The 2021-22 season started with a lot of hope centered around a new coach, Mike Woodson, along with expectations of a top tier finish in the conference and a NCAA tournament bid. The campaign started when Hoosiers old and new combined for a 79-66 victory over Serbia’s BC Mega in the first Bahamas exhibition game held in the Imperial Ballroom at Atlantis Paradise Island
The next day, double-doubles from Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson along with a team-high 13 points from Xavier Johnson paced the Hoosiers to a 64-53 victory in the finale. The Hoosiers were off to a good start, using some of that Bobby Knight defensive magic of years gone by.
The much anticipated regular season began in Bloomington on November 9th as a disturbing pattern began to develop against Eastern Michigan. In that critical phase between the fifty-point mark and magical sixty, the offense got stuck on 56 with 7:21 to go and a 14-point bulge, again on 58 with 5:40 remaining, and finally on 59, deteriorating to a only a single point before IU finally got over the 60 hump at the 2:14 mark on a Race Thompson layup to eventually seal the 68-62 final margin.
The defense remained stingy in the next match-up against Northern Illinois, allowing only 49 points. However, against a more formidable St. John’s they quickly got to 56 at 11:05 but soon stalled, taking until 7:35 to get over that 60-hurdle, and winning by only 2-points 76-74.
I-U-D continued to prevail in the next two games as Louisiana scored only 44 and Jackson State 35. Then the offense finally came alive against Marshall at home, stretching the lead to 61-48 with the clock at 14:36 and pulling away for a convincing 90-79 victory. The “Rule of 60” under Woodson got its first real test at Syracuse in a 2-OT 112-110 loss. At 10:38 in regulation, the Orange got to 60 first on a Symir Torrence jumper to take a two-point edge. The teams nearly got to 60 for a second time in this thriller.
In the first BIG conference battle, the Hoosiers held Nebraska to 55 for an opening triumph by 13, but only managed 59 against Wisconsin. The Hoosiers were hoping to put an end to the Madison misery and built the first half lead to an impressive 22. They even held a 51-41 lead with 12:05 remaining but let the Badgers claim 60 first at 1:18 on their way to another win at 64-59. Missing 7 of 13 free throws was a big contributing factor, as Wisconsin extended a home winning streak over the Hoosiers that stretched back to the previous century.
Winning got back on track as I.U. next held Merrimack to 49, Notre Dame to 56, and Northern Kentucky to 61, as the Hoosiers surpassed 60 with 11:16 yet to go in this 18-point victory to make it three-straight wins. However, they failed to get to the magic mark against Penn State in a 61-58 loss and only got to 51 against Ohio State’s 67 for two-straight conference losses and the first fail at Assembly Hall. They responded against Minnesota with some 73-60 magic.
Victory was looking promising at Iowa since the Hoosiers had the lead 57-55 at 10:49, but the Hawkeyes scored the next 6, passed 60 first, and never looked back while dominating down the stretch 83-74. The first conference road victory then happened at Nebraska 61-55, as our road warriors surpassed 60 at 10:05, and finished 78-71.
The most important win by far was the 68-65 upset of #4 ranked Purdue, snapping a 9-game losing streak against the Boilers. The “Rule of 60” bent but did not break as the Hoosiers took 61-58 leads at 7:34 and 63-60 at 4:31. Purdue threatened with a 65-63 edge at 1:11, but a Rob Phinisee 3-pointer at :18 proved to be the winner.
Just when we thought momentum was finally on our side, Michigan came to town and soundly prevailed 80-62, but the Hoosier defense bounced back with stellar performances against Penn State, giving up only 57 and then just 55 versus Maryland. The tide quickly turned when Illinois held us to 57 in our third home loss, and we only scored 51 at Northwestern with an injured Phinisee coupled with the Woodson surprise suspension of five additional players.
Tournament hopes began to fade as Michigan State easily topped the Hoosiers to make it three straight February set-backs. In two of those we never even hit 60-points and the Spartans finally allowed 61 at the :03 second mark, while reaching 60 themselves with 7:37 yet to play and holding a comfortable 9-point lead.
So far this season, five of the seven IU conference victories have been due to holding their opposition to 60-points or less. Wisconsin is next at Assembly Hall- will the “Rule of 60” apply in victory or will the Badgers get there first as they did in Madison? Sixty Rules!
1940 was the first National Championship for Indiana in basketball, following a 60-42 win over Kansas. Coach Branch McCracken led the charge and established the scoring mark that has proven to be magical in Hoosier round-ball history. No one has ever worn jersey #60 in basketball, but it just might might deserve future consideration. It’s the number the team needs to get to first to assure a win, as proven through years of game research. However, back in 1940, the championship game was the first time they ever actually got to 60-points in 20 victories that year. Sixty is not necessarily an offensive goal, but rather a defensive standard.
In recently talking with Jeff Oliphant, a member of the 1987 National Champions, he indicated that Coach Knight would often write the number 63 on the strategy board as a defensive goal, much as Coach Woodson in his first year quickly enforced lap-running penalties for turnovers over 12 in his first year of coaching. This was talked about frequently by the game announcers early in the season. I wondered if “The General” was as conscious of the importance of 60, as I was as a fan, and was his number of 63 an adjustment after the shot clock and 3-point shot came into play? Even without those new rules that favored more offense, Jeff and I watched the Maryland victory together, as the 2022 team held the Terps to 55 points while committing only 10 turnovers. At the midpoint of the season, it was easily their best performance so far and my 60-point level still commanded a timeless place in securing victory.
Woodson has added a welcome spark to a program that has badly suffered since the Knight era. Mike Davis capitalized on Knight recruits to get to the final game in 2002. Then came Kelvin Sampson and recruiting violations, Tom Crean who missed the tourney five times in nine years, and Archie Miller who couldn’t beat Purdue or even make the NCAA field of 68. Strong defense has once again become a I.U. priority, but they allowed Syracuse to get to 60 first and lost in double overtime. They then got stuck on 59 for the last three minutes of the game against Wisconsin and they cruised by us for the 64-59 victory. This is an excellent example of how important that magical 60-mark is in closing out a game.
IU did not get to 60 in the 61-58 loss to Penn State, while Iowa held them at the 57-threshold for nearly two minutes and eventually passed them up for victory 83-74. The Hoosiers hit 57 against rival Purdue at the 10:28 mark of the second half with an 8-point lead and finally got to 61 at 7:34 on a Race Thompson dunk, then held on for victory, snapping a 9-game Boiler winning streak. Even in the early stages of the Woodson campaign, the “rule of 60” has already played a significant role. Quite simply, if the Hoosiers get to that pivotal point first, they win.
2021-22 defensive averages are some of the best in team history, dating back to the fifties. So far, IUD has limited opponents to 63-points per game. Only the Mike Davis finalist team of 2001-02 at 62.6, Tom Crean’s 2012-13 average of 62,1, Kelvin Sampson’s 2006-07 61.8. and Bob Knight’s 1980-81 championship team at 58.5 have been better on opponent points per game. All of those teams had at least first round tourney success. Averages then predictably swelled into the 70.0 range with the addition of the 3-pointer in 1986-87. Steve Alford used it to perfection in winning our 5th National Crown that year, but it has appeared to be our nemesis ever since.
Data provided by Gracenote, A Nielsen Company. Copyright © 2000-2022 Sports Reference LLC. All rights reserved.
I realize that most of my posts this week have not been necessarily humorous, as is my writing goal every morning. After all, I should be in a good mood after such a brilliant game (or at least first half) that I.U. played in defeating conference foe Penn State, but I’ve been troubled with serious matters like finance, death, family, and neighborhood issues. Life is not always a “Box of Chocolates,” as Forrest Gump’s Mom might remind him. I actually watched a Tom Hank’s movie, Cast Away, this week on Free Form out of boredom. It was his serious side of acting and something I hadn’t watched in a long time.
I’m actually getting an early start to this blog because we’re picking up friends at the airport this morning. It will be a shortened run on day 4,779 of The Streak. “Run, Forrest, Run.” I’m borrowing my son’s car for the weekend, so we’ll have plenty of room for luggage and guests. We have dinner reservations and games to watch, as one of our guests is a former I.U. basketball player. Blogging my not be as automatic each morning with my home routine gladly disrupted.
On Matinee Monday, we saw the movie, The King’s Daughter, because that’s how we usually start every week of retirement and since it’s still free! We had seen most everything else, and this one turned out to be a bit of a surprise, with memories of our visit to the Palace of Versailles a few years ago. It was not a historical piece as expected but instead a fantasy about mermaids and their gifts of healing immortality. The phrase, “Love is Immortal,” struck my wife as very romantic and inspired some poetry on my part. It’s not the usual sing-song, humor that I write, but rather a reflection on the word IMMORTALITY and its impact on long-standing relationships like ours:
I Love You, Sweetiepie,
More than words can Express.
Measured through years,
Of Knowing the True you.
Real beauty seen inside and out,
Trusting you always to be Mine,
And part of me Forever.
Love for us will Never end,
Immortality is Ours.
Timeless treasured Twosome,
You and I eternally One.
You never really lose someone that you LOVE!
Copyright 2022 johnstonwrites.com
I have been to many IU-Purdue basketball games in my lifetime and have never seen the Hoosiers lose – neither at Mackey Arena or Assembly Hall. Of course, I haven’t gone in many years, especially during this recent streak of 9-straight Boilermaker victories. I would have liked to have been there last night when the Hoosier fans stormed the court, something that Bob Knight would have never have approved of doing. His philosophy was to conduct yourself as if you’re expected to win. However, considering the past five years, I admittedly had no expectations for a win.
The #4 Boilers have bullied the Hoosiers of late, and Rob Phinisee knows better than anyone, having never beaten them in his four years of school. He grew up a Lafayette kid and raised eyebrows with his decision to go to Bloomington. Last night, for the first time, he felt that he had finally made the right choice. His heroics of “Rocky-like” proportions, ended the Black & Gold domination. “Phin for the win!” It was perhaps even more dramatic than Christian Watford’s dagger against top-rated Kentucky eleven-years ago, but nowhere in comparison to “The Shot” by Keith Smart to win the 1987 National Championship. I was there in New Orleans for that historic moment.
It was JUST Purdue this time, another BIG Conference victory, but for hungry, deprived IU basketball fans, it was the sweetest moment ever. It might mean an elusive NCAA Tourney bid for the Hoosiers, regardless of the outcome of the re-match at Purdue, a team that could go on to win it all. After all, the 1981 I.U. National Champs lost at Purdue by two-points, before the 3 was ever a factor, and cruised through the tournament. I’m actually hoping for the same thing to happen for Purdue this year. They are a good enough team to finally hang their own banner. However, let’s take this moment to celebrate. Take that you BIG Bully!
On June 19,1926, DeFord Bailey became the first African-American to perform on Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry. The Opry house has since moved to Opryland, but the historic Ryman Theater, that housed the Opry acts through 1974, is celebrating its 130th anniversary. It will be part of our summer tour up through the Midwest that also includes Panama City, Tuscaloosa, Indianapolis, Mackinac Island, Cleveland, Canton, Asheville, and Hilton Head. We plan to take the Nash Trash Tour, a comedy show on wheels through the key sights of the city on that Tennessee stop along the way. A night at the famous Grand Hotel is our ultimate destination, and the northernmost point on our drive. Other Michigan city destinations will include Ludington, Petoskey, and Traverse City.
We just returned from Vanderbilt Beach and Bonita Springs after an overnight stay with Indy friends and lunch with hometown Elkhart acquaintances. My wife is hosting a bridge club this afternoon, while I try to figure out what happened to my whiskey delivery from Flaviar? They report it delivered and signed for two weeks ago. I have video of the delivery person who set off my Ring doorbell and walked away with the box since no one was home. It required a signature, so I’ve been waiting for the second attempt, but Sonic Transportation claims the delivery was made. Someone will probably lose their job over this, but I hope they enjoyed my spirits.
I probably would have needed that sedative spirit tonight for the I.U. vs. Purdue basketball game, but I have other liquids to ease the pain. I have a bad feeling about this one after nine straight Hoosier losses. It will be tough for the Hoosier big men, TJD, Durr, and Race, to contain the #4-ranked Boiler twin towers of Williams and Edey. The “Good Guys in Crimson” also have Jaden Ivey and Sasha Stefanovic in Black & Gold to contend with on the perimeter. I’m certainly tired of losing to Purdue, and the only hope is that IU has not yet been defeated at home this season. When I most desperately need them – Where are my spirits?
It is a cloudy “Matinee Monday,” a good afternoon for indoor entertainment. Tomorrow, we head to Vanderbilt Beach, about an hour-and-a-half south of us for a reunion with Indianapolis friends. We got together last year about this time of year, as they take a two-week break from the cold before heading back to WORK. I can barely remember the meaning of that four-letter word. Obviously, they are a bit younger than we are. We’ll spend the night, with Tally staying with a new sitter, a neighbor from the dog park. The folks from “Schnauzerville” where she likes to go are on a cruise, but it’s good to have multiple options for pet care as much as we’d like to travel. On Wednesday morning we’ll drive into nearby Bonita Springs and meet some hometown friends for lunch. She was the wife of a good high school friend who died several years ago and has been in a new relationship for awhile. I’ve yet to meet him, but soon will, since they too are getting away from the chilly Indiana weather.
Florida is a great place to renew acquaintances with the Midwest snowbirds. I guess at one time I could have been considered such an animal, but I’m now a full time resident. I was pretty far removed from my Hoosier friends, living both in Austin and Portland for the last dozen years. Only rarely did we have visitors, but I had the good fortune of knowing several Oregon Hoosiers, dating back to high school. I miss hanging out with them, especially “Leadership Meetings” at Buffalo Wild Wings. They’re coming down here for Spring Training, plus I’ll visit them in Portland come September.
We got some of the fliers out yesterday for the Neighborhood Meet-up in a few weeks and will see a lot of them tonight at the events center for a movie one of them produced. It could be two movies in one day for my wife and I! As a result, I will miss some of the IU basketball game tonight, but have a feeling that this may be a good thing – we have little to gain and a lot to lose. The team has not won a BIG road game in nearly a year, plus Nebraska is last in the conference. If we lose this one – all hope is gone. It will be better to simply monitor the score and keep my comments to myself. Getting together with these new neighbor friends will be a welcome distraction.
Another decade has passed in “Blog World” as I move into the “Roaring Twenties.” In the real world I’m also in the Twenties – year 2022. “The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as the Roarin’ 20s, refers to the decade of the 1920s in Western society and Western culture. This period saw the large-scale development and use of automobiles, telephones, films, radio, and electrical appliances in the lives of millions in the Western world.”
I live in many worlds, including those revolving around writing this blog, the Ban(n)ister family, my running streak, sports, reading, and watching TV. However, in reality, it’s all about my marriage, my son and his family, as well as getting settled in a new home. Tonight will be “Date Night,” but I will not be my wife’s date and we missed “Sunset Tuesday” and “Tourist Thursday” due to other obligations. The upcoming weekend is completely free for once.
I gave blood yesterday, while my wife added another bridge class as she continues to learn the game. She’s out the door again for an Aqua Fit class after her morning routine with Tally at the dog park. This afternoon she has a tap class and in the evening an event at the Venice Art Museum with girlfriends. She’s incredibly active in retirement, while I limit my exercise to an early morning run and swim. Interaction for me is limited, while she drives our social engagements. We’ll soon be having another “Meet The Neighbors” gathering in early February. I’m in mourning after last night’s IU basketball loss at Iowa, something I’m getting used to, although it’s unsettling to be frequently on the losing side.
USC and Baylor, the only undefeated teams of the early 2021-22 basketball season, both fell this week. This preserves the multi-decade streak of the 1975-76 Indiana University Hoosiers, the last college basketball team to finish the regular season and tournament unblemished at 32-0. It’s now been 46 years since this unbeatable perfection has been tied. “Five teams have finished the regular season undefeated since 1976 — with the most recent being Wichita State in 2014, Kentucky in 2015 and Gonzaga in 2021. Two of those teams — 1991 UNLV and 2015 Kentucky lost in the Final Four.” UCLA is the only other university to have achieved this level of NCAA greatness – 1967 (30-0), 1972 (30-0) and 1973 (30-0). The record lives on, at least another year.
After two straight BIG home victories, the Hoosiers seem to be back in winning form this season and competitive in the conference at 2-2. After their recent performances, many expect them to finish in the Top 5, while the top half would get them in the Big Dance for the first time since 2016. They still have to prove they can win on the road to earn an evasive NCAA tourney bid (their 40th in history), and they have to break Purdue’s recent domination that now stands at an embarrassing 9-straight dating back to 2016. That sole Hoosier victory was in Bloomington, stopping another 3-game Boiler winning streak. It’s hardly the perfection that I once experienced watching them lose only one game in two full years just after I graduated.
Coach Mike Woodson, not to be confused with fellow Hoosier (Martinsville and Purdue) John Wooden, has produced a remarkable start in restoring the “Glory of Old IU.” Woodson has legendary status as a player, but far from achieving that level as a coach, and probably never to be associated in the same sentence with names like Knight and Wooden. Right now, all we can say is that he’s a few letters from being Wooden. Also, as we all know, it was Coach Wooden that directed those great UCLA undefeated teams.
Ten straight days without alcohol is an impressive start to the New Year, although I can’t say the same about sugary sweets. Any consumption restraint on my part is a sobering thought. I am expecting a Flaviar whiskey delivery today, but it will stay in the box for at least a few more weeks until this streak is broken. My running streak now stands at 4,761 days and counting.
As far as the year 1913: “February 1 – New York City’s Grand Central Terminal, having been rebuilt, reopens as the world’s largest train station. February 3 – The 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, authorizing the Federal government to impose and collect income taxes. February 4 – Rosa Parks is born.”
Today is “Matinee Monday” with plans to see the The King’s Man. It will remind me of a tough day in my marriage many years ago when I was banned from the house. I spent two nights sleeping in the Starbuck’s parking lot near our neighborhood, not knowing where to go, and two more in the car in the underground lot of my office building, thinking my sentence would surely soon end. I showered at the office, after completing my run each morning, and went to my desk like nothing was different from any other day even though I was embarrassed. I retreated to the movie theatre on Saturday for a nap and watched three movies in a row, including the first King’s Man: The Secret Service and Fifty Shades of Grey. I must have slept through the third because I can’t remember what it was. After that, I went to a downtown Marriott hotel to complete my full week of homelessness. Thankfully, there have been no other marital issues since that time nearly 7 years ago.
My wife and I finished episode four of 1883 last night and another couple Peaky Blinders’ shows before realizing there was no water. It turned out to be a city issue that affected several neighborhoods and was restored an hour later. IU won its second straight BIG match-up against Minnesota yesterday, in the midst of the NFL final games that determined the Playoff picture. The Colts were eliminated and the Bears lost again, but this did not detract from the euphoria of watching winning basketball. Now, if the Hoosiers could just pick up a road victory, my overall perspective on life would be glowing. My mood tends to still be strangely dictated by what happens on the basketball court – so I’m feeling good today.
In 1910 war was declared on Germany and the U.S. entered World War 1. Both my grandfathers, William J. Johnston (1918 at age 22) and Ross A. Hancher (1917 at age 22), fought for our country. Thank you both for your service and for being great role models for me in life. We would come together as a family when Ross’ daughter, Catherine, married William’s son, Burton in 1946. I was then adopted five years later, along with my younger sister, added in 1955. I thankfully avoided military service.
I have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon for my annual wellness exam. I’ve not been having any major health issues other than the self-imposed stiffness and soreness associated with running every day. My first acupuncture session earlier this week proved relatively ineffective. I have another attempt scheduled for next week, along with a chiropractor appointment. An eye exam is also planned for later this month. With all this attention to my health this month, I’m sure they will find something wrong. I give blood next week and have passed two Covid tests already, so I’ll certainly have my share of New Year poking and prodding. I’ve managed to stay away from alcohol as part of my January resolution, but sweets consumption has actually gotten worse.
We continue to watch Peaky Blinders on Netflix about British spies and gangs. As far as TV sports, IU won a big basketball game over Ohio State last night, bolstering my fading hopes for an elusive tournament bid come March. Football also signed a promising QB prospect, a transfer from Missouri, so things are looking up in Bloomington. Culturally, we spent yesterday afternoon, Tourist Thursday, at the Venice Art Center following lunch in their café. We also signed up for an Eagles cover band concert here in the community center – After Eagles. Florida is known to be the cover band capital of the world, probably since a majority of the aging population can’t see or hear clearly, so these copycat groups sound better to them than they actually are. We were not pleased with the Journey/Styx act that we saw here a few months ago, so maybe we aren’t as far “over the hill” as some of our Florida peers.
