Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Meanwhile, in Iowa City ...

... we check in with the Indiana Hoosiers, who rumor has it are still playing basketball, sort of, even if the point of doing so now eludes most observers.

Anyway, they lost their fifth straight game last night, falling to an unimposing Iowa team in overtime in Iowa City. Indiana is now 15-13 overall, 5-10 in the Big Ten. And they still have to play Purdue and Ohio State on the road and Northwestern at home.

Anyone want to bet against them running the table in reverse -- i.e., they lose all three?

Because, listen, this is a team that looks for all the world as if it's checked out of the season. It looks like a team more interested in spring break than fastbreaks. And it's clearly a team even less interested in the quainter basketball custom of defense.

This would be occasion for the gnashing of teeth and rending of garments for Hoosier Nation, except it's pretty much checked out, too. That's not good news for head coach Tom Crean, whose job is likely safe despite the current death spiral. Bad seasons happen to good people sometimes. And so he'll live to keep firetomcrean.com a going concern for at least another year, because two Big Ten titles in four years have bought him that.

On the other hand ...

On the other hand, a silent fan base is a dangerous fan base. When your followers not only stop living and dying with your program but no longer bother even to gripe, the clock is running on Coach.

Even if, in Crean's case, it has a bit left to run.

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