#6 Indiana Women’s Basketball wins at #13 Michigan The #6 Indiana Hoosiers Women’s Basketball are off to their best start in school history with 92-83 win over #13 Michigan on the road Monday Night at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor Michigan. The Hoosiers are 18-1 and 8-1 in the Big Ten and tied with Iowa and Ohio State for the Conference Lead after # 10 Iowa handed # 2 Ohio State its first loss of the season 83-72 in the Columbus Monday Night. The Hoosiers and Buckeyes will square off Thursday Night at 8:30pm in Bloomington. Michigan falls to 16-4 and 6-3 in the Big Ten and will travel to Maryland Thursday Night.
Indiana had six players in double figures with Mackenize Holmes leading the way with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Sara Scalia added 19 points off the bench and knocked down three 3 pointers. Chloe Moore-McNeil and Sydney Parrish added 12 points apiece. Yarden Garzon and Grace Berger scored 10 points each. Lilly Meister added 4 points and Grass Lake Michigan native Lexus Bargesser came back to her home state but did not score.
Auburn Indiana native Leigha Brown had a career-high 32 points, Lalia Phelia scored 21 points while Noblesville Indiana native Emily Kiser added 15 points. Indiana led 48-38 at halftime. The Hoosiers led 68-56 after three quarters. Michigan outscored Indiana 27-24 in the fourth quarter. The Hoosiers lead the all-time series with Michigan 48-31 and have won three out of the last four meetings with the Wolverines.
Trayce Jackson-Davis wins Three National Awards and Big Ten player of the week Indiana senior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis was honored as the Naismith Trophy Player of the Week, the ESPN.com Player of the Week, and the NCAA March Madness Player of the Week along with be voted as the Big Ten Conference men’s basketball Player of the Week, the league and publications announced on Monday. Jackson-Davis averaged 33.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 4.0 blocks in a two-game stretch that saw Indiana knock off No. RV/23 Illinois on Jan. 19 by a score of 80-65 and Michigan State by a score of 82-69 on Jan. 22. In the last 25 seasons, Jackson-Davis is the only Division I men’s college basketball player to rack up at least 65 points, 20 rebounds, eight assists, and nine blocked shots in a two-game stretch.
In Champaign, the Greenwood native tallied 35 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and three blocked shots. He made 15-of-19 shots from the floor and buried 5-of-6 free throw attempts. Only one other player (Ben Simmons, LSU) has put up a stat line of at least 35 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and three blocks on 75.0% shooting from the floor or better for a high-major program in the last 25 seasons of college basketball. Against the Spartans, the John R. Wooden Midseason Watch List selection compiled 31 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, and five blocked shots. TJD shot 10-of-20 from the field and 11-of-13 from the charity stripe. Jackson-Davis is one of three players (Michael Sweetney; Georgetown and David Harrison; Colorado) from a major conference to put up a 30-15-5 game in the last 25 years. Jackson-Davis and the Hoosiers will be back on the floor against Minnesota Wednesday Night at 9 pm at Williams Arena and the game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
Indiana University Women’s Tennis beats Cincinnati 4-3 to remain unbeaten Indiana women’s tennis defeats the Cincinnati Bearcats, 4-3, at the IU Tennis Center on Sunday afternoon. Indiana clinched the doubles point after the No. 2 Mila Mejic and Lauren Lemonds earned a 6-0 win. Alex Staiculescu and Xiaowei “Rose” Hu would seal the point with a 6-4 win at No. 3 doubles.
In the No. 5 singles, graduate Lauren Lemonds defeated her opponent in two straight sets, 6-4, 7-5 to give the Hoosiers a 2-0 lead.
Graduate Saby Nihalani was a force in the No. 2 singles match. She defeated Cincinnati’s Cassie McLay, 6-1 in the first set before entering a tiebreak set winning 7-6 (7-2). Lara Schnider started the No. 1 singles match with a tiebreak set. She would fall short, 7-5, in the tiebreak but came back to defeat Elizabeth Pendergast, 6-0, 6-3, in the last two sets. Indiana is now 3-0 to start the season for the first time since 2017-18 season where they won eight straight matches.
Purdue University Men’s Basketball back at #1 in AP top 25 Purdue is back at No. 1 in the AP Top 25. Alabama is right behind the Boilermakers. Purdue returned to the top spot in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll on Monday, moving up two spots after Temple knocked off No. 1 Houston over the weekend. The Boilermakers received 39 first-place votes from a 62-person media panel after a volatile week where just two teams kept the same spot from a week ago. Alabama climbed two spots to No. 2, picking up 23 first-place votes for its highest ranking since reaching No. 1 in 2002-03. Houston, Tennessee, and Kansas State round out the top five.
Alabama (17-2, 7-0 SEC) has made a steady climb since being ranked No. 20 in the preseason AP Top 25, moving into the top 10 in early December. The Crimson Tide had lopsided wins over Missouri and Vanderbilt after Darius Miles was dismissed from the team as he faces a murder charge in a fatal shooting near campus. Alabama coach Nate Oats reached out to Ray Lewis before the Crimson Tide played Vanderbilt last week, sharing a Bible verse suggested by the Hall of Fame linebacker. Alabama ended up beating Vandy by 12 and rolled over Missouri by 21.
IHSAA Girls Basketball state tournament draw announced The IHSAA’s new regional-semistate format for basketball will be on display in a few weeks with the draws for both sectionals and regionals announced on Sunday. Sectionals will run Jan. 31-Feb. 4. Regionals will now be a one-game affair on Feb. 11. The semistates on Feb. 18 are now two games (two semifinals and a championship) with those pairings and locations announced the day after the regionals. Tickets for sectionals are $7 and $15 for an all-week pass. Tickets for regionals are $10 and have been raised for semistate to $12 per game and $20 per session with kids under 5 free. Area regionals will take place at Bedford North Lawrence (4A), Greencastle (3A), Crawford County (2A) and Southwestern (Shelbyville) (1A). Southern semistates will take place at Greencastle, Shelbyville, Jasper and New Albany, with each site assigned four teams from the same class.
Here’s a look at how things will set up a week from now: Class 4A at Bloomington South-The Draw: Tuesday, Jan. 31, Bloomington South (12-7) vs. Mooresville (15-6); Center Grove (17-4) vs. Greenwood (8-12). Friday, Feb. 3, South/Mooresville winner vs. Martinsville (0-22); Center Grove/Greenwood winner vs. Bloomington North (14-6). Saturday, Feb. 4, championship. Regional: At Bedford North Lawrence, vs. Shelbyville Sectional champion, 4 p.m.
Class 3A at Owen Valley –The Draw: Tuesday, Jan. 31, South Vermillion (0-20) vs. Brown County (11-9). Wednesday, Feb. 1, West Vigo (7-14) vs. Edgewood (3-16); Indian Creek (21-1) vs. Owen Valley (10-13). Friday, Feb. 3, Northview (14-8) vs. SVermillion/Brown County winner; West Vigo/Edgewood winner vs. Indian Creek/Owen Valley winner. Regional: At Greencastle, vs. Speedway Sectional champion, 1 p.m.
Class 1A at Bloomfield- The Draw: Tuesday, Jan. 31, North Central (17-4) vs. Shakamak (12-8). Wednesday, Feb. 1, Bloomfield (9-11) vs. Lighthouse Christian (5-13); White River Valley (9-11) vs. Clay City (6-15). Friday, Feb. 3, Dugger Union (7-13) vs. North Central/Shakamak winner; Bloomfield/LCA winner vs. WRV/Clay City winner. Saturday, Feb. 4, championship. Regional: At Southwestern (Shelbyville) vs. Eminence Sectional champion, 4 p.m.
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