Indiana is scheduled for pain.(College Basketball)(Indiana Hoosiers)

The reality of the Indiana Hoosiers' schedule is this: It looks to have been constructed by the producers of Fear Factor. If you're an IU fan--or coach Mike Davis--it's got to turn your stomach just a little.

During a three-week period when most elite teams will be readying their players for exams and munching on teams such as Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Dartmouth, Indiana will be abusing its Hoosiers with a gantlet of top opponents. The schedule might appear impressive if it weren't so doggone reckless.

It begins December 1 with North Carolina in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. That game was forced upon Indiana to create a marquee matchup tot TV. But the rest of this mess was created when former athletic director Terry Clapacs was in control of the schedule, with minimal input from Davis. That's a problem for a coach who led his second team to the 2002 NCAA championship game and now is widely believed to be fighting for his job.

Three days after the Carolina game, the Hoosiers travel to defending NCAA champion Connecticut. Then it's Notre Dame at home, a ride down to Louisville to face Kentucky, a game at Missouri and, to close off this stretch, a home matchup against Charlotte. Those teams averaged 23 wins last season.

It might sound all tough and gutsy to play such a schedule. But it's dumb. It makes no sense considering the program is coming off one of its weakest seasons and has a fragile roster that might benefit from a gentler approach. As IU continues to emerge from the wreckage of the Bob Knight firing, its squad is composed almost entirely of underclassmen.

Beyond pure ability, confidence is the most important ingredient to athletic success. It also might be the most elusive, especially with a young team, and it surely doesn't result from an extended series of failures and defeats.

The best programs are not following Indiana's method. The past two national champions faced nonconference schedules ranked 93rd (UConn) and 157th (Syracuse). On the way to 14-15 last year, the Hoosiers had a schedule ranked 19th.