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Thursday, January 13
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‘Suiting Up’ -- Do Clothes Make the Road Victory for Woodson and IU?
1/13/2022 2:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Let's start with the suit.
The rational mind tells you it has no power over anything, including Indiana basketball games.
The irrational mind, which taps into superstition, myth and the belief that reality bends to the unexplained (consider logic-defying scientific concepts of dark matter and quantum physics) and sheer fan frenzy (lucky socks, rabbits feet and four-leaf clovers), sees power in what coach Mike Woodson wears.
Specifically, if he wears a suit or a sweat suit to games.
Consider, as IU prepares for Thursday night's game at Iowa, these "facts."
*Woodson wears a suit for the Ohio State game.
Indiana wins.
*He wears a suit against Minnesota.
Indiana wins.
*He wears sweat suits at Syracuse, Wisconsin and Penn State.
Indiana loses.
Coincidence, or the work of a mysterious power that delivers Bigfoot, the Lock Ness Monster and UFOs to a disbelieving world?
Hold that thought.
Woodson has heard the buzz about his attire. During Monday night's radio show, he tells Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer that, "I know this thing of wearing suits. We might need to go on the road with a suit."
And then …
"The suits don't have anything to do with it, but I'm telling you, if we don't break this ice soon, I'm going to be wearing a suit."
Attire has had a power ever since Adam and Eve realized they were naked, and got bounced from the Garden of Eden.
Shakespeare and Mark Twain wrote it. Homer suggested it.
Clothes make the man.
But do they make the basketball victory?
The Cream 'n Crimson faithful don't want to take any chances. For good reason.
The road this season has been Hoosier kryptonite.
Consider IU is 11-0 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. It is 1-0 on a neutral court (its Crossroads Classic win over Notre Dame came at Indianapolis' Gainbridge Fieldhouse).
It is 0-3 on the true road.
The Hoosiers were just a few plays away from winning all three road games. They lost by two in double overtime at Syracuse. They lost by five at Wisconsin after blowing a 20-point lead. They lost by three at Penn State.
Win those games and they're a top-10 team with the nation's only undefeated record after losses by Baylor and USC on Tuesday night.
Now comes a shot at push-the-pace Iowa (11-4 overall, 1-3 in the Big Ten) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, where IU has had success. It's won four of the last six meetings there, including last season's 81-69 victory.
The Hoosiers (12-3, 3-2) bring momentum from those home victories over Ohio State and Minnesota. They dominated the closing minutes in both games, something IU teams have struggled to do in recent years against Big Ten competition.
"That's what we call winning basketball when you're finishing games," Woodson tells Fischer. "We could have crumbled, but we just kept fighting."
Specifically, in the last 10 minutes of both games, IU outscored Ohio State and Minnesota 21.5 to 8.5 while shooting 61.5% and committing just two turnovers while holding those teams to 21.7% shooting and forcing nine turnovers.
The Hoosiers did it with a crunch-time lineup of Xavier Johnson, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Race Thompson, Rob Phinisee (in for starter Miller Kopp) and Trey Galloway (in for starter Parker Stewart).
"When you're trying to compete at a high level," Woodson tells Fischer, "you've got to complete games like that when your back is against the wall."
Because the Hoosiers did, Woodson tells Fischer, "It puts us back in the hunt in the Big Ten. That's where you want to be. Now we've got to take our act on the road and see if we can break the ice in terms of winning on the road."
Ice will come against an Iowa team coming off an 87-78 loss at Wisconsin.
Its roller-coaster season consists of a 7-0 start, three straight losses (at Purdue and at Iowa State, home against Illinois), four straight wins and then the Wisconsin defeat.
The Hawkeyes are led by sophomore forward Keegan Murray, who leads the nation in scoring at 24.7 points.
As a side note, the nation's second-leading scorer, at 23.6, is Detroit Mercy's Antoine Davis. He's the son of Detroit Mercy's head coach, and the former IU head coach, Mike Davis.
Woodson tells Fischer that the Hoosiers, "Have to know where (Murray) is at all times."
IU's defensive strategy will likely start with Thompson guarding Murray first, and see what happens.
Beyond that, Woodson says, "We've got to put a solid game plan together because he's really a good player. He leads the Big Ten in scoring. There's nothing he can't do on the basketball floor, and that's on both ends. He's long and rangy. I like everything about it. But he's got a nice supporting cast, too."
Iowa coach Fran McCaffery is known for his fast-paced, high-scoring style that features a variety of presses.
These Hawkeyes take advantage by averaging a Big Ten-leading 86.7 points. They have two other double-figure scorers in Patrick McCaffery (11.2 points) and Jordan Bohannon (10.8).
Bohannon has a team-leading 35 three-pointers.
IU counters with the Big Ten's best defense. It holds opponents to 60.8 points and 35.3% shooting.
"It's going to take a total team effort for 40 minutes to commit ourselves to playing defense," Woodson says. "This is the No. 1 offensive pace team in the country in terms of getting up and down the floor, making plays offensively. You score against them, they throw it right back in and they're right back at you.
"We've got to make sure our transition defense is on par, that we're getting back, getting matched to three-point shooters and not giving nothing up over the top. That's going to be the key."
Making shots is one way to slow down the Hawkeyes.
"If we can get them to take the ball out of bounds," Woodson says, "that means we're making shots, and then hopefully we can get back and get our defense set before they get to us.
"We've got to control the ball. If that ball is in-bounded, we've got to try to get to it early. We can't let it come up the sideline quickly. That's how fast breaks are started. You throw it in and you advance the ball up the sideline or you throw it up and make gut passes. We've got to eliminate those."
Iowa will attack IU with defensive pressure. The best response, Woodson says, is to attack back.
"I've always been one when teams press, I want to stay on the attack, too. If they want to press, then let's attack them offensively. Let's not sit on our heels.
"We've been good in that area, so I hope our good carries over into Iowa, because that's going to be important."
And if good comes with Woodson wearing a suit, all the better.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Let's start with the suit.
The rational mind tells you it has no power over anything, including Indiana basketball games.
The irrational mind, which taps into superstition, myth and the belief that reality bends to the unexplained (consider logic-defying scientific concepts of dark matter and quantum physics) and sheer fan frenzy (lucky socks, rabbits feet and four-leaf clovers), sees power in what coach Mike Woodson wears.
Specifically, if he wears a suit or a sweat suit to games.
Consider, as IU prepares for Thursday night's game at Iowa, these "facts."
*Woodson wears a suit for the Ohio State game.
Indiana wins.
*He wears a suit against Minnesota.
Indiana wins.
*He wears sweat suits at Syracuse, Wisconsin and Penn State.
Indiana loses.
Coincidence, or the work of a mysterious power that delivers Bigfoot, the Lock Ness Monster and UFOs to a disbelieving world?
Hold that thought.
Woodson has heard the buzz about his attire. During Monday night's radio show, he tells Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer that, "I know this thing of wearing suits. We might need to go on the road with a suit."
And then …
"The suits don't have anything to do with it, but I'm telling you, if we don't break this ice soon, I'm going to be wearing a suit."
Attire has had a power ever since Adam and Eve realized they were naked, and got bounced from the Garden of Eden.
Shakespeare and Mark Twain wrote it. Homer suggested it.
Clothes make the man.
But do they make the basketball victory?
The Cream 'n Crimson faithful don't want to take any chances. For good reason.
The road this season has been Hoosier kryptonite.
Consider IU is 11-0 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. It is 1-0 on a neutral court (its Crossroads Classic win over Notre Dame came at Indianapolis' Gainbridge Fieldhouse).
It is 0-3 on the true road.
The Hoosiers were just a few plays away from winning all three road games. They lost by two in double overtime at Syracuse. They lost by five at Wisconsin after blowing a 20-point lead. They lost by three at Penn State.
Win those games and they're a top-10 team with the nation's only undefeated record after losses by Baylor and USC on Tuesday night.
Now comes a shot at push-the-pace Iowa (11-4 overall, 1-3 in the Big Ten) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, where IU has had success. It's won four of the last six meetings there, including last season's 81-69 victory.
The Hoosiers (12-3, 3-2) bring momentum from those home victories over Ohio State and Minnesota. They dominated the closing minutes in both games, something IU teams have struggled to do in recent years against Big Ten competition.
"That's what we call winning basketball when you're finishing games," Woodson tells Fischer. "We could have crumbled, but we just kept fighting."
Specifically, in the last 10 minutes of both games, IU outscored Ohio State and Minnesota 21.5 to 8.5 while shooting 61.5% and committing just two turnovers while holding those teams to 21.7% shooting and forcing nine turnovers.
The Hoosiers did it with a crunch-time lineup of Xavier Johnson, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Race Thompson, Rob Phinisee (in for starter Miller Kopp) and Trey Galloway (in for starter Parker Stewart).
"When you're trying to compete at a high level," Woodson tells Fischer, "you've got to complete games like that when your back is against the wall."
Because the Hoosiers did, Woodson tells Fischer, "It puts us back in the hunt in the Big Ten. That's where you want to be. Now we've got to take our act on the road and see if we can break the ice in terms of winning on the road."
Ice will come against an Iowa team coming off an 87-78 loss at Wisconsin.
Its roller-coaster season consists of a 7-0 start, three straight losses (at Purdue and at Iowa State, home against Illinois), four straight wins and then the Wisconsin defeat.
The Hawkeyes are led by sophomore forward Keegan Murray, who leads the nation in scoring at 24.7 points.
As a side note, the nation's second-leading scorer, at 23.6, is Detroit Mercy's Antoine Davis. He's the son of Detroit Mercy's head coach, and the former IU head coach, Mike Davis.
Woodson tells Fischer that the Hoosiers, "Have to know where (Murray) is at all times."
IU's defensive strategy will likely start with Thompson guarding Murray first, and see what happens.
Beyond that, Woodson says, "We've got to put a solid game plan together because he's really a good player. He leads the Big Ten in scoring. There's nothing he can't do on the basketball floor, and that's on both ends. He's long and rangy. I like everything about it. But he's got a nice supporting cast, too."
Iowa coach Fran McCaffery is known for his fast-paced, high-scoring style that features a variety of presses.
These Hawkeyes take advantage by averaging a Big Ten-leading 86.7 points. They have two other double-figure scorers in Patrick McCaffery (11.2 points) and Jordan Bohannon (10.8).
Bohannon has a team-leading 35 three-pointers.
IU counters with the Big Ten's best defense. It holds opponents to 60.8 points and 35.3% shooting.
"It's going to take a total team effort for 40 minutes to commit ourselves to playing defense," Woodson says. "This is the No. 1 offensive pace team in the country in terms of getting up and down the floor, making plays offensively. You score against them, they throw it right back in and they're right back at you.
"We've got to make sure our transition defense is on par, that we're getting back, getting matched to three-point shooters and not giving nothing up over the top. That's going to be the key."
Making shots is one way to slow down the Hawkeyes.
"If we can get them to take the ball out of bounds," Woodson says, "that means we're making shots, and then hopefully we can get back and get our defense set before they get to us.
"We've got to control the ball. If that ball is in-bounded, we've got to try to get to it early. We can't let it come up the sideline quickly. That's how fast breaks are started. You throw it in and you advance the ball up the sideline or you throw it up and make gut passes. We've got to eliminate those."
Iowa will attack IU with defensive pressure. The best response, Woodson says, is to attack back.
"I've always been one when teams press, I want to stay on the attack, too. If they want to press, then let's attack them offensively. Let's not sit on our heels.
"We've been good in that area, so I hope our good carries over into Iowa, because that's going to be important."
And if good comes with Woodson wearing a suit, all the better.
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