The countdown has started! There are just 10 weeks until the start of March Madness. If it began today, the state of Indiana would most likely be sending only two teams. However, there are a few other schools that can improve their résumé’s and make a claim to be one of the 68 teams chosen to play for the national championship.
Here are my power rankings for Indiana schools:
-rankings are as of January 10th.
#8 Indiana Hoosiers (15-1, 8-1)
Key wins: vs. #2 Kentucky, vs. #5 Ohio State, vs. #13 Michigan
Key losses: at #7 Michigan State
IU has some great wins, but they need to prove they can win on the road against a ranked team. They travel to Ohio State next week, so if they get win they should move into the Top 5 in the polls.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-6, 3-1)
Key wins: #15 Louisville, Pittsburgh
Key losses: Georgia
The thing that is killing Notre Dame is the schedule. There aren’t any teams they have lost to that have a losing record. Three of their next five games are against ranked opponents. They have a very rough road ahead of them if they expect to be in the NCAA Tourney.
Purdue Boilermakers (13-4, 3-1)
Key wins: Minnesota, Illinois, Temple?
Key losses: Penn State, Butler
Why don’t I have Purdue ahead of Notre Dame? Because the Boilermakers haven’t beaten a ranked opponent this season. Illinois is probably their best win of the season, but they aren’t even that good this year. Purdue has four games between January 24th and February 7th that are against Top 15 teams, so they have a great chance to get some quality wins.
Indiana State Sycamores (11-5, 2-3)
Key wins: Ball State, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt
Key losses: Northern Iowa, Drake
Sure the Sycamores have five losses, but two of those came against teams who lead their respective conferences (Boise State and Southern Missouri). The only chance that ISU has at making it into the Tourney is to win their conference, or at least be a very good second-place team. They still have to play #21 Creighton twice, so a win against them would bolster the Sycamores' ranking.
Valparaiso Crusaders (10-7, 3-2)
Key wins: Butler, Bowling Green, Duquesne
Key losses: Oakland, Wright State, IUPUI
Obviously Valpo has not beaten any great team, and when they did play a great team, they got destroyed. Like the Sycamores, the Crusaders are going to have to win their conference championship if they want to make it to the NCAA Tourney. Their next two games are at home and against two of the Horizon’s best, so if they can win both they will set themselves up nicely for the rest of the season.
Ball State Cardinals (10-4, 2-0)
Key wins: Butler, Toledo?
Key losses: IUPUI, Morehead State
There’s no question that the only way Ball State is going to partake in March Madness is if they win their conference. That goal is entirely possible though, because the MAC isn’t exactly a powerhouse in basketball (but I guess Ball State isn’t either). The Cardinals’ next three games are against teams with losing records, then two games against teams that do have winning records.
Butler Bulldogs (9-8, 3-2)
Key wins: Purdue, Stanford, Milwaukee
Key losses: Detroit, Ball State, Evansville
After competing in the national championship game the past two years, the Bulldogs are in the midst of a rebuilding year that has been full of struggles. In the first month of games, the Bulldogs went 4-6, but a win against Purdue ignited a five-game winning streak. If they can continue winning, they may well find themselves in the underdog role come March.
Evansville Purple Aces (7-8, 2-3)
Key wins: Butler, Northern Iowa
Key Losses: Illinois-Chicago
The Purple Aces have a losing record, but several of those losses came against pretty good teams (Wichita State, TCU, IU, and Indiana State). Their biggest problem though is their conference, the Missouri Valley, is strong this year, and Evansville is definitely not the best team in the MVC.
Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons (9-7, 3-4)
Key wins: Valparaiso
Key losses: UMKC, Western Illinois, North Dakota State
I’m pretty sure the only people that had high expectations for this team were the players and coaches. IPFW plays in a weak conference, so it’s possible they could win the conference and get to the Tourney, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. IPFW plays in a weak conference, so it’s possible they could win the conference and get to the Tourney, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Indiana-Purdue Indianapolis Jaguars (8-10, 2-4)
Key wins: Ball State, Valparaiso,
Key losses: IPFW, Arkansas-Little Rock, Eastern Michigan
IUPUI hasn’t had much success since NBA player George Hill was on the team. Even though Hill has returned to his hometown, the Jaguars aren’t experiencing much winning. They have wins against Ball State and Valpo, but they have a lot of bad losses.
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