The Untouchables

Indiana: Beast from the East

by Eric Berkenpas

Photo cred www.mail.com

 After starting the season ranked #1 in the nation, it's no surprise to see Indiana grab one of the tournament #1 seeds. In his 5th year as head coach, Tom Crean looks to continue the growth into excellence of his team by improving on the Sweet 16 departure to the hands of the eventual tournament champions last year, the Kentucky Wildcats. He has his Hoosiers' sights set on a much greater accomplishment; that being to cut down the nets on April 8. As everyone knows, this never comes easy and this year, more than any, there are going to be many legitimate teams all vying for those same honors. It is going to take a considerable amount of focus, discipline, consistency and heart to take home that gold plated trophy this year. Let's explore the road that Indiana must take if it wants to be crowned champion in April.

Round of 64

Photo cred www.usatoday.com

Indiana will face either Long Island University Brooklyn or James Madison University in the first round. Both of these teams can threaten you from the 3 point line which in theory should not trouble the Hoosiers too much as they have faced and beaten some of the best 3 point shooters in the nation on Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State. Long Island boasts a threesome of very potent scorers in Jamal Olasewere, Julian Boyd and C.J. Garner who average 18.9, 18.5 and 16.1 PPG respectively. James Madison scores from a larger variety of players as they have 6 players who average between 6 and 13 PPG. Rayshawn Goins is the leading scorer and will need to be kept in check in the paint. In the end, Indiana should have no problem dismissing either of these teams. They play too tight of defense and neither Long Island nor James Madison will have an answer for Cody Zeller.

Round of 32 and beyond

Beyond the first round, having no knowledge of who Indiana will be playing in the remaining rounds assuming they win each game, the remainder of this discussion will encompass my expectations for Indiana and what teams they should look out for down the road.

Photo cred cityofbasketballlove.com

The first team that could give Indiana some trouble is the Temple Owls. They are careful with the ball on the offensive side of the court and have one of the better players in the country in Khalif Wyatt who has the skill to take over a game. He dropped 33in a win against Syracuse and 26 in a close loss to Kansas. He received A-10 Player of the Year awards and is ready to help his Owls make some noise in the tournament.

Syracuse is another team that could make some noise in the tournament. Brandon Triche, Michael Carter-Williams and James Southerland are just three examples of the high talent this team has. If Southerland can get hot from the perimeter, there are not many teams that can beat the Orange. They also have arguably the best coach in the league. You can never count out a Jim Boeheim coached team in March and April.

Photo cred bleacherreport.com

The last team and very possibly the biggest threat for Indiana is the Miami Hurricanes. Duke was the favorite in the ACC at the start of the season but the Canes had something else to say about that. We can't forget that January 23rd dismantling of the #1 ranked Blue Devils. The Hurricanes hit a bump in the road at the end of the regular season but got back on track by rolling through the ACC Tournament. They play arguably the best defensive game in the country and have some dynamic scoring from Shane Larkin, Kenny Kadji, and Durrant Scott who can all score from anyone on the court.

Photo cred sportsillustrated.cnn.om 

Indiana will find success if they can get consistent play out of their all star, Cody Zeller. Sure they have defensive sensation Oladipo who can light up the score board and Christian Watford and Jordan Hulls who can shoot the 3 ball effectively, but at the end of the day, the Hoosiers go as Cody Zeller goes and if he can play at an elite level game in and game out, there are few teams in the field who can match up against them.

My prediction for Indiana is that they roll through the first round, edge out the Temple Owls and Syracuse Orange en route to losing to Miami in the Elite 8.