COLUMBUS — Indiana basketball coach Darian DeVries isn’t writing off the 2025-26 season just yet.
The Hoosiers (18-13, 9-11 Big Ten) have lost five of six, with their latest setback coming Saturday, March 7 in a 91-78 loss to Ohio State. The Buckeyes were a fellow bubble team that put together the kind of spirited effort that IU hasn’t been able to muster against like-competition in recent weeks.
Over the last month, Indiana’s footing in projected NCAA Tournament brackets has turned to quicksand.
“Now you prepare for postseason play,” DeVries said after the game. “Win as many games as you can, and that’s going to be our mindset. We’re about the one in front of you, and the one in front of us is going to be Wednesday, and that’s really all we care about at this point.”
It’s going to take wins, plural, in the Big Ten Tournament next week in Chicago for IU to save its season after Saturday night’s loss.
While IU made sure the final score wasn’t as lopsided as it could have been with a late run, the lack of urgency at the start of the game all but sealed their fate. They went from trailing 28-25 with 7:39 to go in the first half to down 17 points at the break.
DeVries attributed his team’s struggles against the Buckeyes to giving up way too many 3-pointers — a common thread of IU’s recent double-digit losses — and lack of offensive execution.
The Hoosiers turned it over nine times in the first half and shot 1 of 8 from 3-point range.
They fixed the offensive issues in the second half by turning to a two-big lineup and having guys focus on attacking the basket more, but never really slowed down an OSU team that shot 59.2% and had four players knock down multiple 3-pointers.
“I think, obviously, we want to play well,” DeVries said. “We want to put ourselves in a position to win the game, and for us to have a stretch like that is certainly disappointing, but our guys are going to continue to battle. That’s all I know.”
Indiana forward Reed Bailey, who was one of five Hoosiers in double-digits, said the locker room hasn’t given up hope either.
“I think we just have a lot of motivation to come into the Big Ten tournament and show what we really can do,” IU forward Reed Bailey said. “I mean, just having that bad taste in your mouth, I think it’s motivation enough to really come out and try and make a run.”
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Darian Devries not giving up on Indiana basketball’s NCAA Tournament hopes
Reporting by Michael Niziolek, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
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