Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, March 3, 2016

Indiana confounded many pundits by winning the Big Ten title, and they won it outright title, too. The 2016 crown was the 22nd all-time for the Hoosiers, tying Purdue for the most in league annals. It was the 13th outright championship tied Ohio State for most all-time.

The work of Tom Crean has been remarkable since he took over a program in shambles in 2008-09, going 6-25 overall and 1-17 in the Big Ten. IU lost at least 20 games in each of Crean?s first three seasons before flipping the switch in 2011-12 with a 27-9 mark and one NCAA bid.

The program won the league title the next season but took a step back the next two campaigns, as off-filed incidents brought unwanted scrutiny to Crean and his program.

But he has responded with a flurry this year, forging a 24-6 mark and 14-3 Big Ten record, along with a second outright title in four seasons.

How rare are outright championships? Here is a look at the last time each program won the Big Ten outright. The biggest surprises: Purdue hasn?t done it since 1996, Iowa since 1970 and Michigan State since 2009.

  • Illinois: 2005
  • Indiana: 2016
  • Iowa: 1970
  • Maryland: None
  • Michigan: 2014
  • Michigan State: 2009
  • Minnesota: 1982
  • Nebraska: none
  • Northwestern: 1931
  • Ohio State: 2011
  • Penn State: None
  • Purdue: 1996
  • Rutgers: None
  • Wisconsin: 2015

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