Indiana Hoosiers Basketball: Breaking Down IU's Road to Big Ten Tournament Title

The Indiana Hoosiers claimed the Big Ten title outright and earned the No. 1 seed in the 2013 conference tournament—and likely the NCAA tourney as well—but still have a lot of work to do before they can start celebrating.

Because the B1G hosts the best overall collection of teams in the country, IU is far from out of the woods. Even as the top seed and odds-on favorite, the Hoosiers should not even be considered anything close to a lock to win this upcoming event.

Here’s a map of the long and arduous road that they will face in this tourney:

As one of the top-four seeds, Indiana receives a much-needed rest on Thursday before playing the winner of No. 8 Illinois vs. No. 9 Minnesota. That matchup will certainly be no joke, as each team has overcome the Hoosiers during the regular season.

The Illini first took down IU back on Feb. 7 in a thrilling battle, toppling the favorite 74-72. The Golden Gophers issued the next loss less than 20 days later, beating the Hoosiers 77-73 at home.

Both squads were ranked inside the Top 10 at points during the 2012-13 campaign and have the proper pieces to slay a giant during Championship Week and March Madness. If Indiana’s players start looking ahead to the NCAA tourney, they are going to get upset in their first B1G postseason contest.

Should the Hoosiers advance, they’ll probably be facing the winner of No.4 Wisconsin vs. No. 5 Michigan—as we’re not giving Penn State any chance to upset the Wolverines in the first round.

The Badgers already proved that they have the chops to beat anyone in a big game, displaying that bravado on Jan. 15 in a 64-59 victory over Indiana. Michigan wasn’t able to steal a win against their conference rival in two tries this season, but kept things close on both occasions.

Regardless of which opponent IU winds up drawing, the program should be prepared for a blood bath.

Assuming Tom Crean’s boys are able to scrape together another “W,” they’ll be looking at a possible showdown with Michigan State or Wisconsin for the championship. These are the top squads in the other half of the bracket and no other team should be able to get past them barring a string of insane luck.

While the Hoosiers took out Tom Izzo’s Spartans in two separate meetings, they split the season series with the Buckeyes.

OSU would be the toughest draw, as evidenced by the school’s 67-58 thrashing of Indiana on March 5, just a week ago.

The Buckeyes seem to have found a way to limit the Hoosiers foul shot attempts, alter the pace of the game and force numerous turnovers against their rival. It’s a brutal matchup and will likely be a low-scoring, defensive affair.

We’re certain that Indiana has the firepower and heart to navigate its way through the 2013 B1G tournament, but it surely will be a bumpy, difficult path.