When and Who Indiana Teams Will Play in the 2022 NCAA Tournament
The regular season is over and each of the 32 Division I conferences in the NCAA has crowned its champion. Now, one of the most, if not THE most, exciting tournaments in all sports will tip-off to determine the 2022 NCAA National Champion.
Who Plays in the NCAA Tournament?
Once the final buzzer sounds on the final conference championship game, the NCAA Selection Committee gets to work at the NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis determining the 68 teams who will make up the tournament's field. As an additional reward for winning their conference tournament, each of the 32 conference champions receives an automatic bid to the tournament. The remaining 36 "at-large" teams are hand-selected by the committee based on a number of factors including regular-season record and strength of schedule, i.e., how well they did against tougher opponents.
After determining who is in, the committee then seeds them 1 through 16 in four different regions, the West, East, South, and Midwest. Number one seeds begin by playing the 16 seed in their region, the two seed plays the fifteen, three plays fourteen, so on and so forth.
Which Indiana Teams Made the NCAA Tournament?
Of the 10 Division I men's basketball teams in the Hoosier state, only three were selected to participate in this year's tournament. Let's take a look at who's in, where they landed on the infamous bracket, and most importantly, when and where you can watch them play.
Indiana Hoosiers
After an up-and-down regular season under first-year head coach and former player himself, Mike Woodson, the Hoosiers made a Cinderella-esque run in the Big Ten tournament. They knocked off the number one seed Illinois in the quarterfinals and looked like they were going to upset the 24th nationally-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes until Hawkeye senior Jordan Bohannon hit a miracle three-pointer to give his team a three-point lead with 1.1 seconds left.
Going into the Big Ten Tournament, IU was considered a "bubble team" for the NCAA Tourney, meaning they had a 50-50 shot at being selected. Despite the loss to Iowa, the committee decided IU did enough to earn itself a spot. However, they apparently felt it wasn't enough to give them much of a break before they have to play again. The Hoosiers are one of eight teams who will play Tuesday and Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio in what is called the "First Four." Essentially, they made the tournament but must play an extra game to "earn" their place in the field. They'll take on the University of Wyoming Cowboys Tuesday night. Win, and they'll claim the 12 seed in the East Region where they'll face the 5 seed, Saint Mary's.
- Who: Indiana vs. Wyoming
- When: Tuesday, March 15th at 8:10 PM Central / 9:10 PM Eastern
- Where: TruTV
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The Fighting Irish find themselves in the same situation as the Hoosiers. They did just enough to make the tournament but will need to earn their spot in the field by playing an extra game. They'll face Rutgers Wednesday night for the chance to be the 11th seed in the West Region. If they make it past the Scarlet Knights, they'll play the Alabama Crimson Tide on Friday.
- Who: Notre Dame vs. Rutgers
- When: Wednesday, March 16th at 8:10 PM Central / 9:10 PM Eastern
- Where: TruTV
Purdue Boilermakers
Unlike Indiana and Notre Dame, Purdue won't have to play their way into the field of 64. The Boilermakers were one of the best teams in the country this season, consistently finding themselves in the top five rankings, even holding the number one spot for a period of time. They are considered one of the teams who could make a deep run in the tournament and have the talent to bring home the national championship. Their loss to Iowa in the Big Ten Championship Game earned them a 3 seed in the East Region where they'll take on the 14 seed Yale on Friday.
One thing to keep an eye on — although I don't expect it to happen — both IU and Purdue are in the East Region. If both go on a run, they could face each other in the Elite Eight.
- Who: Purdue vs. Yale
- When: Friday, March 18th at 1:00 PM Central / 2:00 PM
- Where: TBS
Let the Madness Begin
The full NCAA Tournament bracket is available to download and print through the tournament's official website.