Can The Hoosiers Defeat The Shockers?
And they will face…… the 10th seeded Indiana Hoosiers! (insert me screaming and pounding my chest “Let’s Go!”).
My initial reaction was likely similar for the majority of Hoosier Nation Sunday evening, when Indiana was announced in the NCAA Tournament field. There’s just something extra-exciting about being a “bubble” team. Yes, it’s a lot less stressful when you know you’re locked into the field of 68, but there’s a different adrenaline when you get in after uncertainty.
Then, I received a text message that stated, “It’s on now baby! IU who?!?!??”. You see, my family has ties with IU’s opponent Friday afternoon. Both my aunt Jackie, and Uncle Joey attended Wichita State University. As a matter of fact, my uncle was a part of the 1989 World Series Championship Shockers team.
What’s this history lesson have to do with the game on Friday? Well those family ties make me a little more familiar with the Shockers than most. “Uh oh,” I thought.
While many Hoosiers fans built excitement that the Shockers main players had the stature of 6’8 or less (in case you live under a rock, IU struggles with size), I started realizing how under-seeded Wichita State might be.
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The Shockers are a top-15 team in the nation. They were just outside the top-10 before the conference tournament loss to Illinois State. Their other three losses were to Northern Iowa (#9 in the coaches poll), Utah (#18 in the coaches poll) and a bad loss to George Washington.
Though the Shockers may not have had the toughest schedule, they went 28-4 and did knock off Northern Iowa in the rematch. Wichita State is also only a season removed from being a number 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, meaning the majority of their starters have experience on this stage.
The Hoosiers can’t say the same. Only Yogi Ferrell has tournament experience on the Hoosiers squad, playing meaningful minutes on the Sweet 16 team that earned a N0. 1 seed. Hanner Mosquera-Perea was also on that team, but was buried behind the likes of Cody Zeller, Christian Watford and Derek Elston. Safe to say this young Hoosiers team doesn’t know what to expect.
Not knowing what to expect could be a good or bad thing for the Hoosiers. It could lead to sloppy play, lack of energy, and a possible blowout. However, it could also turn into a nothing to lose approach. Into an us against the world approach.
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Many didn’t even expect the Hoosiers to make the tournament, and definitely not as a 10 seed. None of the experts are giving Indiana a chance against the Shockers, as Wichita State opened up at 5 point favorites. In fact, 25.8% of the ESPN submitted brackets are picking the Shockers to reach the Sweet 16.
So the Hoosiers will have their doubters, and ultimately their work cut out for them. Watching BYU in the first half of their play-in game got me excited, as I thought, “IU can shoot the 3 like them”….then the 2nd half came, and I thought, “IU can miss the 3 like them as well”.
Regardless, the Hoosiers are back in the NCAA Tournament where they belong. Can the Hoosiers pull off the upset, and shock the Shockers? Be sure to tune in Friday at 2:45PM EST to find out.