#2 Purdue Hands Indiana a 21-point beatdown in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall
The #2 Purdue Boilermakers handled the Indiana Hoosiers 87-66 before a sold-out crowd in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Tuesday Night. Purdue is 16-2 overall and 5-2 in the Big Ten and will host Iowa on Saturday afternoon. Indiana is 12-6 overall and 4-3 in the Big Ten and travel to Wisconsin on Friday Night. The Boilermakers lead the all-time series 126-92 and get their first win in the series since a 69-67 win in West Lafayette on March 5, 2022.
Zach Edey led Purdue with 33 points and 14 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season and 18th game in double-figures. The 7-4 Center went 11-23 from the field and 11-12 from the free throw line. Fletcher Loyer scored 19 points and went 4-4 from three-point range. Lance Jones added 17 points as Purdue went 22-27 from the free throw line for 81%. Purdue finished the game going 29-62 from the field for 46% and 7-19 from three-point range for 36%. The Boilermakers pulled down 42 rebounds, dished out 14 assists, 7 steals, 2 blocks and committed 8 turnovers. Purdue controlled the paint scoring 38 points, 14 points off turnovers and 10 bench points.
Trey Galloway led the Hoosiers with 17 points and Mackenize Mgbako added 15 for the Hoosiers. Indiana finished 27-65 from the field for 41%, 8-24 from three-point range for 33% and 4-9 from the free throw line for 44%. The Hoosiers had 34 rebounds, 14 assists, 4 steals, 3 blocks and committed 10 turnovers. Gabe Cupps started for the second straight game scoring 5 points in 22 minutes with a rebound, an assist, and 2 turnovers. Xavier Johnson played 19 minutes and did not score along with 2 rebounds, 2 steals, a block and committed 2 turnovers. The Hoosiers had 30 points in the paint, 16 bench points and 12 points off turnovers. Kel’el Ware finished with 5 points and 6 rebounds.
In the first half Mackenize Mgbako scored the first 7 points for the Hoosiers as the game was tied 7-7 with 16:37 left in the first half. Lance Jones gave Purdue the lead 9-7 at the 16:29 mark and never trailed the rest of the game. The Hoosiers got in foul trouble with Mgbako and Ware picking up two first half fouls and Purdue controlled the rest of the first half leading by 10 points at the 10:20 mark and increase the lead to 22 leading 51-29 going into the locker room as Lance Jones hit a three pointer with 5 seconds left in the half. Zach Edey had 18 points and 8 rebounds in the first half. Lance Jones added 13 points and Fletcher Loyer added 11 points.
In the second half the Hoosiers started on an 8-0 run and outscored Purdue 13-2 in the first 3:07 of the second half to trail 53-42 with 17:15 left in the second half before Fletcher Loyer hit a three to put Purdue on top by 14. Gabe Cupps hit a three to cut the Purdue lead to nine with 14:36 left as the Hoosiers got within nine with 12:50 left trailing 60-51 with 12:09 left in the game. Purdue outscored the Hoosiers 27-15 the rest of the way and finished the game on a 12-4 run.
These two rivals will meet once again on February 10, in Mackey Arena. Trey Galloway said after the game “We just didn’t have the next gear to keep it going” after the Hoosiers started the second half so strong. The Senior also was not pleased with the way the Hoosiers played especially in the first half. “There is a difference between playing hard and not smart” Galloway Said. The Hoosier faithful were not pleased with a 21-point loss at home to its archival and head coach Mike Woodson knows that the fan base is not pleased with how the team is performing. Woodson told the Radio Voice of IU Basketball Don Fischer “I love Indiana Basketball, I love the Fans, I really do, I just hope they love me back.
#16 Indiana University Women’s Basketball looks to bounce back against Minnesota
The #16 Indiana Hoosiers will look to bounce back tonight at 8 PM in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall when the Minnesota Golden Gophers pay a visit with the game streaming on peacock. The Hoosiers lost to the #5 Excel H Sports Ranked Iowa Hawkeyes 84-57 last Saturday Night in Iowa City. The Hoosiers struggled from the outside going 5-20 from downtown and were outrebounded 37-28 along with 15 turnovers. Mackenzie Holmes scored 16 points along with 11 points each from Yarden Garzon and Sydney Parrish.
The Hoosiers snapped a 13-game winning streak and come into tonight’s game 14-2 overall and 5-1 in the Big Ten. Sara Scalia gets to face her former team for the second time as in a return trip to her home state on February 1, 2023, the Stillwater, Minnesota scored 10 points as the Hoosiers won 77-54. Scalia played three seasons at Minnesota from 2019-2022 before transferring to Indiana and helping the Hoosiers win the Big Ten Regular Season Title in 2023. Scalia was 0-4 against the Hoosiers had her best game on February 3, 2022, going 7-12 from three-point range and scoring 26 points in 80-70 loss. Scalia scored 52 points against the Hoosiers and Hoosier Nation is thrilled to see her hitting three pointers for them instead of against them as she has 98 of them in a cream and crimson uniform. Scalia is scoring 14.7 points per game and shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc.
Sophomore Lilly Meister hails from Rochester Minnesota as she played 8 minutes scored 2 points and had a block shot against the Golden Gophers. Meister has played in all 16 games this season off the bench averaging 11.2 minutes per game averaging 4.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Mackenzie Holmes leads the way with 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. Yarden Garzon is averaging 11.3 points and Sydney Parrish is averaging 10.6 points per game. Chloe Moore-McNeil averages 9.7 points and leads the team with 4.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Indiana comes in averaging 79.4 points and committing 13.1 turnovers per game. The Hoosiers shoot 51 percent from the field, 38 percent from three-point range and 69 percent from the free throw line. Teri Moren is in her 10th year as the Hoosiers head coach with a 214-95 record and overall record of 413-225 in 21 seasons all in the state of Indiana with the University of Indianapolis from 2001-07 and Indiana State from 2011-14.
Minnesota is 13-3 on the season and 3-2 in the Big Ten after a 62-58 win over Nebraska at home on Sunday afternoon. Sophomore Mallory Heyer led the Golden Gophers with 16 points and 7 rebounds. Fellow Sophomore Amaya Battle added 11 points along with 11 points form Senior Janay Sanders. Leading scorer Mara Braun was held to 9 points and Sophie Hart added 8 points. Minnesota finished 24-59 from the field for 40 percent, 5-17 from three-point range for 29 percent and 9-10 from the free throw line for 90 percent. Mara Braun leads Minnesota with 19 points and 1.7 steals per game. Battle is averaging 10.4 points and leads the team with 5.7 assists per game. Heyer is averaging 10.3 points and team leading 8 rebounds per game with three Double-Doubles this season. Freshman Grace Grocholski adds 10.4 points per game while 6-5 Junior Center Sophie Hart is scoring 10.1 points and a team leading 0.7 blocks per game. Minnesota averages 77.6 points per game and commits 13.3 turnovers per game. The Golden Gophers average 44 percent from the field, 34.7 from threw point range and 70 percent from the free throw line. Minnesota has 15 players on the roster with 8 players from Minnesota along with 2 from Wisconsin and one from Washington, North Carolina, Canada and France. The Golden Gophers have just 4 upperclassmen with 3 sophomores and 8 Freshman.
Dawn Plizuweit is in her first season as head coach of the Golden Gophers after coaching the 2022-23 season at West Virginia with a 19-12 record an NCAA Tournament Appearance. She was 117-39 at Division II Grand Valley State University in Michigan winning the 2006 National Championship. Plizuweit moved to Northern Kentucky going 71-54 from 2012-2016 before heading to the University of South Dakota with 158-35 record from 2016-2022 and taking the Coyotes to the 2022 Sweet 16. She is 378-143 in 17 seasons of coaching and only had one losing season in 2003-04 at Grand Valley State going 13-15 and the only time they did not make the postseason. In the 2019-2020 season South Dakota was 30-2 and headed to the NCAA Tournament when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She has had 8 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 2 WNIT Postseason Appearances along with 4 WBI Postseason Appearances. Plizuweit played at Division II Michigan Tech in Houghton, Michigan from 1990-95 scoring 1,398 points in 120 games going 99-22 but she did play her freshman year.
Minnesota leads the all-time series with the Hoosiers 37-36 as Indiana has won the last six meetings dating back to March of 2019. The Hoosiers have won nine of the last ten meetings since February of 2016. Minnesota beat Indiana in Bloomington on February 6, 2019, as the Hoosiers won the last two meetings at home in 2020 and 2022.
Fran Bell, Wife of Late Indiana University Track and Field Coach Sam Bell passes away at age 94
Fran Bell, the wife of late IU Hall of Fame Track and Field Coach Sam Bell, passed away Sunday. She was 94. Sam and Fran Bell arrived at IU in 1970. They headed to Bloomington after Sam enjoyed highly successful head coaching stints at both Oregon State (1958-65) and Cal-Berkeley (1965-69). Sam quickly elevated the IU program on both the Big Ten and NCAA levels, distinguishing himself among a legendary group of IU head coaches that also included Bob Knight, Doc Counsilman, Hobie Billingsley, Jerry Yeagley, and Lin Loring, among others.
While Sam was building IU into a Big Ten Track and Field powerhouse that would eventually capture 22 combined Big Ten team championships during his tenure from 1970-98, Fran was with him every step of the way and a critical part of the program’s successes. She was a beloved figure to hundreds of Hoosier track and field student-athletes, many of whom continued to visit the family in Bloomington long after Sam’s retirement in 1998 and after Sam’s passing in 2016. While Fran might have been best known in IU Athletics circles for her support of the Track and Field program and its student-athletes, her impact was much wider. She was a long-time and beloved educator who impacted hundreds if not thousands during her distinguished career as a teacher. IU Athletics extends its deepest sympathies to the Bells children Laurie, Julie, and Beth, son Scott, as well as the entire Bell family.
Indiana Pacers drop second straight road game against the Utah Jazz
Lauri Markkanen had 32 points and 10 rebounds, Collin Sexton scored a season-high 30 and the Utah Jazz routed the Indiana Pacers 132-105 on Monday night for their sixth consecutive victory. Keyonte George had 19 points and Jordan Clarkson added 17 for the Jazz, who shot 55.6%. They led wire-to-wire for the second time this season — the other one was Nov. 1. Utah (22-20) has won nine straight at home by an average of 16.8 points. Before the game, Indiana coach Rick Carlisle compared Markkanen to Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki. “He’s the closest thing that I’ve seen to Nowitzki, just in terms of a 7-footer that can really stretch the game out and play inside,” Carlisle said. That was just the latest in a string of recent accolades for the Jazz forward, who then showed his versatility on the court against the Pacers (23-17).
Last week, Markkanen was named Finland’s 2023 Athlete of the Year, and he was selected Western Conference Player of the Week by the NBA for Jan. 8-14. Markkanen has heard the comparison to Nowitzki before but says he can only be himself. “I don’t think it’s easy to live up to that, but I think there are similar similarities. Still, a long way to go. So, it’s nice for him say and it gives me more motivation to get better,” Markkanen said. Known as mild-mannered and humble, Markkanen is finally letting more of his personality show on the court. “He’s out here staring people down and flexing, which I’ve never seen in my life,” said chuckling teammate Walker Kessler, who blocked five shots. Markkanen has scored 30 points or more three times in January and shot at least 10 free throws in three of his last four games. He was 10 for 10 from the line Monday night. “He’s playing really, really physically when he has the ball. We’ve had a couple of games where he’s been able to play against the switch and use his physicality and size against smaller players,” Utah coach Will Hardy said.
Buddy Hield scored 14 points, but just two after the first quarter, and Andrew Nembhard also had 14 for Indiana. The Pacers played their fourth game without team leader Tyrese Haliburton (left hamstring). Indiana was also missing Aaron Nesmith (shin) and Bruce Brown (knee), who had a big game in a 117-109 loss at Denver on Sunday. “We didn’t have fatigue. We’re basketball players, man. That’s what we do. We want to play every day. Just didn’t execute,” Hield said. Simone Fontecchio capped a 25-8 run that spanned the second and third quarters and made it 76-53 with 9:26 left in the third. Playing back-to-back games and missing several critical pieces, the Pacers couldn’t muster a substantial comeback. “Their guards bullied us into the paint and scored repeatedly. We did a lot of substituting, but they just got going and it was just hard to stop their entire team,” Carlisle said.
Sexton doesn’t usually log a lot of minutes, just 24 in this one, but is averaging nearly 29 points per 36 minutes in the last month, the sixth-best rate in the NBA. “I’ve been counted out before. I mean, I’ve been put down, so I feel like right now this is my time to show,” Sexton said. Sexton has scored at least 19 points in six straight games. Since he moved into the starting lineup, the Jazz are 15-3. “I told myself I need to make those winning plays that may change the whole game. So just going out there and just making plays for myself, but also for my team,” Sexton said. Two games after posting a franchise record for field goal percentage (67.1) in Friday’s 126-108 win over Atlanta, the Pacers shot 40% from the field.
Notre Dame Men’s Basketball drops road contest at Boston College
The Notre Dame men’s basketball team waged a back-and-forth battle against Boston College on Monday night which saw 17 lead changes in the contest. The Irish (7-11, 2-5), who had a lead as large as 12 in the first half, and a lead of six with five minutes remaining in the game, couldn’t hold on as they fell to the Eagles (11-6, 2-4) by the final of 63-59. It was really a tale of two halves for Notre Dame. In the first, Notre Dame shot 51.9 percent from the field and were 6-of-12 from three, compared to Boston College’s 33.3 percent from the floor. The Irish also outrebounded the Eagles 22-13 and only turned the ball over four times. In the second, Notre Dame shot 29.2 percent and coughed it up 10 times.
With all that said, the Irish produced a late flurry and had a shot for the lead with 10 seconds left in the game, but Carey Booth’s three-point attempt rimmed out. Speaking of Booth, the freshman impressed with a career high 13 rebounds, 10 of which were defensive boards. He also supplied five points. Freshman guard Markus Burton recorded his highest first-half total all season with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting. The Mishawaka native finished with 19 points, five rebounds and three assists. Burton has now recorded double-digit points in 11 straight games. And keeping with the freshmen theme, Braeden Shrewsberry also finished in double figures with 12 points tonight on 5-of-9 shooting. He’s now produced 57 points over the last four games.
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