The Hoosiers were named the No. 5 overall seed in the nation and will receive a first-round bye before taking on the winner of Xavier and Monmouth in the second round Sunday in ?Bloomington.
“It’s very exciting,” senior defender Patrick Doody said. “It’s the highest seed that I’ve ever had here, and it shows that the hard work we put in during the regular season paid off. It’ll be a tough game Sunday.”
It’s the highest seeding IU (12-4-5) has had since the 2007 season.
The Big Ten had six teams make the tournament. Michigan State is the No. 3 overall seed and Maryland is the No. 4 overall seed, while Ohio State, Penn State and Northwestern also earned bids.
“Obviously (Maryland and Michigan State are) two great teams and good to represent the conference,” Doody said. “We would’ve loved to have a top-four seed, as would everyone. But good for the Big Ten.”
Eleven of the 18 regular season opponents IU faced also made the tournament. IU’s record against those teams was 7-4-3, including a win against No. 1 overall seed Notre Dame.
The Hoosiers have the highest winning percentage in tournament play history at .739 and now have made the tournament 39 times in school history.
IU will now have until Sunday to prepare for either Xavier (13-5-2) or Monmouth (11-3-6), who play each other on Thursday.
“We’ll 100 percent be ready,” Doody said. “It’ll be good to get some time off, this weekend was long, but we’ll watch film and prepare and do what we’ve done all year to put ourselves in this position.”
The Hoosiers are also in the same region as No. 12 seed Creighton, No. 13 seed Louisville and No. 4 seed Maryland. If IU keeps advancing, it would face all of the teams in the region at home except for Maryland.
“I’m just happy to be playing on our field,” Doody said. “Playing on our field during tournament time is a special thing.”
IU Coach Todd Yeagley had high praise for both schools the Hoosiers could face.
“Xavier, if they were to come out ahead, will be an absolute battle,” Yeagley said. “Monmouth is a formidable opponent.”
IU lost to Xavier in the preseason.
Yeagley said his staff is closely monitoring junior midfielder Femi Hollinger-Janzen, who suffered a concussion against Ohio State on Friday. He is likely to be ready and is expected to play Sunday.
“We were hoping for a top-eight seed based on where we thought the RPI was last and our body of work and that our schedule was one of the toughest in the country,” Yeagley said. “The committee continues to reward that.
“It’s not easy to achieve a five seed, so they deserve this. It’s now a new season.”
