ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The Crisler Center tunnel that leads from the visitor's locker room to the team bus turned into an impromptu celebration for the Indiana basketball team.

Cody Zeller, his gray and white "Big Ten Champions" hat perched a little askew, couldn't walk a few feet without someone asking for a photo. He'd take a few steps, stop, stretch his 7-foot-something wingspan around the group and smile.

Christian Watford shared a private moment with his parents. Remy Abell was telling anyone within earshot that a difficult journey needed a difficult ending and having to win the Big Ten championship outright on the road matched the grit Indiana showed in its climb back to the nation's elite.

"That's the reason I came here, to be known as one of the greats, to be known as one of the reasons Indiana basketball came back and to actually be a part of that is an amazing feeling," national Player of the Year candidate Victor Oladipo said



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