Will IU miss the tournament again?
By TYLER SMITH (@TylerSmith_ISL)
ISL Editor
BLOOMINGTON — The Indiana Hoosiers had a chance to grab another signature win for their tournament resume on Tuesday night. Instead, they folded down the stretch and were handed a fourth straight loss. The Wisconsin Badgers defeated Indiana 74-69 in Bloomington, and now the question on everyone’s mind: Will the Hoosiers once again miss the NCAA Tournament?
“It’s rough,” said Hoosier star Trayce Jackson-Davis. “At the same time, we still control our own destiny. We have five games left. There’s a lot of basketball to be played.”
Jackson-Davis dominated the Badgers, on way to his 5th-career 30-point game. But in the final possessions, TJD was too passive for Mike Woodson’s liking.
“I thought we didn’t milk it enough,” Woodson said, referring to his big man. “We kept going to Trayce because I knew they couldn’t stop him. He thought the kick-out was open a few times. But in that situation, you’ve got to put it on the officials and get to the basket.”
So now, the Hoosiers sit at 7-8 in conference play, and 16-9 overall. This team was one win away from being ranked just a few weeks ago. But now? Their overall resume has once again reached bubble territory. Their remaining five games look like this:
It’s hard to see this team winning at Ohio State or at Purdue. Realistically, they’ll need to win each of those middle three games. And even then, they’ll probably need to win a game in the conference tournament. That would put them at 20 wins on the season, and though it wouldn’t be a guarantee, I think 20 gets them in. The Hoosiers were listed as a 10-seed in the latest Bracketology before the Wisconsin loss.
The scary thing for Hoosier fans- knowing how difficult winning all three of those games will be. Maryland is just 3-11 in the conference, but they just took Purdue down to the wire at Mackey Arena. They also defeated Illinois earlier this season, and lost by just two at home to Ohio State. Fans also know how challenging it is to win at “the Barn” in Minnesota. If they do survive those two games, the biggest test comes on Senior Night against Rutgers, a team that is currently 9-5 in conference play.
“They’re kind of looking over their shoulders again,” Mike Woodson said of his players. “In past years, how things have happened to them coming down the stretch.. I’ve got to help them get over that somehow. We’ve got to learn how to win.”
Like Jackson-Davis said, there’s a lot of basketball to be played. It’s not as gloomy as some fans think, but far from rosy at this point. A season that looked so promising will now be defined by the final five plus games. Anything short of the NCAA Tournament will clearly be a major disappointment for the program.
