Indiana University Men’s Basketball escapes with another nine-point non-conference win over Winthrop The Indiana Hoosiers closed out the non-conference portion of the 2024-25 Season with a 77-68 win over the Winthrop Eagles Sunday afternoon at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Indiana is 10-3 on the season and 9-0 at home and will restart Big Ten Conference Play on Thursday Night hosting the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at 8:30 PM. Winthrop is 10-5 on the season and 1-4 on the road. This was the first ever meeting between the two programs as Hoosiers let Chattanooga and Winthrop hang around until end of the game to pull out two nine-point wins.
The Hoosiers were without seven-footer Oumar Ballo who did not go through warmups but was in uniform. Head Coach Mike Woodson did not want address why Ballo did not play and said after the game he and Ballo would sit down tomorrow to address the situation. Myles Rice led the Hoosiers with 18 points and second time he has played a team from his home state of South Carolina this season and after the game he said that playing both Winthrop and South Carolina mean a little more and “give him bragging rights” and also it was special day as it was his grandfather’s birthday who lives in Akien, South Carolina so Myles “wanted to go out there and play for him” after he talked to him this morning to wish him a Happy Birthday.
Malik Reneau scored 14 points and Trey Galloway added 11 points. Freshman Bryson Tucker added 9 points off the bench, Luke Goode who got his first start as Hoosier scored 8 points and Mackenize Mgbako added 8 points. Langdon Hatton added 7 points along with 11 rebounds, Anthony Leal added 2 points and Kannan Caryle played but did not score. Indiana finished 30-66 from the field for 45%, 1-20 from thee point range for 5% and 16-24 from the free throw line for 66%. The Hoosiers pulled down 46 rebounds, dished out 17 assists, 7 blocks, 6 Steals, 54 points in the paint, 18 bench points and committed 8 turnovers. The Hoosiers finished the game on an 8-0 run in the last three minutes as Eagles were held scoreless for the final three minutes and sixteen seconds missing their last four shots from the field.
Winthrop got 14 points apiece from Kasen Harrison and K.J Doucet as five players scored in double figures. Kelton Telford scored 13 points. Paul Jones III and Nick Johnson scored 10 points apiece. Former Indiana Hoosier Logan Duncomb played 7 minutes scoring 2 points going 1-2 from the field 0-1 from the free throw line and pulled down 2 rebounds. Duncomb played two seasons at Indiana from 2021-23 and transferred to Xavier but did not play the 2023-24 season stepping away from basketball and then transferred to Winthrop this season. The Eagles finished the game 24-64 from the field for 37%, 6-23 from three-point range for 26% and 14-20 from the free throw line for 70%. The Eagles pulled down 39 rebounds as Doucet had a double-double with 12 of those boards. 8 assists, 6 Steals, 2 Blocks, 36 points in the paint, 7 bench points and committed 11 turnovers.
In the first half the game was tied 4-4 and then Indiana went on a 5-0 run to increase the lead to 9-4 with 17:04 left in the half. The Hoosiers increased the lead to 13-5 with 15:28 left giving the Hoosiers an eight-point lead. Winthrop would chip away at the lead getting it down to one point at 23-22 with 8:49 left in the first half. The Hoosiers would get the back up to eight points on two more occasions and then Winthrop’s Kasen Harrison hit a three pointer just before the buzzer as the Hoosiers went into the locker room up 41-37 at the break Indiana got the lead to eight points with 8:17 left leading 66-53 as Trey Galloway scored a fastbreak layup. The Hoosiers increased the lead to 9 points with Mackenize Mgbako scoring on the layup to make it 69-60 with 4:19 left. Winthrop would cut to one point with three minutes left on a 3 pointer by Nick Johnson to make it 69-68. Indiana would score the final eight points of the game with two Malik Reneau Baskets along with a free throw Two Langdon Hatton Free throws and tip in by Anthony Leal to close out the game. Now the real test starts with 18 Big Ten games ahead of them. Every one of them will be very tough as only the top 15 make the Big Ten Tournament with the Conference expanding 18 teams.
Indiana University Women’s Basketball restarts Big Ten Play with a 31-point rout over Wisconsin The Indiana Hoosiers restarted Big Ten Conference Play Saturday Afternoon with an 83-52 win over the Wisconsin Badgers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Indiana is now 2-0 in the Big Ten after winning their conference opener earlier in the month at Penn State as they improved to 10-3 on the season and have won their last six games. Wisconsin falls to 10-3 on the season and 1-1 in the Big Ten. Indiana has dominated this series winning 11 straight over the Badgers which is the longest streak over another Big Ten opponent to date as they are 36-4 all time at home including 9 in a row and 54-23 all-time against Wisconsin. Indiana has won seven straight Big Ten home openers which ties the program record. The Hoosiers put four in double figures with Lilly Mesiter leading the way with 20 points. Shay Ciezki added 14 points along with 13 points apiece from Yarden Garzon and Sydney Parrish. The Hoosiers finished 32-60 from the field for 53%, 9-18 from three-point range for 50% and 10-14 from the free throw line for 71%. Indiana pulled down 30 rebounds, dished out 25 assists, 10 blocks, 8 steals, 42 points in the paint, 16 bench points and committed 8 turnovers.
Serah Williams led Wisconsin with 13 points and 11 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season, but she worked for every point and rebounds with Lilly Meister and Karoline Striplin rotating on her defensively throughout the game. Carter McCray added 10 points and 5 rebounds. Wisconsin finished the game 18-52 from the field for 34%, 5-12 from three-point range for 41% and 11-17 from the free throw line for 68%. The Badgers pulled down 33 rebounds, dished out 12 assists, 4 blocks, 2 steals, 20 points in the paint, 18 bench points and committed 18 turnovers.
Wisconsin jumped out to a 4-1 lead after Carter McCray scored both Badger buckets with the second one coming with 8:19 left in the first quarter. Indiana took the lead 5-4 on a Shay Ciezki layup off a Wisconsin turnover at 7:04 mark. The Hoosiers went on a 12-0 run to lead 13-4 with 5:11 left in the opening period and never trailed the rest of the way. Wisconsin ended the scoring drought when Lilly Krahn hit the pull up jumper with 4:43 left in the quarter. Indiana went on an 8-0 run to lead 21-6 with 2:53 left in the quarter. The Badgers responded with a 11-0 run and three straight triples to cut the Hoosiers lead to four points 21-17 after the first ten minutes. Halle Douglas hit a free throw to start the second quarter to put the Badgers within three at 21-18 with 9:20 left in the second quarter. Indiana went a 7-0 run with Sydney Parrish three and back-to-back buckets from Lilly Meister as the Hoosiers increased the lead to ten points with 7:37 left in the quarter. Indiana controlled the rest of the quarter outscoring the Badgers 14-5 to head to the locker room leading 42-23 as Chloe Moore-McNeil beat the halftime buzzer with a three pointer to end the half with 7-0 in the last one minutes and eleven seconds. The Hoosiers hit their final three field goals of the half and Badgers were held scoreless for the final four minutes and twenty-nine seconds of the first half as Indiana had 8 blocks in the opening half.
In the third quarter Carter McCray did a repeat of the first quarter scoring the first two Wisconsin buckets as Wisconsin cut the Indiana lead to 15 points, 44-29 with 7:19 left in the third. The Hoosiers outscored Wisconsin 21-4 including a Yarden Garzon Three to put the Hoosiers up 66-34 at the end of the third quarter. The Hoosiers finished the third quarter on 10-0 run and held the Badgers scoreless for the final two minutes and twenty seconds of the third quarter. In the opening minutes of the fourth quarter Yarden Garzon hit the floor hard and was taken out of the game and with the game in hand there was no reason to put her back in. Wisconsin did outscore the Hoosiers 18-17 in the final ten minutes, but the Hoosiers held the Badgers without a field goal for the final four minutes and 31 seconds missing their last four shots from the field. Indiana finished the game hitting their last five of seven from the field as Freshman Faith Wiseman who played just 45 minutes from campus at Indian Creek High School scored her first point as a Hoosier hitting a free throw with 17 seconds left.
After a 1-2 to start to season and a battle to have a healthy squad all season the Hoosiers are starting to hit their stride with 9-1 mark since. Indiana did it on both ends of the floor like Teri Moren coached teams are expected to do which is get stops, block and alter shots and score off those mistakes by the opponent. Indiana is clicking on offense on with sharing the ball and finding the open player and when they get rolling it is hard to stop. The Hoosiers have a big test ahead when the top ranked UCLA Bruins come to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Next Saturday for a Noon showdown.
Bloomington South Girls Basketball wins the Whiteland Holiday Tournament Holiday Hoops is always a great time of the year and in the State of Indiana there are no shortage of High School Girls Basketball Tournaments to attend around the State of Indiana. Bloomington South, Edgewood and Bloomington South all competed in Holiday Tournaments Last Thursday and Friday getting ready for the final month of the Regular Season and put themselves in position to be ready for the Postseason which starts in February.
Bloomington South beat Tri-West 56-27 and Whiteland 57-41 to win the Rascals Fun Zone Holiday Invitational at Whiteland. The Panthers trailed 13-10 after the first quarter against Whiteland as the Panthers led 23-20 at halftime. Bloomington South outscored Whiteland 34-21 in the second half to cruise to the tournament title. Bloomington South is 14-1 on the season and has won nine straight all by double digits. The Panthers return to action on January 4, when they host New Albany at 12:30 PM.
Edgewood beat Mount Vernon (Posey) 54-32 in the Semifinals before falling in the Championship game to Orleans 38-28 of the Orleans Tournament. In the Mount Vernon game Ally Bland scored all 16 of her points in the first half and Macey Crider scored all 12 of her points in the second half. Edgewood led 23-14 at halftime and outscored Mount Vernon 31-18 in the second half. The Mustangs led Orleans 23-15 at halftime but the Mustangs had a scoreless third quarter as Orleans scored 16 third quarter points to take the lead and put the game away as Bulldogs outscored the Mustangs 7-5 in the fourth quarter. Edgewood is 10-4 on the season and will return to action on January 4, when they host Springs Valley at 12:30PM.
Bloomington North went 2-1 to finish in fifth place at the Lebanon Tournament. The Cougars lost in the opening game to Lafayette Jeff 53-48 and then bounced back to beat Perry Meridian 60-43 in a consolation game and beat Mooresville 43-40 in the fifth-place game to avenge a 21-point road loss to the Pioneers on December 14. Ava Robbennolt was named to the all-tournament team. Bloomington North is 8-7 on the season and will return to action January 9, at New Palestine.
Monroe County High School Boys Basketball Teams Struggle in Post Christmas Holiday Tournaments Holiday Hoops is always a great time of the year and in the State of Indiana there are no shortage of High School Boys Basketball Tournaments to attend around the State of Indiana. Bloomington South, Edgewood and Lighthouse Christian all competed in Holiday Tournaments Thursday, Friday and Saturday as the first month and half of the Regular Season is complete, and the team get ready for the new year and the final two months of the regular season. There is still a lot of Basketball to be played as the postseason which starts in March will be here before you know it.
Bloomington South finished 2-2 at the Ray Furney Holiday Classic in Lawrenceburg. The Panthers beat Newport Catholic Kentucky 82-49 and lost to Whiteland 53-51 on Day 1. The Panthers beat Jennings County 56-55 in a consolation game before losing the fifth-place game to Fort Wayne Blackhawk 67-65. Bloomington South is 5-5 on the season and will host the Bloomington South Tournament on Friday where they will play Indianapolis Bishop Chatard at 10 am with Brownsburg facing Marquette Catholic at 11:45 AM and the 3rd Place and Championship games will be Friday Night at 6 and 7:45 PM.
Edgewood finished 1-2 in the Wabash Valley Classic at Terre Haute North. The Mustangs lost to Northview 56-55 on Thursday, Beat Cloverdale for the second time this season 59-48 on Friday and lost to Parke Heritage 60-49 on Saturday. Edgewood is 5-4 on the season and will return to action on January 10, when they host Brown County.
Lighthouse Christian finished 1-2 at the Law Construction Christmas at the Tank Holiday Tournament at Eminence High School. The Lions lost twice on Thursday 68-53 to Mooresville Christian and 67-62 to Indiana Math & Science. Lighthouse Christian responded Friday with a 71-13 win over Seven Oaks in the fifth-place game. The Lions are 2-5 on the season and will host Columbus Christian on Friday Night.
Bloomington North will face Fort Wayne Wayne on Thursday at 3:45 PM in the Fishers Tournament. The Cougars are 1-5 on the season and will face Portage or Lawrence Central in the Second Game depending on results. The Cougars will play a third game against South Dearborn, Fishers, Chesterton and Evansville Bosse who are on the other side of the bracket. The Championship game is Friday Night at 7:15 PM.
Former Indiana University Safety Louis Moore is returning to the Hoosiers for the 2025 Season Former IU safety Louis Moore is returning to the Hoosiers in 2025. That’s according to multiple Saturday morning reports. Moore spent the 2024 campaign at Ole Miss, where he played 297 snaps in 10 games at free safety. He recorded 33 tackles including two for a loss and a half sack. He dealt with an injury for much of the season. In 2023 with IU, Moore appeared in all 12 games with ten starts. He posted 83 tackles, three interceptions, for pass break-ups and three forced fumbles. He returned one of his interceptions for a touchdown. He appeared in all 12 games for IU in 2022 in a reserve role and posted nine tackles to go with a forced fumble. Prior to transferring to IU ahead of the 2022 season, played wide receiver and defensive back at Navarro C.C. He’ll play on the defensive side of the ball for IU.
The Mesquite, Texas product had 48 receptions for 713 yards and five touchdowns over two seasons at Navarro. He added 12 tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup on defense. Moore will help IU address their biggest need on defense looking ahead to 2025. The Hoosiers must replace starters Shawn Asbury and Terry Jones. Moore will have a good chance to start on the backend alongside his former teammate Amare Ferrell. Moore has one year of eligibility remaining. He’s played three seasons at Indiana/Ole Miss and two more at junior college. A recent ruling has at least temporarily resulted in junior college seasons not counting against eligibility.
Two Former Indianapolis Colts are among the Finalists for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class Two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning, former Defensive Players of the Year Luke Kuechly and Terrell Suggs, and prolific tight end Antonio Gates are among the finalists for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. The Hall on Saturday announced the names of the 15 modern-era finalists who advanced from a group of 25 to the final stage of voting. The group includes five players in their first year of eligibility, nine who were finalists last year and receiver Steve Smith Sr., who made it this far for the first time in his fourth year of eligibility. The selection committee will vote next month to pick the class of between three and five modern-era players that will be announced the week of the Super Bowl.
Five others also are under consideration for enshrinement, with Maxie Baughan, Sterling Sharpe and Jim Tyrer finalists in the senior’s category, Mike Holmgren in the coach’s category and Ralph Hay as a contributor. Between one and three of those nominees will also get inducted into the Hall. Manning, Kuechly and Suggs are finalists in their first year of eligibility, along with postseason kicking star Adam Vinatieri and former Baltimore guard Marshal Yanda. Gates was a first-time finalist for the 2024 class and is back at this stage along with defensive end Jared Allen; receivers Torry Holt and Reggie Wayne; offensive linemen Willie Anderson and Jahri Evans; defensive backs Darren Woodson, Eric Allen and Rodney Harrison; and running back Fred Taylor also advancing.
Manning will look to follow his brother Peyton into the Hall following a standout career with the New York Giants. Manning was picked first overall in the 2004 draft and spent his entire career in New York. He led the Giants to an upset win over the undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl following the 2007 season, throwing a game-winning TD pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute. He led another late TD drive to upset Tom Brady and the Patriots four years later. Manning is one of 13 QBs to win multiple Super Bowls, with eight of the nine who are eligible for the Hall getting inducted. Only Jim Plunkett has not been inducted, along with more recent players such as Brady, Ben Roethlisberger and Patrick Mahomes, who aren’t yet eligible.
Manning was a four-time Pro Bowler but never made All-Pro or led the league in a major statistical category in a season. He finished his career with 57,023 yards passing and 366 TDs. His best moments came during those two postseason runs. Manning joined Brady (five), Mahomes (three), Joe Montana (three), Bart Starr (two) and Terry Bradshaw (two) as the only multiple winners of Super Bowl MVP awards. Kuechly and Suggs were among the top defensive players of their era, with Kuechly selected as the top defensive player in 2013 and Suggs in 2011.
Kuechly’s career was brief but impactful. The first-round pick by Carolina in 2012 was an All-Pro five times, with seven Pro Bowl nods and a Defensive Rookie of the Year award. Over his eight-year career, Kuechly led all linebackers in the NFL in tackles (1,090), takeaways (26), interceptions (18) and passes defensed (66). Suggs was one of the top pass rushers in the league over his 17-year career, with his 139 sacks ranking eighth best since they became an official stat in 1982. Suggs had seven double-digit sack seasons in his 16 seasons with Baltimore, including 14 in 2011 when he was selected as the top defensive player in the league and led the NFL with seven forced fumbles.
Gates finished with 955 catches for 11,841 yards and an NFL record for tight ends with 116 touchdown receptions. Vinatieri was one of the most clutch kickers in NFL history, making the game-winning field goals in the first two Super Bowl titles during New England’s dynasty. He helped launch the run with one of the game’s greatest kicks — a 45-yarder in the snow to force overtime in the “Tuck Rule” game against the Raiders in the 2001 divisional round. He made the game-winning kick in OT to win that game and then hit a 48-yarder on the final play of a 20-17 win in the Super Bowl against the Rams. Vinatieri is the NFL’s career leader in points (2,673) and made field goals (599) over a 24-year career with New England and Indianapolis. He also leads all players with 56 field goals and 238 points in the postseason.