#4 Indiana Women’s Basketball cruises over Morehead State The 4th ranked Indiana Hoosiers Women’s Basketball Team showed no signs of rust with an 87-24 blowout win over the Morehead State Eagles Sunday afternoon in front of 4,270 fans at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Indiana is 11-0 on the season with one final non-Conference matchup Wednesday afternoon hosting the Butler Bulldogs at 1 pm. Indiana was coming off a 10-day break for final exams not playing since a December 8, win at Penn State. “Grateful for the crowd to come out on a cold Sunday, we did a lot of exciting things and we were happy to play everyone and we tried to get Henna some shots, we were concerned about the days off and we challenged them to play with energy and they responded” Head Coach Teri Moren said after the game.
10 of the 11 Hoosiers that were available scored in this game. Yarden Garzon led the Hoosiers with 16, Sara Scalia added 13 points, Sydney Parrish and Mackenzie Holmes scored 12 points each. Chloe Moore-McNeil, Mona Zaric and Lilly Meister scored 7 points each. Alyssa Geary added 6 points, Lexus Bargesser 4 points, Arielle Wisne 3 points and Henna Sandivk did not score in 26 minutes of action. Grace Berger and Kiandra Browne remain out with injuries. The 24 points the fewest points given up in the Teri Moren era and the 3rd largest margin of victory in program history.
The Hoosiers started the game on 6-0 run as Mackenzie Holmes did all the scoring and never looked back. Morehead State hit a three pointer Veronica Charles to make it 6-3 with 7:06 left in the first quarter. Yarden Garzon hit back-to-back three pointers to extend the lead to 12-3 with 6:20 left in the first quarter. Jayden Rhodes hit a free throw for the Eagles as the Hoosiers ended the quarter on a 16-0 run to lead 28-4 at the end of the first quarter. Indiana went on runs of 5-0 and 11-0 in the second quarter as the Hoosiers outscored the Eagles 16-8 in the second quarter. Indiana led 44-12 at halftime with Yarden Garzon scoring 11 first half points along with 10 Points from McKenzie Holmes as Indiana shot 50% from the field and the 3-point line. Indiana was 9-11 from the free throw line for 81%. Morehead State went 4-27 from the field for 14 %, 3-16 for 18% and 1-2 from the free throw line for 50%.
In the second half the Hoosiers increased the lead 61-17 at the end of three quarters as Indiana outscored Morehead State 17-5 in the third quarter. Indiana finished game with 26-7 fourth quarter run. The Hoosiers finished 56 % from the field, 9-18 from three point range for 50 % and 12-16 from the free throw line for 75 percent. Indiana pulled down 43 rebounds, dished out 21 assists, 11 steals, 6 blocks and 12 turnovers. Indiana had 40 points in the paint, 36 points off turnovers and 27 bench points.
Morehead State is 4-7 on the season. The Eagles finished the game shooting 17 % from the field hitting just 9 shots with 5 of those from three-point range for 21 percent and 1-4 from the free throw line for 25 percent. Veronica Charles scored 6 points and fouled out in the fourth quarter. Morehead State had 26 rebounds, 7 steals 1 block and committed 25 turnovers.
With one more non-conference game left Coach Moren talked about finish this part of the schedule the right way. “We have one more non-conference left before we have a nice Christmas break and return for Big Ten play, we want to go into the Big Ten season unbeaten and finish off the non-Conference schedule the right way” Moren Said. Indiana is one of 11 unbeaten teams left in Women’s College Basketball and they hope to extend this into Big Ten season after the Christmas Holiday with a road game at Michigan State.
#14 Indiana Men’s Basketball blown out at #8 Kansas Kansas coach Bill Self acknowledged his No. 8 Jayhawks have played some high-level hoops the past eight days, beginning with a blowout of then-unbeaten Missouri and finishing with an 84-62 romp over No. 14 Indiana on Saturday afternoon at Phog Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence Kansas. To clarify: They’re playing at a high level in games. “We’re not a great practice team,” Self said with a smile. That just might be the only fault he can find these days. Gradey Dick had 20 points to lead six Kansas players in double figures scoring Saturday. Dajuan Harris Jr. had 10 points and 10 assists while Kevin McCullar Jr. had 11 points and 11 boards. And the Jayhawks (10-1) forced 23 turnovers that often turned into easy baskets at the other end. “I think we’re getting better,” Self said. “That’s the best we’ve defended all year.”
Indiana (8-3) played most of the way without second-leading scorer Xavier Johnson, who hurt his right ankle less than 10 minutes into the game. The senior guard, who’d been averaging 10.9 points and 5.2 assists, was hurt scrambling for a loose ball. He returned on crutches wearing a walking boot to watch the second half from the bench. By that point, Kansas already had jumped to a big early lead that eventually swelled to 22 in the first half. And while the Hoosiers briefly got within 10 in the second half, the Jayhawks simply turned up the pressure and pulled away again. “It didn’t help that we lost Xavier early on,” Indiana coach Mike Woodson said, “but at the end of the day, it’s next man up.”
Trayce Jackson-Davis had 13 points and nine blocks for the Hoosiers, who couldn’t overcome 23 turnovers and a 50-24 disparity on points in the paint. Race Thompson and Jalen Hood-Schifino added 11 points apiece. “We just didn’t compete. That’s all I can say,” Woodson said, “and that’s just kind of upsetting because I mean, this team we were matched up from a statistical standpoint going into this game. We were a dead-even team, pretty much. And they came out and took it right to us and we didn’t respond.” The Hoosiers, who had lost two of their last three, were fortunate to be within 44-29 at halftime. Much like last week’s win over the Tigers, the Jayhawks made their first four shots, held Indiana to a single field goal over the first 5 minutes and jumped to a 21-8 lead. And it only continued to swell as Dick heated up from beyond the arc, Jalen Wilson continued to get to the basket and KJ Adams provided a physical paint presence.
By the time Dick knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers, and Bobby Pettiford Jr. coasted in for a layup, the defending national champions had pushed their advantage over the Hoosiers to 42-20 their biggest of the half. “We had a whole week to come in here and prepare for them and we did just that,” Dick said. “We came out with energy and that just picks everything up, and our defense transitions into offense. Indiana gained a little momentum in the closing minutes of the first half, then stormed out of the locker room and kept trimming its deficit. Jackson-Davis, who had been quiet in the first half, asserted himself in the paint, and it was his basket with 16 minutes to go that got the Hoosiers within 48-38 and forced Self to call timeout. It was the only run the Hoosiers had in them. The Jayhawks scored the next six points to start a 10-2 run and regain control. And as Indiana’s turnovers began to mount, the lead again reached 20, allowing Kansas to coast through the final 8 minutes to victory. Indiana will be back in action tomorrow night when they host Elon at 7pm in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Top Ranked Purdue Men’s Basketball beats Davidson in the Indy Classic Purdue center Zach Edey kept taking his shots when Davidson sent multiple defenders at him Saturday night. Eventually, Caleb Furst found a few openings, too. Together, they gave the top-ranked Boilermakers an unbeatable combination. Edey finished with 29 points and 16 rebounds and Furst scored all 12 of his points in the second half to help No. 1 Purdue fend off Davidson 69-61 in the Indy Classic. “ You know the thing about Zach, don’t take him for granted. I know I don’t,” coach Matt Painter said. “He’s great, he’s a fabulous and he’s unselfish, which makes for a great teammate.” Apparently, a great team, too, now that the Boilermakers (11-0) are positioned to keep the top spot for an unprecedented second straight week. Purdue earned its first No. 1 ranking last December, then lost its next game on a buzzer-beater at Rutgers and didn’t regain the No. 1 ranking until this week. Furst also had 13 rebounds.
Sam Mennenga had 14 points and Foster Loyer added 11 points and 10 assists for Davidson (7-4). The Wildcats fell to 0-11 against No. 1 foes and 18-116 against Top 25 teams. This one felt like more like an NCAA Tournament game with a Power Five favorite facing a pesky mid-major team that used a combination of timely 3-pointers and nifty drives to stay close before watching it slip away late. Edey, Purdue’s powerful 7-foot-4 center, was simply too much for Davidson. “Maybe nobody in the country is playing as well as Zach Edey right now,” first-year Wildcats coach Matt McKillop said. “The funny thing is at halftime, I felt we played pretty well against him, and he had 17 (points) and 11 (rebounds).”
Furst’s quick second-half start helped the Boilermakers start breaking away. But when Davidson closed to 45-43 with 9:05 to go, Edey answered with all of Purdue’s points in a 7-2 run. And when Mennenga’s 3 with 4:13 left cut the deficit to 54-51, Purdue went back to Edey, who drew a foul and made two free throws. Then, when Davidson got to 58-54 with 3:30 to play, Purdue finally took advantage of Edey’s presence by finding open shots and open lanes. The resulting 8-0 run allowed Purdue to pull away and the Boilermakers sealed it at the free throw line. “I thought the difference in the game was our ability to get a lot of free throws and to make a lot of free throws,” Painter said.
Ball State Men’s Basketball beats Illinois State in the Indy Classic Jaylin Sellers scored 20 or more points for the fourth time in three games as he produced 24 points to lead all scorers as Ball State men’s basketball defeated Illinois State in the inaugural Indy Classic inside of the Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday. The Cardinals finished the game with five players in double figures as they claimed an 83-69 victory. Ball State improved to 7-4 on the year, while Illinois State fell to 5-7 on the season. The Cardinals took a slight 12-11 lead in the overall series with the Redbirds.
BSU has had five players finish in double-digit points in three of the last four games. Sellers dropped a game-high 24 points, including going 3-for-3 from 3-point range. He added four rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal. Jarron Coleman has scored in double figures for 10 straight as he notched a 16-point effort. He produced a game-high seven assists along with five rebounds, one steal, and one block. Demarius Jacobs collected 16 points, five assists, three rebounds, and one steal. His three blocks tied a career high and were a game high. Jacobs has scored in double figures in nine games this season. Mickey Pearson Jr. tallied 13 points, four rebounds, one steal, and one block. Payton Sparks closed out the double-digit scoring with 12 points. He added a team-high six rebounds and one assist.
The Cardinals started the game hot and went on a 7-2 run that ended with 17:42 left in the half. The Redbirds answered with an 8-0 run and took a 10-7 lead with 14:40 left. Ball State was unfazed by the Illinois State run and outscored ISU 18-9 over the next 5:56 to go on top, 25-19 with just under eight minutes to play in the half. Illinois State was able to tie the game 25-25 with 5:45 left in the first. The two sides battled back-and-forth as the game was tied 34-34 with just under two minutes left in the half. Jacobs buried a wide-open 3-pointer to put the Cardinals on top. Jacob’s 3-pointer sparked a 7-0 run for Ball State as BSU took a 41-34 lead into the break. The Redbirds opened the second half on an 11-7 run and cut the Cardinal lead to 48-45 with 15:04 left in regulation. Ball State was resilient and responded with a 16-6 run and extended its lead to 64-51 with 10:21 left to play. With the Cardinals up 11, 66-55, Jacobs made a great play to beat a defender and score on a driving layup. He was fouled and converted the and-1 to put BSU up 69-55. Ball State continued to roll. With under two minutes left to play, Jacobs came up with a big block in transition which led to an uncontested fast-break dunk for Coleman. The dunk gave the Cardinals their largest lead of the night with 18, 83-65. Illinois State scored the game’s final four points, but Ball State went on to win 83-69.
As a unit, the Cardinals finished the game shooting 56.4 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from 3-point range. Ball State improved its free-throw shooting as BSU went 70 percent (14-20) from the charity stripe. The Cardinals combined for 46 points in the paint. The eight blocked shots were the second most this season. Ball State continues to make more free throws (14) than opponents take (13).
Malachi Poindexter led ISU with 14 points to go along with six rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Kendall Lewis and Darius Burford both went for 13 points. Lewis led the team with seven rebounds and two steals. Burford added five rebounds and a block. Colton Sandage closed out the double-digit scorers with 11. The Cardinals return to Worthen Arena for contest with Georgia Southern. Tip is scheduled for 7 pm on Wednesday.
Indianapolis Colts blow 33-point lead losing to the Minnesota Vikings The last time out, the Indianapolis Colts gave up 33 points in the fourth quarter in a loss in Dallas. This time, it was the Colts hanging a 33 spot. And it still was not enough to win. The Vikings rallied from a 33-point halftime deficit to beat the Colts 39-36 in overtime to complete the largest comeback win in NFL history on Saturday afternoon in Minnesota. The Vikings scored five second half touchdowns to knot the game at 36 with just over two minutes to play in the game. Greg Joseph kicked a 40-yard field goal in OT for the win.
As bad as the second half was, the Colts played their best half of the season in the first. They got off to a fast start, scoring on their first possession on a Chase McLaughlin 23-yard field goal. Ifeadi Odenigbo blocked a Ryan Wright punt after the Colts stopped the Vikings on their first possession. JoJo Domann returned the block 24-yards for a touchdown and a 10-0 lead. Minnesota looked for a quick response. Dalvin Cook broke a 40-yard run down to the Indianapolis 35-yard line, but he fumbled on the next play and Isaiah Rodgers recovered. The Colts turned the takeaway into a Matt Ryan to Deon Jackson one-yard touchdown. The Vikings were then stopped on two straight fourth-and-ones. The Colts converted the short fields into two McLaughlin field goals for a 23-0 lead early in the second quarter. And the Colts weren’t done. Julian Blackmon intercepted Kirk Cousins, returning the errant throw 17-yards for a touchdown. McLaughlin tacked on a 27-yard field goal to make it 33-0. Jonathan Taylor left the game with a right ankle injury after catching a 13-yard pass. The reigning NFL rushing champion missed three games earlier in the year with an ankle issue. The Colts now sit at 4-9-1 and have a couple extra days of rest before hosting the Los Angeles Chargers the day after Christmas on Monday Night Football.
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