Quick Update: Classes have resumed

So classes have started back up at IU, meaning that my time has once again become a limited commodity.  For that reason, my posts will become a bit more infrequent (or perhaps a bit less detailed) as I dig into coursework.  But I figured I'd give a quick update of where we stand.

On Saturday, the Hoosiers knocked off the #22 Ohio State Buckeyes at Assembly Hall by a score of 69-66, with Troy Williams recording a double-double and James Blackmon Jr. contributing 18 points.  The Hoosiers struggled a bit on offense, especially early on (when they had five turnovers in under five minutes and were down 9-2), but their defense kept them in the game.  Key were Collin Hartman and Nick Zeisloft off the bench, who provided energy and aggressiveness which sparked the rest of the team.

Indiana now hosts Penn State tonight and are favored by anything from 8-10 points.  But we've seen how that goes, with the Nittany Lions stealing a win at Assembly Hall last year.  Penn State is now without John Johnson, who is suspended indefinitely, who was a key player off the bench, averaging around seven points a game (but had 16 in the Nittany Lions' last game).  The Hoosiers should be able to pull off another victory tonight, but as Wisconsin learned at Rutgers (yes, that would be Big Ten front-runner Wisconsin and Big Ten basement-dweller Rutgers), no win is guaranteed.

It also needs to be noted that Indiana's primary big man Hanner Mosquera-Perea will be sidelined for the next 2-4 weeks with some kind of kneecap injury (nothing has been officially announced by the team).  This is going to mean a serious increase in playing time (and importance) for Hartman and Emmitt Holt and could mean some time (although probably not much) for guys like Tim Priller and Jeremiah April, but likely only in case of extreme emergency.