After suffering two ugly losses last week, IU will look to end its mini losing skid at Nebraska on Wednesday night. Despite the Cornhuskers 1-4 Big Ten record, Crean said IU would be foolish to take them lightly.
"They're a really good team," Crean said. "I don't think in this league right now whether you're on the top or on the bottom, anybody can get caught up in anybody's record. It is a very good league."
The Hoosiers dropped out of the AP top ten after losing at home to Minnesota and getting blown out at Ohio State last week.
IU has turned the ball over an average of 16.5 times in the past two contests. In order for IU to get back on track in Lincoln, Neb., Crean said they need to take better care of the basketball.
"We cannot turn the ball over and we're turning it over too much right now," Crean said. "There's no way around that."
IU will look to keep the ball out of the hands of Nebraska guard Bo Spencer, who leads the Cornhuskers in scoring at 14.8 per game. The LSU transfer is someone Crean likened to another Big Ten scorer.
"Spencer is like Frazier for Penn State," Crean said. "He can create tremendous havoc in the break with getting to the basket."
Oladipo said he'll be the man in charge of stopping Spencer from taking over.
"I've been watching film on him and I'm going to have to guard him during the game," Oladipo said. "We'll see if I can shut him down."
While Oladipo will square off with Spencer, Crean said he has to make another tough decision as to will guard the versatile senior Toney McCray.
"McCray is one of those, 'who do you guard him with?' type of guys," Crean said of the 6-foot-6 guard. "He can get to the rim, he can shoot three's, he can pick and pop and he can post up."
In addition to presenting matchup problems in the backcourt, Nebraska also boasts a front-court duo that can score with regularity on the low block.
Junior center Jorge Brian Diaz missed five games with a foot injury. Though he's only averaging six points and four rebounds in the three games since he returned, Crean said Diaz adds a new dimension to Nebraska's offense.
"They're much different," Crean said of Diaz. "They're much more inside-oriented and they still have the ability to go inside-out. You have to bring somebody else there because he's just too big."
IU freshman forward Cody Zeller, who managed to hold All-Everything big man Jared Sullinger to two first half points at Ohio State on Sunday, figures to be the one responsible for containing Diaz.
"He's definitely big," Zeller said. "If he catches it deep, he's going to score."
While the freshman forward has another task ahead on the court, he received some more national recognition off the court. Zeller was named one of the 25 mid-season finalists for the Wooden Award, given to the nation's best player.
"I think that's great," Crean said of Zeller's midseason honor. "That's such a prestigious list, there's no doubt about that. I think that says a lot for him to be on that list, deservingly so."
Zeller, who leads IU in scoring at 14.8 points per game, is more concerned with the long-term ramifications of the award.
"It'll mean more if I'm on the list at the end of the year," Zeller said. "It's just a great honor but as long as the team is winning, that's the most important thing."
The Hoosiers will look to do that when they take on Nebraska on 7 p.m. Wednesday night on the Big Ten Network.
