Bloomington, Ind. ? The Indiana Hoosiers, looking glum and weary, returned from their surprising Final Four run on Tuesday to hear a simple message from their fans: Thanks.

Once inside Assembly Hall, the team returned the message.

“We’re all pretty tired, but we appreciate everything you guys do for us,” said Jarrad Odle, one of two IU seniors. “We want to say thanks for supporting us. We really appreciate it.”

Nearly 200 fans greeted the baggy-eyed Hoosiers as they arrived from Atlanta after Monday night’s 64-52 loss to Maryland. Most held signs thanking the team for the surprising string of upsets that ended at the NCAA championship game.

“I think we brought back the IU tradition the way it’s supposed to be,” said Dane Fife, the other senior. “This put a smile on our faces like we put the smile back on yours.”

Did they ever. The Hoosiers had a postseason run few would have expected when they started the season 7-5 and critics were howling for coach Mike Davis’ dismissal. Slowly, Davis made the players believe that his system would work and the results started to show.

“After a couple of days, I’m sure we’ll be proud of what we’ve done,” said Coverdale, who sprained his left ankle in the South Regional championship. “Nobody thought we’d go this far. Everybody was disappointed. We all thought that we had a chance.”