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Two Indiana women’s basketball teams earn home-court advantage for NCAA Tournament

IU women host NCAA first round for second straight year

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indiana Hoosiers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish are going dancing — with an extra advantage.

For the fifth tournament in a row, the IU women will be a top-four seed in March Madness. The Hoosiers were selected as a No. 4 seed in the Albany 1 bracket, and will face the 13-seed Fairfield.

“We’re grateful.,” said Hoosiers head coach Teri Moren. “We know how hard it is to be able to host. We were hopeful. Some things had to happen this week that went our way, but anytime you have an opportunity to play at home in front of our fans, we’re not just excited, but really grateful that it worked out the way we wanted it to.”

The Hoosiers have used the extra days of rest after the Big Ten Tournament to heal up, especially Sydney Parrish and Mackenzie Holmes. Holmes said Sunday that her knee is feeling much better, and she’s excited to be on the court for the start of the NCAA Tournament.

In the same region, Notre Dame holds the No. 2 seed, earning home court advantage in South Bend. The Irish will host 15-seed Kent State. This is the 26th time Notre Dame has made March Madness in the last 27 tournaments.

The Hoosiers and the Irish could meet in the Elite Eight if they both make it through the first three rounds of the tournament.

Last season, the Hoosiers were a No. 1-seed that left the tournament after a 70-68 upset loss to 9-seed Miami in Assembly Hall. The furthest the Hoosiers have ever made it in the NCAA Tournament was 2021’s Elite Eight run. That was also the last time the Hoosiers were a 4-seed.

For the Irish, this is the first time Notre Dame’s been as good as a 2-seed since 2019’s National Championship appearance. Since that one-point loss to fellow No. 1 Baylor, the Irish have been a 5-seed (2022) and 3-seed (2023) – both times losing in the Sweet Sixteen round.

Bloomington will also host the matchup between 5-seed Oklahoma and 12-seed Florida Gulf Coast. Up in Notre Dame, 7-seed Ole Miss will face 10-seed Marquette.

Dates and times for both matchups will be announced later.