Predictably, there will be no March Madness for Tom Crean and the Indiana Hoosiers.

Indiana (6-25) concluded the 2008-2009 campaign with a 66-51 loss to Penn State in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The loss was the 10th straight for Indiana.

The result was never really in doubt as the Nittany Lions (22-10) opened the game with a 26-8 run and IU was never able to draw closer than nine the rest of the way.

“They’re a good team, ” Crean said. “Very well coached, as is the rest of this league. And I hope they get in the NCAA.”

Verdell Jones continued his late season breakout and was the only IU player in double figures with 23 points. Jones shot 7 of 11 from the field and hit 5 of 5 free throws.

“This season is definitely a learning experience,” Jones said. “But I think the most we got out of this season is if you work hard and listen to what the coaches say you can improve by leaps and bounds.”

Kyle Taber, Nick Williams and Daniel Moore added five points each. Taber, a former walk-on who played for four coaches at IU, reflected on his career after the loss.

“I’m sad to see it end, ” Taber said. “I mean, it was so much fun playing here at Indiana, and I was just glad to be a part of it for five years.”

Penn State advances to a quarterfinal game on Friday night at 9PM ET against Purdue. Jamelle Cornley led three Nittany Lion players in double figures with 22 points. Stanley Pringle added 16 points and David Jackson had 10.

Talor Battle, the Big Ten’s leading scorer with 17.3 points per game, was held to three points on just three shot attempts, but dished out six assists and had four steals.

Big Ten Tournament not so kind to Hoosiers: The loss against Penn State drops IU to 8-12 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament. IU is now 13-6 in games played at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Dumes misses finale: Junior guard Devan Dumes did not dress and missed his second straight game with an ankle injury. Dumes finished the season as IU’s leading scorer at 12.7 ppg.

• Box score

Indiana takes on Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament in a few hours. IU is the 11 seed, while Penn State is seeded sixth. The Nittany Lions are favored by nine.

Terry Hutchens of the Indy Star has IU in the upset, citing the fact that the game is in Indianapolis, and the Hoosiers having no pressure on them, whereas it’s a must-win for Penn State if they want to assure an NCAA Tournament birth.

Hutchens could very well be right; IU has played Penn State pretty good this year. And for as much as I’d like to see the Hoosiers win — though, the more Big Ten teams in, the merrier — and have a shot at Purdue in the next round, it’s OK if they don’t. I won’t feel that much disappointment.

Because the chapter on the worst season record-wise in IU’s history will be closed. For good. Forever. No longer will we have to rely on a bunch of guys working their tails of for little reward, we’ll have a bunch of guys with more talent working their tails off for wins and perhaps more. We’ll no longer have to lament this season, because the next time the Hoosiers take the floor, it will actually be here.

I will root for the Hoosiers today. I hope they win. If they don’t? Then let the countdown to Hoosier Hysteria begin.

(Editor’s note: Due to a service problem with our host, we were unable to provide coverage of last night’s game at Penn State. We apologize for the inconvenience.)

Around the Hall is recommended reading from the Inside the Hall crew.

+ The Bloomington Herald Times was on the scene in State College and captured Tom Crean’s reaction following IU’s 61-58 loss to Penn State. {The Hoosier Scoop}

+ Terry Hutchens writes that the inability to hit clutch shots and turnovers down the stretch ultimately foiled IU’s attempt at an upset at Penn State. {The Indianapolis Star}

+ Terry Hutchens says that close isn’t good enough anymore Indiana and at some point the Hoosiers must figure out how to win a close game. Time is running out, Hutch. {Hoosiers Insider}

+ Even a basket by seldom used Tijan Jobe couldn’t lift IU past Penn State. {Indiana Daily Student}

Quotable: “I knew we would play well tonight. We have had two great practices. Lets put it this way–I would have been a lot more shocked if we didn’t play extremely hard and work at execution and defend better. I would have been shocked.” – Tom Crean on IU’s performance Saturday night at Penn State.

FINAL SCORE:

Penn State: 65  Indiana: 55

THE GOOD:

After a couple of woeful games, IU returned home Saturday night and played Penn State well enough to keep it interesting and fight for a win. There was no doom and gloom like we experienced throughout the Ohio State and Illinois games. Tonight’s team competed, and competed well. Sure, you may say it was just Penn State, but this is not the Penn State of old. This Nittany Lions incarnation has talent at many positions. They’ve beaten Purdue, and played very close against Wisconsin and Michigan State.

First thing to point out: Free throws. IU was a remarkable 12-of-14 for 85.7 percent. I think that’s the best they’ve shot all season. Too bad it wasn’t close enough at the end for this to make a difference.

IU also continues to out-rebound their Big Ten opponents. They snatched 32 to Penn State’s 25 tonight. I don’t know how much this has really helped the Hoosiers in Big Ten season so far, but it’s encouraging nonetheless. IU’s defense was also rather strong tonight. Though Penn State was hot, hot, hot for a stretch in the first half, things weren’t as quick and easy as they’ve been for our opponents the last two games.

Lastly, even when we went down 10 and this game looked like it was done and over, IU fought hard, hitting two threes late to try and keep it close. Credit the guys for not giving up, and the coaching staff for continuing to keep this team’s effort level high. Penn State scored 34 points in the second half. IU had 32.

It’s games like tonight’s when you realize if IU can keep this kind of intensity and hard work up once more talent arrives next year, the Hoosiers should be just fine.

(more…)

Around the Hall is recommended reading from the Inside the Hall crew.

+ Terry Hutchens examines Indiana’s 15-0 home record against Penn State and talks to former Hoosiers Brian Evans and Greg Graham about the test the Hoosiers will face. {The Indianapolis Star}

+ Derek Elston tells Patrick Dorsey that he’s been “kind of disappointed” by Indiana’s performance this season, but he’s eager to get to Bloomington and help push along the rebuilding process. {The Indianapolis Star}

+ Bobby Capobianco’s mom Barbara, a former standout at Vanderbilt, recalls the moment she realized her son was no longer a pushover in their one-on-one games. {ESPN Rise}

+ Despite Indiana’s 0-4 start in the conference, Penn State coach Ed DeChellis says he expects the Hoosiers to win in the Big Ten. {Evansville Courier Press}

Quotable:

“For every one person that loves you, there are three people that hate you. I’ve gotten about everything in the book. You know you’ve achieved something when everyone hates you. I always think like the movie ‘300. It’s the whole ‘me against the world’ thing. I’m going to go out and prove to people that I can do it.” – Capobianco on his approach for answering his skeptics.