Column: Anything is possible in this rivalry game

There’s no denying that this IU basketball team has hit a funk.

There’s also no denying that it will be very difficult to dig out of that this season.

That’s the easy truth.

But let’s lay aside the fact that IU may struggle to win another game in the regular season and focus on the positive for just a moment.

What must IU do to right the ship, turn the tables or (fill in other cliché here)?

And secondly, is it possible to do just that against a rival that happens to be playing as well as any team in the nation?

The answer may be found in one 7:30 a.m. practice.

After Saturday’s 70-64 loss to Northwestern, IU coach Tom Crean, who appeared as disappointed as he’s ever been this season after a loss, wanted his team back to practice as soon as possible.

If rules allowed, it would’ve been Saturday evening. He settled for the earliest time possible on Sunday morning.

Senior guard Jeremiah Rivers said the early practice was necessary.

“It happens. It’s part of the journey, part of college basketball,” Rivers said. “It’s what we needed. It’s a wake up call after just a lackluster game we gave on Saturday. It was embarrassing.”

It was needed because of the team’s defensive effort (or lack of) Saturday. Northwestern hit 11 of its field goals from 3-point land.

The Wildcats’ 70 points came on 58 possessions — that’s 1.2 points every possession (1.2 = not good at all).

There were missed assignments, poor rotation and lack of communication throughout the game.

Thus, the Sunday morning practice. But it’s not just one practice that will get a team out of a hole.

And Crean said he recognizes that and the team must, as well.

“It’s how you utilize it,” Crean said. “It was a matter of coming in here and really making sure that we understand what must get better and how it’s measured daily.”

As Crean addressed his team’s own need for improvement — avoiding careless mistakes, playing through mistakes, being accountable to each other — he subsequently had high praise for the team coming to town Wednesday.

That team happens to be rival Purdue, the No. 8 team in the country, the team that topped No. 2 Ohio State this Sunday, the team that has looked dominant in February, the team that features not one, but two All-Americans.

Therefore, the improvement Crean has been addressing in practice must be displayed in full fashion if the Hoosiers want a chance at the upset.

That’s the problem with IU’s remaining season with the hole it is now in. Any improvement will have to be drastic to make a difference in the win-loss column. After Purdue, it’s off to No. 2 Ohio State. Then, No. 12 Wisconsin visits Bloomington next week.

Which inevitably begs the question — is it possible for IU to win against the Boilermakers?

The easy answer: Yes, anything’s possible. It’s a rivalry game, and a just-as-good Purdue team barely squeaked out a victory in Assembly Hall last year against a just-as-struggling IU team.

And what will it take for that upset? Rivers said the focus is to stick to the message of this week’s practices.

“Going into this game, we just have to continue to work on what we’ve worked on the past two or three days and continue to get better,” Rivers said. “I think our mindset is definitely aggressive coming into this game, which will be good. We’ve just got to come out and play.”


nmhart@indiana.edu