Lamar Wilkerson Scores 41 as Indiana University Men’s Basketball Cruises Past Oregon The Indiana Hoosiers handled the Oregon Ducks 92-74 Monday Night in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Lamar Wilkerson led the Hoosiers with 41 points as he went 13-20 from the field, 6-12 from three-point range and 9-11 from the free throw line. Wilkerson pulled down 5 rebounds and dished out 3 assists as he has scored 30 or more points for the fourth time this season. Wilkerson set the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall scoring record in December with 44 points against Penn State. Indiana is 17-8 on the season and takes care of their two game homestand and goes on the road for the next two games and will play at Illinois Next Sunday and Purdue a week from Friday. The Hoosiers are 8-6 in the Big Ten and with their NCAA Tournament hopes alive this was a game that Indiana could not afford to lose.
Sam Alexis scored 16 points on a perfect 8-8 from the field and pulled down 5 rebounds. Tucker DeVries added 15 points, and Nick Dorn scored 11 points as the Hoosiers put four in double figures. Indiana went 30-50 from the field for 60%, 11-27 from three-point range for 40% and 21-27 from the free throw line for 77%. The Hoosiers pulled down 29 rebounds, dished out 22 assists, 1 block, no steals and 9 turnovers. The Hoosiers scored 30 points in the paint, 7 fastbreak points, 6 points off turnovers, 4 second chance points and 4 bench points. Nate Bittle led the Ducks with 15 points and 8 rebounds. The seven-footer returned after missing almost a month with a foot injury as second leading scorer Jackson Shelstad remains out with an injury. Bittle was 3-14 from the field, 1-5 from three-point range and 8-13 form the free throw line and got an earful from the Indiana student section every time he went to the line. Wei Lin scored 15 points off the bench, Sean Stewart scored 12 points, Takai Simpkins added 11 points and Drew Carter scored 10 as the Ducks put five in double figures.
Oregon went 25-56 from the field for 44%, 7-19 from three-point range for 36% and 17-25 from the free throw line for 68%. The Ducks pulled down 25 rebounds, 17 assists, 5 steals, 0 blocks and 6 turnovers. The Ducks scored 26 points in the paint, 20 bench points, 14 second chance points, 6 points off turnovers and 3 fastbreak points. Oregon is 8-16 overall and 1-12 in the Big Ten as the Ducks have lost 10 in a row. Oregon jumped out to a 6-0 start and Indiana responded with a 6-0 run to tie the game 6-6. The game featured 9 lead changes and 2 ties early on as the Hoosiers led 36-30 at halftime. Wilkerson had 16 points in the first half, and he missed his first five shots to start the game but once he got going the Hoosiers got going and it showed in the second half as the Hoosiers outscored the Ducks 56-44 in the second half. Indiana leads the all-time series 4-2 as this was the first time that Oregon visited Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall and it was just the second time the Hoosiers and Ducks have played in the Hoosier State after last year’s meeting in the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.
Oregon Head Coach Dana Altman and Indiana Head Coach Darian DeVries have had a longstanding relationship as Altman was the head coach at Creighton when DeVries became a Grad Assistant for Altman in 1998. DeVries spoke at Big Ten Media Days in October and credited Altman for the start of his coaching journey. “Who knows how it goes,” DeVries said, “if he doesn’t give me that start.” DeVries added I felt honored to be on the sideline with him and it is a special moment to share that with him.” Indiana honored its 1975-76 Undefeated team that finished 32-0 and are the last undefeated team in Division 1 Men’s Basketball and Coach DeVries started the post-game press conference giving that group that had several players in the building their credit and was happy that they were back and it was special night and that Bob Knight will be honored with a bronze statue in the South Lobby of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. For the Hoosiers they did what they needed to go and now get a break before two tough road games that will challenge this team down the stretch.
Indiana University Honors the 1975-76 Undefeated Men’s Basketball National Championship Basketball Team The undefeated 1975-76 national champion IU team was honored at halftime of the IU-Oregon basketball game on Monday, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the team. Former IU guard Quinn Buckner reflected on the impact that the ’76 team’s success had on the state of Indiana and shared what former IU head coach Bob Knight told him after the national championship game.
“After we won, he said something to me that I didn’t fully grasp,” Buckner said. “He said you’ve done something for the people of the state of Indiana you’ll never understand what you did for them. We just had it happen again in football, because the ethos of Indiana is about sports, and we were able to bring it on the basketball side and people have lived with that for 50 years. You now have it in football which is just incredibly humbling for someone like me who was involved in the sport to have watched that kind of success. What it does, is it brings people together. That’s really what he was telling me. Again, I’m 22 years old and I’m getting ready to go to the Olympics, the pros, I was not paying attention. For the people in the state of Indiana, what we were able to accomplish, we didn’t fully understand. We understand it now.” “For many people, that makes them stand taller, put their shoulders back, and for that, we can all be proud here 50 years later,” Buckner added. The ’76 Hoosiers finished the season 32-0 and won IU’s third national championship.
Indiana University Men’s Basketball to host Bellarmine in a Non-Conference Matchup for the 2026-27 Season According to a report on Sunday evening, a second non-conference opponent for IU basketball’s 2026-27 season is now known. Jon Rothstein reported that the Hoosiers will host Bellarmine at Assembly Hall on Thursday, November 5. The Knights, members of the ASUN conference, are based in Louisville, Kentucky and are 11-13 this season and No. 263 in KenPom as of Sunday evening. The Hoosiers have never played the Knights in a regular-season game, but they hosted them for an exhibition in the 2015-16 season. The other known non-conference game for the Hoosiers next season is Kentucky. That matchup will take place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in December as the second game in a four-game series between the two programs.
Former Indiana University Tight End A.J Barner Catches the First Touchdown Pass of Super Bowl LX A former Indiana University tight end caught the first touchdown pass of Super Bowl LX. AJ Barner got free on the right side and reeled in a 16-yard pass from Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold early in the fourth quarter. The catch represented the first touchdown of the game. Before the score, Seattle settled for four field goals from kicker Jason Myers. Barner’s catch gave Seattle a commanding 19-0 lead; the Seahawks went on to beat the Patriots 29-13. Barner finished with 4 catches for 54 yards and the touchdown. Barner appeared in 17 games for the Seahawks during the regular season, finishing with 68 catches for 519 yards and 6 touchdowns. He added a rushing touchdown. During the playoffs, he had 6 receptions for 67 yards and a score in 3 games. Barner, a native of Aurora, Ohio, played tight end at Indiana University from 2020 to 2022 and was selected as a team captain for the 2022 season. He started 10 games and caught 28 passes for 199 yards and 3 touchdowns during his junior year. He eventually transferred to the University of Michigan for his final season of college football. The decision paid off, as the Wolverines won the College Football Playoff during Barner’s sole season in Ann Arbor. The Seahawks selected Barner in the fourth round (121st overall) of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Indiana University Women’s Tennis Improves to 6-0 with a win over Virginia Tech Indiana women’s tennis took advantage of singles momentum to overcome Virginia Tech 4-1, continuing its undefeated homestand. A. Teodosescu finalized the Hoosier win when she fought through a tough match against Frosch of Virginia Tech (7-6 (7-5), 6-4), helping the home team finish 4-1. Virginia Tech won the doubles point to start the match as the Hoosiers started off singles play strong, with four Indiana (6-0) players taking the first set on their respective courts. Freshman Alessandra Teodosescu found herself in a back-and-forth battle for the first set at singles No. 2, fighting to make the score 6-6 before the tie breaker set, which favored Indiana going 7-5. Williams put Indiana on the board when she took singles No.5 (6-1,6-2) making the score one-all. Junior Elisabeth Dunac kept the momentum going, clinching singles No.3 (6-2,6-3) to give the Hoosiers the 2-1 advantage. N.Teodosescu put the cap on her undefeated day when she was victorious at singles No. 4 (6-3,6-4) continuing the Hoosier edge 3-1. The Hoosiers are back at home on Friday, Feb. 13th when they face Bellarmine at 4 p.m.
Indy Eleven Co-Owner says Heliport Stadium Plan is Dead Fort Wayne billionaire and Sweetwater founder Chuck Surack has plenty of reasons to oppose Mayor Joe Hogsett’s plans to build a major league soccer stadium on the site of the current downtown Indianapolis heliport. Surack owns Sweet Helicopter, which has flown into and out of the Heliport in the past. He operates several airport facilities in northern Indiana. He bid $15 million for the Heliport, but the Indianapolis Airport Authority accepted the city’s offer, which was more than four million dollars less. He’s also a minority owner of the Indy Eleven soccer club, along with developer Ersal Ozdemir, whose own planned soccer stadium site on Kentucky Avenue was sidelined when Hogsett pulled his support for the proposal. And he thinks bulldozing a significant urban air travel infrastructure site makes no economic sense.
”I think it’s a great asset for the city of Indianapolis and the whole state of Indiana that’s used for a lot of emergency sort of things, but also used for commerce,” Surack told Indianapolis TV Stations FOX59/CBS4 in a rare on-the-record interview. “Every sporting event, whether it’s a Pacers basketball game or a Colts game or many other things that happen, the Fever now, helicopters are flying in and out of that heliport and I think it’s a shame to see an aviation asset get turned into a non-aviation asset.”
Surack cites heliport facilities that exist or are being built in other large cities. “There’s a reason they’re being built in Miami and in Dallas and New York City and Chicago. If we’re gonna be a world-class city, we have to have the sort of infrastructure to support that, and you can imagine when people come in, whether it’s to the Indy 500 or any of the major sporting event, many of them want to use any sort of infrastructure like that.” Heliport traffic has fallen off in the last several years, Surack complains, due to IAA neglect and marginalization of the facility.
Last month, Surack’s attorney wrote a letter to the FAA asking it to review the heliport property sale to the city. Two days later, the federal agency announced that it was pausing the process pending a public comment review, which expires Thursday. Surack’s plea paralleled a December letter from Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, which claimed the sale was influenced by Hogsett’s appointments to the IAA Board and was to the detriment of taxpayers, “while rewarding a local government that continues to thumb its nose at Federal authorities, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
” It’s just a shame that it wants to be repurposed for something else,” said Surack of Hogsett’s plans for the heliport. “That something else is a soccer stadium and there are other places they could build that soccer stadium. Including the Diamond Chain site. The mayor temporarily supported the Diamond Chain development that was proposed by Indy Eleven Owner Ozdemir, a former Hogsett campaign donor, who counts Surack as one of his club co-owners. ”I am a minority owner of the Indy Eleven team,” said Surack. “I got involved honestly, because I was trying to save the Heliport many years ago.” At about the same time he came on board as Ozdemir’s partner, Surack also purchased the La Quinta Inn hotel adjacent to the heliport site.
”My goal really is not about making money,” said Surack. “It’s about keeping that asset alive.” Surack was asked if his opposition to the city’s purchase of the heliport property was tied to his Indy Eleven minority ownership. ”I gotta honestly say none at all,” he answered. “My goal is to keep the Heliport open. Ersal knows that. That was my goal before I ever got involved with Indy Eleven. Just a lot of business and commerce happens at that Heliport.” The FAA review of the IAA’s sale of the site to the city is just the latest setback for Hogsett’s plans.
The State Budget Committee has yet to take up the mayor’s proposal to capture anticipated tax revenues from as-of-yet undeveloped downtown properties to pay the estimated $220 million in soccer stadium construction costs. MLS has yet to commit to expansion and the creation of a new franchise or the relocation of a current club. Governor Mike Braun, while supportive of the attempt to bring Major League Soccer to Indianapolis, has expressed doubts about the stadium financing scheme. Senator Ryan Mishler, a northern Indiana republican and chair of the Senate Finance Committee, told FOX59/CBS4 he wants to see the potential franchise operator publicly identified and committed to paying for ten percent of the stadium construction costs.
In response to a request for comment from FOX59/CBS4, Pacers Sports & Entertainment quoted CEO Mel Raines, “At the city’s request, we are part of conversations about Indianapolis’ pursuit of bringing a Major League Soccer team downtown. While these discussions are ongoing, we are committed to working with our elected leaders to explore this opportunity. As we have for decades, we will support the city and state to amplify our reputation as a world-class sports, event and entertainment destination.” Surack said he has had his own talks with key players about the stadium and MLS quest. ” There were some conversations confidentially about a year ago, but I heard from Herb Simon’s office about a year ago, last April or May, that they were done, there was no soccer stadium to come. I also heard that out of the mayor’s office.”
“You heard from the mayor’s office and Simon that there’s no soccer stadium to be done or they do not have an interest in operating an MLS franchise? Which one?” Surack was asked. “I’m not sure exactly what he said,” answered Surack, who added that a top PS&E executive, “just said, ‘The stadium deal is dead.’ And I think that’s partly because they couldn’t get money from the state of Indiana, so on and so forth. The governor point-blank told me, ‘It didn’t pencil,’ between the half a billion or so for a stadium and roughly the same or a little bit more for the franchise, it was hard for them to rationalize it.” The Capital Improvement Board soon expects an estimate from its construction manager that a soccer stadium could be built for less than a quarter-billion dollars. The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment. Hogsett’s office issued a statement that read,” We are optimistic that we have a great opportunity to bring an MLS club to Indianapolis.
“We realize there is still challenging work before us to provide the framework for how state and local support will accomplish this goal.” Regarding the FAA-ordered pause to the heliport sale to the city, the Airport Authority said, “This is highly unusual for the FAA to reverse a decision that has already been approved, which has been under review for five years.” The city claims that its $10.88 million bid, while less than Surack’s offer, was confirmed by two independent appraisals.
Indiana Pacers lose their 40th game of the season at Toronto Scottie Barnes had 25 points and 14 rebounds to help the Toronto Raptors beat the Indiana Pacers 122-104 on Sunday. Barnes was 12 of 20 from the field and had six assists, four blocks and two steals in 33 minutes. Toronto won its second straight to move 10 games above .500 at 32-22. RJ Barrett had 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and Sandro Mamukelashvili added 17 points. Trayce Jackson-Davis had 10 points and 10 rebounds in 15 minutes in his Toronto debut following a trade with Golden State. Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 18 points, Jay Huff had 15 and Jarace Walker 13. Last in the Eastern Conference, the injury-ravaged Pacers have lost four straight to fall to 13-40. Toronto rookie center Collin Murray-Boyles left with 3:47 left in the first quarter and did not return after he sprained his left thumb. He had two points in eight minutes. Indiana swingman Johnny Furphy left after taking a bad fall in the third quarter. The Pacers said he was out with right leg soreness. The Pacers are in action this evening when they travel to New York to face the Knicks at 7:30 PM.