Last season, Indiana women’s basketball’s hopes of becoming the NCAA Champions were cut short by the eventual-champion University of South Carolina in the Sweet 16. The Gamecocks won 79-75 over the Hoosiers.
Now, Indiana could take on South Carolina again in the tournament. The Hoosiers will travel to Columbia, South Carolina, to take on the No. 8 University of Utah in the Round of 64. If they win their first contest, they will have a matchup with the winner of No. 1 South Carolina and No. 16 Tennessee Tech University in the Round of 32.
With the tournament bid, Indiana will make its sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
But Indiana is in a much different position than it was just a year ago. The Hoosiers had to adapt to life without two of their key pieces — Mackenzie Holmes and Sara Scalia — as they made their way to the NCAA Tournament.
Indiana also earned the No. 9 seed — its lowest since 2019 when it was the No. 10 seed — meaning it’ll have to go on the road for its first set of games, rather than having the luxury of hosting like it has over the past three NCAA Tournaments.
Even with the differences, Indiana head coach Teri Moren remains confident in her squad’s abilities. Leading up to the bracket reveal, Moren said the Hoosiers’ practices have shown promise as they look toward the tournament.
“We’ve tried to take a couple days, extra days off, but we’ve been up and down very competitive inside of practice, and these guys have responded to it really well,” Moren said on Zoom after the selection show Sunday. “It’s been a really good week for us — just trying to keep out competitive edge but also cover things we know we’re going to have to be really good at once the tournament starts on Friday.”
Moren once again stressed the importance of practicing how you play. She said if Indiana can show up against Utah the way it’s been practicing, she feels good about the Hoosiers’ chances.
And it’s not just practice that has Moren feeling confident about her team, but Indiana’s Big Ten Tournament showing.
The Hoosiers claimed a 16-point victory over Oregon — a team which they lost to earlier in the season — on March 6 in their first game of the tournament. After the dominant win, No. 1-seeded USC awaited Indiana the following day. While the Trojans defeated the Hoosiers 84-79, Indiana left faithful it could compete with the best teams in the country.
“I think we walked away, although disappointed with coming up short, with a lot of confidence,” Moren said of the Hoosiers conference tournament performance.
The loss to USC marked Indiana’s second close loss to the Trojans this season — the first being a 7-point defeat Jan. 19.
However, the Hoosiers have not consistently shown the level of intensity they displayed against USC in their two close calls, as they suffered multiple double-digit losses to other conference opponents. If Indiana wants to make a run in the tournament, it will have to channel the energy it had when playing some of the best teams in the country, while making sure it can close out the contests — starting with the Utes in the Round of 64.
Tipoff between Indiana and Utah is set for 1:30 p.m. Friday at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN2.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Savannah Slone (@savrivers06) and columnist Ryan Canfield (@RyanCanfieldOnX) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
