Sunday night, Indiana girls’s basketball gathered within the seats of Simon Skjodt Meeting Corridor, ready for the jumbotron to show what that they had been vying for all season lengthy: the ever-coveted No. 1 seed.
The Hoosiers had a good suggestion they might see what they had been hoping for — they by no means moved from a No. 1 seed in all of ESPN’s projected brackets for the 2023 NCAA event. However that didn’t make it any much less thrilling when the display screen confirmed their expectations.
“To truly see it on the large display screen, truly see that primary subsequent to our identify, it’s one thing that wanting again on it I won’t have thought was doable,” Grace Berger mentioned. “It’s actually particular — like I say on a regular basis — simply to see the place we got here from once I first acquired right here in 2018 to the place we are actually. It’s undoubtedly a kind of moments the place it sort of feels surreal.”
In a situation solely becoming for the historic common season the Hoosiers had, they earned a No. 1 seed within the NCAA event for the primary time in program historical past. However regardless of their unprecedented ranges of success, Teri Moren and her crew know they’ve loads to enhance on, they usually consider they’ve but to achieve their full potential.
After falling to Ohio State within the semifinal of the Massive Ten event final Saturday, Indiana returned to Bloomington for some much-needed relaxation and restoration. After the loss, Moren mentioned members of the workforce — together with Mackenzie Holmes — weren’t enjoying at 100%. So whereas the failure to achieve the Massive Ten event championship was undoubtedly disappointing, the additional relaxation days could have been simply what Indiana wanted.
“It’s been an ideal week for us as a result of we’ve been in a position to kind of shut down a bit mentally and bodily, and relaxation up,” Moren mentioned. “We’ve got practiced, nevertheless it’s been form of a bizarre week simply because we’ve been actually prepping for nobody.”
Now, Indiana a minimum of has an concept of who its opponents will likely be within the first two rounds in Bloomington. Meeting Corridor can even host a First 4 matchup of Tennessee Tech versus Monmouth on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET.
Indiana will play the winner of that sport at 11:30 a.m. ET Saturday, and, with a win, would face the winner of Oklahoma State and Miami (FL) Monday.
Right here’s a take a look at every of Indiana’s potential opponents within the first two rounds:
No. 16 Tennessee Tech
Tennessee Tech is again within the NCAA event for the primary time in 23 years after successful the Ohio Valley Convention championship. The Trojans beat No. 1 seed Little Rock 56-54 in a defensive affair to take their tenth convention title.
Tennessee Tech went 13-5 within the OVC, and completed with an total file of 22-9. The Trojans haven’t misplaced a sport since Feb. 16.
They’re led by Maaliya Owens and Jada Guinn, who common 14.7 and 10.4 factors per sport, respectively. Owens is twenty fourth within the NCAA in 3-pointers per sport with 2.77, taking pictures at a 40.7 p.c clip. Guinn leads the workforce with virtually 4 assists per sport.
As a workforce, Tennessee Tech is forty second within the NCAA in assists per sport with 15.7. It averages 69 factors, 34 rebounds and eight steals per sport. 3-point taking pictures, when photographs fall, might be harmful; the Trojans common 6.5 per sport.
No. 16 Monmouth
Monmouth, like Tennessee Tech, is driving the excessive of successful its convention championship into the NCAA event. Because the No. 7 seed, the Hawks received their first-ever Colonial Athletic Affiliation championship after enjoying 4 video games in 4 days and beating the highest three seeds.
Monmouth beat Towson 80-55 to clinch a spot within the NCAA event. This yr marks the primary time since 1983 Monmouth will seem within the NCAA event.
With an total file of 18-15, the Hawks common 64 factors and seven.6 3-pointers per sport. They’re led by Bri Tinsley and Ariana Vanderhoop, the one two gamers to common double figures. Tinsely leads the workforce in 3-pointers with 2.15 per sport, and averaged 15 factors per sport within the convention event. The Hawks even have strong bench manufacturing; all however one participant averages a minimum of 11 minutes per sport.
No. 8 Oklahoma State
If Indiana faces off with Oklahoma State, the biggest storyline will little question be the Garzon sisters: Indiana’s star freshman Yarden Garzon and Oklahoma State’s Lior Garzon.
The elder Garzon — a junior — transferred from Villanova after two seasons, and has develop into a dependable participant for the Cowgirls this season. She leads the workforce in 3-pointers, averaging 2.4 per sport, and shoots them at a 40.9 p.c mark for twenty eighth greatest within the NCAA. Garzon just isn’t a constant starter, however has performed in each sport and averages 10.9 factors per sport for second-best on the workforce.
Oklahoma State has surpassed many expectations this season simply by reaching the NCAA event; the Cowgirls had been predicted to complete ninth within the Massive 12. As a substitute, they completed fourth and made it to the convention event semifinals earlier than falling to Texas.
Notable video games embody wins over Baylor and Texas and tight losses to Oklahoma. With a 21-11 file, Oklahoma State returns to the nationwide stage for the primary time since 2021, the place it was additionally an No. 8 seed, making it to the second spherical earlier than shedding to Stanford.
No. 9 Miami (FL)
The Hurricanes have a formidable common season resumé, beating a bunch of ranked groups — North Carolina, Florida State and Virginia Tech — and competing with Michigan and Notre Dame.
Miami misplaced to Virginia Tech, now a No. 1 seed within the NCAA event, within the Atlantic Coast Convention semifinals, however has since flushed that sport and is solely targeted on its second event look in a row. Miami reached the second spherical of the NCAA event in 2022 earlier than shedding to South Carolina. This yr marks the Hurricanes’ sixteenth total event look.
The ‘Canes are led by senior Haley Cavinder, who averages 12.6 factors per sport and makes about 40 p.c of her 3-pointers. However it’s not simply Cavinder who’s a menace — graduate pupil Future Harden is each a scoring and rebounding menace with 12 factors and 5.8 rebounds per sport. Miami is an older, skilled workforce.
As a No. 1 seed, Indiana is clearly the favourite for the primary weekend of video games. However competitors will seemingly be fierce, as every workforce has one thing to show — as all groups do that time of yr.
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