Indiana University Men’s Basketball Officially Misses the NCAA Tournament and will Decline other Postseason Opportunities Indiana men’s basketball has officially concluded its 2025-26 season. IU failed to earn an NCAA Tournament bid in Darian DeVries’ first season at the helm. That’s now confirmed after the bracket was released on the Selection Show. In mid-February, The Hoosiers sat in a good position to make the tournament, with a 17-8 overall record. But they proceeded to lose six of their final seven games, including two particularly damaging losses to Northwestern. Indiana finished the season 18-14, ultimately finishing among the first four teams to miss the NCAA Tournament. And ultimately, DeVries posted one fewer win this year than Mike Woodson recorded in each of his last two seasons in Bloomington. The Hoosiers are additionally turning down any opportunities to play in the NIT or the College Basketball Crown; a program spokesperson told the South-Central Indiana News Network. That brings the 2025-26 campaign to a conclusion. This now marks the eighth season of Indiana’s last 10 without an NCAA Tournament appearance. Of course, the 2020 team was on track to make the field of 68 before COVID-19 brought sports to a halt. But that offers no solace to an IU program continually reeling in the shadow of its past success.
Indiana University Women’s Basketball Officially Misses the Postseason for the First Time Since 2020 Indiana women’s basketball has officially missed the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers came up short of making the bracket for the first time since 2020, when the tournament was canceled because of COVID-19. Excluding that anomaly of a postseason, this is the first time IU has missed the NCAA Tournament since 2018. Indiana opted out of any potential WNIT or WBIT bids, marking the end of its 2025-26 season. Aside from 2020, this is the first time since Teri Moren’s first season in Bloomington — 2014-15 — that the Hoosiers will not participate in any postseason tournament. IU finishes the year 18-14, snapping a streak of 10 straight years with at least 20 wins. “As a program, we have decided to opt out of postseason play due to lack of healthy players. Our focus now turns to getting healthy and planning for a productive offseason,” Moren said in a statement to The Daily Hoosier. “We would like to thank Hoosier Nation for their continued support throughout the 2025-26 season. We are excited about the future of Indiana Women’s Basketball! Go IU!”
Indiana University Softball Drops Sunday Game to Rutgers After clinching the series victory on Saturday, Indiana fell in the weekend’s final game on Sunday against Rutgers in a windy, 14-11 loss at Andy Mohr Field. With the loss, Indiana’s season record is now 21-6 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten. Indiana jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Josie Bird and Madalyn Strader got it started with each of them hitting a sac fly, then Ellie Goins hit an RBI double before Hannah Haberstroh hit a 2-run shot over the right field wall. The Hoosiers made it an 8-0 lead off of home runs from Aly VanBrandt and Alex Cooper in the bottom of the second.
Rutgers used a bases-clearing double and a 2-run home run to cut into the lead, making it an 8-4 game in the top of the third. Sam Rowher hit a 2-run home run, and Rachel Millan hit an RBI single to narrow IU’s lead down to one in the top of the fourth, 8-7. Madalyn Strader would provide Indiana a little more cushion, sending a ball deep over the center field wall to extend the lead to 10-7. By the end of top of the fifth inning, it was a 10-10 game thanks to an RBI single to right field from Riley Hwang. Rutgers took the lead at 12-10 and the game’s momentum when Addie Osborne hit a home run out to left center to score her and Baileigh Burtis in the top of the sixth. Cassidy Kettleman made it a one-run game on a sacrifice fly to left field to score Ellie Goins in the bottom of the sixth. Millan pushed Rutgers’ lead to three on a 2-run home run in the top of the seventh. Indiana could not muster enough offense in the bottom of the seventh to come back from the 3-run deficit.
Four different Hoosiers hit a home run today: Aly VanBrandt, Alex Cooper, Madalyn Strader and Hannah Haberstroh. Haberstroh’s home run was the first of her career. Four Hoosiers had multiple hits: VanBrandt (2), Cooper (3), Ellie Goins (2), Hannah Haberstroh (2). This was the 13th game this season where Indiana scored 10-plus runs. Indiana will next compete in midweek action. The Hoosiers host IU Indy on Wednesday (March 18) at 5 p.m. in Andy Mohr Field.
Indiana University Baseball Swept at Oregon The Indiana Baseball team (7-12, 1-5 B1G) saw a five-run lead slip away on Sunday afternoon at PK Park. Oregon’s potent offense woke up late, scoring six unanswered runs in a 7-6 victory over the Hoosiers. With two on and no outs in the ninth inning, outfielder Angel Laya singled through the right side to finish off a series sweep in Eugene.
IU jumped out to a big lead, scoring twice in each of the first three innings. An RBI groundout from redshirt freshman Brayden Ricketts and an RBI single from sophomore Cooper Malamazian in the first inning gave the Hoosiers an advantage they would hold until Oregon tied the game in the bottom of the eighth. IU scored all six of its runs in the opening three frames but got just one runner to third base in the final six innings of the ballgame. Sophomore first baseman Jake Hanley and sophomore outfielder Caleb Koskie each had multi-hit days.
Sophomore southpaw Brayton Thomas gave IU a solid start even while battling some fatigue issues. He went four innings of one-run baseball. The Indiana native struck out a career high five batters and issued just one walk. He worked around some trouble to hand the ball over to the bullpen with a 6-1 lead. Oregon did its heavy damage in the sixth behind a bases-clearing double from infielder Ryan Cooney. The Ducks tied it in the eight and walked it off in the ninth.
The Hoosiers will finish off their spring break road trip by heading to Nashville to play Vanderbilt on Tuesday (March 17) evening at Hawkins Field. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. against the second SEC foe of the year. IU will return home to Bart Kaufman Field next week (March 20-22) for a three-game set against Minnesota.
Indiana University Women’s Water Polo Closes Weekend with at Split at the Aztec Invitational in San Diego No. 9 Indiana (14-5, 0-2 MPSF) capped off play at the Aztec Invitational on Sunday as it split games with No. 16 UC San Diego (10-11) and No. 24 Pomona-Pitzer (16-5) at the Aztec Aquaplex.
Against UC San Diego a pair of goals by senior Louisa Downes helped Indiana keep even with the Tritons, 3-3, after one. Sophomore Keira Blitzer pushed the Hoosiers ahead with her second goal of the day early in the second while freshman Kylie Williams increased the lead to two on a 6-on-5 opportunity. UC San Diego had two goals in the final 58 seconds of play to come within one at the break, 6-5. In the third, senior Grace Klingler broke up the 6-all tie as she found the back of the net with 1:38 to play. However, the Tritons struck on the next play to tie the game at 7-7. Going into the fourth all tied up, Blitzer completed her hat trick and gave Indiana a 9-8 lead. Junior Olivia Harris kept her team on top with 5:51 remaining but Indiana would go scoreless and come up empty on their last six shots as UCSD came from behind to win. Blitzer tied a career-high four goals. Downes had a pair of goals and secured her 150th career goal at Indiana in the effort. Senior goalie Jasmine Higgs recorded x saves, also surpsassing a career mark as she hit 650 career saves.
Against Pomona-Pitzer the Hoosiers scored three-straight goals in the first from three different goal scorers to take a 3-1 lead after the first eight minutes. Two of those three goals came on 6-on-5 opportunities from freshman Kylie Williams and senior Louisa Downes. Four consecutive goals in the second quarter boosted Indiana’s lead before the break, going up 7-2 at the half. Williams led the way with two in the first half. Defense allowed just one goal in the third period as IU tacked on seven more goals in the frame. Sophomore Natalie McCarroll added her name to the scoresheet in the fourth as sophomore goalie Audrey Cox was in goal in the second half, recording five saves. Nine different Hoosiers scored goals in the win, led by a hat trick from Williams. It marked her ninth multi-goal game of the season and her fourth hat trick of the year. She also finished the game with two drawn exclusions and a field block. Five players had two goals each including freshmen Audrina Kang and Nikki Frazier, sophomore Keira Blitzer and seniors Grace Klingler and Louisa Downes. IU’s goalies combined for 11 saves with starter senior Jasmine Higgs recording six while Cox added five. The win is the third-straight in the series with Pomona-Pitzer as IU improves to 4-1 overall. The Hoosiers remain out west for a pair of MPSF games at SJSU (Mar. 20) and at Cal (Mar. 21).
Purdue Men’s Basketball Beats Michigan for the Big Ten Tournament Championship Purdue closed the regular season with four losses in six games. It won four games in four days at the Big Ten Tournament. Oscar Cluff, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Braden Smith played a major role in the turnaround. But coach Matt Painter pointed to one area in particular. “We’re not here and celebrating this tournament championship if we didn’t play better defense the last four days,” Painter said. Cluff scored 21 points and Kaufman-Renn had 20, leading the way as No. 18 Purdue knocked off No. 3 Michigan 80-72 on Sunday in the Big Ten final. Smith had 14 points, 11 assists and three steals for the Boilermakers (27-8), who limited the high-scoring Wolverines to 34 points in the second half. Fletcher Loyer made three 3-pointers and finished with 14 points. Purdue won the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2023 and third time overall. It lost to Michigan in the final in 1998 and 2018. The Boilermakers received a No. 2 seed for the NCAA Tournament. They will play Queens on Friday in the first round of the West Region. “Our guys are doing great,” Painter said. “We’re playing well at the right time.”
Yaxel Lendeborg scored 20 points for top-seeded Michigan (31-3), which beat Purdue 91-80 in their regular-season meeting on Feb. 17. Aday Mara had 17 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots. The loss seemingly had no effect on the Wolverines’ road for the NCAA tourney. They were awarded the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region and a Thursday matchup with the winner of the UMBC-Howard game in the First Four. “We know the month that we have ahead,” Mara said. “We’ve just got to be ready, be better, and feel this right now because it doesn’t feel good and use it to be better in the tournament.”
Wearing No. 41 after he ripped his No. 3 jersey in frustration early in the game, Smith helped the Boilermakers seize control by deftly running the pick-and-roll with Kaufman-Renn in the second half. The senior point guard has 1,075 career assists, just one shy of Bobby Hurley’s NCAA record. Smith attributed the effectiveness of the pick-and-roll with Kaufman-Renn to their summer work together. “We just clicked,” Smith said. “Obviously he trusts me to get it to him, and I trust him to catch it and then obviously go make a play or make passes or score out of it.”
Two jumpers by Kaufman-Renn off passes from Smith powered Purdue to a 55-44 lead with 12:55 left. After Elliot Cadeau scored for Michigan, the 6-foot Smith drove inside, drew a foul on the 7-3 Mara and scored, drawing a big cheer from the Purdue fans in the crowd at the United Center. Smith celebrated by pounding his chest as he walked toward a rollicking Purdue bench. He made the ensuing free throw for a 58-46 lead with 12:06 to go. “I thought Braden never wore down,” Michigan coach Dusty May said. “Obviously you could tell he was fatigued, but it didn’t faze him. He just has that much mental strength and capacity.”
Purdue made nine of its first 11 shots in the second half. The Boilermakers shot 15 for 26 in the second half overall. Cluff had nine points and three fouls at halftime. But he managed to stay in the game all the way to the very end, committing one foul while playing 12 minutes after the break. “It was just like staying focused, making sure I got my hands out of there and wasn’t doing anything stupid or silly that you could pick up a random foul,” Cluff said. Cadeau finished with 10 points and 10 assists for Michigan, which won the Big Ten tourney in 2025. Playing in his hometown, Nimari Burnett scored 12 points. “They earned it,” May said. “Obviously we weren’t at our best, but obviously Purdue has something to do with that.” Purdue used a 12-2 run to take a 38-34 lead late in the first half. But Cadeau found Mara for an alley-oop dunk and converted a tying layup in the final seconds.
Cailtin Clark Scores 14 Points to keep Team USA Unbeaten in FIBA World Cup Qualifying Caitlin Clark scored 14 points and added six assists as the USA women’s basketball team defeated New Zealand 101–46 at the FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament 2026 on Sunday in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The two-time WNBA All-Star and 2024 Rookie of the Year made her first start of the tournament, helping guide the United States to a fourth straight win as they remained unbeaten with one game left to play in the round-robin stage of the competition. Clark helped settle the U.S. team early after a slow start from the opening lineup, knocking down a pull-up jumper and a three-pointer as the hosts began to find their rhythm.
The USA bench then shifted the momentum. Angel Reese sparked a scoring burst late in the first quarter with three quick layups, while Rhyne Howard caught fire from long range to stretch the lead into double digits. By halftime, the United States were firmly in control at 54–18 after a dominant second quarter. Howard led all scorers with 18 points, draining six three-pointers while also contributing three steals. Monique Billings and Kelsey Plum each added 10 points as Team USA shared the scoring load. Paige Bueckers logged a team-high 24 just minutes off the bench, finishing with seven points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals. Reese added nine points, four rebounds and two blocks in 17 minutes. Sharne Robati was the lone New Zealand player in double figures with 11 points. The United States have already secured qualification for the FIBA Women’s World Cup 2026 in Berlin but will close out the tournament against Spain on Tuesday.