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Indiana Basketball: Despite losing streak, Hoosiers still firmly in NCAA field

By Adam Childs

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - DECEMBER 21: Armaan Franklin #2 of the Indiana Hoosiers celebrates after making the game winning shot against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the Crossroads Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on December 21, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - DECEMBER 21: Armaan Franklin #2 of the Indiana Hoosiers celebrates after making the game winning shot against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the Crossroads Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on December 21, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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The Indiana basketball team is in the midst of a three-game losing streak after a big win against Michigan State. Despite the losses, the Hoosiers are still firmly in the field of 68.

The Indiana Hoosiers lost to Ohio State on Saturday to drop to 15-7 on the year and 5-6 in the Big Ten. It was their third straight loss and they are just 4-6 in their last ten. Despite the slump in play, the Hoosiers are still firmly in the field of 68 for the NCAA tournament.

Indiana is looking to get back to the tournament for the first time in three years and while they might be slumping it looks like they should be able to break the drought this year. In order to finish off the year with a trip to the NCAA tournament, the Hoosiers will need to take care of business at home.

Just like about every other team in the conference the Hoosiers are struggling to win on the road, but have largely protected their home court. Indiana’s only loss at home was a week ago when they let a late lead slip away in a loss to Maryland.

But even with the recent losses the Hoosier’s chances of making the tournament are still very high. Most bracketologists have the Hoosiers in the 8-10 seed range in the tournament right now, with very few of them thinking they are one of the last to get in.

Obviously this can all change very quickly as we saw last year with the Hoosiers but right now they look safe. All they should have to do the rest of the way is to win most of their home games if not all of them. That’s it. They honestly could probably lose every road game the rest of the season and still be safe.

If they win all their home games and lose all their road games, they would finish the season 20-11 and still have a very winnable game or two in the Big Ten tournament.

The key for the Hoosiers is they have zero bad losses. All their losses are against teams that currently rank higher than them in the NET rankings. Mix that in with a great win against top ten Florida State and very good wins against Ohio State and Michigan State and their resume is actually pretty strong.

Next. 3 takeaways from Hoosiers loss to Ohio State. dark

This is all subject to change if the Hoosiers can’t protect their home court, but so far that hasn’t been the problem for the Hoosiers. Winning at home won’t be easy as they play Purdue, Penn State, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin at Assembly Hall, but if we have learned anything from the Big Ten this year winning at home is much easier than the road.

The Hoosiers are definitely not a lock yet, but they are definitely on their way to dancing for the first time in three years.

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