No, things are not going well for the Indiana Hoosiers on the hardwood right now... Darian DeVries' team has gotten absolutely humiliated in its last two Big Ten games. Granted, they were against elite Quad 1 opponents in Illinois and arch rival Purdue. Both of these defeats were on the road. However, losing by 20-plus points in both contests has IU with a cringeworthy 2-10 mark vs. Quad 1 teams...
After seeing Purdue wipe the floor with Indiana in what could have been a sweep by the Hoosiers over the weekend, just look at where they find themselves in the latest Bracketology update for ESPN. Joe Lunardi dropped Indiana from a No. 9 to a No. 11 seed...They are the last team to get a bye into the Round of 64, eking out Missouri, Santa Clara, TCU, and New Mexico as the last four teams in the field.
The only other team to drop more than one spot in the most recent Bracketology update is fellow traditional power Kentucky. The typical SEC behemoth has hit the skids of late, having dropped three in a row. Mark Pope's team has plummeted from a No. 6 to No. 8 seed. The fact Indiana is one team away from playing in the First Four is quite embarrassing. Maybe we bought into this team too much?
Let's take a look at why Indiana dropped so much and what the Hoosiers have to do to make the field.
Indiana Hoosiers are dangerously close to missing the NCAA Tournament
While Indiana does have a strong NET rating of 36, again, its brutally bad mark vs. Quad 1 opponents is starting to knock them down a peg a bit. At 2-10 vs. Quad 1 teams, Indiana only has a five-point home victory over Purdue and a one-point road win over UCLA to its credit. It may be a combined 15-0 vs. non-Quad 1 opponents, but there is a chance that may not be quite good enough to make it in.
On the season, Indiana is 17-10 overall and 8-8 vs. Big Ten teams. This is a very tough league, and everyone knows that. However, one more Quad 1 win over either Michigan State at home on Saturday or at Ohio State to end the regular season next weekend would do wonders for Indiana's tournament security. A home loss to either Northwestern in a Quad 3 or to Minnesota in a Quad 2 will be horrible.
Fortunately for Indiana, the Hoosiers have not dropped any Quad 2 or 3 games at all this season. Assuming chalk, the Hoosiers may likely finish the regular season with a 19-12 mark overall and a 10-10 record in Big Ten play. The question remains if IU will need to win a Big Ten Tournament game to merit March Madness inclusion. Right now, they are prime to have their bid stolen by another league.
If this team can get to 20 wins in the regular season, their bid into the tournament shall be locked up.