Tom Crean Gets His First Win Over a Ranked Opponent: Indiana 52-49 over Illinois

According to John Harbaugh, coach of the Baltimore Ravens and brother-in-law of IU basketball coach Tom Crean, it was a night where Crean’s team “came of age.”

Prior to the his team’s matchup with No. 20 Illinois Thursday night at Assembly Hall, Crean said the Hoosiers would miss junior guard Verdell Jones III’s leadership. While the 42nd player to 1,000 points in IU history and Champaign native would sit out his second game with an ankle injury, sophomore guard Jordan Hulls and sophomore forward Christian Watford made up for Jones’ absence with 18 and 16 points, respectively.

Although most visible, the scoring was only a minor part of the Hoosiers’ efforts resulting in a 52-49 win over the Illini. The win broke the tie for the series lead between the Hoosiers and Illini. IU now leads 83-82.

“I tried to slap hands with (all 17,000 fans) in this building tonight, and I think got about half,” Crean said in his postgame press conference. “A few years ago people were used to wins like this, and we’ll get back to that.”

It was a fist-pound worthy night for IU, as Illinois senior guard Demetri McCamey Jr. did not tally a point in the second half. McCamey, arguably one of the top NBA prospects and guards in the college basketball, finished with just six points and two rebounds.

“There are teams in this league we want to get on par with,” Crean said in reference to his team’s win and where they go from here. “Look at how hard they play, they’re as good of passing team as there is in the country.”

Possibly most intriguing was that this-unquestionably the biggest win of the Tom Crean era-came during a week when IU faced criticism for their lack of mental toughness after a 91-77 defeat at Carver-Hawkeye Arena to Iowa last Sunday. The Hoosiers responded Thursday night with physical play and tough defense on McCamey, as IU was able to grab 33 rebounds and contend with the Illini’s 37 in a game where just 19 free throws were attempted.

“It begins with (McCamey),” Crean said. “The pass and the assist are as important as the basket for him. It was going to take a tremendous effort for 40 minutes.”

IU will take the momentum built with their first win over a ranked opponent in the Crean era to his old stomping grounds of the Breslin Center for a matchup 6 p.m. matchup with Michigan State Sunday evening. Crean spent the 1995-1999 seasons at Michigan State as an assistant under Tom Izzo.

The challenge next challenge for the young IU team now will be to build off Thursday’s win while keeping Thursday night’s efforts in check.

“It’s good to keep that high after a win like that,” Rivers said after the game. “But at the same time it’s a time when you can either rack wins up or rack losses up, so we’ve got to keep our emotions in check.”

While Rivers may be taking a more conservative approach, Crean wants his players to carry the intensity and fervor into the Breslin Center this weekend.

“I want them to be loose and to get them going,” Crean said. “I don’t think anyone is going to roll in over confident going into East Lansing.”