#10 Indiana University Football puts up 66 on Purdue to reclaim the Old Oaken Bucket in a shutout The #10 Indiana Hoosiers did not let their foot off the gas as the dominated their archrivals the Purdue Boilermakers 66-0 on a cold and Snowy Saturday Night at a Sold-Out Memorial Stadium in Bloomington as the Hoosiers reclaim the Old Oaken Bucket for the first time since a 44-41 overtime win in 2019 in West Lafayette. The Hoosiers won their first home game against Purdue since a 26-24 win in 2016. The Hoosiers shut out the Boilers for first time since 1945 when the Hoosiers won 26-0 in Bloomington. This is 28th shutout all-time in a series that dates back to 1891. Indiana has shutout Purdue 10 times in this series Purdue has 26 shutouts and two were scoreless ties. The last shutout in this series came on November 21, 1970, in West Lafayette when Purdue won 40-0. Purdue leads the all-time series 77-43-6 and 63-33-6 since the Bucket was introduced in 1925. For Indiana it’s the largest margin of victory over their rivals in history of the series and the first shutout for Head Coach Curt Cignetti in his Indiana Coaching Career. It’s the Hoosiers largest shutout victory in Conference play since the AP Poll era began in 1936.
Indiana finishes the regular season with an 11-1 record and 8-1 Big Ten Record with a both single season records for the most wins for any IU Football Program. The Hoosiers will finish tied for second in the Big Ten with Penn State who will face Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game Next Saturday Night at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis as the Nittany Lions beat Maryland 44-7 after Michigan knocked off Ohio State 13-10 in Columbus to give the Buckeyes their second loss of the season. The Hoosiers under first Head Coach Curt Cignetti turned around a program that from 2021-23 won 9 total games and this year keep their hopes alive to be included in the 12 Team College Football Playoff that will be announced on December 8.
Quarterback Kurtis Rourke finished 23-31 for 349 yards and a career high 6 touchdown passes which ties a single game record for an IU Quarterback. Elijah Sarratt set an Old Oaken Bucket game record with 165 receiving yards that was held by James Hardy who had 151 yards in 2006 which was a 28-19 Purdue win in West Lafayette, Sarratt had 8 catches and 2 touchdowns. Justice Ellison had 11 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown as the Hoosiers racked up 582 yards and 233 rushing yards in a dominating 60 minutes in which the Boilermakers were held to 67 total yards off offense with 54 through the air and 13 on the ground. Purdue ends the season 1-11 and 0-8 in the Big Ten as the hot seat gets hotter for second year Head Coach Ryan Walters who has won 5 games in 2 seasons and has a lot of questions to answer an after a season of regressing and not progressing.
The Hoosiers lead 28-0 at halftime and dominated the Boilermakers with 334 total yards to 54 for Purdue. Kurtis Rourke was 14-17 for 219 yards and 2 touchdown passes while Purdue Quarterback Hudson Card was 6-13 for 35 yards and an interception. The Hoosiers had 115 rushing yards and held the Boilermakers to 15 yards on the ground. Elijah Sarratt caught six passes for 130 yards and a touchdown. The Hoosiers scored on four of their seven first half possessions. Indiana punted on their first possession and Nicolas Radicic missed his first field goal attempt of the season with 2:22 left in the first quarter. The Hoosiers ran 1 play for 3 yards to end the half. Purdue punted the ball 5 times and Jaylin Walker picked off Hudson Card on the Boilers second drive.
Indiana scored on its second possession of the game when Justice Ellison scored from 2 yards out to make it 7-0 with 6:25 left in the first quarter. The Wake Forest Transfer has 10 touchdowns on the season and his first since the Washington win on October 26. Once Indiana got the ball back after the missed Radicic field goal The Hoosiers scored on three straight possessions. Kurtis Rourke found Ke’Shawn Williams on a 14-yard touchdown pass with 11:31 left in the second quarter for Williams fifth touchdown reception of the season. Rourke connected with Elijah Sarratt on an 84-yard touchdown as Sarratt got behind the Purdue defender and raced down the sideline and scored the fifth longest passing play in IU history to make 21-0 with 6:59 left in the second quarter. Sarratt gave himself the nickname “Waffle House” as just as the restaurant he is opened 24/7 and scored his seventh touchdown of the season. Ty Son Lawton scored his 12th rushing touchdown of the season scoring from 4 yards out with 2:52 left in the second quarter as the Hoosiers set the program single season record with 62 offensive touchdowns.
In the second half Purdue brought in Ryan Browne at Quarterback and on the first play from scrimmage he handed off to Devin Mockbee who fumbled at the 19-yard line and C.J. West recovered and the Hoosiers got the ball back but could only get a 26-yard field goal from Nicolas Radicic for his 9th of the season in 10 tries to make it 31-0 with 12:15 left in the third quarter. Indiana kept rolling as Rourke threw his third touchdown pass of night and found Sarratt in the end zone for his second score of the night on a 24 yarder to make it 38-0 with 7:55 left in the third quarter.
The Hoosiers facing a fourth down and 6 yards at the Purdue 44-yard line decided to fake the punt as Zach Carpenter ran it up the middle for 18 yards to the Purdue 18-yard line and four plays later Rourke threw his fourth touchdown pass with a 5 yarder to tight end Zach Horton to make it 45-0 with 1:35 left in the third quarter. Indiana added to its lead as Rourke threw his fifth touchdown pass of the night with a 34-yard pass to Miles Cross with 12:47 left to make it 52-0 Hoosiers. It went from bad to worse for Purdue as Devin Mockbee fumbled for the second time as Jaylin Walker forced it out and Lanell Carr recovered at the Purdue 25-yard line and returned it 8 yards to the 17-yard line.
It took one play for Kurtis Rourke to throw his sixth touchdown pass of the night finding Omar Cooper Jr. in the end zone for 17 yards and 59-0 lead 12:06 left in the game. Tayven Jackson came in and scored on a 4-yard run with 1:48 left to make it 66-0 Ryan Browne who replaced Hudson Card in the second half finished 3-8 passing for 19 yards as picked off with 1:02 left in the game as the Boilermakers had 5 turnovers with 3 fumbles and 2 interceptions and punted the ball away 9 times. Indiana who scored on 10 of their 15 possessions with 2 punts along with a missed field goal and 2 drives that ended both the first half and the game.
It’s been an historic year for Indiana and the Hoosiers took care of business as they were expected too to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive. Despite the cold temperatures and snow flying around in the first half the sold-out crowd enjoyed the entire game and there is more work to do as the Hoosiers will focus on the post season but the most prized possession in the State of Indiana the Old Oaken Bucket is back in Bloomington and will remain here for a year as the Hoosiers made a loud statement not only to Purdue but to the College Football World that come December 8 they belong in the 12 team College Football Playoff.
Indiana University Women’s Basketball Returns Home to Handle Maine by 25 Points The Indiana Hoosiers returned to the friendly confines of Simon Sjkodt Assembly Hall Sunday Afternoon with a 78-53 win over the Maine Black Bears. Indiana is 5-3 on the season and 3-1 at home and will host the University of Southern Indiana on Wednesday Night at 7 pm. Maine is 3-5 and will stay in the State of Indiana traveling to West Lafayette on Wednesday to take on Purdue. Indiana has won all four meetings with the Black Bears as this was Maine’s first trip to Bloomington since December 12, 2003, when the Hoosiers won 67-58.
Chloe Moore-McNeil scored 22 points, Lilly Meister added 18 points along with 9 rebounds and Yarden Garzon 11 points as the Hoosiers led start to finish. Indiana finished the game 30-57 from the field for 52%, 11-22 from three-point range for 50% and 7-13 from the free throw line for 53%. Indiana pulled down 30 rebounds, dished out 25 assists, 11 steals, 9 blocks, 32 points in the paint and committed 9 turnovers. Indiana is without Graduate Student Sydney Parrish who was injured in the second game of the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas against Baylor. Head Coach Teri Moren said in pregame radio interview with the Voice of the Hoosiers Austin Render that Parrish will be out “for at least a couple of weeks.” Juliana LaMendola got her second start and she scored 8 points in 31 minutes with 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and a steal.
Maine was led in scoring by Caroline Dotsey with 17 points off the bench and was the only Black Bear in double figures. Maine finished 22-51 from the field for 43%, 8-20 from three-point range for 40% and 1-2 from the free throw line for 50%. The Black Bears pulled down 26 rebounds, 16 assists, 4 steals, 32 bench points, 26 points in the paint and committed 16 turnovers. Maine’s leading scorer Caroline Bornemann who came in averaging 13.1 points and 9.3 rebounds per game was held to 2 points and 1 rebound in 29 minutes of action.
Chloe Moore-McNeil scored the first five points of the game and Maine called a timeout 55 seconds in as the Hoosier defense forced the Black Bears to commit two shot clock violations in the first quarter. The Hoosiers led 24-17 at the end of the first quarter. Maine got within two points 28-26 with 4:10 left in the second quarter as the Hoosiers finished the quarter on a 7-2 run. Chloe Moore-McNeil scored 15 points going 6-6 from the field and 3-3 from three-point range with 4 rebounds, 2 steals a block an assist in the first half. Moore-McNeil talked about the adjustments made at halftime. “I felt like we were handing them shots. Things that Indiana Basketball hasn’t tolerated before” Moore-McNeil said after the game. In the third quarter became the Lilly Meister show as she scored 14 points included a 9-0 run by herself. Maine was down 44-32 with 7:12 left in the third quarter when Meister put the Hoosiers up 53-32 with 4:50 left in the quarter. Indiana outscored Maine 25-13 in the third quarter as the Hoosiers led 61-41 going into the final 10 minutes. Indiana controlled the fourth quarter outscoring the Black Bears 17-12.
Sophomore Lenee Beaumont will have a procedure done on her knee in the coming weeks according to head coach Teri Moren and its possible although not been announced that she could be redshirted for the 2024-25 season. Indiana goes from beating a ranked team in Baylor and then being blown out by a ranked North Carolina team to having its best shooting performance of the season against Maine. “I think the best recipe for us is to stay the course with what we’re doing. you just keep plugging away and try to give them the confidence.” Teri Moren talked about her team’s consistency while having ups and downs. The Hoosiers 53 points allowed is the fewest of the season. 11 made threes and 9 blocks are a season high. 11 steals tie a season high. The Hoosiers had some time to regroup after three games and three days in the Bahamas but still have two more games this week with Southern Indiana on Wednesday and the Big Ten Opener at Penn State on Saturday and the Hoosiers will just take it one game at a time.
#14 Indiana University Men’s Basketball Leaves the Battle 4 Atlantis with a 16 Point win over Providence The #14 Indiana Hoosiers finished the Battle 4 Atlantis with an 89-73 win over the Providence Friars in the 7th place game Friday Morning at the Impearl Arena in Nassau The Bahamas. The Hoosiers are 5-2 on the season and return home to host Sam Houston State at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Providence is 5-3 on the season and Hoosiers lead the all-time series 3-0 with the Friars. The Hoosiers defeated the Friars by a score of 97-79 in the third-place game of the 1973 NCAA Tournament. IU Hall of Fame inductee Steve Downing paced the Hoosiers with 21 points and 14 rebounds in the game. IU also earned a 79-58 victory over Providence in the opening round of the Maui Invitational on Nov. 30, 2020, in Asheville, N.C. Race Thompson had a career day with 22 points and 13 rebounds in the contest. Aljami Durham added 19 points, six boards, and three assists.
Mackenize Mgbako led the Hoosiers with 25 points, Malik Reneau added 21 points and Trey Galloway added 18 points as he started in place of Kannan Carlyle who was out due to a lower body injury. Oumar Ballo scored 8 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Langdon Hatton has provided key minutes off the bench with the Hoosier Bigs in foul trouble the last two games. The 6-10 Georgetown, Indiana native and Bellarmine transfer scored 4 points in 8 minutes hitting his only field goal and both free throws and a rebound. Indiana finished the game 32-60 from the field for 53%, 8-15 from three-point range for 53% and 17-20 from the free throw line for 85%. The Hoosiers pulled down 38 rebounds, dished out 20 assists, 5 steals, 5 blocks and committed 10 turnovers. Indiana Head Coach Mike Woodson said after the game that Carlyle is day to day and “He couldn’t move today, so we shut him down.” Jayden Pierre led Providence with 22 points. Corey Floyd Jr. and Jabri Abdur-Rahim added 14 points apiece. The Friars finished 25-64 from the field for 39%, 10-30 from three-point range for 33% and 13-21 from the free throw line for 62%. Providence pulled down 36 rebounds, 15 assists, 5 steals, 4 blocks and committed 7 turnovers.
Mackenize Mgbako scored seven straight Indiana points late in the first half to finish with 13 at the break. Indiana led by as many as 19 points in the second half and Providence didn’t get closer than nine after the break. Indiana led 44-34 at halftime and outscored Providence 45-39 in the second half. Indiana started the second half on a 13-4 run to take control at 57-38. Malik Reneau converted a three-point play on back-to-back possessions during the run. Indiana played better in terms of hitting shots getting stops and able to play with the lead and not let the Friars to get a big run and be able to get back in the game.
After being blown out by Louisville and a double-digit loss to Gonzaga it has been a learning experience for the Hoosiers after three games in three days and a 1-2 record that was not expected given the high expectations for this team this season. Indiana Head Coach Mike Woodson has learned that the season continues and there is a lot of room for improvement.” We’ve got to play harder, get better. We’ll continue to practice and work hard, and I got to keep pushing them” Woodson said after the game. Galloway had offseason surgery has not felt 100% for a long time but on Friday the Fifth year Senior felt great and that is music to Mike Woodson’ ears. “I was holding my breath that he would get up this morning and tell me he felt fine, because we hadn’t heard that a lot. And he got up this morning and told me it was the best he’d felt in a long time.” The Hoosiers have non-conference games at home before hosting Minnesota and traveling to Nebraska to start the December Big Ten slate.
Indiana University Men’s Soccer Season Ends in the Sweet 16 The Indiana men’s soccer season concluded in the NCAA Tournament Third Round Saturday as the No. 14 national seed Hoosiers (11-5-5, 7-1-2 B1G) fell to host and No. 3 Denver (14-3-4, 7-1-0 Summit), 1-0. Denver’s ninth-minute goal was the difference, as a clearance from a Pioneer cross deflected off a Hoosier and into the path of the goal scorer. IU dominated play in the second half but could not convert its chances. Indiana’s run ends after reaching the round of 16 for the 10th straight season — the nation’s longest active streak. The Hoosiers won their 19th Big Ten regular season championship in 2024, earning a 7-1-2 record (23 points) in conference play to share the title with Ohio State.
In the Ninth Minute Redshirt junior Ian Smith put a ball across goal that came to junior midfielder Jack Wagoner. Wagoner attempted to clear with his first touch, but it deflected off sophomore defender Alex Barger and into the feet of freshman Keegan Kelly. Kelly jumped on the opportunity and gave Denver its lead. In the 77th minute after sustained pressure in the second half, Indiana had its best chance in the 77th minute as a set piece from senior midfielder Patrick McDonald came to senior defender Jansen Miller in the box. Miller got his foot around it, but the keeper pounced on his attempt. Three minutes later graduate forward Justin Weiss put a header on goal off a ball floating across, but the keeper was in the perfect position to keep it out of the net. Indiana returned to the NCAA Tournament for the 49th time in program history, its 38th consecutive appearance. The Hoosiers earned the No. 14 national seed, the program’s 24th seed all-time and the 10th in 11 seasons. IU advanced to the third round for the 43rd time in program history. The listed marks all stand as NCAA records.
Indiana University Volleyball Closes out the Season with a Senior Night Sweep over Illinois The Indiana Volleyball team (15-15, 8-12 B1G) put together one of its best performances of the season, sweeping aside visiting Illinois (25-21, 25-19, 25-18) on senior night at Wilkinson Hall. The Hoosiers finish the season at .500 or better for the third-straight season. IU had a complete offensive performance from start to finish, hitting .340 (48-12-106) across the three-set win. Junior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles and junior opposite hitter Avry Tatum had 18 and 14 kills respectively while senior outside hitter Mady Saris chipped in eight kills in her final career game. Senior setter Camryn Haworth ended her illustrious career with 41 assists in three sets. She added eight digs and three aces in her final game for the Hoosiers. She ends her time in Bloomington fourth in all-time assists (3,923) and first in all-time aces (213).
Sophomore libero Ramsey Gary led a stout defensive effort with 19 digs in three games (6.33 p/s). Across the weekend, Gary averaged 5.28 digs per set in a pair of wins. The Hoosiers had a 46-32 advantage in digs and held Illinois to just a .151 team hitting percentage. Illinois’ star outside hitter – Raina Terry – had 10 kills but hit just .129. IU avenged its earlier season loss to Illinois in the regular season finale. It marks the third-straight year that IU has beaten Illinois on its home court. The Hoosiers have now won at least eight Big Ten games in three-straight seasons for the first time since 1998-2000. IU’s four-year senior class – Haworth, Saris, Kenzie Daffinee and Carly Mills – finished their careers with 32 Big Ten wins, the most since 2002.
#3 Gonzaga uses a big first half run to put away #14 Indiana University Men’s Basketball The #14 Indiana Hoosiers dropped their second game at the Battle 4 Atlantis losing 89-73 to #3 Gonzaga Bulldogs on Thursday Afternoon at the Imperial Arena in Nassau The Bahamas. The Hoosiers are 4-2 on the season. Oumar Ballo scored 25 points against one of his former teams to lead the Hoosiers. Ballo started his career at Gonzaga averaging 2.5 points 1.5 rebounds and 6.3 minutes per game in the 2020-21 season before playing the next three season at Arizona and now playing his final season in Bloomington. Ballo went 11-13 from the field, 3-5 from the free throw line, pulled down 4 rebounds, dished out 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 block in 33 minutes of action.
Mackenize Mgbako added 13 points going 4-10 on the field, 2-5 from three-point range and 3-4 from the field. The Sophomore pulled down 4 rebounds and had an assist. The Hoosiers went 27-59 from the field for 45%, 4-18 from three-point range for 22% and 15-22 from the field for 68%. The Hoosiers pulled down 27 rebounds, dished out 17 assists, 8 steals, 4 blocks and committed 12 turnovers. The Hoosiers played with more intensity but scoreless drought of 5 minutes that fueled a Gonzaga run and being dominated on the glass doomed the Hoosiers.
Gonzaga is 6-1 on the season and coming off an 86-78 overtime loss to West Virginia Wednesday Afternoon. Ryan Nembhard scored 11 points and dished out 13 assists as Gonzaga had six players in double figures led by Kahlif Battle with 16 points. The Bulldogs went 31-64 from the field for 48%, 6-20 from the three-point line for 20% and 21-22 from the free throw line for 95%. The Bulldogs pulled down 42 rebounds, dished out 20 assists, 9 steals, 2 blocks and committed 13 turnovers.
The Bulldogs led 33-31 with under eight minutes to go in the first half when five players scored in a 16-0 run in less than 4 1/2 minutes and the Hoosiers never got closer than 15 points the rest of the way. Indiana was within two when Ballo scored inside at the 8:11 mark of the first half, giving him 17 points on 7-of-7 shooting against his first college team. His next basket came at 2:58 and cut Gonzaga’s lead to 49-33. The Hoosiers missed eight shots with three turnovers between baskets. Gonzaga led 57-39 at half with a 17-3 advantage in second-chance points. Ballo was 11-of-13 shooting, his teammates were 16 of 46. Gonzaga had six players in double figures before Indiana got its second with 1:20 left in the game. Indiana outscored Gonzaga 34-32 in the second half.
With two losses by double digits in two days Mike Woodson cannot hide behind the that he has seven new players and “We’re still trying to work things out.” Starting guards Myles Rice and Kannan Carlyle combined for 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 1 steal and a turnover. Malik Reneau scored 6 points and pulled down 5 rebounds. Former Indiana Men’s Basketball Coach Tom Crean who works as a studio analyst for ESPN said during the broadcast “I don’t think their conditioning is great.” Mike Woodson has not done well in big games away from home getting blown out time after time and he felt good before heading to The Bahamas about his defense and now everyone is left scratching their heads after the last two games and poor defensive effort. “I thought we were on point from a defensive standpoint heading out here to The Bahamas. I thought our defense was where we wanted it to be. These last two games, our perimeter play has gotten exposed, and I’ve got to fix that” Woodson said after the game. Mike Woodson feels that Indiana is going to get there but for fanbase that has high expectations time is running out. “That’s no knock against the teams we have played, but we’ve got to get to where we’re competing against the Gonzagas and the Louisville’s, and we will get there. We’ve just got to keep working at it.” Indiana will have two home games next week against Sam Houston State and Miami (Ohio) and if they don’t win tomorrow’s game and leave the Island’s with 0-3 record it will not be a pleasant homecoming for the Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers.