" title="Spartans Weblog">Spartans Weblog

9:00 Saturday. Assembly Hall. ESPN. Dickie V is back like a bad rash. Indiana fans will be looking to pull off something called a “stripe out”; looks complicated.

The Hoosiers have, of course, been in the headlines a lot this past week–and not so much for their on-court performance.

Despite the requisite no-rush-to-judgment caveats from various quarters (including our own head coach), it appears to be only a matter of when, not if, Kelvin Sampson will be departing Bloomington. A round-up of the Hoosier blogosphere on this topic:

College Basketball Chronotope:

So, I say, there’s no use sacrificing the program for a NCAA tourney first-weekend exit. Preserve the Hoosier program, and suspend Sampson immediately, and either fire or suspend Greenspan [the Indiana AD].

The Hoosier Report:

Fire this man and the feckless AD who tainted our university by hiring him. And fire Adam Herbert [the former Indiana president], too, even though he retired last year.

Inside the Hall:

No, the problem is that because of Kelvin Sampson’s utter stupidity, enjoying the game for what it is in its rawest, purest form — a group of almost-student-athletes competing with their school’s name on their shirts — is now impossible. Watching this team develop into a tournament contender is ruined. Our expression of basketball fandom is tainted. To paraphrase Christopher Hitchens, sanctions poison everything. That’s not fair to D.J. White and Eric Gordon and Armon Bassett and the rest, and it’s not fair to us.

So thanks, Kelvin. Thanks a lot. Idiot.

To sum up, the Hoosier faithful aren’t exactly rallying around Sampson. And, while Indiana does not rank up there on my list of favorite non-Spartan Big Ten programs, it’s hard not have a little sympathy for a fanbase that had a known rule-violator foisted upon them by their own administration.

In terms of the on-the-court stuff, Indiana comes in at 20-4 overall and 9-2 in conference play. They’re ranked 13/12 in the polls and are contenders for the Big Ten crown, although their pursuit of that crown took a hit Wednesday night when Brian Butch’s banked-in 3-pointer put Wisconsin over the top in Bloomington.

Here’s what the conference-only tempo-free stats say about IU:

• They shoot the ball well. They rank 2nd in the conference in effective FG% at 51.5% and rank first in free throw % at 75.2%.
• They rebound the ball well–at least on the defensive end, where they rank first in defensive rebounding % at 72.6%. They’re right in the middle of the pack in offensive rebounding % at 32.9%.
• They don’t turn the ball over much, ranking 3rd in offensive TO% at 19.8%.
• On defense, here’s some good news: They don’t create many turnovers. They rank dead last in defensive TO% at 17.2%. The only Big Ten team to turn the ball over on more than 20% of their possessions against Indiana was Iowa.

The stat sheet implies they’re a two-man show on offense. Eric Gordon is putting up an eye-popping .529/.411/.853 shooting line for the season, despite taking 15 weighted shots per game. D.J. White, meanwhile is shooting 62.6% on 2-point attempts, despite being IU’s only offensive post presence.

Those two players account for 39.0 of IU’s 76.0 points per game for season. They rank first and second in the conference in points per game.

From the games I’ve seen, though, there always seems to be one other player who steps up for the Hooisers to complement Gordon and White hit a few big shots when Indiana needs them. Armon Bassett (.462 3-point %) and Jordan Crawford (.377 3-point %) are the two most likely candidates.

The Spartans Weblog Keys to the Game:

You’re probably not holding your breath in terms of the offensive key to game: MSU can’t commit a lot of turnovers. Against a team that’s not likely to give us many second chances on offensive rebounds, we simply have to maximize the number of shooting opportunities we get. Indiana has shown no ability to create turnovers against quality opponents. If MSU coughs it up with frequency tomorrow night, we may have to give up hope entirely.

Indiana mixes man-to-man and zone on defense. Neitzel, Lucas, and/or Allen will need to this a few 3-pointers early to make sure IU doesn’t settle into a zone and prevent MSU from taking advantage of the Hoosiers’ lack of inside depth beyond White. The only other Hoosier taller than 6′5″ getting more than 15 minutes per game is Lance Stemler, who at 6′8″ and 210 pounds is not a paragon of physical play.

On defense, MSU has to get out on IU’s 3-point shooters. In 3 of Indiana’s 4 losses, they’ve shot below 25% from 3-point range. You can almost take it to the bank that D.J. White will score 15-20 points in the paint and Eric Gordon will get to the line 8+ times driving to the basket. The key is to make IU work for their points. The Spartans can’t let up on the perimeter for even 2-3 possessions and let Bassett or Crawford get quality looks to knock down from beyond the arc.

Kenpom says IU should win 70-64 in this one. For whatever reason, I think MSU has a better shot at this one than the numbers dictate. Under the circumstances, it’s hard to believe the Hoosier crowd (and maybe the Hoosier team) will be at its full level of intensity. If ever there was a time for the Spartans to overcome their turnover addiction and play to their potential, this would be it . . .