Indiana Dismantled Chattanooga 99-74: The Prologue to Kentucky

The perfect performance prior to Kentucky

There really is no other way to describe it.  Indiana did what it was supposed to do in beating an extremely weak Chattanooga team, but it’s the manner in which it won which is noteworthy.

I’ve said it countless times all year, but quite simply, Indiana can beat anyone in the country when it’s playing its best basketball.  That remarkable effort was on display last night against Chattanooga as the Hoosiers shot an astounding 64.9 percent from the field and had five guys in double figures.

Indiana only had one player shoot under 50 percent, and surprisingly that was Yogi Ferrell.

What puts this basketball team at its best is genuine balance.

Every single member of Tom Crean’s nine man rotation made a contribution to this win and that is how Indiana is going to need to play if it is to succeed moving forward.

IU not only performed at its peak, but the Hoosiers also broke a few records along the way.

This Hoosier basketball team officially set the program record for threes in a season by eclipsing the 324 mark and IU point guard Yogi Ferrell actually had what was his first career double-double with 20 points and 10 assists. The fact that this is a first for Yogi actually blows my mind a little bit, but I guess I’m going to have to deal with that.

Moving forward it’s important to appreciate a few things…

Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell is clearly on a mission for IU glory

You have probably heard famous IU alum Dan Dakich give Yogi praise a multitude of times this season thanks to the incredible broadcaster scheduling of ESPN, but something I always seem to notice is the fact that Mr. Dakich always refuses to refer to Yogi as one of the greatest Hoosiers of all-time until he earns a banner.  I’m not sure whether that serves as any extra motivation for Yogi, but it’s quite clear that Yogi has set the tone for this tournament early on with his performance.

Yogi Ferrell is hungry.  He wants success for this basketball team more than anyone, and his matchup on Saturday with Tyler Ulis could end up becoming career defining. With that awareness, I’m beyond excited to see what Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell has up his sleeve this weekend.

Robert Johnson is healthy

He’s not 50 percent, he’s not 60 percent, he’s not even 99.9 percent.

Robert Johnson is absolutely 100 percent healthy and appears to have no rust on him at all.

Losing a tough game against Michigan to open the Big Ten Tournament should just be a reminder to all of Johnson’s importance, and his play against Chattanooga was extremly promising.

This team is mad

I myself was pretty angry about the five seed that Indiana received this past Sunday, but I probably handled it in a very unconstructive way. I sent out some angry tweets and complained to whoever I could find.

Indiana however, took that anger and created a dominant performance.

There was no better way to respond to a loss against Michigan and a poor seeding than with a victory like this. The only hope is that Indiana brings that anger to the Round of 32.

OG Anunoby is ready to break out

With back-to-back double digit performances and more than a few transition dunks, OG Anunoby is ready to make a name for himself on a national stage.

We all know how good this man is, but the rest of the world is mostly oblivious.

Now, with a game against Kentucky looming, all eyes will be on him.

OG Anunoby is more athletic than anyone on Kentucky’s roster and I’m willing to go to fisticuffs with anyone that disagrees with that sentiment.

Come Monday, don’t be surprised if every water cooler conversation in country begins with, “Did you see what that OG kid did?”