BLOOMINGTON – The never-ending twists and turns that make up Indiana basketball are back.

So here is IU, 10-20 and set to face Northwestern in Thursday's opening round of the Big Ten tourney amidst this surprise:

Coach Tom Crean has fired assistant coach Roshown McLeod.

What does that mean? We'll get to it in a moment. First, the rejuvenated Hoosiers hope to use the momentum from Saturday's overtime win over Northwestern (19-12) that snapped an 11-game losing streak to beat the Wildcats again, this time at Conseco Fieldhouse, and get a Friday quarterfinal shot against Purdue (26-4).

“We feel re-energized,” Crean said. “For a young team to have two overtime wins in Big Ten play, it's a great experience builder for them.

“We had a very good win over a very good team Saturday. We get to see them again on Thursday.”

IU won't see McLeod, who was fired Sunday night. That came a day after McLeod wasn't at the Northwestern victory.

“The bottom line with any decision is to do everything to put the program first,” Crean said. “This will help the program move forward as we get ready to compete this week.”

McLeod's major roles were working with the big men and recruiting in the South and the East Coast.

The decision's timing was unusual given the fact IU's season will likely end in the next few days. Crean said that didn't matter.

“You can't focus on timing,” he said. “You focus on what the right decision is. That's the way that it is. That's the decision I made. It's all about moving the program forward. It's about putting the program first. That's the focus I'm going to have. Now we just do the things we need to do to continue to get better in the short term and work to improve in the long term. That's the extent of it right now.”

In the meantime, the Hoosiers hope for a strong finish to a disappointing season. How did they get to this point?

Let's take a look.

IU opened the season with expected home victories over Howard and USC Upstate. Not so expected was a 0-3 performance at the Puerto Rico Tipoff. The Hoosiers lost to Mississippi 89-71, Boston 71-67 and George Mason 69-66.

A home 90-72 win over Northwestern State gave them a 3-3 record entering a challenging stretch of Maryland, Pitt and Kentucky.

IU beat Pitt at New York City's Madison Square Garden, but lost to Maryland and Kentucky at home.

An 81-58 win over North Carolina Central seemed to restore the team's confidence, but then came a disastrous Assembly Hall loss to Loyola of Maryland. The Hoosiers fell behind by 24, rallied for a lead and then lost 72-67.

They did beat Bryant in the non-conference finale, but the big story was losing freshman guard Maurice Creek to a season-ending knee surgery. He was the team's leading scorer (and Big Ten's top scorer) with a 16.4 average. That included a 31-point game against Kentucky.

Still, the Hoosiers upset Michigan 71-65 at home three days later to open Big Ten play.

Was IU ready to be a surprise conference team?

Not exactly.

The Hoosiers got hammered at Ohio State 79-54, the first of three straight losses. Then came an 81-78 overtime upset of Minnesota followed by a 67-61 win at Penn State.

IU again seemed ready to make a run, but then it got dominated by struggling Iowa at Assembly Hall 58-42. It pushed Illinois and Purdue hard in close losses before collapsing. Eight straight losses by at least 14 points followed.

Everything changed last Saturday. Crean went with freshmen Christian Watford, Derek Elston, Bobby Capobianco and Jordan Hulls, plus sophomore Verdell Jones, for the key moments against Northwestern. Inconsistent junior guard Jeremiah Rivers and sophomore forward Tom Pritchard became reserves.

Boy, did it work. IU won 88-80 in overtime. Hulls led the way with 24 points and eight three-pointers.

Jones is the top scorer with a 14.8 average. Watford averages 12.1 points and 6.0 rebounds. Jones made honorable mention all-Big Ten. Watford made the league's all-freshman team.