
Indiana University Women’s Basketball Restarts Big Ten Play with Wisconsin Saturday afternoon at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall The Indiana Hoosiers get back to work on Saturday afternoon at 2 pm when they host the Wisconsin Badgers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall with the game televised on the Big Ten Network. The Hoosiers are 9-3 on the season and 1-0 in the Big Ten and will come into the game with a five-game winning streak. The Hoosiers beat Oakland 90-55 last Sunday Afternoon at Simon Sjkodt Assembly Hall as the Hoosiers scored over 90 points for the second straight game. Shay Ciezki led the Hoosiers with 20 points, Karoline Striplin added 16 points off the bench and Sydney Parrish added 11 points in her first game back from a knee injury. The Hoosiers went 31-56 from the field for 55%, 11-24 from three-point range 45% and 17-25 from the free throw line for 68%. Indiana pulled down 42 rebounds, dished out 27 assists, 9 steals, 3 blocks, 40 points off the bench and committed 14 turnovers. The Hoosiers led 35-27 at halftime and outscored the Golden Grizzlies 55-28 in the second half.
Yarden Garzon leads the Hoosiers in scoring with 14.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Shay Ciezki averages 11.8 points and 3 assists per game. Lilly Meister is averaging 11.1 points along with a team leading 5.7 rebounds 0.7 blocks per game. Karoline Striplin is averaging 9.7 points off the bench and has scored 62 points in the last three games. Sydney Parrish is back missing five games with a knee injury and is averaging 9.6 points and returned to the starting lineup after Juliana LaMendola filled in her for Parrish and did a good job in her place. Chloe Moore-McNeil is averaging 9.3 points along with team leading 3.9 assists and 1.8 steals per games. Moore-McNeil has recorded over 400 assists for her career. The Hoosiers average 72 points per game and commit 15.1 turnovers per game. Indiana is shooting 44.6 % from the field, 33.8 from the three-point line and 75.5 % from the free throw line. The Hoosiers started the season 1-2 with a season opening win over Brown before back-to-back losses against Harvard at Home and Butler on the road. Indiana bounced back to win their next three games including two against ranked programs in Stanford at home and Baylor in the Bahamas along with win over Columbia in the first game in the Bahamas. The Hoosiers were blown out by 30 against at ranked North Carolina Team in Championship Game of the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. The Hoosiers have won five in a row with four home wins against Maine, Southern Indiana, Bellarmine and Oakland along with a 15-point road win over Penn State to kickoff Big Ten play.
Wisconsin is 10-2 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten. The Badgers have already played in the Hoosier State once this season with a 71-64 double overtime win at Butler on December 11, at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Badgers play at Purdue on February 2 and hope to make a return trip in early March when the Big Ten Tournament is played at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis as the top 15 teams make the tournament with the bottom three staying home due to new 18 team conference after Oregon, USC, UCLA and Washington joined the Big Ten in August. Wisconsin beat Rutgers 66-64 in Madison in earlier in the month to start Big Ten Play. Wisconsin started the season 2-0 with wins over Wright State and Georgetown before a 79-57 loss at South Dakota State. The Badgers won three in a row with wins over Milwaukee, Illinois Chicago and Omaha. The Badgers lost their second game of the season 73-67 to San Diego State. Wisconsin comes to Bloomington with a five-game winning streak with wins over Providence, VCU, Rutgers, Butler and Albany. The Badgers have had eight days off after a 67-57 win over Albany in Madison on December 20. Serah Williams scored 28 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season. Carter McCray added 15 points and 14 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.
Serah Williams leads the team with 20 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. The 6-4 Junior from Brooklyn, New York has scored 11 times in double figures and 9 times with double figure rebounds and will be the driving force of the Badgers. Carter McCray is averaging 11.4 points and 7.7 rebounds and 6-1 Sophomore from Oberlin, Ohio will be second option inside as she and Williams are 1-2 punch for Wisconsin. Guard Ronnie Porter runs the show for the Badgers averaging 11.3 points and leads the team with 4.9 assists and 1.9 steals per game. Wisconsin is averaging 69.8 points and 13.5 turnovers per game. The Badgers are shooting 45.5 % from the field, 31.5 from three-point range and 67.9 percent from the free throw line. The Hoosiers lead the all-time series with Wisconsin 53-23 as the Hoosiers have won the last ten meetings dating back to 2016. Wisconsin beat the Hoosiers in Madison on New Year’s Eve 2016 73-69. Wisconsin’s last win at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall was February 6, 2011, when the Badgers rolled over the Hoosiers 75-49. Indiana has won the last 8 meetings at home against the Badgers.
Indiana University Men’s Basketball Gets back to work hosting Winthrop Sunday Afternoon at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall The Indiana Hoosiers will host the Winthrop Eagles in the final non-conference home game of the season Sunday Afternoon at 4pm at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall with the game televised on the Big Ten Network. Indiana will be coming off an eight-day break after a 74-65 win over Chattanooga on December 21. Fans have been frustrated with the Hoosiers lack of effort in games that they should win by big margins. The Hoosiers led 41-38 at halftime and Mocs kept the game close trailing 65-61 with 3:09 left in the game when the Hoosiers used a 10-4 run to put the game away as the outscored Chattanooga 33-27 in the second half.
The Hoosiers are 8-0 at home this season but they are 1-3 away from home and all three losses have been by double digits which is a cause for concern for Hoosier fans. Indiana averages 78.8 points and commits 13.3 turnovers per game. Indiana shoots 49.4% from the field, 32.9% from three-point range and 73.2% from the free throw line. Indiana struggles on both ends of the floor when they are not able to knock down shots and not being able to get stops on the defensive end. Malik Reneau leads the team with 15.1 points per game and 1.5 steals per game. Mackenize Mgbako is averaging 13.9 points along with 5 rebounds per game. Oumar Ballo is averaging 12.4 points along with a team leading 9.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. Myles Rice is averaging 11 points per game and Trey Galloway leads the team in assists with 3.7 per game.
Winthrop located in Rock Hill, South Carolina will make its first visit to Bloomington and their first ever meeting with the Hoosiers. The Eagles are 10-4 on the season and 1-3 away from home. The Eagles lost at Virginia Tech 58-52, Georgia Southern 89-87, at Louisville 76-61 and at Florida State 82-64. Winthrop is coming off a 102-97 win over Mercer at home on December 21. The Eagles put five players in double figures led by Nick Johnson’s 22 points and 20 points from Kesan Johnson along with 18 points and 10 rebounds from Kelton Telford. Winthrop outscored the Bears 44-36 in the first half and Bears outscored the Eagles 61-58 in the second half. Kelton Telford leads the team with 14.9 points and 8 rebounds per game as the 6-7 Senior from Great Falls, South Carolina will have his hands full with 7-0 Oumar Ballo of Indiana. K.J Doucet averages 14 points, Kasen Harrison averages 13.6 points and leads the team with 3.3 assists per game. Nick Johnson averages 11 points per game and leads the team with 1.5 steals per game. Tai Hamilton leads the team with 1.1 blocks per game. Winthrop averages 86.9 points and commits 13.9 turnovers per game. The Eagles come into Bloomington shooting 45.7 % from the field, 30.9% from three-point range and 66% from the free throw line.
Winthrop has a 16-player roster that represents 10 states including North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Texas, South Carolina, New York, Virginia and Florida. Head Coach Mark Prosser is in his 4th season with a 65-45 record and 107-121 overall record with stops at Brevard College in North Carolina from 2011-12 and Western Carolina University from 2018-21. Prosser is 46 years old and played at Marist College in New York from 1998-99 and was a student assistant from 1999-02. Prosser was an assistant coach at Wofford in South Carolina from 2002-03 and 2008-11. In between he was at Bucknell from 2003-08 and Winthrop from 2012-18. Winthrop won the Big South South Division title in 2022. Prosser’s dad the late Skip Prosser coached at Loyola (Maryland), Xavier and Wake Forest from 1993-2007 with an overall record of 291-146 including an NCAA Tournament Record of 6-9 and 5-3 NIT Postseason Tournament Record. Skip Prosser passed away on July 26, 2007, at age 56 of a massive heart attack. In 2020 College Insider honor Mark Prosser with the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award which is an award given annually to the nation’s men’s head basketball coach in NCAA Division 1 competition who also exhibits strong moral character and started in 2008 and honors Skip Prosser who led three different teams to the NCAA Tournament in his first season each program and is the only coach to accomplish that feat.
Indiana University Football All-American Mikail Kamara announces a return to the Hoosiers for the 2025 Season If Curt Cignetti wrote a wish list to Santa Claus for Christmas, he just got his top request under the tree. IU edge rusher Mikail Kamara announced on social media on Wednesday that he’s returning to the Hoosiers for the 2025 season. He has one year of eligibility remaining. Kamara turned in a superb season for IU in 2024, becoming the program’s first Associated Press All-American in a decade a third-team All-American at edge rusher. He also earned All-Big Ten first team honors.
The redshirt junior finished 13th in the nation with 10 sacks, which tied for the fifth-most in a single season in IU history. He posted the most sacks by a Hoosier since 2008. Kamara also tied for 18th in the country and finished second with 15 tackles for loss. The Ashburn, Va. native finished sixth on the team with 47 total tackles on the season. He also led the Hoosiers with six QB hurries, and he added two forced fumbles and one pass breakup. Kamara was one of the most impactful defensive players in the Big Ten all season. And he takes pride in the work it takes to achieve that status, and the feeling he gets from rushing straight at an opposing blocker.
“It’s fun,” Kamara said ahead of IU’s College Football Playoff game. “Like all the things that we work at in the pads, all the smooth pass rushes and cute wins that you see on Instagram, right, you get to go hit those and hopefully you see the highlights on ESPN. But it’s go out there and wreak havoc and make plays, right. You have a one-on-one, every single time, just go in. Simple.”
Class of 2025 Quarterback Jacob Bell Flips his Commitment to Indiana University after committing to Ball State in June Christmas just got a little merrier for Indiana football. Three-star class of 2025 quarterback Jacob Bell announced his commitment to IU on social media on Wednesday morning. The Naperville, Ill. native received an offer from Indiana on Tuesday, and announced he was decommitting from Ball State just hours later. Bell initially committed to the Cardinals in June. The Hoosiers were Bell’s first power four offer. He held other FBS offers from Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Marshall, Ohio, and Western Michigan.
Bell was named Naperville Sun player of the year after a strong senior season. Per MaxPreps, he completed 251 passes in 397 attempts, racking up 3,082 yards over 10 games with 38 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. He also ran for 142 yards on 40 attempts with four rushing touchdowns. This is the first quarterback commitment in Indiana’s high school class of 2025. The Hoosiers also added Fernando Mendoza out of the transfer portal from California on Tuesday, while Tayven Jackson entered the portal earlier in the week.
Bloomington South Graduate Tysen Smith Transfers to Indiana State from the University of Toledo for Football It’s a change of schools and change of direction for Tysen Smith. The former Bloomington South football standout announced he was switching college programs, from Toledo to Indiana State. He also noted that his days at tight end are behind him, as he’s moving over to the defensive side of the ball, much as he did his senior year with the Panthers, to focus on rush end. Smith thought highly of the culture at Toledo, but his position coach left soon after his arrival. After a while, he also realized that tight end wasn’t the position he was best suited to play and wanted to find a fresh start. He’ll do so as a redshirt freshman for the Sycamores and head coach Curt Mallory, following in the footsteps of his father, Craig, who also played there. Smith will enroll for the spring semester.
“I feel like I’m more dominating on defense,” Smith said. “I feel like that’s where most of my highlights were. When I was playing offense, I was kind of missing that aggressiveness that defense gives you, so I thought it would be a better fit.” At South his senior year, Smith was full-time defense, with 41 tackles, 25 solo and seven for loss and two sacks and blocked a field goal in the semistate game, and still a potent tight end, with 22 passes for 294 yards and a TD. Leaving Toledo, he found suitors looking at him as tight end, starting with other Mid-American Conference schools. Offers from Butler and Tennessee-Martin came in. But he turned to the program that had been the first to make an offer him as a high schooler.
He’ll also be reunited with Panther teammate Tyree Rochell, who just finished his redshirt sophomore season. Another former South standout and newly minted ISU grad, Maddix Blackwell, is still in the transfer portal with one year of eligibility remaining. Both were able to give Smith some insights into the program and had only good things to say. “ISU is a great opportunity,” Smith said. “Coach Mallory was the first offer me and he’s a great coach. I like the strength coach a lot and I like the defensive coordinator. They have a lot of great coaches. “There’s good chemistry on the team and the guys get along well. I went on some visits and ISU felt like home.” Edge rusher also felt more like home. ISU is graduating two players at the position so he can vie for time right away. “I did it in high school for a long time and did it successfully,” Smith said. “It’s a lot of fun playing defense. At Toledo, I played special teams, and we worked on tackling drills, shock and shed, getting off blocks, so I’ve got a feel for that still. “It’s just being physical and getting your eyes in the right place.”
Former Indiana University Football Player and Bloomington South Graduate Dasan McCullough Transfers to Nebraska from Oklahoma A key piece of Oklahoma’s defense has found a new home and he’s back in the Big Ten. Linebacker Dasan McCullough, a part-time starter during his two seasons in Norman, will play the 2025 season for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. As a freshman at Indiana, McCullough totaled 49 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and four sacks playing primarily as a defensive end. He also was credited with three pass breakups.
He transferred to OU in 2023 and moved to Venables’ cheetah linebacker position, where he ended with 30 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and three passes defended. After missing the start of the 2024 season due to a foot injury, McCullough finished with 17 total tackles this past season, including 2.5 tackles for loss. With the emergence of converted cornerback Kendel Dolby at the cheetah, McCullough experimented last spring as more of a pure inside linebacker, but Dolby’s season-ending injury necessitated McCullough’s return to cheetah when he finally overcame his foot injury. McCullough played 195 total snaps (160 on defense) after finally getting healthy at midseason this year. As a sophomore in 2023, he played 356 total snaps (276 defense). Last year McCullough finished second on the team (to noseguard Isaiah Coe) with an overall PFF defensive grade of 79.5, including an 88.2 in pass coverage and a 73.6 in run defense. With the injury this year, McCullough’s PFF rating of 64.5 ranked 17th among OU defenders with at least 100 snaps.
The 6-foot-5, 235-pound McCullough arrived at OU last year amid much fanfare following his freshman year with the Hoosiers, when he received Freshman All-America accolades. He transferred to OU at the same time his younger brother, Daeh McCullough, arrived as a freshman defensive back, a 4-star prospect. Daeh transferred to Louisville after the 2023 season, however. McCullough graduated from Bloomington South High School in Bloomington, IN, and he was rated as a consensus 4-star prospect when he signed with the Hoosiers. The son of Notre Dame associate head coach and running backs coach Deland McCullough, Dasan will have one year of eligibility remaining.