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The Indiana basketball program (21-10, 12-8 Big Ten) secured a double-bye and the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament on Sunday night.
Indiana entered Sunday's slate of games as the No. 7 seed, but after Maryland and Iowa both lost, the Hoosiers entered their game against Michigan with a 'win and secure a double-bye' scenario. Following its win, it was up to Northwestern to determine the final seeding for Indiana. Northwestern's win over Rutgers gave the Hoosiers the No. 3 seed.
"Well, it's very important," IU head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. "I think back to last season when you have to play, we played three straight games three straight nights. Man, that's tough, physically, as well as mentally. And you know, our guys were right there at the end fighting, man. You know, they were playing for something and because they had never tasted the NCAA play, and this year, it will be a little different.
"But Friday, Saturday and Sunday, there's still a lot of basketball, there really is. We have to take it one game at a time, one day at a time and see where it leaves us. But I'm happy that we are playing three games versus four."
Indiana will play the winner of the No. 6 seed Maryland vs No. 11 Nebraska/No. 14 Minnesota on Friday night at 9 pm ET.
If they win, on Friday night, the Hoosiers will play either No. 2 Northwestern or No. 7 Illinois or No. 10 Penn State at 3:30 pm ET on Saturday.
Indiana has never won the Big Ten Tournament. It has played in just one Big Ten Tournament Championship game and that was back in 2001, a two-point loss to Iowa.
Last season, Indiana was one shot away from advancing to the finals, before losing to Iowa in the semifinal matchup.
The Hoosiers have advanced to the semifinals just five times since the tournament began in 1998.
"We knew what was at stake," Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis said on Sunday. "Obviously we saw the games that happened before we started playing with Penn State and Maryland and Iowa, Nebraska and we watched both of those so we knew that double-bye was at stake and we had to play hard."
Indiana has an overall record of 15-24 in the Big Ten Tournament.
Below is the full bracket:
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