Indiana basketball: Hoosiers land highest seed in Big Ten in updated ESPN Bracketology

Is Indiana basketball back to relevance? Joe Lunardi, ESPN’s resident “bracketologist”, placed the Hoosiers as the highest seed of all eight Big Ten teams in his latest ESPN Bracketology update.

As we approach less than nine weeks from the 2022-23 college basketball season tips off, Indiana basketball continues to generate tons of buzz around the college hoops world as one of the top teams for the upcoming season.

Lunardi updated his ESPN Bracketology on September 6, which marks more than 25 weeks away from March 2023. But as things continue to move closer to tip-off, more analysts and “college basketball experts” will project the NCAA Tournament field and projections for the Top 25 of the season.

Indiana basketball lands itself as a No. 3 seed in the East Region, facing off against No. 14 seed, Iona, who is expected to win the MAAC Conference for the 2022-23 season. The two teams higher seeded than the Hoosiers in the East Region are North Carolina (No. 1) and Tennessee (No. 2).

https://twitter.com/ESPNLunardi/status/1567155494573203456

Though Lunardi has not had the Hoosiers’ best interest in his bracketology reveals in recent seasons, a 3-seed in this preseason reveal is quite generous. For me personally, I would give Indiana a 4-seed for now and increase as we see how competitive Trayce Jackson-Davis and the Hoosiers are against their tough non-conference schedule for 2022-23.

How has a 3-seed faired in the tournament in recent seasons? Well, no 3-seed has made the Final Four over the past two NCAA Tournaments, but prior to 2020, a 3-seed had made the Final Four or national championship game in three consecutive tournaments.

Indiana basketball happened to be placed as the highest seed of all eight Big Ten teams in the latest bracketology update, with Illinois (6-seed), Michigan State (7-seed), Michigan (7-seed), Purdue (8-seed), Ohio State (9-seed), Iowa (10-seed), and Rutgers (12-seed play-in game against Stanford).

Of all Big Ten teams in the bracketology tournament field, Indiana seems to be in the best position with experience and coaching from Mike Woodson to dive head first into a potential Elite Eight run in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.