Indiana Clinging to NCAA Tournament Life After Northwestern Loss

How many days until football season starts?

That was never much of a thought in Bloomington for years, but was clearly on the minds of several at Indiana on Tuesday night, after the Hoosiers suffered a stunning home loss to a lowly Northwestern team.

The loss was Indiana's sixth-straight to Northwestern, dating back to the 2021-22 season. It also dropped the Hoosiers to just 17-11 overall and 8-9 in Big Ten play.

Mix it all together and suddenly you have an Indiana team that is very much on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament.

Hoosiers Still in Joe Lunardi's Bracketology - For Now

Joe Lunardi of ESPN updated his Bracketology report on Wednesday morning and still has Indiana in the dance. However, the wiggle room for the Hoosiers is next to nothing.

Lunardi pegged Indiana as an 11-seed and one of the final teams to make the field without having to participate in a play-in game. His projection calls for Indiana to play six-seed BYU in the West Region.

According to Lunardi, Missouri closed the gap considerably on the Hoosiers after it beat No. 22 Tennessee on Tuesday night. Indiana is the last team in the field of 64 while Missouri is the first team having to participate in the play-in game, according to Lunardi.

Indiana's Final Three Games of Regular Season

Indiana returns to the court on Sunday when it plays host to No. 13 Michigan State. The Hoosiers have dropped three straight games following Tuesday night's loss to Northwestern, with blowout road defeats to Illinois and Purdue also a part of that.

Michigan State beat Indiana in East Lansing earlier this year, 81-60. That will be the most challenging opponent of the three left this regular season for the Hoosiers, but likely won't be the one that determines if Indiana makes the dance or not.

Indiana closes the home portion of the schedule on March 4 against Minnesota, but its trip to Ohio State on March 7 could have massive NCAA Tournament significance. Ohio State is right alongside Indiana on the bubble, with the Hoosiers seemingly having a slight advantage for now.

However, if Indiana were to lose to Michigan State, beat Minnesota, and fall at Ohio State, that gap would seemingly only close more, and perhaps the Buckeyes would pass the Hoosiers for one of the final spots in the dance.

After how this season started, it appeared a trip to the tournament was a safe bet. However, this stretch has made things more than shaky in regards to Indiana's tournament outlook.

How is it even possible that this program is knocking on the door of missing the NCAA Tournament for what would be the seventh time in the last nine seasons?

This IS Indiana, right?