Indiana University Men’s Basketball looking to snap a two-game losing streak Hosting Penn State The Indiana Hoosiers return to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall at 8:30 PM This evening as the Penn State Nittany Lions is in town with the game televised on Fox Sports 1. The Hoosiers are 7-2 after back-to-back losses at Minnesota 73-64 last Wednesday and 87-78 to Louisville at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis Saturday Afternoon. Indiana dropped out of the both the Associated Press and Coaches Polls after being ranked 22 and 19th last week. The Hoosiers are 6-0 at home and 1-2 away from home. The Hoosiers are looking to give Head Coach Darian DeVries his first Big Ten Conference Win. For that happen the Hoosiers must get off to a much better start then they did against Louisville down 16-0 to start the game. The Hoosiers outscored the Cardinals 51-46 in the second half after they trailed 41-27 at halftime. Tucker DeVries led Indiana with 26 points and was 12-13 from the free throw line. Nick Dorn came off the bench to score 15 points going 5-7 from beyond the arc and Lamar Wilkerson added 12 points.
DeVries leads the Hoosiers in scoring at 17.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1 steal per game. The Waukee, Iowa native is shooting 41% from three-point range and 88% from the free throw line. Lamar Wilkerson is averaging 16 points per game. Tayton Conerway is averaging 11.8 points and leading the team with 1.9 steals per game. Reed Bailey is averaging 10.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Sam Alexis is averaging 10 points along with a team leading 5.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. Conor Enright is leading the Hoosiers with 4.6 assists per game.
Indiana is averaging 85.4 points, 19.3 assists and 9.8 turnovers per game. The Hoosiers are shooting 48% from the field, 36% from three-point range and 75% from the free throw line. The Hoosiers went 11-32 from three-point range for 32% against Louisville on Saturday and if they are not hitting the outside shot it makes for a long day. Indiana was 15-19 from the free throw line for 79%.
Penn State is 8-1 on the season and comes to Bloomington on a three-game winning streak after losing to Providence 77-65 on November 22, in Uncasville, Connecticut in the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase. This will be the Big Ten Opener for Penn State who will host Michigan State on Saturday. Penn State is averaging 83 points, 14.9 assists and 8.2 turnovers a game. The Nittany Lions shoot 50% from the field, 37% from three-point range and 71% from three-point range.
Penn State is led by third-year head coach Mike Rhoades. The Nittany Lions have five players that averaged at least 10.0 points per night, led by freshman guard Kayden Mingo (15.0). He adds 4.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2.1 steals per night. Junior guard Freddie Dilione V (13.2), freshman guard Melih Tunca (12.8, freshman forward Ivan Juric (10.6), and senior forward Josh Reed (10.6) all provide double figure scoring production. Penn State ranks 334th nationally in Division I experience (0.73 years), according to KenPom. In total, seven freshmen have seen minutes for the Nittany Lions, which includes three over 25.0 minutes per night. Conversely, Indiana ranks first nationally with an average 3.07 years of experience in the rotation.
Indiana has defeated Penn State 45-of-62 times in the series, which includes a three-game winning streak that dates back to the 2024 Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers have won seven of the last eight matchups with the Nittany Lions in Bloomington. IU swept the two-game set during the 2024-25 season with a 77-71 result at the Palestra in Philadelphia (Jan. 5) and an 83-78 triumph in Bloomington (Feb. 26). Oumar Ballo averaged 22.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game against PSU, while Trey Galloway posted 12.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 7.5 assists in the two wins.
Indiana ranks 25th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom. The last time the Hoosiers closed the season ranked inside the top 25 in the metric was 2021-22, a year that ended in a trip to the NCAA Tournament. IU holds opponents to 43.9% effective field goal shooting (16th nationally), 41.3% shooting from inside the arc (6th), and 32.8% from the 3-point line. Opposing teams have scored 70 points or less in six of nine games. All nine opponents have scored under their season average against the IU defense. The Hoosiers force 13.7 turnovers per games. Four players average at least 1.0 steal per game, led by 1.9 from sixth-year senior guard Tayton Conerway. It will be a battle of experience vs youth and for Penn State no better place for a young team to be tested in the Big Ten Opener on the Road then Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Indiana University Volleyball Travels to Texas to battle the Longhorns in the Sweet 16 The fourth-seeded Indiana volleyball team (25-7, 14-6 B1G) will play in the Sweet 16 for just the second time in program history. The NCAA announced start times and dates for next week’s regional semifinals on Sunday afternoon. The Hoosiers will play top-seeded Texas at Gregory Gymnasium on Friday afternoon at Noon ET on ESPN. Following the greatest regular season in program history, IU was awarded a top 16 national seed and the chance to host the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers made quick work of their first two matchups, sweeping Toledo and fifth-seeded Colorado in Bloomington to advance to the Sweet 16. IU is one of five Big Ten programs remaining in the NCAA Tournament. Of the 16 schools left in the big dance, IU is one of two teams (Cal Poly) that didn’t make the big dance last year. The Hoosiers have already set a single-season program record for wins (25) and will attempt to advance to the regional final for the first time in program history. The other matchup in the Austin Regional will pit second-seeded Stanford and third-seeded Wisconsin against each other. Their match will begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of IU’s. The winners of both regional semifinals will meet on Sunday (Dec. 14) afternoon for a spot in the national semifinals in Kansas City.
Dustin Glant to Leave Indiana University Baseball to Take Job in Professional Baseball Head coach Jeff Mercer announced on Sunday afternoon that associate head coach and pitching coach Dustin Glant will depart the program to take a job in professional baseball. Glant served as the pitching coach since the beginning of the 2022 season. The search for a new pitching coach is underway. “Coach Glant has accepted a coaching position with the Washington Nationals,” Mercer said. “There are few coaches who’ve gone directly from college to Major League Baseball. It’s an incredible accomplishment and we’re proud and excited for him and his family. I want to thank him for his hard work, investment and friendship during his time in Bloomington. We wish him the very best!”
Under Glant’s watch, IU became one of the premier strikeout programs in the country. The Hoosiers recorded the three highest single-season strikeout marks in 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 600 punchouts by the staff during the 2022 season are still a single-year program record. IU turned nine pitchers into MLB Draft Picks in Glant’s tenure – highlighted by future big leaguers Jack Perkins and Craig Yoho. Former reliever Ryan Kraft developed into one of the best arms in program history, finishing top five in IU history in appearances. Southpaw Ty Bothwell worked his way into becoming a legit Big Ten arm under Glant’s guidance during the 2024 season. The Hoosiers begin the 2026 season next February. The conference slate was announced this fall and includes trips to Oregon and Nebraska with visits from regional rivals Illinois and Iowa. Mercer’s program will also play in the Live Like Lou Jacksonville Baseball Classic against LSU, UCF and Notre Dame.
Indianapolis Colts Quarterback Daniel Jones is Done for the Remainder of the Season with a Torn Achillies Daniel Jones’ first season with the Indianapolis Colts is over. As the team feared, the team’s starting quarterback tore his right Achilles tendon in the first quarter of Sunday’s 36-19 loss at Jacksonville, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. A Monday MRI confirmed what the Colts had anticipated. Jones, who played the previous two games with a fractured left fibula, will be placed on the injured reserve list. He faces surgery and an uncertain future. A veteran quarterback who resurrected his career with the Colts will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, who’s dealing with a long rehabilitation from a serious injury. Jones signed a one-year free agent contract with Indy in March worth a base of $14 million.
The team undoubtedly would have attempted to retain Jones during the offseason with a lucrative multi-year contract, but the Achilles injury changes everything. Jones, 28, still could be re-signed, but it likely will be a one-year deal that reflects the injury and the uncertainty of when he would be cleared to return to the playing field. Generally, an Achilles rehab could take at least nine months. That would push the start of the 2026 regular season. Management believed it had finally stabilized the franchise’s lingering and debilitating quarterback situation. Jones’ addition and career-best season followed a revolving door at the position that included Anthony Richardson Sr., Matt Ryan, Gardner Minshew II, Philip Rivers and Jacoby Brissett following the sudden retirement of Andrew Luck prior to the 2019 season.
General manager Chris Ballard’s belief in Jones’ ability to not only lead the Colts to their first playoff appearance, but a deep postseason run, included acquiring cornerback Sauce Gardner in a Nov. 4 trade with the New York Jets that cost Indy 2026 and 2027 first-round draft picks along with wideout AD Mitchell. But after getting off to a 7-1 start, the Colts have lost three straight and four of their last five. There’s still a path to the postseason, but at 8-5, they’re currently the AFC’s No. 8 seed and on the outside of the playoff picture with a trip next Sunday to 10-3 Seattle looming. With Jones out, the only quarterbacks on the roster are rookie Riley Leonard, who stepped in after Jones’ injury, and veteran journeyman Brett Rypien, who was signed to the practice squad Oct. 15 after Richardson was placed on IR after he underwent surgery to repair a fractured orbital bone.
Coach Shane Steichen said Richardson is making progress and working out in the weight room but hasn’t been cleared for football activities. The torn Achilles abruptly ended what would have been Jones’ best season. The No. 6 overall pick by the New York Giants in the 2019 draft completed 68% of his passes, averaged 7.8 yards per attempt and has a 100.2 passer rating, all career bests. He has 19 touchdown passes, his most since his rookie season (24), and 3,101 yards with eight interceptions. Steichen noted Jones’ contributions transcended what he did on the playing field. “Anytime you lose a guy that puts in so much work and so much effort and is always there for his team and showing up with a fibula injury and goes out there and friggin’ plays, just so much respect for him,’’ he said after Sunday’s game. “Just so much respect.’’ Jones’ character, Steichen added, is “off the charts. The guy is as top-notch as it gets. One of the best I’ve ever been around in the quarterback room. “Just his mentality and the way he goes about his business, the way he works, the way he treats people. Just phenomenal.’’
Taylor University Women’s Basketball Players Celina Blount and Kaycie Warfel Sweep CL Player of the Week Awards for Third Time Taylor’s Celina Blount and Kaycie Warfel swept the Crossroads League Women’s Basketball Player of the Week awards for a third time the league office announced on Monday. The TU women’s basketball team has now collected 9 of 14 total CL Player of the Week honors this season. Warfel picked up her fourth CL Offensive Player of the Week accolade, and her fifth total weekly recognition after sweeping both offensive and defensive awards in early November. As the NAIA’s leading scorer, Warfel continued pouring in points at a high clip for the unbeaten Trojans. The freshman guard netted 18 points against Bethel and 27 against Goshen, averaging 22.5 points per game, along with 3.0 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 1.0 steals per outing.
Blount earned her fourth CL Defensive Player of the Week award by filling the box score once again for RV Taylor in wins over Bethel and Goshen. The sophomore post averaged 14.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.0 blocks, 2.0 steals and 2.0 assists per contest, while also shooting 57.1 percent from the field. Blount, who leads the league in rebounds (9.6) and blocks (3.2) per game, registered her fifth double-double with 16 points and 12 boards in the victory over Goshen. TU Athletics has garnered 37 Crossroads League and MSFA Player-of-the-Week awards, six NAIA National Athlete-of-the-Week honors, six NAIA All-American honors, 44 all-league awards, one individual NAIA National Championship, one individual Crossroads League Championship, one league player of the year, 82 NAIA Scholar-Athlete awards and 11 CSC Academic All-District selections. The Trojans return to action Wednesday night against IU East with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. inside Odle Arena.
Taylor University Men’s Basketball’s Nathan Baker Dubbed Crossroads League Defensive Player of the Week Nathan Baker was recognized Monday afternoon as the Crossroads League Men’s Basketball Defensive Player-of-the-Week after a phenomenal week of play. Baker helped Taylor to a perfect 3-0 week, notching a pair of CL wins in addition to a 118-33 smothering in the 28th-Annual Silent Night game against Moody. The award is the first for Baker in his first collegiate season. The freshman forward has been incredible off the bench for Taylor this season, contributing across the board and produced averages of 10.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.0 steals per game. Offensively, Baker shot 11-19 from the field and 5-8 from beyond the arc while adding 2.3 assists per game.
Baker grabbed four rebounds, while adding two steals and a block on the defensive end in a massive upset of No. 11 Bethel to begin the week on Wednesday. Continuing his impressive week Baker had 11 boards, three steals and a block in 16 minutes against Moody before notching a game-high seven rebounds and four steals in a comfortable win over Goshen. The Trojans have earned 37 Player-of-the-Week awards this year, with Baker’s nod the first for men’s basketball. Taylor (8-3, 3-1 CL) plays in the Christmas at the Wooden event on Tuesday, December 16 against Milligan (3-6) at 2:45 pm, with a game the following day against either Saint Thomas (5-5) or Saint Francis of Illinois (7-0).