Local Sports News: November 6, 2024

17th Ranked Indiana University Men’s Basketball Hosts Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in the Season Opener  The 125th Season of Indiana University Men’s Basketball kicks off tonight at 8 PM in Simon Sjkodt Assembly Hall as the #17 Hoosiers take on the Southern Illinois-Edwardsville Cougars with the game televised on the Big Ten Network. This will be the third all-time meeting between the two teams and the Cougars third trip to Bloomington as Indiana won both matchups 88-54 on December 17, 2010, and 83-60 on December 2, 2016. Indiana is 25-0 against teams that currently play in the Ohio Valley Conference. 

Indiana Head Coach Mike Woodson begins his fourth season and is 3-0 in home openers and 18-2 in the month of November during his tenure. The Hoosiers beat Marian University an NAIA Program form Indianapolis 106-64 in an Exhibition Game Malik Reneau scored 18 points, 8 rebounds and five assists in 18 minutes of action. Freshman Bryson Tucker who did not play in charity exhibition game at Tennessee scored 19 points in his debut against Marian going 9-12 from the floor and dished out 3 assists along with 2 rebounds. Tucker is 6-7 and will be a matchup nightmare for opponents with his length and his ability to stretch the floor.   Indiana went 46-70 for 65 percent from the floor and scored 70 points in the paint. Seven-Footer Oumar Ballo who transferred from the University of Arizona went 6-6; from the field and 4-6 from the free throw line and pulled down 7 rebounds. 13 of the 15 Hoosiers that played scored. Anthony Leal and Stanford Transfer Kannan Carlyle were held out of the Marian game but are improving and Hoosiers are healthy going into the season opener. 

SIUE comes into Bloomington 1-0 on the season after beating Westminster College from Missouri 95-42 on Monday in the Season Opener. The Cougars led 49-22 and outscored their opponent 46-20 in the second half for the 26th season opening win in program history. 13 of the 14 Cougars that played scored with Ray’Sean Taylor scoring 15 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double and added six assists and five steals. Bryan Taylor II scored a career high 15 points. The Cougars bench had 53 points and outrebounded Westminster 49-32.   SIUE has a 15-player roster that represents 8 States and South Sudan. They have 6-11 Junior Arnas Sakenis and 6-10 Bradley Transfer Kyle Thomas to battle with Ballo inside. Brian Barone is the Cougars Head Coach in his 6th season with an overall record of 65-91 and back-to-back winning season.  Barone will return to Bloomington as he was the director of basketball operations/video coordinator from 2008-10 under Tom Crean who coached Barone at Marquette from 1998-2000. Barone started his playing career at Texas A&M from 1996-1998 he has been an assistant coach at Central Florida Community College, Butler County Community College in Kansas, Illinois State and Green Bay. Barone became the Coordinator of Basketball Operations and Video Coordinator at Marquette from 2007-2008 before he followed Crean to Indiana. Barone was the Head Coach at Butler County Community College in 2015. He became an assistant at SIU Edwardsville from 2017-19 before taking over as Head Coach. The 46-Year-Old was Born in Chicago and has both his bachelor’s and master’s Degrees from Marquette. 

Indiana University Football’s Aiden Fisher named a Butkus Award Semifinalist Awarded to the nation’s best linebacker, the Butkus Award tabbed Indiana football’s Aiden Fisher as one of the 15 semifinalists as revealed today by the Butkus Foundation on Monday. Fisher ranks No. 17 nationally and No. 3 in the Big Ten with a team-best 84 tackles. That total includes 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks on the season. He has added three pass breakups, including one that led to an interception in Week 10 at Michigan State. The junior has at least eight tackles in eight of nine games in 2024, which includes three double-digit tackle games. His season-high 12 tackles came in the season opener versus FIU and again in Week 5 versus Maryland. He added an 11-tackle effort against Nebraska. For his career, Fisher is looking for back-to-back 100-tackle seasons after posting 108 in 2023 at James Madison. He has 197 career tackles over three seasons with 9.5 tackles for loss and 10 pass breakups.

Finalists will be named November 25 and the winner named by December 10. A Butkus Award celebration is planned for Saturday, February 1, 2025, at Memorial Stadium on the University of Illinois campus, where the late Dick Butkus established his legendary career. The celebration will be featured in the Butkus Award Special airing on the Big Ten Network. More information at www.butkusfoundation.org.

Butkus Award Semifinalists
Jihaad Campbell, Alabama
Deontae Lawson, Alabama
Shaun Dolac, Buffalo
Barrett Carter, Clemson
Jalon Walker, Georgia
Aiden Fisher, Indiana
Jay Higgins, Iowa
Chandler Martin, Memphis
Chris Paul Jr., Mississippi
Sean Brown, North Carolina State
Sonny Styles, Ohio State
Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma
Anthony Hill Jr., Texas
Carson Schwesinger, UCLA
Shae Suiaunoa, Wyoming

Indiana University’s Yip van Wonderen Selected as Big Ten Field Hockey Defensive Player of the Week   Indiana senior Yip van Wonderen has earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after a strong showing in Friday’s win over Michigan State. She was honored with the distinction by the conference office on Monday afternoon. The Hoosiers defeated Michigan State, 1-0, on Friday and van Wonderen scored the game’s lone goal to lead the team to victory and clinch the Hoosiers’ bid to the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2021.

Former Indiana University and Current Indiana Fever Grace Berger to participate in the 2024 USA Basketball 3×3 Women’s National Team development camp USA Basketball announced on Monday that 13 athletes are expected to participate in the 2024 USA Basketball 3×3 Women’s National Team development camp Nov. 8-10 in Phoenix. The participants were selected by the USA Basketball Women’s 3×3 National Team Committee and will be considered for future USA 3×3 national team assignments. The camp features athletes who bring a combination of USA Basketball (5-on-5, 3×3), professional and collegiate experience. Participating athletes include Shakira Austin, Former Indiana University Hoosiers and Indiana Fever Player Grace Berger, Rae Burrell, Emily Engstler, Natasha Howard, Abbey Hsu, Taylor Mikesell, Alissa Pili, Jaylyn Sherrod, Maddy Siegrist, Azurá Stevens, Sug Sutton and Brittney Sykes. Camp will be led by Sydney Johnson, who has served USA Basketball in multiple capacities since 2020, including leading the 2023 USA 3×3 Men’s U23 World Cup team to the gold medal. Different than 5-on-5, 3×3 is played on a half-court with a 10-minute game clock and 12-second shot clock. Play is continuous, as teams “clear” the ball behind the 2-point line following a made basket, defensive rebound or steal. The first team to score 21 points via 1-point field goals or 2-pointers behind the arc is victorious; or if time expires then the team leading wins.

USA 3×3 Women’s National Team Development Camp Participant Highlights  Austin won a 5-on-5 gold medal at the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup. She has also been invited to USA Basketball senior (2024) and junior (2018) trials/training camps. Berger was a member of the 2021 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup Team that won gold. Burrell was a 5-on-5 participant for the 2021 USA Women’s AmeriCup Team trials. Engstler won a gold medal at the 2022 FIBA 3×3 U23 World Cup. She has also represented the USA at the 2022 FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series and 2021 3×3 U23 Nations League and participated in the USA Basketball 3×3 U18 National Championship (2018, 2017). Howard has competed in several 5-on-5 training camps (2023 in Atlanta, 2023 in Minneapolis, 2022 in Las Vegas) while also representing the red, white and blue at the 2022 USA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Team and 2016 USA Select Team. Hsu was on the silver medal USA squad at the 2023 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup. Mikesell has won a silver (2019 Pan American Games) and bronze (2016 FIBA U17 World Cup) in 5-on-5. Pili participated in the 2023 USA Basketball 3X Nationals with a cohort of University of Utah players. Sherrod will make her USA Basketball debut in Phoenix. Siegrist was a member of the 2022 USA 3×3 U23 Nations League Team that won the Americas conference. Stevens won a gold medal with the 2023 Pan American Games 3×3 Team. In 5-on-5, she won gold at the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championships while also participating in various trials/training camps (2022 in Minneapolis, 2017 U23, 2014 U18). Sutton won a 5-on-5 silver medal with the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup Team. Sykes has a 5-on-5 gold medal with the 2019 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup Team and has attended several trials/training camps (2018 in Columbia and Seattle, 2013 U19, 2012 U18).

Myles Turner’s Double-Double leads the Indiana Pacers to a win over the Dallas Mavericks on the Road   Myles Turner had season highs with 30 points and 11 rebounds while going over 8,000 career points, Tyrese Haliburton had a season-best 25 points and 12 assists and the Indiana Pacers beat the Dallas Mavericks 134-127 on Monday night. Dallas cut a 10-point deficit to five with 1:47 left before Haliburton hit a pull-up 17-footer with 50 seconds left. Pascal Siakam added 23 points for Indiana.  Myles Turner had season highs with 30 points and 11 rebounds while going over 8,000 career points, Tyrese Haliburton had a season-best 25 points and 12 assists and the Indiana Pacers beat the Dallas Mavericks 134-127 on Monday night. Dallas cut a 10-point deficit to five with 1:47 left before Haliburton hit a pull-up 17-footer with 50 seconds left. Pascal Siakam added 23 points for Indiana.

Indiana went into play averaging 11.5 of 33.0 on 3-pointers. The Pacers hit 7 of 9 in the first period in building a 13-point lead and finished 13 of 32. For Dallas Doncic was 4 of 10 from downtown and is shooting 32.3% behind the arc after hitting a career-best 38.2% last season. Tied at 67 early in the third period, the Pacers ran off seven consecutive points. Tied at 67 early in the third period, the Pacers ran off seven consecutive points. The Pacers host Orlando tonight while the Mavericks host Chicago in the fourth game of a five-game homestand.

Indianapolis Colts-New York Jets flexed out of NBC’s Sunday Night Football for Week 11 The Indianapolis Colts’ week 11 matchup with the Jets has been flexed out of prime time and into the afternoon window. When the NFL initially released its schedule, Indianapolis was supposed to play New York on Sunday Night Football on Nov. 17. On Monday, the league announced the Colts-Jets game will now air on CBS at 1 p.m. instead of on NBC at 8:20 p.m. The news comes on the heels of the Colts’ 21-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football last week. The loss dropped the Colts to 4-5 on the season. Like the Colts, the Jets also have a losing record this year. New York is 3-6 on the season, though that record is still good for second in the AFC East. The Colts are also in second place in the AFC South. If the season ended today, both the Colts and Jets would miss the playoffs.

The Colts-Jets game was dropped from prime time in favor of a matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals (4-5) and the Los Angeles Chargers (5-3). The Colts’ game against the Vikings last week was flexed into Sunday Night Football in favor of a contest between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles. Had the Colts-Jets game not been moved, Indianapolis would’ve played on Sunday Night Football twice in a three-week span. Indianapolis entered its prime-time matchup with Minnesota with issues at quarterback. The Colts had benched 22-year-old Anthony Richardson in favor of 39-year-old Joe Flacco in the days leading up to the contest. Flacco finished Sunday’s game 16-of-27 for 179 yards and interception. His performance wasn’t much better than the QB he started in favor of. In the Colts’ win over the Miami Dolphins, Richardson went 10-of-24 for 129 yards. He then followed that showing by completing 10 of 32 pass attempts for 175 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the Colts’ 23-20 loss to the Houston Texans. After Indy’s loss to Minnesota, coach Shane Steichen remained committed to Flacco, saying he is still the Colts’ starting quarterback, for now.