Indiana Basketball Projected 'First Four Out' Ahead of Final Two Games

Indiana still has a lot work to do to ensure its spot in the NCAA Tournament. We take a look at where the Hoosiers currently stand in the projections.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana is running out of time to play itself into the NCAA Tournament.

The margin of error is very slim for the Hoosiers, but with two games left in the regular season, there's still hope that they can get in.

Indiana has two major opportunities this week to pick up quality wins and boost its resume, first starting with a road game at Michigan State on Tuesday, followed up by a road game at No. 23 Purdue on Saturday.

Ahead of this big week, we take a look at where the Hoosiers stand in the most recent NCAA Tournament projections as of Tuesday, March 2.

Mike DeCourcy

Mike DeCourcy of FoxSports, who is also a Big Ten Network analyst, has the Hoosiers in his "next four out" category at the moment.

Indiana sits in there with fellow Big Ten member Minnesota. But Michigan State is considered to be one of DeCourcy's last four in, so if Indiana could defeat the Spartans, they can inch themselves a little closer to the bubble.

DeCourcy has nine Big Ten teams making the field.

Mike DeCourcy, FOX College Hoops

Jerry Palm

CBS Sports' Jerry Palm has the Hoosiers mentioned in one spot of his bracketology, and that's squarely on the bubble.

But Palm also has Michigan State in the field as a No. 11 seed, which is another reason why the game Tuesday night is so important.

Palm also has nine Big Ten teams in the field.

Jerry Palm, CBS Sports

Joe Lunardi

Archie Miller's favorite bracketologist Joe Lunardi has the Hoosiers in his "first four out" spot, and unlike the others, Lunardi has Michigan State with Indiana in that spot as well.

This really stresses how big of a swing game Tuesday night in East Lansing could be for both of these teams.

Lunardi has eight Big Ten teams dancing in March at the moment.

Joe Lunardi, ESPN

The weeks of Indiana being on the right side of the bubble are now over. There's still a viable path for the Hoosiers to get in, but they really need to take of business with these final two games of the season.

But the way things are trending, Indiana might need to do some damage in the Big Ten Tournament to bolster its resume.

Either way, Tuesday night's game against Michigan State is pivotal for the Hoosiers. Tipoff is at 8 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network.

Related Stories:

• HOW TO WATCH IU-MSU: For all the information on Indiana's game versus Michigan State, CLICK HERE
• BIG TEN TOURNAMENT: Seedings and matchups mean everything in the Big Ten Tournament, and Indiana has a new potential opponent now after Monday night's game CLICK HERE
• POWER RANKINGS: Ohio State has now lost three games in a row and is a bit of a freefall. Here's our latest Big Ten power rankings, from 1-14, with Indiana tumbling, too. CLICK HERE