For the first time since the 2015-16 season, IU women’s basketball heard its name called on Selection Monday.
The team will travel to Eugene, Oregon for the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
IU was given the No. 10 seed, which sets up a game against the No. 7 seed University of Texas. The Longhorns were also ranked No. 23 in the Associated Press Top25 poll at the end of the regular season, finishing with a 23-9 record and 12-6 conference record.
“I don't know a whole lot about them,” IU Coach Teri Moren said Monday. “They're in the Big 12, and there's tradition there. In the past, they've been a mainstay in the tournament.”
This will be Texas’ sixth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Overall, it will be the program's 32nd all-time appearance, which ranks fourth out of all NCAA Division I programs. In those years, the Longhorns have gone 42-30 in the Big Dance.
Texas' 23-9 record makes this year the sixth consecutive season in which the Longhorns have reached 20 or more wins. As for IU, 20-12 overall and 8-10 in the Big Ten, this is the fourth consecutive season it has accumulated 20 or more wins, but just its second NCAA bid in those seasons.
This will be IU’s sixth overall NCAA Tournament and second one with Moren at the helm. The Hoosiers are just 2-5 in its tournament history.
“It's difficult to convince your kids that there's nothing quite like this when they've never experienced it,” IU Coach Teri Moren said. “This is the reason why we do what we do. This is the reason you're at Indiana.”
Senior forward Kym Royster is the only one player on IU’s roster has had experience in the field of 64. As for Texas, one of its seniors who has played in the tournament before will not be playing Friday. Lashann Higgs tore her ACL in November and is out for the season. She played just four games this season and averaged 13.8 points.
With Higgs out, the Longhorns are led by junior guard Sug Sutton, who is averaging 12.8 points per game. Sutton is joined by three other Texas starters that also average double figures in scoring. The Longhorns present a tall and athletic lineup to the court, which is why throughout the season they had a plus nine scoring advantage and plus 10 rebounding advantage.
Texas lost in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament to Iowa State, which is a three seed in the NCAA Tournament.
IU was bounced out of the Big Ten Tournament in the quarterfinals to Iowa, which is a No. 2 seed.
The winner of IU and Texas will play the winner of No. 2-seeded Oregon and No. 15-seeded Portland State.
The Hoosiers and Longhorns tip-off at 7 p.m. Friday night at the Matthew Knight Arena.
