Indiana University Men’s Basketball Drops Regular Season Finale at Ohio State Bruce Thornton scored 25 points and had seven assists, John Mobley Jr. and Amare Bynum each added 18 points, and Ohio State defeated Indiana 91-78 in a Big Ten regular-season finale on Saturday night. The Buckeyes (20-11, 12-8) rode a strong shooting performance to the win, making 59% of their shots, 46% from deep, and 88% of their free-throw attempts. Thornton was 7-of-9 from the floor and 9-of-11 from the line. Bynum hauled in nine rebounds to lead all players, along with two steals and one block. Ohio State shook off a slow start with runs of 6-0 and 8-0 in the first half, scoring 50 before halftime and taking a 17-point lead into the break. Thornton entered the contest 12 points away from becoming the Buckeyes’ all-time leading scorer, and a 3-pointer with 44 seconds remaining in the first half put him into the Ohio State record book ahead of Dennis Hopson, who was on hand to present Thornton with the ball used to break the record. Lamar Wilkerson led the Hoosiers (18-13, 9-11) with 18 points on 6-of-15 shooting. Tucker Devries added 17 points and five assists, and Sam Alexis, who hit all five of his shot attempts had 14 points. Indiana is the No. 10 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and will play on Wednesday. Ohio State has earned a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament and will be either the No. 7 or No. 8 seed. The Buckeyes will open play on Thursday.
Top Seed UCLA Beats #5 Seed Ohio State to Return to the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament Championship Game The Top Seed UCLA Bruins never trailed in a 72-62 win over the # 5 Seed Ohio State Buckeyes in the First Semifinal of the Allstate Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament Saturday Afternoon at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. UCLA is 30-1 on the season and will advance to Championship for the second straight year tomorrow at 2:15 PM on CBS. The Bruins beat USC in the Big Ten Championship Game a year ago 72-65 and will look for a repeat title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and lock up a Number 1 seed for the Big Dance. Ohio State 26-7 will return to Columbus and wait a week from tomorrow to find out where they will be seeded for the NCAA Tournament when the field is announced next Sunday Night at 8 PM on ESPN.
Kiki Rice led UCLA with 17 points as five Bruins scored double figures. Lauren Betts, who was named the Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player a year ago, scored 14 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Angela Dugalic added 14 points and 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and a steal. Gianna Kneepkens scored 13 points, and Gabriella Jaquez added 10 points. UCLA finished 28-63 from the field for 44%, 6-19 from three-point range for 31% and 10-12 from the free throw line for 83%. The Bruins had 34 rebounds, 20 assists, 10 steals, 6 blocks and 12 turnovers. UCLA scored 26 points in the paint, 16 bench points, 13 points off turnovers, 10 second chance points and 7 fastbreak points. The Bruins did not score a field goal for the last 3:12 UCLA did have a couple of scoring droughts but their inside-outside play on offense and their shot blocking ability was too much for the Buckeyes to handle. Chance Gray led Ohio State with 23 points, Jaloni Cambridge scored 12 points, and Elsa Lemmila scored 10 points and 6 rebounds. The Buckeyes finished the game 21-57 for 36%, 6-18 from three-point range for 33% and 14-15 from the free throw line for 93%. Ohio State had 34 rebounds, 16 assists, 6 steals, 4 blocks and 15 turnovers. Ohio State scored 30 points in the paint, 16 points off turnovers, 12 fastbreak points, 11 second chance points and 8 bench points. The Buckeyes did not score a field goal for the final 2:12 of the game.
UCLA started the game with an 8-0 lead and made it 12-3 after the Burins hit five straight field goals and made six of their first seven shots from the field. Ohio State outscored UCLA 7-2 in the rest of the quarter as UCLA led 14-10 after the first quarter. UCLA outscored Ohio State 18-11 in the second quarter as the Bruins led 32-21 at halftime. UCLA outscored Ohio State 20-19 in the third quarter as the Bruins led 52-40 heading into the fourth quarter. Ohio State outscored UCLA 22-20 in the fourth quarter but neither team could hit a field goal down the stretch and UCLA continues its quest for back-to-back Big Ten Tournament Championships and Ohio State who has not made the Big Ten Championship Game since 2023 heads back to Columbus to get ready for the NCAA Tournament.
Big Fourth Quarter Leads #2 Seed Iowa to the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament Semifinal over #3 Seed Michigan The #2 Seed Iowa Hawkeyes beat #3 Michigan Wolverines 59-42 in the Second Semifinal of the Allstate Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament Saturday Afternoon at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Iowa 26-5 will face top seed UCLA tomorrow in the Championship Game at 2:15 PM ON CBS. Michigan 25-6 will return to Ann Arbor to get ready for the NCAA Tournament as the Wolverines will learn their opponent when the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Field of 68 is revealed on ESPN a week from Sunday at 8 PM. Iowa is in the Championship Game for the 9th time as the Hawkeyes have won 5 Big Ten Championships in 1997, 2001 and three in a row from 2002-24 and lost in the championship game three times in 2010, 2014 and 2021. The Hawkeyes put four in double figures with 16 points from Ava Heiden including 6 of the Hawkeyes first 9 points as Iowa led 9-0 to start the game and 13-4 at the end of the first quarter. Hannah Stuelke scored 13 points and 10 rebounds for her ninth double double of the season. Chit-Chat Wright scored 13 points, and Taylor Stremlow added 11 points.
The Hawkeyes had 41 rebounds, 18 assists, 6 steals, 4 blocks and 20 turnovers. Iowa scored 24 points in the paint, 15 points off turnovers, 8 second chance points, 6 bench points and 3 fastbreak points. There were 4 lead changes and 1 tie as Iowa made their last three field goals in the game. Olivia Olson and Mila Holloway led Michigan with 10 points apiece. Syla Swords scored 9 points and got the Wolverines off to a good start in the second quarter hitting back-to-back triples and then hit her last three pointer in the third quarter. Michigan was 16-59 from the field for 27%, 4-21 from three-point range for 19%, and 6-11 from the free throw line for 54%. Michigan had 32 rebounds, 7 assists, 11 steals, 3 blocks and 17 turnovers. Michigan scored 16 points in the paint, 16 points off turnovers, 10 second chance points, 8 fastbreak points and 6 bench points.
Michigan outscored Iowa 18-15 in the second quarter as the Hawkeyes lead at halftime 28-22 as the Wolverines fought back in the second quarter despite the slow start. The third quarter became a defensive battle as neither team could score for over four minutes as Michigan outscored Iowa 14-7 in third quarter as Michigan took the lead 36-35 on a Mila Holloway bucket with 37 seconds left in the quarter heading into the fourth quarter. Iowa took over the fourth quarter as Hannah Stukele scored the first seven points off the quarter for the Hawkeyes used a 24-6 run in the fourth quarter to pull away and get ready for a battle of the top two seeds in the Big Ten for the Championship Game as UCLA beat Iowa in the Regular Season Matchup on February 1, 88-65 in Los Angeles. Michigan missed their last four field goals and did not score a field goal for the last 4:16. Michigan has never made the Big Ten Tournament Championship game and Michigan Head Coach Kim Barnes Arico said after the game that Iowa is always a tough matchup for them and she is excited to face a team that “Has not played Michigan” and this tournament prepares her team and all teams for March Madness and the both the Hawkeyes and Wolverines have good teams that can make a lot of noise in the NCAA Tournament.
Eleven Former Indiana University Men’s Hoosiers Start Seasons in USL Championship, MLS NEXT Pro As the United Soccer League (USL) season kicks off this weekend, Indiana men’s soccer highlights 11 Hoosiers playing between the USL and MLS NEXT Pro. The latter league started its season February 27. All six Hoosiers in USL now play in USL Championship after five players made moves across or into the league’s top tier during the offseason.
Karsen Henderlong moved from FC Naples in USL League One to the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the Championship after leading Naples with 16 goals and earning USL League One All-League First Team honors last season. Henderlong was also a finalist for league player of the year. Justin Rennicks returns stateside after two seasons Finnish Veikkausliiga, which followed five seasons with New England Revolution in Major League Soccer. After earning a first team deal with Atlanta United during and through last season, Nyk Sessock moved to USL Championship, signing with the Las Vegas Lights. Following his freshman campaign at IU, Colton Swan elected to go professional with Charleston Battery. Shortly after his signing, Swan earned a call-up with the United States U19 National Team.
In MLS NEXT Pro, three Hoosiers signed with St. Louis CITY2 as recent alums Jack Wagoner, Palmer Ault and Patrick McDonald joined sides again in the Gateway City. Wagoner wore the captain’s armband and McDonald scored in the team’s 4-0 season-opening victory last weekend. Hugo Bacharach (Rhode Island FC – USL Championship) and Tommy Mihalic (LAFC2 – MLS NEXT Pro) remained with their clubs.
MLS NEXT Pro- Palmer Ault – St. Louis CITY2, Alex Boler – Chicago Fire II (General Manager), Patrick McDonald – St. Louis CITY2, Tommy Mihalic – LAFC2 and Jack Wagoner – St. Louis CITY2. USL Championship-Hugo Bacharach – Rhode Island FC, Rece Buckmaster – San Antonio FC, Karsen Henderlong – Tampa Bay Rowdies, Justin Rennicks – New Mexico United, Nyk Sessock – Las Vegas Lights and Colton Swan – Charleston Battery.
Indiana University Volleyball to play in the Spouts Broadway Block Party in Nashville A massive doubleheader of NCAA Tournament programs will take center stage in downtown Nashville at the 2026 Sprouts Farmers Market Broadway Block Party this September. The Indiana volleyball team will take on Tennessee on Sunday, September 6th in the second of two games between premier programs. Louisville and Texas will play in the day’s first game. IU’s match will be played at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The Broadway Block Party women’s college volleyball tournament debuted in 2025 with an outstanding tripleheader on the season’s opening weekend. Three Big Ten programs (Nebraska, Purdue and Illinois) took on SEC programs at Bridgestone Arena, home of the NHL’s Nashville Predators. Just steps away from the main stretch of Nashville, the venue is centrally located to draw an outstanding crowd of volleyball fans.
This year’s edition of the competition will take place on Sunday, September 6th as teams wrap up the second full weekend of games. Three of the four programs (Indiana, Texas and Louisville) were NCAA regional participants’ last season. IU advanced to its first regional semifinal since 2010, eventually falling to Texas in a tight three-set contest in Austin. Tennessee made the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Utah State. The contest between the Hoosiers and Volunteers will be the first in the all-time series since a five-set thriller in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. IU beat Tennessee in five sets (15-13) to advance to its first regional semifinal in program history. The two sides have met seven times in program history. The series is split evenly (3-3-1). The first matchup came back in 1977 before volleyball was a varsity sport.
A familiar face will feature on IU’s side when the two teams play in September. Graduate student middle blocker Kiki Granberry played four seasons in Tennessee orange, finishing second in program history in career hitting percentage (.372). She will play her final season of eligibility for the Hoosiers this fall. The match in Nashville is the first piece of IU’s 2026 schedule to be unveiled. The Hoosiers, which return a big portion of their roster from last season, are expected to play a challenging non-conference slate. Head coach Steve Aird will also take his team overseas this summer for a foreign tour in preparation for the new campaign.
Taylor University Cheer Claims the Crossroads League Championship The Taylor competitive cheer team made history on Saturday morning, clinching the program’s first-ever Crossroads League Championship. The Trojans posted their second-best score in program history to overtake Indiana Wesleyan and Spring Arbor for the title. TU posted a mark of 89.02 in Friday’s preliminary round, which counted for 25-percent of its overall score for the weekend. The Trojans entered Saturday in third place but surged to the lead with a score of 91.17 in the final round to finish at 90.63 overall and just in front of IWU (90.24) and SAU (89.34) for the historic championship. In addition to securing its first-ever league crown, Taylor also earned the Crossroads League’s automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships in Topeka, Kansas. Taylor will make its first-ever appearance at Nationals on March 26 and 27.
2026 Crossroads League Championships Overall Team Scores- 1-Taylor, 90.63, 2-Indiana Wesleyan, 90.24, 3-Spring Arbor, 89.34, 4-Saint Francis, 82.91, 5-Bethel, 78.89, 6-Marian, 75.25, 7-Huntington, 69.13
Former Indianapolis Colts Center Ryan Kelly Announces his Retirement Former Indianapolis Colts center Ryan Kelly announced his retirement from the NFL. “10 seasons,” Kelly wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “What an incredible ride it was. I was blessed to be around some of the greatest people this sport has to offer. I always wanted to leave each place better than how I found it and with that I can hang my hat. Forever grateful for my family and brothers!” Kelly was with the Colts for nine seasons, from 2016-2024. He was a four-time Pro Bowler with the Colts and made the All-Pro Second Team in 2020. Kelly was a captain for his last two seasons with the Colts in 2023 and 2024. Kelly was drafted by the Colts in the first round in 2016. He played all but one of his 10 seasons in the NFL in Indianapolis, playing with the Minnesota Vikings in 2025.