Longtime Rivals Reunite in Lexington One of College Basketball’s beat rivalries returns this evening when the Indiana Hoosiers and the Kentucky Wildcats meet this evening in Rupp Arena at 7:30 PM on ESPN. This will be the 58th all-time meeting in the border war as Kentucky leads the all-time series 32-25. This will be the first time the two have meet in the Regular Season since December 10, 2011, when Christian Watford hit the game winning three at the buzzer to beat the #1 Wildcats 73-72 in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Since then, the teams have only meet twice both coming in the NCAA Tournament ending a regular season series that lasted every season from 1969-2011. Kentucky beat Indiana 102-90 on March 23, 2012, in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in Atlanta and the Hoosiers beat the Wildcats 73-67 in Des Moines, Iowa on March 19, 2016, in the second round of the tournament. There are many reasons as to why these two have not played in the Regular Season but that is now all in the past as the teams agreed to play each other in the regular season as part of a four-game series.
Indiana is 3-8 all-time in Lexington and as not beaten the Wildcats on their home court since December 20, 1988, 75-52 as Wildcats have won three straight at home against the Hoosiers and Indiana makes the trip to Lexington for the first time since 2010. The teams traditionally played the regular season series between Freedom Hall in Louisville and the RCA Dome in Indianapolis for many years. The Hoosiers are 8-2 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten as Indiana is coming off a 113-72 win over Penn State Tuesday Night in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall that was one for the record books. The Hoosiers scored the most points on a conference game since February 17, 1990, when the scored 118 in a home win against Iowa.
Lamar Wilkerson scored a Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall record 44 points including a school record 10 three pointers Tuesday Night in just 24 minutes of action. Wilkerson is the only player in Division 1 or the NBA In the last 30 seasons to score 40 plus points and make 10 plus three pointers in a game while playing less than 25 minutes. This is the first time since Mike Woodson scored 48 points at Illinois on March 3,1979 that a Hoosier player has scored that many points against a Big Ten opponent and the first time at home since Jimmy Rayl scored 44 points on February 12, 1962. Wilkerson is the first Big Ten Player since Luka Garza of Iowa scored 44 points on December 6, 2019, to achieve that feat. The Ashdown, Arkansas native is one of eight players to score 40 plus points in a game this season and the only one to do so in less than 25 minutes. In the last 30 seasons Wilkerson is one of only 10 Division 1 Men’s players to score 40 plus points in under 25 minutes on the floor. Wilkerson is the first Big Ten Player since Wisconsin’s Jordan Bohannon hit 10 three pointers against Maryland on February 10, 2022.
Wilkerson is the Hoosiers leading scorer with 18.8 points per game. Tucker DeVries is averaging 17.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1 steal per game. Tayton Conerway is averaging 12.3 points, 4.7 assists and a team leading 1.9 steals per game. Reed Bailey is averaging 11.1 points while Sam Alexis leads the Hoosiers with 5.4 rebounds and 1 block while averaging 9 points per game. Connor Enright leads the Hoosiers with 4.9 assists with 49 total and 10 turnovers as the floor general. Indiana is averaging 88.2 points, 20.4 assists and 9.8 turnovers per game. Indiana shoots 50 percent from the field, 38 percent from the field and 75 percent from the free throw line. The Hoosiers have knocked in 110 triples, dished out 204 triples and commit 98 turnovers. The Hoosier have scored over 100 points four times this season which is the most in a single season since 2016-17 when the Hoosiers hit the century mark five times.
Kentucky is 6-4 on the season have played a tough non-conference schedule with all four losses coming to ranked teams in Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina and Gonzaga. The Wildcats won against Nicholls, Valparaiso, Eastern Illinois, Loyola Maryland, Tennessee Tech and North Carolina Central. Kentucky has scored 100 points or more in three games this season. The Wildcats average 85.5 points and 19.1 assists and 10.3 turnovers per game. Kentucky shoots 48 percent from the field, 33 percent from three-point range and 76 percent from the free throw line. Five Wildcats average double figures with Otega Oweh leading the way with 14.4 points and 1.6 steals per game. Denzel Aberdeen averages 12.4 points and a team leading 3.5 assists per game. Mouhamed Diboubate averages 11.6 points and Collin Chandler averages 11.2 points per game. Malachi Moreno averages 10.1 points along with a team leading 7.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.
Mark Pope is in his second season as the head coach at his Alma Mater with a 30-16 record. Pope was the captain on the Wildcats team that won the 1996 NCAA Championship. The 53-year-old played at the University of Washington from 1991-93 and Kentucky from 1994-96. Pope who is 6-10 and was drafted with the 52nd overall pick by the Indiana Pacers of the second round of the 1996 NBA Draft. Pope started his coaching career as an assistant at Georgia from 2009-10, Wake Forest from 2010-11 and BYU from 2011-15. Pope became a head coach at Utah Valley from 2015-19 and BYU from 2019-24. Pope has an overall record of 217-124 with three NCAA tournament Appearances 2022 Postseason NIT and three trips the College Basketball Invitational from 2017-19.
It’s been a long time coming both fan bases, but this is one of the best rivalries in College Basketball and it has been long overdue to return and that wait is about over. The landscape of College Sports is always changing with teams switching conferences and old rivalries being put on self but tonight the tradition of Indiana-Kentucky returns and for the next couple seasons it will not go away, and this will be good test for both teams, and both need the win to boost their NCAA Tournament Resumes.
ESPN College Football Awards Show Nets Honors for Indiana’s Curt Cignetti and Fernando Mendoza Indiana head football coach Curt Cignetti and quarterback Fernando Mendoza each earned accolades during ESPN’s 35th annual The Home Depot College Football Awards, while a trio of Hoosiers were selected for All-America honors during the telecast. Cignetti earns his second national coach of the year award this season in the form of the Home Depot Coach of the Year honor. He previously won the Walter Camp National Coach of the Year award. He earned each award in back-to-back seasons. Mendoza was named winner of the Davey O’Brien Award and Maxwell Award to go along with his Walter Camp Award earlier in the week. He then joined teammates Carter Smith (OL, First Team) and D’Angelo Ponds (DB, Second Team) on the Walter Camp Football Foundation All-America Team.
Cignetti helped the Hoosiers to its first unblemished regular season in program history, a program-record 13 wins through its first Big Ten Championship Game victory and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming College Football Playoff. On Wednesday, he became the first coach to win consecutive Walter Camp National Coach of the Year honors in the awards 59-year history. Mendoza is the second Hoosier to win the prestigious honor, joining running back Anthony Thompson in 1989. He is the first Big Ten student-athlete to win the award since Penn State running back Larry Johnson in 2002 and the first Big Ten quarterback to win the award since Drew Brees in 2000.
Mendoza currently leads the nation in passing touchdowns (33) and is the Power 4 leader in touchdowns responsible for (39). He is the third Big Ten quarterback since 2000 with three-straight games of at least four passing touchdowns and zero interceptions – C.J. Stroud (Ohio State; 2021) and Kyle Orton (Purdue; 2004, four straight). The Miami, Florida, native is the only FBS quarterback since at least 1996 with multiple games of at least 90 percent completion and four touchdown passes versus Power 4 opponents. In 2025, Mendoza is the lone FBS quarterback with five games of 4-plus touchdown passes and zero interceptions and entered Championship Week as the FBS leader in percentage of passes that result in a touchdown at 10.9%, over one point higher than the next closest passer (Sayin, Ohio State; 9.2%). He has thrown a touchdown pass in 12-straight games entering the College Football Playoff and has five games with both a passing and rushing touchdown in 2025. He has thrown 33 touchdowns to just six interceptions, is tied for No. 2 on the team with six rushing touchdowns and has 240 yards rushing on the season. The Hoosiers earned the No. 1 spot in the College Football Playoff and will play the winner of Alabama/Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl Game on Jan. 1, 2026. The game from Rose Bowl Stadium will kick at 4 p.m. ET.
Indiana University Men’s Soccer’s Palmer Ault Hauls in All-America Honor Indiana men’s soccer senior forward and Hoosier State native Palmer Ault has earned United Soccer Coaches All-America status. United Soccer Coaches announced its All-America teams on Friday, and the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year featured in the second team. Indiana has produced an All-American in each of the last 12 seasons – the nation’s longest active streak – as well as 15 of the last 16 seasons. During the 12-year run, 14 different Hoosiers have combined for 20 All-America honors. Ault is the 52nd Indiana player to earn All-America status, with those 52 players having totaled 82 honors over 53 seasons.
Ault recorded 16 goals and 10 assists in 19 matches, becoming the first Big Ten player since 2001 to record 15 goals and 10 assists in a single season. His 42 points rank tied for first in NCAA Division I. Ault hit a new level during his lone season in Bloomington. Coming into the year, Ault had totaled 54 points at Butler before producing single-year career highs in goals, assists and points in 2025. The Noblesville, Indiana, ends his collegiate career with 96 points – the second-most among active players – after playing his entire soccer career in his home state.
United Soccer Coaches/NCSAA All-Americans
Indiana Men’s Soccer – Last 12 Seasons
| 2025 | Palmer Ault |
| 2024 | Quinton Elliot |
| Samuel Sarver | |
| 2023 | Samuel Sarver |
| 2022 | Daniel Munie |
| 2021 | Roman Celentano |
| Daniel Munie | |
| 2020-21 | Victor Bezerra |
| Roman Celentano | |
| Spencer Glass | |
| 2019 | Jack Maher |
| Aidan Morris | |
| 2018 | Trey Muse |
| Andrew Gutman | |
| Griffin Dorsey | |
| 2017 | Grant Lillard |
| Andrew Gutman | |
| 2016 | Tanner Thompson |
| 2015 | Tanner Thompson |
| 2014 | Tanner Thompson |
Indiana University Volleyball’s Runs Ends in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 The greatest season in program history came to an end on Friday afternoon at Gregory Gymnasium in Austin. Top-seeded Texas earned a tight sweep of the fourth-seeded Indiana volleyball team (25-20, 25-22, 25-22) to advance to the regional finals on Sunday. IU’s season comes to a close with a single-season program record 25 wins (in the NCAA era). In one of the premier volleyball arenas in the country, the Hoosiers went blow-for-blow with the four-time national champions. IU lost by just a combined 11 points and reached the red zone (20+) in all three sets. Head coach Steve Aird’s group recorded more kills (48-45) but couldn’t find a defensive answer for Texas’ All-American outside hitter Torrey Stafford.
Senior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles recorded 13 kills in her final game with the Hoosiers. It was the 74th time in her college tenure that she recorded a match with at least 10 kills. IU found great success in the middle with seven kills (.778) from senior middle blocker Madi Sell and eight kills (.700) from freshman middle blocker Victoria Gray. Contributions from freshmen were felt from every part of the court. Freshman setter Teodora Krickovic dished out 38 assists while freshman outside hitter Jaidyn Jager contributed eight kills. Freshman outside hitter Charlotte Vinson had an ace and picked up her first career kill for the Hoosiers. Six of IU’s 10 players on the court were true freshmen on Friday. In totality, IU’s 2025 team will go down as the greatest in program history. The Hoosiers broke single-season program records in the NCAA era for wins (25), regular season wins (23), Big Ten wins (14), road wins (9), ranked road wins (3). IU advanced to its second NCAA regional semifinal in school history.
The defensive effort made the difference for Texas on Friday afternoon. The Longhorns racked up 10 more blocks than the Hoosiers (12.0-2.0). IU dug 38 balls but struggled to find points in transition. Texas had an answer for every IU swing in the match. Texas’ All-American outside hitter Torrey Stafford was virtually unstoppable on Friday. She picked up 19 kills on zero errors for a .679 hitting percentage. She dug eight balls and had a hand in four blocks as well. IU had more kills (48-46) but had 23 attacking errors.
School Record Highlights Dominant Early Bird Meet for Indiana University Track and Field Indiana track and field opened their season of competition with the Indiana Early Bird Meet on Friday in a day highlighted by several PRs and firsts, a new school record was set for the first time in two years. “I was very pleased with our focus and intensity in our opener,” said Head Track and Field Coach Ed Beathea. “Our new additions to the team had encouraging performances that make me optimistic for the upcoming season.” The day started with the men’s and women’s pentathlons. Where the record books already began to change. In her first collegiate meet, Chayla Rankin scored 3,511 points, putting her 12th on the all-time indoor list. Elle Knepp also set a new personal best (3,447), moving her to 14th on the all-time list. Max Grangier saw an individual win in the 1,000-meter run in the Pentathlon, giving him a second-place finish overall.
In the field, Hannah Alexander started the day winning the women’s weight throw. She was followed by Hunter Smith who won the men’s competition with a new personal best (20.37m/66-10). Sophomore Seth Brosseau earned the win in the men’s shot put, throwing a distance of 17.40m/57-1. Senior Kelly Moran had a productive day for the jumps team. She set a new personal best in the triple jump (12.37m/40-7) moving her to sixth on the all-time indoor list. This followed a second-place finish in the long jump. The Hoosiers saw a win in the women’s high jump from Josie Page. She set a new personal best (1.77m/5-9.75), tying Hope Purcell for sixth on the Hoosier all-time indoor list. Jay Hmurovich finished second in his first competition as a Hoosier in the high jump.
In the pole vault, the Hoosiers saw finishes in the top five on the men’s and women’s side. Tyler Carrel earned the win for the men (5.20m/17-0.75) while Kailen Kramer and Isabel German finished third and fifth, respectively in the women’s competition. The Hoosiers saw plenty of top finishes on the track through the meet. In the 600m, the women’s team swept the top four spots, with Veronica Hargrave (1:29.20) nearing her personal best. Nola Somers Glenn (1:31.17; PR), Amelia Dodds (1:31.53), and Ciara Kepner (1:32.22) rounded out the top four spots. In the men’s race, D’Angelo Brown (1:18.89) ran the 12th fastest time in school history to win the event. Indiana also swept the men’s and women’s mile, with Jessica Hegedus (4:54.74) and Andrew Mangum (4:05.64) taking the wins.
Indiana had three finalists in the men’s and women’s 60mH. Tyler Tarter and John Colquitt finished second and third, respectively in the men’s final, while Elia Blackmore took sixth in the women’s hurdles. In the 60-meter finals, Jasiah Rogers, and Aliyah took the top spots, each running top 20 times in Division I at the time. The Hoosiers continued to sweep events with Katelyn Henselmeier and Daquan Tate taking the top spots in their respective races. Cameron Mullens also placed second in the men’s competition. The 300-meter event was one for the record books. Kiera Davis started the event finishing in a time of 37.64, which ranks second in school history. Trelee banks-Rose (32.95) followed this up by breaking the men’s record by nearly half a second.
The Hoosier dominance continued as the top three spots in the women’s 800, were taken by Hoosiers Catie McCabe, Michaela Quinn, and Joey Rastrelli. The men’s side also belonged to Indiana as Aidan Lord crossed the line first in a time of 1:52.33. Maddie Rocchio started the 3,000-meter competition with a win. Abe Eckman followed by becoming only the 16th Hoosier to run a sub-8 3,000. He finished with a time of 7:57.43. The day finished with the 4x400m relays. The team of Kristina Vincic, Veronica Hargrave, Katelyn Henselmeier, and Kiera Davis took the win on the women’s side, while the quartet of Cameron Mullens, Kalen Sargent, Tyler Tarter, and Daquan Tate took the men’s side. The Hoosiers will have the holiday break as they prepare for their first road meet in the Rod McCravy Memorial on January 9th.
Taylor University Football’s Hayden McDonald named AFCA NAIA First-Team All-American Center Hayden McDonald was named a 2025 AFCA NAIA First-Team All-American, as announced on Thursday by the American Football Coaches Association. McDonald’s All-American honor is the second for the Taylor football program in as many years, with Aven Jones earning AFCA NAIA Second-Team recognition last season. McDonald is TU’s first AFCA NAIA First-Team All-American since Adam Sauder in 2015 and is the program’s 39th total NAIA All-American award. McDonald started at center in each of Taylor’s 11 contests during his junior season, anchoring an offensive line that helped the Trojans rush for over 300 yards in six games and surpass 200 yards on the ground in nine outings. With McDonald leading the front line, Taylor set new program records with 48.5 points and 503.9 total yards of offense per game during the 2025 campaign. The Trojans ranked fifth in the NAIA during the regular season in those statistics, while ranking second with 304.9 rushing yards per game. Taylor has now collected seven NAIA All-American honors already for the 2025-2026 year.