‘Certainly disappointing’: IU basketball’s NCAA tournament hopes dim after Ohio State loss

Photos from IU basketball's 91-78 loss at Ohio State.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — In the immediate aftermath of Bruce Thornton’s record-breaking 3-pointer — a shot that broke Ohio State’s all-time scoring mark — the Schottenstein Center transformed into a sea of outstretched arms.

Referees signaled the basket was legitimate, teammates lifted their arms in elation, and fans promptly followed suit, recognizing the significance of what they had witnessed. Everyone’s arms were up.

Everyone except Indiana.

While Conor Enright’s left arm was briefly outstretched to contest Thornton’s shot, it quickly fell back to his side as he stood still, watching the latest addition to the Hoosiers’ 17-point first-half deficit. Darian DeVries stood on the sideline, hands on his hips, with a motionless bench of Crimson-clad players behind him.

As the final 40 seconds of the first half counted down, the home fans remained on their feet, offering a continuous soundscape of applause for the occasion. They celebrated history and a dominant half, one that set the stage for a win that potentially punched Ohio State’s ticket to the NCAA tournament.

Meanwhile, the Hoosiers watched as their NCAA tournament aspirations were overshadowed by bleak uncertainty. Indiana watched what could’ve been.

It was as if the Hoosiers were experiencing a bad nightmare, sitting idly by as an opposing team lived out their hopes and dreams. But this was no nightmare — it was reality. And Indiana wasn’t sitting idly by — it simply couldn’t compete.

Thornton’s 3-pointer capped off a 15-4 run that the Hoosiers were unable to recover from in their 91-78 loss to the Buckeyes on Saturday night.

“Obviously, we want to play well,” DeVries said postgame. “We want to put ourselves in a position to win the game, and for us to have a stretch like that, it’s certainly disappointing.”

The similarities between Indiana and Ohio State go beyond their positioning on the NCAA tournament bubble entering the matchup. Both have put together resumes with uncanny similarities — a scattering of bad losses with a home win over Purdue to make up for them.

Neither team has been excellent. They are poster children of inconsistency. Neither are overly deserving of a trip to the dance but have done just enough to remain in contention. And in the battle of the undeserving, Indiana passed up a golden opportunity to prove itself.

To make matters worse, the Buckeyes’ celebrations weren’t contained to Thornton’s record-breaking shot. In the second half, they honored incoming five-star recruit Anthony Thompson, who committed to Ohio State despite heavy interest from Indiana.

The Schottenstein Center’s LED boards were plastered with March Madness branding while speakers blasted its trademark theme song, a fitting tribute for the Buckeyes, who reached the often-discussed 20-win mark, likely solidifying their NCAA tournament bid. A message, “Welcome to March Madness,” lined the arena’s upper deck.

It’s a message that evaded Indiana after an early exit in last season’s Big Ten tournament. One that will almost certainly evade the Hoosiers this season should the same events transpire.

“Play as long as you can, and win as many games as you can,” DeVries said. “That’s going to be our mindset. So, worry about the one in front of you. The one in front of us is going to be Wednesday, and that’s really all we care about at this point.”

Indiana won’t know who it will face on Wednesday, but it will be one of the Big Ten’s bottom four teams. No matter the opponent, one win over a bottom-feeder won’t drastically shift their likelihood of earning an at-large bid. But should the Hoosiers win, they’ll already know who they’ll face next — Purdue.

It’s not an impossible feat for Indiana to take down its in-state rival. The Hoosiers did just that on their home floor in January. But the most recent encounter between the two programs told a different story as Indiana suffered a 29-point loss to the Boilermakers in West Lafayette on Feb. 20.

Realistically, even beating the Boilermakers may not be enough. But the Hoosiers have all but forfeited the luxury of speculation.

“I think the biggest thing is it’s the next chapter now,” DeVries said. “The regular season’s over. Now, you prepare for postseason play.”

For Indiana, the path to the NCAA tournament now hinges on a rigorous stretch in the Big Ten tournament.

“We just have a lot of motivation to come into the Big Ten tournament and show what we really can do,” Reed Bailey said. “I mean, just having that bad taste in your mouth, I think it’s motivation enough to really come out and try and make a run.”

While the sights and sounds of another team’s NCAA tournament celebrations may rival a fiery pregame pep talk, motivation alone won’t be enough to answer the Hoosiers’ postseason prayers. Only results can do that now.

Indiana had every reason to be motivated ahead of its matchup with Ohio State and trailed by 17 points at the half.

Now the Hoosiers will head to Chicago, having lost five of their last six games, needing to do something they haven’t done in over a month and string together consecutive wins. Otherwise, their season may end the same way Saturday night did — watching another NCAA tournament-bound team celebrate at their expense.

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

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