Now that the Indiana Hoosiers have proven they can beat a Quad 1 opponent, they can do anything! They did stun the No. 12 Purdue Boilermakers at home earlier in the week 72-67 to improve to 14-7 on the year. While they are only 5-5 in Big Ten play with a 1-6 mark against Quad 1 opponents, the Hoosiers are good enough to be the Last Team In when it comes to the latest Bracketology update!
ESPN's Joe Lunardi has IU playing Texas out of the SEC in the First Four game to get that last No. 11 seed. Indiana is one of 11 Big Ten teams making the field. Should the Hoosiers beat the Longhorns in Dayton, they would take on the Louisville Cardinals in the No. 6 vs. No. 11 game in the Oklahoma City quadrant of the South Region going through Houston. It is all about making the tournament, folks...
Darian DeVries said all the right things at the podium after the big win over Purdue earlier this week. While Indiana still has a tough road to hoe to make the field of 68, you cannot put a price on that five-point home victory over arch rival Purdue. For IU to make the tournament, they need some more Quad 1 and Quad 2 wins to boost their resume and get them closer to 20 combined wins on the year.
What does Indiana need to do now to make sure the Hoosiers will be going dancing later on in March?
Indiana Hoosiers are the Last Team In after latest Bracketology update
Looking at who Indiana still has to play in the Big Ten, they Hoosiers have 10 conference games left. Six of them fall into the Quad 1 bucket, two are Quad 2 games, and two are of the Quad 3 variety. To approach something close to 20 wins, Indiana has to win both of its Quad 3 games over Oregon at home on Feb. 9 and Minnesota at home on March 4. A loss to either of them could be devastating...
Indiana is fortunate that both of its two remaining Quad 2 games are at home as well in Wisconsin on Feb. 7 and Northwestern on Feb. 24. If Indiana wins all four of their remaining Quad 2 and Quad 3 games, they have a halfway decent shot of making the tournament. What could really help seal the deal for them is to win another Quad 1 game or two. Are there any ones out there to be had for IU?
Unfortunately for the Hoosiers, five of their six remaining Quad 1 games are away from Bloomington, including Saturday's road date at UCLA. Their one reamining Quad 1 home game happesn to be vs. rival Michigan State... That is going to be tough. Indiana must also play USC, Illinois, Purdue, and Ohio State on the road. If IU only loses to Michigan State at home, and beats USC or UCLA, they make it in.
For now, Indiana is very much on the tournament bubble, but seem to be on the good side of it here.