Indiana basketball holds steady as 3-seed in ESPN Bracketology update

With less than five weeks remaining until the tip of the 2022-23 season, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi updated bracketology with Indiana basketball holding steady as a 3-seed. Lunardi updated his bracketology one final time in the off-season on October 4th and included eight Big Ten teams in the 68-team field.

Last update from Lunardi, the Hoosiers were taking on Iona in a 3 vs. 14 matchup in the East Region. The East Region contained North Carolina as the #1 seed and Tennessee as the #2 seed. This time around, things look a bit different.

Indiana basketball is featured as a 3-seed facing off against 14-seed Oral Roberts and Max Abmas. While that would be a very unfortunate draw for the Hoosiers in a 3 vs. 14 matchup, the potential second round game against Oregon or Wyoming would be a tough one for sure. Also showing up in the South Region with the Hoosiers are 1-seed Houston and Kelvin Sampson and 2-seed Baylor.

As I stated in my last article about Lunardi’s bracketology, a 3-seed for the Hoosiers is pretty generous given that Indiana will likely compete for a Big Ten title in a season where the Big Ten is not as competitive or strong. Even with eight teams featured in his last bracketology update of the off-season, it’s tough to tell if that will come to fruition.

The other seven Big Ten teams appearing in the field included the following: Michigan (6-seed), Illinois (6-seed), Purdue (7-seed), Michigan State (7-seed), Iowa (10-seed), Ohio State (10-seed), and Rutgers (12-seed/First Four). It’s no surprise that the Hoosiers are the highest seed in the Big Ten, but the fact that the next closest in seeds are Michigan and Illinois at 6. Michigan is going to be just as competitive for the Big Ten title as Indiana basketball will be, so putting them three seeds apart seems a bit off, in my opinion.