All wins look the same when you get to March. And they don’t all have to be pretty either.
Is needing double overtime to defeat Northwestern a very much desired outcome? Not exactly. But hey, a road W is a road W.
Piling up steady victories needs to be the focus for Archie Miller and the Indiana Hoosiers.
With the hysteria that will occur all March long when the Tournament comes to the 317, it’s going to be withstand and advance times a million. You not only need the seven straight days of negative CoronaVirus tests to even show up, but a certain level of toughness will be required to go on a big run while in a bubble.
Jeff Rabjohns from Peegs.com isn’t worried about the Hoosiers getting into the Big Dance though. On The Ride with JMV Wednesday BEFORE the victory over the Wildcats, he told JMV that he had no doubt.
“In this specific season they are a tournament team,” Rabjohns said. “When you look at some of their net metrics, they definitely are. Some years you see teams sitting at 10-8 or 10-7 and you say okay maybe I don’t know. But this year with COVID and resumes there’s two top teams in college basketball that are elite in Gonzaga and Baylor. Other than that there’s 30 who have been really up and down.”
The field of 68 that eventually will get down here to compete is going to be mesmerizing to look at. If a team gets a positive test, are they going to have backup teams to fill the void? Or would the NCAA just give automatic byes to the team they were supposed to play?
There’s a lot that needs to be determined. But Rabjohns also mentioned that there’s a long way to go with the play on the court too.
“To me it’s going to be really interesting to see how teams finish the season,” Rabjohns added. “We need to determine who can actually play consistently from now to when conference tournaments start. If the NCAA Tournament field was picked today, IU would be in.”
Madness ensues in just about a month. 👀
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