Healthy Holmes gives Indiana best title shot
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana center Mackenzie Holmes spent a whole year working so she could take one more shot at an NCAA championship.
She committed herself to recovering fully from the left knee injury that limited her mobility and productivity last March when the Hoosiers fell short of their title dreams. She promised to come back a better, stronger player.
After leading the Hoosiers through an unforgettable season, Holmes finally gets her chance to show everyone she’s happy, healthy and capable of helping Indiana meet the lofty expectations that come with being a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
“I think it’s really cool to see different teams getting those one-seeds and just being in those top-10, topfive teams because in years past, it’s pretty consistently been the same teams,” Holmes said after the pairings were announced Sunday. “So to see how much the game has grown and all these different teams up there has been really cool.”
Indiana is one of this year’s intriguing top-line newcomers and Holmes, of course, is a big reason the
Hoosiers are viewed as a legitimate championship contender.
Since arriving on campus in 2019-20, the 6foot-3 Maine native has been a double-digit scorer, a solid rebounder and a team-first player. As Holmes fine-tuned her all-around skills, coach Teri Moren increasingly structured her offense to run through the post.
Not surprisingly, Indiana’s ascent tracked perfectly with Holmes’ improvements.
The Hoosiers jumped from a 10th-place conference finish in 2018-19 to fourth in Holmes’ first college season. When Holmes became a full-time starter in Year 2, Indiana finished second in the Big Ten and advanced to the Elite Eight. Last season, with Holmes hobbled, the Hoosiers slipped to a fourth-place conference and lost in the regional semifinals.
But in what has undoubtedly been the best of her career, Holmes responded by leading Indiana to unprecedented heights for one obvious reason. She’s healthy.
“I’m not who I was when I came back from my surgery last season,” Holmes said after a February victory. “I learned from it, and I think I’m better because of it.”
Holmes starts postseason play ranked No. 7 nationally in scoring with a career-best 22.3 points per game.