360?

Twelve days ago, Indiana was giving up 91 points in a 14-point thrashing at the hands of Big Ten cellar-dweller Iowa. Less than two weeks later, the perception of Tom Crean's rebuilding efforts has completely changed.

Back-to-back wins over ranked opponents, sandwiched between an overtime loss that the Hoosiers gave away in East Lansing, has IU fans singing a different tune. Sure, a 12-11 (3-7 Big Ten) record is nothing to crow about, but considering where Indiana looked to be headed, it's a bit of a small victory for Crean & Co.

I'm not going to go overboard and declare Tom Crean the Big Ten Coach of the Year like some are doing, but we're starting to see the Indiana team that we expected to see over the last three games. Reasonable Indiana fans weren't expecting this team to win on a consistent basis in the first three years. However, they were expecting IU to compete, something that they didn't do in losses to Iowa, Northwestern, and Ohio State. Frustrations reached a fever-pitch following the blowout loss to previously winless Iowa, but something must have clicked with Indiana following that setback.

Lacking a star, especially with the recent injury to Christian Watford, Indiana has to be a sum-of-its-parts team. Last night's win against Minnesota was a great example. Five Hoosiers scored between 8-12 points, with no one scoring more than 12. They got a bit from Matt Roth, a bit from Jordan Hulls, and a little bit more from Tom Pritchard and Verdell Jones. They'll need everyone to contribute if they want to enjoy similar results.

The recent streak has everyone re-examining Indiana's progress in year three. Progress is a funny thing - some judge it on how much progress you make. I've always felt like progress is progress, and though it's been slow, the progress is there:

2008-09 season: 6-25, 1-18
2009-10 season: 10-21, 4-14
This season: 12-11, 3-7

It's been a slow, arduous climb for Tom Crean and the Indiana program, but they are climbing. There are eight more games to see how far up the mountain they can go.