We’ve finally reached March and Indiana men’s basketball, with a new head coach, roster, playing philosophy and more, finds itself on the NCAA Tournament bubble once again.
The Hoosiers finished right about exactly where they were predicted to land at 10th in the final Big Ten standings, but losses in five of their last six regular season games have left fans feeling restless. Worse yet, four of those losses were by double-digit margins. Yet, somehow, Indiana is still firmly in the NCAA Tournament picture. How, you ask?
The bubble is terrible. When Indiana lost to Ohio State, so did pretty much every other team on the bubble. The Hoosiers actually moved up a bit because a home win over Wisconsin got bumped up to Quad 1 when the Badgers took down Purdue.
How the Hoosiers can go dancing
- Indiana has to, at the very least, beat Northwestern today. A loss to the Wildcats leaves the Hoosiers with no games left to play and no further control over their own destiny. A win would match Indiana up with Purdue on Thursday, with another victory there almost ensuring a spot barring unforeseen circumstances.
- Auburn loses to Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament on Wednesday. A loss drops the Tigers to .500 overall on the season. The metrics generally like Auburn, which is a bit of a half-team with a great offense but an atrocious defense. If there’s two teams really battling for the last spot right now, it’s Indiana and Auburn.
- Texas loses to Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament on Wednesday. Texas, like Auburn, has some favorable metrics on its side. The Longhorns have a stronger case than the Hoosiers at the moment, but that can easily change with a loss to a bad Rebels team.
- SMU falls to Louisville in the ACC Tournament on Wednesday. SMU has a biiit of a stronger case than Indiana having reached the 20-win threshold. Also like Indiana, the Mustangs kinda fell apart at the end of the season. They’ll face a good team that’s a lock in ACC Tournament, so the Hoosiers have to rely on one of their losses to hold up.
- Oklahoma falls to South Carolina in the SEC Tournament on Wednesday. The Sooners are eking their way back into bubble discussions with four consecutive wins to close the regular season. If the Gamecocks can put a stop to that, Indiana can probably breathe a bit easier.
- VCU gets upset in the A-10 Tournament on Friday. The Rams still have an at-large case and have done a lot more winning than the Hoosiers, but any harm to that resume helps Indiana.
- Monitor Cincinnati vs UCF in the Big 12 Tournament. Both of these teams have at-large arguments with the Knights’ being stronger than the Bearcats’. Either builds on that case with a win over the other, but ideally for Indiana gets bounced in the next round.