Hoosiers seek elusive win over No. 1 Kentucky

It’s finally here, Indiana hosts top-ranked Kentucky to Assembly Hall for IU’s most anticipated non-conference game. With the whole nation watching at 5:15 pm EST on ESPN (Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale), it’s the Hoosiers time to show they’re back.

Saturday's game will be a red-out and you can expect Assembly Hall to be rockin'.

And that’s important for Coach Tom Crean, the program, and IU faithful.

What the Hoosiers have gone through for the last three years has been harped on but it cannot be overlooked. IU entered unprecedented territory that I’m not quite sure any coach would have signed up for if he knew what he was getting into.

Fast forward to the present where the Hoosiers are rolling, off to a fast 8-0 start. Today against Kentucky, the Hoosiers may earn a monumental win or lose or lose and learn a ton about what they’re made of.

One of the big factors Coach Crean has emphasized in all four years is mental toughness. His staff’s coaching and player’s action on the floor will be put to the test against the Wildcats in front of a sell-out crowd and nationally televised game against the No. 1 team.

The Hoosiers must answer some questions like how will they start, can they fight through adversity, play smart and defend versatile players. Indiana’s mental toughness may be the most important factor.

Comparing the two teams on paper, Kentucky is the obvious choice. They feature seven players, 6-7 or taller and they’re athleticism is off the charts. Calipari brought the nation’s best freshman class once again, most that will prepare for the NBA once their season is over. But this is the Wildcats’ first true road game and that’s a big obstacle.

“The bottom line is the fundamentals,” Coach Crean stressed earlier in the week. “You’ve got to be able to take care of the ball. You’ve got to be a very good block-out team. We’ve got to make the next pass. We’ve got to be prepared for a lot of different ways that the game could go, whether it’s a grind it out game, no matter what it is. We have to make sure that we’re locked in.”

The Indiana crowd has to be the hungriest fans in country, desperately cheering for wins on the floor and notoriety nationally. The senior class for example, hasn’t seen a NCAA tournament appearance and they will have watched some of the least successful years in program history.

For that reason alone, I suppose I will make an exception to my “no rushing the court for Indiana basketball.” Having said that, the students need to bring it not just this game but for the rest of the season.

I expect the game to be close throughout. Kentucky has been victorious in each of the last three meetings, but it hasn’t been easy. The Hoosiers will put up a fight and if things bounce their way, they can win this. Kentucky’s athleticism will play a major role but I also expect a couple lapses by their immature players.

This is the college basketball game of the weekend, between two historic programs 180 miles apart. For Kentucky, they’re suppose to win and anything else disappoint. Meantime, Indiana has a chance to take another giant leap forward in their return to prominence.

For this annual game, Coach Tom Crean and Coach John Calipari put their friendship aside.

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For coaches Tom Crean and John Calipari, there’s a mutual respect. They each have worked tirelessly to get to where they are today, at two of the top five programs in the country.

They each are high-energy guys that embrace the spotlight and seem to always say all the right things. And they are two twitter aficionados that try to keep the fans informed and rallied behind the team. Coach Calipari had only good things to say about Crean.

“I have the utmost respect for Tom Crean,” Calipari said during a Friday news conference. “The way he does his job, the way he treats players, how they get better — not just Wade, I know what he did with him — but there are other players that have all gotten better. He cares about his kids, he’s involved in the community. There’s landmines up there for him. Some people have left some landmines that he’s had to maneuver around all that stuff and I’ll tell you what, he’s done great work.”

Watch Coach Calipari’s news conference prior to the Indiana game (via KSR):