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Indiana Basketball: Hoosiers amongst ESPN bracketology ‘last four in’

By Alec Lasley

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - MARCH 20: A general view of a 'March Madness' logo is seen during practice before the First Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 20, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - MARCH 20: A general view of a 'March Madness' logo is seen during practice before the First Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 20, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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In ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology, the Indiana basketball program is one of the ‘last four in’ for the NCAA Tournament.

We are barely even a full week into the college basketball season, but it is never too early to give predictions about which teams will end up in the NCAA Tournament come March, and for the Indiana basketball program, one analyst has them in.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi starts out with his first installment of the season’s NCAA Tournament bracket in the summer and then updates his bracket every couple of weeks in the early part of the season, getting up a new bracket every week when college basketball turns the corner and nears the end of the year.

While his newest bracket won’t be released until next week, through the first week of play, the Hoosiers have made the leap into the tournament field.

Sitting in his ‘last four in’, Indiana was previously in the ‘first four out’ category before two wins in the opening week, paired with losses by Iowa St and Alabama in the first week of play.

The Hoosiers, who beat Western Illinois and Portland St, don’t face a power-five opponent until Dec 3, when they welcome Florida State into Assembly Hall. In addition to the Seminoles, UConn, Notre Dame and Arkansas are some of the notable non-conference opponents the Hoosiers will play in December.

With the Big Ten expected to lead the conferences with a projected eight teams in the Big Dance, securing some, if not all, of those notable non-conference games under their belt will dramatically increase their chances of getting in the NCAA Tournament come years end.

Last season, despite losing 12-of-13 games in Big Ten play, the Hoosiers finished 8-12 in conference and realistically came one win away of reaching the NCAA Tournament. As long as Indiana doesn’t have that sort of losing streak this season and take care of business in the non-conference, an NCAA Tournament bid should be expected.

Next. North Alabama Preview and Prediction. dark

Indiana takes on North Alabama on Tuesday in the next installment of the non-conference slate.

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