One Month Until March Madness!

             Four weeks from this Sunday, 68 teams will be selected to play in the NCAA Tournament. You may know this better as the March Madness Tournament, or that big bracket people fill out to win tons of money. With a month of games left, how many schools from Indiana will make it?

            The college basketball season began with a lot of hype and hopes for Indiana teams. Butler, Purdue, and Notre Dame were expected to make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament. Indiana State, Valparaiso, and Ball State were also expected to have strong teams. Then the success of Indiana University had the whole state buzzing. Most of us Hoosiers thought that four or five teams would be representing Indiana and showing why we love basketball.

            That was back in November. Now, three months later, our expectations have dipped just a bit. The only teams that still have a legitimate chance of making the Tourney in March are: Notre Dame, Purdue, Indiana and Valparaiso. Sure, the rest of the teams could win their conference tournament and earn an automatic bid, but that is going to take a lot of work, and some luck.  

-Note: Rankings are as of the Week 14 (February 6^th) polls. Records are as of games played through February 9^th.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (16-8, 8-3)

Best wins: #19 Marquette, at UConn, vs. #2 Syracuse, at Seton Hall

Worst losses: Georgia, Rutgers, Maryland

The Irish started the season 9-6. The train of thought around the program was the Irish would be playing in the NIT Tournament in March.  They had been blown out by Missouri and Gonzaga, and tough losses in winnable games against Maryland and Georgia. It didn’t get any better as the Irish went 2-2 in their next four games, but now they are on a five-game winning streak and in third place in the Big East Conference. They still aren’t getting much respect (Joe Junardi of ESPN has them projected to get a #8 seed in the NCAA Tourney) but they could earn another runner-up spot in their conference.

Remaining games: vs. DePaul, vs. Rutgers, at Villanova, vs. West Virginia, at St. Johns, at #11 Georgetown, vs. Providence.

Indiana Hoosiers (19-6, 7-6)

Best wins: #1 Kentucky, #3 Ohio State, #25 Michigan

Worst losses: Minnesota, at Nebraska,

Can you believe this team was once 15-1 and was flirting with a very real chance of getting a #1 seed in the Tourney? It’s been a rough January for IU as they went 4-4 with losses to Minnesota and Nebraska. It was a nervous time when the Hoosiers were 17-6 and facing two tough games against Purdue and Illinois. They won both of those games and set themselves up for a great chance to finish with at least 22 wins.

Remaining games: vs. Northwestern, at Iowa, vs. N.C. Central, vs. #12 Michigan State, vs. Purdue

Purdue Boilermakers (15-9, 5-6)

Best wins: Temple, Miami, Illinois, Minnesota

Worst losses: Butler, Penn State, Alabama

The biggest problem with the Boilermakers is they don’t have any great wins, particularly any against a ranked team. They will get three chances in their final seven games though. They played great at Ohio State on February 7^th and almost won there. If they play like that in the final month, they will get to 20 wins no problem.

Remaining games: vs. Northwestern, at Illinois, vs. #12 Michigan State, vs. Nebraska, at #25 Michigan, vs. Penn State, at #23 Indiana

Valparaiso Crusaders (18-8, 11-3)

Best wins: Cleveland State (twice), Butler, Milwaukee

Key losses: IPFW, IUPUI, Green Bay

The Crusaders are one of the best shooting teams in the country as they average a 47% field goal percentage each game. That contributes to the fact they have scored more than 70 points in 15 of their games. They are also in first place in the Horizon Conference. If they win the regular season title, there’s a good chance they will be in the NCAA Tournament, regardless of what happens in the conference tournament. The only tough games left are a trip to Youngstown State and a home bout against Butler.

Remaining games: at Youngstown State, vs. U.I.-Chicago, at Loyola Marymount, vs. Loyola, vs. Butler

Butler Bulldogs (14-12, 8-6)

Best wins: Purdue, Stanford, Youngstown State (twice)

Worst losses: Evansville, Green Bay, Detroit

I may have Butler too high, but let’s not forget this is a team led by one of the best coaches in America. It’s also a team that’s been in the championship game the past two seasons. The Bulldogs are a young team, but one that you can never take lightly. It’s a long shot, but they could win out and sneak into the NCAA Tourney as a #13 or #14 seed just on the strength of what they have accomplished the last two years.

Remaining games: at Cleveland State, vs. Loyola, Indiana State, U.I.-Chicago, at Valparaiso.

Indiana State Sycamores (14-11, 5-9)

Best wins: Ball State, at Vanderbilt, Northern Iowa (twice)

Worst losses: Bradley, Southern Illinois, Boise State

Like Butler, the Sycamores could win the rest of their games and make a case to be selected as a high seed for the Tournament. That’s a huge longshot though, esp. since four of the last five opponents have winning records.

Remaining games: vs. Southern Illinois, vs. Illinois State, at Butler, at Missouri South, vs. #15 Creighton

Ball State Cardinals (12-10, 4-6)

Best wins: Butler

Worst losses: Miami (OH), Eastern Michigan

The Cardinals are in the midst of a five-game losing streak. Before the streak began they were 12-5 and in contention for a conference title. Now their season is all but done. The good news for Ball State fans is the schedule does get easier.

Remaining games: at Kent State, vs. Toledo, vs. Southern Illinois, at Western Michigan, at Eastern Michigan, vs. Central Michigan, vs. Northern Illinois

These bottom three teams are just playing for pride.

Evansville Aces (12-12, 7-7)

IUPUI Jaguars (10-16, 4-10)

IPFW Mastodons (10-14, 4-10)

-each team has five games left.

Basketball news

            As the NBA Lockout gets worse and worse every week, college basketball is stepping up as America’s main form of basketball entertainment. The season started off on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier with the match-up of North Carolina and Michigan State. North Carolina won the game in deciding fashion but it was a really awesome spectacle to behold. 

            On the other side of the country in Madison Square Garden, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski won his 903^rd game of his coaching career. Also partaking in the games at The Garden that night were Kentucky and Kansas. Kentucky won that game and right now appear to be one of the best teams in the country.

            

            The season is still very young. Who knows what will happen when teams start playing equal or better competition, or how the conferences will shuffle around. My hats go off to the men and women that cover the entire college basketball scene. There are over 300 schools that partake in Division-1 basketball, and they are separated into over 20 conferences. Knowing how each school is performing and who their best players are takes a lot of time researching. That being said, I will mostly be focusing on Indiana and Big 10 teams. But like I have done in the first two paragraphs, I will touch on the teams that are the best in America periodically.

            

            Here is how I would rank the D-1 basketball teams in Indiana, as of all games played thru November 16^th.

Notre Dame (3-0) - I’m not just putting them here because they’re my favorite team, it’s because they are the best team. Last season they were one of the Top 5 teams in the powerhouse Big East Conference and earned a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. This season they return two starting seniors, Scott Martin and Tim Abromaitis, who will have to be leaders for the younger players on the team. The Irish have beaten Mississippi Valley State, Detroit, and Sam Houston State. Their first big tests come November 21th against Missouri and then November 30^th against Gonzaga.

Purdue (2-0) - The Boilermakers finished 2^nd in the Big 10 last year and were lead by JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore. Those two were drafted and this team is now lead by fifth-year senior Robbie Hummel. Most people outside of Indiana have probably never heard of this guy, but that’s not because he isn’t good. Hummel has missed the past two seasons because of injury. He has the potential to be one of the best players in the Big 10 and if he lives up to that potential he can take Purdue far. Purdue has beaten Northern Illinois and High Point. Their next big game is December 3^rd against Xavier.

- Purdue beat Iona 91-90. This team has to perform better if they expect to even be competitive once conference play starts.

Indiana (3-0) - The Hoosiers began the long road back to relevance three years ago when Tom Crean took over as head coach. In his three seasons so far the Hoosiers have finished 6-25, 10-21, and 12-20. The only bright side to those records is at least the team is winning more games each season. This year Crean has one of the best freshmen in the country at his disposal, Cody Zeller. Zeller was touted as one of the best recruits in the country and he is probably the best player currently at IU. Hopefully Indiana can get to 15 wins this season and out of the Big 10 basement. Indiana has beaten Stony Brook, Chattanooga, and Evansville. Their first test comes December 10^th against Kentucky, but in a game they have a chance to win watch their December 17^th matchup with Notre Dame.

Butler (1-1) - The Bulldogs have played in the past two national championship games, but yet they NEVER get the respect they deserve. If any other team in the country even made it to the Final 4 two years in a row they would be praised like gods. This team will go as far as their coach and leader, Brad Stevens, takes them. Stevens is one of the best coaches in America, and I think he will really earn that title this year. The Bulldogs are missing their best players from the last two seasons and players are going to have to step up. Butler has lost to Evansville but beat Chattanooga. They take on Louisville November 19^th at home and if they can win that game they will prove they should be taken seriously. If they lose that one their next big game is against Xavier, December 7^th.

Now we hit the teams I know nothing about.

Indiana State (2-0) - The Sycamores finished 20-13 and won the Mountain Valley Conference Championship last season. The Sycamores haven’t played any real competition so it’s hard to judge how good they actually are. They play Texas Tech next week and Vanderbilt in mid- December. They start conference play on December 28^th.

Valparaiso (2-1) – Valpo went 23-11 and nearly won the Horizon Championship in 2010. This year the Crusaders are hoping to beat in-state rival Butler for that title. The Crusaders’ two wins come against cupcakes and their lone loss it to Arizona by nine points. The first big test comes against Ohio State on November 25^th. They then start conference play on December 3^rd against Butler.

Evansville (1-1) - This team beat Butler, but I don’t think they’re necessarily better. The Purple Aces finished 16-16 last season and their only quality win was again a win against Butler. The only strong opponent the Aces have before conference play is North Carolina, which I highly doubt they’ll win. Evansville competes in the Missouri Valley and their conference play starts December 29^th.

IPFW (1-1) and IUPUI (1-1) - I’m putting these two schools together because neither is great and both are satellite schools of the same universities. IPFW= Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. IUPUI= Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. IUPUI had a couple of good seasons a few years ago when NBA start George Hill was on the team. Since then they have not been nearly as good. Last year IPFW finished 18-12 and IUPUI 19-14. The IPFW Mastodons get some chances at semi-quality wins when they take on Iowa, Valparaiso, and Purdue. IUPUI gets their chance at big wins when take on Georgetown and Louisville.

Ball State (0-1) - The Cardinals should be winning their conference every year. They play in the MAC and I couldn’t even tell you which team won the MAC title last year. No matter who won, Ball State is in a basketball state with a lot of talented players. There is no reason why a school the size of Ball State isn’t more competitive.

            The 2011 season has only just begun, and there is still 5 months until the NCAA Tournament starts so anything can happen. I will post new stories periodically and update my “Hoosier State Rankings” (that name is a work in progess).