That may seem like a snide observation upon first read, but Indiana’s team-oriented game trumped Kentucky’s two-man show when the NCAA Tournament East Regional second round contest was on the line.
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Freshman reserve OG Anunoby has emerged as a defensive weapon, an athletic stopper who invades passing lanes and shuts down both point guards and power forwards.
Still, Kentcuky somehow let IN go into halftime with a 33-32 lead.
The Wildcats were primed to overwhelm IN with the trademark athleticism they had used to overwhelm their last six opponents. “They have two of the best in country in Ulis and (Jamal) Murray”. Trot Williams scored 16 points to lead Indiana.
The Chattanooga Mocs take on the Indiana Hoosiers in one of the college basketball games on Thursday, start time at 7:10 PM ET, at Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines Iowa. “But it is what it is”, IN coach Tom Crean said. We’ll play each other. “You have to be sure of your passes, because they’re press is pretty good”. Max Bielfeldt had 10 points and seven rebounds. “Everybody is ready to check in and do something”.
The next defense to give it a shot will be that of either No. 4 seed Kentucky or No. 13 seed Stony Brook, who were set to play one another in a game that tips off 30 minutes after the conclusion of Indiana’s.
Which means that we have to wait until March to hope for Kentucky and IN ending up IN the same region. This is a game the Hoosiers shouldn’t have any trouble with when you look at it on paper, but this is March Madness and as we all know, anything is possible.
“The point of emphasis I had was staying on the attack”.
He coached an excellent game.
IN led by nine with 1:17 left, but had to hold on.
“It was a great team victory because it was played offensively and defensively and in situation basketball, and that’s exactly what you’ve got to have, and we’re, you know, anxiously looking forward to seeing who we’re going to play on Saturday”. Anunoby blocked two of them. Indiana’s defensive efficiency rating was easily the worst in the Big Ten. Beyond the dreaded 5-12 matchup, a second-round game against Kentucky likely looms. The Wildcats are not first any more. Barring a miracle, the Wildcats season was effectively over.
The Wildcats struggled to make 42 percent of their attempts. When they weren’t doing that, they were hitting 3s at a 63 percent clip for the game (10-of-16).
The Mocs have lost just five times this season and that is mostly because of the defense they play. Is there something else I could have done to help them get over the hump?
“Stops and rebounds. That’s what we hang our hats on now”.
The Hoosiers will come in as the outright Big Ten champion, with victories in six of their last season games.
Calipari’s comments, dripping with sarcasm, fail to account for the history between IN and Kentucky.
And Indiana’s was over long before the final buzzer. Calipari’s only chance to slow him was to summon Karl-Anthony Towns onto the floor from his seat in the first row behind the United Kingdom bench.
“I spent a lot of time recruiting him”, Calipari said.
“Tom and the staff have gotten a kid I really liked”.
“They are really good”. I’m not going to try to force anything.
The game will feature two of the nation’s best point guards – IU’s Yogi Ferrell and Kentucky’s Tyler Ulis. Ferrell did what Ferrell does, direct the offense, score (18) and refuse to rest (37 minutes). No one is asking the Wildcats to play at Arizona and North Carolina on back-to-back nights.
TRE McCLEAN: Say that again.
“I don’t think anybody has ever closed the door on the series and certainly it’s not open right now with anything that makes a lot of sense”.
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While the public divorce between rivals initially caused some animosity between the two schools and coaches, Crean and Calipari both acknowledged they remain close friends.
