Indiana Game thread

[Xavier2005]

close game. some good plays. a lot of missed short shots. they knew who they had to stop on the Indiana offense and failed to stop him.

[skyhops]

We haven’t had a PG in years and it hurt us. Nunge picked a bad day to play soft.

[X-lucidity]

So much to unpack from last eve. Having had the unexpected privilege of viewing from primo seats I came away both encouraged and with a somber dose of reality. To keep harping on the fact that we have no true PG is kind of irrelevant at this stage of the season. It's a given - OK, so what. We have to deal with it, and yes, it will be a major constant factor. Yet Coach Miller has zero blame for that so we move on and look ahead. I'm sure he tried to woo a talented true PG from the ranks of the portal, and at least we got a high-level combo guard in Souley. The other PG is a true Frosh and may also eventually be better suited as a "combo" rather than a true PG. However we have a coach that does, having been a talented PG in his playing days, value and covet the position. So to that end he had done the only thing he can do, given he has only been in control for eight months, which is recruit and more importantly LAND a top 50 true PG in Trey Green. Help is on the way dudes. Let's get back to reality that we as fans face and Coach Miller inherited. Yes, Jack was a bit soft last night. Uncharacteristically missed 3 VERY makeable shots in the first 6 min of the 2nd half. That along with our inability to secure key defensive rebounds at crucial times spelled our demise. Unlike recent years, our young men stayed poised down the stretch, and almost found a way to steal that game. I also feel Coach Miller rode our horse with strategy, sub patterns and streaming his iron will into our collective souls almost flawlessly in that second half allowing us to not only persevere but to incredibly have a game winning attempt rim out with 2 seconds left. I love the fact that he mentioned the softness coming out of halftime, the numerous fouls we committed in that short spurt stemming from a lack of effort and positioning, along with poor D on their stud. Because in essence, that would be a bingo - meaning he is taking zero "shoulda-woulda-coulda" style points away from this close call. In short, we are in good hands. A program that had been floundering and descending slowly but steadily to a level more akin to DePaul is now made a notable reversal and back on our righteous path...

[Kevin Reilly]

Nunge did have a rough game but he was going against a All American. Nunge played 32 minutes which is about 5-6 minutes too much. If they had played Edwards 6-8 minutes he would have been fresher. Edwards is strong and might have worn down Jackson a little. I believe a 8 man rotation is too short. The bench guys lose heart when they never get to play. Besides at some point we will need them ( injuries or fouls ).I wonder what we are going to have for Big guys next year? We lose most of our top guys?

[ChitownSteve]

So much to unpack from last eve. Having had the unexpected privilege of viewing from primo seats I came away both encouraged and with a somber dose of reality. To keep harping on the fact that we have no true PG is kind of irrelevant at this stage of the season. It's a given - OK, so what. We have to deal with it, and yes, it will be a major constant factor. Yet Coach Miller has zero blame for that so we move on and look ahead. I'm sure he tried to woo a talented true PG from the ranks of the portal, and at least we got a high-level combo guard in Souley. The other PG is a true Frosh and may also eventually be better suited as a "combo" rather than a true PG. However we have a coach that does, having been a talented PG in his playing days, value and covet the position. So to that end he had done the only thing he can do, given he has only been in control for eight months, which is recruit and more importantly LAND a top 50 true PG in Trey Green. Help is on the way dudes. Let's get back to reality that we as fans face and Coach Miller inherited. Yes, Jack was a bit soft last night. Uncharacteristically missed 3 VERY makeable shots in the first 6 min of the 2nd half. That along with our inability to secure key defensive rebounds at crucial times spelled our demise. Unlike recent years, our young men stayed poised down the stretch, and almost found a way to steal that game. I also feel Coach Miller rode our horse with strategy, sub patterns and streaming his iron will into our collective souls almost flawlessly in that second half allowing us to not only persevere but to incredibly have a game winning attempt rim out with 2 seconds left. I love the fact that he mentioned the softness coming out of halftime, the numerous fouls we committed in that short spurt stemming from a lack of effort and positioning, along with poor D on their stud. Because in essence, that would be a bingo - meaning he is taking zero "shoulda-woulda-coulda" style points away from this close call. In short, we are in good hands. A program that had been floundering and descending slowly but steadily to a level more akin to DePaul is now made a notable reversal and back on our righteous path...

Bravo … you captured the very essence of the game, circumstances and future.

Coach Miller’s chops for the situation, especially final few minutes, were on full display.

[Anti-Homer]

Very good college game and great effort by both IN & X. Indiana is a legitimate near elite team this year, with one of the best post players in CBB, and very good complementary players. Coach Woodson had a great game, isolating Davis as expected and doing what I thought X would do and that is run out on fast breaks which lead to more than a few easy buckets. Miller coached a great game as expected, but I think we should have played more zone, as I don’t think Indiana had a point outside of the paint in the 1st 10 minutes. Nunge was completely overwhelmed, but probably won’t face a better post player this year. He had a subpar game, but it happens. I was more disappointed in Johnson’s ability to get past all of our guards. Another reason X should have played more zone. As I said at the beginning of the year, defense ain’t this team’s calling card, but the offense will win a lot of games. It has to.

X definitely needs to get more productive minutes from Miles, and he is starting to play more and more. This was a well played game on both sides and having two opportunities at the end including a difficult but makeable lab (Kunkel was really good btw) is a situation I’d take every time. It’s great to see Kyky’s confidence grow as well. He was pulled after two minutes, but Miller put in him later in the 1st and he gave them an offensive spark. Great to have Coach-Motivator-Teacher.

Incidentally, with virtually the same team as last, X is shooting 44% from three-point land. Granted the sample size isn’t great, but amazing what happens when discipline in all facets is demanded, especially in shot selection. I said I thought X was two years away, but they have a very good class next year on top on this, and some international and Juco players in the mix. If anyone can accelerate the trajectory, it’s Miller.

Now, I’ll go and read the previous posts in this thread and correct the erroneous takes.

.

[skyhops]

Nunge was bullied by Davis. Still unsure how a shorter player can reach over a 7 footer. Agree on playing more zone last night since we basically got beat by two players on inside plays and dribble drives. Edwards is not a solution since he is not athletic and hasn’t grasped the system although neither has Miles in three years. Thanks to Steele we have no backup PG’s and unfortunately no Pg. Jones is gonna need to step up his offensive game in he wants to be in the association.

[Anti-Homer]

Great effort just a little bit short. Miller was coaching up a storm. Wish they had tried Edwards on Jackson. It was too easy for Jackson. Loved the effort. The future is bright.

Edwards? He showed flashes of talent in his wasted year in 2022, but Miller has shown the willingness to play guys peeled to the bench in previous years and getting really good production from Tandy, and reasonable spells from Miles. If Edwards could contribute, I think he would have played more.

[Anti-Homer]

The game was both encouraging and frustrating. The officials were bad. The technical fouls were silly against Indiana but far more calls went against X. Despite that X could have easy won by simply making shots they usually make. I love Nunge but he missed 2 easy shots that he always makes and didn't defend well. Kunk generally played well but he missed 2 shots he typically makes - not easy shots but shots he usually puts in the hoop.

Indiana didn't shoot well from deep in the first half which should have allowed X to go into the half with a nice lead. They didn't take advantage and the end result was unfavorable.

In a properly officiated game, I like X's chances against Indiana on a neutral court. X should be able to defend their bigs better. X should be able to execute offensively better. Indiana will likely hit a better percentage from 3 and X a bit worse but end result should be X by 4.

This game shows promise against other good teams. It may be a wakeup call for the Portland tournament but Duke is a big ask. Beating FL is a must.

I reeeeeaaaaalllly hate assigning any blame towards officials, but thought they were generally bad. Jones' jersey was pulled often and their guards bodied a lot of ours when driving to the hole. However, the two technicals called against I.U. were B.S. If Nunge's play and X's defensive rebounding is simply average, X wins. i would love to play them again.

[Anti-Homer]

So much to unpack from last eve. Having had the unexpected privilege of viewing from primo seats I came away both encouraged and with a somber dose of reality. To keep harping on the fact that we have no true PG is kind of irrelevant at this stage of the season. It's a given - OK, so what. We have to deal with it, and yes, it will be a major constant factor. Yet Coach Miller has zero blame for that so we move on and look ahead. I'm sure he tried to woo a talented true PG from the ranks of the portal, and at least we got a high-level combo guard in Souley. The other PG is a true Frosh and may also eventually be better suited as a "combo" rather than a true PG. However we have a coach that does, having been a talented PG in his playing days, value and covet the position. So to that end he had done the only thing he can do, given he has only been in control for eight months, which is recruit and more importantly LAND a top 50 true PG in Trey Green. Help is on the way dudes. Let's get back to reality that we as fans face and Coach Miller inherited. Yes, Jack was a bit soft last night. Uncharacteristically missed 3 VERY makeable shots in the first 6 min of the 2nd half. That along with our inability to secure key defensive rebounds at crucial times spelled our demise. Unlike recent years, our young men stayed poised down the stretch, and almost found a way to steal that game. I also feel Coach Miller rode our horse with strategy, sub patterns and streaming his iron will into our collective souls almost flawlessly in that second half allowing us to not only persevere but to incredibly have a game winning attempt rim out with 2 seconds left. I love the fact that he mentioned the softness coming out of halftime, the numerous fouls we committed in that short spurt stemming from a lack of effort and positioning, along with poor D on their stud. Because in essence, that would be a bingo - meaning he is taking zero "shoulda-woulda-coulda" style points away from this close call. In short, we are in good hands. A program that had been floundering and descending slowly but steadily to a level more akin to DePaul is now made a notable reversal and back on our righteous path...

Good post.