Howard Reax

With IU football and soccer teams suffering unfortunate losses this weekend, it's time to once again focus on basketball.

The Hoosier men took care what's likely to be one of the worst teams in D-I, downing Howard 83-60, in a game that wasn't that close. Next up is USC-"upstate" before they head to Puerto Rico. John M of CQ has a nice wrap-up, and ITH has some impressions (from the balcony), too.

My impressions 1) these guys could be better than expected this year. The freshmen have game- I like Elston & Creek better with each game, and Watford and Hulls give Crean options that simply weren't there last year. 2) The Hoosiers are going to be pretty good next season and even better in 2011-2012, the future is bright. 3) Hoosier fans should prepare themselves for some really frustrating losses this season. A major point of concern is that the turnover problem isn't going away. A second point of concern is that I saw a lot IU players getting pushed around going for defensive rebounds. IU actually did ok on the boards last season, but how to put this... the other guys didn't miss much. And the backcourt -Jones & Rivers- looked outright out of control at times. If the Hoosiers can start cutting down the turnovers, force opponents' into more misses while continuing to defend the glass, all in the top conference in the country- then the postseason beckons.

I still think the experience of other Big Ten teams and the Hoosier turnover problems keep IU from getting over .500 this season- but I'd love to be proven wrong.