The Indiana Hoosiers may not have had a perfect season, but they did everything they could to, at the very least, give them a shot at making the NCAA Tournament, which leaves them exactly where they are now.
The Hoosiers had a chance to secure their spot a little more with a second-round matchup against the 8-seed Oregon Ducks but instead made the same mistake they made in their matchup two weeks ago and fell 72-59, knocking them out of the tournament.
Not being able to close out close games has been a tough has been a recurring theme for the Hoosiers this year and even plagued them during a five-game losing streak. The offense not being able to make shots or the defense falling apart was the usual culprit, but Indiana found life toward the end of the season.
Two wins against ranked Michigan State and Purdue helped to move the Hoosier back into bubble watch and then take care of business against Penn State, Washington, and Ohio State to help put them in the tournament, according to experts, but the loss to Oregon adn other bubble teams getting a win or two in conference tournaments has now put the Hoosiers in a tough spot.
Joe Lunardi has the Hoosiers in the Last Four In a category in his Bracketology, meaning the Hoosiers would have to play in the play-in games before the first round. Lunardi has the Hoosiers facing Xavier in their play-in game. Andy Katz also has the Hoosiers in the tournament in the Last Four In a category in the East Region, facing Texas in their play-in game.
So there is still hope for Indiana, and while they will be happy to make the Tournament, they probably aren’t thrilled that they might have to be in a play-in game.
However, with everything going on with head coach Mike Woodson and stepping down at the end of the season, Indiana will be happy to give their head coach quite the send-off, hopefully with a deep tournament run.
Indiana has done all it can up to this point in the season. Of course, there are games they felt like they should have won, fans felt like they should have won, but now everything starts new if they get into the NCAA Tournament. Their fate rests in the hands of the selection committee.
