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Bracketology Losers: Indiana, Texas, and Texas Tech struggle on Champ Week

By Tristan Freeman

BLOOMINGTON, IN - JANUARY 14: Romeo Langford #0 of the Indiana Hoosiers walks down the court after a turnover in the 66-51 loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Assembly Hall on January 14, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN - JANUARY 14: Romeo Langford #0 of the Indiana Hoosiers walks down the court after a turnover in the 66-51 loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Assembly Hall on January 14, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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EAST LANSING, MI – FEBRUARY 02: Indiana Hoosiers celebrates 79 – 75 win against Michigan State Spartans at Breslin Center on February 2, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI – FEBRUARY 02: Indiana Hoosiers celebrates 79 – 75 win against Michigan State Spartans at Breslin Center on February 2, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

Indiana Hoosiers

While Texas will test the boundaries of overall losses to make the NCAA Tournament, Indiana will test how much conference play matters. For the season, the team is 8-13 against Big Ten opponents and went through a stretch where they lost 12 of 13 games, including multiple five-game losing streaks.

The only thing keeping the Hoosiers alive are their massive resume wins. They’ve beaten Marquette, Louisville, Wisconsin and Michigan State twice. In fact, IU fans should be rooting hard for the Spartans to win the Big Ten Tournament on Sunday so that their signature wins look even better. It also helps that Indiana doesn’t have any Quad-3 or 4 losses on the season.

The problem though is that the team has an overall record of just 17-15 and is just 8-15 against Quad-1 and 2 opponents. They also have struggled with the eye-test, with five losses of at least 15 points. Their NET ranking of 53 is also below several other bubble teams.

Similar to Clemson vs. NC State, Indiana took on Ohio State in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, viewed as an elimination game. The Hoosiers fell behind early and couldn’t catch up, losing to the Buckeyes. For some, it was the final straw for their bubble hopes, with them falling to the “First Four Our” in our latest projections.

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If Indiana does sneak into the field of 68, it’ll be on the strength of their victories. If not, it’ll be because they got two wins in the months of January and February. Even in what’s considered a weak bubble overall, there are still limits for how much a power conference team can lose and still get an at-large bid. Along with Texas, what happens to the Hoosiers will determine what the Selection Committee truly values.

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