BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - "Indiana. It's the strangest team."
Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo said that last week before his No. 6-ranked Michigan State Spartans lost to IU for the second time this season.
It isn't Izzo's job to minutely follow Indiana's fortunes, but even people who do pronounced themselves perplexed by the Hoosiers much of this season.
At a cursory glance, certainly, it seemed somewhat inexplicable that an IU team that started 12-2 could endure a brutal 1-12 Big Ten slump through January and February.
But I would contend it is somewhat – maybe even quite – explicable.