Should be a weird one all around
Indiana looks to snap its four-game losing streak tomorrow as the no. 24 Michigan Wolverines come to Assembly Hall for a 1 p.m. Eastern tip.
Michigan is having an unexpectedly good season under first-year head coach Dusty May and will be coming to Bloomington as the favorite. Michigan is an impressive 9-2 in conference play, only having lost to Purdue and Minnesota.
After losing six of the last seven games, Indiana now finds itself needing wins to preserve not just its NCAA Tournament hopes, but to secure a bid in the 15-team Big Ten Tournament this year.
Here are three things to know:
The Indiana Coach
Well the news finally broke, Mike Woodson will not be returning as Indiana’s head coach next year. This is something that will affect Indiana in the big picture, but also could shape tomorrow’s game.
First of all, the news could help stave off some of the fan displeasure that we’ve heard raining down from Assembly Hall. With the coaching situation settled, we might see a crowd willing to support the team in front of them instead of voicing an opinion on the head coach.
There’s also the internal effects. Woodson’s players have always spoke strongly in favor of him, so how will they respond to the news? Will this rejuvenate them? Or is it one more reason to throw in the towel on a season that’s already mostly lost?
The Michigan Coach
Reader, you know about Dusty May’s connections to Indiana University. That’s why he’s on our (and everyone else’s) coaching hot board for the new Indiana vacancy.
May is also producing in his first season as a high-major head coach. His offensive scheme has transferred over well from Florida Atlantic, with the Wolverines having the 20th most efficient offense nationally.
It’s also a modern offense that Indiana fans have been clamoring for the last four seasons. Everyone in the lineup can hit 3-pointers, with a couple of players over 6’10” having more than 60 attempts on the season.
Now that the Woodson news is out, it’s a little harder to predict how fans will react to seeing the coach they want and the style of play they want in Assembly Hall, albeit for the other side.
It’s probably going to be weird.
Danny Wolf
Michigan’s best player is a 7’0” transfer center from Yale who can do everything on the court. He will destroy Indiana if the coaching staff doesn’t prepare for his game properly.
One of the reasons the last game got so out of hand was that Oumar Ballo, a traditional post player, was forced to cover Steven Crowl, who can stretch out to the perimeter. Ballo was obviously exhausted from the defensive effort and was completely neutralized offensively as a result.
Like Wisconsin, this is a team that probably demands some extended runs of smaller lineups. We didn’t see it last game and Indiana got blown out so badly that the coach retired.
Will we see something different this game?