IU got its invitation to the NCAA Tournament. Now it’s time to dance.
The No. 10 (20-13) Hoosiers will play No. 7 Wichita State (28-4) on Friday in Omaha, Neb., in the second round in the Midwest Region. The winner will stay in Omaha to play either No. 2 Kansas or No. 15 New Mexico State in the third round Sunday.
If IU escapes Omaha with two victories, the Hoosiers would make their way to Cleveland for the Midwest regionals.
The other four teams on the bottom half of the Midwest bracket that IU may potentially play are — in order of seed — No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 6 Butler, No. 11 Texas and No. 14 Northeastern.
Notre Dame, Butler and IU are just three of the five Indiana teams in the Midwest bracket. On the upper half of the bracket are No. 9 Purdue and No. 13 Valparaiso.
The most dominant team in college basketball also happens to be in IU’s region. The undefeated Kentucky Wildcats are the No. 1 overall seed in the field of 68, but could only play IU as early as the Elite Eight.
No. 4 Maryland makes three Big Ten teams in the Midwest region. No. 5 West Virginia, No. 8 Cincinnati, No. 12 Buffalo and either No. 16 Manhattan or No. 16 Hampton round out the top half of the bracket.
But IU will first need to get past a Wichita State team before it worries about any of those.
The Shockers and Hoosiers have only played once, a 75-54 IU win Dec. 27, 1989. Wichita State has gone 63-5 over its past two seasons and made it to the third round of the NCAA Tournament last year.
IU will be an underdog in the first game and potentially play the No. 5 overall seed in their second, but don’t expect the Hoosiers too look too far ahead.
IU Coach Tom Crean and his players have preached taking games “one at a time” all season long. That makes Wichita State and its frenzied half-court pressure defense the focus of the Hoosiers’ attention for now.
But they’re dancing.
Sam Beishuizen
