Indiana Running Out of Time To Build NCAA Tournament Resume

Following a 91-79 loss at Wisconsin on Friday, Indiana fell to 0-6 against Quad 1 opponents and No. 99 in the NET rankings, an important metric used by the NCAA Tournament committee. The Hoosiers don't have a resume worthy of making the tournament now, and time is running out to change that.

MADISON, Wis. – Though Indiana hasn't reached the midway point of Big Ten play yet, hope of a third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance under coach Mike Woodson are dwindling.  

A 91-79 loss at Wisconsin on Friday night dropped the Hoosiers' record to 12-7 overall and 4-4 in Big Ten play. While Indiana stands at fifth place in the conference standings, its resume lacks any signature wins. And in what appears to be a down year in the Big Ten, time is running out to change that. 

The 2023-24 season is the sixth year the NCAA Tournament selection committee has used the NET rankings as one way to measure a team's resume. The top 68 teams in the NET aren't guaranteed to make the tournament, due to automatic qualifiers, and teams outside the top 68 have made the tournament field in past seasons. The NCAA explains that the NET takes into account game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses.

It's meant to be used as a reference tool, not the only factor for whether a team makes the tournament.

Here's how wins are defined by the NET rankings.

• Quadrant 1: Home 1-30, Neutral 1-50, Away 1-75
• Quadrant 2: Home 31-75, Neutral 51-100, Away 76-135
• Quadrant 3: Home 76-160, Neutral 101-200, Away 135-240
• Quadrant 4: Home 161-353, Neutral 201-353, Away 241-353

Following Friday's loss at Wisconsin, Indiana is No. 99 in the NET rankings and 13th among Big Ten teams: Purdue (1), Illinois (13), Wisconsin (15), Michigan State (22), Iowa (48), Ohio State (49), Nebraska (58), Northwestern (74), Rutgers (92), Michigan (93), Maryland (95), Minnesota (96), Indiana (99) and Penn State (120).

The Hoosiers are 0-6 against Quad 1 opponents, with losses to Wisconsin, Purdue, Nebraska, Kansas (11), Auburn (8) and UConn (7). Indiana is 2-1 against Quad 2 opponents, with a home win over Ohio State and road win against Michigan. Ten of the Hoosiers' 12 wins fall in the Quad 3 and 4 categories, which are not considered résumé-boosters in the eyes of the selection committee.

Looking ahead, Indiana has 12 Big Ten games remaining. The Hoosiers rank 22nd in strength of schedule, per the ESPN Basketball Power Index (BPI), and its remaining schedule ranks 27th in the nation.

Here's where each game currently falls in the NET's quadrants. These numbers are subject to change based on future games.

• Jan. 27 at Illinois, Quad 1
• Jan. 30 vs. Iowa, Quad 2
• Feb. 3 vs. Penn State, Quad 3
• Feb. 6 at Ohio State, Quad 1
• Feb. 10 at Purdue, Quad 1
• Feb. 18 vs. Northwestern, Quad 2
• Feb. 21 vs. Nebraska, Quad 2
• Feb. 24 at Penn State, Quad 2
• Feb. 27 vs. Wisconsin, Quad 1
• March 3 at Maryland, Quad 2
• March 6 at Minnesota, Quad 2
• March 10 vs. Michigan State, Quad 1

Indiana could also pick up much-needed quality wins during the Big Ten Tournament, which will be played in Minneapolis this year. But based on recent performances, coupled with the fact that three of Indiana's five remaining Quad 1 opportunities are on the road, the Hoosiers will have to seriously turn things around to build a resume worthy of NCAA Tournament consideration.

Right now, Indiana is not even in the conversation. On Bracket Matrix, which has compiled NCAA Tournament bracket prediction from 68 sites, Indiana is nowhere to be found. The Hoosiers aren't listed in any brackets, and they're not even one of the 16 teams listed as "other at-larges" in consideration.

Indiana has a week off before traveling to Illinois on Jan. 27, which recently received news that leading scorer and first-team All-Big Ten guard Terrence Shannon Jr. can return to the team after being suspended indefinitely following his December arrest and felony rape charge for an alleged incident in Lawrence, Kan.

Indiana coach Mike Woodson was particularly frustrated by the Hoosiers' defensive breakdown Friday at Wisconsin, and he has a week to figure out how to fix that before it's too late.

"It's my job to figure it out as a coach and get our team playing better," Woodson said. "And that's what I'm going to do."

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• GAME STORY: Indiana got blown out again on the road, losing 91-79 to Wisconsin with plenty of defensive breakdowns. Wisconsin guard Max Klesmit shredded the Hoosiers’ defense for 26 points and five 3-pointers, and CJ Gunn lost his composure and was ejected for elbowing Klesmit in the chin. CLICK HERE
• WHAT WOODSON SAID: Indiana lost 91-79 at Wisconsin Friday night at the Kohl Center, as Max Klesmit led the Badgers with 26 points. Malik Reneau scored 28 points for the Hoosiers, but that was just about the only bright spot. Here's the full transcript and video of what coach Mike Woodson said postgame. CLICK HERE
• TOM BREW COLUMN: Indiana is embarrassing its brand so bad lately, getting more cheap-shot flagrant fouls than victories the past two weeks. After another ugly loss at Wisconsin on Friday, there really is nothing nice to say about this program — other than not having to watch them for eight days. My column. CLICK HERE
• LIVE BLOG: Welcome to our live blog for Indiana's game against the Wisconsin Badgers, where we'll provide live updates, highlights and thoughts on the matchup live from press row at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. CLICK HERE