Mackenzie Holmes Feeling Better as Indiana Approaches NCAA Tournament

After suffering a knee injury that limited her playing time in the Big Ten Tournament, Indiana senior forward Mackenzie Holmes said Sunday she's feeling a lot better heading into the Hoosiers' NCAA Tournament game against Fairfield on Saturday.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana's All-American forward Mackenzie Holmes said her knee injury is feeling a lot better, thanks to an extended break before the NCAA Tournament. 

Holmes left Indiana's Senior Day game against Maryland on March 3 with a knee injury. That resulted in her playing just five minutes in the Hoosiers' 69-65 loss to Michigan in their first Big Ten Tournament game on March 8.

The women's college basketball schedule comes with an extra week of rest, so Indiana will have just over two weeks between games. The Hoosiers are a No. 4 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament and will host No. 13 seed Fairfield (31-1) on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET at Assembly Hall. The game will be  broadcast on ESPN2. 

Holmes' injury brought back fearful memories of the end of last season, when Holmes was hampered by a knee injury during the NCAA Tournament. Indiana earned a No. 1 seed, but the Hoosiers were upset by Miami in the Round of 32 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. This time around, Holmes said she's feeling better.

"I think this past week I've been able to get some much-needed rest for my knee," Holmes said Sunday. "And I've been able to get back out on the floor. I've been practicing, so each day I think I'm feeling more and more confident on it, feeling better on it. So this week has been great for that, the aspect of recovery of my knee."

"I would say I'm feeling much different than I was last March versus this March. I think I practiced maybe once or twice leading up to the Miami game even, after the Big Ten Tournament. So I'm now in practices doing pretty much everything, so I'm feeling a lot better this March than I was last March, which is a great thing for me."

With a win, Indiana would advance to play the winner of No. 5 seed Oklahoma and No. 12 seed Florida Gulf Coast on March 25 at Assembly Hall. Should Indiana advance to the Sweet 16, it would play in Albany, N.Y.

Indiana has also dealt with injuries to Sydney Parrish and Lilly Meister in recent weeks, but Moren felt the extra time off helped the Hoosiers get everyone back on the floor.

"It's just been a good week for all of us, especially Mackenzie and especially Syd [Parrish]," Moren said Sunday. "We had some other kids that have been a little bit dinged up, so this was a great week for us to rest a lot, although we did practice, but we really shortened it. But it's been a good week. [Sunday] we had everybody. [Saturday] was the first day we had everybody on the floor, so it was quite nice to see. But now it's go time for us. So we're going to take [Monday] off, get acclimated with Fairfield, and when guys get back here on Tuesday, we'll be ready to go."

Indiana averaged over 10,000 fans at home games this season, a benchmark met just three times in the history of Big Ten women's basketball. Indiana defeated Iowa in front of a sellout crowd on Feb. 22, and it has had strong crowds all season. The Hoosiers hope that home court advantage helps them at the most important time. 

"I hope they show out for us – I know they will," Holmes said. "We have the best fans in the country."

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