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Indiana's defense had been the backbone of the team all season and that was no different in its 66-58 win over Wyoming in Tuesday's play-in game.

Wyoming came in with an effective trio of Hunter Maldonado, Graham Ike and Drake Jeffries, combining for 48.5 points per game while shooting a combined average of 48.3 percent from the field. Indiana knew it would start and end with those three, but its defense was up for the task.

Indiana head coach Mike Woodson came in with the expectation that it was going to be a defensive battle and after the first few minutes, it just reaffirmed his message.

"We've been great defensively all year," Woodson said. "I thought early on we couldn't find offense and they couldn't find it. And I told the guys in the huddle, hey, it's going to be a grind, one of those ugly games. But we've just got to stay the course. And we did."