UPDATE: Purdue lone Indiana men’s team in March Madness, with IU’s bubble burst

Braden Smith (AP)

Purdue University will be the lone Indiana-based college with a team in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament this year, with bubble-sitter Indiana University falling short of the field of 68.

Purdue (22-11), the runner-up in the 2024 championship, has been slated as a No. 4 seed and will play No. 13 High Point University (29-5) on March 20 at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island.

Purdue is in the Midwest Regional, meaning the team will play in Indianapolis if it reaches the Sweet 16. Midwest Regional games will be played March 28 and March 30 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Indiana University (19-13) was on the cusp of making the tournament with several high-quality wins in the Big Ten Conference—including a home win over Purdue—but lost its first game in the conference tournament against Oregon, a win it badly needed to keep its hopes alive.

Fans and prognosticators immediately took took to social media to protest, calling IU’s exclusion a “snub.” Others were resigned to the decision and expressed relief that coach Mike Woodson’s tenure was over, following his decision to retire. The Hoosiers have no plans to play elsewhere this season.

snub of the millennium.. time to show ‘em, 3#iubb https://t.co/hSD4LVYUpV pic.twitter.com/W4oBACliwz

— Hoosier Vibes (Bubble Boys) (@HoosierVibes) March 11, 2025

Auburn is the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, with Duke, Houston and Florida joining the Tigers on the No. 1 line in the March Madness brackets released Sunday.

The NCAA selection committee favored the regular-season champs of the record-setting Southeastern Conference despite three losses in their last four games, along with a loss to Duke back in December in the season’s lone meeting between the teams.

The Tigers (28-5) and Gators were two of the 14 SEC teams to make the field, which are the most for a conference in the history of the tournament.

In something of a surprise, both North Carolina and Texas slid in off the bubble, while Indiana, West Virginia and Boise State did not.

NCAA women’s tournament

Meanwhile, three schools from Indiana will play in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament this year. No. 3 seed Notre Dame will play No. 14 Stephen F. Austin; No. 9 Indiana will take on No. 8 Utah; and No. 12 Ball State University will take on No. 5 Mississippi.

UCLA is the top overall seed in the women’s tournament. The Bruins were joined by South Carolina, Southern California and Texas as the No. 1 seeds that the NCAA revealed Sunday night.

For the first time in NCAA history, there will be a financial incentive for women’s teams. They will finally paid for playing games in the NCAA Tournament just like the men have for years.

So-called performance units, which represent revenue, will be given to women’s teams for each win they get. A team that reaches the Final Four could bring its conference roughly $1.26 million over the next three years in financial performance rewards.

This comes a year after the women’s championship game that saw South Carolina beat Caitlin Clark and Iowa do better TV ratings then the men’s title game.

The top 16 seeds in the 68-team field will host first- and second-round games, with the regional rounds being played at two neutral sites for the third straight year. Spokane, Washington, will host half of the Sweet 16 and Birmingham, Alabama, will host the other eight teams.

The Final Four will be played in Tampa, Florida, on April 4, and the championship game is two days later.

Since the NCAA women’s tournament was born in 1982, there have been 32 No. 1 seeds that have gone on to win the national championship, along with seven No. 2 seeds and three No. 3 seeds. No teams seeded lower than third have won the title.