Tickets on Sale for the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament First and Second Rounds at Wilkinson Hall As of Monday morning, Indiana volleyball fans are now able to purchase tickets for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Wilkinson Hall will play host to first round action on Thursday evening and the second round on Friday evening. The fourth-seeded Hoosiers, the No. 14 overall seed in the country, will play its opening game of the NCAA Tournament against Toledo on Thursday evening (5:30 p.m.) at Wilkinson Hall. Fifth-seeded Colorado and American will play the opening game of the festivities at 3 p.m. on Thursday. The two winners of the first-round matches will play in the second round on Friday evening at 6 p.m. with a spot to the NCAA regional semifinals on the line. All matches will be streamed on ESPN+. It’s the first time that postseason volleyball has come to Bloomington since 2010. Full session passes for all three games are available starting at 25 dollars for children/students and 35 dollars for adults. Fans can also purchase individual tickets for any of the three matches at select prices. All tickets can be purchased through at https://iuhoosiers.evenue.net/events/VBNC.
Indiana University Men’s Basketball Number 11 in the First Release of the NCAA’s Net Rankings The main computer model utilized to help determine which at-large teams make the NCAA Tournament field likes what Darian DeVries is cooking up in Bloomington. The NCAA released its first NET rankings for the 2025-26 college basketball season, and Indiana is ranked No. 11. The NET rankings will now be updated daily through Selection Sunday. This is the highest IU basketball has been ranked in the NET since December of 2022. The Hoosiers are the fourth-highest ranked team from Big Ten, following No. 1 Michigan, No. 3 Purdue, and No. 10 Michigan State. The 2025-26 men’s basketball season marks the eighth season of the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, which replaced the RPI prior to the 2018-19 campaign as the primary sorting tool for evaluating teams.
The NCAA Tournament Committee uses the NET to help facilitate the selection of the field. Games like IU’s 23-point win over Marquette are particularly helpful in the NET rankings, which factor in performance against expectations. Indiana was expected to win that contest by a much smaller margin at the analytic sites like Bart Torvik and KenPom. The two main factors utilized to compile the rankings include the Team Value Index (TVI), which is a result-based feature that rewards teams for beating quality opponents, particularly away from home, as well as an adjusted net efficiency rating. The adjusted efficiency is a team’s net efficiency, adjusted for strength of opponent and location (home/away/neutral) across all games played. For example, a given efficiency value (net points per 100 possessions) against stronger opposition rates higher than the same efficiency against lesser opponents and having a certain efficiency on the road rates higher than the same efficiency at home.
Using the quadrant system for the NET, the quality of wins and losses is organized based on game location and the opponent’s NET ranking. So far, Indiana has not played any Quad 1 games. They are 1-0 in Quad 2, 1-0 in Quad 3 and 5-0 in Quad 4. Here is how the Quads are determined: Quadrant 1: Home 1-30, Neutral 1-50, Away 1-75, Quadrant 2: Home 31-75, Neutral 51-100, Away 76-135, Quadrant 3: Home 76-160, Neutral 101-200, Away 135-240 and Quadrant 4: Home 161-353, Neutral 201-353, Away 241-353. IU (7-0) opens league play on Wednesday at NET No. 144 Minnesota. They’ll then face No. 6 Louisville on a neutral floor in Indianapolis.
Purdue Number 1 and IU Number 22 In the Latest Associated Press Men’s Basketball Poll Michigan jumped to No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25 men’s basketball poll on Monday as rival Michigan State and Iowa State both climbed into the top 10. No. 1 Purdue and No. 2 Arizona remained atop the rankings. The Boilermakers received 40 first-place votes from a 61-person media panel, Arizona got six and Michigan got 15 after its dominating run through the Players Era Championship. Duke and UConn held their positions from last week to round out the top five. Louisville remained No. 6, followed by Michigan State, which moved up four spots and No. 8 Houston, which dropped five places after losing to then-No. 17 Tennessee at Players Era. Michigan made a run to the Sweet 16 in coach Dusty May’s first season a year ago and is looking like a title contender. The Wolverines opened the Las Vegas tournament with a 94-54 win over San Diego State, crushed then-No. 21 Auburn 102-72 and handed Gonzaga coach Mark Few his worst loss in 902 career games with a 101-61 win over the 12th-ranked Zags. That’s three wins by a combined 110 points and four straight wins by at least 20 points, the last two over ranked teams. “Today was to put the world on notice that we’re here to be the best team in the nation and we’ll continue to do that,” Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg said after the win over Gonzaga.
No. 17 Vanderbilt had the biggest jump of the week, moving up seven spots after winning the Battle 4 Atlantis title in the Bahamas. No. 10 Iowa State climbed five places after winning three games at the Players Era championship. No. 7 Michigan State moved up four places following lopsided wins over East Carolina and No. 16 North Carolina in the Fort Myers Tip-Off. No. 13 Tennessee also gained four spots after beating Houston and losing to Kansas, which moved back into the poll at No. 21. No. 23 St. John’s had the biggest drop among teams still in the poll, losing nine places after wrapping losses to Iowa State and Auburn around a win over Baylor at the Players Era.
Reigning national champion Florida fell five places to No. 15 after losing to TCU in the Rady Children’s Invitational. No. 12 Alabama dropped four places after losing to Gonzaga in its opener of the Players Era. No. 21 Kansas returned to the poll after dropping out last week with three wins at the Players Era. No. 24 Southern California is ranked for the first time since the 2023-24 season following three wins in three days to take the Maui Invitational title. UCLA fell out of the poll from No. 18 after losing to California 80-72 in the Empire Classic championship game. North Carolina State dropped out of the poll from No. 23 and didn’t receive a single vote following a 1-2 run through the Maui Invitational. The Southeastern Conference had the most teams in the AP Top 25 for the second straight week with seven. The Big 12 matched the Big Ten with six ranked teams, the Atlantic Coast Conference had three, the Big East had two and the West Coast Conference one. The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, and total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and previous ranking.
Taylor University Women’s Soccer Season Ends in the NAIA Round of 16 Taylor’s postseason run at the NAIA Women’s Soccer National Championship ended Monday at the Ashton Brosnaham Soccer Complex, after the 16th-seeded Trojans (14-3-3) fell 2-0 against top overall seed Marian (20-0-2) in the Round of 16 clash and second meeting between the Crossroads League rivals this season. TU started strong defensively to thwart early possession chances for the Knights, as senior goalkeeper Brianna Rawlings logged five saves by halftime. Rawlings had several highlight-reel stops in the opening stanza and finished her final game as a Trojan with a season-high seven saves. In the 27th minute, TU organized on the attacking end following Morgan Fletemeyer’s long-range shot attempt on goal, which led to a corner kick opportunity – TU’s lone corner chance of the match.
Kiana Siefert delivered the cross to a great spot where Libby Thomas connected on a header try, but the attempt from Thomas was cleared from the middle of the box by Marian defenders. Shortly before the halftime stoppage, Marian broke through with the go-ahead goal in the 39th minute when Allie Tredway dribbled to space and looped a high arching shot from 25 yards over the outstretched hand of Rawlings. It was TU’s first goal surrendered to Marian, one of the top scoring teams in the nation, in over two years (September 30, 2023). Marian claimed a 10-2 shot advantage at halftime, before the attempts leveled out in the second period with five shots recorded for both sides. Siefert and Leah McQuade tallied shot opportunities near the 50th minute, with Sydney Reddy putting pressure on near the end of the match. Reddy, Fletemeyer and Lydia Johnson each put a shot attempt on goal. The Knights, however, rode the momentum from the late goal in the first half and opened the second frame with another strike from Tredway, who volleyed a fortunate rebound for her second goal of the match and ninth of the season, near the 48-minute mark. Marian finished the match with a 15-7 shot advantage and 9-3 in shots on goal. MU goalkeeper Lily Ames registered three saves.
Following the program’s first appearance at the national championship final site, TU closes the book on a historic campaign that equaled the team single-season record in wins (14-3-3) and set a new single-season record with 12 shutouts. A program-record six individuals were honored as All-Crossroads League selections. Additionally, TU scored the most goals in single-season team history (52) since 2012 – tying the second-highest mark during the Scott Stan era. The Trojans also produced the second-highest goal differential (43) and conceded the fewest goals (9) since at least the 2008 season. TU seniors Morgan Fletemeyer, Kiana Siefert, Brianna Rawlings, Brooke Cimini, Libby Thomas, Evie Kerr and Shalyn Hussey end their careers with an overall combined record of 44-17-14 (.680) and two national tournament appearances.
Indianapolis Colts Expect Cornerback Sauce Gardner to Return before the End of the Season after Being Injured in Sunday’s Loss Sauce Gardner’s season isn’t over. The veteran cornerback suffered what’s believed to be a strained left calf in the first quarter of the Indianapolis Colts’ 20-16 loss to Houston Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium, and a person with knowledge of the situation said Monday morning the team believes it’s a “week-to-week’’ injury. Coach Shane Steichen reinforced that outlook later Monday. “It’s his calf,’’ he said. “His Achilles is good to go but probably will miss some time. Steichen said the Colts aren’t considering placing Gardner on the injured reserve list, which would require missing at least four games, and stressed they expect him back at some point this season. “Yes. Yes. Yes,’’ he said.
After the game, Gardner believed he had strained his calf and not damaged his Achilles. He had to be helped off the field and eventually into the locker room. When Gardner exited the locker room after the game, he was on crutches. He went down on Houston’s second offensive play. Gardner was engaged with tight end Cade Stover on C.J. Stroud’s 12-yard completion to Jayden Higgens and immediately limped to an area of the field and went down on the turf. “Felt like I got shot in the calf,’’ Gardner said.
The initial fear was damage to his Achilles, but Gardner thought that wasn’t the case because the sharp pain was higher on the calf. “I wasn’t fearin’, wasn’t thinkin’ that,’’ he said. It’s impossible to compare injuries, but cornerback Kenny Moore II missed three games after suffering a strained calf in the Colts’ week 4 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. The Colts acquired Gardner in a Nov. 4 trade with the New York Jets at the cost of two first-round draft picks and wideout AD Mitchell. The two-time, first-team All-Pro was added to further boost the team’s playoff push. That push has hit a wall. Sunday’s loss to the Texans was the Colts’ second straight and third in the last four games. They’re 8-4 and tied with Jacksonville atop the AFC South, although the Jaguars currently hold the tiebreaker. The Colts and Jaguars meet in Jacksonville on Sunday.
Noblesville Boom beat the Wisconsin Herd at Home The Noblesville Boom (2-7), the NBA G League affiliate of the Indiana Pacers, overcame a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to earn a come-from-behind victory over the Wisconsin Herd (2-7), 111-109, on Sunday afternoon at The Arena at Innovation Mile. Steven Ashworth recorded a season-high 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field, including 5-of-6 from behind the arc, while adding nine assists and five rebounds to lead the way for the Boom. RJ Felton finished with 19 points, three rebounds and three assists. Gabe McGlothan earned his third double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
The Herd were paced by Johnny Davis, who tallied 23 points, nine rebounds and three assists after shooting 10-of-16 from the field. Dennis Smith Jr. followed with 17 points, while Pete Nance notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Former Indiana Pacer Victor Oladipo added 12 points, four rebounds and two assists in his return. After a back-and-forth first half that saw 15 lead changes, the Herd edged out an eight-point lead after ending the second quarter with a 13-5 run. Herd guard Johnny Davis poured in 15 of his 23 points through the first two quarters to lead all scorers at halftime. The Boom remained in striking distance after forcing 11 turnovers, which resulted in 11 points.
In the third quarter, the Herd continued to pull away, extending their lead to 14 points with 5:45 remaining in the frame before finishing the period with an 87-74 advantage. Trailing by 15 early in the fourth quarter, the Boom chipped away behind Steven Ashworth’s big performance, as he scored 13 of his 27 points in the final period to lead the comeback. Down 74-89, the Boom used a 35-20 run to even the score with 1:02 remaining in regulation. On the next possession, the Boom got a big defensive stop that led to a breakaway dunk by RJ Felton, giving Noblesville its first lead since midway through the second quarter and sealing the game for the Boom. The Boom will hit the road for a two-game series against the Cleveland Charge, beginning on Wednesday at Cleveland Public Hall, tipping off at 7 p.m. ET. Coverage will be available on ESPN+.