Heartbreaking losses and missed opportunities are becoming the norm for Indiana basketball.

Losses that I'm sure not only leave the Hoosiers demoralized but also leave key wins — wins that could've really helped IU's case to make the NCAA Tournament — on the table.

Indiana is on the outside looking in when it comes to the tournament bubble, and the door hasn't completely closed on the Hoosiers, but with gut-wrenching losses piling up, it's getting harder to see a path where IU can safely make the field.

Indiana had a two-point lead with less than a minute to go against Maryland, a one-point lead with seconds remaining at Purdue, a chance to tie it in the final possessions vs. Michigan, and now, had an opportunity to tie it — or win it — in its Friday night matchup against UCLA.

IU and UCLA battled for all 40 minutes. The Bruins maintained a slight lead throughout, but the Hoosiers were always right there, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Indiana got the game within four a number of times but couldn't seem to close the gap after that, making it seem like another close loss was in store yet — when all hope was seemingly lost — UCLA put a chance to tie the game up right in the Hoosiers' lap.

By a small miracle, Indiana had the ball, down by just two, with 31 seconds remaining, yet it couldn't get it done.

Myles Rice missed a floater on the baseline, and then Mackenzie Mgbako missed two shots — both on extremely good looks — to seal the Hoosiers' fate.

"It's a tough loss," said Mike Woodson postgame, adding, "We executed, but we just didn't finish. I thought, after they missed the one-and-one, we came back and got a good look, Mack got an offensive rebound, point-blank layup, and we don't get it. Then we get a wide-open three."

In another Quad 1 opportunity, Indiana couldn't make the last shot. This time it resulted in a 72-68 loss at the hands of Mick Cronin's UCLA Bruins but, bigger picture, may have put the nail in Indiana's tournament coffin.

While IU couldn't make the final shot — or three shots, actually — it's not because the Hoosiers didn't get good looks. After Rice missed the floater that Woodson said was a "botched play," Indiana was given a gift as it secured the offensive rebound that ultimately led to two more Indiana shots.

These two shots — both by Mgbako — ended up being the difference in this one as, like Woodson said, they executed down the stretch but couldn't make the final basket to finish the job.

But like I said, it took a "small miracle" to even get there, as the Hoosiers were looking dead to rights in the minutes before they had a chance to tie this one up.

IU was down seven with less than 90 seconds remaining. Luke Goode missed a 3-pointer, Sebastian Mack secured the rebound, and Anthony Leal fouled him moments later to extend the game despite the hefty deficit.

After a review, though, it showed Mack swung his arm at Leal, earning the UCLA forward a flagrant foul, though he would still get to shoot the one-and-one from Leal's common foul.

Mack missed the ensuing front end, and Goode hit both shots as Indiana's technical free throw representative.

This gave Indiana the ball back down just five, as opposed to an alternate scenario where Mack doesn't hit Leal and makes both free throws — that would've given IU the ball down by nine, effectively ending the game.

IU was handed an opportunity right in its lap though, taking advantage immediately with a Malik Reneau 3-point play that cut the game to two. After a UCLA missed jumper and a held ball with possession to IU, we're right back where we started — IU down two with just 31 seconds remaining.

This was a dream situation for Indiana in hindsight, as it had one possession to tie or win a ballgame it had trailed for the vast majority of. IU put up three shots during the possession and, of course, they all found the rim instead of the bottom of the net.

"We got exactly what we were looking for on the play, and that's a shot that he normally makes. He just didn't make it," Woodson said — and he's right — that's a shot Mgbako knows well, but he simply couldn't find nylon when it mattered most.

While this loss doesn't eliminate IU from the tournament conversation, it certainly makes it harder to believe the Hoosiers' name will be called on Selection Sunday.

After a monumental win Tuesday against Michigan State, many hoped that IU would use that momentum to pick up another huge win against UCLA.

Of course, that was not the case, and IU's record in the first quadrant now sits at 3-11, simply not good enough to be an at-large team come March.

That's what makes this loss so demoralizing for Woodson's group — not just because of the nature of the loss itself, but because of what Indiana could've gained if it won.

"After coming off the Michigan State game, which was a great game for our young team and the ball club, and then to come in and not finish tonight, it hurts," Woodson said.

I'm sure that this one — and all the other close losses of late — does hurt the Hoosiers, but they have no one to fault but themselves.

They've been through a ton in recent weeks, but with heartbreaking loss after heartbreaking loss, the common thread has been that IU can't seem to execute on the final play.

While this game was an exception, as the Hoosiers did get a good look out of an inbound play, the coaching mistakes seen against Maryland, Purdue and Michigan afforded Indiana no room for error in this one against UCLA.

The Big Ten is tough — and sometimes you lose a heartbreaker like this one from time to time — but when it happens this often, to this talented of a team, it's no coincidence.

Indiana still has chances to pick up quality wins, but those chances are getting slimmer by the day. It was handed a way back into this one with UCLA's technical foul and missed free throws, but couldn't capitalize in the end.

If Indiana misses out on this year's tournament, fans will be eager to point out several games that they believe were the turning point in the season, but this one right here may have been the biggest missed opportunity of them all.

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