BLOOMINGTON — Indiana men’s basketball has officially brought its 2025–26 campaign to a close. Following their exclusion from the 68-team NCAA Tournament field on Selection Sunday, the program announced it will decline all invitations to secondary postseason tournaments, including the NIT and the inaugural College Basketball Crown.
The decision marks an abrupt end to the first season of the Darian DeVries era. The Hoosiers finish with an 18-14 overall record, leaving a fan base that once harbored high hopes grappling with a third consecutive year without a March Madness appearance.
A Season of Highs and Lows
The Hoosiers’ season was a tale of two halves. After a promising start that saw Indiana peak at No. 22 in the AP Top 25 during week five, the team appeared to be a lock for the tournament as late as early February. Following a signature win over Oregon on Feb. 9, the team sat at 17-8 and 8-6 in Big Ten play.
However, the wheels fell off in the final month. Indiana suffered a staggering collapse, losing six of its final seven games. Five of those losses came by double digits, punctuated by a demoralizing 74-61 exit to No. 15 seed Northwestern in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Selection Sunday Heartbreak
Despite the late-season skid, Indiana remained a “bubble” team until the final moments. The Selection Committee revealed that the Hoosiers were among the “First Four Out,” specifically the fourth team left out of the bracket.
“Certainly, we felt like there’s a little more in there for us that we would have liked to have gotten done,” Coach DeVries said. “These guys continue to stick together… I’m certainly appreciative of that group and especially that group of seniors.”
Roster Reset: The Path Forward
The decision to skip the NIT and “The Crown” is a strategic move to focus on a massive roster overhaul. Indiana will lose six seniors who accounted for nearly 78% of minutes played this season, including:
- Lamar Wilkerson: The leading scorer (20.9 PPG) who set a program record for points in Big Ten play.
- Tucker DeVries: A cornerstone of the frontcourt who played out of position due to roster depth issues.
- Other key seniors: Conor Enright, Sam Alexis, Reed Bailey, and Tayton Conerway.
Coach DeVries has identified “depth, size, and physicality” on the interior as the #1 priority for the upcoming transfer portal window, which opens on April 7. The program’s hopes for 2027 currently rest on three top-80 recruits: Vaughn Karvala (No. 51), Trevor Manhertz (No. 65), and Prince-Alexander Moody (No. 80).
Indiana’s Big Ten Standing: 2025–26
| Metric | Final Standing |
| Conference Record | 9-12 (10th Place) |
| Quad 1 Wins | 3 (Purdue, Wisconsin, @UCLA) |
| NET Ranking | No. 41 |
| WAB (Wins Above Bubble) | No. 52 |
