IU's Crean On A Roll; Zeller Honored; Phantom Punch

 Tom Crean has had one heck of a last couple of days.

First, his Indiana Hoosiers beat then No. 1 Michigan in as thrilling a college basketball game as you’re likely to see in as spectacular an atmosphere as you’re likely to experience.

Then, his two brothers in law -- Jim and John Harbaugh -- went at it in the Super Bowl. Jim coaches the San Francisco 49ers. John coaches the Baltimore Ravens.

The Ravens held on to win as dramatic a Super Bowl as the sport has ever had.

Finally, the Hoosiers regained the No. 1 ranking they’d held for the first five weeks of the season. IU is 20-2 overall and, at 8-1 in the Big Ten, and has a one-game lead over Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State at the midway point of conference play.

Crean and his family flew down to New Orleans, the site of the Super Bowl, on Sunday morning. His wife, Joani, is the sister of Jim and John Harbaugh. They met with Joani’s parents, Jack and Jackie.

The Crean’s spent Sunday night in New Orleans watching the game and celebrating afterwards with John, commiserating with Jim. Crean flew back to Bloomington Monday morning and attended IU’s practice that afternoon. He had given the players Sunday off, although given the hard-working nature of his players, most of them probably worked on their own.

Even during the most hectic moments of the last few days, Crean didn’t lose sight of his preparations for yet another big basketball week -- IU plays at Illinois on Thursday and at No. 10 Ohio State on Sunday. He watched film on the plane ride to New Orleans and again on the plane ride back to Bloomington.

Still, Crean made sure he enjoyed the moment.

“It’s so unique,” he said. “It’s been a short night. You’ve got one family member you’re overwhelmed with happiness for. There is such a great joy and pride. You’ve got another one that it’s close to heartbreak that you can feel. It’s difficult. It’s hard for Joani and her parents.”

Crean is friends with Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers. One of his sons, Jeremiah, played for Crean at IU a few years ago.

“Doc Rivers sent me a text last night,” Crean said. “I gave it to Jack. It said, ‘As a parent you’re only as happy as your unhappiest child.’

“That’s an amazing statement. It’s one of the most profound things I’ve ever heard, and it probably fits what Joani’s parents are going through.”

Still, the opportunity to attend one of the world’s great sporting events, the chance to have access few people will ever get, left Crean absorbing as much of the experience as he could.

“It could be a once in a lifetime thing,” he said. “There is incredible joy in being able to be part of it, to see it. I got a chance to be around some great people. My children and wife got to participate in something that was incredible. They got to be around some great people. It’s something that will be full of incredible memories.”

Through it all, Crean’s didn’t lose focus on his coaching duties, and the quest to find an edge that could put the Hoosiers into Final Four territory.

“Your mind is never too far from what’s next,” he said. “I had my notes in my back pocket. I got five to six pages of notes ready to put into form when I get back to Indiana. It’s been unique.”

In the end, you see, Crean used the Super Bowl as a learning experience.

“Absolutely,” he said. “No question,” he added. “Having the vantage point we had, to have the access we had, to be behind the scenes and be on the field, was incredible. I could watch how the Ravens and 489ers do it and how they prepare.

(Former Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks coach) Pat Riley was there. I got to spend a minute with (former NFL coach) Bill Parcels (who just got selected for the Hall of Fame). Those are two of my coaching idols. I’ve gotten to know both through coaching. They were coaches I always looked up to long before I became a Division I coach.

“Something like this gives you a chance to pick brains of leaders -- business leaders, political leaders. It inspires you to think more creatively, to look at things differently, to pick up the interactions.

“We were in the commissioners’ box when the power outage came on. I watched the Commissioner (Roger Goodell) deal with that with such grace and calmness under pressure … it was amazing. That all applies to everything we do in life. No question things like this can only make you better.”

*****

Who said Cody Zeller is slumping?

The Indiana sophomore forward bounced back from a couple of sub-par games with a pair of big ones last week. He led IU over Purdue and Michigan, averaging 19.0 points and 10.5 rebounds. That earned him co-Big Ten player of the week honors with Michigan’s Trey Burke.

It was Zeller’s first conference player of the week award this season and the second of his career.

*****

Ah, the drama we must deal with.

Now there’s the Twitter-fueled controversy about whether Michigan’s Glenn Robinson III punched Jordan Hulls late in Saturday’s game.

Robinson’s hand/fist did hit Hulls in the jaw. The Indiana senior guard did get staggered for a few seconds, but was not seriously injured.

Video replays indicated contact between Christian Watford and Robinson might have inadvertently led to Hulls getting hit. There didn’t seem to be anything vindictive or nasty or unsportsmanlike about it, although some will disagree.

Anyway, the Big Ten will likely look into it. Crean didn’t address that topic during his Monday night radio show. It was probably a good move.

He's got enough on-court drama to deal with.

Indiana's Zeller Won't Sleep on Hoosier Job

Cody Zeller is a funny guy.

Let’s qualify that.

He isn’t funny like Rodney Dangerfield was funny in his “I get no respect” ways. He lacks Richard Pryor’s intense language or Robin Williams’ zaniness. And he certainly doesn't come close to the "funny guy" Joe Pesci implications in the movie "Good Fellas."

Still, you get the picture.

Zeller's humor is in more of the subtle, laid-back style. Take, for instance, his thoughts on the advantage of playing late games, of which Indiana seems to get more than its share.

“We get more time to nap,” he said.

Yes, when you're an elite basketball player juggling a demanding academic schedule (the guy is set to graduate in 2 1/2 years), sleep is a big deal.

Anyway, IU has had a couple of late starting times this season, which is a direct result of its national popularity. There was the 10 p.m. tipoff against Georgetown, the 9:30 tipoff against North Carolina and the 9 p.m. tipoffs against Wisconsin and Michigan.

You might think Zeller wouldn’t like waiting all day to play, but that’s not how he thinks.

“I wish every game would be at 9,” he said. “Then I could nap a couple of hours.”

Zeller is more than just a 7-foot nap waiting to happen, of course. He has regained the dominant form that once made him a favorite to win national player of the year honors, and if that standing has slipped slightly, it doesn’t mean he’s any less effective. A strong finish could earn him that honor, and a lot more.

In the last two games Zeller has averaged 19 points and 10.5 rebounds. He had a couple of monster dunks in Sunday’s win over No. 1 Michigan. Even when he doesn’t score to his 16.3-point average, he distorts defenses, creates openings for his teammates and plays solid defense.

Take those Michigan dunks, for instance.

“They were huge,” teammate Victor Oladipo said. “That’s what he does. He makes big plays at big times. That’s why he’s the big fella. He made those big plays because we needed them.”

Take his long crunch-time rebound, when he out-hustled a pair of Wolverines to get the ball and restart the offense that led to a pair of crucial Yogi Ferrell free throws in what became an 81-73 victory.

“I was trying to keep the ball alive and make a play down the stretch,” Zeller said. “I always pride myself on hustle plays -- plays that anyone can do.”

Except, of course, that most people don’t do them, especially big guys.

“Cody's loose ball rebound late on our end offensively was unbelievable,” coach Tom Crean said. “He'll have some SportsCenter dunks, but that loose ball rebound was just…that's why he's such a special player.”

Crean has known that for a long time, which is why, years ago, he made recruiting Zeller a priority. That paid off with a Sweet 16 berth last year. This year a lot more is expected, and in so many ways, Zeller and the Hoosiers are delivering. They are 20-2 overall, 8-1 in the Big Ten. They are poised to return to the No. 1 ranking.

Zeller is, of course, a big part of that, but he’s still just a key contributor on a roster that includes Oladipo, Jordan Hulls, Christian Watford, and more.

“I think the more that guys like Cody and Victor and Christian and Jordan …know that they are the product of their teammates…and they've all got their roles and they all do different things, but they are the product of…their success is the product of their teammates…the better we are,” Crean said. “That is the way we have got to keep focusing.”

Focus means aggression on defense and movement on offense. It means paying attention to the scouting reports and playing with passion and commitment and, yes, having fun.

It almost certainly will produce a No. 1 ranking this afternoon when the polls are released. When the No. 3 team, as Indiana was, beats the No. 1 team, as Michigan was, right after No. 2 Kansas losing to Oklahoma State, well, the outcome seems obvious.

The Hoosiers were No. 1 at the start of the season, but lost it when they lost to Butler during December’s Crossroads Classic in Indianapolis.

They’ve learned from that loss, and from the one to Wisconsin last month at Assembly Hall. Keeping the top ranking won't be easy given that Duke, Louisville and Michigan also couldn't hold onto it, but that's a topic for another day.

“We’ll keep playing like we’ve been playing,” Oladipo said. “We’re playing with a chip on our shoulder. We’ve played with a chip on our shoulder since I got here. We’ll continue to do that. We’ll continue getting better and keep playing for each other and staying together.”

It starts, and certainly doesn’t end, with Zeller.

Indiana, Michigan, Bald Heads and Sex ... Sort Of

By now you know Indiana will play Michigan tonight in a battle that will determine first place in the Big Ten and, perhaps, decide the fate of the world economy.

Yeah, it’s that big.

Michigan is ranked No. 1. IU is No. 3. This will be the first top-three battle in Assembly Hall history. The previous ranking best came in 1993, when No. 1 Indiana edged No. 4 Michigan 93-92.

ESPN’s GameDay will be in town. No, that will not include Bob Knight (unless the Grim General pulls off the surprise of the decade), but it will include Dick Vitale.

Let the impressions begin, baby!

This is the kind of game to restore youth to an old man, hair to a bald one, laughter to a sad one, sexual vigor to …

Sorry. Sometimes, for big games, we get carried away.

Anyway, if the Hoosiers want to win the Big Ten title and earn a No. 1 NCAA tourney berth -- and you know they do in the worst way -- they have to beat the Wolverines. They just have to. They’ve lost once at home. They can’t afford another.

To understand why, let’s look at the schedule.

February is an absolute beast. You’ve got Michigan at home, then trips to Illinois, Ohio State, Michigan State and Minnesota.

Yes, Illinois is fading -- again -- to the point where it might not make the NCAA tourney. Apparently new coach John Groce borrowed an unwanted page from old coach Bruce Weber’s coaching handbook. Still, if the Illini get hot from three-point range (and no conference team launches more from beyond the arc), they can beat anybody. They had Michigan State in big trouble Thursday night at the Breslin Center, and that’s very hard to do.

In the end, the Spartans won, the Illini lost and Big Ten order remained undisturbed.

Anyway, IU is a good bet to beat Illinois. The other three February road games are less certain. And to fully understand the situation, let’s add the March 10 road game at Michigan in the regular season finale. That means the Hoosiers’ final four road games will be against the No. 11, No. 13, No. 23 and No. 1 teams in the country.

Nobody will win out against that.

Realistically, IU’s best scenario is to go 2-2 in those games. If it does, if it wins the rest of its home games, it can finish 15-3 in the Big Ten. That almost certainly would win the conference title and guarantee a No. 1 NCAA tourney seed no matter what happens in the Big Ten tourney.

Yes, we know, there are no guarantees anymore, but it’s time once again for dangerous sports writing.

A 14-4 record might win the Big Ten title. Heck, 13-5 might do it, as happened last year, given how strong the league is top to bottom.

But Indiana can’t count on that, which is why beating Michigan at Assembly Hall is absolutely vital. The Hoosiers can't afford to give the Wolverines an edge they might never regain.

Speaking of that, Indiana cannot let Wolverine superstar point guard Trey Burke penetrate into the lane. Let’s repeat that. Burke cannot get into the lane. The best person to stop that from happening is Victor Oladipo. The second best is Will Sheehey, although some will argue for freshman point guard Yogi Ferrell, who defends beyond his years.

It’s certain coach Tom Crean will mix things up defensively. Christian Watford, all 6-9 of him, might get some cracks at Burke. But Burke will get lots of Oladipo, especially at the end of the game.

Does this mean we’re telling Crean how to coach?

Well, we did lead a youth basketball team to ONE victory while subbing for the head coach more years ago than we care to admit, but this is no time to boast or demand a $3.1 million a year salary.

Anyway, the best thing for the Hoosiers will be for Burke to get into major foul trouble, as Michigan State’s Keith Appling did last week in Assembly Hall. Appling played just 19 minutes and had three points, no assists and four turnovers.

Keep in mind, Appling is one of the Big Ten’s best players and is a HUGE part of the Spartan attack. IU totally neutralized him and still only won by five, which tells you how good Michigan State is and how big a win that was for the Hoosiers.

Can Indiana do the same thing to Burke? The Hoosiers will try. They’ll use lots of ball movement and penetration. They’ll attack the rim and try to draw fouls. They are, in so many ways, the nation’s best in doing that. If they could foul out Burke and a few other Wolverines, life would be a lot easier.

And if that seems obvious, well, did we mention we are 1-0 as a youth basketball coach?

*****

BET THE HOUSE, PART II: For those of you who might have forgotten, we assured everybody to bet the house on IU beating Wisconsin in Assembly Hall a few weeks ago. The Hoosiers, of course, didn't win, which research shows was part of a conspiracy that reached to the highest levels of the government and Donald Trump's bachelor pad.

Anyway, we have addressed those issues, spent big bucks on gypsy fortune tellers and have established that, without question, you should bet the house on IU beating Michigan tonight. No way the Hoosiers lose. No way.

So bet the house, the kids college fund and your retirement account on a Cream 'n Crimson victory. And if, by some strange twist of fate, the Hoosiers DO lose, well, we'll get back to you.

Indiana positioned to knock off No. 1 Michigan

Are you like us? Did you see the news-breaking story that Heidi and Spencer reveal how they blew $10 million and ask yourself, who the bleep are Heidi and Spencer, and who gives a bleep about their irresponsible spending habits.

Sorry. We sometimes get carried away in these giddy times, when Indiana appears set to rule the college basketball world.

GameDay is coming to Bloomington on Saturday. So is No. 1 Michigan and the odds are that ranking won’t last the night.

You won’t hear that from Tom Crean and his No. 3 Hoosiers, of course. They’re WAY too smart and mature for that, but we don’t have that burden. In a month or so we are going to celebrate our 29^th birthday for like the 200^th time and, as such, we can afford to be a little mouthy.

Sorry. Maybe we’ve spent too much time around Will Sheehey, who has been known to incite, say, Purdue’s Paint Crew, among others, with his passion and energy.

Crean is cool with that, by the way, as long as Sheehey doesn’t go over the top with it and, say blow $10 million with Heidi and Spencer.

See how it all connects.

Anyway, IU played its most complete game of the season Wednesday night. Granted, Purdue helped by playing submission basketball, but that misses the point, which is the Hoosiers sustained their level of play throughout the game. They’ve struggled to do that this season, especially against Big Ten teams. Remember that awesome first half they played against Minnesota, only to almost give the game away in the second?

Anyway, there was none of that at Mackey Arena, and Crean, for one, was pleased.

“Our guys never took their foot off the gas pedal, so to speak, which is really, really important for us as a team to take the next step,” he said.

IU knows all about getting buried by teams. The Hoosiers were everybody favorite patsy in the aftermath of the Kevin Sampson era. It took Crean three years to turn it around, and now he has a squad powerful enough to contend for was a victim off that

“We have had enough of a viewpoint of some of the great teams in this league like (Purdue coach Matt Painter’s) have been when you had guys like JaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore, Robbie Hummel, Lewis Jackson, all those guys that just kept going and going and going and getting better as the game went on,” Crean said. “When you see enough of that over a period of time, you either become that or you keep getting it done to you.

“Our guys have really learned to become that type of team, and the growth process for us continues, but I loved how they approached this game, and we got a really good result because of it.”

Indiana wants another good result during Saturday’s heavily hyped game courtesy of ESPN and its PR machine. IU is 19-2 to Michigan’s 20-1, which is the Wolverines’ best start in school history. They are tied for first in the Big Ten with Indiana, both at 7-1.

IU has lost once at Assembly Hall, last month to Wisconsin. There’s no way it loses twice.

No way.

Heidi and Spencer, by the way, couldn’t agree more.

*****

Here are some more honors for Cody Zeller, Victor Oladipo and Yogi Ferrell.

Zeller and Oladipo are among 12 players mentioned in a mid-season watch list for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, a national player of the year award presented by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

Ferrell is one of 12  players on the Wayman Tisdale Memorial Trophy for freshman of year.

Oladipo, as you know, has put himself into position to be a first-round draft choice next season, perhaps in the top 20 (although not a lottery quick). He thrives all over the court, and has a passion for the game that will translate well at the next level.

*****

So what’s up with Peter Jurkin? If a guy can’t play in the 37-point win over Purdue, when you think you’d want to empty your bench to give everybody a chance, when can he play?

Against the Boilers Raphael Smith played. Jeff Howard played. In all 13 Hoosiers played.

But not Jurkin.

Now, Jurkin might be hurt. He’s wearing an air cast on his left leg, and Crean has mentioned some minor injury issues, but nothing specific.

The 6-11 freshman has played in only three games since returning from a nine-game suspension for impermissible recruiting benefits. He’s played a total of seven minutes and his stat line consists of one missed field goal attempt. Everything else is zeroes.

A more likely reason for Jurkin’s lack of playing time is that he’s just not ready. Yes, he is tall and runs well and has athleticism, but he struggles to catch the ball during pre-game warmups. You can only imagine how much more magnified that is in practice, and would be in games. He lacks the fundamentals necessary to compete in the Big Ten.

He might someday be able to help the Hoosiers in a reserve defensive role, but at this stage it doesn’t seem likely it will get beyond that.

*****

If you believe the Indianapolis Star’s Kyle Neddenriep, and there’s no reason not to since he does a great job in recruiting, Indianapolis Bishop Chatard’s Joe Fagan will be a preferred  walk-on next season. A separated shoulder has limited the 6-4 guard to eight games. He averages 14.1 points and 7.0 rebounds.

Bottom line – Indiana has to beat Purdue tonight

Brian Evans and Joe Hillman know. They’ve been through the Indiana-Purdue basketball wars, winning their share, losing a few.

Forget the blather about treating every game the same. Rivalries are never the same, whether it’s IU-Purdue, Duke-North Carolina, Kentucky-Louisville and more.

IU coach Tom Crean knows this. He also knows his freshmen won’t really understand what they’ll face tonight until they experience Mackey Arena in all its gold-and-black passion. The students, called the Paint Crew, end every timeout at every game with a chant certain to come with the Hoosiers on the floor:

“IU sucks!”

Still, Crean wanted to give his young guys an edge. He had Evans and Hillman talk to the team Tuesday afternoon before they boarded the bus for the trip to West Lafayette.

The message, senior guard Jordan Hulls, was clear:

“It’s a rivalry game. Throw everything out the window. You’ve got to bring it no matter who you’re playing. It will be hostile out there.”

Teammate Will Sheehey knows that hostility. He’s made two trips to Mackey Arena, with a 1-1 record to show for it.

What Evans and Hillman had to say, he said, was a plus.

“Those guys have been there, done that. They’re a huge part of this tradition. They have the wisdom because been there. They give us advice, and we make sure we listen. We have our plan. It’s icing on the cake for those guys talking to us.”

The No. 3 Hoosiers are eight- to 10-point favorites depending on where you look. They are 18-2 overall and tied with No. 1 Michigan for first in the Big Ten, with 6-1 records.

Purdue is trying to recover from a 7-6 non-conference record, a brutally difficult task given the strength of the Big Ten. The Boilers are 11-9 overall, 4-3 in the conference. They have won four of their last five games since going to a starting lineup that includes three freshmen -- Ronnie Johnson, A.J. Hammons and Rapheal Davis -- along with veterans Terone Johnson and D.J. Byrd.

But this game, Sheehey said, goes way beyond that.

“We all know it’s our biggest rival. The game will be tough, hard fought. It’s the same level of intensity every year.

“They’re a physical team. They rebound well. They like to pressure full court. Those are some things we’ve been working on. It’s just a tough game.”

Associate head coach Steve McClain did the scouting for this game. He knows, as well as anyone, the challenges IU faces.

“There’s no question they’re playing a lot of young guys,” he said, “and their veterans are also stepping it up and playing well.

“With Rapheal and Ronnie and Hammons starting and getting games under their belts, they’re getting better every time they play.

“Every team creates a different challenge. Terone Johnson is one of the better wings (in the Big Ten). Ronnie Johnson as a freshman point guard is doing a great job for them.”

McClain down played the fact many of the players on both teams are familiar with each other because they either played high school or travel ball against each other growing up.

For instance, Jordan Hulls and Derek Elston played on the same AAU team as Purdue forward D.J. Byrd, that Yogi Ferrell and Purdue’s Ronnie Johnson played with and against each other during their high school/travel ball days, that Hanner Perea played at La Lumiere in northern Indiana with Purdue’s Rapheal Davis and Jay Simpson, Cody Zeller’s Washington team beat Travis Carroll’s Danville squad in the semistate, and that Carroll and Donnie Hale played against Zeller and IU’s Austin Etherington in the Indiana senior-junior All-Star series.

“The kids probably think about it more, but once the game starts, I’m not sure who they played with in AAU ball has a lot to do with it.”

What does mean something is that the Hoosiers want to be 7-1 in the Big Ten entering Saturday night’s showdown with Michigan. ESPN has been hyping that game almost as hard as Ray Lewis denied performance enhancing drugs allegations.

Bottom line -- if IU wants to win a Big Ten championship, it has to win this game.

******

If you saw the latest Scout.com rankings, you know IU’s recruiting class for 2013 remains outstanding.

Noah Vonley is the highest-rated player, at No. 7. Then comes No. 59 Stanford Robinson and No. 66 Troy Williams.

No Joke – IU Wills Itself To Big-Time Victory

Tom Crean will never rival, say, the Rodney Dangerfields of the world. He’s an intense guy with a serious mission – coach the best basketball he possible can.

Sometimes that leaves him grumpy. And sometimes, like after a REALLY significant victory, he jokes around.

Take, for instance, beating Michigan State.

The Spartans arrived at Assembly Hall as the Big Ten’s hottest team. They had beaten Ohio State and won at Wisconsin. They were physical and tough-minded and stifling on defense. They had also owned the Hoosiers in recent years, having won seven of the last nine meetings.

Beyond that, Tom Izzo is one of the nation’s top coaches. He’s built a perennial Big Ten and national title contender. He also was once Crean’s boss.

All those were factors in Crean’s good post-game mood, but the biggest was the fact IU had thrived in crunch time, making the plays it had to make to pull out a 75-70 victory.

Victor Oladipo was an all-over-the-court beast. Christian Watford battled. Yogi Ferrell showed grit and a rapidly improving offensive game. Will Sheehey was once again an off-the-bench factor. And even without his best offensive game, Cody Zeller was a major factor.

So Crean kidded with a reporter for his soft-spoken questions. It wasn’t make-you-laugh-till-you-cry stuff, but that misses the point, which is Crean is pumped about where his team is right now.

Can you blame him?

The Hoosiers are tied with Michigan for first place in the Big Ten. Both are 6-1. If they sweep this week, they’ll be in first place alone and ready for what looms as the nation’s most brutal February schedule.

But that’s getting ahead of ourselves. IU has to win at rival Purdue on Wednesday night, and while the Boilers have struggled, they are rounding into dangerous form. Youth cost them in the non-conference season, but even with an 11-9 record, they have visions of a NCAA tourney berth with a strong Big Ten showing. They are 4-3 in the conference.

Then comes Michigan on Saturday. The Wolverines will likely be the nation’s No. 1 team at that point. They are 19-1 overall and blessed with talent and, in Trey Burke, perhaps the Big Ten’s best point guard.

Beating Michigan State showed the Hoosiers (18-2) are ready. You do not beat the Spartans with finesse and good will to men. You win by being tough and nasty and ruthless (all within the rules, of course). You also do it by being smart, passionate and focused.

"This was a game of adjustments, and that's what it was the entire game," said Crean. “The one thing that never needed to be adjusted was our energy, our attitude towards winning and our spirit. They were high-level the entire way."

IU had to be. It never led by more than seven points in the second half.

"This is a big game; it's definitely going to help us down the road," Watford said. "I feel like Michigan State is a great team, they never stop fighting. That's definitely how it's going to be in the (NCAA) Tournament, the Big Ten Tournament; teams are definitely not going to give up. It was a great team win for us."

And now, in the relentless world of Big Ten basketball, the Hoosiers have to do it again.

“After the game with the CBS interview, Greg Anthony said that this game had the feel and the execution of a Final Four game,” Crean said. “And I hope he’s right, because I think (Michigan State is) really, really good. For us to get this win in this environment, for us to make the plays that we made, especially at the end, for us to make the defensive stops that we made to get the buckets that we needed to get, I thought that was huge.

“You’ve got to be in some fights. We’ll get better from this, and I’m certain Michigan State will get better from this. If you’re going to win over the long haul, you’ve got to find ways. Our guys had great will.”

And that’s no joke.

Is IU's Zeller Ready for Michigan State Bruising

Michigan State is coming to Assembly Hall and Cody Zeller is gonna have his hands full.

Is he up to it?

The odds say yes, but odds don’t equal guarantee.

Here’s what we know.

Zeller is listed as 7-foot and 240 pounds. He is coming off, by offensive standards, perhaps the worst game of his career. In 21 minutes against Penn State he was 0-for-4 from the field for two points. It was the first time in his two-year career that he didn’t make a field goal. He also was just 2-for-4 from the line. His four turnovers tied his season high.

That doesn’t mean Zeller didn’t make a positive impact. He had eight rebounds, three assists and three blocks. He also had a steal. He drew in as many as three Nittany Lions, which opened things up for the rest of the Hoosiers in what became an easy 72-49 victory.

For the season Zeller leads IU in scoring (16.4), rebounds (8.2) and blocks (27). No big man in the country runs the floor better than he does. Every defense has to account for him, often with double teams, which means somebody is open if Zeller can find him.

He usually does.

Here’s what else we know. Michigan State has as big, as strong and as physical a front court as there is in the Big Ten. It has the 1-2 combination of 6-9, 270-pound Derrick Nix and 6-10, 240-pound Adreian Payne. It has 6-6, 230-pound Branden Dawson. It can bring 6-9, 245-pound Alex Guana and 6-9, 245-pound Matt Costello off the bench.

The Spartans will try to pound Zeller into irrelevance in today’s Big Ten showdown. They tried it twice last year. The first time, an IU loss at the Breslin Center in what was Zeller’s Big Ten baptism of fire, he was held to four points and three rebounds in 23 mostly ineffective minutes. The second time, an IU win at Assembly Hall, he totaled 18 points and four rebounds.

In other words, he learned and adjusted.

Zeller understands what he’s up against, coach Tom Crean said, and how to counteract it.

“It’s movement,” Crean said. “He has to constantly move. We learned a lot from that game last year. That was his indoctrination into physical high-level basketball. He handled it well.”

Zeller likely will have to handle it better to lead the No. 7 Hoosiers (17-2 overall, 5-1 in the Big Ten) to a victory over No. 13 Michigan State (16-3, 6-1).

“The key is movement and spacing,” Crean said. “It’s up to us to put him in some different situations, but it’s up to him to be very aggressive and keep building on what he’s doing.”

Zeller is a factor even when he’s not a factor, and if that sounds confusing, well, work with us.

Okay, work with Crean.

“Cody is impacting the game in so many diffent ways,” the coach says. “He leads (the Big Ten) in free throws attempted (140) and made (101).

“What about fouls drawn? He and Christian are up there. They have to be.”

For the record, IU sports information director J.D. Campbell indicated nobody keeps track of fouls drawn.

“Cody attracts a lot of attention in so many ways,” Crean said. “He’s helping get us in the bonus that much quicker. Look at the shots he’d be getting if there were not fouls. Our trick is to make sure we get him in space, get him moving and let him be the attack player he’s trying to be.”

The Hoosiers are trying to get separation from the rest of the Big Ten. Beating Michigan State would be a big step in that direction. Given that they are 10-point favorites -- what’s up with that considering the Spartans have won six straight games and have owned the Cream ‘m Crimson in recent years -- and have the Assembly Hall advantage, figure a strong IU performance.

Crean wants his players fresh for this game, and for the grueling five-games-in-13-days stretch that begins with the Spartans. That means dialing back all the non-stop practicing.

“We cut back practice, physically,” Crean said. “We can’t cut it mentally in how you prepare. When you go to the film room, it’s not a taxing situation, but you’ve got to enjoy it while looking for those things. The best teams are doing that. Our mental approach has to be phenomenal, not just the physical approach. There are a lot of different things to look for. We analayze so many different things.”

Analyze is one thing. Execute and out-perform are another. There’s no reason the Hoosiers can’t do both, staring with Michigan Sttate.

No reason.

*****

Trevon Bluiett remains a big target in IU’s Class of 2014 recruiting plans. He took yet another unofficial visit to Indiana by attending Wednesday’s win over Penn State along with many of his Indianapolis Park Tudor teammates.

The 6-5 forward is having a monster junior season for one of the best teams in the state. He averages 28.5 points, 9.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.0 steals for Park Tudor, which is 14-1 and ranked No. 1 in Class 2A. It is the defending state champs, last year’s title coming courtesy of Yogi Ferrell, now a standout Hoosier freshman point guard.

As you can imagine, he’s got a ton of scholarship offers. Besides IU, Purdue, Notre Dame, Butler, Michigan, Louisville, Florida, Illinois, Kansas State, Iowa and more.

Since he won’t sign until next fall and won’t cut his final list until the summer, he has plenty of time to see a bunch of great games this season – for free and with great seats.

Yes, there are a lot of advantages to being an elite recruit.

*****

This is the time of year when college football coaches sweat. Will their committed recruits stick to their word and actually sign? With the signing period set to begin Feb. 6, the drama builds.

It’s building more than usual for IU in the aftermath of Mark Hagen’s departure to Texas A&M. He was the Hoosiers’ defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator, which means he had a major impact in many of the 16 committed players, especially defensive players.

There is a buzz that some of those commitments might reconsider now that Hagen is gone. For instance, Texas defensive tackle Jacobi Hunter has decided to visit California, which has caused Indiana to actively keep recruiting defensive tackles in case Hunter changes his mind.

Nothing is sure until the players sign that national letter of intent. In the end, you want a guy who is fully committed to your program.

On Feb. 6, we’ll know who those guys are for Indiana.

*****

Remember basketball player Devan Dumes, who played in 2009 and 2010, averging 9.5 points in 57 games. The Indianapolis Star reported that the 25-year-old Dumes was charged with criminal recklessness and carrying a handgun without a license after firing multiple gunshots into a house where his 1-year-old nephew and brother were inside. The incident happened on Jan. 9 in Indianapolis.