Nine days ago, Indiana basketball was 15-1 and ranked No. 7 in the nation. The biggest question on the minds of the IU fan base was how high of an NCAA Tournament seed the Hoosiers would earn.
Three consecutive losses later, those same fans now just hope IU qualifies for the tournament.
What went wrong?
The three-game skid began with a home loss to Minnesota, followed by a dismal effort at Ohio State. Then IU blew an 11-point lead late in a 70-69 loss Wednesday at Nebraska.
Matt McCloskey, a youth pastor and IU fan in Grove City, Ohio, said Indiana has lost its swagger.
"Early in the year, they played like a team looking for respect and with a passion and fire that surprised even the most die-hard IU fans," McCloskey said. "It seemed as if that No. 7 ranking almost made them feel like they had arrived. They had finally gotten the respect that they desired. I think they need to get the edge back of that team that felt disrespected.''
Big Ten Network analyst Dave Revsine said Indiana's early success -- which included victories over then-No. 1 Kentucky and No. 2 Ohio State -- may have resulted in the Hoosiers skipping a step in the maturation process.
"They almost didn't have to take the baby steps,'' Revsine said. "They were running. They went from crawling to running, and maybe the natural tendency there is that you take the running for granted. You figure if you beat Kentucky and Ohio State that surely you should be able to just show up and beat Minnesota at home or Nebraska on the road.
"But the Big Ten is really good this year and every team has the talent to knock somebody off, especially at home.''
How strong is the Big Ten? It is No. 1 in the computer-generated ratings percentage index (RPI), with nine conference teams ranked in the RPI's top 50, according to realtimerpi.com. IU is ranked No. 24, fifth among the Big Ten schools.
ESPN analyst Dan Dakich, a former IU player and coach, said part of the process with any team is learning how to take wins. If you don't finish off opponents, you're asking for trouble.
"If you let teams in the Big Ten hang around, they're going to get you," Dakich said.
"You have to go get wins and you have to finish teams off. I think that's something that Indiana is still learning how to do."
IU fans have dozens of reasons why they think the Hoosiers have struggled of late: The late game defense hasn't been good. Indiana hasn't been strong with the ball at the end of games. The Hoosiers have relied too much on the 3-point shot instead of getting the ball inside to Cody Zeller.
One Indiana fan said he simply thinks Indiana isn't tough-minded enough.
Trent Kerr, who lives in Terre Haute, remembers an IU-Iowa game two years ago where the look and demeanor of the Hawkeyes told the story from the start. He said you could tell 30 seconds into the game that Indiana had no shot to win -- and this was an Iowa team that wasn't that much higher in the standings.
"Indiana needs to get that look," Kerr said. "It's more than telling them that just because they've got Indiana printed across their chest they can win. I remember when that saying was valid. I don't know whether (Tom) Crean is too soft on them or what the deal is, but we've got enough players that have been around long enough to understand how physical you've got to be to compete, especially in the Big Ten.
"Can someone tell me that our intensity playing at Nebraska was the same as the victory over Kentucky, or our will to win? Talking is easy. Walking the walk is more important."
Call Star reporter Terry Hutchens at (317) 444-6469. Follow him at twitter.com/indystar_hutch.
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