#15 Indiana Men’s Basketball suffers first home loss of the season The #15 Indiana Hoosiers Men’s Basketball team loss their second straight Big Ten game losing to the Northwestern Wildcats 84-83 Sunday afternoon in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Indiana is 10-5 on the season and 1-4 in the Big Ten and will travel to Penn State Wednesday night for a 7pm matchup with the Nittany Lions. Northwestern improves to 3-1 in the Big Ten for just the third time in 55 seasons and 12-3 overall. Northwestern has won 5 of the last 11 meetings against the Hoosiers as Indiana now leads the all-time series 120-54.
Freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino scored a career high 33 points on 12-17 shooting, 5-7 from the three-point line and 4-6 from the free throw line. Hood-Schifino had 3 rebounds, 3 assists and committed six turnovers, Hood Schifno’s 33 points is the most for a freshman since Eric Gordon in 2007. Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 18 points but pulled down a whopping 24 rebounds which is the which is the most by an IU player since Kent Benson in 1975. Jackson-Davis had 8 assists and 4 blocks. Tamar Bates had 9 points, Trey Galloway and Malik Reneau finished with 8 points apiece. Miller Kopp who started his career at Northwestern, finished with 5 points, CJ Gunn had 2 points, and Jordan Geronimo who started in place of the injured Race Thompson, did not score. Thompson was injured in the first half of last Thursday night’s game at Iowa with a knee injury and he will be out indefinitely putting the Hoosiers down two starters with Xavier Johnson sidelined with a foot injury.
“We have two starters sitting on the sideline and that’s why we are struggling a little bit, we got to keep working and nobody is going to feel sorry for the Indiana Hoosiers,” Head Coach Mike Woodson said after the game.
Northwestern was led in scoring with 26 points from Boo Buie, Chase Audige finished with 19, Ty Berry and Robbie Beran finished with 13 points each. The Wildcats finished 29-63 from the field for 46%, 7-19 from three-point line for 36% and 19-28 from the free throw line for 68%. Berry had a double-double has he pulled down 11 rebounds as Northwestern had 32 for the game. The Wildcats had 15 assists, 14 steals, 6 blocks and committed just 7 turnovers. Chris Collins’ squad has won seven of last eight games.
Northwestern led 2-0 when Robbie Beran scored 23 seconds into the game. Indiana followed with a 5-0 run on a Hood-Schifino three pointer and Trayce Jackson-Davis layup made it 5-2 with 18:24 left. Buie scored for the Wildcats to make 5-4. Beran hit a three pointer to make 7-5 and give the Wildcats the lead. The game would be tied at 7-7 and 9-9 with two Jalen Hood-Schifno baskets. Northwestern took control of the game going on 10-0 to put the Wildcats up 19-9 with 14:11 left in the first half. Indiana would go 10-0 run to cut the lead down to 34-27 with 5:55 left to go before halftime after being down 34-19. Northwestern scored on a Matt Nicholson dunk with 2 seconds left after he was left wide open down the floor. The Wildcats opened the second half on a 10-2 run to lead by 15 with 15:59 left to go in the game. Indiana was down 11 points with 1:59 left when the Hoosiers got going and we able to get the game down to one point with Trey Galloway hitting a half court three as time expired.
Indiana shot 32-62 for 51% from the field, 9-18 from three-point range for 50% and 10-14 from the free throw line for 71%. The Hoosiers had 40 rebounds, 14 assists, 5 blocks, 2 steals and committed 16 turnovers. Northwestern started off the game with 24 points off turnovers and finished 25-6 against the Hoosiers in that statistic. In the first half Indiana looked lost on defense, missing switches on defense and not closing out on the shooters on the outside. It also led to Northwestern getting easy looks inside and beating the Hoosiers down the floor time after time. “We need to quit fouling we had 8 fouls in the first ten minutes and gave them the bonus and also need to quit making them straight line drive and that will make a difference” Trayce Jackson Davis Said after the game.
#6 Indiana University Women’s Basketball wins at Northwestern, Grace Berger and Kiandra Browne return Senior forward Mackenize Holmes posted her third-straight double-double as No. 6/7 Indiana cruised past Northwestern, 72-50, on Sunday afternoon in Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Hoosiers (14-1, 4-1 B1G) opened up the game on a 7-0 advantage and only further built their lead as freshman guard Lexus Bargesser hit Holmes in the post for a pair to lead 12-4 with 5:42 to play. Four players scored four points or more in the first quarter, paced by seven from freshman guard Yarden Garzon to take a 20-12 lead after one. Holmes would open the second quarter with three-straight buckets, as she scored 14 of Indiana’s 20 points in the frame. It would lead by as many as 18 before the break, as Holmes capitalized on an offensive rebound. Halftime featured a 40-24 lead for the Hoosiers. Northwestern (8-7, 0-5 B1G) narrowly edged IU in the third, as seven of their 16 points came at the line in the quarter, going 7-for-9 at the charity stripe. Indiana was able to limit the Wildcats to just 15.7 percent in the fourth quarter, closing out the game with four points each from junior guard Sydney Parrish and graduate student guard Grace Berger.
Holmes posts her third-straight double-double and sixth of the season with a team-high 24 points and 13 rebounds. She now owns 16 double-doubles all-time and is 10th on the all-time double-doubles list in school history. Holmes eclipsed 1,500 career points in the win, the 15th player in school history to record over 1,500 points and now has 1,522 career points and 14th all-time in school history. Berger returns for the first time since Nov. 25 after dealing with a knee injury. She scored 16 points, pushing her career total to 1,609, which is 10th all-time in school history. She also had five assists and two steals in 27 minutes. Parrish also ended her day in double figures with 12 points, eight rebounds and a team-high four steals. The Hoosiers went 19-for-21 at the line on the afternoon including a 6-for-7 effort by Berger. Kiandra Browne played 2 minutes in her first action of the season since she suffered a left thumb injury in the preseason and got a rebound and a steal. It marks the third-straight win in the series against the Wildcats and back-to-back wins at Welsh-Ryan Arena for the first time since wins on Dec. 31, 2007, and Feb. 19, 2009. Indiana outscored the Wildcats 20-12 in the first and second quarters. IU is back in Bloomington on Thursday when it hosts No. 13/14 Maryland. Tip is set for 6:30pm on the Big Ten Network.
Bloomington North Boys Basketball beats Bloomington South 53-50 for city bragging rights The Bloomington North Cougars boys’ basketball team held on to beat the Bloomington South Panthers 53-50 Friday night before a capacity crowd at Bloomington South. The Cougars have won three in a row over their city rivals, but the Panthers lead the all-time series 49-30 dating back to 1972. Bloomington North was led in scoring by 6-4 Sophomore Luke Lindeman with 20 points. Lindeman’s Dad Todd played at IU from 1991-96 and was a member of the 1992 Final Four Team. The younger Lindeman scored 15 points in the first half including 3 three-pointers. Dawan Daniels added 13 points and Vanderbilt signee JQ Roberts was held to five points. Bloomington North hit 9 three pointers for the game, 17 FG and was 10-17 from the free throw line. Bloomington South 8-5 was led in scoring by TJ Spears and Gavin Wisley with 12 points each and Aiden Schmitz scored 10 points. Bloomington North led 33-25 at halftime and the Panthers had several chances to the tie the game came up short at the end. Bloomington North beat Seymour 40-38 Saturday Night on the Northside to improve to 7-3 on the season.
In Boys Basketball Edgewood improved to 4-9 on the season with a pair of home wins over Brown County 73-29 and South Putnam 59-35. Lighthouse Christian beat Columbus Christian 80-45 but fell to Clay City 61-35 Saturday afternoon as the Lions are 6-2 on the season. In Girls Basketball Bloomington North beat Terre Haute South 56-35 Saturday afternoon in the Cougar Den to improve to 12-5 on the season. Bloomington South fell to Columbus North Saturday afternoon 48-39 to fall to 8-6 on the season. Edgewood lost to Brown County at home Friday Night 55-41 as the Mustangs are 3-12 on the season. Lighthouse Christian lost to Columbus Christian 59-40 at home Friday Night as the Lady Lions are 1-9 on the season.
Indiana University Football loads up in the Transfer Portal The Indiana University Football Team has hit the transfer portal very hard over the weekend as Indiana had eight players commit since Friday and IU has 11 players announce they will transfer into the program since the season ended in November. The Hoosiers have landed Wake Forest Running Back Christian Turner, Clemson Wide Receiver EJ Williams, Stanford Defensive Back Nicolas Toomer, West Virginia Linebacker/Defensive End Lanell Carr, Stanford Linebacker Jacob Magnum-Farrar, Fordham Wide Receiver Dequece Carter, Texas A&M Lineman Marcus Burris and Texas Tech Defensive Lineman Phillip Blidi.
They join Texas Cornerback Jamier Johnson, Western Michigan Defensive End Andre Carter and UMass Offensive Lineman Max Longman. who all announced earlier they will join the Hoosiers. IU Landed Junior College Transfers Jamison Kelley and Tyrik McDaniel giving the Hoosiers 13 total transfers this off season. The Hoosiers have signed 12 HS Players in its 2023 class during the December signing period.
Indianapolis Colts Fall in regular season finale to the Houston Texans In the last game of the season, the Colts found one last way to lose. The Texans’ Davis Mills hit Jordan Akins for a 28-yard touchdown on fourth-and-20 with under a minute to play and then converted a two-point conversion on another pass to Akins for a dramatic 32-31 win at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday. Sam Ehlinger hit Mo Alie-Cox for a four-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to give the Colts their first lead and Chase McLaughlin added to it with a 54-yard field goal, before Mills and Akins’ heroics.
The Colts end the season on a seven-game losing streak and finish 4-12-1. Jeff Saturday was 1-7 in his tenure as interim head coach and now waits for owner Jim Irsay’s decision on his future. Houston jumped out to an early 10-0 lead. Mills led the Texans on a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive on the opening possession of the game. Mills connected with Brandin Cooks for an 11-yard score. Dallis Flowers fumbled the ensuing kickoff and M.J. Stewart recovered for Houston, leading to a 37-yard Ka’imi Fairbairn field goal.
The Colts answered with a 11-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Ehlinger converted a fourth-and-one with a five-yard run, then found Michael Pittman Jr. for a one-yard touchdown pass. The Texans were driving for more points when E.J. Speed forced a Royce Freeman fumble that Julian Blackmon recovered. Houston defensive end Jonathan Greenard intercepted a pressured Ehlinger on the very next play and took it back 39-yards for a touchdown. Ehlinger responded by moving the Colts in position for points but threw another interception. This one to Christian Kirksey at the Texans’ two-yard line. Houston led 17-7 at halftime. The Colts cut the Houston lead to just three midways through the third quarter on a Zack Moss 15-yard touchdown run.
The Texans marched back down the field on their next drive. Mills connected with Akins for a 19-yard touchdown to make it a 10-point game again. Houston could have begun to put the game away after forcing a three-and-out, but Mills threw interceptions on consecutive possessions. First, Rodney McLeod picked him off and returned it 26-yards for a touchdown to give the Colts life. Then rookie Rodney Thomas II got him for his team-leading fourth interception to set up Alie-Cox’s touchdown. Moss ran for 114 yards on 18 carries, while Zaire Franklin had seven tackles to break Shaquille Leonard’s team record of 163 in 2018. Pittman Jr. fell one catch short of becoming the first Colts’ player with 100 catches since Reggie Wayne in 2012. Both teams showed their support for Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin, who went into cardiac arrest during the Bills-Bengals game on Monday night and remains in a Cincinnati hospital. The Colts outlined the “3” of the 30-yard line for Hamlin’s jersey number. Both teams wore “Love for Damar 3” shirts during pregame warmups and gathered together for a prayer at midfield. Irsay and general manager Chris Ballard now turn their attention towards the offseason. The first order of business will be to hire a head coach, before preparing to make a top-five draft pick.
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