Standing outside his team’s locker room after a season-ending 73-58 loss to Northwestern, the question was posed to Indiana’s young guard: What did you learn from this season?

“We can be a great rebounding team,” Hulls said. “We came together, we have lots to improve upon, but I feel like we got a lot better as the season went on.”

Down the stretch run last year, during that record-setting losing streak and through the mounting blowouts, it began to feel as though the Hoosiers had maxed out their potential for that season. Overmatched and undermanned every night, Indiana reached a point where players were physically and, perhaps, mentally worn down to such a degree that both the means and the end of each game became thoroughly predictable.

This season looked that way too, for awhile. After a strong December and January, marked by wins over the likes of Pittsburgh, Michigan and Minnesota, the Hoosiers disappeared, losing 11 in a row in mostly-forgettable fashion. Fans wanted to give up. Some of us in the media (me, mostly) wanted to let go. Even players, at times, appeared as if their hearts and heads just couldn’t align well enough to give another win-worthy effort.

The Senior Day win over Northwestern disproved that. And Thursday’s loss, deceptively large, sort of said the same.

I was in this building a year ago when, against a talented-but-not-unstoppable Penn State squad, No. 11-seed Indiana basically rolled over. The Hoosiers just looked too tired, too worn down, too short of confidence to mount a significant challenge against any Big Ten opponent.

What positives could one take from such regular, predictable, heavy losing? I don’t think it’s fair to say that this time around.

I’ll acknowledge that this team has serious problems. We could find most of them, you and I, if we took a trip down Thursday’s final stat sheet … so why don’t we?

Nineteen turnovers to 10 assists, that’s a familiar tune. Seventeen offensive rebounds allowed, although 14 were also collected. Northwestern ending the game on a 37-15 run should also be chucked into this conversation as well.

But these are mistakes that get ironed out with experience — correctable mistakes that, when they’ve played well and flashed future potential, we’ve seen the Hoosiers overcome.

Last season, there was an unspoken understanding that progress was going to, at a given point, grind to a halt from which it could not be retrieved. This season, if at times so slowly, Indiana still kept growing, and though it’s hard to see, it’s in that slight difference that measurable steps can be taken.

Players provided examples:

Christian Watford: “We get real tentative under pressure is one thing. And that happened today also. We had some key turnovers late that cost us the game. With time and with experience, that won’t happen.”

Derek Elston: “In the beginning, a lot of people could have said rebounding. But, you know, we took rebounding to the next level after that, so really, just everybody’s kind of got to work on their own, individually. That’s one thing that I think is the only thing I could really look at right now.”

Obviously, it doesn’t happen with words, and it certainly doesn’t happen in postgame locker rooms following conference tournament losses. But, more often than not, it happens.

Accuse me of being soft on Tom Crean, or soft on this team. Go ahead, I don’t care. Last weekend, I trekked up to Milwaukee for the Notre Dame-Marquette game, and I saw a team two years removed from Crean that still bore his wax seal — they played fast, moved the ball, cracked down on defense, and, as of the writing of this column, have taken a projected 13th-place finish in the Big East and won 22 games and a spot in the NCAA tournament. Buzz Williams obviously deserves plenty of credit, but so does the man who put his team together for him, and not just in recruiting.

I’ll be perfectly honest — I don’t know if Crean’s ceiling as a coach is high enough to return Indiana to where it wants to go, I really don’t. But I do know that two years, given the depth of the task Crean faces, is not enough time to celebrate or condemn his work. Progress has been made, if by no other measure than in wins. (Which also happen to be the simplest in this business.)

Nearly every college basketball season must end in defeat, it’s the natural order of things. And every end-of-season locker room often overflows with talk of next year, of belief, of meaningful, touchable, impactful improvement, and Indiana’s was no different.

But when Jordan Hulls had a chance to speak rhetorically, to spout off the same tired-but-indestructible lines every 10-win basketball team must cling to for survival, he talked about rebounding.

Call me crazy, but that’s progress.

The ghost of Hoosier future.

Derek Elston (10 points, nine boards) and Christian Watford (nine points, six boards) playing close to the  double-double men they’re capable of being night in and night out. Verdell Jones and Jordan Hulls handling the perimeter. A strong start. Controlled, sensible decisions. Being in the driver’s seat for 32 minutes of this one. Using the same scheme — a zone that forced outside shots — against Northwestern twice in the same week, and it working. Respectable shooting from the field (43.5 percent) and (sort of) from three (33.3 percent).

The ghost of Hoosier past.

The scoring droughts. A few of ‘em, but none more costly than the 9:29 without a field goal late in the second half — a stretch of time that essentially lost this team the game.

The turnovers. When the wheels fell of midway through the second half, Northwestern’s 1-3-1 zone forced the Hoosiers into plenty of them, and of course, there were a number of the unforced variety as well. In total, IU had 19. (13 of which came in the second half.)

—

This one stings a bit, because IU had this game. The car was on cruise control. But they fell asleep at the wheel and veered off the road — never to recover.

It would have been nice to rack up an 11th win, nice to have a chance at a 12th win against Purdue in the next round of the tourney. But alas, what’s doomed the Hoosiers all season — their inability to take care of the ball and put the ball in the basket — doomed them again today.

Going to cut this one short instead of rambling on like usual. We’ll have plenty of end-of-the-year content starting next week for y’all, which should be fun.

Thanks for sticking with us this season, and don’t fret. Better days are ahead.

This win did not come easy. When it seemed like the Hoosiers had it locked up in regulation, when if felt like this 11-game losing streak was finally — finally! — going to be over, a couple costly turnovers by Verdell Jones let Northwestern stick around in regulation.

And in OT, there was still that “IU-has-the-lead-but-is-it-enough” feeling up until Tjian and Fink came in to close it out.

But yes: it was a win. An impressive win. A sign that the future — for as bleak as it’s looked the last several weeks — is bright.

Let us count the ways:

1) Great call by coach Tom Crean to start Derek Elston and insert Verdell Jones at the point to start this game. Time and time again Elston proved his worth. He had a terrific dunk to ignite the crowd and nice tip-in for two early, and finished the game with 17 points — a career-high — and eight boards. He just brings an element to the court IU hasn’t had all season; Elston is a high-energy player with a big body that can score in a variety of ways and finish around the hole.

This kid can be a double-double machine for years to come.

And without Jeremiah Rivers at the point to start this game, IU didn’t turn the ball over until the 10:25 mark of the first half. That turnover was committed by, of course, Rivers.

But because the Hoosiers started out so well this afternoon, it gave them the confidence to realize they were not only in the game, but that they could win it. The first ten minutes of bullet-proof play were of the utmost importance.

Now, when the Wildcats went into that half-court trap in the second half, IU did have some turnover problems — espeically down the stretch — which let the Wildcats hang around. But including the OT period, the Hoosiers had 17 turnovers. Clearly, that’s still not too good. But they’ve had more in only 40 minutes of play this season, not 45.

2) Defense leads to offense.

Not only did IU get more opportunities to score at the start of the game because of the lower amount of turnovers, but they were great in their 2-3 zone this afternoon in Assembly Hall. Bobby Capobianco stands out as a guy that was denying entry passes and getting his hands in passing lanes. (He also sacrificed his body and got a timeout as he fought for a loose ball on his back at the end of regulation, which was big.) For the game, IU racked up 10 steals. And they were scoring in transition off the steals — 23 of their points this afternoon came off turnovers.

And yes, again, NW also capitalized off IU’s miscues, as the Wildcats had 21 points off turnovers.

But this is not how it’s gone the last 11 games. IU is the team losing the turnover battle, getting killed in transition. It might have only been two points, but for once, IU flipped the script and became the aggressor. For once, it was the Hoosiers using turnovers to their advantage, not the other way around.

3) Jordan Hulls.

Three after three after three. Eight of them. And they came at the most important times. A career-high 24 points. Putting his body on the court and keeping the ball with IU on a couple occasions. Four assists to three turnovers. Forty-four minutes of play.

When people talk about Jordan Hulls, when they talk about his will to win, his drive, his determination, this is what they’re talking about.

4) The offense as a whole.

So many of the ITH faithful have complained about the woeful assist-to-turnover ratio of late. But IU had 15 assists this afternoon to their 17 turnovers. Sure, it could be better. But 15 assists? This team hasn’t sniffed that in recent games.

IU was able to capitalize on NW’s 1-3-1 zone and lack of athleticism and a dominating big man. It was about getting the ball to the free-throw line and looking for slashers to the rim from the baseline, or drawing a defender to that middle of the zone and kicking out to someone for an open look on the perimeter. And as I’ve previously noted, it was also about getting out on the break and scoring in transition.

IU broke 60 for the first time in a month, and they didn’t need OT to do it. They hit 43.3 percent of their shots from the field, not terrific, but better than they’ve done in most of the past 11 losses. Hulls’ terrific 3-point performance led them to shooting a blistering 43.5 percent from beyond the arc. Their free-throw shooting was also on point, as they hit 26-of-32 for 81.3 percent.

I actually found myself impressed with some crisp passing today. Again, a rarity the last several games.

For one afternoon, on the backs of their freshman, the Hoosiers gutted out their 10th win of the season. The heart, hustle and desire was there. This, my friends, was long overdue.

And a sign of the promise to come.

Kicking it old school tonight.

THE GOOD

1) Derek Elston. Not sure if Elston got more run tonight because he limited his defensive mistakes tonight, or because well, he just deserves it. (Because I think he does.) But he pumped in 13 points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes before fouling out, on 5-of-10 shooting from the field. He offers a nice, controlled, smooth, inside, outside dynamic on offense, and for a team full of guys that turn the ball over time and again, Elston turned the ball over just twice tonight.

He needs to play this much every night. He’s a guy that, if he defects and transfers this offseason, it would be a shame. The freshman has a shot at developing into a solid player in the years to come.

2) Motion and creation. At times tonight, this IU squad looked like the competent version from earlier in the season against lesser foes: Jeremiah Rivers was penetrating and it opened up more opportunities on offense. When this team dribbles and holds, holds, holds the ball around the peremiter, they’re unimaginative. When Rivers and Verdell Jones drive and move the ball off the top of the key, there’s more there for IU, because defenses have to rotate and adjust.

One particular play that stands out in the first half: Rivers took the ball from the left wing, dribbled near the hole and passed it off to Bobby C. Bobby C. found Daniel Moore near the top of the key. Moore shot-faked, got his defender up in the air, and then had a nice open shot just in front of the three-point line. He missed. Bad.

Someday, this will be Maurice Creek getting such a shot.

IU also tried getting out on the break and transition at times tonight. It wasn’t always successful, but these were two dynamics this team had early on, and have the Tom Crean seal of approval all over them.

IU just simply doesn’t have the personnel or talent to execute in these schemes night in and night out yet.

3) Bawa played. And scored! Then Tijan poked him in the eye. Bad Tijan.

THE BAD

1) Dear ITH reader,

I will pay you the sum of $1 million U.S. dollars if in IU’s remaining slate of games, they go the entire 40 minutes without catching a pass, having some sort of brain aneurysm and randomly traveling for no good reason at all. Ha. Just kidding. No. I won’t do that.

It’s a mental, timid, unsure hiccup,  like going in to kiss a girl, and putting your lips to her eyes.

How many times has IU done such a move this season? By my count, it’s eleventy gillion.

But, for serious: IU had 18 turnovers tonight. And Purdue was able to score 22 points off these turnovers. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

2) Lots of fouls tonight. Purdue didn’t do the greatest job of converting (they were 21-of-31 from the line) but when your best two true bigs — Tom Pritchard and Bobby C. — along with Elston all have four fouls with just over 10 minutes to go in the second half, this is not a good thing.

3) Defense. Way too many open threes in the first half. Some difficulties helping and rotating.

And honestly: Yes, I know IU lost by 19 points tonight. And its the same as it ever was these last 11 games now. But let me paint you this picture. Say IU doesn’t dribble the ball off their feet and turn the ball over like the local Y team this evening. Say they close out on shooters, and instead of fouling so much, they make Purdue work for their points, and make them miss here and there.

This game is much closer. This is not IU down in the mid to high teens when it matter most; it’s IU within high single digits with a chance to strike and make things interesting. Of course, I’m not saying IU wins this game. That’s silly.

But I am saying that if this team can cut out some of the nonsense come Big Ten season next year, Creek and Roth return and the program doesn’t see wide-scale defection, the seeds are there for improvement and success.

And at this point, that’s all anyone’s asking for.

Tom Crean:

Maurice Creek:

Derek Elston:

John Calipari:

Hmmm, where to begin. Let’s take some baby steps here. Save for the last few minutes where it all unraveled, Indiana hung right with Maryland, and during several stretches, outplayed and outworked the Terrapins –  a tournament team last season. A team that was ranked earlier this year. IU had a lead with 9:44 to go. It led for a good stretch in the first half. As much as we want expectations to be higher and wins to be a result, at this juncture in the season it’s progress.

The Puerto Rico incarnation of these Hoosiers likely doesn’t keep it this close for this long, or look as poised and as polished as IU did for stretches tonight.

About the only other thing I want to point out here is one key difference this year as opposed to last, and that’s IU actually having viable options off the bench. When Jeremiah Rivers went down with his injury early in the first half after that nifty layup– I worry his trashing style of play might lead to more scary moments like that later in the season — Jordan Hulls filled in without skipping a beat. He hit a three, and had a dazzling no-look pass to Christian Watford under the bucket. Watford scored, was fouled and hit the free throw. Having two capable point guards will be huge as the season progresses. Derek Elston also showed some spark off the bench, too. He didn’t have a good shooting night, but he had nine boards in 20 minutes. He continues to make the most out of his time on the court.

THE BAD: LOOOOONG SCORING DROUGHTS.

IU still seems to be figuring things out in the half court. When they got out in transition in the first half, they made some heady decisions. But when they were forced into half-court sets, there still seems to be a lot of indecision, and it’s clear this is still a facet of the their game that’s a work in progress. However, there was good ball movement in stretches.

But when you add in a night of awful shooting — IU shot a woeful 23-70 from the field (32.9 percent), 7-of-26 from three-point land (26.9 percent) and 15-of-22 from the charity stripe (68.2 percent) including the front end of one-and-one’s in the second half — and some poor shot selection (Devan Dumes, I’m looking at you) on top of some inexperience in the half court, it’s incredibly difficult to pull out a victory, especially against a team of Maryland’s caliber.

There’s a reason IU had had 20 offensive rebounds tonight: they had plenty of misses to gobble up.

THE UGLY: LATE-GAME FOULS, THE SLATE AHEAD.

This is a minor, petty gripe, and I know a game is never over till it’s over, but IU seemed to be fouling when they were down 12 or so with around 30 seconds left. It prolonged the sting of the loss, and that’s never fun.

IU has week a off, and then takes on Pitt — another fringe Top 25 team — at Madison Square Garden. The following Saturday, they have Kentucky  — one of the best teams in the nation — at home. If they don’t start shooting better, they may be out of those games far earlier than tonight’s affair.

At some point, IU is going to put it all together, and beat a team that has more talent and experience. They have too much talent, and will only continue to get better. But don’t expect it to come until Big Ten play starts.

He may have fouled out this afternoon, but Tom Pritchard looked alive on both ends of the floor during a stretch in the second half. He drew a charge, went strong to the hole on a couple occasions, and was active on the glass. In short, at times he looked like Mr. Reliable we remember from last season. Hopefully it’s a sign that if he stays out of foul trouble, he can start producing at last year’s level again. IU needs it up front badly.

Tijan Jobe scored on an athletic move around the rim. And he hit a layup earlier in the game for another two points. And he had two blocks. How ’bout that?

Derek Elston continues to be Mr. Energy off the bench. He made a heady decision to slow down after a steal and get the offense going. And speaking of steals, he had four on the afternoon, along with 12 points and six boards in 18 minutes. Not a bad afternoon in Assembly Hall for the freshman.

Free throws continue to get better. IU hit 34-of-44 tonight, good for 76.2 percent. If you’re wondering why this game dragged on for so long, it’s because IU shot 44 times from the line and Northwestern St. attempted 29 foul shots. Lots of fouls.

It was nice to see IU in control of this one, as it’s much needed confidence-wise heading into the Maryland game Tuesday night.

OK, that’s about all I got. For those who watched this whole thing, feel free to fill in the blanks in the comments.

Watford continues to impress. He’s been billed as a guy that can do it all, and this game really highlighted that: he got boards, hit shots, created in the lane, got some steals, a block, and he even brought the ball up the court on one occasion. For the night he had 17 points, 10 boards, two steals and one block. He’s not a dominant player yet, but he has the tools to develop into one.

Elston was a lot of fun to watch tonight. He showed off his range with a 3-ball, and on another one that he missed in the second half, he did a good job of following his shot, which led to a board and a bucket for him. (This is something I don’t remember Matt Roth doing once last season.) Elston also had a nice tip-in follow on a miss from Verdell Jones. He’s got a nice nose for the ball, works hard and is a polished player for a freshman. I’m really liking his game thus far.

THE BAD: THE FIRST HALF, TURNOVERS AND FREE THROWS.

This game had shades of last season, as the Hoosiers racked up 18 turnovers, and only went 16-of-30 from the line. The beginning of the game was particularly rough; the Hoosiers never built any momentum or rhythm and let the Spartans hang around. It was a very sloppy affair. It’s clear Jeremiah Rivers is a terrific passer, but he was a little off this evening as he had four turnovers. It was almost as if he was trying to do too much. IU isn’t going to turn the ball over like this all season, but heading into their first real test of the year against Mississippi on Thursday, it’s a little worrisome.

THE UGLY: DEVAN DUMES.

I feel bad for Dumes. Last year, outside of Tom Pritchard, he was expected to be the man on offense. But this year, with an influx of talent around him, Dumes has to swallow his pride and assume a new role, and it’s not something I’m sure he’s going to handle particularly well, at least to start. With more size on this team, he looks smaller out on the court now, too. He’s still going to pop when he has the chance, but tonight was a particularly rough one for him: in 20 minutes, he had four turnovers — a few that were real ugly — and shot 1-of-6 from the field, 0-of-3 for behind the arc and 0-of-1 from the line. He did have five boards, however.

This is but one game, so it’s a small sample size. Dumes has plenty of time to find his mark.

BONUS: GUS JOHNSON’S SPECS.