The Assembly Call Indiana Basketball Podcast

It was a rough afternoon for Indiana, as the Hoosiers were non-competitive at home in losing to Michigan State. Stanford Robinson turned in another impressive effort off the bench, dropping 11 points in a variety of ways. The calls from fans are coming in pretty frequently for him to replace Jeremy Hollowell in the starting lineup, which is something the guys discussed at length on the postgame show. There was also yet again some updated talk about the Hoosiers' NCAA Tourney hopes, which are becoming much more of a question mark.

Indiana didn't win today in Champaign. They could have though. They *should* have, you could argue. And that's what makes this loss really, really painful. Andy and Jerod break it all down on the latest episode of The Assembly Call. They discuss: -- Yogi Ferrell's outstanding day leading the Hoosiers. -- Noah Vonleh's mostly-outstanding day in his first Big Ten road game -- Jeremy Hollowell's not-so-outstanding afternoon ... and whether he should be starting moving forward (No). -- Tom Crean's many questionable moves late -- sitting Vonleh for too long, not taking timeouts to get better shots, etc. -- The murderer's row that awaits Indiana after the calendar turns to 2014 tonight.

Jerod and Ryan analyze a few key points from the Nicholls State win -- namely, the 20 turnovers and the still-liberal substituting. But this show really gets going at the 19:26 mark when talk turns to the Assembly Hall renovations. Jerod and Ryan agree on some points ... but vehemently disagree on others.

Enjoy this roundtable discussion with our very own Andy Bottoms and Ryan Phillips, plus Galen Clavio of Crimson Cast and Chronic Hoosier of Jameson and the Tijan Fan Club. We covered the subjects you would expect us to cover based on this "Season on the Drink" has started: -- What is this team's identity? (Does it have one?) -- How firmly on the bubble are the Hoosiers after the loss to Notre Dame ... and what do they need to accomplish now in Big Ten play to get off of it? -- Does this team have chemistry issues? -- What does it mean that Tom Crean took responsibility for the Notre Dame loss? -- Is Yogi overrated? (Or ... is he underrated and with too much expected of him as a sophomore?) -- Who is getting too many minutes? Who isn't getting enough? And, of course, the words poop and butt are picked up from Chronic Hoosier's hot mic, and we all agree that they aptly describe the position Indiana currently finds itself in. (Except Ryan. He stays pretty positive. Must be because he didn't mention Will Sheehey once.)

Son of a bitch. That was disappointing. As we've said several times, Saturday's bout with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish was a must-win game, or at least as close to one as you'll get in mid-December for IU. But the Hoosiers didn't really look like themselves for the vast majority of the game, never holding a lead, and in the end fell 79-72.

It may be Friday the 13th, but it's always a good day when Chronic Hoosier stops by to talk IU hoops. Among the topics covered today in this Assembly Call Special Edition: --Is Chronic’s glass half full or half empty*? --What does he want to see happen with IU’s non-conference schedule in future seasons? --Can Will Sheehey become the leader this team needs him to be? --How good is Noah Vonleh in comparison to other IU freshman? Is he really the great kid everyone describes him as? --And is there any chance of him coming back for a sophomore season? --When the rotation tightens up, who are going to be the odd men out? --How good is James Blackmon Jr., really? --What is Chronic’s favorite non-Wat-Shot memory of Tom Crean’s rebuild over the last half decade? (Make sure you hang around to hear this.)

The guys break down Indiana's win over Oakland, look ahead to the must-win game over Notre Dame, and then close the show by reminiscing about Christian Watford's shot to be Kentucky on its two-year anniversary.

After a tough loss to Syracuse earlier in the week, IU bounced back against a far less capable opponent Saturday night, defeating North Florida with ease, 89-68.

After 24 hours of time to reflect, Jerod and Andy had plenty to say about IU's B1G-ACC Challenge loss at Syracuse.

After taking a tough loss in New York City last Friday at the hands of UConn, your Indiana Hoosiers bounced back against the 5-0 Purple Aces of Evansville on Tuesday evening. Thanks to a great start and finish, IU took down Evansville by a score of 77-46 in Assembly Hall. Yes, you saw that right, the Purple Aces, who came in as the nation's best three-point shooting team, just couldn't get anything going on offense against the Hoosiers' ultra-athletic, stingy defense. IU's quick start was just more pressure than they could handle. But the best part of that was senior walk-on Jeff Howard getting the first start of his career, replacing Jeremy Hollowell at "the four." There was much speculation about why Crean pulled Hollowell, and why he did so in favor of Howard, but it was great to see Jeremy respond with a career-high 18 points in just 17 minutes of action. Jerod and Andy discussed the issue in great detail on the postgame show. Besides Hollowell, scoring was pretty evenly dispersed between many different guys, with the only others in double figures being Yogi Ferrell (ten points, two assists) and Noah Vonleh (13 points, 12 rebounds). It was great to see Vonleh bounce back, despite even more foul troubles, to claim his fifth double-double in six contests. For more, such as how guys like Evan Gordon and Will Sheehey keep impressing without stuffing the stat sheet, analysis of the Hoosiers' upcoming schedule, and much more, make sure to click the links below and listen to the show! Check out the full box score by clicking here. Click here to find, listen, and subscribe on iTunes Click to download the mp3 (or open in new tab to listen in browser) Listen using the player below. Or watch the Google Hangout simulcast:

The young Hoosiers overcome a stressful first half to edge out LIU-Brooklyn.

Most figured it would be an extremely tough task for Chicago St. to compete in Bloomington on Opening Night. The new-look young and athletic Hoosiers made sure of that. Although any game ends in a Jeff Howard bucket to give IU 100 points was likely a good game, host Jerod joined Andy & Ryan to dissect exactly how and why the cream & crimson's debut on 'Branch McCracken Court' was a success. As most of us expected, there was some sloppiness from IU ... especially in the very early goings of the game. Chicago State, however, tried to push the ball up the floor quickly like the Hoosiers, which led to the Hoosiers basically controlling this ball game for 40 minutes. Early on, freshman star Noah Vonleh was an absolute force on the boards, but as discussed during 'Ryan's Rant,' much of his early offensive success came while he showed off his versatility with the ball in his hands. He finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds in just 22 minutes of game action. Other freshman like Stanford Robinson (6 pts-10 min.), Troy Williams (13 pts-22 min.), and Devin Davis (10 pts, 9 reb-14 min.) also showed some impressive flashes of raw talent and extreme athleticism, which definitely got the guys on the postgame show excited. But you can't overlook the more experienced trio of Yogi Ferrell, Will Sheehey, and Jeremy Hollowell who all played great as starters. Although this was a game in which head coach Tom Crean wanted to see what others could create on offense, Yogi still scored 11 points, pulled down six rebounds, and and dished out six assists in just 27 minutes of game action. Sure, he'll have to be a consistent scorer for this team, but it's good to see that he isn't forgetting how to spread it around despite missing his favorite weapons from last year. Sheehey got off to a quiet start like he did in the exhibitions, but finished with a very fine ten points and nine boards in 24 minutes. He was efficient from the field, which will be huge considering how much Crean is going to need him to create and take shots. Hollowell shook off a shaky start en route to 16 points, four rebounds, and four blocks by the end of the night. Though he definitely will need to handle the ball quite a bit for this squad, it's nice to see that he can still play like a defensive stopper around the rim. We'd expect him to stay in the starting lineup to give the Hoosiers some nice size, like Andy has discussed quite a bit already. Hopefully he can just be a bit more efficient, though getting to the line and going 9-10 is certainly a good thing. We want to come as close to leaving out nobody as possible, so we'll also note that Hanner Mosquera-Perea and Evan Gordon had nice games. Hanner threw down a rattling tomahawk dunk in the first half and finished with five points, three boards, one block, and one steal in only 13 minutes of action. Gordon provided a nice jolt of eight points in 17 minutes on the floor. You can check out all of the game stats for both IU and CSU by clicking here. But without further ado, direct your attention below to listen to, subscribe to, and download the latest edition of The Assembly Call! Click here to find, listen, and subscribe on iTunes Click to download the mp3 (or open in new tab to listen in browser) Listen using the player below.

It was supposed to be another Banner season in Bloomington. Turns out that wasn't meant to be, a point driven home tonight in Washington D.C. by Syracuse and it's impenetrable zone. But if you want angry ranting about the Syracuse loss, you won't find it here. However, if you want to hear three die-hards try to come to grips with the end of this scintillating two-year run in the raw, immediate aftermath of its brutal ending, listen in and commiserate right along.

It wasn't easy. It wasn't pretty. And Hoosier Nation collectively has no more nails to chew. But it was a victory, and it was thoroughly satisfying, and it propels Indiana to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season. IU now faces Syracuse in the Sweet 16, and the Orange will present a unique challenge because of their zone. Will the Hoosiers be up to it? We look ahead to the Sweet 16 and dissect today's thrilling W on the latest episode of The Assembly Call.

Indiana took care of business today the way a #1 seed should, and it looked like they recaptured a little bit of lost swagger in the process. The win for Indiana puts them into the Round of 32 where the Hoosiers will face Temple. We discuss today's game, look ahead to Temple, and even get into a little bit of Steve Alford talk on the latest victorious episode of The Assembly Call.