This IU team has entered plenty of unfamiliar territory this season.
The Hoosiers reeled off the program’s first undefeated home season, knocked off three ranked teams for the first time since 1997-98 and secured the school’s highest Big Ten standing since 1998.
On Saturday, ninth-seeded IU will play its first NCAA Tournament game since 2002 against eighth-seeded Georgia in South Bend, Indiana. The Hoosiers are scheduled to play at 9 p.m. on ESPN2.
The Hoosiers (20-11, 12-6 B1G) have appeared in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament five times since IU’s 2002 NCAA Tournament appearance.
Buss said hearing IU’s name called on Monday’s NCAA Selection Show, however, didn’t feel odd for the Hoosiers.
“I don’t think it feels weird,” sophomore guard Tyra Buss said. “We’re happy that we are actually preparing and getting ready for another game late in the season. We’re not just satisfied getting to the NCAA Tournament. It hasn’t been done in a long time at Indiana University. We want to just win and advance.”
For Georgia, Saturday’s first-round game will be nothing new to a program that saw its run of 20 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances end after last season. The Bulldogs are back in the big dance with a first-year head coach despite a 1-4 start to Southeastern Conference play.
Similar to IU’s road to the tournament, Georgia sparked a five-game winning streak late in conference play to receive an at-large bid.
Georgia (21-9, 9-7 SEC) finished sixth in the SEC, falling to Vanderbilt in the second round of the conference tournament.
The Bulldogs lost their second-leading scorer, senior guard Shacobia Barbee, to a season-ending ankle injury in a Feb. 21 win against Florida. Barbee, a first team All-SEC selection, averaged 12.7 points, 9.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists.
First-year Georgia Coach Joni Taylor must rely even more on her other senior guard, Tiaria Griffin.
The 5-foot-7 guard is a second team All-SEC pick, averaging 14.6 points to go along with four rebounds per game. Griffin will play with 5-foot-8 senior guard Marjorie Butler in the backcourt — Butler will likely be matched up against Buss.
Sophomore forward Amanda Cahill said the Bulldogs play well up-tempo, a style that matches the play of IU.
“They’re really good in transition,” Cahill said. “The past couple of days we’ve been paying special attention to our post defense and looking at different strategies that will help us defend that.”
Georgia raced out to a 12-1 record in its non-conference slate, defeating tournament teams No. 21 Seton Hall and BYU. The Bulldogs’ lone loss before SEC play came at the hands of No. 23 Michigan State, 66-45, a team IU defeated at home in Big Ten play.
The Spartans are the two teams’ only common opponent. Georgia was able to overcome a slow SEC start with a late winning streak that included a crucial home win against No. 20 Missouri.
“It’s an athletic conference,” IU Coach Teri Moren said. “They have a tremendous point guard in Butler. This is a veteran basketball team. They have a fantastic high-low game, and it’s going to put a ton of pressure on us defensively.”
IU faced eight teams in the regular season that eventually qualified for the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers believe a tougher non-conference schedule may help them Saturday against a team such as Georgia.
The Bulldogs are the field’s second-best team in defensive 3-point percentage, holding teams to 24.2 percent. IU has been able to rely on the long ball this season, averaging a little more than five triples per game.
“I definitely think our pre-conference games prepared us well for not only Big Ten, but also for what’s ahead of us,” Cahill said. “Georgia is a different team than teams we have faced. That extra time we’ve had throughout this whole week has been helpful, and we’ve got to really go into depth into not only their plays but their personnel.”
The winner of IU-Georgia will face the winner of top-seed Notre Dame and 16th-seeded North Carolina Central in the Round of 32. The Irish (31-1) are ranked No. 2 in the country and suffered their only loss to No. 1 Connecticut 91-81 early in the season.
“This is something that we want to have happen at the end of every Big Ten season, where we’re waiting on Monday night for the selection show waiting to see our seed,” Moren said. “You’ve got to get a taste of it first before you know what it’s all about.”
