Indiana University Men’s Basketball road woes continue in a loss at Rutgers
The Indiana Hoosiers fell to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 66-57 in Jersey Mike’s Arena Tuesday Night in Piscataway, New Jersey. The Hoosiers have lost their last five games in Piscataway since 2019 and it’s the third time the Hoosiers have scored less than 60 points facing the Scarlet Knights on the road. Rutgers leads the all-time series 9-8 and won seven of the last eight meetings with the Hoosiers since 2020. Indiana is 3-5 all time on the road against the Scarlet Knights. Indiana got 13 points and 17 rebounds from Kel’el Ware for his sixth double-double of the season. Malik Reneau added 13 points and Freshman Mackenize Mgbako who hails from Gladstone, New Jersey which 19.7 miles away from the Rutgers campus scored 13 points in a return to his home state.
The Hoosiers struggled from the field going 23-58 for 39%, 7-26 from three-point range for 27% and 4-15 from the free throw line for 26%. The Hoosiers pulled down 40 rebounds, dished out 17 assists, 10 steals, 5 blocks and committed 18 turnovers which was a big difference then the 4 turnovers the Hoosiers had against Ohio State last Saturday night at home. Xavier Johnson scored 2 points and committed 5 turnovers and was ejected with 13:10 left in the second half for going below the belt on Rutgers big man Antione Wolfolk and being called for a flagrant two foul. The Hoosiers were trailing 39-35 at that point. Malik Reneau got the Hoosiers within one 39-38 with 11:41 left as Rutgers went on 6-0 run to make it 45-38 forcing Mike Woodson to take a timeout. Rutgers stretched the run to 12-0 on a dunk by Mawot Mag with 6:32 left to play as the Hoosiers could not get any closer than six down the stretch.
Mawot Mag led the Scarlet Knights with 13 points, Aundre Hyatt added 12 points. Derek Simpson, Austin Williams and Jamichael Davis all had 10 points apiece. Rutgers finished the game 21-65 from the field for 32%, 5-22 from three-point range for 27% and 19-28 from the free throw line for 68%. The Scarlet Knights pulled down 51 rebounds, dished out 12 assists, 9 steals, 7 blocks and committed 15 turnovers. Rutgers is 9-6 and 1-3 in the Big Ten and as the Hoosiers number especially at home making it one of the toughest places to play in the Big Ten.
In the first half Rutgers jumped out to a 7-2 lead and then Hoosiers led 9-7 on a Kel’el Ware dunk Indiana extended the lead to 16-9 with 11:02 left in the first half on a Ware layup. But the offense struggled as Mike Woodson went deep into his bench for two different stretches having four subs in the game simultaneously with either Kel’el Ware or Xavier Johnson. By the time Woodson went back to his starters the momentum had already flipped. Indiana scored seven points over the final nine minutes of the half 30-27 after Derek Simpson hit a bank shot three pointer at the buzzer to give Rutgers the lead going into the locker room. Woodson defended his decision to deep into his bench. “I’m not going to sit here and answer that question about the fans or you. I went to my bench, and I felt good about it. We just have to be more solid” Woodson said after the game. The Hoosiers turned it over 11 times in the opening half leading to 12 points for the Scarlet Knights.
Indiana 1-2 in true road games and 2-3 in neutral site games and will return home on Friday Night to take on Minnesota. Mike Woodson is not throwing in the towel yet and it’s on to the next game. “Work. Continue to work. That’s all you can do. We go to practice tomorrow and get ready for Minnesota. And I have got to get them over the hump” Woodson said after the game.
#14 Indiana University Women’s Basketball faces high scoring Penn State in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall
#14 Indiana Hoosiers face a high scoring Penn State Nittany Lions squad at 7pm this evening inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall with the game streamed on Big Ten Network Plus. The Nittany Lions come in with a 10-4 record and a 1-2 mark in the Big Ten. Penn State beat Northwestern 95-55 last Tuesday night in State College, PA. Penn State led 49-29 at half and outscored the Wildcats 46-26 in the second half. The Lady Lions put four in double-figures led by Ali Brigham with 17 points, Tay Valladay added 16, Shay Ciezki scored 15 and Leilani Kapinus scored 12 points as Penn State hit 12 three pointers in the game. Penn State will be without leading scorer Makenna Marisa who suffered a leg injury on December 10, 2023 in a 94-84 overtime to Ohio State. Marisa scored 28 points but suffered the injury with 1:51 left in overtime and has missed last four games and is averaging 17.2 points through 10 games played this season.
Shay Ceizki averages 16.2 points along with team leading 3.1 assists per game and scored 40 points against Central Connectiut State on December 20, 2023. Kapinus averages 10.6 points along with a team leading 6.2 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. Tay Valladay averages 11.4 points and Ali Brigham averages 10.5 points per game as Penn State averages 88.6 points on the season and they give up 67.4 on defense. The Lady Lions are a team who love to share the basketball averaging 19.1 assists and turn teams over averaging 10.1 steals per game. Penn State is shooting 51% from the field, 41% from three-point range and 77% from the free throw line. When the Lady Lions hit their average 9.4 three pointers per game, they are 7-0 this season.
Indiana is 13-1 and 4-0 in the Big Ten and comes into the game with a 12-game winning streak. The Hoosiers are 4-0 for the second time in Big Ten Play and the first since the 2019-20 season. The Hoosiers are averaging 81.3 points per game and when Hoosiers score 67 points or more, they are 12-0 on the season. The Hoosiers are shooting 52% from the field and have held their opponents to 37% on the season and IU is 6-0 this season when shot better than their season average. Indiana beat Nebraska 91-69 on Sunday Afternoon in Lincoln as the Hoosiers set school record with 14 three pointers which is the most in a road game. Mackenize Holmes scored 22 points, Sydney Parrish added 20 points, Sara Scalia scored 19 and Chloe Moore-McNeil added 16 points.
Mackenize Holmes is leading the team with 19.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. Sara Scalia is averaging 15.6 points per game and leading the team shooting 45% from three-point range. Yarden Garzon is averaging 11.6 points per game and 9.9 points per game from Sydney Parrish who has drilled nine three pointers in the last two games. Chloe Moore-McNeil is averaging 9.3 points while leading the team with 4.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Indiana averages 19.9 assists per game and gives 58.6 points per game on defense.
Penn State leads the all-time series with Indiana 33-19 as the Hoosiers have won last six meetings dating back to 2018 and 10 of the last 11 meetings. Penn State beat Indiana 77-74 on January 3, 2017 in State College and the last time the Hoosiers lost to Penn State at Home was February 13, 2014 71-63 as Indiana has won the last five meetings at home dating back to 2015.
Teri Moren is 412-224 in her 21 seasons as a head coach and 213-94 in her 10th season at Indiana. Carolyn Keiger is 51-77 in her 5th season at Penn State and 150-142 in her 10th season as a head coach after five seasons at her alma mater Marquette going 99-54 with three straight NCAA Tournament Appearances from 2017-19. Keiger played at Marquette from 2002-06 scoring 1,277 points In 124 games.
Indiana University Football Athletic Performance staff finalized Indiana Football Head Coach Curt Cignetti and Director of Athletic Performance for Football Derek Owings have finalized the addition of four staff members to guide the program’s strength and conditioning efforts. Owings was announced as the Head of the Football Athletic Performance on Dec. 13 and now adds the expertise of Nate Adams, Carl Miller, Jared Myatt, and Julian Whitehead.
Adams joins the Hoosiers after working with Owings at James Madison for the past three seasons. He helped the Dukes transition from the FCS level to FBS play after his first season and earn the program’s first FBS bowl berth in 2023. JMU was 31-7 overall during that span with a pair of Sun Belt East Division titles and an appearance in the FCS Playoff semifinal in 2021. Prior to JMU, Adams spent time at The Citadel and with the New York Football Giants.
Four seasons at the University of Wyoming, Miller helped the Cowboys to three-straight winning seasons, three-straight Bowl appearances, and three victories over Colorado State in the Border War. A victory in the 2023 Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl accounted for the ninth win of the season, the program’s most since 1996 (10). Prior to UW, he spent time at Colorado State and Mercer.
Myatt spent one year with Live Oaks High School in Watson, Louisiana, near Baton Rouge, as the director of athletic performance. He worked with the football and baseball programs at the school and developed and installed training systems for both programs. A one-year stop at Texas Tech as the assistant strength coach for football followed three seasons at Northwestern State as the director of strength and conditioning from 2017-19.
A trio of bowl appearances, the program record for victories in a season (11) and a Mountain West Conference championship highlighted Whitehead’s three seasons at Utah State. Three Aggies earned All-America honors during his time at USU and five were named first-team All-Mountain West during his tenure. A two-year letterwinner at Ole Miss, he also spent time on staff at South Carolina and Ole Miss prior to his time at USU.
Indiana University Volleyball’s Reese Hazelton Named Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year
In its 39th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade announced on Monday that Indiana University Freshman Volleyball’s Reese Hazelton of Philipsburg-Osceola Senior High School is the 2023-24 Gatorade Pennsylvania Volleyball Player of the Year. Hazelton who enrolled for the 2024 Spring Semester at Indiana Unviersity is the first Gatorade Pennsylvania Volleyball Player of the Year to be chosen from Philipsburg-Osceola Senior High School. The award, which celebrates the nation’s top high school athletes for excellence on the court, in the classroom and in the community, distinguishes Hazelton as Pennsylvania’s best high school volleyball player. From CEOs and coaches to star athletes, Gatorade Player of the Year winners showcase the power of sport, touting an all-star group of alumni that includes Harper Murray (2022-23, Skyline High School, Mich.), Kerri Walsh Jennings (1995-96, Archbishop Mitty High School, Calif.) and April Ross (1999-00, Newport Harbor High School, Calif.).
The 6-foot-2 senior outside hitter led the Mountaineers to a 26-0 record and the Class 2A state championship this past season. Hazelton amassed 692 kills and 385 digs, including a 40-kill, 23-dig effort in her team’s 3-1 win over Trinity High in the state final. A four-time Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association First Team All-State selection, Hazelton also tallied 63 service aces, 40 assists and 37 blocks while posting a .503 kill percentage and a .400 hitting.
percentage. She concluded her prep volleyball career with 2,497 kills and 1,444 digs. An active member of the YMCA of Centre County, Hazelton has volunteered locally as a Mountie Mentor to help freshmen students during their first year of high school. She has also donated her time to multiple community.
service initiatives through her church youth group. “Reese had a large impact on her team and is the most dangerous player out there,” said Laurie Corcoran, head coach of Allentown Central Catholic High School. “She is dynamic on the court. That team would have never had the success it had the past several years if she were not there.” Hazelton has maintained an A average in the classroom. She has signed a National Letter of Intent to play volleyball on scholarship at Indiana University this fall.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls’ volleyball, boys’ and girls’ cross country, boys’ and girls’ basketball, boys’ and girls’ soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection
Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help evaluate and determine the state winners in each sport.
Hazelton joins recent Gatorade Pennsylvania Volleyball Players of the Year Mia Tuman (2022-23 & 2021-22, North Allegheny Senior High School), Paige Morningstar (2020-21, North Allegheny High School) and Macy Van Den Elzen (2019-20, Emmaus High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.
As part of Gatorade’s commitment to breaking down barriers in sport, every Player of the Year also receives a grant to donate to a social impact partner. To date, Gatorade Player of the Year winners’ grants have totaled more than $4.9 million across more than 1,600 organizations.
Indiana University Men’s Soccer Assistant Coach Kevin Robson named among the Nation’s Top Assistant Coaches
Indiana men’s soccer associate head coach Kevin Robson has been named a Top Assistant Coach by College Soccer News, the publication announced. CSN annually recognizes the nation’s best assistants, this year naming 14 coaches to its list. In 2023, Robson helped Indiana reach the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight after winning the Big Ten Championship double. The Hoosiers finished Top 10 nationally despite a 3-3-4 start to the season, winning 12 of their final 14 matches. Indiana owns a 146-35-41 record in Robson’s 10 seasons as an assistant, reaching the NCAA College Cup on four occasions and winning eight Big Ten Championships. Since Robson became recruiting coordinator in 2017, the Hoosiers have brought in top-12 signing classes each year.
Robson returned to Bloomington in July 2013 after stints as both a player (2003-06) and student coach (2007). Robson was a member of IU’s 2003 and 2004 NCAA title teams and was also a member of five Big Ten Championship teams during his career (three regular season and two tournament championships). Robson led the Hoosiers in assists with six in 2006 and finished second in that category on the 2004 title team.
Purdue Set to Face No. 3 Iowa at Sold-Out Mackey Arena
After a week off, Purdue Women’s Basketball (9-5 / 2-1) is set for a sold-out Mackey Arena when it hosts No. 3 Iowa (15-1 / 4-0) on Wednesday night at 8pm The Boilermakers will make their debut on Peacock with Zora Stephenson on the play-by-play and Kim Adams as analyst. Tim Newton and Jane Schott will have the call for the Purdue Global Radio Network on 95.3 BOB FM.
Purdue leads the all-time series with Iowa 40-38. The Hawkeyes have won the last seven matchups. Purdue’s last win over Iowa came on Jan. 10, 2019, at Mackey Arena when the Hawkeyes were ranked No. 17. Wednesday night is officially a sellout at Mackey Arena. It marks the second straight year with a sellout for the Boilermakers and the fourth in Purdue history. Purdue set a new attendance record against No. 4 Indiana last season with a crowd of 14,876, the first sellout since the 1999-2000 season.
The Boilermakers were slated to play at Maryland on Saturday, but a roof leak at the XFINITY Center postponed the game until Jan. 14 back out in College Park. Last time on the court, Purdue outlasted a late run by Rutgers to win 77-76 at Mackey Arena. Madison Layden led the way on the offensive end with 19 points, while Rashunda Jones added 10 points off the bench. Purdue totaled 16 points off 15 Rutgers turnovers, while committing just 10 giveaways in the win.
Fans are encouraged to bring gently worn winter clothing and Purdue gear to donate to Lafayette Urban Ministries. Those who donate clothes will receive a 10% discount to purdueteamstore.com. Fans can also bring canned or non-perishable food items that will go to ACE Food Pantry.
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