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Published Sep 6, 2022
Indiana Basketball: Where the Hoosiers Landed in Updated ESPN Bracketology
Alec Lasley  •  TheHoosier
Senior Writer
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@allasley
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The 2022-23 season for Indiana is one that has high expectations -- expectations that the program hasn't had in nearly half a decade.

The Hoosiers return four starters from last season, including All-Big Ten forward Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Indiana is coming off of a 21-14 record last season which included a Big Ten Tournament semifinals appearance and its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016.

ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi updated his bracket on Tuesday and the Hoosiers moved up to the highest ranked Big Ten team in the bracket.

Indiana is a 3-seed, up one seed-line from the last bracket in the East Region with a matchup in the first round against No. 14 Iona, coached by Rick Pitino. A win would give the Hoosiers a potential matchup in the Round of 32 with either Texas Tech (5) or UAB (11). North Carolina is the 1-seed in the East.

Other notable programs in the region include: Tennessee (2), TCU (4), Arizona (5), UConn (7) and Ohio State (9).

In total, the Big Ten has a bracket-high eight programs making the field -- with Indiana the highest rated of the conference.

"The first national championship game I attended was in 1981, with Indiana and Bobby Knight getting past North Carolina and Dean Smith. It has been in my head ever since that Indiana is part of college basketball royalty. Sadly, in my years as a bracketologist, the Hoosiers have rarely lived up to that label," Lunardi said. "A surprise Final Four in 2002 and a single No. 1 seed in 2013 are the best the Hoosiers have managed in a quarter century -- until now, with Indiana checking in as the highest-seeded Big Ten team in our latest bracket. The season is still two months away, of course, but it says here that Indiana is finally back -- and that the sport is better because of it."

Not only does Indiana have a loaded conference schedule again playing in the Big Ten, but it also has notable matchups with North Carolina (1-seed), Kansas (2), Arizona (5) and Xavier (7) in the non-conference slate.

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