BLOOMINGTON — Forget, for a second, the two-game losing streak that has stripped much of the luster from Indiana’s 17-1 start.

Instead, focus on a top Hoosier concern as Northwestern heads to Assembly Hall on Sunday:

Fan behavior.

Rowdy students and their vulgar chants have infuriated athletic director Rick Greenspan and caused coach Kelvin Sampson to issue a good sportsmanship plea. The problem peaked during a home loss to Connecticut on Jan. 26, when students directed f-bombs and other vulgarities at officials.

Announcer Chuck Crabb’s warnings that such chants could result in a technical foul called against the Hoosiers were ignored, as they have been for every home game this season.

Sampson’s university-released statement asked students to show “loyal support” as well as a “commitment to good sportsmanship.”

“The atmosphere in Assembly Hall on game day is the best in college basketball and I know that will never change, but we should always remember to treat opposing teams with dignity and class… and please don’t use profanity.”

The Hoosiers, meanwhile, are trying to regroup after Thursday’s loss at Wisconsin knocked them out of first place. Their 6-1 Big Ten record puts them a half-game behind Wisconsin, Purdue and Michigan State, which are all 7-1. Ohio State is 6-2.

While D.J. White had another monster game – his 22 points and 17 rebounds against Wisconsin on Thursday was his 13th double-double of the season – and Eric Gordon overcame a left wrist injury to score 16 points, vulnerability has surfaced. IU won the rebound battle 41-40 (guard Jamarcus Ellis had a career-high 13), but gave up 15 offensive rebounds. Its shooting was bad (33 percent, 3-for-21 on three-pointers) and its execution was miserable (eight assists, 13 turnovers).

The lack of production from the power forward spot continues. Mike White started against Wisconsin, but played just six minutes and had as many turnovers (two) as points. DeAndre Thomas had four fouls and zero points in his six minutes. Lance Stemler was 1-for-6 from the field for three points in 26 minutes.

Indiana’s high-octane offense has staggered the last two games – a 56.0 point average, well below their Big Ten-leading 78.6 average. Connecticut’s shot-blocking prowess and Wisconsin’s stifling tenacity negated the Hoosiers’ attack-the-rim approach. Their 49 points against Wisconsin was a season low.

That should change against Northwestern, the Big Ten’s only winless team. The Wildcats are 0-7 in the conference, 7-11 overall. They did beat Texas Pan-American on Wednesday, but that won’t mean much in Assembly Hall.

Northwestern is the worst rebounding team in the Big Ten and is last in field goal percentage defense and 10th in scoring defense.

Much of the Wildcats’ production comes from guards Craig Moore and Michael Thompson, who combine for 25.3 points. They lead the team in minutes played, with Thompson, a freshman, playing the most, at 36 minutes a game. That, coach Bill Carmody said, isn’t necessarily a good thing.

“I wish they didn’t have to play so many minutes,” Carmody said. “Mike leads us in minutes as a freshman and I am a little fearful of him getting tired. We should be careful about that.”