Indiana Misses Big Chance

Indiana missed a big chance to put the heat on Wisconsin and Ohio State in the Big Ten race. It also cost itself a ranking opportunity.

Funny, isn’t it, how fast things can chance.

All the Hoosiers had to do was win at Iowa, a team it had already handled at Assembly Hall. But then, as North Carolina found out against North Carolina State, nothing comes easy in conference play.

IU (16-6 overall, 6-3 in the conference) lost to the Hawkeyes 81-75, which was tough to take considering its upset victory over No. 2 Wisconsin a few days earlier. What was even more disappointing was the fact the Hoosiers were hammered on the boards, which is certain to be a point of emphasis in practice.

Coach Kelvin Sampson demands that his teams rebound. IU was crushed 42-15 on the boards and gave up 15 offensive rebounds.

Now the Hoosiers are two games behind Wisconsin and Ohio State in the league standings with seven games to play. That will be difficult to overcome.

IU gets a week off before hosting Illinois next Saturday. Then it plays four road games in the ensuing two weeks. To stay in Big Ten title contention, it will likely have to sweep those games. Given that the opponents are Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State and Northwestern, well, a sweep seems unlikely.

But then, you could have said the same thing a few weeks ago about the Colts making the Super Bowl.