Both IU and Purdue men’s basketball team earned trips to the NCAA Tournament — in fact it was Purdue’s first bid since 2012, garnering a No. 9 seed in the Midwest Region, the NCAA Selection Committee announced tonight.
The Indiana men’s basketball team (20-13) received an at-large bid in the tournament and are the No. 10 seed in the Midwest Region and will take on No. 7 seed Wichita State (28-4) at approximately 2:45 p.m. ET on CBS this Friday, March 20. The game will be played at the Centrylink Center in Omaha, Neb.
The Boilermakers will face the 8th-seeded Cincinnati Bearcats of the American Athletic Conference in Thursday’s second-round action in Louisville, Ky., at the KFC! Yum Center.
The winner of the IU – Wichita State game will take on the the winner of No. 2 seed Kansas and No. 15 seed New Mexico State on Sunday, March 22.
The Hoosiers are 1-0 all-time against Wichita State, defeating the Shockers, 75-54, on Dec. 27, 1989, in Indianapolis as part of the Hoosier Classic. Indiana is 52-17 all-time against teams from the Missouri Valley Conference.
This marks Indiana’s 38th trip to the NCAA Tournament, a total that ranks as the seventh-most in NCAA history. The Hoosiers winning percentage of .667 (64-32) in the NCAA Tournament is ninth-best all-time. The Hoosiers are five-time National Champions with titles in 1940, 1953, 1976, 1981 and 1987.
IU head coach Tom Crean is 4-2 in the NCAA Tournament at Indiana, and has guided the Hoosiers to a pair of Sweet 16 appearances in 2012 and 2013. Overall, his record in the NCAA Tournament is 9-7.
Cincinnati enters the NCAA Tournament with a 22-10 overall record and finished tied for third in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) with a 13-5 record. The Bearcats are coming off a 57-54 loss to Connecticut in the AAC Tournament, which was preceded by a five-game winning streak. Known for its defense and hard-nosed approach, the Bearcats allow just 55.3 points per game, good for sixth nationally. Opponents shoot just 39.0 percent from the field against the Bearcats. Offensively, junior forward Octavious Ellis leads the Bearcats in scoring (10.0 PPG), rebounds (7.3) and blocked shots (66) while shooting 57.8 percent from the field.
This will be the fourth all-time meeting with the Bearcats. Cincinnati leads the series, 3-0, with wins coming in the 1902 season (46-31), the 2002 season (79-62) and the 2005 campaign (79-59). Purdue is 20-17 against teams currently in the American Athletic Conference.
Purdue will be making its 27th NCAA Tournament appearance and the seventh in 10 years under head coach Matt Painter. The 27 appearances are the 26th most in NCAA history and fourth among Big Ten teams. Purdue is 35-26 (.574) all-time in the NCAA Tournament, advance to two Final Fours, three Elite Eights and eight Sweet 16s. Purdue has reached the Sweet 16 twice under Painter (2009, 2010).
Purdue has won its first game in the NCAA Tournament 14 straight times, the longest-current active winning streak in the country and tied for the fifth-longest streak in NCAA Tournament history. In the first game of the NCAA Tournament, Purdue has posted a 20-6 record (.769) in its 26 previous appearances.
Purdue will be the No. 9 seed for the fourth time, the other times being 1993, 2003 and 2007. The Boilermakers are 2-3 all-time as the No. 9 seed, losing in 1993 to Rhode Island, 74-68. In 2003, the Boilermakers topped LSU, 80-56, in the first round, before falling to No. 1 seed Texas, 77-67, in the round of 32. Lastly, in 2007, Purdue defeated No. 8 seed Arizona, 72-63, in the first round, before giving eventual national champion Florida all it could handle before falling, 74-67, in the second round.
The other half of the bracket pits top-seeded Kentucky against the winner of Manhattan and Hampton (first-round game). The two other second-round games in Louisville come from the South Region, as SMU will face UCLA and Iowa State takes on UAB.
Game time and ticket information will be updated when available.
