Indiana men\u2019s basketball did itself a pair of huge favors last week, with a home win over Purdue followed by a road win at UCLA, the first Quad 1 wins of the season for the Hoosiers. There was a chance for a third Tuesday night at USC, but the loss means that Indiana is stuck with just those two wins in the first quadrant for now.<\/p>\n
With a shocking win over Michigan State, Minnesota\u2019s NET ranking improved so that Indiana\u2019s loss there is now a Quad 1 loss, leaving the Hoosiers 1-0 in Quad 2 games, but 2-8 in Quad 1 likely won\u2019t cut it come March.<\/p>\n
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The Hoosiers have eight games left to improve their tournament resume, mainly lacking wins against quality opponents. There are four Quad 1 games left on the schedule as of now, with two of those being major uphill battles on the road at Illinois and Purdue.<\/p>\n
Which brings us to Saturday against Wisconsin, the first of Indiana\u2019s two remaining home games against Quad 1 teams.<\/p>\n
Following the loss to USC, Bart Torvik gives Indiana an 89.1% chance to make the NCAA Tournament, likely landing either an eight or nine seed. This assumes the Hoosiers finish out the way Torvik predicts them to, which means winning out at home to finish 11-9 in conference play.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, KenPom has Indiana finishing 10-10 in conference play, losing a home game to Michigan State, the other Quad 1 home game left on the schedule. The two models disagree as to the result of that MSU game, but both agree that Wisconsin is the easier of the two remaining Quad 1 games.<\/p>\n
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If Indiana drops the game against Wisconsin, the Hoosiers likely need to win one of their road games at Purdue or Illinois AND the home game against MSU to feel good on Selection Sunday. That\u2019s also likely the only route back to .500 in conference play, assuming Indiana doesn\u2019t drop one of the easier games left on the slate.<\/p>\n
Finishing 10-10 in conference play wouldn\u2019t necessarily doom Indiana to the NIT or the Crown, but it would heighten the pressure of the Big Ten Tournament, an event Indiana has never performed well in.<\/p>\n
In normal circumstances, a coach would get a pass for missing the NCAA Tournament in his first year, but, as we\u2019ve pointed out<\/a>, this is a roster built to win now.<\/p>\n No matter what happens, Darian DeVries is going to have to replace a significant portion of this roster and the large majority of his offensive production. Getting to the NCAA Tournament would serve as an important proof of concept for players in the high school and college ranks that this staff pursues going forward.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Have any thoughts on how important this game is? What about the first season under Darian DeVries in general? Share them below:<\/p>\n Join the conversation!<\/p>\n