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Indiana Men’s Basketball Looks for Rare Road Win at Wisconsin
Indiana Men’s Basketball will look to snap an 18-game losing streak at Wisconsin tonight when they face the Badgers in 7pm matchup on the Big Ten Network. None of the current players on the Indiana roster were born the last time the Hoosiers won in Madison which was 1998.
Indiana is coming off 68-55 win in the Big Ten opener against Nebraska Saturday afternoon in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall to improve to 7-1 and 1-0 in conference play. Trayce Jackson-Davis leads team in scoring at 21.0 points and blocks with 30 on the season. Xavier Johnson is averaging 10.4 points per game and leads the team in assists with 32 on the season. Race Thompson is averaging 10.0 points and a team leading 8.9 rebounds per game along with a team high 11 steals on the season. Head Coach Mike Woodson got his first Big Ten win his first game and his coach Bob Knight was 0-5 in his first season in 1971. IU leads the Big Ten in defensive field goal percentage (35.3%), is second in blocked shots (6.3) and fourth in 3-point FG defense (25.2%). The Hoosiers set a school record against Louisiana when they defended 25-straight Louisiana shots without a make. Offensively, IU is third in scoring (80.4) and second in FG percentage (49.6%). In the last five games, IU is averaging 82.8 points on 51.0% shooting from the floor and 43.9% accuracy from long range.
Wisconsin is ranked 7-1 on the season after a 5-game winning streak, and led in Scoring by Johnny Davis, averaging 20.1 points per game; Brad Davison is at 15.9 points per game. The Badgers average 70 points a game and give up 59 points on defense. Wisconsin won the Maui Invitational with wins over Texas A&M, Houston, and St Mary’s. They also have a road win at Georgia Tech and a home win against in state rival Marquette. The Badgers lone loss came on November 15 to Providence 63-58 at home.
Wisconsin Beat Indiana 80-73 in 2 overtimes, last season, on January 7th and have won the last three meeting with the Hoosiers.
Micah McFadden To Enter 2022 NFL Draft
Indiana Linebacker Micah McFadden has announced he will enter the 2022 NFL Draft. McFadden, a senior from Tampa, Fla, has played four years at Indiana, but could have returned if he wanted to because of the bonus COVID year in 2020 that everyone received. But he grades out well with many NFL teams and should be a mid-round draft pick. He’s one of the top middle linebackers in the country. McFadden was a team captain in 2020 and 2021, and was on preseason watch lists for the Bednarik Award, Butkus Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy. He was a second-team All-Big Ten selection in 2021, a first-team choice in 2020 and an honorable mention selection in 2019.
The Hoosiers will return Defensive Backs Taiwan Mullen, Devon Matthews and Jaylin Williams as they have all announced they will return to Indiana for next season. Mullen, a Florida native, appeared in five games for the Hoosiers this season due to a nagging ankle injury he suffered against Western Kentucky. He would see the field against Maryland but it was clear he was not healthy. n five games, Mullen had 19 tackles and three pass deflections. He has 85 tackles, three interceptions and 19 pass deflections in his career.
Matthews will use his free year of eligibility in 2022 given to every athlete in the NCAA for COVID. Matthews was an All-Big Ten Third-Team selection in 2020 and totaled 55 tackles in nine games in 2021. He also added four tackles for loss, four pass breakups and one interception.
Williams will be using the free year given to all athletes for COVID. The Hoosiers’ secondary was tremendous and one of the best in the country in 2020, with 17 interceptions and only allowing 13 touchdowns. Williams was an All-Big Ten Second-Team selection in 2020 and was a Big Ten honorable mention in 2021. He finished this season with 41 tackles and 11 passes deflected. For his career he has six interceptions and 23 pass deflections.
Indiana’s defense was in its first season under Charlton Warren in 2021 and ranked in the bottom half of the Big Ten in yards per game (383.8). It also ranked last in the league in points per game (33.3).
Walt Bell Hired as Indiana Football’s New Offensive Coordinator
Indiana Football will hire Walt Bell as the Hoosiers new Offensive Coordinator. Bell replaces Nick Sheridan who was fired after the season in which the Hoosiers were 2-10. Bell’s most recent stop was as a head coach at UMass but has spent time at three other programs as an offensive coordinator. Overall, Bell has spent 14 seasons on staff as a graduate assistant all the way up to a head coach.
Before Indiana, Bell spent three seasons at UMass, collecting a 2-23 record as head coach. He is coming off of a 1-8 campaign in 2021. His time as offensive coordinator for Florida State, Maryland and Arkansas State made him a sought-after head coaching candidate. At Florida State (2018), he helped the Seminoles to a passing offense that ranked third in the ACC in passing yards per game (270.1). They also ranked 28th in the NCAA in passing yards. In that offense, Florida State averaged 7.1 yards per attempt and completed 57.1 percent of its passes.
Before FSU, Bell was the OC at Maryland (2016-17) where he helped the running back room to a 4.7 yard per carry average over both seasons. Their 4.9 yard per carry average in 2016 was second in the Big Ten. They ranked fourth in 2017. Maryland struggled with QB injuries, but Bell still managed to help the Terrapins to a 30 to 16 touchdown to interception ratio. In those two seasons, Maryland gave up the most sacks in the Big Ten, with 84. His offense showcased Big Ten Receiver of the Year DJ Moore (2017). Moore broke the single-season Maryland record with 80 catches and also led the Big Ten with 1,033 receiving yards. Moore was a first round draft pick in 2018.
At Arkansas State, his best year came in 2015 when he led the offense to 40 points per game average, ranked 12th in the NCAA. He coached another NFL player there in J.D. McKissic. Prior stops included the TE coach at UNC where he helped lead the Tar Heels to the Coastal Division title in 2012. Tight End Eric Ebron earned a First-Team All-American honor in 2013 after totaling 973 receiving yards, an ACC record for tight ends. Ebron would go on to be selected No. 10 overall in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Barr Reeve Beats Bloomington South Boys Basketball
The Number 1 Team in Class 1A Boys Basketball the Barr-Reeve Vikings came to Bloomington and beat the Class 4A South Panthers 42-39 Tuesday Night. Barr-Reeve is 4-1 on the season and was led by Hagen Knepp with 26 points and was hard for the Panthers to stop all night going 11-16 from the field. Kayden Graber scored 9 points and Cam Madison added the other 7 for the Vikings. Bloomington South was 14-38 from the field and 6-26 on 3 pointers along with 4-6 at the line. The Panthers were led in scoring by Cameron Oliphant with 12 Points, William Schultz 11 and Tyree Rochell with 6. The Panthers are 3-1 on the season and will travel to Southport Friday Night.
In Girls High School Basketball Tuesday Night Bloomington North beat Owen Valley 52-49 with Mallory Barrow draining a three pointer to win the game after the Patriots tied the game at 49-49 with 6.4 left to play. Bloomington North is 5-5 on the season and will host Floyd Central Saturday Afternoon at 1:30pm. Owen Valley is 3-6 and will host Brown County Friday Night at 6pm
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