The Indiana Hoosiers of course, were not one of these five teams. In fact, the five tournament teams from the Big Ten, all beat the Hoosiers by double digits at least once last season. This is all in the past now, and optimism has returned in Bloomington but the scary thing is… These five tournament teams virtually return all of their star players as well as the supporting cast. Ohio State was the only team of the three teams that tied for the regular season Big Ten title last year that lost a vital part in Evan Turner. Losing Turner though does not seem that terrible when you bring in the nation’s number two recruiting class and Indiana’s own Mr. Basketball Deshaun Thomas. Purdue returns everyone apart from the most hated Boilermaker of all time Chris Kramer and fellow senior Keaton Grant. Michigan State has been selected as a top three team in almost every media outlets early preseason poll. These three teams are just the cream of the crop in the Big Ten, teams I feel our Hoosiers are not even close to being ready to compete with.

Illinois returns their entire team along with the addition of McDonald’s All-American Jereme Richmond. Wisconsin is always a tournament team no matter who is returning, and surprising Northwestern will welcome back their best player in Kevin Coble. Tubby Smith will have Minnesota ready for its third straight tournament appearance while Ralph Sampson III looks to finally make a name for himself in the conference.

With all this established Indiana as well returns their entire core, apart from the departure of Devan Dumes. The truth is the Hoosiers after losing to Purdue in a close game at home, lost eight straight where they failed to even compete. What I question is if the Hoosiers will be ready to compete in the conference that will definitely again be marked in the preseason as the best in the country.

Maurice Creek’s contribution will be massive. He showed true flashes of brilliance at the beginning of the season and I believe would have run away with Big Ten freshman of the year if not for the injury. He will be the next great Hoosier to have a great career in Bloomington, but the team will not finish in the top half of the Big Ten just because of him. A leader will need to emerge, Verdell Jones showed signs last year, but will need to step it up even more this season if we plan to finish in the upper echelon of the conference. The 2009 recruiting class in Elston, Watford, Hulls, and Capobianco displayed some signs of what could be the next Indiana tournament team. If we can get physical post play from Elston, Capobianco, Watford, and Bawa than the potential of hanging in games against great post teams looks promising. It is too early to get a read on the team’s new freshman but I believe Victor Oladipo will play a critical part in helping the Hoosiers compete against up-tempo athletic teams such as Ohio State and Michigan State.

Fans are optimistic but Hoosier nation can only be patient for so long, a winning season is expected this year from a more experienced team, but if the history of Crean’s first two seasons repeats itself. Which consist of the Hoosiers tragically falling apart late in the Big Ten season than Indiana may be looking at another losing season. Every team in the Big Ten loves to beat Indiana because of the school’s rich basketball history, and with three potential final four teams in the Big Ten, there are no easy games for the Hoosiers once the conference season hits.

Action Sports Media and ISP Sports are two leaders in the sports marketing industry, representing many universities across the country and assisting them with all things marketing. However, Indiana University is represented by the nationwide leader in university based media: Learfield Sports.

Learfield Sports was founded in 1972 in Jefferson City, Missouri, by Clyde Lear and Derry Brownfield. The company’s original name, Missouri Network, Inc., eventually grew from a small network heard over six Missouri radio stations into a diverse media giant with more than 40 university affiliates.

Indiana University Sport Properties (IUSP) is owned and managed by Learfield Sports and is also the multimedia rights holder for Indiana University Athletics. IUSP is aimed at making an impact on businesses across the state of Indiana by targeting loyal Hoosier fans and alumni throughout the country. IUSP uses signage, radio, in-game promotions, and the internet to meet marketing and advertisement goals.

Many local companies choose in-venue promotions as a way to increase their exposure throughout Bloomington. A company can even make their brand name the backdrop on Hoosier game days.

As the official sponsor of a football, basketball, or any other athletic game, companies receive recognition of their brand through video board advertisements, game day signage, mobile displays, and promotional giveaways. Hospitality perks are standard, including special seating and sponsored tailgates for football games.

One small business owner had nothing but the best to say about IUSP. “One of our best marketing tools is our relationship with IU Sports Properties. By partnering with IU Sports Properties, we have gained tremendous exposure with both Indiana University as well as the surrounding community. This has paid great dividends to our business and has allowed us to become a better corporate citizen in our community.”

Stadium and Venue Signage are one of the most profitable resources for IUSP. Not only do companies benefit with exposure from fans attending the game, but also with fans watching on television.

On game days, Assembly Hall is typically packed at capacity, with over 17,000 people in attendance. IUSP offers naming rights on the 4-Sided Video Board and the Scorer’s Table. With CBS, ESPN, and The Big Ten Network as the preferred television outlets, IU Basketball features some of the most extensive television exposure in the country.

IUSP knows that one of the most effective methods to reaching potential consumers is through radio. The IU Radio Network fully engages the entire state of Indiana with 36 radio stations. During broadcasts, companies have the opportunity to expose their brand through Live Mentions and Coaches’ Shows with Tom Crean and Bill Lynch. IUSP also has the ability to split off the Indianapolis network for customized market coverage.

Learfield Sports partners with many other universities across the nation including Penn State, University of Alabama, University of North Carolina, University of Wisconsin, and Oklahoma University. The Big Ten Conference, Missouri Valley Conference, and the Western Athletic Conference are valued partners as well.

As outlandish as it sounds, this solace might be found in the successes of an entirely different team — a team whose home is over 2,000 miles west of Bloomington.

Moraga, California — the home of Saint Mary’s College, a school with an enrollment of about 3,900 nestled into the scenic countryside of western California, whose athletic teams compete in the eight-team West Coast Conference.

The WCC is an athletic conference that has garnered virtually all of its national notoriety through the sport of Men’s Basketball and, more specifically, through the success of one team — the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

To put it plainly, Gonzaga has dominated WCC men’s basketball, particularly since 2000, winning the last nine regular season conference titles and eight of the last 10 conference tournament titles.

The Zags have also asserted themselves on the national stage, becoming the premiere “mid-major” team in the country. Their deepest run came in 1998-99, when the Zags reached the Elite Eight, but they have made 12 other NCAA tournament appearances and reached the Sweet 16 five times.

Then there’s the Saint Mary’s Gaels, a program that had one NCAA tournament win coming into the 2009-10 season — a win that came in 1959. A program that was on the brink of its second tournament victory that last two seasons under the leadership of flashy Australian point guard Patty Mills. A program that has never quite been able to break through,  or to escape Gonzaga’s shadow.

Coming into the 2009-10 season, it appeared that Saint Mary’s would be taking a step back after the loss of Mills and talented forward Diamon Simpson. Nevertheless, the Gaels put together a solid season, but were still dwarfed by Gonzaga in both regular season meetings, falling 89-82 in the first matchup and getting handled 80-61 in the second.

At the end of the regular season, it looked as if the Gaels were in the same boat that the 2008-09 team was in — good effort, solid season, but not enough. They would have to win the WCC tournament to get to the big dance.

The Gaels did just that, sparking a magical run that has yet to come to an end.

First, they beat Portland 69-55 in the WCC tournament semifinals, advancing to face who other than the Gonzaga Bulldogs — a team that had already beat them twice. Saint Mary’s flipped the script in the third matchup, dominating the Zags in every aspect of the game en route to a 81-62 victory and their first tournament title since 1997.

Saint Mary’s shot at its first tournament victory since 1959 would come in Providence, Rhode Island against a dangerous Richmond Spider team out of the Atlantic-10 Conference. The game can be summed up using one name: Omar Samhan.

The Spiders did not have an answer for Samhan inside (few teams have), and the 6-11 senior — nicknamed “O-Zone”— went for 29 points and 12 rebounds. The spark-plug point guard Mickey McConnell added 23 for the Gaels, who won 80-71 — their first NCAA tournament victory in 51 years.

They did not stop there. Against a faltering second-seeded Villanova in the round of 32, Samhan reeled off 32 points and seven rebounds, leading the Gaels to the improbable 75-68 victory.

And here they are, the Saint Mary’s Gaels, a 10 seed out of Moraga, California captivating the nation, stepping definitively out of Gonzaga’s shadow (who lost to Syracuse in the second round 85-67), and advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history. The question is — why should Hoosier Nation pay any attention?

Ben Allen, the senior starting forward from Australia for the Gaels this season, played his freshman and sophomore seasons for Kelvin Sampson in Bloomington. He averaged a measly nine minutes per game over his freshman and sophomore seasons, and subsequently made the tough decision to transfer to Saint Mary’s, where he has become an integral part of the team.

Allen has averaged 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds this season for the Gaels, including a career-high 20 points in the WCC tournament championship game. In the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, Allen amassed 12 points and 14 rebounds.

The 6’11’, 250-pound big man from Melbourne will be crucial to Saint Mary’s success down the stretch.

The undisputed leader of Saint Mary’s, coach Randy Bennett, has managed a 183-102 record over his eight seasons in Maraga. Interestingly, the name Bennett holds quite a bit of weight in the state of Indiana, as Randy’s father, Tom Bennett, is in the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.

Tom Bennett was a player at Southport High School in Indianapolis, and went on to play at Wabash College, where he set the career scoring record with 1,414 points.

He is also distinguished in the coaching ranks, as he coached at the high school level for 14 years and at the Junior College level for 19 years, being honored as the 1990 NJCAA National Coach of the Year. Tom Bennett is also in the Wabash Athletics Hall of Fame and the NJCAA Hall of Fame.

So, if the Hoosier faithful are looking for any relief from the worst drought in Indiana basketball history, they should follow Ben Allen, Randy Bennett, and the Saint Mary’s Gaels as they look to continue their magical run on Friday against the Baylor Bears.

College basketball analyst Dick Vitale, who was providing commentary for the game, was aghast. Vitale said that Illinois did not need to rush the court for this win, because their men’s basketball program has enjoyed so much success. Former Fighting Illini standout Dee Brown, who played on the 2004-05 team that went 37-2 and fell to North Carolina in the national championship, posted a tweet on his Twitter account after the game, saying that the student section shouldn’t have rushed the court because Illini basketball is used to winning.

Many diehard Hoosier fans would take one look at the five national championship banners hanging on the wall in Assembly Hall, and say the Crimson Guard never needs to rush the floor because we are too successful for that. But given the last decade of IU basketball, where is our success?

Indiana University won national championships in 1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, and 1987. Doing the math, that would mean almost no undergraduates were born before the Hoosiers’ last national championship win. The upcoming NCAA men’s basketball tournament will mark three years since IU last made the tournament, and 23 years since the Hoosiers last cut down the nets as champions.

To put it in better perspective, Notre Dame was once a powerhouse football program. From 1924-1988, they produced eleven national championships, with undefeated records, Heisman trophy winners, and NFL stardom players to go with those titles.

But what have they done lately?  They are on now on their fourth coach in a decade, with the previous three having been fired. The Irish have collected one bowl game win since 1995. In the last three seasons, they’ve lost to Navy twice, Air Force once, and an eight-loss Syracuse team.

This means if you are a Southern California, Purdue, Michigan, or Michigan St. fan, and a Notre Dame fan tries to brag about their history of greatness, you can safely laugh and say something along the lines of, “That’s great, good luck with the next military school you have to play.”

Unfortunately, it’s the same situation for Hoosier basketball fans. If you start bragging to a Purdue basketball fan about IU’s history of national titles, they’re going to remind you that they’ve been consistently ranked in the Top-10 most of year, that they’ve beaten IU three straight times, and that IU basketball has missed the tournament four of the past seven years.

If you are currently a student, it’s been a rough tenure for you as a Hoosier basketball fan, no matter which class you are in. Here’s the breakdown:

The freshmen class has a 10-20 record.  They are the same age as our heralded freshmen recruiting class, who are the future of Indiana basketball. Their first year in the student section has been one of many growing pains, as they’ve watched each freshmen go through the learning curve of Division I basketball.

The sophomore class has a 16-45 record.  Their first year in the student section was Tom Crean’s first on the sideline, as they witnessed the damage that Kelvin Sampson visited on the program, as a team assembled mostly of walk-ons fought and clawed for six wins.

The junior class has a record of 41-53.  As freshmen, they enjoyed some success, as the Hoosiers were ranked for much of the season, but in February the program monumentally collapsed as Kelvin Sampson resigned after being accused of violating NCAA recruiting rules. The junior class is now on their third coach in three years, including interim coach Dan Dakich.

The seniors are 62-64 in their four years here. They have gone through just about every type of situation possible as a member of the student section. Everything from a Top-10 ranked team, to first and second round exits in March Madness, to a coach having to resign because of major recruiting violations, to the bottom of the Big Ten.

Hoosier Nation, especially the alumni and the season ticket holders from the Bobby Knight era, know what the winning tradition of Indiana basketball is, but we as students do not.  There is no doubt we’ve been informed about it, and there is no doubt we’ve seen the classic games on TV, but we haven’t witnessed it. We haven’t been a part of the continuity the program had for almost thirty years. There was one coach from 1971-2000, but there have been five since 2000 up until now.

The Hoosiers are still looking for their first win against a ranked team under Tom Crean, to say nothing of looking for their first signature win against a Top-10 team.  Over the past two years, ranked team after ranked team has come to Assembly Hall, and each time we have fallen short.

But I believe that signature win is coming. Whether it’s next season or the season after, a Top-10 ranked team is going to come to Bloomington, and we are going to knock them off.

And when that game clock strikes zero, I hope our student section storms the court.

And when you storm it, do it for the faithful season ticket holders, who for so many years enjoyed success under Bobby Knight, and have stuck with the Hoosiers through these tough years as they are rebuilding their image.

Storm it for Tom Crean, who has poured nothing short of his whole heart into this basketball program, who left a consistent contender at Marquette to rebuild a collapsed program in need of a coach who still believed in us.

Storm it for our players, who turned down scholarship offers to contending ACC, SEC, and Big East teams because they believed in Tom Crean, and were looked to the first day they set foot on campus to turn our program around.

And finally, storm it for yourselves, because you stayed with your team through their darkest hours, and sang the fight song for them at every home game as loud as you could. And as Hoosier Nation as a whole, we are showing the Big Ten and the whole country, that we are back, and never daunted, we will not falter.

McLeod, who was hired in April of 2008 as part of coach Tom Crean’s initial Indiana University staff, was not present on the bench for Indiana’s overtime victory this past weekend over Northwestern.

Stay tuned to IUSC for developing news and details on this story.