Indiana Basketball: 5 must-win games for the Hoosiers

vs Notre Dame (at Bankers Life Fieldhouse) – December 21st

While Purdue is running the state of Indiana right now, Notre Dame doesn’t want to be forgotten about either. The Fighting Irish had a down year last year, but they still beat the Boilermakers in the Crossroads Classic last year. The Hoosiers need to avoid the same fate this year.

This is a game that Indiana has to win. They are better than the Irish and need to show it. Beating Florida State and Arkansas would be big also, but winning against an in-state team is bigger. Along with beating Purdue, they need to start getting bragging rights back in that state.

Mike Brey has done a great job with the Irish but they just aren’t as good right now. The Hoosiers must take advantage and this could be a game that ends up being a bad loss, if they were to lose, for Indiana on their resume.

It could also turn into a good win for them, but either way, they need to win this game. This and the game against the Razorbacks are the last two non-conference games and last chance to prove they belong outside the conference.

They can afford to maybe lose some of these other games, but this is probably the biggest must-win game outside of the mid-majors on their schedule. If they lose this game it could spell doom for the Hoosiers and be a long year.