All Sunday, IU fans were forced to wait and wonder where exactly the Hoosiers would be placed in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. A win against Wisconsin in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament, you would think, would have nearly solidified them as the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, where they would have had to travel just about an hour to Indianapolis and Lucas Oil Stadium for the second weekend of the tournament.
But with the 68-56 upset loss to Wisconsin Saturday in Chicago, the Hoosiers fell to the third overall No. 1 seed, slated in the East region to play the winner of LIU Brooklyn and James Madison on Friday in Dayton, Ohio Friday.
With that, here are other notes on the East region, the other six Big Ten teams in the tournament and the rest of the 2013 NCAA Tournament bracket.
- The teams in the East region, in order of seeds are: No. 1 IU, No. 2 Miami (FL), No. 3 Marquette, No. 4 Syracuse, No. 5 UNLV, No. 6 Butler, No. 7 Illinois, No. 8 N.C. State, No. 9 Temple, No. 10 Colorado, No. 11 Bucknell, No. 12 California, No. 13 Montana, No. 14 Davidson, No. 15 Pacific, No. 16 LIU Brooklyn/James Madison.
- IU has lost just six games this season, but two of their losses have come from teams in the East region. The Hoosiers lost 88-86 to Butler at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Dec. 15, and they also fell on the road 74-72 to Illinois Feb. 7 in Champaign, Ill.
- Should IU make it to the Elite Eight, IU Coach Tom Crean could possibly get a chance to face his former team, the Marquette Golden Eagles, who he coached to the Final Four in 2003.
- The No. 1 seeds in the tournament, in order of rank, are: Louisville (Midwest), Kansas (South), IU (East), Gonzaga (West). The No. 2 seeds in those regions are: Duke (Midwest), Georgetown (South), Miami (East), Ohio State (West).
- The Big Ten managed to get seven teams into the NCAA Tournament field: IU (No. 1, East), Ohio State (No. 2, West), Michigan State (No. 3, Midwest), Michigan (No. 4, South), Wisconsin (No. 4, West), Illinois (No. 7, East), Minnesota (No. 11, South). The Big East was the only conference with more teams in the field with eight.
- Although IU fans (and IU media having to come up with the money to travel) may be upset with the Hoosiers losing hold of the Midwest region No. 1 seed, the Hoosiers may have dodged a bullet. After No. 1 seed Louisville, the Midwest contains No. 2 Duke and No. 3 Michigan State, both teams who were in the run for a No. 1 seed for a good part of the season. No. 4 Saint Louis comes in as one of the hottest teams in the country, winners of 15 of 16, including Atlantic 10 regular season and post season titles. No. 5 Oklahoma State,who made plenty of noise in the Big 12 this season, and No. 12 Oregon, who won the Pac 12 championship last night, both pose as dark horses in this region as well.
