choosing Auburn. I'm not mad. I'm disappointed
NCAA Tournament Bracket
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Plus they have to win a BOATLOAD more games in a row, gambler's fallacy and all that's still a tough row to hoe
I mean, I did disclaimer that I hate it but the metrics supported it, and I could see the committee just saying no to a .500 team on principle, and that turned out to be correct.
Forgot to add, if they get past the second round, they would than need to travel to San Jose, CA for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8. That’s a little tough.
skyIdub
"I can't tell you. Secret."
That’s very B1G of you.
I mean...what other conference has a maps commercial?
We got a pretty easy draw to get to the S16 considering UNC doesn’t have their top scorer, but assuming we play Houston, I don’t like our chances. They will just out-athlete us, I fear.
If I'm a Wisconsin fan, I'm mad at a 5 seed, right? More quad 1 wins than us and beat Michigan and us twice?
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
If you believe in the Many Worlds theory, there’s a timeline where this exact scenario plays out. Might as well be our timeline.
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For those still wondering about everybody's favorite bubble team-
www.thedailyhoosier.com
IU men’s basketball officially misses NCAA Tournament, will decline other postseason opportunities
Indiana men’s basketball has officially concluded its 2025-26 season. IU failed to earn an NCAA Tournament bid in Darian DeVries’ first season at the helm. That’s now confirmed af…
www.thedailyhoosier.com
Curbelo Fanboy
BERTBALL IS LIFE
The one thing I don’t understand is how does Mizzou as a 10 get to play in Stl. Miami kinda got jobbed there
You’re right. NCAA did ban that for a while specifically because of that Illinois game at UK. Lou coached the heck out of that team that should’ve beat a dominant UK team on their own court. Makes you miss the days where our players were coached up. Beat a great Maryland team to get there. But NCAA relaxed that rule later.
Pipe dream for Illini picks
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How the Big will fare in NCAA
1, Michigan is very good but they played 3 close games in the Big Tourney. I see them running into a very good Iowa State team- Loss
2. Purdue has found their footing again. I see them making a run to get to Elite 8 and a matchup between Arizona or Wisconsin
3. Wisconsin-with Boyd and Blackwell they have a shot to make the Elite 8
4. MSU-I don't see them getting by UCONN unless Fears trips the whole team
5. Nebraska-I'm not sure Nebraska has regained the form. Vandy will be a tough out.
6 OSU-1 and done-Duke will prove to be too tough a hill to climb
7. Iowa-1 and done-Will run into Florida
8. UCLA-Loses first game
9. Illinois- too inconsistent. think they will beat Penn in close game. Carolina would almost be a home game for them-If Illini show up they could pull what I would say is an upset. If they somehow get to play Houston I think the Cougars will punch, mug, and humiliate Brad's soft team.
1, Michigan is very good but they played 3 close games in the Big Tourney. I see them running into a very good Iowa State team- Loss
2. Purdue has found their footing again. I see them making a run to get to Elite 8 and a matchup between Arizona or Wisconsin
3. Wisconsin-with Boyd and Blackwell they have a shot to make the Elite 8
4. MSU-I don't see them getting by UCONN unless Fears trips the whole team
5. Nebraska-I'm not sure Nebraska has regained the form. Vandy will be a tough out.
6 OSU-1 and done-Duke will prove to be too tough a hill to climb
7. Iowa-1 and done-Will run into Florida
8. UCLA-Loses first game
9. Illinois- too inconsistent. think they will beat Penn in close game. Carolina would almost be a home game for them-If Illini show up they could pull what I would say is an upset. If they somehow get to play Houston I think the Cougars will punch, mug, and humiliate Brad's soft team.
Illini in Italy
- Illini HQ, Florida Panhandle
For those still wondering about everybody's favorite bubble team-
IU men’s basketball officially misses NCAA Tournament, will decline other postseason opportunities
Indiana men’s basketball has officially concluded its 2025-26 season. IU failed to earn an NCAA Tournament bid in Darian DeVries’ first season at the helm. That’s now confirmed af…
biglug58
- Chicago, IL
Some potential Cinderellas to consider. Coincidentally, a few of them in our bracket.
UNI
#41 since February 1st and when you look at Q2 games or better (3 games) they're #13. Their first round opponent, St. Johns's, is #8 against Q2 or better. And potential 2nd round opponent, Kansas is #50. The Panthers play a deliberate pace, they don't turn it over, and have been one of the hottest teams from three. Good recipe for upsets.
VCU
Talked about them already in a different thread. They've just been the flat out better team than UNC lately. In Q2 or better games since February, VCU is #18 and UNC is #51. They're one of the better defenses in the country and can get hot from three which could give them a puncher's chance against us in round two should we meet.
St. Mary's
I actually think this is a really dangerous 7 seed. They're the 18th ranked team since February with a top 20 defensive efficiency. During that time, they're a top 10 rebounding team and the 4th best three point shooting team. I think they could knock off Houston and if we meet them in the S16, it's going to be a real battle.
Santa Clara and Troy
Could see them winning their first match up but don't think there's much meat on the bone after that.
Vandy
Maybe not really a "Cinderella" as a 5 seed but they have a good path to a S16 rematch with Florida who they just beat handily. Get past the 1 and into the E8 and who knows what could happen.
UNI
#41 since February 1st and when you look at Q2 games or better (3 games) they're #13. Their first round opponent, St. Johns's, is #8 against Q2 or better. And potential 2nd round opponent, Kansas is #50. The Panthers play a deliberate pace, they don't turn it over, and have been one of the hottest teams from three. Good recipe for upsets.
VCU
Talked about them already in a different thread. They've just been the flat out better team than UNC lately. In Q2 or better games since February, VCU is #18 and UNC is #51. They're one of the better defenses in the country and can get hot from three which could give them a puncher's chance against us in round two should we meet.
St. Mary's
I actually think this is a really dangerous 7 seed. They're the 18th ranked team since February with a top 20 defensive efficiency. During that time, they're a top 10 rebounding team and the 4th best three point shooting team. I think they could knock off Houston and if we meet them in the S16, it's going to be a real battle.
Santa Clara and Troy
Could see them winning their first match up but don't think there's much meat on the bone after that.
Vandy
Maybe not really a "Cinderella" as a 5 seed but they have a good path to a S16 rematch with Florida who they just beat handily. Get past the 1 and into the E8 and who knows what could happen.
Also salty about Purdue. On paper they picked up 3 more quad 1 wins this weekend. But, they beat 1. A struggling Nebraska team 2. A UCLA team down 2 starters and 3. A Michigan team that played far from its A game. Only credit they should really get is for beating Michigan, still impressive no matter how well they played. But they had already jumped us by that point.
Meanwhile we lost in OT to the team that just beat Purdue on their court.
I guess my point is I didn’t feel like Purdue snapped back into form or really played all that much better than they’ve been playing the last month or so, but got gifted a path to the E8. I wonder if that’s due in part to Smith inevitably setting the all time assist record and wanting to keep that storyline alive.
But, it’s okay. Let’s get our legs back and get out of the big 10. Teams sputter to the finish line and go on runs in the tourney all the time. It’s not like we’ve been consistently been getting blown out. We’ve lost heartbreakers to teams playing really well and have blown big leads.
Why not us?
Meanwhile we lost in OT to the team that just beat Purdue on their court.
I guess my point is I didn’t feel like Purdue snapped back into form or really played all that much better than they’ve been playing the last month or so, but got gifted a path to the E8. I wonder if that’s due in part to Smith inevitably setting the all time assist record and wanting to keep that storyline alive.
But, it’s okay. Let’s get our legs back and get out of the big 10. Teams sputter to the finish line and go on runs in the tourney all the time. It’s not like we’ve been consistently been getting blown out. We’ve lost heartbreakers to teams playing really well and have blown big leads.
Why not us?
Illinir1
- Camdenton, MO
Maybe this will be the year the NCAA makes a new basketball rule because Houston got hosed by the refs in their tornament loss to Illinois. We can hope.
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