What do the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Indiana Hoosiers have in common? They both missed the NCAA Tournament in their first season under head coach Darian DeVries.
The Hoosiers were officially left out of the field on Selection Sunday, as did the Mountaineers in Ross Hodge's first season. But reports indicate the Mountaineers will accept an invite the the College Basketball Crown, which they declined last spring before DeVries bolted for Bloomington. Indiana could have faced the Mountaineers in the postseason event – but now, that won't happen.
The Hoosiers were invited to the field but have officially turned down the invitation, ending their first season under their new head coach. That means that while plenty of West Virginia fans were hoping for a potential revenge game against DeVries, they won't be getting it this year.
NEWS: Source tells IndyStar that Indiana will not participate in any secondary postseason tournament, including the NIT or the Crown.
— Zach Osterman (@ZachOsterman) March 15, 2026
Darian DeVries' first season in Bloomington is over: https://t.co/J6QxwXEP0I via @indystar #iubb
Selection Sunday reveals WVU got paid $6 million for an equal trade-off with Indiana
The Mountaineers earned over $6 million in buyout money when DeVries left town after less than a year – they then hired a coach who some national analysts believe is a better fit for the program, and finished the next season with the same exact record as DeVries did in Indiana.
Both teams missed the NCAA Tournament, with Indiana doing so by losing six of their final seven games – and as WVU fans will remember, a gradual collapse as the season wore on was an issue with DeVries in Morgantown as well.
But now, we won't get to see if this Ross Hodge-led WVU team could beat this Darian DeVries-led Indiana team – though it's clear Hodge and his team would welcome the challenge.