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Indiana Men’s Basketball Beats Minnesota 73-60
Indiana Men’s Basketball beat Minnesota 73-60 in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Sunday Afternoon. Indiana is 12-3 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten. Indiana used a balance attack to take care of the Golden Gophers. Xavier Johnson scored 14 points, Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 13 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. Rob Phinesse scored 13 points off the bench knocking down four three pointers in the first half. Parker Stewart added 12 points and Plymouth Minnesota Native Race Thompson scored 10 points.
The Hoosiers were 27-56 from the field for 48 percent, 9-24 from three-point range for 37 percent and 10-15 from the foul line for 66 percent. Indiana pulled down 39 rebounds, 17 assists, 4 blocks, 3 steals and committed just 6 turnovers. The Cream ‘n Crimson comfort turned tense during a second-half stretch that turned a 12-point lead into a one-point deficit. The Hoosiers blinked, but didn’t buckle. They got tough when it mattered most, dominating crunch time a 25-11 edge over the final 11 minutes, delivering offensive balance with five Hoosiers scored in double figures and turning the Gophers offense to rubble no field goals in the last three minutes. “I call it wining basketball,” coach Mike Woodson said in this post-game press conference. ” Minnesota came back from being down and took the lead. Our defense picked up after that. We had the lapse and picked it up. “The last three to four minutes we were solid.”
Minnesota was led in scoring by Jamison Batttle with 19 points, Payton Willis added 18 and E.J. Stephens added 12 points. Minnesota was 23-60 from the field for 38 percent, 5-25 from three-point range for 20 percent and 9-12 from the free throw line for 75 percent. The Golden Gophers pulling down 34 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocks, and committing just 6 turnovers. Minnesota is 10-3 overall and 1-3 in the Big Ten.
Indiana has scored 70 points or more in 8 games this season. The Hoosiers have held teams under 70 points 12 times in 15 games so far. Coach Mike Woodson stated from the start of his tenure as Indiana Basketball head coach that defense was going to be the mantra for this team. So far, the Hoosiers have succeeded with an 11-0 home record,12-0 record in the state Indiana and not mention the Hoosiers are 12-0 when the head coach wears a suit which has been a good luck charm. The Hoosiers hope to take that good luck on the road this Thursday to Iowa at 9 PM. The Hawkeyes are 11-4 overall and 1-3 in the Big Ten after losing at Wisconsin 87-78 last Thursday Night. Indiana is 0-3 on the Road losing at Syracuse, Wisconsin, and Penn State.
Bloomington North Boys Basketball Beats Bloomington South
Bloomington North beat Bloomington South 49-45 in front of a near capacity crowd on Tom McKinney Court at the Cougar den Friday Evening as the Cougars beat the Panthers for the first time since the 2013-14 season snapping an 11-game losing streak in the series. Bloomington South leads the all-time series 51-28 dating back to the 1972-73 season.
Bloomington North was led in Scoring by Marco Fitch with 15 points, Division 1 Prospect J.Q. Roberts had 12 points and scored just 1 point in the 2nd half. Gavin Reed scored 8 points and Nate Hoffman added 7 points. The Cougars were 16-31 from the field, 5-10 from three-point range and 12-17 from the free throw line. The Cougars pulled down 18 rebounds and committed 7 turnovers. This was the first time in this series Bloomington North Coach Jason Speer has beaten Bloomington South Coach J.R. Holmes. Holmes was 5-0 coming into the matchup that dates back to the 2017-18 season when Speer was named Boys Coach at Bloomington North. The Cougars followed up with a 44-31 win at Seymour Saturday Night. Nate Hoffman led the way with 19 points and Marco Fitch added 16 points. The Cougars are 9-3 on the season and travel to Martinsville Friday at 7:30pm.
Bloomington South was led by Patrick Joyce with 12 points and Brock Kincaid added 10 points. The Panthers were 14-28 from the field, 3-8 from three-point range and 14-22 from the free throw line. The Panthers pulled down 14 rebounds and committed 7 turnovers. The Panthers are 7-5 on the season and return to action this Friday when they travel to Columbus East for a 7:30pm start time.
Edgewood beat Brown County 79-36 Friday Night in Nashville the Mustangs led 19-4 after the first quarter and 41-24 at halftime. Edgewood came out to start the 3rd quarter on 23-2 run and put the game away. Caden Huttenlocker scored 23 points, 8 assists, 6 steals and 5 rebounds. Brayden Robinson scored 13 points, Nick McCullough added 10 points and 6 rebounds. Xzander Hammonds scored 9 points along 17 Points off the Mustangs bench. The Mustangs Beat South Putnam 61-40 Saturday night on the road. Edgewood was led by Caden Huttenlocker with 18 points and 5 rebounds, Xzander Hammonds added 14 points along with 5 assists. Zach Sims scored 10 points, pulled down 6 rebounds, and added 8 assists. Edgewood is 6-7 on the season and will remain on the road this weekend traveling to Owen Valley Friday and Greencastle Saturday.
Lighthouse Christian lost at Clay City 69-59 Saturday Afternoon as the Eels ended the game on a 7-0 run to improve to 5-6 on the season. The Lions are 4-4 on the season and play at Medora this evening.
In Girls Basketball Edgewood beat Brown County 48-20 Friday Night. Edgewood broke away with 29-6 2nd half run as the Mustangs lost Trista Helms due to injury. Carly Sherfield led the way with 13 points, Cara Clark added 12 and Claire Sherfield scored 8 points as Edgewood improves to 15-4 on the season and will host Monrovia tonight at 7:30 PM.
Bloomington North beat Terre Haute South 50-10 Saturday afternoon in Terre Haute. The Cougars were led by 14 points from Ava Reitmeyer, 11 points from Ava Robbennolt and 9 points for Mallory Barrow. Bloomington North Led 29-7 at halftime and led 44-10 after three quarters holding Terre Haute South scoreless in the fourth and scoring just 6 points. The Cougars are 8-9 on the season and hosts Mitchell tomorrow night at 7:30pm.
Columbus North beat Bloomington South 53-41 Saturday afternoon at Columbus North. Bloomington South jumped out to 18-13 lead after the first quarter but Columbus North outscored the Panthers 34-14 going into the 4th quarter. Mya Lawrence scored a career high 16 points and Carlie Pedersen added 12 for the Panthers. Bloomington South is 2-14 on the season and will travel to Mooresville Thursday Night before they host Evansville Central Saturday Afternoon.
Shoals beat Lighthouse Christian 59-27 Friday evening at Lighthouse Christian. The Lady Lions are 3-8 on the season. The Lady Lions will host Phalen Academy this Friday at 7:30 PM and Travel to Shakamak Saturday at 6pm.
Indianapolis Colts Miss the Playoffs After Losing to Jacksonville
A win and get in that was all the Indianapolis Colts needed to going into the final regular season game at Jacksonville. The Colts will head back to Indiana missing the NFL Playoffs after a 26-11 loss Sunday afternoon. The Colts end the regular season 9-8, finish 5-3 on the road and 4-5 at home. Indianapolis has not won at Jacksonville since 2014. Carson Wentz was 17-29 passing for 185 yards 1 touchdown and 1 interception, Johnathan Taylor had 15 carries for 77 yards and, Michael Pittman Jr. had 6 receptions for 64 yards along with a touchdown and a two-point conversion.
Jacksonville finishes the season 3-14 and will have the number 1 overall pick in this year’s draft in April. This is the second year in a row the Jaguars have gotten the number 1 pick becoming the first team since Cleveland in 2017 and 2018 to have that honor and the 5th overall. The Jaguars used the number 1 pick on Quarterback Trevor Lawrence from Clemson who was 23-32 passing 223 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Colts. Lawrence threw for 3,418 yards, 10 touchdowns and 17 interceptions this season. The Jaguars will have a top 10 pick 14 of the last 15 seasons and 8 times in the last 11 years they will have top 5 pick.
The Colts were officially eliminated when the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens 13-10 in overtime Sunday afternoon. Carson Wentz finished the season with 3,378 yards passing, 26 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Jonathan Taylor rushes for 1,734 yards along with 18 touchdowns. Michael Pittman Jr ends this season with 1,018 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns.
Georgia-Alabama Meet for The College Football National Championship in Indianapolis
The 2021 College Football Season Ends tonight at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis as Georgia and Alabama will meet for the College Football Playoff National Championship Game at 8 PM on ESPN. Both teams enter the game at 13-1. Alabama beat Georgia in the SEC Championship Game 41-24 December 4 in Atlanta. Alabama beat Cincinnati 27-6 in the CFP Semifinal at the Cotton Bowl in Arlington Texas and Georgia beat Michigan 34-11 In the other semifinal at the Orange Bowl in Miami on New Years Eve.
Alabama has won 18 National titles and 6 of those since 2009 all coming under head coach Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide have won 932 games all time, 45 Bowl Games and 7 playoff appearances with a 9-3 record. Alabama’s lone loss came October 9 at Texas A&M 41-38 on a last second field goal.
Georgia has won 2 National Titles in 1949 and 1980. The Bulldogs have won 852 games all time have won 34 bowl games and 2-1 in the Playoff losing to Alabama in the National Championship Game in the 2017 season.
This will be the first time that Indianapolis has hosted the National Championship Game in College Football. Georgia and Alabama are both in the Southeastern Conference and will be third time that two teams from the same Conference have meet in the National Championship Game. Alabama and Georgia met January 8, 2018 in Atlanta and Alabama won 26-23. The Other time came January 9, 2012 in New Orleans when Alabama beat LSU 21-0. The SEC has won 11 of the 15 National Championships dating back to 2007 which after tonight it will be 12 out of 16 times. Alabama has 6, Florida and LSU have 2 each and Auburn has the other. Florida State won in 2014 and Clemson won it 2017 and 2019 giving the ACC three championships and Big Ten has won it once 2015 with Ohio State.
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