Title or Bust in Bloomington? Hoosiers Exit Early

No college basketball fan will ever forget it: Indiana's Verdell Jones brought the ball length of the court only to find junior Christian Watford trailing the play. Watford would then drill what will stand as one of the biggest shots in Indiana basketball history to take down the number one ranked Kentucky Wildcats last December. The shot signified the resurrection of Indiana University basketball and showed just how far Tom Crean had brought the program. Things were looking up and for all the right reasons. Crean was honestly building a program with not only quality and talented players but quality and talented students as well. The team boasts a cumulative GPA that is over 3.1 and coming into this season, the Hoosier faithful had every reason to get excited.

The expectations were high, especially after a Sweet 16 appearance last year. Pre-season All-American big man Cody Zeller was coming back for his sophomore season and Watford decided to hang around for his senior campaign. Throw those two in with the top 5 recruiting class that Crean hauled in and the thought of a trip to Atlanta seemed like a no-brainer.

Crean has done a marvelous job of restoring IU basketball

The team steam-rolled their way to a 24-3 record before dropping three of their last six games before the Big Dance, including a 12-point loss to the Wisconsin Badgers in the B1G Tournament semi-final. Not to worry Hoosier fans, they still captured the regular season B1G title and received a number one seed heading into the tournament. The Hoosiers were in odd form in the NCAA Tournament, though. They destroyed James Madison as they should have, and they defeated Temple with a little help from Victor Oladipo's late three-point dagger. That brings the Hoosiers to Washington D.C. to face off against Jim Boeheim's Syracuse squad.

The Orange were a four seed but played like a one. The Hoosiers on the other hand, well they sure as heck didn't play like a team that should be hoisting a trophy in the first week of April. There is one word for the way Indiana played, and I apologize to the IU fans, but that word is "embarassing". Syracuse did whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, to whoever they wanted. Michael Carter-Williams was virtually unstoppable and dropped a game-high 24 points and helped the Orange shoot their way to a 46% field goal percentage.

On top of that, Syracuse just played harder. The rebounding total was darn near even but Syracuse's defense was suffocating as usual. Indiana on the other hand looked as if they had never seen a 2-3 zone. Rather than accept the challenge, Indiana looked scared. The Hoosiers received virtually no help from what has been one of the top backcourts in the nation this year in Jordan Hulls and Yogi Ferrell. The duo turned the ball over a combined six times and combined for zero points. With only four assists between the two, it's easy to see that Indiana's offense just couldn't get going.



Zeller's potential has yet to be reached

Speaking of Indiana's offense, sophomore Cody Zeller ended the game with 10 points and 10 rebounds, yet shot 3-11 from the field. This is perhaps the most puzzling player in the nation. Zeller had high expectations and yet he tended to fade into the background and have quiet performances. He never asserts himself, and gets bullied in the lane way more than a 7-footer should. Syracuse's big men were in foul trouble throughout the game and yet Zeller never demanded the ball or took it upon himself to get to the line and take over the game. Should he leave for the NBA, which I highly doubt he will, he's in for a rude awakening. Zeller needs to get stronger and get a little nasty in him. The shy, loveable underclassman act is over. He's going to be a junior next year and needs to stop playing soft. He clearly has the talent and fundamentals to be a dominant big man at the college level, but he has to let his presence be known.

Alot can be said in a positive way for Indiana's season despite the negative and disappointing end that it came to. Tom Crean has done a miraculous job of rebuilding this program and things will only go up from here in Bloomington. But the end to the Hoosiers' season was a letdown even to those who aren't Indiana fans. It wasn't title or bust for IU, but to end the season at the same spot as last year is nothing short of disappointing. The future is bright, however, with yet another top recruiting class coming in and only time will tell if Indiana will end up in Dallas for next year's Final Four.