Big Ten Tournament 2012 Bracket: Indiana in Prime Position for Cinderella Run

The next step in the long road back to national prominence for Indiana basketball is set for Thursday morning, when the fifth-seeded Hoosiers face 12th-seeded Penn State in the 2012 Big Ten Tournament.

Tom Crean's crew is already in good enough shape with the selection committee to make the field of 68 for the NCAA Tournament as an at-large entrant, thanks in large part to an 11-7 record in one of the nation's top conferences and quality wins over Kentucky, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Michigan State. As such, IU doesn't have much work to do to ensure its own participation in March Madness.

But that doesn't mean the Hoosiers will simply lay down and warm their seats for Selection Sunday, or that they won't make a surprising run at the Big Ten postseason title. After all, the Hoosiers will be playing at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, otherwise known as their backyard.

And, as you may well know, the Hoosiers have done quite well for themselves this season in defending their home turf. They lost but once at Assembly Hall this season, in a disappointing 77-74 decision to Minnesota, but were good enough in Bloomington to take out three top-five teams (UK, OSU and MSU) in front of their red-clad fans.

Many of whom should be on hand in the Circle City this week to cheer their young Hoosiers on to victory.

Of course, it'll take more than school spirit to propel IU to a win or two (or three or four) against a stacked field of Big Ten competitors. Tom Crean will need conference Freshman of the Year Cody Zeller to continue to dominate on the interior and the likes of Christian Watford, Verdell Jones III and Jordan Hulls to knock down shots from the perimeter. He'll need his entire team to focus and defend with the fury of Bob Knight's old teams.

And he'll need to remind his players of the success they've enjoyed against the teams they'll face this week, of wins over Michigan State and Ohio State and narrow losses at Wisconsin and at Michigan.

A strong showing in Indy will be closer to the beginning of the Hoosiers' resurgence than the end—or so fans should hope—but making noise during Championship Week will fall in line perfectly with a miraculous season that's seen IU basketball rise from the ashes of Kelvin Sampson's dismantling of the program well ahead of schedule.

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