IUWBB’s Mackenize Holmes named co-Big Ten player of the week Senior forward Mackenize Holmes has been named the co-Big Ten Player of the Week for her performances for Indiana against Michigan State and Nebraska last week. Holmes picks up her second player of the week award this season and the fifth overall in her career. The Gorham, Maine native averaged 27.0 points and 11.0 rebounds while shooting 64.5 percent (20-for-31) from the floor while adding 3.0 blocks and 1.0 steals per outing while also shooting 73.7 percent from the free throw line.
She posted back-to-back double-doubles for the first time since her sophomore season, when she had a pair against Northwestern and Ohio State and set a new career-high 32 points and tied a season-high 12 rebounds on the road in her first ever game at Michigan State. Holmes went 70.6 percent from the floor against the Spartans (12-for-17) while going 8-for-10 at the line. On Sunday, she led the team again in an overtime victory against Nebraska, with 22 points and 11 rebounds she while shooting 57.1 percent from the floor and set a new season-high five blocks along with three assists and a steal. Indiana returns to the court on Sunday at Northwestern.
Former Purdue University Football player Uche Nwaneri passes away at age 38 Former NFL and Purdue University player Uche Nwaneri has died at age 38, the Jacksonville Jaguars confirmed Monday. The Lafayette Journal and Courier reports Nwaneri died Friday after driving from Georgia to West Lafayette and collapsing in his wife’s home. The Tippecanoe County Coroner said Monday’s autopsy showed no signs of foul play, and preliminary results show “enlarged heart with acute heart failure” as the cause of death. Toxicology results are pending. After his days at Purdue, Nwaneri was drafted in the fifth round by Jacksonville and started at guard for the Jaguars from 2007-2013.
Indiana Pacers win fourth game in a row over the Toronto Raptors Bennedict Mathurin scored 21 points and Buddy Hield added 19 to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 122-114 victory over the Toronto Raptors for their fourth consecutive victory Monday night. Myles Turner had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Tyrese Haliburton added 16 points and eight assists for the Pacers. T.J. McConnell scored 15 off the bench. Gary Trent Jr. scored 32 points and Pascal Siakam had 26 for Toronto. Scottie Barnes added 23.
The Pacers, who shot 45% from the field, had a 50-36 edge in rebounds. With the score tied at 101 in the fourth quarter, Haliburton sank a 3-pointer to put the Pacers ahead for good. Toronto used a 20-2 run in the third period to take an 83-75 lead. With the Raptors leading 83-77 with 3:25 left in the quarter, O.G. Anunoby was called for a technical foul after pushing Mathurin. Mathurin missed the technical free throw, but he scored six points, including a step-back 3-pointer, the rest of the quarter to help the Pacers grab a 91-90 lead after three. Toronto led by 13 in the first quarter before settling for a 33-29 advantage after one. Trailing 47-42 with 7:26 left in the first half, the Pacers outscored the Raptors 24-10 the remainder of the half to take a 66-57 halftime lead.
Top ranked Purdue Men’s Basketball falls to Rutgers for the second year in a row Cam Spencer’s 3-pointer with 13.3 seconds left gave Rutgers the lead and No. 1 Purdue failed to convert on its final two chances Monday night as the Scarlet Knights held on for a shocking 65-64 road victory. It’s the second straight year coach Steve Pikiell’s team has upset top-ranked Purdue. Last year, the Scarlet Knights needed a half-court buzzer-beater on its home court to pull off the school’s first win over a No. 1 ranked team. This time Rutgers (10-4, 2-1 Big Ten) did it in front of Mackey Arena’s 49th consecutive sellout crowd.
Spencer finished with 14 points while Paul Mulcahy had 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists. The Boilermakers (13-1, 2-1) were led by Zach Edey who overcame early foul trouble to finish with 19 points and 10 rebounds. It just wasn’t enough to close out an incredible second-half rally from a 10-point deficit. New Mexico is now the last remaining unbeaten team in Division I. Rutgers controlled the game most of the night, taking a 34-24 halftime lead and fending off the Boilermakers as they charged back. Purdue tied the score at 52, then finally took the lead on Brandon Newman’s tie-breaking 3-pointer with 4:45 to play. Mulcahy answered with the Scarlet Knights’ next 10 points, which gave Rutgers a 62-57 lead with 2:22 to play. Purdue answered with four straight to make it 62-61 and when Mulcahy missed a short jumper with 54 seconds to go, Edey grabbed the rebound, Purdue called timeout and freshman Fletcher Loyer made the go-ahead 3 with 29.8 seconds left. But Spencer made his 3 after another timeout then watched Newman miss a 3. And after Rutgers turned it over on an inbound play with 0.4 seconds to go, the Boilermakers couldn’t get the ball to Edey for a final shot.
LSU routs Purdue Football in the Citrus Bowl Malik Nabers threw for a touchdown, caught one and had 163 yards receiving in No. 16 LSU’s 63-7 rout of Purdue in the Citrus Bowl on Monday. LSU never trailed against the Boilermakers, recording 594 yards of offense and concluding the scoring with Quad Wilson’s 99-yard interception return for a touchdown. The Tigers (10-4) finished with at least 10 wins for the first time since the 2019 season, when Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson led undefeated LSU to a national title.
The Boilermakers (8-6) were led by interim coach Brian Brohm after his brother, Jeff, left at the end of the regular season to take Louisville’s head coaching job. Ryan Walters, formerly the defensive coordinator at Illinois, will now take over as Purdue’s coach. Purdue had an up-and-down year, starting 1-2 before rallying to win the Big Ten West and reach the conference title game, where it lost 43-22 to Michigan. The Boilermakers were playing in their first Citrus Bowl. LSU, after a year in which it beat Alabama and reached the Southeastern Conference title game, controlled the game from the start. And nothing changed when starting quarterback Jayden Daniels was relieved by backup Garrett Nussmeier. After punting on their first drive, the Tigers scored touchdowns on seven of their next eight possessions to take a 49-0 lead.
Daniels led four scoring drives, going 12 of 17 for 139 yards and a touchdown. He also had 67 yards rushing and caught the TD pass from Nabers. Nussmeier finished 11 of 15 for 173 yards and two TDs. He threw a second-half interception, but LSU was already leading 42-0 at the time and the Tigers’ defense followed by forcing a three-and-out. Nabers, LSU’s leading receiver this season, had season highs in yards and catches (nine), and his TD toss wasn’t even his most impressive pass of the day. After running wide on a jet sweep, he threw an on-target deep ball to Kyren Lacy for a 45-yard completion that set up a touchdown in the first half. John Emery Jr. had a 1-yard TD rush, Derrick Davis Jr. had a 12-yard rushing score and Noah Cain had two rushing TDs, which gave the Tigers a school-record 39 rushing TDs for the year.
Austin Burton made his third career start at quarterback for the Boilermakers in place of Aidan O’Connell, who opted out to prepare for the NFL draft. Burton completed 12 of 24 passes for 74 yards with an interception. Michael Alaimo relieved Burton in the second half and threw a 16-yard TD pass to T.J. Sheffield. Alaimo finished 4 of 11 for 31 yards with an interception. Purdue crossed midfield four times. The first was on a drive set up by a fake punt, but that ended when Burton threw a pick. The other three ended in a touchdown, interception and turnover on downs. Purdue’s first nine possessions resulted in six punts and three turnovers.
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