Tom Crean was prepared for everything but a 10 seed

BLOOMINGTON -- Indiana basketball coach Tom Crean spent Sunday preparing for anything to happen on Selection Sunday. He wound up unprepared for the moment when it came.

Crean admitted he was "stunned" to see Indiana's name slide across the TV screen so early in the annual selection show, and to see the Hoosiers (20-13) land on the No. 10-seed line. He now has most of the week to prepare them for No. 7-seed Wichita State, IU's opponent in the NCAA tournament.

That game is expected to tip off at approximately 2:45 p.m. Friday, in Omaha, Neb.

"They judge the body of work," Crean said of his team's unexpectedly high seed. "It's not about predictions. It's not about the opinions."

Indiana practiced and lifted Sunday. It was a nod, Crean said, to the possibility of having to play early this week, whether in the NCAA tournament or the NIT.

Several bracket projections had the Hoosiers in one of the tournament's two at-large play-in games in Dayton, Ohio. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi even suggested IU might be just outside the field of 68.

Crean sensed his players' nervousness during lifting Sunday morning, but he said he felt "very calm."

So when the Hoosiers gathered to watch the selection show, he sat down in a corner of the room where he could see both the television, and the reactions of everyone around him. When Indiana popped up – to Crean's admitted surprise – that apprehension evaporated.

"I wouldn't call it relief," Crean said. "I would call it just pure joy. They were so excited."

Now, Indiana must turn its attention toward a Wichita State team national analysts have suggested might have been slighted by the selection committee.

The Shockers (28-4) won the Missouri Valley Conference's regular-season title this season, losing just once in league play.

They lean on Ron Baker, a Wooden Award candidate, and Fred VanVleet, a preseason AP All-American point guard. Both were involved in Wichita State's Final Four run in 2013, and they were key players on the Shockers' No. 1-seeded team last season, which didn't lose a game until it was bounced from the NCAA tournament by Kentucky in the round of 32.

Wichita State is one of just seven teams in the country ranked in the top 20 in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency, per KenPom.com.

"They're a great team. Well-coached, very tough, physically and mentally," said grad transfer guard Nick Zeisloft, who is familiar with the Shockers from his time playing for Illinois State in the MVC. "VanVleet's very smart, and Baker, he can do a lot of things that most people can't."

Crean, who had just begun studying Wichita State when he met with the media Sunday night, painted a picture of a team that's not afraid of physical play at both ends of the floor. Like Zeisloft, he pegged Baker and VanVleet as clever players, as well as talented.

Indiana counters with a roster that's never been to the NCAA tournament, with the exception of juniors Yogi Ferrell and Hanner Mosquera-Perea.

With postseason experience in such short supply, Crean hopes the extra day before IU's first game can help Mosquera-Perea get healthy again. IU's junior forward aggravated a right kneecap injury suffered earlier in this season, when Northwestern center Alex Olah crashed into him during Thursday's game.

"That could definitely work better for him," Crean said of Indiana's schedule. "He's shooting and has been warming up and rehabbing. Moving pretty well. We didn't practice him today, but we're definitely on a belief that he's gonna be back. So certainly, (not playing until) Friday helps a great deal."

Mosquera-Perea or no Mosquera-Perea, Indiana has its hands full with a team that came within five points of a national championship game appearance just two seasons ago. What advice can one of Indiana's two NCAA tournament veterans pass on?

"It's the NCAA tournament," Ferrell said, "so it's probably gonna be a crazy game."

Follow Star reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.

Indiana vs. Wichita State, approx. 2:45 p.m. Friday, CBS