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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – After shaking off some early jitters and building a lead over a staunch Tennessee Tech team, No. 1 seed Indiana paced themselves to a 30-point victory over the 16th-seeded Golden Eagles in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday.

However, they did it without Mackenzie Holmes, their All-American presence down low, who missed Saturday's game due to knee soreness.

Moren said Holmes was "limited throughout the week," but would've been available late in the afternoon if needed in a dire scenario. However, Moren hopes they can turn Holmes loose on Monday in their second round matchup.

"Very optimistic," Moren answered when asked about Holmes' health. "Feel really good about her Monday."

Holmes elaborated on the situation after the game, mentioning that her absence was something they had planned.

"Just trying to be cautious and be smart," Holmes said. "We know that I was banged up during the Big Ten Tournament, so the more time we have to rest, the better."

Holmes confirmed that she had been practicing as much as she could throughout the extended break between games, but with the long stretch, they felt it was the smartest option to withhold Holmes from testing it on Saturday.

"Some days, I do other stuff and have been keeping myself active, but it's been the medical staff making decisions day by day," Holmes said. "I'm being evaluated day by day, we'll see how things go today, tomorrow, and then they'll make a decision for Monday on Monday.

"It's something that I know can get reaggravated at any time when I'm playing, so it just happened. Luckily, we had these couple weeks to kind of rest and rehab, then there wasn't a big necessity for me to play, so I was able to sit out."

Indiana had a multitude of players step up in her absence, and Moren knows that even when Holmes is back, she won't be able to go 40 minutes. "She hasn't been able to do that all year."

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In 30 games this season, Holmes is averaging 22.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.9 blocks per game. She's an All-American and was named to the All-Big Ten First Team amongst a host of other awards and accolades.

Indiana will hope to have her back for a deep tournament run. They'll take on the winner of Oklahoma State and Miami on Monday in Bloomington.

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