Curt Cignetti Talks about his Non-Conference Scheduling Philosophy at Big Ten Football Media Days Indiana’s approach to nonconference scheduling has been in the news this month after it was revealed the Hoosiers had canceled a 2027-28 home-and-home contract with Virginia. That maneuver left IU’s known future schedules void of any non-league games against Power 4 opponents, save for a 2030-31 home-and-home series with Notre Dame. And it left the door open for a wave of criticism. Even before IU coach Curt Cignetti could take the stage in Las Vegas for his Tuesday appearance at Big Ten Media Days, at least two media members lobbed questions at league commissioner Tony Petitti that mentioned Indiana’s schedule in 2024, and their approach to future schedules.
And then Cignetti was asked about that rationale for cancelling the Virginia series and replacing them with non-Power 4 opponents in Bloomington. “We picked up an extra home game, and we play nine conference games,” Cignetti said. The second-year coach knows his primary competition for a spot in the College Football Playoff comes from the SEC. And he’s focused on that league’s current approach to scheduling in an effort to make sure the playing field is level. “The two best conferences in college football, any football guy that’s objective will tell, you is the Big Ten and the SEC,” Cignetti said. “12 of the 16 SEC teams plays three G5 (Group of Five, i.e. non P4) or an FCS game. 12 of those teams play 36 games — 29 G5 games, and 7 FCS games — and one less conference game (than the Big Ten).
“So, we figured we’d just adopt the SEC’s scheduling philosophy. Some people don’t like it. I’m more focused in on those nine conference games.” The Virginia series was set before Cignetti took the IU job in late 2023, but he said he did sign off on keeping it initially — ahead of the 2024 campaign. But with time to digest the Power 4 landscape and what it takes to play meaningful games in December; he’s had a change of heart. Cignetti signaled he’s okay with just about any approach to scheduling as long as there is consistency across the P4 conferences. Currently the Big Ten and Big 12 play nine conference games, with the SEC and ACC playing just eight. So, if Indiana were to play a team like Virginia in the nonconference, they’d be up to 10 Power 4 opponents, while the majority in the SEC were playing just nine. “We need to standardize the schedule across the board if we want to have objective criteria for who should be in the playoff and who shouldn’t,” he said. “And we need to take the decision making off the (CFP) Committee to some degree.”
For his part, Cignetti’s preferred approach would be that every P4 conference play nine league games, with each league getting a predetermined number of automatic qualifiers for the CFP. On each league’s championship game weekend in early December, he’d like to see additional conference play-in games to determine who gets the automatic spots. That, he says, will help eliminate any concerns about unequal strengths of schedule during the regular season. “Let’s have everybody play nine conference games, and on championship weekend, the three (seed) will play six and four will play five,” he said.
Five Former Indiana University Men’s Basketball Players Wrap up NBA Summer League Play Five former Hoosiers and another player with ties to head coach Darian DeVries appeared in NBA Summer League action this month. Below are their final stats.
Kel’el Ware played in Las Vegas for Miami and averaged a double-double with 17.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game. He also played in the California League and scored 13 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. Ware was challenged by his head coach this summer and appears to have responded with a strong finish. He’ll look to have a breakout campaign in year two with the Heat.
Oumar Ballo also played for Miami and saw a limited role. He played in two games and averaged 5.5 points and 4.5 rebounds over 10.9 minutes per contest. He also scored 5 points in one appearance in the California League. Ballo’s next move is likely overseas or to the G League.
Miller Kopp averaged 3.5 points over 12.3 minutes per game in four appearances for Detroit. He shot 40% from three (4-of-10). This was Kopp’s first action with Detroit after a couple seasons with the Oklahoma City G League team. Kopp had a very good season for the Oklahoma City Blue last year. It will be interesting to see his next move.
Jalen Hood-Schifino struggled for Philadelphia in Las Vegas. He appeared in 14.8 minutes per game over two games and didn’t score while posting two turnovers per contest. He was better in the Salt Lake League, where he posted 10 points and 5.7 assists per game over three appearances, but made just 25% from three and averaged 3.3 turnovers. Hood-Schifino was traded to Philadelphia last season and will fight for a roster spot there in 2025-26.
Tamar Bates, who played his first two seasons of college basketball at IU, scored 11.4 points per game in 20.6 minutes per contest for Denver. He struggled with efficiency, making just 40.4% of his shots overall, including 19% from three. He signed a two-way deal with the Nuggets, meaning he’s likely to play in both the NBA and the G League during the upcoming year.
Javon Small, who was drafted by Memphis after playing for Darian DeVries at West Virginia last season, scored 17 points per game in 23.2 minutes per contest. He shot the ball very well, making 50% from three on six attempts per game. Small also posted 4.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game. It was an impressive showing for the Indiana native.
Indiana Pacer Pascal Siakam to Drive the Pace Car for the Brickyard 400 A familiar and friendly face from the Indiana Pacers will be trading in his basketball gear for a steering wheel as the honorary Pace Car driver at the Brickyard 400. Pascal Siakam, a three-time NBA All-Star, two-time All-NBA selection, and Red Bull athlete, will behind the wheel of the 2025 Chevrolet Blazer EV SS during Sunday’s race. INDYCAR and Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles said in the announcement that Siakam as the driver is like a match made in Indiana heaven. “Basketball and motorsports – Pacers and racers – go hand in hand in Indianapolis,” he said. “Following the Pacers’ electrifying postseason run, it’s only fitting to have Pascal join us to pace the field as NASCAR’s biggest stars compete to win the In-Season Challenge and add their name to the history books with a win at the Brickyard.”
Siakam’s journey to becoming an NBA champion began in Douala, Cameroon, where he grew up in a family of six siblings. Despite his brothers playing Division I college basketball in America, Siakam initially had other plans – he wanted to play soccer. But after an invite to a Basketball Without Borders camp in South Africa when he was 16, Siakam’s basketball career took off. He attended a prep school in Texas and played college basketball at New Mexico State before being drafted by the Toronto Raptors in 2016. There, he evolved from “promising prospect” to bench player, earning the league’s Most Improved Player award in 2019. Siakam was traded to the Pacers in 2024, becoming a “key veteran presence on a young, dynamic roster.” That presence helped the team reach Game 7 in the NBA Finals and earning the Eastern Conference Finals MVP. The Brickyard 400 is set to start at 1 p.m. Sunday. For ticket information, visit the IMS website.
Indiana University Men’s Tennis Named ITA All-Academic Team and Four Players Honored The Indiana Men’s Tennis program was recognized as an Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-Academic Team with four Hoosiers honored as ITA Scholar Athletes on Monday. The four student-athletes to be recognized include Aidan Atwood, Braeden Gelletich, Nikola Kolyachev and Ben Pomeranets. To be named an ITA Scholar-Athlete, one must meet the following requirements – have a grade point average of at least 3.5 (on a 4.00 scale) for the current academic year, be listed on the institutional eligibility form. To be named an ITA All-Academic Team, programs must meet the following requirements – have a team grade point average of 3.2 or above (on a 4.00 scale), all student-athletes included should be listed on the institutional eligibility form, and all varsity letter winners should be factored into the cumulative team GPA for the current academic year.
Owen Valley Hires J.B. Neill as its Head Coach for Boys Basketball On November 26, JB Neill will find himself in a situation he’s never experienced heading into his 16th season as a head boys basketball coach. Neill was officially hired as the new coach at Owen Valley at last Thursday’s school board meeting, hoping to jump-start a Patriots program that has been through some tough times recently. Neill was at Bloomfield for five years before he was let go and spent last season at Martinsville. He decided to move on, not sure what the future held with his son Blake, Bloomfield’s all-time scoring leader, heading into his senior year. Now, it’s set: OV will open the season at home against the Cardinals. “It doesn’t bother us,” Neill said. “My family respects what we’ve got to do. I’ve got a job; my son’s got a job. For me it’s just another night I get to watch him play and get him better. “The foundation’s been laid for Blake Neill. He’s old enough I don’t have to coach him for him to succeed.”
But missing many of Blake’s games last year and the long drive to Martinsville caused him to have second thoughts. But leaving also left him wondering what was next. Owen Valley pounced. Neill takes over for Matt McGowan, who is now working at Decatur Township. He was 12-36 in his two seasons, the last one marred by injuries that put a lot of young players and others with little varsity experience on the floor. OV had just three seniors, and some promising young players return. “We’re excited,” OV athletic director Brad Greene said. “He’s just what we were looking for. And it happened to be the right opportunity and good timing for him.”
It’s not the first time OV tried to bring Neill on board. “I was at a crossroads, trying to figure out what to do,” said Neill, who will be 53 in September. “I’ve been in education for 26 years, so I’m close to being eligible for retirement. But I wasn’t wanting to do that. OV, Brad, he was pretty persistent for several years. The first time they asked, I didn’t go. “Then the same thing happened this year and it just fell into place. It’s just 25 miles from my house and I’ve worked with those guys before. The principal (Robert Boltinghouse) and AD, I knew those guys and that’s a great thing. Same thing at Martinsville, those were Class A guys, but I think this is a better fit.” He’ll get to know the players and parents better this week and he’ll be in the building as a history teacher as well.
The Eastern Greene grad coached the girl’s team there before becoming the boys coach at White River Valley from 2009-14. He spent the next season at Shakamak before moving to Edgewood for three years. In 15 boys seasons he is 226-147 with four 20-game winners, four sectional titles and just four sub-.500 seasons. “He brings in experience and he’s bringing wins and discipline,” Greene said. “We’re looking forward to that.” Neill knows there’s some work to do to get the Patriots back on a winning track. OV’s last winning season was an 11-9 mark in 2020-21 under Roger Fleetwood, who led the Patriots to their last sectional title in 2019. “It’s just baby steps,” Neill said. “We’ve got to go for small wins. Like with any job opening, there’s a reason it’s open. There’s not too many where they won 20 games and everyone is coming back. Those don’t exist. So, we say they have to understand it’s about winning the little battles and then hope to win the war. “I’ve gotten more patience as I’ve gotten older. Everybody wants to win today but that’s not always that case.” As for Blake, he’s starting to gain interest from Division I coaches after a busy summer on Puma’s NXTPRO Circuit, playing all over the country with a Grand Park Premier squad coached by Dustin Smith, father of Purdue standout Braden Smith.
Zach Evans Steps Down as Edgewood’s Track and Cross-Country Coach Zach Evans has stepped down as head cross country and track coach at Edgewood and as junior high social studies teacher. He took over the cross-country program in 2019 then track the following spring. “I’m getting out of teaching and it’s kind of hard to continue coaching if you’re not teaching,” Evans said. “I think I got to the point I was only doing teaching so I could keep coaching. The stress of taking all that home, the teaching part, I was done with it. I can be paid a lot more to do other things. “It’s extremely hard to give up coaching, but at a certain point, you have to move on.”
The Mustangs had seen several breakthroughs in both track and cross country, boys and girls under his watch. “I think it’s a pretty big deal,” Edgewood AD Jerry Bland said. “He’s been very successful getting good runners to be great and average runners to be good. He was able to meet kids at their level and created improvements in both programs. “The numbers have been strong, and he did a good job building relationships and the culture of the team. They always came out and performed at a high level.” “I think what I’m most proud of is the kids really believing they had an opportunity to be great and be successful at the highest levels,” Evans said. “That was something started by Micah Mobley before me, so we built on that foundation.”