Hoosiers belong among elite

A share of the Big Ten Championship and tournament wins over Utah, Duke, Kent State and Oklahoma prove one thing: The IU men's basketball program belongs with the elite. \nDespite the five NCAA championship banners hanging in Assembly Hall, sports writers and commentators alike have forgotten the program with 20 conference championships and written them off in the preseason, the regular season and the postseason. Many media organizations looked past the Hoosiers and began to compare the matchup between Oklahoma and the winner of the Kansas/Maryland semifinal. One ESPN writer even said Duke would have a more difficult time playing N'SYNC and Britney Spears in Rupp Arena last week. Not only did the Hoosiers hear these calls, but they responded in taking their underdog role directly to the top of the NCAA mountain.\nThese Hoosiers deserve respect, and they fought for it.\nThey beat a Utah team that never lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament under coach Rick Majerus. They then threw away a UNC Wilmington team that had just defeated No. 4 seed Southern California. As far as Duke, the Hoosiers turned away from their perimeter-oriented offense and banged the ball inside to dethrone the defending national champions. They turned back to the three-pointer -- 15 of them -- to earn a trip back to the Final Four for the first time in a decade. \nStill, the Hoosiers received no respect from anyone outside of Indiana until they made it to last night's championship game. Now they have their respect and rightfully so. These Hoosiers will go down in IU basketball folklore and bring this program from the mediocrity of first round losses to perennial trips to the Final Four destination. \nAlong with this season's success, next year's recruiting class, which includes top prep guards Marshall Strickland and Bracey Wright, is ranked by college basketball analysts as one of the best in the country. The IU basketball program is back where it belongs. It's back in the position to hang more banners in Assembly Hall. The program is back in the nation's elite. \nStaff vote: Unanimous