Crean: Players more mentally tired than physically tired

The IU alma mater rang more like a funeral dirge than a college anthem after the IU men’s basketball team fell 75-53 to Northwestern on Wednesday. The loss was the Hoosiers’ first at home to Northwestern in the Wildcats’ last 36 visits to Assembly Hall and IU’s 21st of the season.

After the game, IU coach Tom Crean admitted the season, which has worn on through losing streaks of 11 and now six games, has left his team tired.

“There’s no question they’re mentally drained,” Crean said in the press conference. “I think it’s far more mental than physical.”

The Hoosiers showed signs of said mental fatigue facing one of the Big Ten’s worst teams, letting Northwestern put together a 12-2 run in the first half to take its first lead and a 19-6 run in the second half to put it away.

Crean praised his team for its hustle and hard work through a season he described as “an unprecedented thing.” He said the Hoosiers will have a better future, but he doesn’t talk about it with them right now.

“Very rarely do I do that, because I don’t think that’s right,” Crean said. “I don’t think that’s how you coach.”

Taber sets another career high

Senior forward Kyle Taber set a career high in points with 10 Saturday against Purdue. He broke that record quickly.

One of the most steadily-improving Hoosiers this year, Taber scored 12 points to make another new career mark Wednesday. Once a bench-warmer, Taber has played almost as many games this year (26) as he did his previous three seasons combined (31).

“He has certainly been the beneficiary of getting a lot of quality minutes, and he is getting better all the time,” Crean said of the Evansville native. “There have probably been a lot of times that kid had 36 career points, could have packed it in. He continues to play and work.”

The usually soft-spoken Taber himself passed credit to his teammates for his performance Wednesday, but it’s obvious his offensive game has improved since last year. Taber is scoring 4.5 points per game, which isn’t a lot but is still more than three times his best season average in any other year of his career.

“I wasn’t paying attention to that,” Taber said when asked if he knew he set a career high. “I was just going. If you see an open look inside, you’ve got to take it and just do whatever you can to get easy baskets.”

Santa makes IU debut

Mike Santa, all of 5 feet 9 inches from Huntington, Ind., suited up with the Hoosiers on Wednesday after spending the season prior to last night as a student manager. Santa played as well, logging one game minute.

Crean talked after the game about the contributions his managers bring, some of whom he said practice with the team.

“I didn’t do this as a reward,” Crean said. “It is a special deal to be a manager here. Those guys come out here and they work.”

IU has a few former managers who have gone on to become coaches, the most famous being New Jersey Nets coach Lawrence Frank. The Hoosiers also faced a former manager when Matt Bowen brought his Bemidji State team to Bloomington last November.

Crean previously used two managers, Santa and Brandon Profitt,, during one of IU’s preseason scrimmages, the Haunted Hall of Hoops.

Profitt would have suited up as well, if not for an injury.

“Those guys, they come in and they make it more competitive for our guys,” Crean said. “We’ve got to have real competition – well, those guys try to help provide that.”

Osterman's prediction: IU 76 - Northwestern 65

Final score: Northwestern 75 - IU 53