Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Positioning Itself for Postseason
2/18/2016 10:57:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By: Sam Beishuizen, IUHoosiers.com | Twitter
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - There's truth behind Indiana women's basketball's "one game at a time" mantra it's stuck to all season.
The Hoosiers really aren't trying to get ahead of themselves. They don't think they can afford to, not while fighting for positioning in the Big Ten and an NCAA Tournament bid.
But don't begin to think the players are immune to the circumstance they find themselves in. With just four games remaining—including tonight's 7 p.m. matchup against Minnesota at Assembly Hall—the Hoosiers appear to be in control of their own postseason fate.
"These kids, they know," head coach Teri Moren said. "They're smart enough to know okay, this is a pretty important game."
Indiana sits in a tie for fourth place in the Big Ten standings with No. 25 Michigan State. That's a significant position to be in considering the top-four teams in the conference get a double-bye into the round of eight in next month's Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.
But the playoff picture is far from clear.
While a win over Minnesota tonight could pull the Hoosiers into a tie for third place, a loss could just as easily set them back into a frantic fight between IU, Nebraska, Purdue, Rutgers and Michigan for the five through nine seeds.
It makes for a confusing playoff scenario junior guard Alexis Gassion said she doesn't bother spending much time scrutinizing. The fluidity of the situation just isn't worth keeping track of, she said, but she does know winning takes care of everything.
"To be honest, I don't really look at that standings stuff," she said. "We just take it one game at a time. And you know that everyone that comes in here wants to beat us on our home floor."
The latter half of Gassion's response could once again prove critical against Minnesota. The Hoosiers are the only remaining Big Ten team with an undefeated record at home.
Tonight's game against the Golden Gophers and a senior night matchup against Penn State are all that separate the Hoosiers from their first undefeated home season in program history.
"There's no question this is a big opportunity," Moren said.
The Hoosiers say they're out for revenge tonight against a Golden Gophers team that handed them a 78-76 loss in Minneapolis earlier in the season. Moren compared the situation to Wisconsin, who Indiana lost to on the road earlier in the year but then beat at Assembly Hall.
The problem is Minnesota is playing at a higher level than that Wisconsin team. Senior guard Rachel Banham—who scored 60 points in a double-overtime win against Northwestern and just hit a game-winning 3-pointer against Iowa as time expired in her last game—has the Gophers undefeated in February and well positioned to make an NCAA Tournament run of their own.
Banham, a 5-foot-9 guard, dominates most of the conversation surrounding Minnesota for good reason. Her 26.4 points per game ranks third in the nation.
It's up to Gassion—who called Banham's 60 point game "crazy"—to slow her down.
"I embrace that," she said. "It's something I look forward to. I love playing defense, so I'm just looking forward to the opportunity to guard her."
Moren said she's not expecting Gassion to hold Banham in check. Few teams have done that.
But she does want Banham to need to work for her scoring. The more effort that goes into her points, the more likely Indiana is to have a chance to pull away at their own offensive end.
"Right now, we're playing at a pretty high level as far as confidence," Moren said. "They're sights are pretty high. They're not looking ahead, but they realize every game is really important to do what we want to do, and that's play in the NCAA Tournament."
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - There's truth behind Indiana women's basketball's "one game at a time" mantra it's stuck to all season.
The Hoosiers really aren't trying to get ahead of themselves. They don't think they can afford to, not while fighting for positioning in the Big Ten and an NCAA Tournament bid.
But don't begin to think the players are immune to the circumstance they find themselves in. With just four games remaining—including tonight's 7 p.m. matchup against Minnesota at Assembly Hall—the Hoosiers appear to be in control of their own postseason fate.
"These kids, they know," head coach Teri Moren said. "They're smart enough to know okay, this is a pretty important game."
Indiana sits in a tie for fourth place in the Big Ten standings with No. 25 Michigan State. That's a significant position to be in considering the top-four teams in the conference get a double-bye into the round of eight in next month's Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.
But the playoff picture is far from clear.
While a win over Minnesota tonight could pull the Hoosiers into a tie for third place, a loss could just as easily set them back into a frantic fight between IU, Nebraska, Purdue, Rutgers and Michigan for the five through nine seeds.
It makes for a confusing playoff scenario junior guard Alexis Gassion said she doesn't bother spending much time scrutinizing. The fluidity of the situation just isn't worth keeping track of, she said, but she does know winning takes care of everything.
"To be honest, I don't really look at that standings stuff," she said. "We just take it one game at a time. And you know that everyone that comes in here wants to beat us on our home floor."
The latter half of Gassion's response could once again prove critical against Minnesota. The Hoosiers are the only remaining Big Ten team with an undefeated record at home.
Tonight's game against the Golden Gophers and a senior night matchup against Penn State are all that separate the Hoosiers from their first undefeated home season in program history.
"There's no question this is a big opportunity," Moren said.
The Hoosiers say they're out for revenge tonight against a Golden Gophers team that handed them a 78-76 loss in Minneapolis earlier in the season. Moren compared the situation to Wisconsin, who Indiana lost to on the road earlier in the year but then beat at Assembly Hall.
The problem is Minnesota is playing at a higher level than that Wisconsin team. Senior guard Rachel Banham—who scored 60 points in a double-overtime win against Northwestern and just hit a game-winning 3-pointer against Iowa as time expired in her last game—has the Gophers undefeated in February and well positioned to make an NCAA Tournament run of their own.
Banham, a 5-foot-9 guard, dominates most of the conversation surrounding Minnesota for good reason. Her 26.4 points per game ranks third in the nation.
It's up to Gassion—who called Banham's 60 point game "crazy"—to slow her down.
"I embrace that," she said. "It's something I look forward to. I love playing defense, so I'm just looking forward to the opportunity to guard her."
Moren said she's not expecting Gassion to hold Banham in check. Few teams have done that.
But she does want Banham to need to work for her scoring. The more effort that goes into her points, the more likely Indiana is to have a chance to pull away at their own offensive end.
"Right now, we're playing at a pretty high level as far as confidence," Moren said. "They're sights are pretty high. They're not looking ahead, but they realize every game is really important to do what we want to do, and that's play in the NCAA Tournament."
Players Mentioned
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