In 2012-13, we finished the season as the number 1 offense in the country, and frankly, it wasn't close. When we went to East Lansing though, we got our asses handed to us by virtually the identical score we had today, scoring 52 points, getting manhandled on the glass, and being unable to either hit shots or defend them. MSU bullied us, and had, according to some, found our kryptonite (out physicalled) until we beat them in Ann Arbor and went on to the National Championship game.
In 20113-14, we again had the number 1 offense in the country. When we went to Bloomington though, we lost, again scoring 52 points, and our Big Ten POY, Nik Stauskas was 1-6 and couldn't solve being face guarded by a guy (Yogi Farrell) who was conservatively 7 inches shorter than he was. Again, Indiana had found our weakness...until we scored 84 on them the second time around, won the Big Ten by 3 games, and went to the Elite 8.
In 2016-17, we had the number 3 offense in the country. We had an incredibly bad outing against a South Carolina team which played the same defense we saw tonight and hounded us into some truly unbelievable stats (10-52 from the floor, 2-26 from 3), leading to conclusions that we couldn't play against teams which overplayed our guards. A few months later, we got tied up on the defensive end by MSU which overplayed and held us to less than a point per possession and 62 points total, "proving" the point. Agony lasted exactly 9 days, until we scored 55 IN THE FIRST HALF against the same MSU team. We went on to race through the Big Ten Tournament, and lost by a point in the Sweet Sixteen to a Final Four team after a missed box-out and a missed open jumper to win it.
In 2017-18, we got torched by Nebraska in Lincoln, scoring 52, getting beat by 20, and occasioning the fear that we couldn't play against teams which could switch 1 through 5. That lasted until we scored 77 against Nebraska the second time around, won the BTT, and went to the National Championship game.
Just to show the opposite side of the coin, last season, we won the Battle for Atlantis and brutalized opponents on the offensive end. That lasted until we played Louisville a week later, and scored 43 points for the game.
Me, I think history counsels against using an individual game, terrible or great, to draw conclusions or see future doom and gloom or glory, especially when the game is very different than the entire season. If we play like this Thursday or Sunday, yeah, that would certainly be a concern, albeit still not dispositive (see e.g., our 6-6 pre-NCAA tournament finish in 2012-13, followed by the run to the championship game). Unless this happens again though, it's an outlier to me. Your mileage may vary.
In 20113-14, we again had the number 1 offense in the country. When we went to Bloomington though, we lost, again scoring 52 points, and our Big Ten POY, Nik Stauskas was 1-6 and couldn't solve being face guarded by a guy (Yogi Farrell) who was conservatively 7 inches shorter than he was. Again, Indiana had found our weakness...until we scored 84 on them the second time around, won the Big Ten by 3 games, and went to the Elite 8.
In 2016-17, we had the number 3 offense in the country. We had an incredibly bad outing against a South Carolina team which played the same defense we saw tonight and hounded us into some truly unbelievable stats (10-52 from the floor, 2-26 from 3), leading to conclusions that we couldn't play against teams which overplayed our guards. A few months later, we got tied up on the defensive end by MSU which overplayed and held us to less than a point per possession and 62 points total, "proving" the point. Agony lasted exactly 9 days, until we scored 55 IN THE FIRST HALF against the same MSU team. We went on to race through the Big Ten Tournament, and lost by a point in the Sweet Sixteen to a Final Four team after a missed box-out and a missed open jumper to win it.
In 2017-18, we got torched by Nebraska in Lincoln, scoring 52, getting beat by 20, and occasioning the fear that we couldn't play against teams which could switch 1 through 5. That lasted until we scored 77 against Nebraska the second time around, won the BTT, and went to the National Championship game.
Just to show the opposite side of the coin, last season, we won the Battle for Atlantis and brutalized opponents on the offensive end. That lasted until we played Louisville a week later, and scored 43 points for the game.
Me, I think history counsels against using an individual game, terrible or great, to draw conclusions or see future doom and gloom or glory, especially when the game is very different than the entire season. If we play like this Thursday or Sunday, yeah, that would certainly be a concern, albeit still not dispositive (see e.g., our 6-6 pre-NCAA tournament finish in 2012-13, followed by the run to the championship game). Unless this happens again though, it's an outlier to me. Your mileage may vary.
