With IU basketball as on the bubble as it gets, we’ll check each day where the Hoosiers stand in the land of bracketology ahead of Selection Sunday.
How bubbly are the Hoosiers? Indiana is a near consensus team in either the First Four In the field of First Four Out across more than 100 projections. So Sunday evening will be nerve-wracking for Hoosier fans as the field is unveiled.
A Saturday morning look at Bracket Matrix shows the Hoosiers in 97 of 113 projected brackets. That’s trending unfavorably from yesterday’s 102 of 107. And it isn’t clear how many brackets have been updated following last night’s Mountain West Conference tournament action, which saw two teams already in the field (Utah State and New Mexico) go down in the semifinals. So that league will produce a so-called “bid thief” — either Boise State or Colorado State.
Among some of the more prominent bracketologists included at Bracket Matrix, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has IU out, while CBS’ Jerry Palm and FOX’s Mike DeCourcy have the Hoosiers in. At Torvik’s “TourneyCast,” Indiana’s chances to make the field sit at 22.2% this morning.
Some of the teams the Tournament Selection Committee is comparing to IU for the final at-large bids are Xavier, North Carolina, Texas, San Diego State, and Boise State (if they lose on Saturday).
If the Hoosiers make it in to the field of 68, they appear almost certain to be a First Four team like they were in 2022. Those games are next Tuesday and Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio.
Selection Sunday coverage begins tomorrow (Sunday, March 16) at 6 p.m. ET on CBS.
As the conference tournaments conclude, there are still potential bid thieves that could hurt the Hoosiers chances. For a Saturday viewing guide of teams to root for and against as it relates to IU chances to make the field, GO HERE:
For complete coverage of IU basketball, GO HERE.
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