Indiana Hoosiers: 5 Keys to Winning the Big Ten Conference

After starting the season at No. 1 in the AP polls and winning their first nine games, the Indiana Hoosiers are beginning to show some weaknesses.

The Hoosiers are arguably in the best conference in the nation, with other elite teams like Ohio State and Michigan.  With these weaknesses beginning to show, the Hoosiers will need to work on fixing these if they want to win the Big Ten conference.

Here are five things the Hoosiers need to fix soon in order to win the conference and make a deep run in the NCAA tournament.

Get Jordan Hulls Open

Jordan Hulls has proven to be one of the most deadly three-point shooters in the country.  Averaging 11.4 points per game, his three-point field-goal percentage is 51.2, good enough for seventh in the nation.

However, the Hoosiers tend to struggle mightily when Hulls isn't making shots.  In the two losses to Butler and Wisconsin this year, Hulls only scored 12 points total, failing to make a single three-pointer.

Particularly in the game against Wisconsin, Hulls struggled getting open.  He found himself setting up the offense, which is something that others should be doing.  Hulls is stronger when getting open away from the ball.  He isn't the best at creating his own shots, which is why the Hoosiers tend to rely more on Yogi Ferrell to bring the ball up.

If the Hoosiers can work on getting Hulls open, he can be a dangerous game-changer for the team.

Production from Will Sheehey

After a very strong start to the season for Will Sheehey, he has noticeably disappeared from the offense the past few games.

The sixth man for the Hoosiers has been able to score recently.  In the past four games, he has only scored 14 points, including scoring zero points against both Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Sheehey proved to people that he was a real scorer earlier in the year.  Before this season, he was really just known for making the game-winning shot against Virginia Commonwealth, but Hoosier fans have seen that he can make shots from almost anywhere.

Whether Sheehey is hurt or just in a funk, something needs to happen for him to get going again.  With a team that has struggled lately getting points off of the bench, he needs to be that guy that Tom Crean can count on.

More Playing Time for Remy Abell

With so many minutes going toward the starting five and Sheehey, Remy Abell is a player that is beginning to be overlooked by the team.

Abell, the sophomore from Louisville, has been an efficient scorer when given enough time to take some shots.  He is currently only averaging about 15 minutes on the court per game. 

If given more time, Abell could be a real scorer off of the bench.  While he is only averaging 5.5 points per game, he has shot the ball well, making 48 percent of his shots.  He is also a deadly threat from long range, shooting 52 percent from behind the arc.

The Hoosiers are still trying to figure out their rotation, and if they want to keep winning, they should consider getting Abell more time on the court.

Continue Giving Cody Zeller the Ball

Cody Zeller was named the Preseason Player of the Year before the season began, and he is still playing like an All-American at this point.

Zeller has had a pretty successful season so far, although it certainly hasn't been good enough to be the Player of the Year.  He is averaging 17.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.  He is shooting nearly 63 percent from the field, good enough for 19th in the country.

Zeller has been a large part of the Hoosiers' success.  His contributions on both sides of the ball have helped the Hoosiers dominate most of their opponents.  His success on offense will be a large reason for their success if the Hoosiers can win the Big Ten.

Better Play from Freshmen

Perhaps the biggest problem for the Hoosiers this year has been the lack of contributions from the freshmen.

"The Movement" was supposed to be one of the most talented groups of freshmen in the country this year.  However, they have failed to do much this season.

Yogi Ferrell has really been the only bright spot in this freshman class, doing a good job of running the offense and getting others the ball.

Jeremy Hollowell has been a big disappointment.  He is only averaging 4.2 points per game and is shooting a dreadful 15 percent from behind the arc.

Hanner Mosquera-Perea and Peter Jurkin were supposed to be two big names in the class.  However, they have failed to do much since coming back from the suspensions.  Jurkin has yet to score this year, and Perea is only averaging 1.4 points per game.

Getting the freshmen to produce more will be a big challenge for head Coach Crean.  However, if he can get them to play better, this could be a very scary team.