Over the weekend, five of the ten teams that play Division-1 Basketball in Indiana had their seasons officially end as they lost in their conference tournaments. Those teams were: Butler, IUPUI, IUFW, Indiana State and Evansville. Valparaiso, Notre Dame, Indiana, Purdue, and Ball State still have their tournaments to play. Valparaiso and Ball State will win need to win their respective tournaments to make it to the NCAA Tournament but it wouldn’t hurt the other teams to win a game or two.
Here is each team left and a preview of what they will need to do before Selection Sunday in six days.
-rankings next to teams are their seedings in their respective conference tournaments.
Big East Conference
When: March 6th- March 10th
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York City
Indiana teams: #3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The latest bracket projections by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi have Notre Dame in the NCAA Tourney as a #6 seed. I expect their seeding to be close to that too, but not any higher. In a Sports Illustrated bracket, the Irish are a #7 seed. Seriously, why can’t the Irish get any respect? The other projected six and seven seeds are: Gonzaga, San Diego State, Florida, Murray State, Memphis, New Mexico, and St. Mary’s. Notre Dame would beat every one of those teams on a neutral court.
Anyway, the Irish have a double-bye in the Big East Tournament and don’t play until March 8th. They will either take on Villanova, Rutgers, or USF. If they can win that quarterfinal game and a semifinal game they may be able to elevate themselves to a #5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Big Ten Conference
When: March 8th-March 11
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
Indiana teams: #5 Indiana Hoosiers, #6 Purdue Boilermakers
The Hoosiers are projected to get a #3 or #4 seed and the Boilermakers #9 in the NCAA Tournament. A #3 for the Hoosiers seems a bit low for me. I would rather see them get a #4 seed because they have NO quality road wins. They could solidify a #3 seed if they win two or three games in the Big Ten Tourney. They face Penn State on Thursday and if they win, Wisconsin on Friday.
Purdue will likely get a #9 seed or so no matter how many games they win. I can’t imagine them getting any lower than #7 even if they win the whole thing. They will play Nebraska on Thursday then Ohio State if they win. They nearly beat the Buckeyes in Columbus so I would not be shocked to see them defeat Ohio State when they’re closer to home.
Mid-American Conference
When: March 5th- March 10th
Where: Cleveland, Ohio
Indiana teams: #9 Ball State Cardinals
The only way the Cardinals go dancin’ in March is if they win their conference tournament. Their first opponent is Western Michigan tonight. Then they take on either Northern Illinois or Eastern Michigan.
Valparaiso started their tournament last week but play in the championship tomorrow night against Detroit. That game is at 9:00 p.m. on ESPN.
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