Griffiths: Indiana fans can go ahead and purchase those Final Four tickets
By DOUG GRIFFITHS
ISL Assistant Editor
We are just three weeks from Selection Sunday, a day Hoosiers fans can’t wait for.
On March 17, IU will not only be one of four No. 1 seeds when the NCAA Tournament is unveiled on CBS, but Tom Crean’s fifth Hoosier team will be the top No. 1 seed in the Big Dance.
The significance of that is IU will get an easier road to Atlanta, the site of the Final Four April 6 and 8.
In being the top No. 1, the Hoosiers will get the luxury of playing close to home, which will be a huge advantage.
IU will get to play its first couple games in Lexington, Ky., Auburn Hills, Mich. or Dayton, Ohio, meaning thousands of Cream and Crimson clad fans will be on hand to cheer their beloved Hoosiers on. Assuming IU wins Game #1 – remember no No. 1 seed has ever lost to a No. 16-seed – and gets by either an No. 8 or No. 9 seed in Game #2, the Hoosiers will advance to the second weekend, meaning a date in Indianapolis and the Midwest Regional and an even larger contingent of fans to make sure they advance to their first Final Four since 2002.
It’s a dream path for IU and barring unforeseen, the Hoosiers will be playing in the national semifinals during the first weekend in April.
In a college basketball season in which we’ve heard time and again that there’s not an elite team, the fact is there really is, and it resides in Bloomington.
Not only does IU have all the ingredients of a Final Four team, but it has the makings of a national champion.
The Hoosiers, whose three losses this season have come by a total of nine points, have multiple soon-to-be NBA players, perhaps as many as three first-round draft picks as soon as June in Cody Zeller, Victor Oladipo and Christian Watford. Two of those players – Zeller and Oladipo – will leave school after this season and be NBA lottery picks.
They have size in the 7-foot Zeller, who runs the floor better than any big man in the country, and the 6-9 Watford. Plus, Oladipo’s hops make him seem much taller than the 6-5 he’s listed.
In Zeller and Oladipo, the Hoosiers have a pair of legit national college basketball player of the year candidates.
We knew Zeller was awfully good from the time he was a star at Washington (Ind.) High School. Oladipo, on the other hand, has burst on the scene and is the most athletically gifted player in college basketball today.
Oladipo, a three-star prospect from tradition-rich DeMatha High School in Maryland, is drawing rave reviews, as well he should be.
During the IU-Michigan State television broadcast, NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson said Oladipo is a future star in the pro game.
“To me, he’s a combination of (Michael) Jordan and Dwyane Wade,” Johnson said. “If he comes out (of college early), this guy will be one of the top five players in the NBA (Draft).”
First things, first though. Oladipo and Zeller are just two components of what is college basketball’s most complete lineup.
Watford’s size and ability to step out and hit the three-point shot with regularity makes him an incredibly difficult matchup for teams.
Speaking of long-distance shooting, no one in America is more deadly from range than senior Jordan Hulls.
Hulls’ backcourt mate Yogi Ferrell might only be a true freshman, but he plays like a seasoned veteran, running the point. What makes him so good is his defense as well as his ability to get the ball to where it needs to be. If you back off of Ferrell defensively, he’ll make you pay because he can stick the outside shot and beat you off the bounce.
As if that starting five wasn’t intimidating enough, Crean has the luxury of turning to 6-7 junior Will Sheehey off the bench. Like Oladipo, Sheehey deserves a lot of credit for improving his game as well as anyone in the college game. As a result, he should be a lock for the national sixth man of the year award.
Those six along with a bench that when inserted knows exactly what their roles are has IU rolling at the most opportune time of the season.
The Hoosiers have won nine of their last 10 games and don’t be surprised if they win their final four regular-season games to win the Big Ten championship outright. IU still faces tough tests Tuesday night at Minnesota and on March 10 at Michigan, plus the home finale against nationally ranked Ohio State could be challenging.
Fresh off its biggest win of the season – Feb. 19 at Michigan State – this Hoosier team is oozing with confidence and really has no weaknesses.
It will kill you in transition, can score and score some more (second in the nation averaging 82.5 points per game), capitalizes big time at the charity stripe (No. 1 in the Big Ten, 74.5 percent), and is so much better defensively than it was a year ago.
All this adds up to IU being a sure thing come March Madness.
Go ahead pen in the Hoosiers to the Final Four when you fill out your brackets. They’re a slam dunk to be playing in Atlanta come April.
