Indiana’s NCAA Tournament hopes are bleak at this point.
It’s lone path to the Big Dance requires a significant run at a conference tournament it has never won.
IU’s early obstacles in the 2026 Big Ten basketball tournament are now known.
The Hoosiers (18-13, 9-11) will play the winner of a Tuesday game between No. 15 Northwestern (13-18, 5-15) and No. 18 Penn State (12-18, 3-16).
No. 10 seed Indiana’s opener at the Big Ten Tournament against either the Wildcats or Nittany Lions will be Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET at United Center in Chicago.
The winner of Indiana vs. Northwestern/Penn State will play No. 7 seed Purdue on Thursday. The only time Indiana played Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament was the very first year the event was held in 1998. IU and Purdue split this season’s head-to-head, with each team winning at home.
IU played both Northwestern and Penn State once this season, and in some ways those contests — both in Bloomington — were the low and high points of the season.
Indiana’s most devastating loss when it comes to its NCAA Tournament resume was probably a 72-68 setback against Northwestern at home on Feb. 24. The Hoosiers led by 13 in the first half before suffering their sixth-straight defeat at the hands of Chris Collins and the Wildcats.
The Hoosiers crushed Penn State 113-72 in December behind a dazzling 44-point effort by Lamar Wilkerson.
Northwestern beat Penn State during the regular season 94-73 in Evanston.
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