Zach Osterman

zach.osterman@indystar.com

BLOOMINGTON – It’s been a little more than a week since coach Tom Crean’s blunt critique of the various weaknesses that have caused Indiana basketball’s slide toward the bottom of the Big Ten.

And it’s been a long weekend since a loss at Minnesota that appeared to leave Crean more encouraged about the late-February direction of his team’s season – despite the team's four-game losing streak.

Perhaps the most salient question is whether any of it opens a path for the Hoosiers to get this campaign pointed back in a positive direction, with the end in sight and the Big Ten tournament the only postseason guaranteed to Indiana at the moment.

Crean’s scathing post-Michigan radio and news conference comments are well-traveled by now. He assigned the word “immaturity” to problems with his backcourt, directly cited disappointment with his junior class and said on his postgame radio show that he had “never coached a team with this lack of maturity when it comes to being able to respond and rebound from when things aren't going well for them personally.”

His assessment wasn’t altogether surprising. Several of his talking points were more pointed. They were intensified versions of things he has said about his team since even before the season began – particularly his lamentations over IU’s lack of solid, coherent leadership.

What turned heads was Crean’s willingness to be so public about his frustration, something largely out of character for IU’s ninth-year coach.

Crean did not meet with the media Monday before his team’s trip to Iowa – assistant Rob Judson spoke to reporters about the Hawkeyes – but Crean’s tone last week at Minnesota was something much closer to his standard forward-facing approach. He talked about seeing his team “fighting,” that he believed his players “took a major step in growth” in a one-point loss in Minneapolis, and that his “No. 1 job is to be their cheerleader.”

So perhaps this extended break, with nearly a week between games, came at the right time.

“We got a chance to regroup, really break down some things we need to work on, watch film,” junior Josh Newkirk said. “It definitely helped us.”

How did Newkirk feel IU answered Crean’s call for more intangible improvements?

“We have to talk more, be more engaged on the floor,” Newkirk said. “We talk about just being connected on the floor, all guys talking, all guys on the same page. I think we’ve done a good job of working on that.”

We’ll find out straight away whether it sticks.

The Hoosiers finish with three of their final four regular-season games on the road. Already 5-9 in the Big Ten, a .500 conference record and a top-half league finish both look beyond reach at this point. IU’s NCAA tournament hopes, therefore, have faded, and for a team with just one true road win (at Penn State) on its ledger, they don’t look to return.

Winning Tuesday night in Iowa City would at least arrest this four-game losing streak and leave the door cracked open for a strong finish.

IU will have to contend with Peter Jok, the Big Ten’s leading scorer (20.4 points per game). Iowa excels at keeping opponents off the free-throw line – Crean has routinely expressed frustration over his team’s inability to get there more often – and the Hawkeyes will themselves be hoping to snap a three-game losing streak.

Both Indiana and Iowa are among five teams bunched up near the bottom of the league standings, at either 5-9 or 6-8 in conference play. Hoping to avoid a bothersome Wednesday Big Ten tournament debut would make Tuesday’s meeting something of a tipping point for either program.

After a weekend off, can the Hoosiers end this slide and begin to try to save something of their once-promising season?

“We’ve just got to stay together. Keep communicating with each other, keep coming in with a positive attitude, ready to work,” Newkirk said. “Our guys have done that.”

Follow IndyStar reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.

INDIANA at IOWA

Tipoff: 9 p.m. Tuesday, Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa.

TV: ESPN.

Radio: WIBC-FM (93.1).

Storylines

>> Indiana (15-12, 5-9) has consistently struggled to get to the free-throw line in conference play, while the Hawkeyes (14-13, 6-8) are among the league's best teams at keeping teams off the free-throw line. Can IU change that up at all and steal some free points Tuesday?

>> IU coach Tom Crean opted for a bigger lineup last week at Minnesota, handing a start to De'Ron Davis alongside Thomas Bryant. Will he persist with that twin 6-10 lineup for the trip to Iowa City?

>> Five teams, including Iowa and Indiana, sit at 6-8 or 5-9 in the conference. With a first-round bye in the Big Ten tournament at stake, Tuesday's game could provide a helpful boost for one team hoping to avoid a Wednesday start to the league tournament.

— Zach Osterman