COLUMN: Indiana men’s basketball lost again. Its March Madness hopes are still in reach

Indiana men’s basketball’s resume is one of the most unique in the country.  

Entering Tuesday, the Hoosiers had zero Quad 2, Quad 3 or Quad 4 losses, a stat not even No. 8 Michigan State, No. 9 Texas Tech University or No. 10 Iowa State University can boast.  

Conversely, their 11 Quad 1 defeats spell missed opportunities, and lots of them. Even still, Indiana's four wins in that category gave them enough of a boost to challenge for an NCAA Tournament berth. 

A matchup against Oregon on Tuesday was all that stood in the way of effectively sealing that berth. But the Hoosiers again dropped a close, winnable Quad 1 game, losing 73-64 to the Ducks inside Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon. 

Both Indiana and Oregon entered Tuesday with winning streaks of three and five games, respectively, and neither team appeared willing to end them in the first half. Entering halftime with the score 35-32, both teams needed a positive second half.  

The turbulent nature of the contest continued in the second frame, with neither team taking a lead more than 6 points until there was under a minute remaining. Ultimately, Oregon emerged victorious, powered by sophomore guard Jackson Shelstad’s 17 points and clutch 3-pointer with a minute and a half to go. 

As the buzzer sounded, Indiana ended the game shooting 40% from the field and 36% from 3-point range, while Oregon shot 39% on field goals and 24% from behind the arc. Both teams dished out 15 assists, the turnover battle was 10 to 9 in favor of the Hoosiers and the Ducks only had two more steals and blocks than their counterparts. 

The main discrepancy lay in the free throw shooting. 

Indiana only shot five free throws in the first half compared to Oregon’s four, but the issue was it only made one while the Ducks hit all four. Then in the second half, Indiana only had two free throws while Oregon shot 15 for 17 from the line. 

“In a physical game like that where both teams are battling their asses off, you can’t punish one team and put one team at the line for 21 times and the other team only gets there seven times,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. “That’s awful.” 

Indiana has lost tight contests before. The Hoosiers fell to Maryland on Jan. 26, then-No. 10 Purdue on Jan. 31 and UCLA on Feb. 14 by a combined score of 10. 

Those were all critical Quad 1 games that could have firmly cemented Indiana’s place in the NCAA Tournament; instead, the Hoosiers continue to fight for an at-large bid, and Tuesday’s loss did little in helping with that. 

But it didn’t exactly hurt Indiana either. 

With one final game remaining on the schedule, the Hoosiers are set to face Ohio State, a squad they have already faced before. Previously, the Cream and Crimson defeated the Buckeyes 77-76 on Jan. 17 in Columbus, Ohio. 

Ohio State is in a similar situation as Indiana. Despite being ranked No. 36 in the NCAA Net Rankings, the Buckeyes were one of the “Last Four In” teams according to ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi on Tuesday. Indiana was in the “Last Four Byes” group. 

Now, following its thrilling 116-114 double overtime victory Tuesday night over Nebraska, Ohio State likely swapped places with Indiana. But none of that matters because Saturday will almost certainly mark a “win-and-in" situation for both teams. 

Almost as important, the contest between Indiana and Ohio State will determine which team attains the No. 9 seed in the Big Ten Tournament along with a first-round bye. From there, the opposition will likely be Illinois or Oregon, although that is still yet to be determined. 

“We are in the mix of a battle, we got a chance to get to the Big Ten Tournament and anything can happen when you get into tournament play yet,” Woodson said. “Right now, we are staring Ohio State in the face, and we got to go figure that out." 

But none of that matters in the grand scheme of things — all Indiana can do is focus on its next game, which is exactly what Woodson and his players have preached for most of the season. 

So, even with another critical loss to a Quad 1 opponent, the Hoosiers still have aspirations of reaching March Madness — and as of now, those dreams are still a possibility.