Top Seed Indiana Women’s Basketball hosts #9 Miami in NCAA Tournament Second Round A trip to the Greenville regional is on the line when top seed Indiana faces 9 seed Miami (FL) in NCAA second round action tonight inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The game is set for an 8pm tip and televised on ESPN2. Indiana holds an overall 9-8 record in eight all-time tournament appearances. The Hoosiers have now made four consecutive tournaments dating back to 2018-19. Ninth year head coach Teri Moren is 8-4 all-time in the Big Dance. The Hoosiers are coming off a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2021-22 and an Elite Eight berth in 2020-21. Indiana has advanced to the round of 32 in each of Teri Moren’s five appearances in the postseason tournament.
The Hoosiers advance to the second round after a decisive win over 16-seed Tennessee Tech on Saturday, 77-47. Junior guard Syndey Parrish scored 19 points and graduate student guard Grace Berger added 17 points as the Hoosiers shot 58 percent from the floor in the win. The 30-point victory was the largest by an IU team in an NCAA Tournament game and marked the second-largest margin of victory over a tournament foe. Mackenzie Holmes and Berger are making their third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance together, holding a 6-2 overall record in the Big Dance. Between the two all-time, they have combined for 261 career games played, including 201 career starts. They have each reached the 1,800-career point mark, combining for 3,645 points in their careers. Head Coach Teri Moren picked up her 200th career win at Indiana Saturday and is going for her 400th career win this evening.
Miami advances to the round of 32 for the second-straight year as it overcame a 17-point deficit to defeat Oklahoma State on Saturday. They finished sixth in the ACC this season and are led by senior Haley Cavinder leads the Canes with 12.8 points per outing. Miami averages 70.5 points per game and shoot 43.4 percent from the floor. Katie Meier is 318-223 in her 18th season at the school and is 417-268 in 22 seasons overall. Indiana leads the series 3-2 and the Hoosiers beat the Hurricanes 53-51 on November 21, 2021, in Nassau Bahamas. Tonight’s winner advances to the regional semifinal in Greenville, SC which is set for Friday, March 24 with time and TV designations to be determined.
#4 Seed Indiana University Men’s Basketball beats #13 Kent State in NCAA Tournament First Round Trayce Jackson-Davis made staying up late worthwhile for Indiana fans. The All-American did it all with 24 points, 11 rebounds, five blocked shots and five assists as Indiana defeated 13th-seed Kent State 71-60 Friday night to reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016. Jackson-Davis became the first player since blocks became an official NCAA statistic in 1985-86 to have at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and five assists in an NCAA Tournament game, according to OptaSTATS.
“We’re not trying to hide how we play. He’s been the focal point of our offense, and he’s got to anchor our defense, rebounding and blocking shots for us,” second-year Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. The last of 32 first-round games to tip off was played in front of mostly Indiana fans and their team delivered a no-drama victory to cap what was already a pretty good day. Earlier, the Hoosiers’ in-state, Big Ten rival Purdue became the second No. 1 seed in the history of the tournament to lose to a 16 seed when Fairleigh Dickinson pulled the stunner in Columbus, Ohio.
The Mid-American Conference champs from Kent State couldn’t muster any such magic, shooting 32% from the field. Sincere Carry scored 15 points to lead the Golden Flashes (28-7), who had won six straight heading into tournament under former Indiana assistant coach Rob Senderoff. “It wasn’t for lack of effort at all,” Senderoff said. “It just, you know, shots didn’t fall.” Kent State’s last NCAA victory was in 2002, when the Golden Flashes made a surprising run to the Elite Eight before being eliminated by Indiana.
Well past midnight, Jackson-Davis gave MVP Arena a jolt with six straight spectacular points in the second half. The run started with a one-handed dunk, soaring down the lane. “I finally got a little bit of a groove and had a big play, an energy play,” Jackson-Davis said. “Whenever that happens, my teammates try to get me the ball and they put me in great positions.” A smooth baseline drive was next, followed by a spinning layup to make it 62-50 with 7:39 left. “I thought he made about three or four plays down the stretch to put the game out of reach,” Woodson said. Race Thompson matched a season high with 20 points for the Hoosiers on 8-of-11 shooting. The Hoosiers had a 35-27 at halftime as Thompson took advantage of a Kent State defense that was working hard to limit Jackson-Davis. Thompson scored 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Meanwhile, Jackson-Davis more than made his presence felt with 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks, including a chase down swat of Jalen Sullinger’s layup in the final seconds of the half. “The big, Davis, he dominated tonight. So props to him,” Sullinger said.
#16 Fairleigh Dickinson upsets #1 Purdue Men’s Basketball in NCAA Tournament First Round Fairleigh Dickinson brought down a giant. Pulling off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history, the undersized, underdog Knights stunned top-seeded Purdue 63-58 on Friday night, becoming the second No. 16 seed to win a game in March Madness. The shortest team in the tourney, the Knights (21-15) showed no fear in swarming 7-foot-4 All-America center Zach Edey from the start and simply outplayed the Big Ten champion Boilermakers (29-6). “We just made history, boys … college basketball history, for this whole school,” coach Tobin Anderson told his team in the celebratory locker room. “We’re playing pretty damn well now. Hydrate, do all stuff you do, the ride is not over yet. “We can do something more.” Sean Moore scored 19 points to lead FDU and a relentless defensive charge by a team that now has everyone’s attention.
Five years ago, UMBC showed the way for the little guys by overwhelming Virginia in the first 16-over-1 victory after numerous close calls over the years. Still, No. 16s had a 1-150 record against No. 1s and were 1-151 overall before FDU’s shocker. After the final horn, FDU’s players mobbed each other on the floor of Nationwide Arena, where the fans from Memphis and Florida Atlantic who were waiting for the day’s final game joined forces in cheering on the Knights in the final, frantic minutes. The Knights will now meet the Memphis-FAU winner on Sunday for a Sweet 16 berth and a trip next week to play at Madison Square Garden in New York just a short drive from the private school’s campus in Teaneck, New Jersey. Fairleigh Dickinson didn’t even win the Northeast Conference Tournament, falling by one point in the title game to Merrimack, which couldn’t participate in the NCAA Tournament because of an NCAA rule that bars it from the postseason because it’s still completing its four-year transition from Division II.
FDU held Purdue scoreless for more than 5 1/2 minutes down the stretch and moved ahead by five on a 3-pointer by Moore who is from suburban Columbus with 1:03 left. The Knights held on from there, becoming the second straight double-digit seed to send the Boilermakers home. Purdue was a No. 3 seed when it lost to No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s, another small New Jersey school, in the Sweet 16 last year. Edey finished with 21 point and 15 rebounds in what may have been his final college game, but the Knights were masterful against him in the second half. Edey didn’t attempt a shot in the final nine minutes, and anytime he touched the ball there were Knights all around him. The junior center is a possible NBA lottery pick, but the bitterness of this defeat could sway Edey to stick around for another year.
When Purdue’s late push fell short and its season ended, Edey squeezed the shoulder straps on his jersey and walked stone-faced toward Purdue’s locker room. The Knights’ two prior NCAA Tournament wins came in the First Four, including this year, when they drubbed Texas Southern 84-61. After that game, Anderson told his players he believed they could handle Edey and Co. “The more I see Purdue, the more I think we can beat them,” Anderson said in the locker room. Some of Purdue’s players said they felt disrespected by the comments, which turned out to be prophetic. Just being in the tourney was quite an accomplishment for FDU, which went 4-22 a year ago. This was Anderson’s first season at the school, and after he landed the job in May, he held a practice the first night just so he knew what he had to work with from a team that had the second-worst record in the program’s 58-year history. It wasn’t a lot, so he brought three players 5-foot-8 Demetre Roberts, Grant Singleton and Moore along with him from Division II power St. Thomas Aquinas. Turns out, they’re giant slayers.
And it was the Boilermakers, not the undersized Knights, who were scrambling from the opening tip. Purdue may have had Fairleigh Dickinson outsized on the floor and in the stands as a boisterous group of Boilermakers fans gave their team what felt like a home-court advantage despite being 240 miles from West Lafayette, Indiana. However, when the Knights’ Joe Munden drained a step-back 3-pointer in the first half, “F-D-U!” chants broke out inside the arena and it became obvious this small team had big dreams. Without a player on its roster taller than 6-foot-6, Fairleigh Dickinson sometimes needed two players to guard Edey one in front and one behind and he missed his first three shots before a dunk.
Edey showed some frustration and at one point told one of the officials, “Sir, he’s holding my left arm.” Purdue eventually settled in and reeled off 11 straight points four on Edey free throws to take 24-19 lead. The Knights, though, responded with their own spurt and Heru Bligen’s layup after a steal helped FDU take a 32-31 into halftime. Roberts finished with 12 points and 6-4 forward Cameron Tweedy had 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting for FDU.
Indiana University Women’s Swimming & Diving finishes 7th at the NCAA Championships Indiana women’s swimming and diving tied its program record finish, placing seventh Saturday at the 2023 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships inside the Allan Jones Aquatic Center. A fantastic final night, highlighted by five podium finishes, two NCAA silver medalists and a program-record setting relay, vaulted the Hoosiers from 10th place to seventh – IU’s best finish in the team standings since 2016. Eleven Hoosiers combined for a program-record tying 30 All-America honors. Indiana scored 219 points over the week, coming only second to that 2016 team which tallied 228. A year ago, IU finished 11th nationally with 116 points and 20 All-America honors. Indiana’s finish was better than its national ranking (10) and its psych sheet projection (8) and 18 Hoosier swims finished better than their original seeds.
IU’s sophomore distance duo set the tone Saturday with career performances in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Ching Hwee-Gan finished as the national runner-up after leading for most a majority of the final mile heat and beating her career-best time by seven seconds. Gan’s 15:46.28 is IU’s second time under 15:50.00 and the fastest swim since Lindsay Vrooman’s program record 15:44.45 at the 2014 NCAA Championships. Her 1,000-yard split, however, set a program record in 9:30.71. The Singapore national record holder in multiple long-course events reached the podium in all three events she raced – the 800-freestyle relay, 500 freestyle and 1,650 freestyle. Denigan beat her personal best by five seconds, going 15:52.18 to win the fifth heat as the No. 10 seed in the event coming in. Denigan’s 1,000 free split was also a personal best and No. 3 in program history, dropping a 9:35.50.
Senior Noelle Peplowski ended her collegiate career with a career-best finish in the 200-yard breaststroke. Peplowski placed sixth as a freshman and sophomore and 21st in her fist senior season a year ago. Her decision to return resulted in her return to the podium and a fifth-place finish, going 2:06.16. In her fifth-year senior season, Peplowski became the second-fastest woman in program history in the 200 breast with a 2:05.52 at midseason, only behind Lilly King. Noelle’s sister, sophomore Anna Peplowski, earned maximum points for IU out of the 200-yard backstroke consolation final, finishing ninth in 1:51.84. Her evening time was faster than two swimmers in the championship heat.
For the sixth straight year, IU reached the podium in the platform diving event. Sophomore Skyler Liu finished fourth in the event, tallying a 328.05 score with a low dive of 57.60. In her first national meet, Liu was IU’s top scorer from diving after also earning honorable mention All-America laurels on the 3-meter springboard on Friday. Kristina Paegle was the country’s top freshman performer in the 200-yard freestyle, placing 12th in 47.99. Her time tied her lifetime best set in the preliminary session. Paegle and Peplowski each tallied a team-high six All-America honors. On Saturday, the duo bookended a historic 400-yard freestyle relay performance. IU came into the meet as the No. 11-seeded relay and finished sixth in the nation – the program’s best placement in a relay since 2019. Peplowski (48.46 split), junior Ella Ristic (48.79), senior Ashley Truak (47.94) and Paegle (47.20) bested their own program by over a second in 3:12.39. IU had never finished better than 10th in the 400-freestyle relay. For the first time in program history, IU reached the podium in three relays; the 200 freestyle relay, 400 freestyle relay and 800 freestyle relay.
Bloomington North Boys Basketball ends season with a loss to unbeaten Ben Davis in the Semi State The Bloomington North Boys Basketball team lost to unbeaten Ben Davis in the Class 4A Semi State Saturday afternoon at New Castle HS. The Cougars end the season at 19-6 while Ben Davis improved to 31-0 on the season Ben Davis went on to beat Brownsburg Saturday in the Championship game 66-38 to advance to the state championship game next Saturday Night against Kokomo at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Bloomington North finished the game 22-45 from the field for 48%, 6-19 from three-point range and 5-5 from free throw line. The Cougars pulled down 20 rebounds and committed 24 turnovers. Luke Lindeman led Bloomington North with 16 Points, Dawan Daniels added 13 points and Vanderbilt Signee JQ Roberts scored 5 points pulled down 4 rebounds and had 2 steals.
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