Indiana’s tournament hopes dim in new Bracketology update before Selection Sunday

With Selection Sunday looming, the Indiana Hoosiers are on the outside looking in when it comes to the NCAA Tournament picture. Darian DeVries' team struggled mightily down the stretch, and with the field of bubble teams continuing to leave the door open, the Hoosiers were not able to take advantage.

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Missed opportunities over the last several weeks have resulted in Indiana's March Madness dreams fading away, and the Hoosiers have nobody to blame but themselves. After going 1-6 in their final seven games, including a pair of losses to Northwestern, the Hoosiers would be extremely lucky to be a part of the tournament field. But that luck is quickly running out.

New Bracketology update pushes Indiana further outside the NCAA Tournament picture

Indiana has been firmly on the bubble for the last few weeks, but after a one-and-done performance in the Big Ten Tournament earlier this week, Indiana continues to move down the wrong side of the bubble.

In his latest March Madness bracket projection, ESPN's Joe Lunardi seems to have his mind made up when it comes to the Hoosiers. Earlier this week, IU has been among the teams in the "First Four Out" category, but multiple bid-stealers have pushed the Hoosiers further out of the picture. Lunardi now has DeVries' team listed in the "Next Four Out" category.

The move to put Indiana in the "Next Four Out" category signals that Lunardi has little faith in the Hoosiers qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. It's not necessarily surprising to see, as missed opportunity after missed opportunity leave IU with few arguments to lean on when vouching for a spot in the 68-team field.

DeVries entered Year 1 looking to bring glory back to the Indiana basketball program, but now it seems that IU will miss the NCAA Tournament for the 8th time in the last 10 years. That is simply not acceptable in Bloomington.

Hoosier fans are hungrier than ever for a March Madness run, and DeVries now has a lot of work to do in re-tooling Indiana's roster for next season.