Indiana's Men's Teams Flop as Hoosier State Hosts the Entire NCAA Tournament
Indiana Flop
Indiana missed the 2010 NCAA tournament, as did six of the Hoosier State’s other nine Division I men’s basketball teams, but the 2010 tourney was a showcase of the state’s rich basketball history.
At the time, eight different venues in six different cities across the state had hosted at least one tournament game, including the brand new Lucas Oil Stadium hosting that year’s Final Four, the sixth Final Four hosted by Indianapolis. Three of the state’s 10 teams reached the 2010 tournament and combined for seven wins, five by Butler, who played two Final Four games six miles from their campus.
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Eleven years later, in the first-ever NCAA tournament hosted entirely by one state, the state’s 10 men's teams combined for zero wins. With Purdue’s loss to North Texas on Friday night, the state finished with an 0–1 record. And with the loss, it will be the ninth straight tournament without an Indiana team in the men's Final Four after Butler’s back-to-back appearances in 2010 and 2011.
Related: Indiana and Purdue have combined for one Elite Eight appearance in the last 19 seasons.
Woj Bomb
Nick Saban isn’t leaving the Miami Dolphins for Alabama, Nick Saban repeatedly said in December 2006, denouncing reports of his potential interest in a return to college football after two seasons in the NFL.
“I guess I have to say it. I'm not going to be the Alabama coach,” Saban said again on Dec. 21, 2006. Thirteen days later, Saban was Alabama coach.
Saban isn’t the only coach who’s lied about interest in a job, claimed he was staying before leaving, and/or otherwise misled the public about his intentions. Brad Stevens won’t join that dubious club of liars, says everyone, including Brad Stevens.
Even before Indiana fired Archie Miller on Monday, Stevens was floated as a potential candidate for a return to his home state, where he won 166 games and made two national championship appearances in six seasons as Butler's head coach.
“I am not,” Stevens told Zolak & Bertrand on Tuesday when asked if he’s leaving the Boston Celtics.
Jeff Goodman, college basketball’s preeminent insider for coaching news, has repeatedly rejected the Stevens-to-Indiana idea, as have other reporters over the last five days, including Adrian Wojnarowski:
“It’s incredible Brad Stevens has to even spell this out for people,” Woj tweeted on Friday. “No one is leaving a head coaching job in the NBA for college anymore. Not the Celtics. Not the Kings. Not anyone, anywhere. Nobody is returning to college unless they’re no longer welcome to stay in pros.”
Boom.
Pro Day Poop
Travis Kelce suffered an abdominal injury prior to the Senior Bowl in 2013, keeping the Cincinnati tight end out of the pre-draft showcase in Alabama. Four weeks later, he was still sidelined for NFL scouting combine, leaving the Bearcats’ pro day on March 13 as his last on-field opportunity to impress teams.
He pooped his pants. Literally.
In an exclusive clip on Sports Illustrated from The Misery Index, Kelce told the story of his poopy pro day:
NFL Roundup
There are now 12 women suing Deshaun Watson for sexual misconduct … Ranking the best remaining NFL free agents … ICYMI: Amazon bought the rights to Thursday Night Football games … Lance Zierlein dropped a new mock draft … Urban Meyer criticized the NFL’s legal tampering period … The Vikings were stripped of a draft pick for a salary cap violation … Four teams that make sense for a Sam Darnold trade.
THE Aftermath
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