Certain of nothing: Hoosiers felled by Northeastern

In their first five minutes, these new members of the IU men’s basketball team looked like their bygone brethren, putting the hatchet to a lesser opponent with Christmas 72 hours away.

Any resemblance thereafter was purely coincidental.

Felled by turnovers forced and unforced and a Northeastern team unwilling to yield ground – or points – the Hoosiers went down 55-42 on a night when almost nothing went right.

It had been nine days since IU coach Tom Crean’s team had hit the floor, but it hardly showed in the first 4:46, as the Hoosiers raced to a 12-3 lead.

After that, things simply fell apart. IU would score only five more points in the half while surrendering 25, sending Northeastern into the locker room with a 10-point lead, which would more or less stand the whole second period.

Turnovers, poor shooting, a lack of free throws and an occasional lack of urgency were bugaboos in those last 35 minutes, sending the Hoosiers (5-6) below .500 for the first time all season.

A game like this was coming. In fact, it was probably overdue.

Any college basketball team that turns the ball over and relies on streaky shooting is susceptible to the occasional upset, and after squeaking past IUPUI, the Hoosiers seemed destined to lose at least one they should win.

But the devil lay in the details on this night, and the record was on repeat. The usually indefatigable Tom Crean sat in his postgame press conference with the look of a man suddenly tired by the enormous burden on his shoulders this season.

Crean refused to make excuses, pointing to poor practices over the last week as a cause for Monday night’s across-the-board struggles.

“We have to mature,” Crean said. “We don’t have anyone, on this particular day, at this particular time, that can help this team understand how valuable every day is.”

Dec. 22 hasn’t been good to the Hoosiers in recent years. Fans will remember Brendan Plavich’s halfcourt heave to propel Charlotte over the Mike Davis-coached Hoosiers in 2004, perhaps the most unexpected conference loss on Branch McCracken Court in more than a decade – until Monday night.

With Lipscomb looming, Crean admitted Monday night was a regression several steps back from what they had gained so far this season.

“We’re back to square one on mistakes,” Crean said. “We’re back to square one on lack of communication.”

After that, Big Ten play, and once-forgivable mistakes will become deathblows. No one expects miracles from Tom Crean or his team this year, but there must be improvement, if only for the coach’s sanity.

This was always to be a cold winter for the Hoosiers and their faithful, but the biting chill outside was matched Monday night with a starkly similar environment inside Assembly Hall.

There will be better days.

How many will be determined by the men in cream and crimson, and in their determination to correct that which plagued them Monday night and has done so all season.

After the game, Crean talked about what his team needs to improve, citing toughness, competition – the pillars he’s leaned to all season long. But when he moved to how those improvements would come, Crean became candid.

“Slowly but surely,” he said of that improvement. He then paused and amended the statement.

“Well, I shouldn’t say surely.”

Even Crean knows nothing can be certain in a season like this, except that Big Ten play starts in two games.

Happy holidays.