Five games remain in the regular season for IU women’s basketball. At 17-8 overall and 6-7 in the Big Ten, the Hoosiers’ NCAA Tournament hopes remain very alive, but this final stretch could knock IU out of the Big Dance.
IU has dropped seven of its last 10 games and is without its leading scorer, junior guard Ali Patberg, for at least a few more games after she suffered an injury against Minnesota on Feb. 6.
The final five games feature three teams IU has lost to already this season, No. 14 Iowa and Michigan, who IU already defeated this season.
First up is Michigan on the road Thursday night in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Here are three things to know about the Hoosiers matchup with the Wolverines.
1. Big Ten standings implications
Michigan is 16-9 on the season and 7-6 in conference play. With that 7-6 record, the Wolverines currently sit at sixth place in the standings. As for IU, the Hoosiers are eleventh place at 6-7.
But if IU were to pick up the victory, the Hoosiers could potentially jump to tied-for-fifth in the standings.
A team’s place in the standings determines what seed it will be for the Big Ten Tournament, which means the higher the seed a team gets, it will face the lower seeds in the standings.
"We're desperate to get back in the win column," IU Coach Teri Moren said. "We've underachieved here as far as the last few games and we've also had some adversity, but with adversity comes another person's opportunity."
With IU’s tough stretch to close out the season, a high seed in the Big Ten Tournament could give it a better chance of winning a game or two at Banker’s Life Fieldhouse, boosting the Hoosiers’ tournament hopes.
2. Momentum on Michigan’s side
Despite IU already defeating Michigan 70-60 Jan. 24 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, the Wolverines have more momentum than the Hoosiers.
Michigan has won four straight games with one of those wins coming against the No. 14-ranked Hawkeyes.
In its most recent win against Penn State, Head Coach Kim Barnes Arico picked up her 150th win at Michigan, making her the first coach in program history to reach that mark.
Arico’s squad is led in scoring by freshman forward Naz Hillmon with 13.2 points per game. Hillmon scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds against the Hoosiers this season. Senior center Hallie Thome and senior guard Nicole Munger also score in double figures with Thome scoring down low and Munger scoring from the outside.
"Everybody's gotten better, and they certainly have," Moren said.
Michigan’s winning streak will look to feed off IU’s two-game losing skid.
3. Home court advantage
The last six times these two teams have squared off, the home team has won the game. Michigan took the lone game between the two last season in Ann Arbor, and IU continued the trend earlier this season in Bloomington.
With this game being held in the Crisler Center, history points to Michigan winning. The Wolverines are also 10-1 at home this season with the only loss coming from No. 24 Michigan State.
"Tremendous team that plays well at home," Moren said. "I'm sure they're chomping at the bit to get another opportunity, but so are we."
IU’s road record, 6-4, isn’t bad. Despite leading the all-time series against Michigan 45-28, the Hoosiers haven’t won in Ann Arbor since 2009.
