Friday, March 10
Chicago, Ill.
9:00 PM
Indiana University
vs
Maryland
Time to Win -- IU Aims for Big Ten Tourney Breakthrough
3/10/2023 11:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Forget history. Well, forget Big Ten Tournament history.
The third-seeded Indiana Hoosiers have three things on their minds starting with their Friday night quarterfinal game against sixth-seeded Maryland at Chicago's United Center:
Win.
Win.
Win.
Do that and earn the program's first ever Big Ten conference title.
"Coach (Mike Woodson) is on (the players)," said associate head coach Yasir Rosemond during this week's radio show with Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer. "We're trying to win the Big Ten Tournament. If we lose this first game, he'll be mad at all of us."
Indiana (21-10) needs three victories in less than 48 hours to earn the tourney championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
"We have to play our game," forward Trayce Jackson-Davis said. "In this tournament, the games come (fast). When it comes to scouting, you've got to be on top of everything. It comes down to who executes better."
The Hoosiers aim to win that battle, starting with a 21-11 Maryland team coming off a Thursday night victory over Minnesota. The Terrapins won the only regular season meeting with the Hoosiers, 66-55, at Maryland.
"Coach Woodson wants to win it," Rosemond told Fischer. "That's all he talks about -- winning the Big Ten. Hang a banner. Our guys will be prepared."
The 25-year-old event has not been kind to the Hoosiers. Blame fate, bad luck, strong opponents, or the Bob Knight Curse (the Hall of Fame coach hated the idea of a conference tournament and did everything he could to persuade the Big Ten to not have one), but winning even one game has been hard.
IU has lost its first game 14 times en route to a 15-24 tourney record. It has reached the semifinals only five times, including last season when it lost to Iowa on a last-second shot. It has reached the finals only once, in 2001, when it lost to Iowa, 63-61.
Michigan State has the best Big Ten record at 34-18 with six championships.
"If this game will be played," Rosemond told Fischer, "We're trying to win it. It's a chance to win a championship."
Or, as freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino said, "We know what we came here to do. We have to stay locked in and be prepared."
Hoosiers coaches initially prepared for three possible opponents -- Minnesota, Nebraska, and Maryland -- and focused on their last five games. Then the tourney began, and Nebraska lost to Minnesota, and then the Gophers lost to Maryland.
"No one is running much new stuff," Rosemond says. "We might because Coach is always coming up with stuff.
"It's about knowing a team's pattern. It's about your guys executing offensively and defensively and having the legs and the energy."
It's also about focus. Rosemond says that's a problem for all players these days.
"This might be a generational thing," he says, "and maybe when I played, coaches said the same thing about us, but with kids nowadays, it's hard to get them motivated. It's not because they don't want to play, but they have so many things they think about. It's unbelievable. We always try to get them focused.
"We tell them, 'We have these games. You need to rest. Put your phone away. Go to sleep.' Sometimes these guys are looking at their phones at 3 in the morning."
Before the season, Woodson asked his coaches if they should take away player phones. They decided not to do that, although Woodson won't let players use them during team dinners.
Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said during Thursday's Big Ten tourney press conference that he destroyed his phone and thought about destroying his players' phones because of all the social-media negativity and overall distractions.
"We want to get them to understand the magnitude of these games," Rosemond told Fischer. "You tell them, 'You have the opportunity to do something special -- win the Big Ten Tournament, make a run in the NCAA Tournament.
"Those moments are special. Never forget them."
Last year, IU needed to win two Big Ten tourney games to sneak into the NCAA tourney. This season, it is comfortably in no matter what happens in Chicago.
"That's huge," Jackson-Davis said. "We're here to compete for something, but now we can play more relaxed."
IU got a much-needed break after Sunday's Senior Night victory over Michigan, building an early 14-point lead, falling behind by 12, then rallying to win in overtime.
A big key was senior forward Race Thompson, who had a double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds) along with a couple of key, crunch-time steals.
"Race came through at the end," Rosemond told Fischer. "His defensive presence helps us.
"Even when he's not playing great offensively or as good as we think he can play, he knows all the plays. He knows all the other teams' plays. He knows everything we do and how we're thinking. You feel better when he's in the game.
"He's usually in the right place at the right time. Defensively, he knows what's going on."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Forget history. Well, forget Big Ten Tournament history.
The third-seeded Indiana Hoosiers have three things on their minds starting with their Friday night quarterfinal game against sixth-seeded Maryland at Chicago's United Center:
Win.
Win.
Win.
Do that and earn the program's first ever Big Ten conference title.
"Coach (Mike Woodson) is on (the players)," said associate head coach Yasir Rosemond during this week's radio show with Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer. "We're trying to win the Big Ten Tournament. If we lose this first game, he'll be mad at all of us."
Indiana (21-10) needs three victories in less than 48 hours to earn the tourney championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
"We have to play our game," forward Trayce Jackson-Davis said. "In this tournament, the games come (fast). When it comes to scouting, you've got to be on top of everything. It comes down to who executes better."
The Hoosiers aim to win that battle, starting with a 21-11 Maryland team coming off a Thursday night victory over Minnesota. The Terrapins won the only regular season meeting with the Hoosiers, 66-55, at Maryland.
"Coach Woodson wants to win it," Rosemond told Fischer. "That's all he talks about -- winning the Big Ten. Hang a banner. Our guys will be prepared."
The 25-year-old event has not been kind to the Hoosiers. Blame fate, bad luck, strong opponents, or the Bob Knight Curse (the Hall of Fame coach hated the idea of a conference tournament and did everything he could to persuade the Big Ten to not have one), but winning even one game has been hard.
IU has lost its first game 14 times en route to a 15-24 tourney record. It has reached the semifinals only five times, including last season when it lost to Iowa on a last-second shot. It has reached the finals only once, in 2001, when it lost to Iowa, 63-61.
Michigan State has the best Big Ten record at 34-18 with six championships.
"If this game will be played," Rosemond told Fischer, "We're trying to win it. It's a chance to win a championship."
Or, as freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino said, "We know what we came here to do. We have to stay locked in and be prepared."
Hoosiers coaches initially prepared for three possible opponents -- Minnesota, Nebraska, and Maryland -- and focused on their last five games. Then the tourney began, and Nebraska lost to Minnesota, and then the Gophers lost to Maryland.
"No one is running much new stuff," Rosemond says. "We might because Coach is always coming up with stuff.
"It's about knowing a team's pattern. It's about your guys executing offensively and defensively and having the legs and the energy."
It's also about focus. Rosemond says that's a problem for all players these days.
"This might be a generational thing," he says, "and maybe when I played, coaches said the same thing about us, but with kids nowadays, it's hard to get them motivated. It's not because they don't want to play, but they have so many things they think about. It's unbelievable. We always try to get them focused.
"We tell them, 'We have these games. You need to rest. Put your phone away. Go to sleep.' Sometimes these guys are looking at their phones at 3 in the morning."
Before the season, Woodson asked his coaches if they should take away player phones. They decided not to do that, although Woodson won't let players use them during team dinners.
Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said during Thursday's Big Ten tourney press conference that he destroyed his phone and thought about destroying his players' phones because of all the social-media negativity and overall distractions.
"We want to get them to understand the magnitude of these games," Rosemond told Fischer. "You tell them, 'You have the opportunity to do something special -- win the Big Ten Tournament, make a run in the NCAA Tournament.
"Those moments are special. Never forget them."
Last year, IU needed to win two Big Ten tourney games to sneak into the NCAA tourney. This season, it is comfortably in no matter what happens in Chicago.
"That's huge," Jackson-Davis said. "We're here to compete for something, but now we can play more relaxed."
IU got a much-needed break after Sunday's Senior Night victory over Michigan, building an early 14-point lead, falling behind by 12, then rallying to win in overtime.
A big key was senior forward Race Thompson, who had a double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds) along with a couple of key, crunch-time steals.
"Race came through at the end," Rosemond told Fischer. "His defensive presence helps us.
"Even when he's not playing great offensively or as good as we think he can play, he knows all the plays. He knows all the other teams' plays. He knows everything we do and how we're thinking. You feel better when he's in the game.
"He's usually in the right place at the right time. Defensively, he knows what's going on."
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
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