IU's last regular-season game a chance to stem slide

• Michigan State at Indiana%2C noon Saturday%2C ESPN

BLOOMINGTON -- You wouldn't know by its outward appearance, but Assembly Hall is about to change dramatically.

In the weeks after Indiana's season ends, the university will begin a multimillion renovation of its iconic arena. Walls will be torn down, windows and doors kicked out, as IU attempts to renew the building for another 40 years.

As a winter thaw hits Bloomington this weekend, though, fans have begun to openly wonder if another kind of change is coming.

Embattled Indiana basketball coach Tom Crean will lead his team into its season finale Saturday against Michigan State. The Hoosiers' last regular-season game presents a chance to stem the public furor that has been rising in recent weeks as Indiana's season has slid furtherfrom its auspicious peak in mid-January.

The Hoosiers have lost four of their past six games, and seven of 11, since starting Big Ten play 5-1. Fan frustration came to a head when those who remained for the end of IU's 77-63 home loss Tuesday to Iowa began booing loudly.

March, only six days old, has already gotten mad in Bloomington.

"I don't see any of that," Crean said Friday, when asked whether his team was affected by external distraction. "That's not anything that factors into anything that we're doing."

Through all of that, the Hoosiers are still well-positioned for an NCAA tournament berth, if they can avoid losing out.

Publicly, director of athletics Fred Glass has thrown his support behind Crean and his players. Glass declined comment to The Indianapolis Star this week, but two IU trustees stood firmly behind an AD they said they trust implicitly.

"We have a great athletic director," trustee Phil N. Eskew told The Star. "I think it's premature to do anything or say anything that might in any way get in the way of the kids playing basketball. I trust the athletic director."

Pat Shoulders, a trustee since 2002, said no suggestion of change has been mentioned to him or brought before the board. Procedurally, it would be one of the final steps in any such action.

Trustees' contact information is publicly available, and Shoulders said he's heard from frustrated fans about the direction of the men's basketball program. A two-time IU alumnus, Shoulders said he empathizes with those fans.

"I certainly share our fans' concern. I have full confidence in Fred Glass, and in the university governance structure," Shoulders said. "I can tell you I have heard absolutely nothing from the president of IU on this topic, and until I do, I will continue to support our athletic director, and our administration."

Concern over the size of the buyout written into Crean's contract – Indiana would owe him upwards of $11 million if it made a move this spring – has led to public speculation that that alone would keep the status quo.

Twice, Shoulders emphasized that he's heard nothing to suggest change could be coming. But he said the size of the buyout in Crean's contract would not, in his estimation, deter any such decision.

"We would expect the administration to act with prudence, and financial considerations would enter in," Shoulders said. "But let me also as quickly say, I have been a trustee since 2002, and in that time, we have bought out football coach contracts, athletic director contracts, basketball coach contracts, so I do not believe that the amount of the buyout would be a decisive factor."

Amid this swirl of questions about the future, Indiana prepares for a Michigan State team it trailed by as many as 30 points when they met in early January.

Michigan State hosted the Hoosiers on Jan. 5, a humbling 70-50 Indiana defeat. IU trailed by 15 barely more than 10 minutes into that game, and the Spartans were out of sight – up 36-17 – by halftime.

And as Indiana has fallen from the top of the Big Ten standings, Michigan State has hit a late-season surge, winning five of its last seven. Victory Saturday would guarantee the Spartans a top-four seed and a coveted double bye in the Big Ten tournament.

Indiana cannot rise higher than No. 7 in next week's field in Chicago, nor fall beyond No. 8. But at the moment, the Hoosiers' concerns stretch beyond postseason positioning. Crean said his players have "done a fantastic job all year long, and all week long. I think they're absolutely focused, as is their coach."

There are no cranes or wrecking balls waiting for the final horn Saturday. The machines of change won't arrive at Assembly Hall for several weeks.

Until then, and whatever comes next, Indiana wants the world to see a program united, not a season slumping toward a limp end.

"We're gonna rally back together," junior guard Yogi Ferrell said. "We're not going to listen to what anybody else says. This is just us against the world."

Follow Star reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.

MICHIGAN STATE AT INDIANA

Tipoff: Noon Saturday, Assembly Hall.

TV: ESPN.

Radio: WIBC-93.1 FM.

MICHIGAN STATE (20-10, 11-6 Big Ten)

Coach: Tom Izzo.

INDIANA (19-11, 9-8)

Coach: Tom Crean.

STORYLINES

• Injured forwards: Both Indiana and Michigan State will be working to get frontcourt players healthy. The Hoosiers have been without Collin Hartman for the last two-plus games because of a bone bruise, and Dawson is questionable for Saturday after taking an elbow to the cheek in Michigan State's home finale.

• Trice is trouble: The Spartans have won five of their last seven, a stretch during which Trice has averaged 18.4 points per game. He scored 27 in a Senior Night win over Purdue on Wednesday.

• Seeding scenarios: After picking up its eighth conference loss Tuesday, Indiana is now locked into either the No. 7 or No. 8 seed in next week's Big Ten tournament. An Indiana win or an Illinois loss this weekend would clinch the No. 7 seed.

— Zach Osterman