Tom Crean fired by Indiana after nine seasons

Indiana has fired head basketball coach Tom Crean, according to a release from the program Thursday afternoon.

Crean spent nine years at Indiana, where he won two Big Ten titles, made four NCAA tournaments and three Sweet 16s. His overall record was 166-135.

[Pat Forde: Why Indiana’s firing of Tom Crean was a surprise]

One of the Big Ten titles came last year, but Crean and Indiana went 18-16 this year, missed the tournament, and lost in the first round of the NIT to Georgia Tech.

Indiana athletic director Fred Glass released the following statement:

“Tom Crean brought us through one of the most challenging periods in IU basketball history, led his players to many successes in the classroom and on the court and represented our university with integrity,” Glass said.

“However, ultimately, we seek more consistent, high levels of success, and we will not shy away from out expectations.”

Crean went 6-25 in his first year in Bloomington. He went 27-8 last year and won the Big Ten regular season title. The years in between, however, were bumpy. The Hoosiers received a 1-seed in the NCAA tournament in 2013, but missed the Big Dance the following year.

Crean never quite had the level of NCAA tournament success expected at Indiana. The three tournament runs that reached the Sweet 16 all ended there too. The fourth tournament appearance ended with a first-round loss to Wichita State.

According to the release, the search for a new coach will begin immediately, and Glass will “consult with basketball experts from around the country and throughout the state of Indiana, including many former Indiana University basketball players.”

In an all-timer of a news dump, Indiana announced the news just as the first game of the NCAA tournament tipped off Thursday — on the same afternoon that two other Indiana schools, Notre Dame and Butler, play their first games of the tournament. Purdue, a third, plays Thursday night.

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