Indiana’s season took a jolt early in the second half of the final non-conference game when Maurice Creek went down with a knee injury.

Just like that, the Hoosiers lost their leading scorer for the rest of the season. And what was already expected to be a difficult Big Ten season got that much tougher.

Forced to adjust on the fly, IU has pulled off a couple of surprises – knocking off Michigan and Minnesota at home – during conference play.

But inconsistencies remain for this young team. There have been close road losses (Saturday’s 72-70 game at Illinois) and not-so-close road losses (the 79-54 blowout at Ohio State on Jan. 6). A road win at Penn State, the first during the Tom Crean era, was followed by a loss at home to Iowa.

As IU nears the halfway point of the Big Ten season, here’s a look back and ahead.

Key games left

Thursday vs. Purdue: For the first time since 2006-07, the teams will play twice in the regular season. The first meeting between the rivals is at Assembly Hall.

Feb. 16 vs. Michigan State: IU gets its only regular-season shot at the first-place Spartans in a game on ESPN.

March 6 vs. Northwestern: The last game of the regular season could have implications for seeding in the Big Ten tournament. Northwestern won in Bloomington for the first time since 1968 last season. The Wildcats haven’t won two straight in Bloomington since 1966 and 1968.

Midseason MVP

For the second straight season, Verdell Jones III has turned it on during conference play. The sophomore guard has had four games where he has scored at least 20 points. The most recent came Saturday, when he had 22 at Illinois. Jones is averaging 16.3 points in Big Ten games and 13.5 points overall. He is second on the team in scoring, assists (58) and steals (20).

To-do list

Indiana tweaked its lineup against Illinois, going bigger in hopes of improving its rebounding numbers. IU outrebounded the Illini 35-33. Rebounding has been a big factor for the Hoosiers. When they do well, they either hang close or even win (like Minnesota, when Indiana outrebounded the Gophers 43-31). But a bad night on the glass could lead to a long game, such as that against Iowa (the Hawkeyes held a 39-23 rebounding edge). Turnovers were an issue in IU’s first two road conference games, including a season-high 24 at Ohio State. This is a team that can’t make that many mistakes and still win. The numbers have improved since both at home and on the road (IU had 13 against Illinois).

The résumé

Good wins: Pittsburgh, Minnesota

Bad losses: Loyola of Maryland, Iowa

IU will have to have four magical days in mid-March in Indianapolis for a spot in the NCAA tournament.

lpope@jg.net