The last time IU played basketball, it was cutting down the nets in Assembly Hall. On Friday, it will be playing 50 miles north in Bankers Life Fieldhouse with a target on its back.
No longer is IU the feel-good turnaround story of the Big Ten. The Hoosiers are now the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament that everybody wants to bring down.
Throughout the conference season, IU could play with a motivation of proving itself to the masses. It was constantly on a mission to establish its merit and eradicate the notion that success came from an easy schedule or any other factor.
Now, the challenge for the Hoosiers is not allowing themselves to feel like the success of a regular-season conference title means too much. They’ve proven people wrong, no doubt about it.
Now, it’s about forgetting Sunday’s net-cutting ceremony and pushing for the next goal.
Up until Feb. 20 against Purdue, IU was still sneaking up on people. The nation was in wait-and-see mode. That’s not the case anymore.
When you add a Big Ten Coach of the Year award for Tom Crean, first-team All-Big Ten guard Yogi Ferrell and several other major honors, the team becomes the most hunted team going into the Big Ten Tournament.
IU will be facing No. 8 seed Michigan on Friday at noon. The last time they played the Wolverines, the Hoosiers were on a quest to avenge senior forward Max Bielfeldt and won by 13 points on the road. This time, Michigan is looking to avenge a loss and salvage a once-promising season.
Bielfeldt proved Michigan was wrong for discarding him by winning Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year. Michigan will want to change that narrative.
If IU plays Purdue on Saturday, the most likely scenario, it will be playing an in-state rival angry about losing a close game in Assembly Hall last month.
The Hoosiers can’t surprise people anymore with freshmen forwards OG Anunoby and Juwan Morgan. All of the pieces that have won IU the Big Ten title are well-known commodities now.
This is the greatest test IU has faced this season. It will be trying to prove it can be the top dog.
Lord knows Crean isn’t happy with just a regular season title. We all saw how quickly people were angered with Crean after IU lost in the 2013 Sweet 16, despite a phenomenal regular season. There’s no denying Crean seems pretty safe, but you’d be amazed by how quickly things could turn again with an early exit.
That’s what makes this exciting. It’s a chance to see all of the lessons learned from the past few seasons. No longer should IU be happy with playing well. It should have its eyes on bigger goals.
I’m sure it does, but this will be a fun weekend to see just how much the Hoosiers keep fighting after all of their success this season.
brodmill@indiana.edu
