Tournament Sites Favor Indiana for Easy Road to Final Four

If the Indiana Hoosiers perform like they should, they will undoubtedly be a No. 1 seed come March for the 2013 NCAA Tournament. They also could be the overall No. 1 seed as well. If that happens, Indiana fans won't have to travel far to see the Hoosiers play in tournament action.

I was thumbing through the tournament sites and noticed the second and third rounds are played close to Bloomington, Ind. Dayton, Ohio, Lexington, Ky. and Auburn Hills, Mich., are all host sites for the early rounds. Indiana would surely land a spot in one of those hubs.

If they advance to the round of 16, the Hoosiers most likely will be playing in their backyard Lucas Oil Stadium. Can you imagine the atmosphere with Indiana playing in Lucas Oil Stadium for the Sweet 16 and possibly the Elite 8?

If we thought Assembly Hall was raucous, we haven't seen anything yet if Indiana plays in front of a packed house with a trip to the Final Four on the line. It will be a homecourt advantage for Indiana.

I'm not trying to jinx them or look too far ahead, but this could be magical for Indiana. I can attest that downtown Indianapolis will be rocking if Indiana is playing here for the regional semifinals and finals.

They have an extremely good opportunity at hand, and let's all hope they can capitalize this regular season and in the conference tourney so they get a No. 1 seed and play locally.

By the way, tickets go on sale October 13 for the Indianapolis regional. If you're daring, I'd get some tickets now because it will easily be the toughest ticket to get in the history of IU sports.