Indiana Basketball: Is Indiana an NCAA Tournament team?

Indiana basketball fell in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday, leaving a huge question mark around the tournament resume.

Indiana’s trip to Chicago didn’t last long as they were bounced in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament against Ohio State, leaving the selection committee with a decision to make on Sunday. Did the Hoosiers do enough?

At 17-15 (8-12), Indiana now has tied the most losses for a team to ever make the NCAA Tournament, but with the bubble so weak this year, there is still a remote possibility their name is called on Sunday.

The enigma that is Indiana basketball, they hold wins over Michigan State twice, Wisconsin, Marquette, and Louisville, which are all tournament teams.

But the Hoosiers also have tough losses to Arkansas, Northwestern, Nebraska, and then Minnesota by 21.

They rank sixth in the country with six quadrant one wins, but they also have an 8-14 record against quadrant one and two teams.

Indiana is undefeated against quadrant three and four teams – showing you they have no truly bad losses, and have tested themselves enough to show you that they can match up against top level teams.

What is in the mind’s of most people? Their streak of losing 12 of 13 games in the beginning of January all the way until the end of February.

Despite the fact that there were three one possession and three two possession losses in that streak, they still show the same – losses.

Are they better than the teams such as Belmont, Lipscomb, and UNC-Greensboro from the mid-major conferences who have a combined record of 79-18 and all lost in the conference title games?

Are they better than a Texas team that is currently 16-15, but still projected in the tournament field? Or a TCU team that is 2-7 against quad one opponents? Or how about an N.C. State team that has a non-conference strength of schedule of 352 and is 3-9 against quad one opponents?

The Hoosiers now sit and wait almost three days to see if their name will be called on Selection Sunday. There is no question they have the quality wins to back them up, but are the losses enough to keep them out?