Indiana is not in the NCAA Tournament, but several former players and coaches are.
Here is a quick overview of folks with IU basketball connections involved with teams in the coming days.
The list includes two head coaches who have combined for more nearly 1,500 wins, an active former player, and Archie Miller’s entire group of original assistants.
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South Carolina vs. Oregon — Thursday at 4:00 p.m. ET (TNT). Long-time IU assistant coach Tim Buckley is serving his second season with the same title at South Carolina. Buckley was nicknamed the shot doctor during his time at IU.
Nevada vs. Dayton — Thursday at 4:30 p.m. ET (TBS). Former IU All-American, national champion and all-time leading scorer upon graduation Steve Alford leads Nevada (26-7) to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. Alford is up to 683 wins for his college coaching career that spans more than 30 years. Former IU player Kory Barnett is an assistant coach under Alford. Amire Robinson, the son of former IU player Stew Robinson, plays for Alford.
Texas vs. Colorado State — Thursday at 6:50 p.m. ET (TNT). Former Tom Crean assistant coach Steve McClain has the same role at Texas. McClain is in his second year at Texas after working under Crean at Georgia.
Kentucky vs. Oakland — Thursday at 7:10 p.m. ET (CBS). Okay, you were going to watch this one anyway, but on the Kentucky bench you can find fourth-year assistant coach Bruiser Flint, who served in the same role at IU from 2017-20. Former Tom Crean assistant Chuck Martin is also an assistant and recruiting coordinator on John Calipari’s staff.
Oregon State vs. Drake — Thursday at 10:05 p.m. ET (TrueTV). Former Archie Miller assistant Tom Ostrom sits on the Drake bench in the same role. He’s been with the program each of the last two seasons.
Florida Atlantic vs. Northwestern — Friday at 12:15 p.m. ET (CBS). Former IU basketball manager Dusty May will try to lead FAU to the Final Four for a second straight season. Standing in his way is a familiar Big Ten foe. On May’s staff is assistant coach Todd Abernethy, son of IU national champion Tom Abernethy.
Marquette vs. Western Kentucky — Friday at 2:00 p.m. ET (TBS). Former Indiana guard Khristian Lander will return to the NCAA Tournament with WKU. He is averaging 9.1 points per game this season for the Hilltoppers.
UConn vs. Stetson — Friday at 2:45 p.m. ET (CBS). The younger brother of two former IU basketball players (James and Vijay), Jalen Blackmon will try to slay the overall No. 1 seed and defending national champion. Blackmon is averaging 21.5 points for Stetson and shooting 38.9% from three this season.
Purdue vs. Grambling State — Friday at 7:25 p.m. ET (TBS). Okay, no real IU connections here, but we know you’ll be watching to see if history can be repeated.
Houston vs. Longwood — Friday at 9:20 p.m. ET (TNT). Former IU head coach Kelvin Sampson has Houston in as a No. 1 seed. Sampson, 68, is up to 761 career wins, including 43 in his brief two-year stop at Indiana.
St. Mary’s vs. Grand Canyon — Friday at 10:05 p.m. ET (TruTV). Former IU assistant coach Ed Schilling is an assistant for Grand Canyon under Bryce Drew. Along with Ostrom and Flint, the entire group of initial Archie Miller assistants is in the tournament.
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