3/13/2019 basketball Edit

Lunardi: Win Over Ohio State Thursday Likely Gets IU In NCAA Tournament

Stu Jackson • TheHoosier

Staff Writer

Stu Jackson covers Indiana University basketball, football and recruiting for TheHoosier.com. He also hosts Heard on The Hoosier, the site's official podcast.

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Indiana guard Romeo Langford (0) drives to the basket against Ohio State forward Kyle Young (25) during the first half at Assembly Hall on Feb. 10. The two teams will meet again Thursday at 12:30 p.m. ET at the United Center in Chicago in their Big Ten Tournament opener (Brian Spurlock / USA TODAY Sports)

A four-game win streak to close out the regular season has Indiana back in the NCAA Tournament bubble.

However, the Hoosiers are currently listed among Joe Lunardi's First Four Out. According to Lunardi, a win over Ohio State Thursday (12:30 p.m. ET, BTN) would have IU feeling more comfortable about its chances to earn an at-large bid.

"I think the winner of that game will go back into the field," Lunardi said on a conference call Wednesday morning. "Ohio State was in the field and was actually the team that was last on our board and got bumped by St. Mary's last night."

Lunardi said Indiana has the talent to be in the NCAA Tournament, but his biggest issue with its resume is its record in Big Ten play.

"I want to make it clear to the good people of Indiana that I think they're good enough, but I think in general we need to a better job of rewarding winning," Lunardi said. "I just have a hard time with 8-12, in both their case and Ohio State's case. Now that's if I was voting. I think one of those two minimally will make it, and it's obviously pretty hard to ignore two wins over Michigan State, which won the league and could win the conference tournament and still be a one seed."

The ESPN bracketologist also said sweeping co-Big Ten regular season champion Michigan State is something that has to be accounted for. However, according to Lunardi, if those big wins are going to be recognized, equal attention should be given to losses - such as when Indiana lost 12 of its last 13 between January and February.

"I think if you're going to jump up and down for great wins, you also have to recognize five-game losing streaks and seven-game losing streaks, which I think is what Indiana has," Lunardi said. "They're the classic, how do we handle the middling (high)-major vs. the Belmonts of the world?"

Lunardi has both Ohio State and Indiana in his First Four Out as of March 13. While he wouldn't select either school, he believes the selection committee will.

"I wouldn't vote for Indiana or Ohio State, but I think the committee will," he said.