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Indiana Men’s Basketball Takes Care of Ohio State at Home
Indiana Men’s Basketball defeated number 13 Ohio State 67-51 Thursday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers led 46-45 with 10:01 left to go in the game when the Hoosiers broke the game wide open with 21-6 run. Indiana is 11-3 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers are 10-0 at home and 11-0 when playing in the State of Indiana this season. The Hoosiers are also unbeaten when Head Coach Mike Woodson wears a suit which fans have kept track of this season.
Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 27 points and pulled down 12 rebounds along with 5 blocks. Race Thompson added 11 points. Trey Galloway who was playing for the first time since Mid-November scored 8 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals in 19 minutes of play. Galloway provided energy and spark off the bench that has been missing the last few games. Indiana was 25-61 from the field for 41 percent, 2-15 from three-point range for 13 percent and 15-18 from the free throw line for 83 percent. Indiana pulled down 41 rebounds, 14 assists, 6 blocks, 3 steals and committed 9 turnovers.
Ohio State 9-3and 3-1 in the Big Ten was led by Freshman Malaki Branham who scored 13 points. E.J. Liddell added 11 for the Buckeyes. Joey Brunk who played for IU the last two seasons scored 6 points on 2-2 shooting and 2-2 from the free throw line. Brunk had 2 rebounds, a steal and turnover in just over 8 minutes of action. Trayyce Jackson Davis and Brunk battled for a ball in the second half in which Jackson-Davis threw the ball has Brunk’s head to save the ball from going out of bounds and knocked it off Brunk to give the Hoosiers the ball back.
Indiana returns to action Sunday at Noon when they Host Minnesota. Minnesota is 10-2 and 1-2 in the Big Ten after losing to Illinois 76-53 Tuesday night at home. The Golden Gophers have three players that average double-figures. Jamison Battle 18.2, Payton Willis at 15.7 and E.J. Stephens at 10.7. Minnesota is coached by Ben Johnson is in his first season. Johnson played at Northwestern and Minnesota graduating in 2005 is a Minneapolis native.
Indiana Football Lands Missouri Quarterback Transfer Connor Bazelak
Indiana Footballl landed its quarterback for next season as Missouri transfer Connor Bazelak committed to the Hoosiers after visiting campus last week. Bazelak is the ninth transfer to commit to Indiana for the 2022 recruiting class. The former three-star commit was ranked as the No. 24 overall pro-style QB in the 2019 class. He will have three years of eligibility left he is 6-4 from Dayton Ohio and played at Archbishop Alter High School.
In 24 career games, Bazelak threw for 5,084 yards with a 66 percent completion rate. He also threw for 23 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. This season he threw for 2,548 yards with 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. In 2020, Bazelak was named SEC Co-Freshman of the Year throwing for 2,366 yards with seven touchdowns and six interceptions.
Coming out of high school, Bazelak had offers from Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Purdue, North Carolina, N.C. State, Duke, Rutgers, West Virginia, and more.
Indiana did not have a quarterback signed in the 2022 class after three-star prospect Josh Hoover flipped his commitment to TCU. This offseason, former starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr transferred to Washington leaving Indiana with junior Jack Tuttle, sophomore walk-on Grant Gremel and true freshman Donaven McCulley with starting experience. IU also has sophomore Dexter Williams on the roster, but he missed the entire 2021 season due to a torn ACL.
Indiana’s quarterbacks struggled all season, combining to throw for just 1,959 yards and nine touchdowns to 14 interceptions. They averaged 5.4 yards per attempts and just a 50.3 completion percentage. And, in five games, the Hoosiers failed to throw for 100 yards. The Hoosiers have also brought in new offensive coordinator Walt Bell to try and improve the Indiana offense.
Bloomington South Travels to Bloomington North in Boys Basketball
City bragging rights are on the line tonight as Bloomington South travels crosstown to Bloomington North in the annual Boys Basketball showdown at 7:30 PM. Bloomington South is 7-4 on the season and led by the all-time winningest coach in Indiana High School Basketball History J.R. Holmes who has won 868 games in 52 seasons and 725 of those wins at Bloomington South. The Panthers lost in the championship game of the Richmond Tournament to Greensburg 38-36. The Panthers average 44.2 points and give up 37.6 on defense.
Bloomington North is 7-3 on the season and lost in the Championship Games of the Connersville and Bedford North Lawrence Tournaments over the Christmas Break. The Cougars are led by Nick Klaiber who averages 18.6 Points followed by Division 1 Prospect J.Q. Roberts 14.9 points and Knox College Commit Marco Fitch at 11.8 points. The Cougars average 61.0 points per game and give up 52.8 on defense.
Bloomington South leads all time series 51-27 as the Panthers have won the last 11 meetings. Bloomington North last won the regular season meeting in the 2013-2014 season 72-66 and 38-35. Head Coach Jason Speer is looking to beat JR Holmes for the first time since arriving at Bloomington North in the 2017-18 season. Holmes is 5-0 and the two teams did not meet in the regular season last year due to the COVID-19 Pandemic but Bloomington South Beat Bloomington North 76-53 in the Sectional Championship Game In March of 2021.
Edgewood Girls and Boys Basketball is at Brown County This Evening in Varsity Doubleheader starting at 6 PM. The Lady Mustangs are 14-4 and Brown County is 3-12. On the Boys Side Edgewood is 4-7 while Brown County is 2-5.
Lighthouse Christian Girls Basketball will host Shoals at 6 PM this evening. The Lady Lions have not played since December 18 and are 3-7 on the season. Shoals comes into the game with a 3-9 record and has not played since December 16th.
Indianapolis Colts Close Out Regular Season at Jacksonville with a Playoff Spot on the Line
The Indianapolis Colts need to win Sunday afternoon at Jacksonville to get into the playoffs. The Colts are 9-7 and coming a home loss against Las Vegas 23-20 last Sunday which a win would have clinched a playoff spot but the Colts are looking for to happen in the final game of the regular season. Jacksonville is 2-14 and fired head coach Urban Meyer earlier this season. The Colts have not won in Jacksonville since 2014.
The Colts are led by Carson Wentz who has thrown for 3,378 yards with 26 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Jonathan Taylor has rushed for 1,734 yards and 18 touchdowns. Michael Pittman Jr. has caught 82 passes for 1,018 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Jacksonville is 2-14 and have lost 8 in a row. New England beat the Jaguars 50-10 last week. Trevor Lawrence the Number 1 Pick in 2021 draft out of Clemson has thrown for 3,418 yards 10 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. James Robinson has rushed for 757 yards and 8 touchdowns. Marvin Jones Jr has caught 744 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Colts beat Jacksonville 23-17 on November 14 in Indianapolis.
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