Can the Indiana Hoosiers Avoid Let-Down Against Notre Dame?

Tom Crean has made it clear that he prefers not to take long breaks in between games. In this case, I think he may make an exception.

While Indiana Hoosier fans have had the luxury of basking in Saturday's epic win against the top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats, Crean is charged with the unenviable task of keeping his young team focused on the next game. Luckily for him, by the time the Hoosiers take on Notre Dame Saturday night at Conseco Fieldhouse, he will have had a full week to accomplish this.

Does that mean that Coach Crean wants his team to simply move on from their win against Kentucky? Absolutely not.

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"I don't want them to put it behind them, I want them to build on it," Crean said. "It wouldn't make much sense for us to try and downplay that game...but at the same time you want them to understand the bottom line is there's a lot of room to get better."

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Let-down games are a common occurrence at all levels of sports, especially for a team like Indiana that doesn't have much experience in the big-time win category. That is why this upcoming game is such an important one for the Hoosiers. Being ranked for the first time in nearly four years will only add to the challenge, as that no doubt provides extra motivation for a struggling Notre Dame team.

The Fighting Irish already had question marks coming into this season after the departure of their leader from last year, Ben Hansbrough. They were prepared to lean heavily on fifth-year senior forward Tim Abromaitis, whose 15.3 points/game last season were second only to Hansbrough's. However, the Irish lost Abromaitis in late November to a torn ACL, and coach Mike Brey has been trying to stop the bleeding ever since.

"We are trying to grow up, and we are taking some punches and trying to figure it out," said Brey. "For me, I understand the hand we're dealt. We're trying to get better. I think we can get better with this group."

Helping to pick up the slack for Notre Dame has been junior PF Jack Cooley, who is averaging 22 points and 11.5 rebounds over the last two games. Then again, those numbers have come against Maine and Dartmouth, neither of which have an inside talent like Indiana's Cody Zeller.

Notre Dame is 7-4 heading into this game, with all seven of their wins coming against less-than-stellar competition. In order for them to knock off the Hoosiers on Saturday, they will have to rely on a heavy dose of three-point shooting. Indiana will need to focus on two players for the Irish. One is sophomore point-guard Eric Atkins, who is shooting 51.6 from beyond-the-arc. The other is 6'5" sophomore guard Jerian Grant, who has been the best player for Notre Dame this season. Grant will most likely be guarded by his DaMatha High School teammate, Victor Oladipo, who hasn't been shy about the matchup:

"I work out with him back home. I know how much hard work he puts in, he wants to be good," Oladipo said. "At the same time, guess what? You can't be good on Saturday."

The truth is Notre Dame has no business winning this game. Indiana has better players at every position on the floor, and it would take a pretty big meltdown to lose this one in front of what should be a pro-Indiana crowd. And given the struggles each and every player on the Indiana roster has endured over the past few seasons, don't expect a couple of rankings to go to their head.

If this game were being played on Tuesday or Wednesday, Hoosier fans would have every reason to be worried about a let-down. But the fact is they've had a full week to regain their focus and energy, which means 10-0 should be the expectation after Saturday night.

This Article Originally Appeared on www.thehoosiercafe.com