Certain things aren't supposed to happen.
Oh sure, we love sports because in one trial of a grand experiment, any outcome is possible. But eventually the improbable yields to repetition and order is restored. Michigan wins more football games than it loses, Roger Federer beats the upstart the next five times they play, and the Yankees make the playoffs.
That pattern is what has made Indiana's basketball revival this season so sweet.
Indiana, along with Kentucky, is one of two states in the country where football does not merely allow basketball to exist. Rather, in those two states, the onset of winter signifies the inception of the prime sports season, not its annual demise.
For a fan base that has endured the firing of a legend, a marring NCAA-violation scandal, and a program-worst level of performance, this is the way things are supposed to be.
Certain things aren't supposed to happen.
To many, Indiana basketball began in 1971 when Bob Knight took over the program, though the program did win the NCAA championship twice before his arrival. And yet, after missing the NCAA tournament four times in his first eight years in Bloomington, Knight only missed the Big Dance once more in his final 21 seasons. Even Knight's replacement, Mike Davis, rode what remained of his predecessor's foundation to another three tournament appearances to start his career. For three solid decades, Indiana was as much a part of March as St. Patrick and Spring Training.
But as the glow of Knight's early success faded, Indiana receded. From the 1994-95 season through 2005-06 (Davis' last), the Hoosiers only avoided losing double digits once, and other than Davis' run to the National Final in his second year, Indiana never got past the tournament's first weekend. The program that once demanded respect on an annual basis had become a toothless monolith.
Certain things aren't supposed to happen.
Kelvin Sampson arrived at Indiana with the hope of a fresh start. For a program dominated by one man and his shadow, Sampson's success at Oklahoma seemed like a chance to rebrand Indiana for new success while leveraging that from its past. And after a hope-inspiring first year, Sampson's program seemed to be on the rise. With its legacy of success, its rabid fan base, and a nationally prominent coach, the Hoosiers seemed poised to regain their place atop the Big Ten.
Then 2008 happened.
Sampson, already firmly scolded by the NCAA for violations surrounding recruiting calls at Oklahoma, was forced out as additional details of violations at Indiana surfaced. His ousting was both public and sloppy, as whispers from school officials leaked through a startlingly cracked upper hierarchy. The program that had prided itself on respect and integrity during its banner years was facing the shame of not just failing to meet those values but flagrantly violating them.
Certain things aren't supposed to happen.
While Tom Crean's arrival in 2008 to clean up Sampson's mess earned high marks for its long-view, it quickly became clear the exodus of talent from the program after the 2007-08 season was going to take time to overcome. In Crean's first three seasons, his squads all lost at least 20 games. While Crean's teams played more games than prior Hoosier teams, these were dark results. No Hoosier coach had ever lost 18 games in a season.
In less than 10 years, Indiana fell from perennial tournament invitee to one of the worst programs in Division I.
Certain things aren't supposed to happen.
On December 10, Crean's fourth team faced top-ranked Kentucky in Bloomington. The Hoosiers were undefeated, and while their resume was padded by typical pre-Christmas fodder, double-digit wins over Butler and NC State provided some reasonable basis for the home fans to dream of an upset. Still, the Wildcats brought a cast of outrageously talented young players that easily outclassed the Hoosiers on paper and NBA draft boards.
But as Indiana disregarded convention and hung around with Kentucky, it was clear belief grew within its fans. Yes, they began to believe (and were proven correct, it would turn out) that IU would provide the most shocking win of the young season, an improbable buzzer-beating stunner that showed rushing the court could still be cool. But more than that, though, they believed Indiana was back at least within the college basketball theater, if not yet its main stage.
Indiana's 12 wins before entering Big Ten play match Crean's high mark over an entire season. And while the schedules Howards and Stetsons will be upgraded to Ohio States and Wisconsins, wins like the shocker over Kentucky and eyebrow-raisers over Notre Dame and Butler give the Hoosiers plenty of credibility.
After an unthinkably tumultuous decade, it seems Indiana basketball is finally back. Maybe the glory days of Knight are a reach right now, but the path for Indiana to return to the NCAA tournament is fairly simple. A .500 record in conference (or, possibly, even a shade under) should lead the Hoosiers back where they expect to be in March for the first time in four seasons. And who knows? With a favorable draw and decent injury luck, the Hoosiers might get out of the tournament's first weekend this March.
Whatever the outcome, this college basketball season will be better if Crean and the Hoosiers can keep winning. Just as college football benefits when Alabama and Notre Dame are good, college basketball suffers when historic programs like UCLA, the Tobacco Roaders, and Indiana plunge below their typical standards.
Certain things aren't supposed to happen.
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