The college basketball regular season is drawing to a close and Indiana men’s basketball finds itself on the bubble once again, somewhere it’s been more often than not in the past decade regardless of who’s leading the program.
It’s not Darian DeVries’ fault that the Hoosiers haven’t made it to the NCAA Tournament since 2023 or gotten past the second round since 2016. But it’s now his problem.
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DeVries’ first Indiana team, in a vacuum, is performing about to its preseason expectations in a top heavy Big Ten with plenty of progress and setbacks. These Hoosiers have won games they probably shouldn’t have, like Purdue at home and UCLA on the road. They’ve also lost games they probably shouldn’t have, like Minnesota on the road and Nebraska at home, given the second half lead in the latter.
They now enter their final games of conference play in the same position they were in heading into the first, with ample opportunity to play their way into the field. They’ll do so with the benefit of 27 games learning one another’s strengths and weaknesses, there’s no more figuring things out. It’s now or never.
Northwestern at home won’t be a pushover. Chris Collins’ teams play hard and this season’s group has pushed teams in spite of their record with close games against Iowa, UCLA and Ohio State. The Wildcats battled down to the final minutes with both Illinois and Michigan, they aren’t to be taken lightly.
Michigan State has struggled away from home at times but still boasts one of the country’s top defenses and top passers in Jeremy Fears Jr. The Spartans punked the Hoosiers in East Lansing this season, a game Indiana can’t afford to repeat on its home floor.
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Minnesota has given teams trouble at home, one of said teams being Indiana itself. The Golden Gophers just beat Oregon and Rutgers in blowout fashion in spite of their losing record overall and we’ve already seen the challenges they posed to the Hoosiers.
Ohio State is in a similar position to Indiana, albeit slightly more dire. The Buckeyes are in need of a big win to get into the NCAA Tournament picture even with their victory over Wisconsin. The Hoosiers are not that kind of win, but Ohio State has beaten better teams at home. Beating another bubble opponent to close the season would be the final stamp on Indiana’s resume.
Each of these teams provide their own challenges to Indiana, which would be pretty solidly in the field with a clean sweep and still feel good going 3-1. Anything less than that would make for an uncomfortable Selection Sunday.
Indiana knows what it is at this point and has a strong chance against each. This isn’t a new team anymore and there’s several reasons it should be playing its best basketball right now, as it was back in January. If DeVries wants momentum heading into a pivotal second offseason, his first full one, now is his chance.
