HONOLULU, HI – NOVEMBER 11: Thomas Bryant #31 of the Indiana Hoosiers gestures to the crowd after scoring during the first half of the second game of the Armed Forces Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center on November 11, 2016 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)

At times, it seems like Indiana University fans are somewhat reluctant to fully embrace Tom Crean. In a long-term relationship, you daydream — wondering if you can/should trade up.

Sure, Crean has delivered three Sweet 16 appearances in the past five NCAA tournaments. But that’s not quite satisfying enough for some. Such is life for a college basketball blueblood.

But perhaps IU gave a glimpse in the near future by winning last weekend’s season-opening 103-99 overtime thriller against No.3 Kansas. It vaulted the Hoosiers from No.11 in the preseason Associated Press poll to No.6 this week. It’s the highest the program has been ranked since 2012-13.

This was the biggest non-conference regular-season win for Crean since December 2011 when the Hoosiers upset top-ranked and eventual national champion Kentucky 73-72 on Christian Watford’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer. It was the highest ranked opponent the Hoosiers beat in a season opener since topping No. 2 UCLA 84-64 in 1975.

That season ended with the Hoosiers winning the 1976 national championship and a 32-0 record – the last NCAA team to finish unbeaten. No one is expecting anything close to perfection, but Crean sees positive signs.

“It was a battle of wills,” the coach said on his radio show, according to Inside the Hall. “And we just happened to score four more points. That’s really what it was. We beat a great team. They’re a great program. And I’d like to think we have one too.”

Downing Kansas in the Armed Forces Classic had the feel of something special. IU was expected to be good, but most weren’t sure how good. Yes, the Hoosiers have three returning starters, including sophomore forward Thomas Bryant, who flirted with the NBA. But it also lost point guard Yogi Ferrell, one of the best players in the history of the program.

Wisconsin was picked to be the class of the Big Ten with Indiana, Michigan State, Purdue and Maryland battling to contend. But after what the Hoosiers did to Kansas, perhaps we need to re-evaluate that assessment. You could say it’s only November, but this was impressive. The Hoosiers celebrated when the clock expired as if they were on the way to the Final Four.

“You just have to keep finding a way to be resilient,” Crean told reporters after the game. “And these guys did. I said to (a staff member) before the game, ‘It feels like March. We are in Honolulu and it’s November but it feels like March in here.’ And that’s exactly how that game played out.”

Crean has reloaded, thanks to freshman guard Curtis Jones. He was the Big Ten co-freshman of the week after scoring 15 points – including seven in overtime.

The best sign was the play of James Blackmon. He was named the league’s co-player of the week after pouring in a career-best 26 points. This was his first action since missing the second half of last season due to knee surgery.

“It felt so good,” Blackmon said, via The Indianapolis Star‘s Zach Osterman. “I’ve been out for so long. I’ve missed the game. I missed being out there with my teammates. A couple plays I showed my emotion, but that’s how much I love it.

There was some speculation that Indiana played better without Blackmon last season.

“I’m happy for him,” junior guard Robert Johnson said. “Just seeing how tough it was for him to sit out last year, with all the things he had to hear about what people were saying about him. For him to come out and perform like that, that was really big.”

Indiana should be 5-0 when it hosts North Carolina on Nov. 30. The Hoosiers will also have chances to pick up more quality non-conference victories next month in in December against Butler and Louisville.

Perhaps it’s a sign that Indiana is ready to party like it’s at least 2002 – the last time the Hoosiers were in the Final Four.

There are eight schools that have won at least three NCAA championships: UCLA (11), Kentucky (8), Duke (5), Indiana (5), North Carolina (5), Connecticut (4), Kansas (3) and Louisville (3). Among that group, IU – by far – is enduring the longest title drought. The Hoosiers last won it all in 1987 – way back when the mere idea of Donald Trump becoming the President was completely absurd.

Heck, that’s so long ago that UConn hadn’t won any of its national championships yet.

Crean had two jobs when he was hired in 2008. First, clean up the NCAA sanctions mess left behind by Kelvin Sampson. Second, get the program back to national championship contention. The second feat has been a little bit more challenging.

The 2012-13 season was supposed to be The Year. Indiana had the great outside-inside combination of guard Victor Oladipo and forward Cody Zeller. The two would eventually be NBA lottery picks, selected second and fourth overall, respectively. The Hoosiers were the No. 1 seed in the East and appeared destined to reach at the least the Final Four.

That didn’t happen. Indiana was upset by Syracuse in the regional semifinals in one of the most disappointing losses in school history. It was the kind of bitter defeat that left Hoosiers fans wondering about Crean. After all, the last time he enjoyed significant tournament success was when Dwyane Wade powered Marquette to the 2003 Final Four.

Crean was rumored to be on the hot seat as recently as March 2015. Along with the losses, the Hoosiers had some off-the-court issues to deal with. But the team went 27-8 last season, winning the Big Ten title and reached the Sweet 16. It was one of his finest coaching jobs.

Now, Indiana will try for another strong season and defend its Big Ten title. As good as the Hoosiers look, they will be defined by what happens in March. But for now, Crean has given fans a reason to hope.

The coach was asked about the Hoosiers being ranked No. 6.

“That has no bearing on what it takes for us to improve,” he said. “The whole key that you want inside of your program is the standards they set are the most important standards. Not the expectations on the outside. Or what somebody else thinks or votes in a poll.”

About Michael Grant

Born in Jamaica. Grew up in New York City. Lives in Louisville, Ky. Sports writer. Not related to Ulysses S. Grant, Anthony Grant, Amy Grant or Hugh Grant.