Category Archives: indiana hoosiers

2015 March Madness: #7 Wichita State vs #10 Indiana

This game pits Wichita State, who was last year’s dark horse title contender, and Indiana, who many believe shouldn’t have received an at-large bid from the NCAA Selection Committee.

The Wichita State Shockers are one of the representatives of the Missouri Valley Conference. They won the regular season, but were upset by Illinois State in the conference tournament final.

Indiana is limping into the NCAA Tournament. They have some really nice individual players, but head coach Tom Crean has had trouble getting them to play together as a team. The Hoosiers haven’t looked ‘right’ since mid-January.

Will this be the last game Tom Crean coaches for the Hoosiers?

Who do you think will win? We help you fill out your bracket.

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2014 NCAA Football – Week 10 Betting Picks Against Spread

I felt pretty good about going 11-8-1 last week. I called a few nice upsets and missed a couple by a single point. My glaring mistake was picking against TCU (oops). My record is now 85-71-3 on the season.

I haven’t heard much about the weather being a huge issue this weekend. It is supposed to be the 40’s in the Midwest, so if any Southern teams have to do some traveling, it could be a shock to their system, but it’s nothing that would deter production.

We were 134-79-8 against the spread betting on college football games last season. We hope to keep it going and help you guys out again this season.

We pick against the spread for all the big college football games on Saturday (November 1st, 2014), and picked some smaller conference games as well. Enjoy!

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2014 College Football: All-Name Team

The college football season kicks off tonight…but it doesn’t officially start until we post our yearly all-name team.

We went through all the teams in the top two divisions in the NCAA. We read every name and picked out the ones that were funny and names we just wish we had.

My name is Bobby Roberts, so of all the people who can write a post poking fun at names, it’s me. I’m always asked if my real name is Robert Roberts (it’s not) or if my name is fake.

Here is the 2014-15 college football All-Name team.

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2014 National Signing Day: All-Name Team

For those who love high school and college football, National Signing Day is a lot of fun. It’s the one day of the year in which a university’s athletic department’s fax machine is the most important piece of equipment on campus.

This is the day when high school seniors can fax in their letter of intent to the college they wish to play football. You need to be offered a scholarship before you fax a letter of intent…sorry, guys.

I’ve researched all the top players in the 2014 senior class and picked out some of the best names and which school they will be playing for later this year.

My name is Bobby Roberts. I often get asked if my name is Robert Roberts, but no, it says ‘Bobby’ on my birth certificate. My name will forever sound like I’m eight years old…so different names always interest me. I think you will enjoy this list.

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2013 NCAA Football – Week 13 Betting Picks Against Spread

I apologize for being a little late with this week’s picks. I’ve stayed up late watching college basketball all week (Jabari Parker is amazing). I went 13-7 with my picks against the spread last week. I am now 111-65-7 on the season.

I like a lot of road teams in Week 13 of the 2013 college football season (November 23rd to be exact). I hate picking road teams this late in the season, but that’s how things shake out this week. There are a few games that seem to factor in last week’s loss or win way too much. You need to look at the last few games to really get a feel for a team.

We pick against the spread for all the big college football games on Saturday, plus a few games in the MAC and American Athletic Conference as always…and a Thursday night game. Enjoy!

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2013 NCAA Football – Week 12 Betting Picks Against Spread

I had my best week of the season. I went 16-4 with my picks against the spread. Stanford, Vanderbilt and Kansas State really came through for me. Those three moneyline plays are my best calls of the year. I am now 98-58-7 on the season.

I like a lot of road underdogs in Week 12 of the 2013 college football season (November 16th to be exact). The home favorites are overvalued this week. You get that at this point in the season. Bettors have a habit of sticking with teams they’ve had success with all year. Vegas knows this, so those teams will have a point spread with little value in their favor.

We pick against the spread for all the big college football games on Saturday, plus a few games in the MAC and American Athletic Conference as always…we also sneak in Wednesday and Thursday night games . Enjoy!

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March Madness: All-White Boy Team

We love the NCAA Tournament. We actually launched our site five years ago, right after Kentucky lost in the first round.

The name “America’s White Boy” comes from a term I coined for the white basketball players CBS focuses on during the tournament.

I don’t believe this yearly ritual is intentionally racist. Think of the movies “Hoosiers” or “Rudy”. These players aren’t the most athletic guys and CBS uses them to tell the story of the underdog.

The “Cinderella” aspect of the NCAA Tournament is what brings in the casual sports fan.

Here is our list of the best white basketball players in this year’s tournament. I’m sure CBS will use this as a cheat sheet for their coverage. Continue reading →

Review: “The Power of Negative Thinking” by Bobby Knight

If you asked a group of 100 college basketball fans to write down their top-five college basketball coaches of all-time, Bobby Knight will appear on every fan’s list.

Knight is memorable for accomplishing great things (three national championships and eleven Big Ten titles) and some of the most controversial moments in college basketball history.

The Power of Negative Thinking bundles all the negativity you sense in Coach Knight and explains how you can push yourself into achieving great things in life. It’s an odd method, but Knight’s “realist” common sense approach is refreshing in a book in this genre.

Knight shares anecdotes about his time coaching against Michael Jordan in college, what he learned during his time at Texas Tech and memories of Keith Smart’s shot that won Indiana a National championship in 1987. Continue reading →

2012 Big Ten Preview: Indiana Hoosiers

Our college football analyst Joe Pasquali wraps up his Big Ten football team previews with the Indiana Hoosiers. I guess we saved the worst for last.

Last year was about as bad as it gets for a Big Ten program. Well, actually any football program. They were 1-11 with their lone victory against a FCS school in South Carolina State. Do I think the team is much improved? Do I think they magically found young men who can run, catch, pass, and tackle? Not really, but you can only go up from 1-11 and I HAVE to think they find a way to win a few games. They’ll have experience on their side at least; the Hoosiers return more starters than any other Big Ten team (19) and fourth most in the nation. Coach Kevin Wilson’s second year will be a better year in Bloomington, just don’t expect them to make a bowl game. Again. Continue reading →

NCAA Allows Unlimited Texting to Basketball Recruits

As of today, Division I men’s basketball coaches are able to send unlimited texts and make unlimited calls to recruits who have finished their sophomore year in high school.

Kelvin Sampson was so ahead of his time. He got in trouble by making too many phone calls to recruits when he was the coach at Oklahoma and then was caught doing the same thing as the coach of the Indiana Hoosiers. That act basically cost him his job, his career in the college ranks, and put the Indiana basketball program on probation.

I explain the old rules the coaches had to obey and how the new changes will affect the way NCAA men’s basketball coaches use social media. Will more followers mean more blue-chip recruits?

Under current NCAA rules, coaches can call a recruit just once a month from June 15 after his sophomore year to July 31 after his junior year. The recruit is permitted to call coaches as often as he wants. Coaches can make two phone calls a week to a recruit starting Aug. 1 after his junior year. Text messages are strictly prohibited. A coach cannot publicly message a recruit on Twitter or any other social media platform.

Those rules are no longer valid. All contact via phone, text, or tweet will be unlimited. I wonder how many of ESPN’s Top 100 will block certain coaches’ numbers?

The NCAA Division I Board of Directors adopted the rule that was recommended by its leadership council. They believe that it will help make a closer bond between the player and coach. Transfers will be reduced and the student athlete will receive the most out of their basketball career.

The Board of Directors has its heart and mind in the right place with this rule. If they want to help secure a bond between the coach and a player, why will they still make a player sit out a year if the coach that recruited him takes another job? If the NCAA wants to keep saying that a player signs with a school and not a coach, this rule goes against that notion. They need to tweak the transfer system if they want to avoid speaking out of both sides of their mouth.

Can you imagine if this rule was implemented while Bob Knight was still recruiting? His Twitter account would be the most followed of all NCAA coaches. He would go on post-game tirades and throw virtual chairs at referees with RTs from upset fans. Oh, what a great time that would have been.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

2012 NCAA Tourney – South Region Picks

The South region contains a few of my underdog predictions that I picked before the field was set. Kentucky is the huge favorite to come out of this region, but will they stumble on the way to the Final Four? Will an underdog shine and make a few upsets? VCU was one of the tournament darlings last year, can they repeat and make a long run in 2012?

#1 Kentucky vs. #16 Mississippi Valley St./Western Kentucky – Even though Vanderbilt knocked off Kentucky in the SEC Championship game, I don’t see this game will be close. Not only does Mississippi Valley State and Western Kentucky need to compete in the play-in game, but Kentucky gets to rest. This game will be the normal #1 vs. #16 blowout.

Predicted Winner: #1 Kentucky Wildcats

#8 Iowa State (22-10) vs. #9 Connecticut (20-13) Iowa State has been a surprise team this year and deserved better than a #8 seed. Connecticut started off the year sluggish, but the defending champs had a strong Big East regular season. Even thought UConn will be a popular upset pick, due to experience, I love Royce White and the rest of the Iowa State Cyclones. It’s a shame that they will have to play Kentucky in the 2nd round, because I really like them.

Predicted Winner: #8 Iowa State Cyclones

#5 Wichita State (27-5) vs. #12 Virginia Commonwealth (28-6) VCU will be a popular upset pick. The Rams are a known entity and have the experience from the run they made last year. The Wichita State Shockers have been inching their way into the Top 25 for most of the year. They were my underdog favorite going into the tournament. VCU is coming off a conference tournament win and Wichita State didn’t win the Missouri Valley conference tournament. WSU’s Garrett Stutz will need a great game to keep VCU’s backcourt from taking over the game. I like the Shockers to win a close game.

Predicted Winner – #5 Wichita State Shockers

#4 Indiana (25-8) vs. #13 New Mexico State (26-9) – Indiana lost Verdell Jones III with an ACL injury, but they shouldn’t miss him against New Mexico State. The Aggies haven’t played anyone at Indiana’s level all season. Their lone marquee win came against New Mexico, only to lose to them later in the season. Cody Zeller should dominate the game and the Hoosiers will win this contest.

Predicted Winner – #4 Indiana Hoosiers

#6 UNLV (26-8) vs. #11 Colorado (23-11) – Colorado is coming into the NCAA Tournament hot from the PAC-12 tournament win. The Buffaloes will be a popular upset pick, but don’t sleep on UNLV. They knocked off, then #1 North Carolina team earlier this season. Mike Moser has been dominating the paint all year and they have played a very tough schedule. This game will be more lopsided than most people think. I like UNLV to be a sleeper underdog pick for the later rounds.

Predicted Winner: #6 UNLV Rebels

#3 Baylor (27-7) vs. #14 South Dakota State (27-7) – Which Baylor team will show up in Albuquerque? They shouldn’t have that much trouble against The Summit League champions. If Baylor wants to advance, they need big games from Perry Jones III, Pierre Jackson, Quincy Acy and Quincy Miller. All four of these players need to be consistent, because consistency has been lacking for Baylor all year.

Predicted Winner: #3 Baylor Bears

#7 Notre Dame (22-11) vs. #10 Xavier (21-12) – This game is going to be a close one. Xavier’s Tu Holloway is one of the most-talented players in the entire tournament. He has a poor first-half of the year, but has turned it up as the season progressed. Notre Dame was supposed to have an off-year, but they ended as the Big East regular season champions. A lot of people point out that the Fighting Irish knocked off, then #1 ranked, Syracuse. I will remind you that the Orange were without Fab Melo for that game. Notre Dame needs excellent guard-play to beat Xavier. I am picking Holloway and the Musketeers to upset Notre Dame.

Predicted Winner: #10 Xavier Musketeers

#2 Duke (27-6) vs. #15 Lehigh (26-7) – As much as I would love to pick against Duke, I can’t. Lehigh’s C.J. McCollom is a scoring machine, but Duke will double-team him and Lehigh lacks scoring depth. For a small school, Lehigh has done some impressive things this year. The Plumlee boys shouldn’t have any trouble with the under-sized Moutain Hawks.

Predicted Winner: #2 Duke Blue Devils

White Boy’s 2012 NCAA Tournament Coverage
2012 NCAA Tournament: West Region Picks
2012 NCAA Tournament: East Region Picks
2012 NCAA Tournament: Midwest Region Picks
2012 NCAA Tournament: 13 Possible Upsets

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A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Big Ten Preview: Indiana & Purdue

Friend of the White Boy, Joe Pasquali, starts off his 2009 Big Ten Preview with the lowest teams on the totem pole, Indiana and Purdue. One team starts out with a new coach (Purdue) and the other is stuck with an inept coach (Indiana). The 2009 season may be lost for these teams, but is there any hope for the near future, Joe discusses this and much more in this post.

Finishing #10 and #11 in the Big Ten
Indiana and Purdue (Predicted finish combined 5-19)

Summary– All twenty of you Purdue and IU football fans will surely be angry I combined your two storied (hahahaha) programs in my Big Ten breakdown, but I did for good reason. Both teams share so much in common that I couldn’t separate the two and was continually mixing them up as I tried to write. Both teams will not win a game September 19th EXCEPT for when they play each other November 21st. One of them has to win that game.. I hope..

Offense (D)– Purdue will once again throw the ball fifty times a game but all Boilermaker fans will be talking about what could have been since Justin Siller was suspended for the season. Purdue will be the worst team offensively in the conference…besides IU who could be worse. Dual threat QB Kellen Lewis was dismissed from the team and Ben Chappell will be taking over in his place. IU’s offensive line is very sketchy, and though Chappell has a strong arm he is not very mobile and will get hit. A lot.

Defense (C)– IU has two of the best defensive ends in the conference with Jammie Kirlew and Greg Middleton, both who received some national attention on All American lists. Austin Thomas and Nick Polk add legitimacy to the linebacker core and IU should actually be decent at stopping the run this season. Purdue is the exact opposite, with a weak front seven that should roll over like an obedient dog but a secondary that ranked 2nd in the Big Ten last season. The question is, did they rank so well because everyone just ran the ball on them? Probably, but I am trying to give them SOME credit.

Special teams (C)– Both teams have below average return games and place kickers who either did not get a chance to kick a lot of field goals (Purdue) or just missed a bunch (IU). Considering they have returning starters on special teams, this could prove to be a strong point. (insert applause)

Coaching (C-)– I am not saying Danny Hope (Purdue) and Bill Lynch are bad coaches, they will do as best as they can with the players they have, but they are not part of the Big Ten’s elite. Danny Hope is taking the reins from Purdue legend Joe Tiller and will catch a lot of flak for probably have a losing season, something Tiller only did twice in 12 seasons. Lynch had a great first season with IU at 7-5 but does not have the horses to make a dent in the Big Ten. Start hitting the recruiting trail.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.