Despite a 2-7 record in its last nine games, Indiana’s NCAA tournament hopes are not dead, according to two prominent bracketologists.
The Hoosiers, 15-10 overall and 6-8 in the Big Ten, beat Michigan State 71-67 on Tuesday night at the Breslin Center.
Before that win, IU’s March Madness hopes looked bleak. While the Hoosiers still have a lot of work to do to make the field, the victory against the Spartans significantly boosted the IU resume.
In Jerry Palm’s latest update at CBSSports.com, Indiana is currently the last team in the field of 68.
ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi doesn’t have the Hoosiers in his current projections, but had IU as the fifth team out behind Arkansas, SMU, VCU and North Carolina as of Wednesday evening.
As of Thursday afternoon, Bart Torvik’s TourneyCast gave IU an 18.1 percent chance of making the 2025 NCAA tournament field.
In his postgame comments on Tuesday, IU coach Mike Woodson said he’s still pushing his team to play its way into the postseason.
It was announced on February 7 that Woodson will not return to the sidelines in Bloomington for the 2025-26 season.
“I just want these guys to believe,” Woodson said. “I want them to get into the tournament and experience it and get in the Big Ten tournament and see if you can win it. That’s what it’s all about.”
The good news for Indiana is that plenty of opportunities for quality wins remain on the schedule. IU plays four of its final six games in Bloomington and three of those contests are against teams projected to make the field in UCLA, Purdue and Ohio State.
All six of IU’s remaining games are projected to fall in Quad 1 or 2. The projected Quad 1 opportunities are Purdue, UCLA, Ohio State and at Oregon.
At No. 57 in the latest NCAA NET rankings, Indiana is 3-10 in Quad 1 games, 3-0 in Quad 2, 5-0 in Quad 3 and 4-0 in Quad 4.
Filed to: 2025 NCAA tournament
