Hoosier heartlanD presents:

Indiana - Rutgers Preview

Written By: Ben Malcomson

First off, I would like to say that it is good to be back in the saddle covering Indiana athletics. Took some time away to work through some personal issues. Sometimes, taking a step back helps you realize just how lucky you are. I consider myself fortunate to have the opportunity to do this, to work alongside a great team in Chris Corley, Bill Murphy, Brian Tonsoni, and Josh Wilson. A big thank you to the fans who have been supportive of both our website and our IU athletic programs.

Senior Day has arrived as our Indiana Hoosiers (16-14; 7-12 B1G) face off with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (14-15; 7-12 B1G). IU enters the game in a must-win situation if they wish to keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive. Let’s check out the game details courtesy of iuhoosiers.com:

Date: 3/10/2019 (Sunday)

Time: 12:00 pm EST/11:00 am CST

Site: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222)

Series History: Indiana leads 6-2

TV: BTN (Big Ten Network). Brandon Gaudin & Jess Settles

Radio: IU Radio Network - SIRIUS 108, XM 195, INTERNET 957 (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, and Joe Smith)

Live Stats - HoosiersStats.com

What’s at Stake

For the Hoosiers, everything. In my opinion, a loss would leave them in the hellacious position of only getting in if they could win-out in the Big Ten Tournament. Something IU has never been great at. The key here is not letting off the gas. They need to take what transpired in the Illinois game, bottle it up, and everyone on the team drink - including the student managers. We need an all-hands-on-deck approach and mentality.

Even if the Hoosiers win over Rutgers, they still need to do some work next week. I’m looking at winning at least one maybe two games in the B1G tourney. But, let us not get ahead of ourselves. Defeating the Scarlet Knights is priority #1. Sending the seniors off the right way in their last home game.

Prediction

Indiana wins by 25 points, 80-55. Yes, that’s right. 25 total points. I’m expecting them to come in carrying the momentum they had going into the Illinois win. Only this time, it’s in front of a sea of cream and crimson.

I’ll give my individual standout performer award to Rob Phinisee. He will finish this one with 15 points, nine assists, four steals, and no turnovers. On a night the Hoosiers honor the seniors, it will be a freshman who makes the biggest difference by playing like one2

Hoosier heartland Senior edits

Enjoy a couple of edits I made for the fans to honor the seniors Juwan Morgan, Zach McRoberts, Evan Fitzner, Quentin Taylor, and Johnny Jager: