Indiana and Butler were playing simultaneously. So I used the "Previous Channel" button last night to pop back and forth between the games. I didn't need to spend a lot of time with Butler, as they dispatched Duquesne pretty easily. Indiana didn't have such an easy time with Michigan State, which was as expected.
Magic Johnson was highly complimentary of the Hoosiers, calling out Victor Oladipo for special recognition. Victor was absolutely the Indiana player most worthy to be featured as the catalyst who led the Hoosiers to victory. The Spartans made a serious bid late in the game to grab the win and consequently the sole lead of the Big 10. But Oladipo's steals, dunks, and free throws allowed the Hoosiers to reclaim a lost lead and pull away from the Spartans at the end.
Even as a lifelong fan of Indiana basketball, I have to confess that I expected them to fall at Michigan State. The Spartans looked fantastic in recent victories over Michigan and Ohio State. Add the home-court advantage that is so evident in the Big 10, and I figured the Hoosiers would not be able to overcome.
Now Indiana retains their top national ranking and is very likely to be awarded a top seed in the tournament. Unless the wheels come off and the Hoosiers suddenly go on a losing streak in their last 3 or 4 games of the season. They may drop a game, perhaps to Minnesota or Ohio State. But after last night's performance, I sort of doubt they'll stumble the rest of the way. I would like to see Cody Zeller become a bit more assertive on offense, something Magic Johnson pointed out last night. If the Hoosiers go into the tournament with Cody dominating the paint, Vic Oladipi creating and slashing to the hoop, Jordi Hulls burying 3's, Yogi distributing the ball and eliminating turnovers and looking more like Isaiah, Watford hitting open shots and dunking offensive rebouds, and Sheehy going on scoring tears off the bench, they've got to be a favorite for the national championship.
As Magic said last night, "Indiana has to be a favorite in the tournament, because they have it all". Sure, they do have all the pieces to win, but all those pieces don't quite show up as expected every game.
Butler looks healthy and they're certainly rediscovering their signature tough team defense and dead-eye shooting. They still struggled in some areas against Duquesne last night, but played the best I've seen since before their loss in St. Louis.
The Bulldogs get the Billikens next at home. I hope to have a chance to see that game, and am curious to see whether Hinkle Fieldhouse will help them find their game and reverse the effects of that Billiken blowout of a couple of weeks ago. They need to beat STL at home to convince me that they really might have a chance to go deep into the tournament next month.
The tournament will be more fun than it's been in many years, if my predictions hold true. Especially if my final four picks actually make it through. Butler has to beet the Billikens to win my confidence for them, Duke and Indiana must close out their conference titles, and Michigan must start playing a lot better. If Michigan doesn't improve, I may have to replace them with Michigan State in my Final Four. Whatever Butler does, I'll still root for them to make it through because I'm a fan, even though their performance against STL will tell me a lot about their chances.
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