This won’t be the first time in recent history the NCAA Tournament was on the line in a late season Indiana vs. Ohio State game.
Back in 2019, a 17-14 IU squad took on 19-12 Ohio State in a first round matchup at the Big Ten Tournament, with an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line.
Ohio State scored 10 straight to go up by 20 with just over seven minutes left in that game. But IU rallied, fueled by a red hot Devonte Green, who scored a then career-high 26 for Indiana and set a Big Ten Tournament record by making 8 of 10 3-pointers.
The Hoosiers got as close as two in the final seconds but came up short. And things went as predicted on Selection Sunday, as Ohio State got in the Big Dance, and Indiana was left out.
Fast forward six years, and here we go again.
Indiana (18-12) and Ohio State (19-11) meet again, this time in Columbus (Saturday, 5:30 p.m. ET, FOX), with an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament on the line.
Here’s a comparison of each team’s NCAA resume following Indiana’s 77-47 win over Minnesota, and OSU’s 94-62 win at Penn State Wednesday evening.
NET QUADRANT RECORDS
Saturday’s game is a Quad 1 game for NET No. 37 Indiana, and a Quad 2 game for NET No. 32 Ohio State.
Indiana (No. 37)
- Quad 1: 2-10
- Quad 2: 3-2
- Quad 3: 6-0
- Quad 4: 7-0
Ohio State (No. 32)
- Quad 1: 2-10
- Quad 2: 6-1
- Quad 3: 5-0
- Quad 4: 6-0
Consideration is also given to “Quad 1A” performance, which are games against the top 15 ranked teams at home, top 25 on a neutral court, and top 40 on the road. IU is currently 2-8 in those games. Ohio State is 1-9.
BRACKET FORECASTS
At Bracket Matrix as of Friday morning, Indiana is included in 34 of 89 projections with an average seed of 11.03. On average they are the last team out of the field, although 38 of the 89 projections appear to have not been updated since Indiana’s win over Minnesota.
Ohio State is in all 89 projections of the field. They are a No. 11 seed, with an average seed of 10.69.
Just four spots separate the average forecast for Ohio State and Indiana at Bracket Matrix.
KET METRICS AND COMPARISON TOOLS
The NET isn’t the only measurement tool the NCAA Selection Committee considers. There are actually seven. Here is where IU and Ohio State rank in each of them.
As you can see, this game appears to be much more of a must win for Indiana than the Buckeyes, but a Quad 1 win for IU Saturday and a Quad 2 loss for OSU would help bridge the divide.
Indiana (Ohio State)
- NET: 37 (32)
- Torvik: 28 (26)
- Wins Above Bubble (WAB): 48 (39)
- KenPom: 41 (27)
- Basketball Power Index (BPI): 34 (32)
- KPI: 63 (49)
- Strength of Record: 46 (39)
REMAINING SCHEDULE
This is the final regular season game for both teams.
Indiana will be a No. 10 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
You can always find links to the key metrics here, or on the IU basketball drop down menu above:
For complete coverage of IU basketball, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- You can follow us on X: @daily_hoosier and find us on Facebook and Instagram
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
