Bracketology: Where Do The Indiana Men And Women’s Basketball Teams Stand?

The Big Ten Conference season is here for both teams. They are both 10-3, but are their NCAA Tournament credentials similar?

Indiana Head Coach Teri Moren talks with Lexus Bargesser (1) during the Indiana versus Bellarmine women's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The beginning of January means the start of conference play across college basketball.

Big Ten action resumes for the Indiana men as Rutgers visits Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall for an 8:30 p.m. ET tip-off on Thursday.

The women’s team has already resumed Big Ten play with an 83-52 blowout win over Wisconsin Saturday. The Hoosiers host No. 1 UCLA at noon ET this Saturday.

The resumption of conference play means enough games are in the books to start thinking about NCAA Tournament credentials. It’s early with a lot of games to go, but a picture is coming into focus.

In that respect, the women’s and men’s teams are in different boats despite both having 10-3 overall records as of Thursday afternoon.

The Indiana women have the rosier predicted outcome. ESPN women’s basketball analyst Charlie Creme has the Hoosiers firmly in the field in the only women’s bracketology source updated regularly at this point in the season.

He has the Hoosiers in the field as a No. 9 seed playing against No. 8-seeded Creighton in the Columbia Regional – hosted by No. 1 seed South Carolina. If that were to play out, it would mean that the Hoosiers could face the Gamecocks in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.

It would also mean Indiana could be on the road in the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2021 season.

The Indiana women are ranked No. 38 in the most recently released NCAA NET rankings. Unlike the men, the NCAA does not release Quad 1-4 win data, but Indiana has beaten No. 22 Baylor, which counts as a Quad 1 win. Indiana is 3-2 in games that are considered to be Quad 1 or Quad 2 contests, the highest tier of quality.

As for the Indiana men? It’s a different story.

There are myriad men’s bracketology websites – both from recognized media outlets and efforts done by fans on their own web sites. Many of them are tracked at bracketmatrix.com – 31 websites in all.

Of those? As of Thursday, Indiana is only mentioned as a possible NCAA Tournament team in one of them – Oak Creek’s March Madness.

Oak Creek’s March Madness has Indiana as an 11-seed playing Michigan (possible in this day of super conferences, but unlikely two conference teams would play each other in the first round), but the site also has the Hoosiers mentioned as an “also considered” team. So one of those is inaccurate.

Among other websites, respected college basketball site barttorvik.com has Indiana as the 15th team left out of the field and gave the Hoosiers a 1.4% chance of getting a bid as things currently stand.

Other sites have Indiana out but offer better odds. Dratings.com has Indiana as one of its first four out, but it hasn’t updated its bracket since Dec. 26.

Sites such as inccstatts.com gives Indiana a 32.6% chance of making the tournament. Bracket Madness and Mills’ Bracketology has Indiana within range as one of the last eight teams left out.

What holds Indiana back is its No. 67 NCAA NET ranking and lack of quality wins. The Hoosiers are 1-3 in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games. Indiana’s lesser margin of victory in recent games against Chattanooga (74-65) and Winthrop (77-68) also hurt as the NET is partly based on expected win outcomes.

Indiana will have an opportunity to improve its NET ranking in the Big Ten. All but one of the Hoosiers’ 18 remaining games are against Big Ten teams in the top 100 of the NET.

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• INDIANA WOMEN FACE FORMIDABLE NO. 1 UCLA: The top-ranked Bruins might be the best women's team to ever come to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. CLICK HERE.

• THREE THINGS TO WATCH AS INDIANA MEN FACE RUTGERS: What to watch for as Indiana's men's basketball team resumes Big Ten play. CLICK HERE.

• HOW TO WATCH: Indiana resumes Big Ten play on Thursday night with a home game against Rutgers. Here's how to watch, with gametime, TV information and a good breakdown on both teams. CLICK HERE