IU’s Tom Crean Has Heated Exchange With Michigan Assistant Moments After Heart-Stopping Hoosier Victory Sunday

The Indiana Hoosiers beat Michigan yesterday in Ann Arbor 72-71 to win the the Big 10 title outright for the first time since 1993. The game ended in dramatic fashion and the drama continued when Hoosier head coach Tom Crean quickly approached Michigan assistant coach Jeff Meyer moments after the buzzer in a heated exchange of words. Crean, caught up in the emotion of the win, accused Meyer of helping to wreck the IU program when Meyer was an IU assistant under former coach Kelvin Sampson. Sampson stepped down in 2008 after committing rules violations relating to improper communication with recruits. Meyer was cleared of any wrong doing and Crean was hired as the new Hoosier head coach.

Meyer was congratulating IU assistant Tim Buckley when Crean approached and screamed to Meyer, "You know what you did, you helped wreck the program....you helped wreck that program!". Meyer turned an walked away as Buckley got between them and moved Crean away from Meyer. My question is why did Crean target Meyer in this finger pointing accusatory rant?

Crean's Hoosiers have come a long way since his first season when the Hoosiers went 6 and 25. The Hoosiers go into the Big 10 Tournament next weekend in Chicago and will more than likely be a number 1 regional seed for the upcoming NCAA tournament.

Crean has since apologized to Meyer for his outburst, but that certainly doesn't excuse it. This rant was uncalled for and totally unecessary. IU just finished one of it's best regular seasons in a long time and this outburst served no purpose other than to drudge up the past - a past that Meyer was a part of but in no way at fault for anything.

Tom Crean needs to focus on the task at hand and not allow his emotions to get the better of him. He, along with many other college coaches are so animated on the sidelines anymore during games, something like this was inevitable.

Michigan coach John Beilein was a gracious loser after the game but Crean was not a gracious winner, and you know this will be a topic Crean will have to deal with for the rest of their season. Let's just hope it doesn't become a distraction. See and hear the exchange below and you will have to turn the volume up on your device or computer.