The Indiana Hoosiers have once again missed out on March Madness, as for the third consecutive year and for the 8th time in the last 10 years, IU will not be dancing. The Hoosiers had plenty of opportunities to boost their tournament resume, but a miserable stretch of games to close the regular season proved to be too much for Indiana to overcome.
Darian DeVries already has a Lamar Wilkerson replacement to go after in the portal
Even without the cream and crimson participating in the madness, IU fans are sure to be tuned in to the action throughout March. When filling out their brackets, Hoosier fans have plenty of insight on several tournament teams that Indiana faced throughout the course of the regular season.
March Madness upsets to watch
No. 4 Nebraska Cornhuskers
The Nebraska Cornhuskers are still looking for their first-ever NCAA Tournament win. Fred Hoiberg has his team well-positioned to make history, as the 4th-seeded Cornhuskers face the 13th-seeded Troy Trojans in the Round of 64.
Indiana faced Nebraska back on January 10, with the Hoosiers falling short in overtime by a score of 83-77. Nebraska was ranked as the No. 10 team in the country at the time, and the loss began a four-game losing skid for Darian DeVries' team.
If the Huskers are able to pickup that elusive first March Madness win against a tough Troy team, they would then face the winner of No. 12 McNeese and No. 5 Vanderbilt. Don't be surprised if the Huskers go on a Sweet 16 run in this tournament.
No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes
Unlike Indiana, the Ohio State Buckeyes played their best basketball when they needed it the most. While IU went 1-6 down the stretch, Ohio State won its final three regular season games, including a 91-78 win over Indiana in the regular season finale. That loss put the Hoosiers on the wrong side of the bubble, and they were never able to fully recover.
Ohio State is the No. 8 seed in the East region and will face No. 9 TCU in the Round of 64. After that, the Buckeyes are in line to face No. 1 overall seed Duke. That presents a massive challenge, but as we've seen before in March, anything can happen.
No. 5 Wisconsin Badgers
Another team playing well down the stretch is the Wisconsin Badgers. Wisconsin has some great wins this season, including Michigan, Purdue, and Illinois. All of those wins came on the road, which proves that Wisconsin is capable of beating anybody on any given night.
The Hoosiers defeated the Badgers by a score of 78-77 in overtime back on February 7. At that time, Indiana was 16-8 overall and looked like a surefire lock for the NCAA Tournament. But after a win over Oregon on February 9, things went downhill quickly for the Hoosiers. They then lost six of their final seven games, including a one-and-done performance in the Big Ten Tournament with a loss to Northwestern.
Wisconsin faces 12th-seeded High Point in the Round of 64 before facing either No. 4 Arkansas or No. 13 Hawai'i. The Badgers tend to be a tough out this time of year, and they have sleeper pick written all over them.