Indiana basketball March Madness predictions: Where Hoosiers could land in NCAA bracket
BLOOMINGTON — The Indiana basketball team spent the weekend scoreboard watching instead of playing.
The Hoosiers best chance of boosting their NCAA Tournament résumé heading into Selection Sunday was rattling off a couple wins in the Big Ten Tournament, but they went one and done with a loss to Oregon and ended up having to cheer against any potential bid-stealers.
Indiana got mostly good news on that front — the Atlantic 10 and the AAC are the last two conferences left with would-be bid thieves — and many of the bubble teams (Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, North Carolina and West Virginia) they are competing against for a spot suffered a similar fate in their conference tournaments.
Are the Hoosiers in or out? Here are our predictions ahead of ESPN's Selection Sunday show at 6 p.m.:
Indiana basketball NCAA Tournament résumé
- Overall record (conference): 19-13 (10-10 Big Ten)
- Road record: 5-5
- Net ranking: 54
- Quad 1: 4-13
- Best win: Michigan State (No. 11 NET Ranking)
- Worst loss: Iowa (No. 63)
- Strength of schedule: 19
Where will Indiana basketball land in the NCAA Tournament bracket?
Herald-Times' Michael Niziolek: Will Indiana be one of the last teams in? Or first teams out? The Hoosiers are the pure definition of a bubble team this year with most bracketologists listing them in one category or the other. They are Dayton-bound at a likely No. 11 seed if they make the field, but that's a big if right now.
There isn't much daylight between IU's résumé and the other teams on the bubble. It's not hard to picture the Hoosiers getting a nod over the likes of Xavier — the Musketeers were 1 of 9 against Quad 1 teams — and Boise St. — Broncos lost games to Quad 3 and Quad 4 opponents, but it's a harder argument to make when their résumé is put up next to a Vanderbilt team that has double the number of wins over teams ranked top 20 in the NET.
It will be decided by the thinnest of margins.
IndyStar's Zach Osterman: IU is almost certainly, at best, a No. 11 seed in the Dayton-hosted play-in round early next week. The Hoosiers likely needed a win against Oregon in the Big Ten tournament to solidify their standing in the field of 68, but while other bubble teams helped themselves during conference tournament weekend, Indiana bowed out quickly.
That made for a weekend of worrying, and it might yet prove to be the end of IU’s season. The Hoosiers will have taken heart from comments coming out of the selection process that seemed to favor some of the strengths of their résumé (including quality road wins and a perfect record against Quadrants 2, 3 and 4).
Still, the Hoosiers’ overall profile remains flimsy heading into Selection Sunday. They have been helped by a relatively low number of potential bid thieves. But if they are left at home when the field is announced Sunday night, they can have no complaints. A pedestrian NET ranking (No. 54) and a 4-13 record in Quad 1 games each reflect a winter of wasted opportunities.
NCAA Men’s Tournament schedule
- First Four: March 18-19
- First round: March 20-21
- Second round: March 22-23
- Sweet 16: March 27-28
- Elite Eight: March 29-30
- Final Four: April 5 (San Antonio, Texas)
- National championship: April 7 (San Antonio, Texas)
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana basketball March Madness bracket predictions for 2025 NCAA Tournament
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