Indiana University Athletics
Holmes, Hoosiers Healthy Entering NCAA Tourney Play
3/19/2024 11:03:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Mackenzie Holmes gets a last chance to make a big Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall impression.
You'd better believe Indiana's All-America forward is pumped.
The knee is healed, the body is rested and Holmes and the No. 4-seeded Hoosiers (24-5) aim to make a big NCAA tourney run -- starting Saturday when they host No. 13-seed Fairfield (31-1) in opening-round action.
"The knee is feeling a lot better," Holmes says. "This past week I've been able to get some much-needed rest. I've been able to get back onto the floor and practice."
This is good news for an IU team needing to be at full strength to handle a challenging tourney draw. Holmes averages 20.0 points and 6.9 rebounds as a catalyst for a team with championship aspirations.
Also in the four-team Bloomington field, No. 5-seed Oklahoma (22-9) faces No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast (29-4).
"I've been practicing," Holmes says. "Each day I'm feeling more confident on (the knee), better on it."
Holmes tweaked her left knee in the regular season finale victory against Maryland. She played four late minutes in the opening-round Big Ten tourney loss to Michigan.
The silver lining from the loss was extra time for Holmes to get healthy.
"This week has been great as far as recovery for my knee," she says.
A kneecap that slides out of place has been an issue for Holmes since high school. It flared up near the end of last season, and it was a big factor in IU's second-round NCAA tourney loss to Miami of Florida.
"I'm feeling much different this March compared to last March," she says. "Then I practiced maybe once or twice. Now, I'm in practices doing pretty much everything. That's a great thing for me."
It was also great for players such as Sydney Parrish and Lilly Meister, who are getting over ankle sprains.
"It's been a good week for all of us," coach Teri Moren says. "We had some other kids who were a little dinged up, so it was a great week for us to rest. We really took advantage of the time.
"We did practice. We shortened it. (Saturday) was the first day we had everyone on the floor, so it was nice to see.
"Now, it's go time for us."
Getting to host the opening two rounds is a big advantage given the Hoosiers are 15-0 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall this season while averaging more than 10,000 a game. That ranks fifth nationally.
"I don't like the way I went out on Senior Night," Holmes says. "It was not ideal. I wanted to get a chance to play in front of Hoosier Nation one more time, hopefully two more times. We have the best fans in the country. We're excited to be at Assembly Hall."
Guard Chloe Moore-McNeil shares that excitement.
"It's special. Not every team is blessed to have this opportunity at home. We're grateful we get to do that."
The hosting opportunity, which goes to the top 16 seeds, wasn't a lock, especially after IU lost its Big Ten tourney opener and Holmes' injury.
"We know how hard it is to be able to host," Moren says. "We were hopeful. Some things happened that went our way. Any time you have an opportunity to play at home, you're grateful it worked out the way we wanted it to."
IU is a top-four NCAA tourney seed for the fourth straight season. This is its 10th NCAA tourney appearance, and fifth in the last six years. It has won at least 20 games for nine consecutive years.
The Hoosiers have formidable offensive balance. Guard Sara Scalia averages 16.2 points and ranks fourth nationally with 3.3 three-pointers per game. Yarden Garzon averages 11.6 points and shoots a team-best 43.8 percent on three-pointers. Parrish averages 10.2 points and 6.0 rebounds. Moore-McNeil averages 10.1 points and 3.4 rebounds with a team-leading 141 assists and 40 steals.
As a team, IU shoots 40.2 percent on three-pointers.
Fairfield, coached by Carly Thibault-DuDonis, has won 29 straight games. Its 31-1 record, and that winning streak, are the second-best in the nation behind top-ranked South Carolina, which is 32-0.
If the seeds hold, IU could face the Gamecocks in the Sweet Sixteen in Albany, N.Y. Their average victory margin of 29.8 points includes just four games decided by less than 10 points. Two of those game came in the just-completed SEC tourney against Tennessee and LSU.
Fairfield is familiar with major-conference teams. It has a 78-54 late-November Big Ten win over Rutgers. Its only loss was by a 73-70 score at the SEC's Vanderbilt in mid-November. It's led by Janelle Brown, the MAAC Player of the Year, who tops all guards nationally with a 57.8 shooting percentage.
The Staggs thrive with defense, ranking No. 5 nationally in scoring defense by holding opponents to just 54.1 points. Teams shoot just 35.6 percent against them.
Moren says Fairfield's win over Rutgers won't mean much for this game.
"We're a different team than we were in November and December. I'm sure they are also. We'll prepare around the last five to 10 teams they played."
As for the other teams in Bloomington, Oklahoma won the Big 12 regular season title with a 15-3 record. The Sooners played the nation's 11th toughest schedule with 15 opponents making the NCAA tourney field. The Sooners twice beat Texas, a No. 1 NCAA tourney seed.
Florida Gulf Coast (29-4) won its seventh straight Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament title to reach the NCAA tourney for the 10thtime. The 12th-seeded Eagles, who beat North Carolina during the regular season, have won at least 25 games for 14 straight seasons. They have won six times as a 12th seed, including the last two seasons with opening-round wins against Washington State and Virginia Tech.
Add South Carolina's excellence, the record-breaking season of Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, never-before-seen TV ratings and sold-out games, powerhouse teams such as defending national champion LSU, former national champ Connecticut, Stanford and USC, and you have unprecedented interest in the women's game.
"It's very exciting," Holmes says. "It's a great time to be a women's basketball player. Just the platform that we're given, and the recognition and viewership have been super special. I don't think any of us are surprised by it, it was just a matter of when it would happen. It's super cool to see how it's evolved from the time I was a freshman until now."
