Basketball
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Indiana’s women’s basketball team is the only one of the two Hoosiers basketball programs to make the NCAA Tournament in 2025. The women’s basketball team, a No. 9 seed, takes on No. 8 seed Utah at 1:30 p.m. ET Friday at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.
Though the women find themselves in the spotlight, the men’s basketball program came up during Indiana’s pre-game press conference on Thursday.
Indiana hired Darian DeVries as the new men’s basketball coach on Tuesday. He was introduced on Wednesday.
The women’s team had their own priorities, traveling to Columbia on Wednesday and their focus is on their own game.
Moren was asked about DeVries during her press conference and what success in men’s basketball means to women’s basketball.
“I’m excited for what’s next for men’s basketball. Indiana is such a special place, and it takes somebody special to be the leader over there in men’s basketball,” Moren said.
“I haven’t met Coach (DeVries) yet, but just in the things I’ve read I’m really looking forward to not only meeting him, but watching him work and feel like he’s going to do some really special things at Indiana,” Moren added.
As to the popularity of women’s basketball and how men’s basketball relates to that? Moren said her program has done plenty to produce their own passion.
“I’ll say this: We’ve created a lot of buzz, right? We haven’t needed men’s basketball for that,” Moren said. “And so by what we’ve been able to do the last few years and what we continue to do inside of this program.”
Moren has a point. Under Moren’s watch, Indiana attendance has skyrocketed. The Hoosiers averaged 10,828 per game over 16 home games in 2025. During Moren’s first year in 2015, average attendance was 2,609.
Players like Tyra Buss, Ali Patberg, Grace Berger, Mackenzie Holmes and many others have reached popularity at a level men’s basketball players have experienced in the same time frame.
It hasn’t hurt that Indiana’s women’s basketball program has made six NCAA Tournament appearances since 2016 while the men’s program has made just two appearances in the same period.
Moren believes there’s a rising tide that lifts all boats when all of Indiana’s athletic programs win.
“(It) helps to have a good football team, right? And so there are 24 sports at Indiana. We love them all. We all want to be successful. But to have a successful football program, to have a successful men’s program only helps everybody else, and so we cheer like crazy for everybody,” Moren said.
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