Column: Fix this now

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Only mere weeks after being one of the big kids on the playground, IU is again reduced to getting its lunch money stolen.

This time, it was the Hoosiers who were on the receiving end of a court storming. A bittersweet sign of progress, perhaps.

We all thought it had turned around. A new era was finally taking shape. But fans are left with the same feeling of helplessness now that their team has lost three straight games after beginning the season 15-1.

I don’t even know how to distribute the blame.

IU coaches, if your team is down one with 11 seconds left, the ball and a timeout, the following things should probably happen: a timeout after the ball crosses half court to set up a play.

After said timeout, make sure your leading scorer, freshman forward Cody Zeller, at least touches the ball.

And finally, get a desirable shot.

Instead, the smallest Hoosier, junior guard Jordan Hulls, drove down court and missed a contested, frantic layup. After a scramble for the ball, Hulls jacked up an unanswered prayer to seal the defeat.

Or maybe it’s the fault of the team’s players, who failed to stop the worst offense in the Big Ten.

Entering Wednesday, Nebraska averaged 61.1 points per game, ranking 305th in the nation.

Against IU, the Cornhuskers tied their highest point total in six conference games with 70. Wisconsin and Ohio State held the same Nebraska team to 40 points.
In a roster chock-full of upperclassmen, the Hoosiers lacked intensity on defense and composure on offense.

Perhaps the blame should even be on Hoosier fans and the college basketball world for shifting expectations from third to sixth gear without buckling their seatbelts.

After losses to Minnesota and Ohio State, Nebraska was the shot at redemption, the chance to show everyone this team was still for real. But as Hoosier Nation’s personal threat level moves from yellow to orange and flirts with red, IU Coach Tom Crean has to get this season turned around now.

The same team that beat then-No.1 Kentucky and then-No.2 Ohio State doesn’t lose to Minnesota at home or Nebraska away, in Bloomington or on Mars. Between those victories and these defeats, the same guys have been on the floor the whole time.

This team needs to rediscover the passion, maturity and mentality that got it articles in Sports Illustrated and on ESPN.com — and fast.

If the Hoosiers don’t, the bottom of the pit they’re falling into might get deeper and deeper.