There are 5 games left for Indiana in the BIG this year and a coaching jobs is on the line. It’s Crunch Time! My schizophrenic Hoosiers haven’t figured themselves out yet. Will they be the aggressive Dr. Jekyll that beat Minnesota on the road or the mild-mannered Mr. Hyde that stumbled at home against Michigan? It all comes down to the man–the-middle, the Freshman center with the hyphenated last name, Trayce Jackson-Davis. Oh, and making those free throws.

What has happened to the art of the free throw? In today’s game, the dunk gets all the attention and apparently most of the practice. Two free throws are worth the same as a dunk. Just ask former Hoosier Steve Alford who perfected the discipline and inspired a famous mantra from Indiana fans: “Socks, shorts, 1-2-3 swish”. Before releasing a free throw, Alford reportedly told himself, “Soft over the front edge of the rim,” and some people believed they could see his lips move. He was not as successful as a coach, although many would still like to see him replace Archie Miller, who has failed to get I.U. to the Big Dance in his first three years at the Hoosier helm. 

It looks like formidable Dr. Jekyll has showed up to start the Penn State game, but there are two halves to play. All too often, Indiana has hit long scoreless stretches and squandered big leads in the Mr. Hyde mode. Although this game is important, it’s not quite as monumental as next week’s match-up at Purdue. Archie Miller has never beaten the Boilermakers and the loss in Bloomington a few weeks ago was crippling to his future. After yesterday’s Boiler loss to Michigan, Purdue has now lost two consecutive home games, and has failed to win at all since the Indiana game. They’ll be hungry for a Crunch bar when the Hoosiers come to town. 

I.U. takes a 13-point lead into the locker room against the Nittany Lions, but have lost their inside game. Devonte Green caught on fire from 3-point range and they’ve forgotten about Trayce Jackson-Davis. He only has nine points to match Devonte’s triple-3. Fouls have been a troublesome issue on both sides and I.U. has only converted on five of eight attempts. Penn State is 8-14, otherwise it would be a much closer game. Please make sure that Mr. Hyde does not make a second half appearance. He allowed the lead to shrink to 8 late in the first half before Devonte countered. It’s still disturbing that a 19-point bulge with two minutes left has now shrunk to 13. Penn State has yet to hit a 3 in only 6 attempts, while other teams have thrived on I.U.’s soft perimeter defense. Adjustments will be made. Will Archie and team be able to counter? Crunch Time is here!

Once again, Archie did not have his team prepared for the second half. It started with a 12-0 Penn State run coupled with that 6-0 run to end the first, as Mr. Hyde unfortunately refused to “hide.” Sadly, it’s a whole new ball game, with only a first half victory! I.U. managed to rebound and win the next two five-minute segments, but stalled just before getting to the critical 60-mark. My theory has always been that in college basketball the first team to 60-points usually wins. The Hoosiers get there first in this one, but the concern is still free throw shooting. A friend of mine coined it “Hack-A-Hoosier,” where the opposing team intentionally fouls to take advantage of the disturbing percentages.  Also, Penn State still hasn’t made a three! With a minute left, there are too many concerns, as Mr. Hide steps to the free throw line again. As it turns out, despite 17-27 from the charity stripe, they somehow win both halves and respond strongly to Crunch Time! Double-Double for Jackson-Davis. Go Hoosiers…now beat Purdue!