NCAA: The Hoosiers are in

The Hoosiers are in. The Indiana Hoosiers are the hottest team in the Big Ten right now. They have won three in a row. All three games have been lopsided victories. Indiana was on the bubble until they put this string of wins together.

Now, with only the Big Ten tournament left, they are looking like a lock for an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament. With a solid performance against Wisconsin in the tournament, they could be working their way up the seeding system as well.

Before this current hot streak, I figured they would sneak in the brackets at a 9 or 10 seed. Now, they are a possible 5 or 6 seed. This could make a huge difference for them. They do not have any Seniors and they have very little tournament experience on the team since Pepperdine knocked them out in the first round last year. If they keep playing like they have been, they got a realistic shot of making the Sweet Sixteen.

A couple of wins in the tournament may just be what this team needs to get Mike Davis back next year. How good could this group be next year with everyone returning? Davis is steadily making the people of Bloomington forget about Bobby Knight. Better yet, he is slowly making them forget about Rick Pitino or some of the other high profile coaches who might want his job next year. The best thing about Davis and this Indiana team is that they seem to be peaking at the right time. He really has them in sync on offense and their defense has improved.

They can create several mismatches on the floor with their athleticism, height, and shooting. Just ask Wisconsin? They scored more points against the Badgers than anyone else had scored on them all year long. When Krik Haston and Jared Jeffries are playing well inside and out, all they need is one guard such as Tom Coverdale or Kyle Hornsby to knock down a shot every now and then.

They have shown signs all year of being a very good basketball team. They blew several big leads in the second halves of a couple of games. Lately, they have built their leads early and maintained them throughout the second half as well. Peaking at the right time and coming together as a team is something Indiana has lacked the last few years. By this point of the season, the Hoosiers usually seemed mentally and physically drained. There wasn’t any team chemistry and this led to several quick exits from the tournament. Do you think Knight had something to with that?

Would this team be playing this well if Knight was still there? Would they be playing better if Pitino was there? These are the questions running through the heads of the university officials as well as the fans. As I watched the Hoosiers whip the injury depleted Boilermakers on the road Saturday night, I began to think the players were making a statement about who they want to be their coach next season. If they keep it up, Mike Davis might be in Bloomington for a long time.