NBA All Star Weekend in Indianapolis is underway
Indianapolis will serve as host for one of the biggest dates on the NBA calendar, the All-Star Game. The game itself tips off Sunday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Before that, however, there are several events scheduled around the Circle City, which is expecting some 125,000 visitors for the festivities. All-Star Weekend officially tipped off Thursday night with an event at Bicentennial Unity Plaza. “The Tip-off” started at 6 p.m. It’s a collaboration between the NBA All-Star Host Committee, GANGGANG, Innovative and Dodd Technologies. Former Indiana Fever player and WNBA Champion Tamika Catchings and comedian Mike Epps will emcee the event. The 45-minute program includes musical performances, appearances by NBA and Pacers legends and a fireworks display.
Here’s a look at some of the All-Star events: Last Night: “The Tip-Off,” 6 p.m. (Bicentennial Unity Plaza, event was sold out) NBA on TNT American Express Road Show, 6:30 p.m. (Indiana Convention Center, event was sold out) Circle City All-Star DJ’s Welcome Party, 8 p.m. (HI-FI Indianapolis) All-Star Gospel Celebration, 7 p.m. (Madame Walker Legacy Center)
Tonight – SLAM Film Festival, Living Room Theaters (runs through Feb. 18) Through 2 Eyes Walk and Talk History Tour NBA Crossover (Indiana Convention Center, runs through Feb. 18) Courtside Concert featuring Zedd and T-Pain, 9 p.m. (sold out) Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, 7 p.m. (Lucas Oil Stadium) Panini NBA Rising Stars, 9 p.m. (Gainbridge Fieldhouse)
Saturday- NBA All-Star Practice and Media Day (Gainbridge Fieldhouse), 11 a.m. NBA Crossover (Indiana Convention Center, runs through Feb. 18) HBCU Classic featuring Winston-Salem State University and Virginia Union University, 2 p.m. (Gainbridge Fieldhouse, event is sold out) NBA Experiences Saturday Pregame Concert featuring Keith Urban, Walker Hayes, 3 p.m. (Indiana Convention Center) State Farm All-Star Saturday Night with AT&T Slam Dunk, Starry 3-Point Contest and Kia Skills Challenge, 8 p.m. (Lucas Oil Stadium) NBA on TNT All-Star Celebration Concert featuring Jelly Roll, 9:30 p.m.
Sunday- Last day for NBA Crossover (Indiana Convention Center) All-Star Game Pregame Concert featuring Lil Wayne, 3 p.m. (sold out) NBA All-Star Game, 8 p.m. (Gainbridge Fieldhouse) Learn more about the events and find tickets at the NBA’s All-Star Events website.
Indiana University Swimmer Kai van Westering Qualifies for the 2024 Paris Olympics
Indiana swimming and diving junior Kai van Westering qualified for the Olympics Thursday while representing the Netherlands in the 200-yard backstroke at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar. Van Westering swam a 1:57.29 in prelims heats before upgrading his time to 1:56.91 in the semifinal. Both are under the Olympic Qualifying Time of 1:57.50. His seventh-place finish in the semis also qualifies him for his first World Championships final, which he’ll swim Friday. Van Westering is in his second season for IU swim and dive program. He was a valuable member of Indiana’s Big Ten Champion team last season, scoring in all three events he raced at the conference meet. The Paris Games will be a sort of homecoming for van Westering, who grew up in France but represents the Netherlands in competition as his father is Dutch.
Big Ten Announces 2024 Volleyball opponent rotation
Ahead of an expansion to 18 schools for the 2024-25 school year, the Big Ten Conference revealed volleyball opponent rotations for the 2024 campaign on Thursday afternoon. UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington will join the Big Ten officially on August 2nd, 2024, just a month out from the beginning of the college volleyball season. Of the 18 members for next year, 12 will have played in a Final Four during their history with six of them winning at least one national title. The Big Ten will continue the traditional 20-game conference model while playing 14 opponents once (seven home, seven away) and three teams twice (both home and away). All 42 matchups that didn’t occur at a certain site in 2023 will happen in 2024. Geography and competitive balance for two-plays were considered to the extent possible. IU will meet Purdue, Illinois and Ohio State twice in 2024.
The Hoosiers will have home contests with Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Penn State, UCLA, USC and Wisconsin along with the three double-play opponents. Trips to Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, Rutgers and Washington will also be on the docket. IU will face Oregon for the first time in program history this season while meeting UCLA and Washington for a rematch of last year’s contests in Long Beach. The Hoosiers will play USC for the first time since the 2010 Sweet 16. A full schedule, featuring dates and non-conference opponents, will be announced in the summer.
2024 Big Ten Opponents – Indiana
Home Only: – Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Penn State, UCLA, USC, Wisconsin Away Only: – Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, Rutgers, Washington Double Play: – Illinois, Ohio State, Purdue
Indiana Pacers beat the Toronto Raptors before the All-Star Break
Tyrese Haliburton had 21 points and 12 assists, Pascal Siakam scored 23 against his former team and the Indiana Pacers beat the Toronto Raptors 127-125 on Wednesday night. Isaiah Jackson added 15 points and 11 rebounds, Obi Toppin scored 15 and Andrew Nembhard had 14 as the Pacers bounced back from Monday’s loss at Charlotte. Scottie Barnes had 29 points and 12 rebounds, and Jakob Poeltl added 19 points and 11 boards for the Raptors. Barnes finished with eight assists, narrowly missing a triple double.
Barnes missed a shot with 39 seconds left in the fourth quarter that would have given Toronto a 125-124 lead. Siakam answered by scoring with 25 seconds remaining to give Indiana a three-point edge. Poeltl cut it to 126-125 by making two free throws with 14.7 seconds to go. Jackson made one of two at the other end, giving the Pacers a two-point lead with 9.5 seconds left. RJ Barrett’s driving shot at the buzzer didn’t fall as the Raptors lost their third straight. Barrett scored 23 points, Immanuel Quickley had 14 and Bruce Brown, acquired in last month’s trade involving Siakam, scored 12 against his former team.
Doug McDermott had 13 points and Ben Sheppard scored 10 for the Pacers, who are 14-14 on the road. The Raptors scored a season-high 84 points in the paint and outscored Indiana 40-12 on fast-break points. Toronto fans opened a set of four straight home games last Friday by welcoming former Raptors guard Fred VanVleet back as Houston visited. They closed it on Valentine’s Day in an emotional reunion with Siakam, who was honored with a video tribute during pregame introductions. Raptors players applauded and the crowd gave Siakam a standing ovation. Indiana’s Benedict Mathurin was not available because of an illness and a bruised right knee. Pacers center Myles Turner also sat out because of an illness, while Jalen Smith missed his third straight game because of back spasms.
The Pacers lost forward Aaron Nesmith early in the second half when he fell hard on a drive to the basket and had to be helped to the locker room. Toronto’s Kelly Olynyk was scoreless in seven minutes in the first half. He didn’t return after the break because of a sore lower back. Haliburton scored 10 points in the first quarter, but Barrett had 12 for the Raptors, who led 35-31 after one and 71-65 at halftime. Siakam capped a personal 7-0 run and gave Indiana its first lead, 77-75, on a jump shot with 9:24 left in the third. Quickley had nine points in the quarter as Toronto reclaimed the lead and took a 103-101 advantage into the fourth.
Indy Eleven Women’s Soccer Team announces 2024 W-League Regular Season Schedule
The 2023 USL W League Champion Indy Eleven women’s team today announced the complete 2024 schedule, featuring five matches to be played at the Grand Park Events Center in Westfield, Indiana. The Girls in Blue open their National and Valley Division title defense on May 14 at rival Racing Louisville FC, before returning home to host back-to-back games against Kings Hammer FC (May 20) and St. Charles FC (May 23). The month closes on the road at St. Charles FC on May 29. June features six matches, including three straight at home to open the month with Lexington SC (June 2), Louisville (June 7) and Kings Hammer (June 12) coming to town. The regular season concludes with three matches on the road at Lexington (June 18), Kings Hammer (June 21) and Louisville (June 30).
The W League’s Valley Division remains unchanged after nearly 20 expansion teams joined the once 65-team league. Indy is 11-1-2 all-time against its Valley opponents, including 8-1-2 in 2023. In addition to winning the W League Championship, Indy Eleven was named the W League Organization of the Year in 2023 and saw its second straight playoff appearance since the league’s inception in 2022. The squad led all organizations with four selections on 2023 Teams of the Year. Sam Dewey was honored on the league’s first team along with earning the W League’s Valley Division Player of the Year, while Nona Reason, Grace Bahr and Alia Martin picked up second-team accolades. Martin was also selected as the USL W League Final MVP. Ticket information for home matches will be available in the weeks to come. Fans who also hold a season ticket plan for Indy Eleven’s USL Championship men’s team receive access to all Indy Eleven W League home matches at Grand Park. Parking at the Events Center is free on gamedays.
2024 Schedule (All times ET / Home Matches in Bold)
Tuesday, May 14 | at Racing Louisville FC | 6 p.m.
Monday, May 20 | Kings Hammer FC | 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 23 | St. Charles FC | 7 p.m.
Wednesday, May 29 | at St. Charles FC | 7 p.m.
Sunday, June 2 | Lexington SC | 2 p.m.
Friday, June 7 | Racing Louisville FC | 7 p.m.
Wednesday, June 12 | Kings Hammer FC | 7 p.m.
Tuesday, June 18 | at Lexington SC | 6 p.m.
Friday, June 21 | at Kings Hammer FC | 7 p.m.
Sunday, June 30 | at Racing Louisville FC | 4 p.m.
2 Boilermakers named to Naismith Trophy Midseason Team
Purdue’s Zach Edey and Braden Smith have been named to the 2024 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Men’s College Player of the Year Midseason Team, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today. The pair are two of 30 players nationally selected and two of four Big Ten players (Northwestern’s Boo Buie, Michigan State’s Tyson Walker) on the list. In addition, there are just four teams with two players named to the chart as the Boilermaker duo joins tandems from Houston, Kansas and North Carolina to have two representatives. Lastly, Braden Smith is one of just three sophomores or younger on the list, joining Duke’s Kyle Filipowski and Iowa State’s Tamin Lipsey.
Last year’s recipient, Zach Edey, has the inside track to repeating in 2024 thanks to a dominating start for the Boilermakers. Edey is third in the country in both scoring (23.2 PPG) and rebounding (11.7 RPG) while producing 17 double-doubles. He surpassed the 2,000-point barrier for his career in the win over Rutgers (Jan. 28) and ranks fourth on Purdue’s career points list (2,091) and second on the rebounds chart (1,128). He is the school record-holder in career double-doubles (56) and has scored in double-figures in a school-record 75 straight games. This year, he has already produced five 30-10 games, the most in the country and his 13 career 30-10 games are the most for a Big Ten player in the last 15 years by eight games (Luka Garza – 5).
Smith, meanwhile, has had a sensational season for the Boilermakers as their starting point guard, averaging 12.4 points, 7.1 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game. He is one of two players nationally (Marquette’s Tyler Kolek) to average at least 12.0 points, 7.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds and is on pace to become just the third player in Big Ten history to reach those averages (Denzel Valentine, Magic Johnson). Based on a 38-game season, Smith is on pace to surpass 450 points, 250 assists and 200 rebounds, which would make him one of three players (BYU’s Kyle Collinsworth, UCLA’s Lonzo Ball) to reach those marks in a season.
Taylor Men’s Basketball falls short against #5 Indiana Wesleyan during in-state rivalry
Taylor University (9-16, 4-11 CL) struggled to a 99-61 defeat against cross-county rivals and NAIA #5 Indiana Wesleyan on Wednesday night, with IWU shooting 56.9 percent from the field.
Anton Webb notched his 13th double-double of the season with 20 points and 15 rebounds in 30 minutes of action for the Trojans. The junior transfer has now tallied 18 double-doubles in his TU career. Webb added a team-high three assists and one steal in an all-around terrific outing. The game was played at a ferocious pace, with both teams hitting shots in the first three minutes of action. TU’s offense cooled significantly during an 18-3 run over the next five minutes, which put the Wildcats up double-digits for good.
The Trojans made a small run at the end of the half to cut the lead to 43-32 before IWU banked in a full-court shot to end the period, as the Wildcats had every bounce go their way throughout the night. Webb almost had a double-double in the first half, grabbing eight rebounds and putting up 13 points.
The teams traded buckets after coming out of the locker until another IWU (22-3, 13-2 CL) run, this time 16-1, to secure a comfortable 29-point lead. As IWU’s offense continued to fire on all cylinders, the Trojans were able to keep them from putting up 100, with the bench matching the Wildcats 9-9 over the final four minutes. TU struggled from beyond the arc, hitting only one triple on 17 attempts, and had nine chances from the charity stripe compared to 19 for the Wildcats.
Taylor returns home to Odle Arena for a rematch with Goshen (0-25, 0-15 CL) on Saturday, February 17, with tip-off set for 3:00 pm, after defeating the Maple Leafs 79-71 earlier this year.
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