My Two Cents: Contrarian View Says Indiana Got What it Deserved From NCAA Committee

It's good that Indiana simply got in to the NCAA Tournament. As it played out, the warts on their resume were an issue, which is why the Hoosiers have to play in the First Four in Dayton on Tuesday. But it does not matter that you're angry because the players are excited and ready to go after a six-year drought.

Tom Brew | Mar 13, 2022

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — There's a lot of gnashing of teeth by Indiana fans on Sunday night, all bitter and angry that their beloved Hoosiers have been denigrated to a Tuesday ''First Four'' play-in game in Dayton, Ohio.

Sorry, I'm not joining that party. Indiana is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years, and that's a wonderful thing. That's what matters the most. But they are one of the ''last four in'' the Big Dance for a reason.

And we can't forget that.

Sure, they looked great for three halves here in Indianapolis, and they are absolutely trending in the right direction as a basketball team. Of that, I have no doubt. But you have to remember that members of the NCAA selection committee are not fans. They are, for the purposes of selecting a field of 68, simply analysts.

What we know now was that Indiana was not in the field before the Big Ten Tournament started, and probably snuck across the bubble line after beating Michigan on Thursday. They moved up a few more spots on Friday after beating Illinois, then slipped back a spot or two in the pecking order after losing Saturday and watching several teams — most notably Virginia Tech — pass them by in the pecking order.

So while you're blowing off steam at the disrespect, let's remember that the Hoosiers are 20-13, which is good, but they also had a very soft nonconference schedule and a losing record in the Big Ten. There were three teams ''on the bubble'' from the Big Ten, Indiana, Rutgers and Michigan.

Trust me, the selection committee was also well aware that Michigan clocked the Hoosiers in Bloomington, and Rutgers won there, too. Indiana's resume was good enough, but not great enough.

They got what they deserved. Basically, Virginia Tech took their 11 seed. And they were ACC champions. Indiana was ninth in the Big Ten and lost in the semifinals by blowing another big lead. That's an apt comparison.

This is also where the glass half-full talk comes in, too. You guys know by now how I roll with that. I take the good over the bad any day.

And my take is I'm glad they've made the tournament, because I feel like they deserved it. The selection committee thought so, too.

They are in. And that's all that really matters.

On Tuesday night, they will take on Wyoming from the Mountain West Conference. Beat the Cowboys and then it's off to Portland, Ore., for the first — and hopefully — second rounds in the EAST Regional.

Sure, it's a whirlwind of travel, but after six years of sitting at home, no one inside Indiana's program is upset about it. The Hoosiers are excited to be playing, and dancing, and they can't wait to go to Dayton on Monday.

There's a good reason for that, too. CBS had gone through three regions on the selection show Sunday night, and Indiana's name hadn't been called. They were nervous.

So when their name was announced, there was pure joy to be in the field. It doesn't matter that it's Dayton, doesn't matter that it's Tuesday.

They are in. Period.

"Yeah, we're super excited,'' Indiana guard Rob Phinisee said after the announcement." Just not knowing if we were going to be in the tournament going into the Big Ten Tournament was huge. Those two games — (upset wins over Michigan and Illinois) — were huge for us, and everyone is just looking forward to going down to Dayton and playing against Wyoming because everyone knows we haven't been to the tournament since 2016.

"This is huge for our state, huge for our fan base, and everyone is just looking forward to it.''

The wait was painful watching the selection show.

"Yeah, we were super nervous, just super anxious just because we were the last region (announced),'' Phinisee said. "Every time a region came up we thought we were going to get chose, so we were the last region, everyone just super anxious about it.

"But yeah, everyone is just super excited, and now we just have to get right to work and get ready because it's a quick turnaround against Wyoming in Dayton, and guys are just super excited and ready to go.''

See? The players are excited. So if you're not, well, to be honest, it really doesn't matter.

This is an Indiana team, mind you, that lost five games in a row not too long ago and finished ninth in the Big Ten. It's the only league that got nine teams in.

And being in is all that matters. Just ask the fine folks at UCLA.

A year ago, the Bruins finished 17-9 and had a four-game losing streak late. They got stuck in the play-in game and had to play Michigan State. They won in overtime — and then won four more games to advance to the Final Four.

They weren't the first. VCU played in the First Four in 2011 and made it to the Final Four, too. And one of the two play-in winners has won their first-round game in every year but one since it started 11 years ago.

I'm not saying that Indiana will make a Final Four run, but it does help to keep right on playing after all they accomplished in Indianapolis. Sure, they blew a nine-point lead late to Iowa — with all of the selection committee watching, mind you — but they are playing with a lot of confidence right now.

There's a massive value in getting right back out on the floor, in my opinion.

How much confidence, I asked Phinisee.

"So much,'' he said. "Just that Michigan game, that first half, everyone saw the first half, but then the second half, just since then everything has changed. Everyone is building off that momentum.

"Even though we had a tough one against Iowa (Saturday), everyone was still building off that momentum because we're playing really good basketball right now and we feel like Tuesday we want to play just because we're playing really well right now. Yeah, we're just going to carry that over to Tuesday.''

Yeah, the travel is tough, but even without the First Four game, Indiana was going to have to fly to Portland anyway. So that's a wash. A quick trip to Dayton their charter plane probably won't take 40 minutes. That's nothing. So it's a moot point.

I get that it's hard for fans to get there, but that's almost always the case with the NCAA Tournament, because it's spread out from coast to coast. We got spoiled last year with the entire tournament being played in Indiana, but most of the time, this is how it works.

A lot of fans are also complaining that Kentucky gets to play in Indianapolis and IU doesn't. But that was never an option for Indiana, because the NCAA protects and takes care of the highest seeds first, and works their way down. That's why No. 1 seed Gonzaga gets to play in Portland and fellow No. 1 Baylor gets to play in Fort Worth. They just go down the line and put the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds as close to home as they can.

Purdue as a No. 3 seed was hoping to get to Indy, too. That would have been allowed, as a higher seed. But Kentucky got that spot first, and now Purdue has to play in Milwaukee, their second chocie. It's just how it works. It's not perfect.

So the best advice is this. Tuesday's game starts sometime after 9 p.m., so rest up and simply enjoy the game. You weren't flying to Portland anyway, so don't worry about it. If Indiana wins, they play at 7:20 on Thursday, and you'll watch on TV.

Indiana is in the NCAA Tournament, and that's what matters. Playing Wyoming in Dayton beats the heck out of playing St. Whoever in the NIT at Assembly Hall.

Put on your dancing shoes and let's roll. We got what we deserved — a ticket to the dance. That's all that matters.

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