Predicting the win total ceiling, floor for Indiana in 2024
During the latest episode of Andy Staples On3 on YouTube, Andy Staples and On3 National Scout Cody Bellaire took some time to name the ceiling and floor for each Big Ten team in 2024.
One of the teams they decided to focus on early on was the Indiana Hoosiers. They have a new leader after Tom Allen took his talents elsewhere, but the program has some renewed juice, according to the duo.
“Let us go to the oak and bucket rival of Purdue, Indiana,” Staples segued. “Now, you’ve got Curt Cignetti as head coach. He comes from James Madison. … Indiana, under Curt Cignetti, you kind of knew when Curt Cignetti got the job, and he gets up at the basketball games, and instead of just talking about Indiana, or just talking about Purdue, he’s talking about Ohio State. You’re like, ‘Oh!’ This is a very different attitude that these guys are going to bring to the table.
“Now, are they going to be able to play that well? That’s a completely different story. But they’re certainly swinging for the fences in recruiting. Look, at James Madison, their ethos was, ‘We’re just going to beat your ass.’ You bring that to Indiana, and it may or may not work, but I have a feeling this guy can probably port that, from one level to another.”
Ceiling: 7-5
Both Staples and Bellaire agree that the Hoosiers ceiling lays somewhere between 6-6 and 7-5, with them leaning towards the over-.500 end of the spectrum at the moment.
“Schedule’s manageable,” Staples stated. “It’s sort of in-between, what we were just talking about, with Rutgers and Purdue. Maryland’s going to be tough, we’ll talk about them later. Nobody should assume anything with Maryland. They’re kind of living in 7 or 8 land right now. But you know, until you get to that Michigan or Ohio State spot at the end, you can have some promise going into those games.”
Continuing, Bellaire took it to a confident level, believing that Indiana will win their non-conference games, and it’ll be up to some games against a handful of Big Ten opponents to get the job done in 2024.
“It sounds kind of crazy, but I think they win their three non-conference games, and then out of that, they just need three, four more wins out of UCLA, Maryland, Northwestern and Purdue,” Bellaire said. “I think that’s extremely doable, in Year 1, for Cignetti and Indiana.”
Floor: 4-8
As for the floor, they both set it at 4-8, but Staples and Bellaire are both confident Indiana will punch above that in 2024.
“Is Indiana suddenly going to become a Big Ten title contender? Sure, that’s what Curt Cignetti is talking like, but no. Are they going to become like, that tough out? They can definitely be that,” Staples stated.
Bellaire loves the attitude the Hoosiers seem to have, and he’s excited to see Cignetti and company back it up this season.
“You’ve got to love it, man. Bring the juice,” Bellaire added. “Nobody wanted to coach to come out there and be like, ‘Yeah guys, we’re going to be .500. We’ll see how it goes.’ Nah man, talk your stuff. I’m excited to see him try to back it up.”
Alas, time will tell how Indiana does in 2024, but Andy Staples and Cody Bellaire believe in what Curt Cignetti is seemingly starting to build with the Hoosiers.