The Illinois basketball program has numerous rivals but the biggest has to be the Indiana Hoosiers.
The two programs go back as far as 1906, when Illinois defeated Indiana 27-24 in a barnburner at Kenney Gym in Champaign. I think we all remember that great battle.
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Over a decade ago, Tom Crean was hired at Indiana to resurrect a once-great program. He did so, and while he isn’t their coach today, Crean isn’t quiet by any means. In fact, he took to social media on Wednesday and laid out some wise words
In his social media posts, the first of a series of two posts starts with, “Recipe for an upset loss.”
Immediately, I smiled. The post continued and fed into the second post because the list is so long. It ended up being eight ingredients for an upset loss.
Now, if you have any Orange and Blue blood flowing through your veins, you immediately know what I am thinking. Crean isn’t just some random person explaining basketball. He has a certain expertise in the matter that not a lot of coaches can one-up.
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The year was 2013. Crean had revived the Indiana program, and they were a juggernaut. The Hoosiers had three future NBA players and seven top 75 recruits on the roster. On February 2, 2013, Indiana beat No. 1 Michigan and took the No. 1 overall spot in the country.
Five days later, on February 7, Indiana traveled to Champaign. Illinois needed a win. We were 15-8 at the time and weren’t even sniffing the top 25. This was the start of a perennial bubble program under John Groce.
Sure enough, Crean’s eight-step recipe proved right. Indiana came to play but weren’t ready to be in a fight (step one). They gave up a game-winning layup to Tyler Griffey (step three). Indiana’s communication broke down on the final play (step four). That bad communication led to no one switching onto Griffey (step five). Step six soon followed.
It is all there. Crean was clearly talking about that night in 2013 when Illinois took down No. 1 Indiana, 74-72. His posts aren’t just rants; they are knowledge. He knows how to lose as the top dog and get knocked off in a huge upset.
Illinois has the momentum in the rivalry once again, as Indiana seems to have lost their way
The memories of that game, and where I was, will always be seared into my brain. Fast forward 13 years, and the two teams couldn’t be in more different positions.
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Illinois now has a great coach, arguably the best in program history. Meanwhile, Indiana, after firing Crean, has been an absolute disgrace. Under Crean, the Hoosiers dug out of a hole dug by the previous regime. They went to four NCAA tournaments in the final six years he was in Bloomington. Since he was fired, Indiana has made two NCAA tournament appearances in the last nine seasons.
Indiana is not in the place they were when Crean took over. The Kelvin Sampson-Eric Gordon era imploded that program. But the Hoosiers are definitely in a weird spot. They need to find a head coach who can pull that team from mediocrity, as they have the money to be a powerhouse in college once again.
While the Hoosiers try to get their heads out of their you know what, Illinois will be over here winning. Three games in a row against Indiana and counting. I don’t see an end in sight.
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This article was originally published on www.writingillini.com as Illinois basketball needs immense credit for a former Indiana coach’s expertise.
