Joe Lunardi shares how Indiana's loss impacts NCAA tournament bubble

Indiana and Rutgers entered Wednesday’s game as two of Joe Lunardi’s last four teams in on his Bracketology projections. The game had some massive implications on the projections — and the Hoosiers needed to win to stay alive.

They didn’t, falling to the Scarlet Knights 66-63 after a last-second shot from Ron Harper Jr. Lunardi said it was basically a must-win game for the Hoosiers, who are now 18-11 overall and 9-10 in Big Ten action heading into the final game of the regular season.

Afterward, Lunardi said Indiana will likely find itself on the outside looking in when Thursday’s projections drop. That opens the door for Loyola Chicago, which was part of the last four in heading into Wednesday.

“Well, [it was] the worst possible outcome for Indiana — to lose a home game against another bubble team when you are among the last four in the field,” Lunardi said at halftime of Wednesday’s Arkansas vs. LSU game. “Have to take the Hoosiers out. Doesn’t mean they’re going to stay out. But I wouldn’t want to be team No. 69 at this point. Loyola moves back in. Haven’t heard from Sister Jean today, but I’m sure it’s coming. And Rutgers can only move up, probably about half a seed line with that victory.”

The projections still have plenty of time to change. Conference tournaments start next week, but Loyola Chicago can lock up an automatic bid this weekend and itself get off the bubble. The Ramblers, who went 22-7 overall and 13-5 in conference play this season, are the No. 4 seed in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, which is coming up March 3-6.

Rutgers player throws punch, gets ejected in wild ending vs. Indiana

The ending to Rutgers vs. Indiana looked like it was setting up to be crazy. Then, a Scarlet Knights player got called for a flagrant 2, meaning he was ejected with 19.2 seconds to play — and it wound up being a true March ending.

Rutgers guard Paul Mulcahy got ejected after an altercation with Indiana guard Xavier Johnson, including an apparent punch. But Johnson was also tagged with a common foul, meaning both teams got two free throws and Indiana got the ball back down three points.

What happened next was true March Madness. Indiana guard Parker Stewart hit a three-pointer with 10 seconds left to tie things up at 63. Then, Rutgers guard Ron Harper Jr. hit another big-time shot with 2.1 seconds left to give the Scarlet Knights another thrilling victory.