Parker Stewart hit a three in the first minute of the St. Mary’s game to start the Indiana scoring. Sadly, these were the only points he would get all night, and to make matters worse more than two other shooters, Miller Kopp and Rob Phinisee, who both failed to score. Overall, the team showed their exhaustion and only put 53-points on the scoreboard. St. Mary’s went 10-21 from behind the arc and racked up 82-points in victory. This was Indiana’s worst NCAA tournament loss ever, eclipsing the 86-61 drubbing from St. John’s in 1999.

The “Party’s Pooped” on the Hoosiers, as they might have been better off not getting in the tournament at all. The first Mike Woodson season ends on a sour note and tired legs after five games in eight days. Talk of next year begins to slowly trickle into the conversation as players begin to contemplate the future. Will they come back or move on? What will happen with Kristian Lander who got very little playing time but scored the last bucket of the year? Will Trayce Jackson Davis turn pro? What about other players with remaining eligibility like Race Thompson, Rob Phinisee, Tamar Bates, and Anthony Leal? Will disappointing transfers like Miller Kopp and Parker Stewart find new homes or call it quits?

The NCAA tournament goes on without them. Marquette lost to North Carolina by 32, making the IU drubbing somehow look better. All the Saints won on St. Patrick’s Day, including the ultimate upset when #15 seed St. Peter’s beat #2 Kentucky. #5 Iowa who had last second luck against Indiana in the BIG Tourney failed to replicate this good fortune against #12 Richmond, bringing back painful memories of 1988 when the Spiders knocked off defending NCAA champ IU in the first round. Rutgers lost to #11 Notre Dame in one of the other play-in games, to give the Irish the opportunity to upend #6 Alabama and keep their St. Patrick’s Party going. Three of the nine BIG Ten teams had already bit the dust, as then finally the other 6 found a way to win their initial games, maintaining the league’s integrity. IU’s party was over!