If you believe in seeds, Indiana's basketball season will end Thursday against seventh-seeded Northwestern in the Big Ten tourney at Indianapolis' Conseco Fieldhouse.

But because this is March, when seeds sometimes give way to madness, the Hoosiers are preparing as if they'll make a deep tourney run.

And no matter what happens, coach Tom Crean is already focused on the offseason, and beyond.

“We'll finish the season. We'll keep everything out of it that we can. We'll assess where we are personnelwise as far as the staff and the team. We'll try to help everybody learn that this is the way you have to work.”

Hard work, daily work, relentless work will be the foundation for Crean's rebuilding program.

“This will be the first spring (in college) for a lot of our guys, and that time is so important,” he said. “That's what is going to be the next step. We want to get better. We want to recruit. In every move we want it better than the one before.”

IU moves into the postseason with momentum thanks to its overtime win over Northwestern on Saturday that snapped an 11-game losing streak.

“We've struggled, but we're having great practices,” Crean said. “That's a sign that the foundation is moving in the right direction, and so is the culture. When you have both, you're going to have success.”

IU found success Saturday behind Jordan Hulls. The freshman guard hit eight three-pointers, doubling his previous career high, and scored 24 points, about four times his average.

One Northwestern priority will be containing Hulls.

“It comes down to personnel and how you're playing,” Wildcats coach Bill Carmody said. “If you have a guy like Hulls and he's shooting and scoring, you can't let him shoot.”

Northwestern began the season with visions of making its first NCAA Tournament, then lost its best player, Kevin Coble, to injury before the season started. There were other injuries, the most recent to high-scoring freshman Drew Crawford that has left the Wildcats without a consistent third scorer behind John Shurna (18.5 points) and Michael Thompson (13.9).

Still, the Wildcats were in NCAA tourney position before losing five of their last eight games. Now they likely have to win the Big Ten tourney to earn an NCAA bid.

“If we beat Indiana, we play Purdue and we've beaten Purdue already,” Carmody said. “So you say, OK, we have a shot.

“You want to do your best all the time. We have some good players. We have to be positive. Win on Thursday and go from there.”

Northwestern is just 4-12 in the Big Ten tourney and has lost in the first round for four straight years.

“I don't know that history matters that much,” Carmody said. “Those were different teams. You look at the small picture, and that's Indiana. We have to beat them. Everything is devoted to that.

“We won't change too much. We have to do what we do, and do it better.”