A crazy notion whose time has come

OK, so this is insane. The Blob will put that out there right up front.

You remember the Indiana Hoosiers, right?

Lost eight straight games awhile back. Lost 12 out of 13. Looked like they were hell-bent on either the NIT (maybe), or the NFUT (Nothing For Us, Thanks).

That Indiana. Dysfunctional, disorganized, don't-care, couldn't-hit-a-bull-in-the-ass-with-a-bass-fiddle-if-you-kidnapped-their-moms-and-dads. Remember?

Well ...

Well, the Blob watched them take apart Rutgers by 16 on Senior Day in Assembly Hall Sunday. This after they took apart Illinois by 18 on the road a couple of days prior. They've now won four in a row going into the Big Ten tournament this week.

And you know what has suddenly, insanely occurred to the Blob?

That if there's one team no one wants to see opposite them in the bracket right now, it's the dysfunctional, disorganized, don't-care Hoosiers.

I know. Fit me for a straitjacket and book me a padded cell.

Only tell me I'm wrong first.

Look. I don't know what Archie Miller said or did or threatened them with -- probably something stronger than "No soup for you!" -- but whatever he said or did, this does not remotely look like the same team that slapsticked its way through those 12 Ls in 13 games. Part of it no doubt is point guard and glue guy Robert Phinisee's return to form after his concussion. But whatever it is, this looks like the team Miller no doubt envisioned when he put it together last fall; how he's managed to rescue that vision from utter chaos might be one of the most amazing coaching feats of the season.

Because, magically, there is spacing and sharing the ball and intensity at both ends now. There is cohesion and surety and confidence that when someone hoists a shot, it's not going to come down in Martinsville. There is something approaching balance with a team that for a long time was just Let's Give It To Romeo Langford And See What Happens.

Most of the time, for a long time, what happened was Langford would draw three bodies, kick it out to an open shooter and watch the bricks fall.

Now ...

Well. Let's take Sunday, for instance.

Juwan Morgan scored 25 points to lead the Hoosiers, but only needed 13 shots to do it. Langford added 20 on just 12 shots. The Hoosiers turned it over just six times, which means that in two games this week, they kicked it away just 13 times.

There were times earlier in the season when they kicked it away 13 times in a half. So, yeah, they're taking care of the basketball now, too.

Which is why the Blob thinking no one wants a piece of them right now might not be as insane as it sounds. Certainly it's said stuff a lot crazier.

I mean, come on. Consider the source.