Indiana University Men’s Basketball Travels to Nebraska to restart Conference Play
The Indiana Hoosiers resume Big Ten Play at 9pm this evening when they travel to Lincoln Nebraska to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Pinnacle Bank Arena with the game televised on the Big Ten Network. The Hoosiers are 10-3 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten after early December wins over Maryland and Michigan on the road. Nebraska is 11-2 on the season and 1-1 in the Big Ten after a 76-65 loss at Minnesota and a 77-70 win over Michigan State at home in early December.
The Hoosiers beat Kennesaw State 100-87 last Friday Night in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall as Sophomore Malik Reneau scored 34 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for his first career double-double. Mackenize Mgbako and Trey Galloway scored 14 points each, Kaleb Banks scored 12 points and Anthony Walker and Payton Sparks added 10 points apiece. Seven-Footer Kel’el Ware missed the game with a COVID-19 Illness and it is unclear if he will play this evening. Xavier Johnson has been out since November 26 when he injured his foot in the Harvard Game in Indianapolis has started to practice but its unclear when he will return to game action.
Reneau leads the team with 16.2 points per game after scoring 59 points in his last two games. Ware is averaging 14.9 points and leads the team with 8.9 rebounds along with 1.5 blocks per game. Trey Galloway is averaging 11 points and leads the team with 3.5 assists. Mackenize Mgbako who was named the Big Ten Freshman of the week averages 10 points per game and has scored in double figures in eight straight games after a slow start to the season. Xavier Johnson is averaging 10.5 points per game. The Hoosiers average 76.3 points per game, shoot 49% from the field, 32% from three-point range and 68% from the free throw line. Freshman Gabe Cupps has only committed 6 turnovers since being inserted into the starting lineup on December 1, against Maryland. Cupps has had three games since replacing Johnson in the starting lineup in which he has not committed a turnover.
Nebraska is on a four-game winning streak since dropping back-to-back games Creighton 89-60 and Minnesota. The Huskers started the season 7-0 and they are coming off a 91-62 win against South Carolina State last Friday at home. C.J. Wilcher led the Huskers with 18 points off the bench, Brice Williams added 16 points and 10 points apiece from Josiah Allick and Eli Rice. The Huskers led 50-11 at halftime and were outscored 51-41 in the second half. Nebraska is 9-1 at home this season and has a three-game home winning streak.
The Huskers have a balance scoring attack with Brice Williams leading the way at 13.7 points per game. Juwan Gary averages 13.3 points and leads the team with 1.4 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. The Huskers have 6-10 Reink Mast in the middle who averages 13.0 points and leads the team with 9.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists. Keisei Tominaga averages 12.7 points and can be a deep threat once he gets going from beyond the arc. The Huskers shoot 33% from three-point range, along with 44% from the field and 73% from the free throw line. Nebraska averages 77.6 points per game.
Indiana leads the all-time series with Nebraska 19-7 and have won the last 7 meetings dating back to December 13, 2019 when the Hoosiers beat the Huskers 96-90 in Lincoln in Overtime. Nebraska last beat the Hoosiers 66-51 in Bloomington on January 4, 2019. Indiana is 9-4 all time in Lincoln and have won the last three meetings as the Huskers beat the Hoosiers February 20, 2018 66-57 for their last home win in the series. Indiana and Nebraska met nine times before Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011 and the Hoosiers won eight of those nine meetings. Indiana is 11-6 all time against the Huskers in Big Ten Matchups.
Indiana University Men’s Basketball player Mackenize Mgbako named Big Ten Freshman of the Week
Indiana freshman forward Mackenize Mgbako was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week, the conference announced on Tuesday afternoon. The Gladstone, N.J., native averaged 13.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists on 6-of-16 (37.5%) shooting from the 3-point line in a trio of non-conference games against Morehead State (Dec. 19), North Alabama (Dec. 21), and Kennesaw State (Dec. 29).
Mgbako tallied 13 points, seven rebounds, and one assist in 32 minutes against Morehead State. He followed with 12 points, five rebounds, three assists, and one block in 23 minutes against North Alabama. He wrapped up the holiday slate with 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the 3-point line to go along with six rebounds and three assists in just 14 minutes against Kennesaw State. He is the first Hoosier to earn a Big Ten weekly honor this season and first IU freshman to be named Big Ten Freshman of the Week since Jalen Hood-Schifino on Feb. 27. JHS claimed the award four times last season before being drafted No. 17 overall by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Indiana University Volleyball’s Morgan Geddes returning for her Fifth Season
Indiana outside hitter Morgan Geddes will use her COVID-19 waiver to play one more year for the Hoosiers in the 2024 season, as officially announced on Tuesday morning. Geddes, a member of IU’s 15th-ranked recruiting class in 2020, has played in 98 contests across four seasons for the Hoosiers including 27 in each of the past two years. “I am beyond fortunate to spend another season with this group,” Geddes said. “The support this program has is amazing and it is an honor to be a part of.”
The Grove City, Ohio has compiled 490 kills in the past two seasons including 266 (2.56 per set) in 2022 and 224 (2.41 per set) in 2023. She transitioned back to being a left-side attacker in 2023 where she hit .217 on the season. Geddes has gone for 713 kills in her four years in Bloomington and has steadily improved her hitting percentage across all four seasons. She has 138 total blocks and has become efficient at the service line with 34 aces including 25 in the past two years.
She will be the fourth player in the past four years, and the final one, to take advantage of the COVID-19 waiver in Bloomington. Brooke Westbeld (2021), Paula Cerame (2022) and Kaley Rammelsberg (2023) all thrived in their fifth and final season of college volleyball at IU. Geddes went for 10+ kills on nine occasions in Big Ten play last season including a career-high 18 kills and six blocks at Rutgers on November 3rd. She hit .229 in the final 10 games of the season in a stretch that included six matches of 10+ kills. IU will have a veteran group on the pins in 2024 with a collection of returners that includes Geddes, Avry Tatum, Mady Saris and Candela Alonso-Corecelles.
Indiana University Men’s Soccer player Patrick McDonald to return for his Fifth Season
Indiana men’s soccer junior midfielder and 2023 All-Big Ten first teamer Patrick McDonald announced on Tuesday his intention to play his senior season at IU after Toronto FC selected him in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft. McDonald was the first selection in the third round of the draft, picked No. 59 overall. “It is a dream come true to be selected by Toronto FC in the MLS draft,” McDonald said in a social media post. “Big thanks to Indiana men’s soccer and all of my coaches, teammates and support staff – without them none of this would have been possible. These last two-and-a-half years at IU have been nothing short of incredible. “With that being said, I’m excited to be returning to IU for one last season! We have some unfinished business, and I’m excited to help this team get back to where we belong!”
Over three seasons, McDonald has appeared in 69 of 71 matches – missing only two matches against NCAA Division-III Trine in 2022 and 2023. He started 23 of 24 matches played as a sophomore and all 23 played as a junior as Indiana advanced to the Elite Eight and won the Big Ten championship double. McDonald’s 2023 season saw career-high output, totaling 11 points from three goals and five assists. The junior had a goal and two assists in the NCAA Tournament – he assisted Hugo Bacharach twice at No. 10 national seed Wake Forest and scored a late game-tying goal at No. 2 Notre Dame in the Elite Eight. McDonald has totaled 20 points in his career from six goals and eight assists.
Phillip Dunnam is not returning to the Indiana University Football Team
A Day after Phillip Dunnam said he withdrew his name from the transfer portal and return to the Indiana University Football team, it was announced that he will not return to the Indiana University Football team and kept his name in the transfer portal. Dunnam told The Daily Hoosier there was a misunderstanding with the new staff and he will not be returning to the team and deleted his social media post indicating he planned to return.
Regarded as one of IU’s best defensive playmakers, Dunnam had three interceptions, 53 tackles and nine passes defensed in 2023. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Miami, Fla. native was one of only two true freshmen in 2022 (Jaylin Lucas) to not redshirt. Dunnam was a relatively unheralded prospect out of North Miami Beach H.S., but he quickly flashed his potential in Bloomington. New head coach Curt Cignetti saw both Dunnam, and his fellow starter Louis Moore enter the portal. Moore will play for Ole Miss next season, and to this point Indiana has not landed anyone on the back end via the portal. With Dunnam not in the picture for 2024 Indiana will have depth at the strong safety position with returners Josh Sanguinetti, Bryson Bonds, Tyrik McDaniel, Amare Ferrell and freshman Jah Jah Boyd also in the mix for snaps.
Indiana University Wrestling in second place at the Southern Scuffle
It was a busy day for Indiana Wrestling as 13 Hoosiers took on wrestlers from 19 other programs in one of the country’s most prestigious tournaments to start the new year. Through the first two sessions, nine Hoosiers are still alive in the tournament field with six of them winning their first three matches to reach the semifinals. The following will wrestle in the semifinals: No. 22 Dan Fongaro (141), No. 22 Graham Rooks (149), Tyler Lillard (165), No. 10 DJ Washington (174), Roman Rogotzke (184) and Gabe Sollars (197). Blaine Frazier (125), Michael Spangler (125) and Clayton Fielden (174) are all alive in the wrestlebacks. After day one, the Hoosiers are in second place in the team standings with 81.5 points. They only trail Stanford who is sitting in first with 97 points. Oklahoma sits in third with 77.5 points.
No. 24 Dan Fongaro (141) won in bonus-point style in his first two matches with a pin and a win by tech fall. No. 22 Graham Rooks (149) opened the tournament with two tight matches that were decision victories. He easily won his quarterfinal match over Jeremiah Price (App State) with a pin in the first period (2:40). Tyler Lillard (165) dominated his opponents all day, picking up two pins in his first two matches, only to follow up with a 21-5 tech fall victory (6:39) over No. 27 Hunter Garvin (Stanford). No. 10 DJ Washington (174) won his first match by major decision and had two pins after that. In his Round of 16 match, he pinned Oklahoma State’s Blake Skidgel in 21 seconds. Roman Rogotzk (184) won both of his matches by a combined plus-15 point-differential.
Gabe Sollars (197) won his first two matches by fall. Lillard’s win over No. 27 Hunter Garvin (Stanford) was his second ranked win of the year and his career.
Blaine Frazier (125) picked up his first ranked victory of his career, defeating No. 31 Ethan Berginc (Army) by decision, 8-5 in the Round of 16. Eleven of Sollars’ 15 wins this season have been by fall. This is Indiana’s first appearance in the Southern Scuffle since 2012. As a team, the Hoosiers had a combined 11 falls.
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