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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Ryan Phillips

Why Indiana Being Left Out, UNC Getting in Are Two Biggest Stunners of NCAA Tournament

Indiana Hoosiers head coach Mike Woodson in the first half against the Oregon Ducks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Indiana will miss the NCAA tournament for the seventh time in nine years. This time, many believe they should have gotten in.

The Hoosiers were one of the first four teams left out of the tournament after going 19-13 on the season and 10-10 in the Big Ten. Indiana went 4-13 against Quad 1 teams and didn't have any losses outside of Quad 1. So they won a few games against really good teams and didn't suffer any bad losses. Among their big wins were a road victory over Big Ten champion Michigan State and a home win over Purdue.

North Carolina was the last team to get in the field. The Tar Heels went 22-13 but were 1-12 against Quad 1 teams and suffered a Quad 3 loss against Stanford. Somehow, UNC was included in the field and a team with a better resume was not.

A number of people couldn't believe the Hoosiers will be sitting at home.

To be sure, Indiana did itself no favors. The Hooisers struggled at the Battle 4 Atlantis when they were blown out by Louisville and Gonzaga. They were smoked by Nebraska in Omaha and at one point lost eight of 10 in conference play. But they did finish the regular season winning five of seven before struggling against Oregon in the Big Ten tournament.

Still, Indiana being left out while teams like North Carolina and Xavier got in is stunning.


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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Why Indiana Being Left Out, UNC Getting in Are Two Biggest Stunners of NCAA Tournament.

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