I can never keep up.
Yeah IU looked great against Charlotte. Great spacing. Way too reliant on Marco though. It is the Shaq type offense. Punch it inside, and then wait for the double and pass out and then swing it. That is great, unless Marco gets hurt, sprains an ankle, whatever.
BTW, did you ever comment on my NBA predictions?
What did you think of Riley firing SVG?
I've actually fallen behind with the holidays and a busy work period.
And yeah, if anyone can shit down Marco/DJ inside, IU's offense will stagnate real quick.
Where are your NBA predictions? I don't have 'em in my e-mail, and I'm not getting anything on your blog.
As for the Riley thing, a lot of people were calling it as soon as the blockbuster trade happened. No way do I believe that SVG just wanted to be with his family. Riley's kind of the Bob Knight of the NBA in terms of coaching, he really knows how to maximize the talent he has. But it'll be interesting to see what the talent on this team does, and if his name still carries the respect around the younger guys that it used to.
Post a Comment
<< Home