Indiana's Tom Crean sweeps Big Ten Coach of the Year awards

After bringing the Hoosiers back from the brink and taking them to a Big Ten championship, Tom Crean has been honored with some silverware. The Associated Press has announced that Crean has been voted their Big Ten coach of the year. Yogi Ferrell also brought in honors from the organization, being named first team All-Big Ten, as expected.

After the disasters at Maui and Durham, this probably seemed like a far-fetched proposition. But IU lost only three conference games, and ripped off a couple of long winning streaks (including the first seven games in conference play) that put them in great position to win the league. A pair of wins over presumptive champion Iowa, a win at home against Purdue, and a beatdown of Michigan on the road helped seal the outright crown.

There were definitely some other deserving candidates – Tom Izzo is a perpetual favorite, Fran McCaffery could have gotten some action, and Greg Gard revived Wisconsin after death and taxes outlived Bo Ryan's tenure. But homerism or no, it's pretty clear that Tom Crean did some of the best coaching in his career to turn this Hoosier team into league champions, and the accolade is well-deserved.