Big Ten Basketball: 5 takeaways from the 2018 Big Ten/ACC Challenge
By Adam Childs
Indiana is not ready…yet
Indiana was somewhat of a surprise last year in the Big Ten. They were not expected to do much and they upset a few teams and put up some good fights against the top teams of the league, but couldn’t quite get over the hump. This year they brought in top recruit Romeo Langford and many people thought they could be a top 25 team.
They have looked good early and came into the Challenge with just one loss, which was by one point on the road against Arkansas. Tuesday night showed that they just weren’t ready for the spotlight, at least not yet.
Yes, they had the unenviable task of playing Duke at Duke. The Blue Devils may be the best team in the country and they certainly have the best class of freshman. Indiana, though, looked completely outmatched. They were out the game before it even started. They struggled with turnovers and defensively they had no answers for Duke. There were some who thought IU could hang with them for a little while, but the Blue Devils completely ran them out of the gym.
Indiana is a fairly young team and still could be a year away, but the beginning of the season there was hope that they could be a tournament team this year. They still may make it, but right now they look like a middle of the road Big Ten team.
That could all change by the end of the year as the talent is there, but just how quickly will they put it all together. They may not be ready now, but this could light a fire under them as they enter conference play this weekend.