The seedings are in, and the Hoosiers are the No. 7 spot in the West region. They will play No. 10 Gonzaga - the same team that ended their season in the second round of the tourney last year - Thursday in Sacramento, Calif.
A few notable things here:
-- The Hoosiers have a chance to avenge last year's loss. Coach Sampson downplayed it today, but most of the players made some sort of allusion to a bit of extra motivation in this game, seeing as how the Zags - with superstar Adam Morrison on the squad - ended the careers of Marshall Strickland and the rest of IU's seniors.
-- IU is back in California. The Hoosiers have gone west now the past two tournaments, which is sort of strange, and which can also provide some challenges (transportation, the time change, etc.). Coach Sampson said today that the important thing was to get out to the site early and get settled in. The Hoosiers are leaving Tuesday, as far as I know.
-- Anyone else surprised by that No. 7 seed? I sure was, and I wasn't alone. Most of the IU players thought it would be lower. D.J. didn't admit to any prior notions, which probably wasn't true, but most of the other guys said they thought it would be anywhere between 7-10, and Sampson said he thought it would have been around there as well. As Coach pointed out, it's clear that the committee didn't see IU's loss in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament as that damaging.
-- The Big Ten gets six. Ohio State and Wisconsin and even IU were locks. Purdue and Michigan State were on the good side of the bubble, but Illinois? Talk about sweating it out. As a No. 12, the Illini might have just snuck in as the last or second to last team in the tournament.
Lots to do and talk about between now and Thursday's game, so check back tomorrow for some quotes from today's press availability at Coach Sampson's house. Oh, and since we're on the topic of sweating it out - California, baby. That sure beats Buffalo or Columbus. This spring break might just be redeemed after all.
