Congrats on your #1 ranking

...per KenPom. And just 1 point (89 vs. 90) from 30th place. I think our defense is fine, though not elite, but provides something to complain about because our offense is so dominant. I'm not excusing it, but I think that our D can play very well, but when you're up by double-digits and winning in the B1G by an average of 18 points, it's hard not to let the D slip a little.

If anybody on tRCMB says bad things about MSU they call him "Nucky".  I believe Nucky was a previous poster that was always negative about all-things msu but still considered himself a fan.

Others, correct me if I'm wrong as I didn't spend much time researching the legend of nucky.

All of the this.

When I was younger, I assumed that Indiana got ALL OF THE CALLS at home because the refs were afraid of the human volcano known as Bob Knight. I was disappointed to have that theory proven incorrect as Indiana still gets ALL OF THE CALLS despite the fact that they have had several coaches since Knight.

I wonder what the real reason is for the deference to Indiana by the B1G officials?

You're mostly right (about home court advantage due to ref calls.)

However, there are several dynamics at play that could partially mitigate this home court ref advantage for Indiana.

1. Michigan's number 1 rating. The refs aren't stupid, and are well aware that Michigan is ranked #1. I think this puts a bit more pressure on the refs to call the game fairly. A corollary for this is found in the NBA, with the so-called "Jordan rules." With superstars (i.e., Jordan, Magic, Kobe, Lebron, etc.,) the refs let them get away with more. I think that with Michigan's rating, they "might" be treated differently than, say, Iowa, Illinois, MSU, etc.
2. Related to this, there will be a lot of publicity and coverage of the game. The lights are very bright. This is a marquee game for not only Indiana & Michigan, for not only the Big 10, but for all of college basketball. As such, the refs know that everyone will be watching their calls, even more than usual. I wouldn't be surprised if the league office requested the best possible refs, and put a bug in their ear to be fair.
3. Lastly, Burke, Hardaway, Robinson, and Morgan (if he plays) have not fouled out a single time this year. Those four, along with Stauskas, have averaged less than 1 1/2 fouls per game. McGary is the only one on the team who struggles at all with fouls. This suggests that none of the starters is foul prone. Even if they doubled the amount of fouls, none of the starting five would foul out.

I guess I think that given Michigan's ranking, given the marquee nature of this game, and given Michigan's lack of a propensity to foul, they are unlikely to be as jobbed by the refs as would otherwise be typical.

But I am no good at that kind of thing.