From season on the brink to celebratory season?

For Indiana fans hoping the Hoosiers can win their first national championship since 1987, there is hope and precedent thanks to a Big Ten Conference rival.

In 1989, Michigan won the national championship under the guidance of interim coach Steve Fisher. He was given the reins (replacing Bill Frieder, who had accepted the Arizona State job) just before the Wolverines went on their six-game winning streak to win the title.

Indiana’s season became a season on the brink in mid-February. That’s when the NCAA told the school that second-year coach Kelvin Sampson had been cited for major recruiting violations.

Sampson, who had been sanctioned by the NCAA for making impermissible telephone calls to recruits, had been caught doing it again, according to the NCAA.

Despite the fact the Hoosiers were in the running for the Big Ten title, Sampson and the school mutually parted ways on Feb. 22.

Assistant Dan Dakich, a former Hoosier, was named the interim coach. Dakich, who had been an assistant coach under Bob Knight, compiled a 156-140 record in 10 seasons as head coach at Bowling Green.

“It’s not the way you want to get a job,’’ Dakich said. “There’s a responsibility with it that I accept on a multitude of levels, mostly to the players, the fans.’’

Dakich won his first two games as head coach but the Hoosiers were blown out, 103-74 at Michigan State on March 2.

It will be interesting to watch Indiana during the NCAA Tournament. Before the Sampson Saga II unfolded, the Hoosiers were playing like a team that could reach the Final Four. The soap opera they endured was emotionally draining.

Few teams have as potent an inside-outside combination as Indiana’s D.J. White and Eric Gordon. White, a 6-9, 250-pound senior, averages 17 points and 10 rebounds per game. He suffered a sprained knee against Michigan State on Feb. 16 but hasn’t missed any games.

“He’s been consistent with the double-doubles,’’ Illinois coach Bruce Weber said of White. “In the turmoil they’ve had at Indiana, somebody has done a great job of keeping the kids focused. You have to give him some credit.’’

Gordon, a 6-4 guard, has set the Indiana single-season scoring record for a freshman. In what is expected to be his only season at the college level, the Indianapolis native is averaging 21 points a game.

Sophomore guard Armon Bassett has picked up his scoring over the past few games. He averages 11 points per game and is making 48 percent of his 3-point shots.

“We feel like if we do what we have to do, we can beat anybody in the country,’’ Bassett said.