Sunday selection surprises Hoosiers

Players were still gathering food in the locker room when “Indiana” popped up early during the CBS broadcast of “Selection Sunday.” \n“A little bit of shock,” said IU men’s basketball senior forward Lance Stemler. “We didn’t really get time for us, it just kind of popped up their on us. We were like ‘Wow.’ I think the eighth seed, we definitely weren’t expecting it. But it is what it is.”\nPlayers weren’t really expecting to see IU drop that far in the seeding, nor were they expecting to be one of the first few teams revealed during the selection show. \nThe No. 22 Hoosiers (25-7), who lost their only game in the Big Ten Tournament, fell to a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will play No. 9-seed Arkansas (22-11) Friday in Raleigh, N.C. The winner will likely play No. 1 North Carolina just 30 miles away from the Tar Heels’ home in Chapel Hill, N.C.\nMost bracket projections, including ones from ESPN.com and SportsIllustrated.com, had the Hoosiers slotted as a No. 5 or No. 6 seed and had them projected as high as a No. 3 seed earlier in the season. \nIU was ranked No. 22 in the Ratings Percentage Index as of Sunday morning. After Friday’s loss, IU’s second consecutive loss to unranked teams, the Hoosiers will likely drop out of The Associated Press Top-25 poll. They had been ranked as high as No. 7 on Jan. 21. \nIU interim coach Dan Dakich was not shocked to see IU fall that far in the seeding. \n“Was I (surprised)?” Dakich said. “No. I have a realistic view of things in the world and I have a tendency to look beyond the obvious. Sometimes it’s right, sometimes it’s wrong.”\nThe Hoosiers are 3-3 since Dakich took over for Kelvin Sampson. IU has lost three out of its past four games. \n“I think there is probably a lot more involved in it than just winning and losing,” Dakich said. “It doesn’t matter what anyone feels, it’s just a matter of what you have to do.”\nSenior forward and team captain D.J. White tried to downplay the high seed. \n“I think it surprised us that we came up so quick, but we are just happy for this opportunity,” White said. “There is nothing we can do about it now besides go out and perform.”\nFreshman guard Eric Gordon echoed White’s sentiment. \n“All I see is a great opportunity to play Arkansas and then maybe have the opportunity to play North Carolina,” Gordon said. \nThe Bulldogs lost in the SEC Championship Game on Sunday afternoon. The Tar Heels won the ACC Tournament and are the No. 1 seed in the 65-team NCAA Championship bracket. \n“All we can do is try to go play Friday and try to get a win,” White said. \nDakich said he planned to stay up as late as 4 a.m. Sunday night to study tape on Arkansas. \n“If we are a team that is supposed to be as good as what we were projected to be, we will have a chance to prove it,” he said.