Despite the notion that the Kentucky versus Indiana game in Bloomington last winter was one of the most exciting games played all season, the two historic programs will not be meeting this year. IU and Kentucky had played a game against each other for 43 seasons in a row, but the respective administrations could not come to an agreement about the series in the future.

Kentucky wanted the series played at neutral sites, like Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and Freedom Hall in Louisville. A setup like that would produce more revenue, and it was the norm from 1990 until 2005, when the series flipped to home courts because of a scheduling conflict.

It was Indiana who wanted to have the series continue with games at Assembly Hall and Kenutcky's Rupp Arena. This setup would mean less money, but it would be easier for students to attend and would lead to much more raucous arena atmospheres.

IU athletic director Fred Glass explained the situation in a press release.

Indiana won their first eight games of the year pretty easily. They won their first road game of the year at Evansville in a rout, but it wasn't really a hostile environment, and the Purple Aces haven't been impressive this season. The sixteen point win against Butler looked great at the time, but the Bulldogs have since lost to Valpo and Ball State. Hoosier fans saw their team get out to a 6-0 start last year by dominating lesser teams, only to have the season go down in flames once the competition picked up. So the skeptics had reason to take a wait-and-see approach to this year's team.

This season, the Hoosiers have stepped up their game to match their opponents. The win at NC State was the first thing that really made me think that this year will be different for Indiana. I assumed that IU would lose to Kentucky, but if they could keep the score from getting out of hand, then it would be another positive step on the road back to relevance.

As you are probably already aware, Indiana didn't just keep the score from getting out of hand, they beat the number one ranked team in the nation. The Hoosiers hit 9 of 15 from behind the arc, 14 of 17 from the foul line, and won the game on Christian Watford's last second three-pointer.

As someone who wasn't convinced that IU was a tournament team after the 7-0 start, the last two games have changed my outlook. I'm not predicting a conference championship or anything at this point, but the Hoosiers are going to be very hard to beat this year, especially at home. If they aren't dancing when March rolls around, I'll be very surprised.

Three years ago, Tom Crean began coaching the Indiana basketball team. The previous coach, Kelvin Sampson, was let go amid a recruiting scandal and the program appeared in dire straits. It was Crean's task to raise the program back to respectability and put IU basketball back in the NCAA Tournament.

It's been a long trip over a bumpy road, but Indiana fans might finally be looking at the season in which Indiana makes that jump from the abyss to Big Ten contention. There is a lot of returning talent as well as some fresh faces that may be able to make an impact right away. Although Jeremiah Rivers has graduated, his absence will be more than made up for by who's coming back.

2011-12 is certainly an exciting season for Indiana, but at the same time, if something does go wrong with this team, it could spell trouble for Crean's administration. There's a lot riding on this squad, so let's dive in.

The Backcourt

Indiana isn't rock solid at point guard, but there are a couple of great candidates for the position, both of whom have significant on-court experience. The first is senior Verdell Jones III, who feels like a more natural fit for the position. Jones' ball handling and passing skills far outweigh his long distance shooting. The problem is, he's turned the ball over way too many times in the past to be considered as reliable as elite Big Ten point guards like Jordan Taylor or Aaron Craft. Jones had 89 assists last season and 83 turnovers, which isn't the sexiest ratio ever seen. With his smooth dribbling skills and pull-up jumper, Jones could turn himself into a great point guard if he can move his assist-to-turnover ratio into the 2:1 range.

Another option the point is natural shooting guard Jordan Hulls. Hulls was just a sophomore last season, but he already began emerging as one of the leaders on a young Hoosier team. Although he has more trouble creating his own shot than Jones, when he did get a look, Hulls made it count with 48% on FG overall and 41% on three-pointers. A 2.9 assists per game rate isn't terrible for a guy who wasn't the true full-time point guard, so he certainly can play the point in a pinch. Should Jones struggle with his turnovers again, Hulls is waiting as a less exciting, but safer option.

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Sadly, it's beginning to look like Indiana Hoosiers junior guard Maurice Creek is one of those guys who just cannot stay healthy. Earlier on Monday we learned that Creek has undergone surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon in his left leg. As of now, there's no word on whether the once promising young guard will be able to play this season.

Back in 2009, Creek's exciting freshman campaign was cut short when he fractured his left patella (knee) in a late December game vs. Bryant. That first injury was especially upsetting because Creek was one of the lone bright spots on an otherwise dismal Indiana team. His 31 points on 5 of 8 3-point shooting vs. Kentucky that winter is still a career high.

Creek came back in the 2010-11 season and wasn't as effective as he was in his freshman year, but he was still a good source of shooting off the bench. Unfortunately, Creek was never able to regain the glory of his breakout freshman year because he suffered a stress fracture in his right knee midway through January and had to end his season early once again.

Now Creek looks like he will miss a lot of games this season as well. Said head coach Tom Crean: "This is a devastating blow for someone who has worked so hard to get himself in a position to help this program again... I think the most important thing that we can do is to make Maurice know that despite his injury, he can serve a very vital role in helping our program and we will actively keep him involved every day."

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Indiana University basketball head coach Tom Crean was brought aboard in 2008 to rebuild a Hoosier program that was left in ruins by the scandalous reign of Kelvin Sampson. Starting with a barren roster with walk-ons and transfers at key positions, Crean had an understandably long grace period with which he could build the program back up without worrying too much about results.

Well, it's three years later and things are about to get real in a hurry. While Indiana basketball has no doubt improved under Crean since he took over, the Hoosiers still haven't come close to an NCAA birth or even a spot in the NIT. IU actually won less Big Ten matches last season than they did in 2010, and now with the addition of McDonald's All-American Cody Zeller, expectations will be ramped up considerably.

Zeller isn't the only addition, however. Along with fellow incoming freshmen forward Austin Etherington and guard Remy Abell, there is considerable addition by non-subtraction. Key 2011 contributors Christian Watford, Jordan Hulls and Verdell Jones are all back and ready to finally make the big leap than Indiana fans have been waiting for.

Indiana are more experienced than they've ever been under Crean, but there's considerable competition standing in between the Hoosiers and their first trip to the big dance since 2008. After a five pack of warm-up matches made up of games versus Stoney Brook, Chattanooga, Evansville, Savannah State and Gardner-Webb, IU faces their first real test on November 27 when two-time national runner-up Butler comes to town.

Butler lost Shelvin Mack (NBA), Matt Howard and Shawn Vanzant (graduation) in the off-season, making this game more than winnable for IU. That doesn't make it any less important though. A showdown with a nationally recognized program will be a good way for the revamped Hooisers to show they are serious about making the NCAA tourney.

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Tom Crean hasn't exactly made Indiana basketball fans forget Bob Knight on the court. Since arriving in Bloomington, the coach has compiled a record of 28-66 (8-46 in the Big Ten). 

But nobody can question his recruiting skills. Crean brought in the No. 11 class nationally, according to Rivals, in 2009. That class hasn't panned out like Indiana hoped, but good things are on the horizon for the Hoosiers.

"Has it all worked out? No, but that’s recruiting," Bloomington Herald-Times reporter Hugh Kellenberger said. "There were questions about the relationships built in-state around this time last year, mainly because the roster was heavily non-Hoosier and the class of 2010 was not very good in-state. Obviously pulling in Cody Zeller and then the run of 2012 kids has answered any lingering questions."

The biggest name Crean has landed during his time at I.U. is the current Washington (Ind.) high school senior Zeller, a 6'11" center who is the younger brother of North Carolina's Tyler Zeller.

Cody Zeller was a McDonald's All-American ranked in the top 20 in his class by Rivals, Scout and ESPN and has fans excited.

"Essentially, Zeller will be the post presence IU has needed for Crean’s three-year tenure," Adam Johnson of Crimson Quarry said. "The threat of a potential 20 point scorer in the paint is going to force teams to sag off the high sellout perimeter pressure IU has been seeing in the past year."

Johnson admitted, though, that he only expects about eight points a game from Zeller next season. 

"He’s not going to take over the team or the basketball game. He’s a 6-foot-10/11 power forward/center that needs to gain strength," Kellenberger said. "Is he going to be a Jared Sullinger-type that takes over the game and the conference? I don’t see that. But I could see him averaging 10 points and six rebounds a game."

(More after the jump)

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There has been a lot of talk and speculation about whether Tom Crean is or will be on the hot seat next year if the Hoosiers don't see major improvement. From this, we have decided to throw a few of links at you and let you form your own opinion.. no need to speculate more. He has a solid recruiting class coming in... it seems it is time to produce.

LINKS:

There are a lot of people writing about sports on the internet, and a percentage of those people write about Indiana basketball. In today's post, we have highlighted some of the more interesting year-end stories about the IU basketball team.

First off, please check out The Crimson Quarry, SBnation's IU blog for all things Hoosier. Also, check out our interview with JustAJ from TCQ below. Then click below to see our roundup of links.

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