“THE SCOREBOARD”
INDIANA BOYS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
HOMESTEAD.COM
| BOWMAN ACADEMY | 44 | MARQUETTE CATHOLIC | 43 | |
| CLOVERDALE | 72 | OWEN VALLEY | 52 | |
| CROTHERSVILLE | 58 | CHRISTIAN ACADEMY MADISON | 25 | |
| FAITH CHRISTIAN | 65 | CLINTON CENTRAL | 58 | |
| FOREST PARK | 59 | MOUNT VERNON (POSEY) | 43 | |
| FRONTIER | 56 | PIONEER | 50 | |
| GARY 21ST CENTURY | 78 | CALUMET | 40 | |
| LEBANON | 66 | FRANKFORT | 36 | |
| MTI KNOWLEDGE | 58 | INDIANA DEAF | 47 | |
| NORTHVIEW | 72 | GREENCASTLE | 55 | |
| SOUTHRIDGE | 62 | NORTHEAST DUBOIS | 50 | |
| TERRE HAUTE NORTH | 58 | SOUTH VERMILLION | 43 | |
| TRINITY GREENLAWN | 55 | MISHAWAKA CHRISTIAN | 30 | |
| UNIVERSITY | 79 | COVENANT CHRISTIAN | 75 | OT |
| HENDRICKS COUNTY TOURNAMENT | ||||
| AVON | 65 | PLAINFIELD | 44 | |
| MADISON COUNTY TOURNAMENT | ||||
| LAPEL | 95 | ANDERSON PREP | 55 | |
| PENDLETON HEIGHTS | 51 | FRANKTON | 34 | |
| ANDERSON | 78 | LIBERTY CHRISTIAN | 61 | |
| SHELBY COUNTY TOURNAMENT | ||||
| TRITON CENTRAL | 75 | MORRISTOWN | 29 | |
INDIANA GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
ICGSA POLLS
CLASS 4A
1. HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN (18-0)
2. LAWRENCE CENTRAL (16-1)
3. WARSAW (16-0)
4. SOUTH BEND WASHINGTON (18-1)
5. HOMESTEAD (16-2)
6. BLOOMINGTON SOUTH (16-1)
7. BROWNSBURG (14-3)
8. NORTHRIDGE (16-3)
9. NOBLESVILLE (14-3)
10. CENTER GROVE (14-2)
CLASS 3A
1. GREENSBURG (17-0)
2. WASHINGTON (15-2)
3. SILVER CREEK (12-2)
4. EVANSVILLE CENTRAL (13-3)
5. BELLMONT (15-1)
6. COLUMBIA CITY (14-4)
7. DANVILLE (14-4)
8. NORWELL (11-5)
9. CORYDON CENTRAL (13-3)
10. INDIANAPOLIS CHATARD (10-6)
CLASS 2A
1. SOUTH KNOX (14-2)
2. RENSSELAER CENTRAL (16-1)
3. ALEXANDRIA (18-1)
4. AUSTIN (15-1)
5. NORTHEASTERN (17-1)
6. EASTSIDE (16-1)
7. NORTH KNOX (10-5)
8. BLUFFTON (14-2)
9. BROWNSTOWN CENTRAL (13-4)
10. LANESVILLE (11-3)
CLASS 1A
1. ORLEANS (14-1)
2. NORTH CENTRAL (FARMERSBURG) (15-2)
3. MARQUETTE CATHOLIC (12-4)
4. BORDEN (12-5)
5. OLDENBURG ACADEMY (14-1)
6. WESTVILLE (13-2)
7. TRI-COUNTY (14-1)
8. TRI (13-4)
9. FREMONT (12-5)
10. WHITE RIVER VALLEY (11-3)
INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL
| BRECKINRIDGE COUNTY (KY.) | 48 | CASTLE | 47 | |
| CALUMET CHRISTIAN | 68 | HEBRON | 21 | |
| EVANSVILLE CENTRAL | 64 | EVANSVILLE BOSSE | 13 | |
| FLOYD CENTRAL | 66 | NEW ALBANY | 45 | |
| FORT WAYNE LUERS | 56 | NEW HAVEN | 15 | |
| FOUNTAIN CENTRAL | 60 | COVINGTON | 30 | |
| GIBSON SOUTHERN | 62 | BOONVILLE | 29 | |
| GREENWOOD | 58 | EDINBURGH | 54 | OT |
| HIGHLAND | 45 | BOWMAN ACADEMY | 36 | |
| ILLIANA CHRISTIAN | 76 | HAMMOND NOLL | 74 | |
| INDIANAPOLIS LUTHERAN | 41 | INDIANA DEAF | 29 | |
| LEBANON | 51 | FRANKFORT | 11 | |
| NORTH POSEY | 60 | EVANSVILLE CHRISTIAN | 44 | |
| NORTHVIEW | 59 | GREENCASTLE | 19 | |
| OWEN VALLEY | 46 | CLOVERDALE | 21 | |
| PARK TUDOR | 59 | BETHESDA CHRISTIAN | 18 | |
| PURDUE POLY NORTH | 42 | VICTORY COLLEGE PREP | 36 | |
| SHAWE MEMORIAL | 71 | CROTHERSVILLE | 23 | |
| SOUTH CENTRAL (ELIZABETH) | 58 | SALEM | 31 | |
| SOUTH PUTNAM | 61 | RIVERTON PARKE | 55 | OT |
| TELL CITY | 52 | HANCOCK COUNTY (KY.) | 35 | |
| TRADERS POINT CHRISTIAN | 39 | IRVINGTON PREP | 32 | |
| TRINITY LUTHERAN | 62 | HAUSER | 28 | |
| WEST WASHINGTON | 74 | ROCK CREEK ACADEMY | 11 | |
| HENDRICKS COUNTY TOURNAMENT | ||||
| PLAINFIELD | 57 | BROWNSBURG | 47 | |
| INDIANAPOLIS CITY TOURNAMENT | ||||
| INDIANAPOLIS HERRON | 56 | INDIANAPOLIS RITTER | 48 | |
| HERITAGE CHRISTIAN | 48 | CHRISTEL HOUSE | 7 | |
| PURDUE POLY ENGLEWOOD | 64 | INDIANAPOLIS WASHINGTON | 9 | |
| INDIANAPOLIS SCECINA | 44 | INDIANAPOLIS TINDLEY | 36 | |
| INDIANAPOLIS ATTUCKS | 66 | INDIANAPOLIS TECH | 17 | |
| RIPLEY COUNTY TOURNAMENT | ||||
| BATESVILLE | 54 | JAC-CEN-DEL | 14 | |
| SOUTH RIPLEY | 57 | MILAN | 12 | |
| SHELBY COUNTY TOURNAMENT | ||||
| TRITON CENTRAL | 68 | WALDRON | 30 | |
INDIANA BOYS WRESTLING:
DUAL RESULTS: https://indianamat.com/index.php?/dualresults.html/boys-dual-results/
TOURNAMENT RESULTS: https://indianamat.com/index.php?/curtournamentresults.html/boys-tournament-results/
INDIANA GIRLS WRESTLING:
STATE FINALS
JANUARY 17
@ CORTEVA COLISEUM
SCHEDULE
8:30 AM ET – GATES OPEN
9:30 AM ET – PARADE OF CHAMPIONS
10 AM ET – FIRST ROUND BEGINS*
* QUARTERFINALS AND SEMIFINALS WILL BE WRESTLED IMMEDIATELY AFTER FIRST ROUND
APPROX. 3:30 PM ET – INTERMISSION
4:15 PM ET – CONSOLATION ROUND BEGINS
7 PM ET – STATE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES BEGIN
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL SCORES
TOP 25
RUTGERS 75 #22 UCLA 68
ELSEWHERE:
MARYLAND 77 MINNESOTA 71
NOTRE DAME 78 BOSTON COLLEGE 60
AP MEN’S BASKETBALL POLL
- AUBURN 15 – 1
- IOWA STATE 14 – 1
- DUKE 14 – 2
- ALABAMA 14 – 2
- FLORIDA 15 – 1
- TENNESSEE 15 – 1
- MARQUETTE 14 – 2
- KENTUCKY 13 – 3
- KANSAS 12 – 3
- HOUSTON 12 – 3
- TEXAS A&M 13 – 3
- MICHIGAN STATE 14 – 2
- OREGON 15 – 2
- UCONN 13 – 4
- MISSISSIPPI STATE 14 – 2
- GONZAGA 14 – 4
- PURDUE 13 – 4
- MEMPHIS 13 – 3
- ILLINOIS 12 – 4
- MICHIGAN 13 – 3
- OLE MISS 14 – 2
- UTAH STATE 16 – 1
- GEORGIA 14 – 2
- WISCONSIN 13 – 3
- BAYLOR 11 – 4
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:
ST. JOHN’S 83, OKLAHOMA 63, WEST VIRGINIA 61, ARIZONA 26, LOUISVILLE 17, TEXAS TECH 12, MARYLAND 11, CLEMSON 8, MISSOURI 8, CINCINNATI 4, SAN DIEGO ST. 4, SAINT MARY’S 3, UC IRVINE 2, NEW MEXICO 2.
USA TODAY MEN’S TOP 25 POLL
THE USA TODAY SPORTS TOP 25 MEN’S BASKETBALL POLL, WITH TEAM’S RECORDS THROUGH SUNDAY IN PARENTHESES, TOTAL POINTS BASED ON 25 FOR FIRST PLACE THROUGH ONE POINT FOR 25TH, RANKING IN LAST WEEK’S POLL AND FIRST-PLACE VOTES RECEIVED.
| RANK | SCHOOL (RECORD) | POINTS | LAST WEEK’S RANK | FIRST-PLACE VOTES |
| 1 | AUBURN (15-1) | 768 | 2 | 25 |
| 2 | IOWA STATE (14-1) | 739 | 3 | 5 |
| 3 | DUKE (14-2) | 705 | 4 | 0 |
| 4 | FLORIDA (15-1) | 649 | 8 | 0 |
| 5 | ALABAMA (14-2) | 648 | 5 | 0 |
| 6 | TENNESSEE (15-1) | 626 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | MARQUETTE (14-2) | 587 | 6 | 0 |
| 8 | HOUSTON (12-3) | 522 | 11 | 0 |
| 9 | KENTUCKY (13-3) | 514 | 7 | 0 |
| 10 | KANSAS (12-3) | 460 | 12 | 0 |
| 11 | TEXAS A&M (13-3) | 425 | 9 | 0 |
| 12 | MICHIGAN STATE (14-2) | 424 | 14 | 0 |
| 13 | CONNECTICUT (13-4) | 345 | 10 | 0 |
| 14 | OREGON (15-2) | 343 | 17 | 0 |
| 15 | PURDUE (13-4) | 294 | 19 | 0 |
| 16 | GONZAGA (14-4) | 285 | 18 | 0 |
| 17 | MEMPHIS (13-3) | 272 | 20 | 0 |
| 18 | MISSISSIPPI STATE (14-2) | 267 | 13 | 0 |
| 19 | MICHIGAN (13-3) | 231 | 24 | 0 |
| 20 | ILLINOIS (12-4) | 223 | 15 | 0 |
| 21 | MISSISSIPPI (14-2) | 195 | 22 | 0 |
| 22 | UTAH STATE (16-1) | 143 | 25 | 0 |
| 23 | GEORGIA (14-2) | 80 | NR | 0 |
| 24 | BAYLOR (11-4) | 72 | NR | 0 |
| 25 | WEST VIRGINIA (12-3) | 69 | 23 | 0 |
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: ST. JOHN’S (14-3) 52; ARIZONA (10-5) 29; WISCONSIN (13-3) 29; NEW MEXICO (14-3) 19; OKLAHOMA (13-3) 14; UCLA (11-5) 12; MARYLAND (12-4) 8; TEXAS TECH (11-4) 6; CLEMSON (13-4) 5; SAINT MARY’S (15-3) 4; INDIANA (13-4) 3; LOUISVILLE (12-5) 3; MISSOURI (13-3) 2; SAN DIEGO STATE (10-4) 2; UC IRVINE (15-2) 1.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL SCORES
TOP 25
#6 LSU 83 VANDERBILT 77
AP TOP 25 POLL
- UCLA 16 – 0
- SOUTH CAROLINA 16 – 1
- NOTRE DAME 14 – 2
- USC 16 – 1
- LSU 18 – 0
- UCONN 15 – 2
- TEXAS 16 – 2
- MARYLAND 15 – 1
- OHIO STATE 16 – 0
- TCU 17 – 1
- KANSAS STATE 17 – 1
- KENTUCKY 15 – 1
- OKLAHOMA 14 – 3
- NORTH CAROLINA 15 – 3
- TENNESSEE 14 – 2
- DUKE 13 – 4
- GEORGIA TECH 15 – 2
- CALIFORNIA 16 – 2
- ALABAMA 16 – 2
- WEST VIRGINIA 13 – 3
- NORTH CAROLINA STATE 12 – 4
- MICHIGAN STATE 13 – 3
- UTAH 13 – 3
- MINNESOTA 16 – 1/OKLAHOMA STATE 14 – 2
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:
MICHIGAN 43, MISSISSIPPI ST. 22, INDIANA 14, CREIGHTON 12, NEBRASKA 11, BAYLOR 8, LOUISVILLE 5, HARVARD 3, MISSISSIPPI 3, FLORIDA ST. 2, IOWA 1, VANDERBILT 1.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
MONDAY, JAN. 20
NOTRE DAME VS. OHIO STATE (COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME — IN ATLANTA) | 7:30 P.M. | ESPN
NFL PLAYOFFS
LA RAMS 27 MINNESOTA 9
DIVISIONAL PLAY-OFF SCHEDULE
SATURDAY, JAN. 18
AFC:
4:30 P.M.
HOUSTON AT KANSAS CITY (ESPN/ABC, ESPN+, ESPN DEPORTES)
NFC:
8:00 P.M.
WASHINGTON AT DETROIT (FOX, FOX DEPORTES)
SUNDAY, JAN. 19
NFC:
3:00 P.M.
LOS ANGELES RAMS AT PHILADELPHIA (NBC, PEACOCK, TELEMUNDO, UNIVERSO)
AFC:
6:30 P.M.
BALTIMORE AT BUFFALO (CBS, PARAMOUNT+)
SUNDAY, JAN. 26
NFC:
3:00 P.M.
NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (FOX, FOX DEPORTES)
AFC:
6:30 P.M.
AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (CBS, PARAMOUNT+)
NBA SCORES
MINNESOTA 120 WASHINGTON 106
DETROIT 124 NEW YORK 119
TORONTO 104 GOLDEN STATE 101
HOUSTON 120 MEMPHIS 118
LA CLIPPERS 109 MIAMI 98
SAN ANTONIO 126 LA LAKERS 102
NHL SCORES
PHILADELPHIA 4 FLORIDA 3
CALGARY 5 CHICAGO 2
EDMONTON 1 LOS ANGELES 0
TOP NATIONAL RELEASES/HEADLINES
NFL NEWS
RAMS, BEHIND 9 SACKS AND DEFENSIVE TD, SHUT DOWN VIKINGS
Matthew Stafford threw two first-half touchdown passes and the Los Angeles Rams’ defense had nine sacks to tie the NFL playoff record in a 27-9 wild-card-round victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday in a game relocated to Glendale, Ariz.
The Rams’ home game originally was scheduled for Inglewood, Calif., before the venue was changed for public safety purposes because of deadly wildfires in the Los Angeles area over the past week.
Linebacker Jared Verse returned a fumble 57 yards for a touchdown and Kobie Turner had two sacks as the Rams came out on top in a playoff game for the first time since winning Super Bowl LVI at the end of the 2021 season.
Stafford completed 19 of 27 passes for 209 yards, and Kyren Williams and Davis Allen each caught a touchdown toss as Los Angeles defeated Minnesota for the second time this season. Williams ran for 76 yards on 16 carries.
The fourth-seeded Rams will be on the road to face the second-seeded Philadelphia Eagles in an NFC divisional-round game Sunday.
Sam Darnold finished 25 of 40 for 245 yards with one touchdown and one interception for the fifth-seeded Vikings, who were the first wild-card team to win 14 games in the regular season. T.J. Hockenson caught five passes for 64 yards and a score for Minnesota, while Justin Jefferson had five receptions for 58 yards.
The Rams started quickly, taking the opening drive of the game 70 yards in seven plays as Williams scored on a 5-yard pass from Stafford. After a three-and-out by Minnesota, Los Angeles added a 34-yard field goal from Joshua Karty on their second possession for a 10-0 lead.
The Vikings answered with a 34-yard field goal from Will Reichard to pull within 10-3 early in the second quarter.
Verse’s fumble return for a score came after a sack and forced fumble from Ahkello Witherspoon to give the Rams a 17-3 lead with 4:35 remaining in the first half.
After the Vikings turned the ball over on downs with 1:27 remaining in the first half on a sack from Turner, the Rams took a 24-3 lead with 15 seconds left in the half on a 13-yard TD connection from Stafford to Allen.
The Vikings finally found the end zone with 5:05 remaining in the third quarter on a 26-yard TD pass from Darnold to Hockenson to pull within 27-9. The two-point conversion attempt failed.
MIKE MCCARTHY IS NOT RETURNING AS COACH OF THE DALLAS COWBOYS, AP SOURCE SAYS
DALLAS (AP) — Mike McCarthy is not returning as coach of the Dallas Cowboys, who are going on three decades since their last Super Bowl title, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Monday.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because a decision hasn’t been announced. They said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and McCarthy agreed to part ways. It’s possible the two sides could reconcile, but McCarthy will now speak to other teams as a free agent.
The coach’s contract expired following a 7-10 season. Dallas was 12-5 each of the three years before that, but still hasn’t been past the divisional round of the NFC playoffs since its last Super Bowl at the end of the 1995 season.
McCarthy’s contract expired Jan. 8 and the Cowboys have an exclusive negotiation window through Tuesday, but the parties decided to split ahead of the deadline.
At least one other NFL team asked during that time about talking to the 61-year-old coach who won a Super Bowl with Green Bay.
Next season will be the 30th for the Cowboys since winning the last of their five Super Bowl titles.
Before taking the Dallas job after a full season out of coaching, McCarthy was with the Packers for 13 seasons and had a 125-77-2 record from 2006-18. He was 10-8 in the playoffs and led Green Bay to a Super Bowl title at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Cowboys, 14 years ago.
There were also three other NFC championship games for McCarthy in Green Bay, and that is what Jones envisioned — and more — when he hired the coach in 2020 after Jason Garrett never got that far in his 10 years.
McCarthy finished with a 50-38 record in Dallas, including a 1-3 mark in the playoffs. That included last season, when the Cowboys were NFC East champions and had won 16 consecutive home games before trailing by 32 points in the fourth quarter of a 48-32 wild-card loss to the seventh-seeded Packers.
Dallas played the final nine games this season without franchise quarterback Dak Prescott because of a torn hamstring. Top receiver CeeDee Lamb, seven-time Pro Bowl guard Zack Martin, cornerback Trevon Diggs and rushing defending DeMarcus Lawrence also finished the season on injured reserve.
Garrett had the franchise’s second-longest coaching tenure. Hall of Fame coach Tom Landry was the coach for the Cowboys’ first 29 seasons, the same number of seasons they have now gone since winning a Super Bowl. Jones fired two-time Super Bowl winner Landry when he bought the Cowboys before the 1989 season.
Only 12 NFL coaches have more career regular-season wins than McCarthy’s 174, which is still far behind Don Shula’s record 328. The only active coaches with more wins than McCarthy are Andy Reid (302 wins over 29 seasons) and Mike Tomlin (183 wins in 18 seasons).
Jones’ next coach will be his ninth. He hired Jimmy Johnson from the University of Miami, and the Cowboys won back-to-back Super Bowls in the 1992-93 seasons before the college teammates at Arkansas had an acrimonious split.
Barry Switzer replaced Johnson, a Pro Football Hall of Fame coach, and won a Super Bowl in his second season but was fired two years later following a 6-10 season. Bill Parcells, another Hall of Famer, led the Cowboys to the playoffs twice in four seasons from 2003-06 but lost in the wild-card round both times.
VRABEL WANTS TO ‘GALVANIZE’ PATRIOTS IN RETURN TO TEAM
The New England Patriots were reintroduced to Mike Vrabel on Monday, with the new head coach emphasizing a return to the winning culture from his time as a player.
“It was clear to me in my soul that this is the place I wanted to be,” Vrabel said. “I want to galvanize this football team, I want to galvanize this building, I want to galvanize our fans.”
He added: “We’re removing entitlement from our football team. … We’re gonna earn the right to be here every single day.”
Vrabel was a Patriots linebacker from 2001 to 2008, winning three Super Bowls. He was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame in 2023. The 49-year-old reportedly inked a multi-year deal to replace Jerod Mayo, who was fired Jan. 5 after going 4-13 in his first season as head coach.
Vrabel previously coached the Tennessee Titans from 2018 to 2023. He was dismissed in January 2024 after going 6-11 in 2023 and then served as a coaching consultant for the Cleveland Browns in 2024.
Vrabel said his first roster priority is to bolster the offensive line to set up young quarterback Drake Maye for success.
“You look at the teams who are able to protect the quarterback and the flow of the game. We look at the front to be sound, to be strong,” Vrabel said. “We want to develop (Maye) as leader of the offense. … When a quarterback calls a play, you want to say that everyone believes you’re gonna score a touchdown.”
The Patriots were one of the league’s weakest offenses under Mayo, ranking 31st in total yards per game and 30th in points per contest. Maye threw 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions across 13 games while being sacked 34 times.
Vrabel said having the “young, dynamic quarterback” was one of the main draws to New England, which he picked over other teams that interviewed him such as the Chicago Bears and the New York Jets.
“We want to be good enough to take advantage of bad football,” Vrabel said. “The goal is to win the AFC East, host home playoff games, and win championships.”
Vrabel and New England will have the fourth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The team also has over $120 million in cap space.
A.J. BROWN’S SIDELINE READ SKYROCKETS TO NO. 1 HOTTEST SELLER ON AMAZON
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Step aside, Oprah.
Philadelphia Eagles star receiver A.J. Brown could launch a book club of his own after a little sideline reading skyrocketed self-help author Jim Murphy to the hottest seller on Amazon overnight.
The Eagles wide receiver passed on the playbook and checked out an inspirational title — Brown casually ignored the action in Philadelphia’s playoff game and flipped through the pages of Murphy’s book, “Inner Excellence.”
The little-known book by the mental skills coach was listed No. 1 on Amazon’s best-sellers list as of Monday morning.
“I was not expecting that. A real gift,” Murphy said by phone Monday. “I just looked at Amazon last night and it got to No. 1, so that was a surprise. It had probably never been higher than probably 8 or 9,000. In the thousands, somewhere.”
Nine thousand? Keep going. Down. Way down.
The book took the top spot on the trending list after previously being ranked 523,497th. That jump earned it another top spot on the marketplace’s movers & shakers list.
It had yet to crack the top 100 for sales in 2025, however. Mel Robbins, Rebecca Yarros, Kristin Hannah and the likes still reigned supreme there.
Undoubtedly fueled by Eagles fans, “Inner Excellence” was reviewed 375 times and rated 4.7 out of 5 on Amazon. For comparison, Freida McFadden’s critically acclaimed book “The Housemaid” had 431,491 reviews with a 4.5 rating yet was ranked nine spots behind it on the best-sellers list.
“AJ Brown recommended this book, so I’m looking forward to reading this. Fly Eagles Fly,” one reviewer wrote on the site.
Murphy, a former minor league outfielder in the Chicago Cubs organization, told the AP in an interview Sunday night that his phone started blowing up with texts once his book was spotted.
After his career ended, Murphy became intrigued by the idea of learning how to teach baseball players how to have confidence under pressure.
“I spent five years full-time writing and researching the answer to that question,” Murphy said. “That became the book ‘Inner Excellence.’”
Brown, who had 67 catches for 1,079 yards and seven touchdown this season, described the lessons in the book as useful because football is “90% mental and 10% physical for me.”
Brown later shared a photo of the book on social media with several passages highlighted and underlined in yellow.
Brown said he was surprised his moment went viral because he says he often reads on the sideline, but added: “Y’all caught me that time.”
“If I score a touchdown or drop a pass, it’s something how I refocus,” Brown said. “I always revert back to the beginning of the book. It states if you can just have a clear mind and remember that nothing else matters, clear conscience, nothing matters negative or positive. You’re willing to take risks. It also says if you’re humble, you can’t be embarrassed.”
It must have worked. The Eagles beat the Green Bay Packers and advanced in the NFL playoffs.
TEXANS’ DEMECO RYANS ON CHIEFS: ‘WE UNDERSTAND WHAT’S IN FRONT OF US’
Against the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild-card round, sloppy was good enough.
But the Houston Texans know a cleaner effort will be needed against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Texans overcame three turnovers and eight penalties in defeating Los Angeles on Saturday. Despite those issues, Houston outgained the Chargers 429-261 and pulled away in the second half.
Following up the 32-12 victory with a sharper focus and better execution would seem to give Houston a great chance against anyone. But the Texans and coach DeMeco Ryans also know what kind of behemoth is waiting for them in the divisional round this weekend in Kansas City.
The Chiefs have won the past two Super Bowls and three of the past five, and the team’s earliest exits from the playoffs over the past six seasons have been in the AFC Championship — and in overtime, no less.
“We understand what’s in front of us,” Ryans said. “KC has done a great job for the past few years of really dominating the league, being there at the end. …
“It’s a tough, tough team to beat. It’s going to take everything that we have. It’s going to take all four quarters.”
The Chiefs, who went 15-2 in the regular season in earning the AFC’s top seed, defeated Houston 27-19 in Week 16.
In that game, the Texans finished 1-for-3 in the red zone and trailed just 24-19 midway through the fourth quarter before Kansas City closed out the win. But Ryans doesn’t expect that Dec. 21 loss to be much of an indicator of how this Saturday will go.
“Fresh start, new game,” Ryans said. “We will attack it just like it’s our first time playing these guys. … We’ll go in with a fresh set of eyes and see the things we need to do to be better, the things we need to do that close out the game.”
Still, that’s easier said than done when two-time league MVP Patrick Mahomes is lining up under center for your opponent.
Mahomes, who has thrown for 3,928 yards and 26 touchdowns this season, is not expected to be in the running for his third MVP award this year. But he can still stress a defense better than almost any other player in the league.
“It just presents different challenges,” Ryans said of facing Mahomes. “Guys are wide open a lot on their film because of the threat he poses, and he just requires so much attention.”
COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS
NOTRE DAME, OHIO STATE IN UNCHARTED TERRITORY: THEY’RE PLAYING 16-GAME SEASONS FOR THE 1ST TIME
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The year was 1894. Yale put together a football schedule that was daunting: Games on Wednesdays and Saturdays, basically every week from late September to late November, 16 contests in all.
No major college football team — what we now call the FBS level — had a 16-game season since.
Until now.
Welcome to yet another new part of this rapidly changing college football world. Seasons, at least for some teams, will be longer than ever. Texas and Penn State just played their 16th and final games of this 2024 season. And on Jan. 20 in the College Football Playoff championship game, Notre Dame and Ohio State will be playing their 16th and final games of this season in a matchup to decide the national title.
“How we got ready for the season, how we’re adapting, is you have a plan, you have a team, you have a sports performance team that you listen to, and you talk through some different scenarios and you’ve got to be adaptable,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. “You’ve got to be willing to adapt based off the unpredictable things that can happen, and that’s what we’ve been able to do — and I feel like our guys will be physically ready to roll.”
The 16-game season didn’t come out of nowhere.
Expanding the CFP to 12 teams meant that the teams in the national championship game would have to play either three or four games — depending on whether they got a first-round bye or not. With a 12-game regular season and then a conference championship game for some schools, it’s almost certain that the national finalists in this system will have to play at least 16 games along the way.
Notre Dame and Ohio State each played 13-game seasons last year. Playing 16-game seasons this year could obviously be considered problematic — it’s a lot more wear and tear on bodies — but it’s also a wonderful problem to have, since it comes with a chance at a national championship.
“Along the way, we looked at a lot of different things and metrics about playing this many games, playing our 16th game, what that was going to be like,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “We knew it was going to be a little bit of a battle of attrition at times. So, depth was certainly a critical part of roster management and talent acquisition, but also how we practice, how we play. We’ve taken all those things into consideration so that we’re still really, really fresh going into the end of the season.”
Only three teams at the “major college” level played the 16-game season before this year: Yale in 1894, Penn in 1892 and Yale in 1889. It has happened a handful of times at the FCS and Division II levels as well.
But at the FBS level, it hasn’t happened in 130 years.
It has created new challenges for fans and quite possibly their pocketbooks — Notre Dame and Ohio State each had an extra home game, plus now three bowl games, and none of those tickets were exactly low-priced. It surely has created an issue or two on the academic end; Ohio State’s spring term started last week, Notre Dame’s spring semester started Monday. And in many cases, players on both teams have simply logged more plays, hits and miles than ever before.
Oh, and while this season is ending, next season is in full swing. Players have transferred. Recruits have signed. Coaches have been hired and fired at plenty of schools, and teams are putting together their spring practice schedules.
But in South Bend and Columbus, it still may as well be 2024.
“I’ve been an advocate that we need to go to an NFL calendar,” Duke coach Manny Diaz said. “We need to get rid of spring football and move into early summer OTAs and mini-camps. We don’t have to invent this. The league has already figured it out. … We’re a spring sport now. We need to just act like that.”
Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden looks at the marathon season as a blessing in some ways. On one hand, it’s a ton of work. On the other, the Irish are playing for a ring. He’s not complaining.
“Most of these guys are navigating it as we go. Nobody’s done it before in college,” Golden said. “We listen to what the data says and go by it. It’s just an interesting time.”
REPORT: CLEMSON SET TO NAME TOM ALLEN NEW DC
Clemson is expected to name Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen to the same role with the Tigers, ESPN reported Monday.
Allen would replace Wes Goodwin, fired by Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney last week. The move is expected to be formalized this week, per the report.
Allen coached Penn State to top-10 rankings in scoring defense, total defense and rushing defense in 2024, his first season in Happy Valley.
Clemson allowed 160.6 rushing yards per game this past season, its worst performance since 2011, according to ESPN.
Allen, 54, went 33-49 as the head coach at Indiana in the seven seasons prior to joining Penn State coach James Franklin’s staff. Allen was named the 2020 Big Ten Coach of the Year.
PENN STATE STAR TE TYLER WARREN DECLARES FOR DRAFT
Penn State’s Tyler Warren, this season’s Mackey Award winner as the top tight end in the nation, is headed to the NFL draft.
The senior declared Monday night that he is forgoing his remaining year of college eligibility to turn pro. Pro Football Focus lists him as the No. 1-rated tight end prospect and the 13th overall prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft. ESPN has him at No. 1 among tight ends, No. 12 overall.
Warren posted on social media, “Penn State gave me the opportunity to compete, learn and be surrounded by outstanding men and women who have had such a large impact on my life.
“To my teammates, I’m thankful for every practice, workout and game I stood alongside you all. To the fans and Penn State community, thank you for your support, I will always be proud to be a Nittany Lion.”
In the 2024 season, Warren tied for second in the nation with 104 receptions and was sixth with 1,233 receiving yards. He caught eight touchdown passes. Warren also ran 26 times for 218 yards and four scores and threw a touchdown pass while completing 3 of 6 passes for 35 yards.
Rookie tight ends have turned in some eye-popping numbers in recent seasons, with the Las Vegas Raiders’ Brock Bowers setting records for most receiving yards by a rookie tight end (1,194) and most receptions by a rookie at any position (112). In 2023, then-rookie Sam LaPorta had 86 receptions for the Detroit Lions, which established a mark for rookie tight ends. Bowers surpassed that figure in Week 14 this season.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
ACE BAILEY HELPS RUTGERS HOLD OFF UCLA
Rutgers weathered a late run to send visiting UCLA to its fourth consecutive loss in a 75-68 decision on Monday in Piscataway, New Jersey.
After trailing the entire first half, the Scarlet Knights (9-8, 2-4 Big Ten Conference) came out of intermission on fire with a quick, 8-0 run. The surge gave Rutgers a lead that, with the exception of a brief 41-41 tie, it held throughout the second half.
But when Lathan Sommerville committed a turnover on a possession when it had an opportunity to pull ahead by a double-digit-point margin, UCLA (11-6, 2-4) capitalized with an 8-0 run.
Kobe Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 2:07 remaining in regulation that pulled the Bruins to within 63-62. That was UCLA’s last gasp, as Rutgers quickly responded when Ace Bailey connected on a 3-pointer the very next possession.
Bailey posted game-highs of 20 points and 10 rebounds and shot 5-of-5 from the free-throw line on a night that the Scarlet Knights went 21-of-31 from the charity stripe. Their ability to draw fouls played a key role in the win.
Bailey’s fellow freshman standout Dylan Harper added 18 points and helped spark the run coming out of halftime when he hit two 3-pointers. Rutgers shot just 2-of-11 from deep in the first half, but with Harper knocking down two and Tyson Acuff adding another, the Scarlet Knights hit their first three attempts from beyond the arc after the break.
Jeremiah Williams added 11 points off the bench, with no two bigger than his double-clutch layup with 51 seconds remaining. He drove to the basket and used the rim to shield his attempt, swooping from one side to the other to finish the show and put the game away.
Eric Dailey Jr. and Sebastian Mack led UCLA with 16 points each. Mack came off the bench and gave the Bruins a boost on both offense and defense, particularly with season-long leading scorer Tyler Bilodeau struggling.
Bilodeau scored six points but shot 0-for-7 from the floor. Johnson finished with 13 points, but had seven in the game’s opening minutes before getting into foul trouble. He was limited until the closing stretch.
AUBURN RISES TO NO. 1 IN AP TOP 25 AFTER TENNESSEE LOSES, GEORGIA IS RANKED FOR 1ST TIME SINCE 2011
Auburn has climbed to No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s basketball poll for its second stint at the top in program history, while fellow Southeastern Conference program Georgia is in the rankings for the first time in 14 years.
Bruce Pearl’s Tigers (15-1) claimed 60 of 62 first-place votes to rise one spot Monday after previous No. 1 Tennessee suffered its first loss of the season, falling at Florida, to end a five-week reign at the top. Auburn has been No. 1 only once before in the AP Top 25, during a three-week stint in January and February of 2022, and is the third team to sit atop the poll this season.
Auburn’s only loss came at Duke in early December and the Tigers have won eight straight games, though there is no word on when star forward Johni Broome might be ready to play after suffering an ankle injury in Saturday’s win over South Carolina.
The Tigers’ rise made them the headliner in another SEC-heavy poll, with the league having nine teams in the AP Top 25 — including three of the top five and five of the top 10.
Iowa State rose one spot to No. 2, reaching its highest ranking in program history, followed by Duke, Alabama and Florida. The Blue Devils and Gators each claimed a first-place vote.
The top tier
The Volunteers (15-1) had been No. 1 since Dec. 9 and stood as Division I’s last unbeaten team before a 30-point loss to Florida. They recovered by beating Texas but still tumbled five spots to No. 6.
Marquette was next at No. 7 as the only team to stay at the same spot from last week, followed by Kentucky, preseason No. 1 Kansas and Houston to round out the top 10.
Rising
No. 12 Michigan State and No. 20 Michigan had the week’s biggest jumps, each rising four spots. Florida and No. 17 Purdue were next by climbing three positions.
In all, 15 teams that were ranked last week moved up in the latest poll.
Falling
While Tennessee’s tumble was notable, No. 19 Illinois had the week’s biggest slide by falling six spots after a weekend home loss to Southern California.
Two-time reigning national champion UConn matched the Volunteers’ five-spot decline, checking in at No. 14 after last week’s loss at Villanova.
Six teams that were ranked last week moved down in Monday’s poll.
Welcome
No. 23 Georgia, No. 24 Wisconsin and No. 25 Baylor were the week’s new additions. And for Georgia, it’s been a while.
Mike White’s Bulldogs (14-2) have their first AP Top 25 ranking since spending a week at No. 24 in January 2011. That lone appearance had stood as the program’s only time being ranked since the 2002-03 season, but the Bulldogs are coming off a week that featured wins against then-No. 6 Kentucky and then-No. 17 Oklahoma for the program’s first back-to-back victories against ranked opponents since the 2006-07 season.
Both the Badgers and Bears have spent multiple weeks in the poll this season.
Farewell (for now)
West Virginia (No. 21) and UCLA (No. 22) joined the Sooners in falling out of this week’s poll.
Conference watch
The SEC — which had 10 ranked teams on Dec. 23 and Dec. 30 — had nine ranked teams for the fifth time this season, including No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 15 Mississippi State and No. 21 Mississippi.
The Big Ten was next with six, followed by the Big 12 with four. The Big East had two, followed by the Atlantic Coast, West Coast, American Athletic and Mountain West conferences with one each.
FEBRUARY MATCHUPS ANNOUNCED FOR 2024-25 MAC-SBC CHALLENGE
CLEVELAND — The MAC-SBC Challenge — a scheduling alliance in the sports of men’s and women’s basketball — has announced its February pairings. The second MAC-SBC Challenge contest for each team will take place on Saturday, Feb. 8, with the matchups based on real-time NET rankings and announced in January. The MAC men and Sun Belt women will host the February matchups.
Each MAC and Sun Belt team included in the MAC-SBC Challenge, which was created in 2023-24 and will continue through the 2026-27 season, is guaranteed one home and one away game each season.
Scheduling assistance is provided by Ordinal Sports Group. In addition to relevant NET data, geography and frequency of past contests is considered in determining the matchups.
All 24 February matchups are set to air live on ESPN+ with tip times to follow.
MAC-SBC Challenge Women’s Basketball Matchups
Saturday, Feb. 8
Northern Illinois at App State
Bowling Green at Arkansas State
Buffalo at Coastal Carolina
Akron at Georgia Southern
Eastern Michigan at Georgia State
Ball State at James Madison
Miami at Louisiana
Central Michigan at Marshall
Toledo at Old Dominion
Ohio at Southern Miss
Western Michigan at Texas State
Kent State at Troy
MAC-SBC Challenge Men’s Basketball Matchups
Saturday, Feb. 8
South Alabama at Akron
Southern Miss at Ball State
Coastal Carolina at Bowling Green
Georgia State at Buffalo
Texas State at Central Michigan
Old Dominion at Eastern Michigan
Arkansas State at Kent State
Troy at Miami
Louisiana at Northern Illinois
App State at Ohio
James Madison at Toledo
Georgia Southern at Western Michigan
OHIO’S CLAYTON COLLECTS WEEKLY MEN’S HOOPS HONORS
MAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week
AJ Clayton, Senior, Forward, Ohio
Roseville, Ohio (Philo)
Senior forward AJ Clayton scored his 1,000th career point and led the Ohio men’s basketball team to a 2-0 week, helping the Bobcats to a 3-0 start to MAC play. Overall, Clayton averaged 29.0 points per game, while going 20-of-30 (.667) from the field, 13-of-18 (.722) from three and 5-of-8 (.625) from there line. He also averaged 5.5 rebounds a game, 1.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 2.5 blocks on the week. Clayton’s week started on Tuesday at Buffalo, where he led all scorers with 27 points, going 10-of-18 from the field, 4-of-8 from three and 3-of-4 from the line. He also added seven rebounds, three blocks and one steal in Ohio’s 88-77 road victory.
Clayton returned to action on Saturday and picked up right where he left off, hitting a three two minutes into the game to record his 1,000th career point. Clayton was not finished, wrapping up with game with 31 points, going 10-of-12 from the field, 9-of-10 from three and 2-of-4 from the line. He also had four rebounds and dished out two assists with one steal and two blocks in just 18 minutes on the court. Clayton’s nine threes set a career-high for the senior and is the most threes in a game for a single Bobcat since 2020.
HCAC 2024-25 MEN’S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK, WEEK 10
Athlete of the Week:
Nolan Swan (Tipton, Ind.) Anderson University | Guard | First Year – Nolan Swan produced averages of 17.5 points, 3.5 assists and 5 rebounds as Anderson went 2-0 on the week. He drained 4.5 3-pointers per game to lead the conference for the week. Swan also recorded a 7.00 assist-turnover ratio and a .474 3-point percentage. In Wednesday’s win against Bluffton, Swan notched 23 points and went 6-for-12 from 3-point range as Anderson broke the school record for most 3-pointers made in a game with 21. He also pulled down 5 rebounds. In Saturday’s win against Mount St. Joseph, Swan contributed 12 points, 5 rebounds and 1 block. He went 3-for-7 from the perimeter.
Notable Performances:
- Nevin Robson (Kenton, Ohio) Bluffton University | Guard | Junior – Robson averaged 18.5 PPG and 6.5 RPG on 14-of-28 shooting from the field (50 percent). He also picked off 4.0 steals per game and hit 8-of-10 at the line (80 percent).
- Ken Walker (Snellville, Ga.) Earlham College | Guard | Sophomore – Ken Walker led the Quakers with 35 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for the Quakers. The sophomore scored a game-high 16 points, shooting 50% from the floor against Hanover on Saturday.
- Jeremiah Alexander (Indianapolis, Ind.) Hanover College | Guard | First Year – Alexander led the Panthers to a 1-1 week as the freshman averaged 12 ppg. In the game with Transylvania, he netted seven points and dished out four assists. Alexander turned in a strong performance against Earlham with a team-high 17 points and a perfect 3-for-3 mark from three-point.
- Miles McGowen (Indianapolis, Ind.) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Forward | Senior – McGowen helped dominate the paint in both games this week with an average of 15.0 points on 78% shooting from the floor at 14-18. He also picked up 7.5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals to help lead the Fightin’ Engineers to just the fifth 7-0 start since the team joined the league in 2006-07. He led Rose-Hulman with 19 points, including 15 in the second half, to recover from a seven-point halftime deficit against Mount St. Joseph.
- Hunter Penn (Versailles, Ky.) Transylvania University | Forward | Senior – In a 73-58 win over Hanover, Hunter Penn led all Pioneers with a double-double – 15 points, 10 rebounds. He was a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line and added two assists and two steals. In a 79-82 loss at Rose-Hulman, Penn recorded 24 points and five rebounds, leading Transylvania again in scoring. Penn also record three steals in the effort.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
MINNESOTA EARNS 1ST WOMEN’S AP TOP 25 RANKING SINCE 2019. UCLA, SOUTH CAROLINA, NOTRE DAME STILL 1-3
Minnesota is off to its best start in 17 games and earned its first ranking since 2019 on Monday, entering The Associated Press women’s basketball poll at No. 24.
The Golden Gophers have won 16 of their first 17 contests, with the loss coming against Nebraska last month. They are ranked for the first time since Dec. 30, 2019. Next up is a matchup at No. 8 Maryland on Tuesday.
UCLA, South Carolina, Notre Dame and Southern California kept rolling, holding the top four spots again in the AP Top 25. The Bruins received 29 of the 31 first-place votes from a national media panel. The Fighting Irish, who were missing All-America guard Hannah Hidalgo in their last game because of a foot injury, got the other two top votes.
Undefeated LSU moved up one spot to fifth. The Tigers, along with the Bruins and No. 9 Ohio State, are the only three unbeaten teams left in Division I women’s basketball.
UConn was sixth, with Texas falling two places to seventh after a 67-50 loss at South Carolina on Sunday.
TCU moved up one spot to 10th.
Dropping out
Iowa and Michigan fell out of the poll this week. The two Big Ten schools suffered losses last week. The Wolverines had a difficult stretch over the past few weeks, with games against No. 1 UCLA, No. 4 USC and No. 9 Ohio State that were all losses. Michigan did beat Purdue on Saturday. Iowa lost to Illinois and Indiana last week.
Ranked Cowgirls
No. 24 Oklahoma State entered the poll for the first time since 2018 after knocking off then-No. 17 West Virginia on Saturday. The Cowgirls have gone 14-2 this season and are on the road at Houston and UCF this week before hosting No. 10 TCU on Jan. 22.
Rising Bears
California moved up six spots to No. 18 after beating No. 21 North Carolina State and Florida State last week. The Bears have their highest ranking since they were 18th on Dec. 31, 2018.
Conference breakdown
The Southeastern Conference has seven teams ranked this week, with the Big Ten and ACC right behind with six each. The Big 12 has five and the Big East one.
Games of the week
No. 23 Utah at No. 10 TCU, Friday. The Utes stumbled in their first game this season as a ranked team, getting routed by then-No. 12 Kansas State. Now Utah will face another tall task, this one against Sedona Prince and the Horned Frogs.
No. 13 Oklahoma at No. 2 South Carolina, Sunday. The Gamecocks continue their stretch of facing five ranked opponents in a row with a game at No. 19 Alabama on Thursday before hosting the Sooners this weekend.
USC AND OHIO STATE NET BIG TEN WEEKLY WOMEN’S BASKETBALL AWARDS
Player of the Week
JuJu Watkins, USC
Sophomore – Guard – Los Angeles, Calif. – Sierra Canyon
• Paced USC in two wins by averaging 28.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.0 steals, 2.5 assists and 2.0 blocks
• Tallied 21 points, nine rebounds, two assists, a block and steal in the Trojans’ road victory at No. 8 Maryland
• Posted a double-double (35 points, 11 rebounds) with five steals, three blocks and three assists against Penn State
• Shot a career-high 86.7 percent from the floor on a 13-of-15 effort versus the Lady Lions
• Has 18 30-point outings in her career, which ranks third all-time at USC behind Cheryl Miller (25) and Cherie Nelson (20)
• Earns the fourth Big Ten Player of the Week award of her career
• Last USC Player of the Week: JuJu Watkins (Jan. 6, 2025)
Big Ten Women’s Basketball Weekly Honor Roll
Alexis Markowski, NEB: Set a new career mark with 28 points to go with eight rebounds to help Nebraska upset No. 20 Michigan State
Jaloni Cambridge, OSU: Averaged 21.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists during two wins for Ohio State
Shyanne Sellers, MD: Shot 77.8 percent from the field on her way to 21 points in a gritty victory at Wisconsin
Freshman of the Week
Jaloni Cambridge, Ohio State
Guard – Nashville, Tenn. – Montverde Academy
• Had 29 points, four assists and tied her career mark with six rebounds at No. 25 Michigan
• Finished with 13 points, four boards and a steal in just over 20 minutes versus Oregon
• Collects her first Big Ten Freshman of the Week laurel
• Last Ohio State Freshman of the Week: Cotie McMahon (Feb. 20, 2023)
HCAC 2024-25 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK, WEEK 10
Athlete of the Week:
Abigail Rosenkrans (Pendleton, Ind.) Manchester University | Guard | Junior – Rosenkrans led the Spartans to a 2-0 week after knocking over Franklin & Berea. Against Franklin, Rosenkrans notched her first career triple double, finishing the game with 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists, as well as recording 3 blocks and 1 steal. In the overtime victory over Berea, Rosenkrans recorded a team and game high 24 points as well as 8 rebounds and 3 assists to go along with her 4 steals. Rosenkrans averaged 19.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg, and 7.0 apg this week.
Notable Performances:
- Izzy Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.) Anderson University | Guard | Junior – Izzy Davis recorded averages of 13 points, 7 assists and 2 steals as Anderson went 1-1 on the week. She also shot .458 from the field.
- Lindsey Smith (Mount Victory, Ohio) Bluffton University | Forward | Senior – Smith netted a career-high tying 18 points on a perfect 9-for-9 afternoon from the field in Bluffton’s 75-72 loss at Franklin on Saturday. She also added seven rebounds and four blocks. For the week, Smith averaged 14.5 PPG, 8.0 RPG and 4.0 blocks per game.
- Jordan Coon (Evansville, Ind.) Franklin College | Guard | Junior – Coon averaged 21.5 points per contest for the Grizzlies last week with Franklin carrying a 1-1 record…went for a game-high 28 points on 10-for-22 shooting in Wednesday’s night’s matchup with Manchester…scored all 15 of her points in the second half on Saturday against Bluffton, draining a team-high three three-pointers in a comeback win for the Grizzlies.
- Grace Bezold (Covington, Ky.) Hanover College | Guard | Senior – Bezold turned in another strong week for the Panthers averaging 26 points per game and 7.5 rebounds. In the game with Transylvania, the senior netted 20 points and pulled in four rebounds. She closed out the week with a dominant performance, scoring 32 points and tallied 11 rebounds. Bezold also had three assists and a steal. Her double-double marks the eighth of the season and ranks her 14th in Division III.
- Hailey Guingrich (Indianapolis, Ind.) Mount St. Joseph University | Forward | Sophomore – Lions sophomore Hailey Guingrich averaged a double-double this week. She averaged a team high 15 points and 10 rebounds per game, helping the Lions beat Rose-Hulman and Anderson. She was also outstanding defensively averaging four blocks per game, including a career-high six blocks in the win over Anderson. She was extremely efficient this week as well going 14-of-20 (70%) from the field.
- Jamie Baum (Los Altos, Calif.) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Guard | Senior – Baum averaged 12.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists for Rose-Hulman this week.
- Riley Flinn (Remington, Ind.) Transylvania University | Forward | Sophomore – In a 73-65 win over Hanover, Flinn recorded 15 points and five rebounds leading the Pioneers in scoring. In a 71-48 win over Rose-Hulman Flinn recorded 10 points and seven rebounds. Flinn was a key factor in two HCAC victories for the Pioneers.
NBA NEWS
NBA ROUNDUP: LAKERS LOSE, CLIPPERS WIN IN RETURN TO ACTION
Devin Vassell, Stephon Castle and Victor Wembanyama each scored 23 points as the visiting San Antonio Spurs ended a three-game losing streak with a 126-102 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday in the return to play for both teams.
The Lakers had two home games postponed in the past week, including a game against the Spurs scheduled for Saturday, as a safety precaution because of deadly wildfires in the Los Angeles area. The Spurs defeated the Lakers for the first time in three games between the teams this season, outscoring Los Angeles 73-40 in the second half.
Anthony Davis amassed 30 points and 13 rebounds and LeBron James added 18 points and eight assists as Lakers lost their third consecutive game, all to Texas teams. Los Angeles fell at Houston and at Dallas on its recent road trip.
Austin Reaves scored 12 points and dished out eight assists for Los Angeles, which led by as many as 11 points in the third quarter before falling apart over the final 16 minutes of the game.
Clippers 109, Heat 98
Norman Powell scored 29 points while James Harden and Ivica Zubac chalked up double-doubles as Los Angeles overturned an early 13-point deficit to beat Miami in Inglewood, Calif., in LA’s first game since last Wednesday because of the wildfires.
Harden had 26 points with 11 assists while hitting 6 of 10 3-point attempts, and Zubac threw down seven dunks en route to 21 points and 20 rebounds for the Clippers, whose home game against the Charlotte Hornets scheduled for last Saturday was postponed.
The Heat, whose three-game winning streak (all on the road) came to an end, received 32 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists from Tyler Herro plus 19 points and 13 boards from Kel’el Ware.
Timberwolves 120, Wizards 106
Anthony Edwards took control in the fourth quarter, scoring 20 of his game-high 41 points, and Minnesota sent host Washington to its seventh consecutive loss.
Minnesota found itself in a back-and-forth contest for most of the way with Washington, which was playing its second game of a back-to-back set. The Wizards dropped their previous two games by 74 combined points, but they were competitive with the Timberwolves until a pivotal late stretch.
With Minnesota up 88-86, Edwards connected on a 3-pointer with 8:42 remaining. But Washington’s Carlton Carrington answered with one of his own 18 seconds later. The Wizards did not score again for 2:26, however, as Minnesota went on a decisive 11-0 run.
Raptors 104, Warriors 101
Toronto overcame a nine-point, fourth-quarter deficit, scoring the game’s final six points, to end a five-game losing streak with a win over visiting Golden State.
After Kyle Anderson’s 3-pointer put the Warriors up 101-98 with 2:34 to go, the Raptors scored on Chris Boucher’s putback layup and a pair of baskets by Ochai Agbaji.
Golden State’s Andrew Wiggins and Buddy Hield both missed 3-point attempts in the final 30 seconds as the Warriors fell to 1-4 in their last five.
Pistons 124, Knicks 119
Malik Beasley drained two 3-pointers in the final minute to put the game away for visiting Detroit, which held off a fourth-quarter rally by New York.
Cade Cunningham scored 29 of his game-high 36 points for the Pistons, who won for the 10th time in 12 games. Beasley finished with 22 points off the bench while going 6-for-8 from 3-point range.
Jalen Brunson (31 points, 11 assists), Karl-Anthony Towns (26 points, 12 rebounds) and Josh Hart (12 points, 14 rebounds) all posted double-doubles for the Knicks, who lost for the fifth time in seven games. Mikal Bridges finished with 27 points.
Rockets 120, Grizzlies 118
Jalen Green matched his career high with 42 points and Houston came back from down 13 in the fourth quarter to defeat visiting Memphis.
Down 100-87 with 9:55 to play, the Rockets stormed back. Houston claimed a 107-105 lead on a Fred VanVleet 3-pointer with 4:33 left, keying a white-knuckle finish. There were seven lead changes and two ties in the fourth quarter. Green seized the lead for Houston on a driving layup with 33.8 seconds left.
Houston made 16 of 31 from behind the arc and shot 50.6 percent overall. Ja Morant paced the Grizzlies with 29 points but committed seven turnovers. Memphis shot 52.9 percent.
NHL NEWS
NHL ROUNDUP: CONNOR MCDAVID SCORES ON BIRTHDAY IN 1-0 WIN
Connor McDavid scored the game’s lone goal and Stuart Skinner provided a shutout to power the host Edmonton Oilers to a 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday.
Leon Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse picked up assists as McDavid scored on his 28th birthday.
Skinner made 30 saves for his second shutout of the season while Darcy Kuemper stopped 29 of the 30 shots that he faced in the Kings’ crease. The Kings have lost back-to-back games in regulation for the first time in two months.
During four-on-four play, Draisaitl fed a pass to Nurse, who was unable to bury his one-timer. But McDavid found the back of the net on the rebound to give the Oilers the lead at 18:37 of the second period.
Flames 5, Blackhawks 2
Jakob Pelletier had two goals and an assist and Rory Kerins earned two assists in his NHL debut to boost Calgary past host Chicago.
Goaltender Dustin Wolf made 23 saves in the win, improving to 3-0-0 against the Blackhawks this season. Chicago lost for the ninth time in 11 games, falling by multiple goals for the seventh time during that span.
Calgary entered the game with just 24 first-period goals this season, fewest in the NHL. The Flames moved past that trend in a big way, scoring three goals in the first period.
Flyers 4, Panthers 3
Noah Cates scored his second goal of the game with 5:51 remaining to propel host Philadelphia to a comeback win over Florida.
Morgan Frost and Garnet Hathaway also scored for Philadelphia, which overcame a 2-0 deficit to back-to-back games after losing four straight. Samuel Ersson made 20 saves for the Flyers.
Sam Reinhart tallied a pair of goals for Florida, which suffered its first one-goal loss in regulation all season. Uvis Balinskis also scored for the Panthers, while Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves against his former team.
TENNIS NEWS
EMMA NAVARRO WINS ALL-U.S. SHOWDOWN IN AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Eighth-seeded Emma Navarro received a stern test from another NCAA singles champion before emerging with a first-round win at the Australian Open.
Navarro, the 2021 NCAA champ for Virginia, got past Peyton Stearns, the 2022 NCAA champ for Texas, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-5 on Tuesday in Melbourne, Australia.
Stearns broke serve deep in the third set to pull level at 5-5, but Navarro subsequently held serve, then broke Stearns’ serve for the victory after 3 hours and 20 minutes.
“One of the more unique matches I’ve played in a while,” Navarro said. “It was (about) just relying a lot, I guess, on my grit and toughness and fight.
“I just kept telling myself there at the end, ‘Make the most of the skills I have today.’ I think maybe that’s something that kind of clicked there for me at the end.”
In contrast to Navarro’s marathon match, sixth-seeded Elena Rybakina cruised to a first-round win in 53 minutes. The Kazakhstani player thrashed 16-year-old Australian wild-card entrant Emerson Jones 6-1, 6-1.
Rybakina recorded an 11-0 edge in aces without serving a double fault. Jones double-faulted six times, and she failed to convert any of her six break-point opportunities.
In another all-U.S. matchup, No. 19 Madison Keys defeated Ann Li 6-4, 7-5.
Elsewhere in the first round, No. 9 Daria Kasatkina of Russia routed Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova 6-1, 6-3; No. 15 Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil overtook Argentine qualifier Julia Riera 4-6, 7-5, 6-2; No. 24 Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan downed Armenia’s Elina Avanesyan 4-6, 7-5, 6-2; and No. 32 Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine beat Egypt’s Mayar Sharif 6-1, 6-4.
Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu, the 2021 U.S. Open champion, upset 26th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) despite serving 15 double faults. Raducanu did have a 9-1 advantage in aces, but she won just 30 percent of her second-serve points.
“The amount of double faults is uncomfortable, for sure, but it is something I had to accept,” Raducanu said. “I’m working on my serve, and part of it came with first-round nerves.”
Other winners included the United States’ Iva Jovic and Amanda Anisimova, France’s Varvara Gracheva, Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic, Romania’s Gabriela Ruse, Russia’s Erika Andreeva, Germany’s Eva Lys and China’s Xiyu Wang, Shuai Zhang and Yafan Wang.
TAYLOR FRITZ STROLLS TO FIRST-ROUND WIN IN AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Fourth-seeded Taylor Fritz, in his first Grand Slam match since losing the U.S. Open final to Italy’s Jannik Sinner last fall, cruised to a victory in the first round of the Australian Open.
The 27-year-old Californian downed fellow U.S. player Jenson Brooksby 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 on Tuesday in Melbourne, Australia.
While Fritz was continuing a hot streak that included his contributions to the U.S. capturing the United Cup a week ago, Brooksby was competing in his first match in two years. He was sidelined due to wrist surgery and also served a 13-month ban for missing three drug tests.
Fritz finished with a 7-1 edge in aces and a 34-20 advantage in winners. Brooksby committed 23 errors to Fritz’s 21.
“I’m super happy how the match went,” Fritz said. “It’s never easy playing the first match of Slams with a bit of nerves. I did a good job shaking that off early and getting it done in straights.”
The seeded players in early Tuesday action all advanced, though 13th-seed Holger Rune of Denmark needed five sets to prevail. Rune got past China’s Zhizhen Zhang 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, the 18th seed, ousted the Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor 7-5, 6-4, 6-4, and 19th-seeded Karen Khachanov of Russia beat France’s Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-3.
Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo, the 31st seed, downed Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik 7-6 (1), 6-3, 6-2.
Learner Tien, a 19-year-old U.S. qualifier, squeezed past Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
Other first-round winners included Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, Canada’s Gabriel Diallo, Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic and Chilean qualifier Cristian Garin.
TOP INDIANA RELEASES/HEADLINES
INDIANA PACERS
GAME PREVIEW: PACERS VS CAVALIERS
On Tuesday in Indianapolis, the hottest team in the Eastern Conference will take on the league leaders in front of a national audience.
In their second matchup in three days, the Indiana Pacers (22-18) will host the Cleveland Cavaliers (33-5) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in a TNT-televised game.
Indiana extended its winning streak to six straight games while snapping a 12-game win streak by the Cavs with a 108-93 win on Sunday night in Cleveland. Despite the recent loss, the Cavs remain atop the East and still have the best record of any team in the NBA.
Indiana currently boasts the longest winning streak in the East, joining the West’s Sacramento Kings as the only teams to start 2025 with a 6-0 record. The Pacers have won seven of their last eight games overall, and are 12-3 over their last 15.
The Pacers pulled the upset win on Sunday despite losing star point guard Tyrese Haliburton in the second quarter due to a hamstring injury.
Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard shined in the victory, posting 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting, while Pascal Siakam recorded 18 points and nine rebounds, and Myles Turner supplied 15 points and 10 rebounds. Indiana’s bench was also key in the win, as Obi Toppin had 12 points, Thomas Bryant scored 11, and Jarace Walker recorded eight points and 12 rebounds in what Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle later called the best performance of the second-year forward’s career.
While the Pacers have been known for their high-scoring ways the past two seasons, the Blue & Gold locked in on defense in the first matchup with Cleveland – holding the Cavs to fewer than 100 points in a game for the first time this season. Cleveland shot 39.8 percent in the loss, while the Pacers made 46.7 percent of their attempts.
If Haliburton’s unable to play Tuesday, veteran T.J. McConnell and second-year guard Ben Sheppard will likely see an uptick in minutes, while Nembhard will continue primary ball-handling duties with the starting lineup. McConnell had six points, eight assists, and four rebounds on Sunday and Sheppard had five points, three assists, and three rebounds.
The Cavs have led the league from the jump, starting the season 15-0 under first-year coach Kenny Atkinson.
Cleveland is the second-highest scoring team in the league, averaging 122.9 points nightly, but have the top offensive rating at 121.9.
Five-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell leads six double-digit scorers for the Cavs this season, putting up 22.9 points per game. Point guard Darius Garland isn’t far behind, averaging 21.0 points and 6.7 assists per game; 7-footer Evan Mobley is posting 19 points and 8.8 rebounds nightly; and center Jarrett Allen is averaging 14.2 points and 10.2 rebounds.
Garland led the Cavs with 20 points on Sunday, and Mitchell scored 19.
The Cavs have lost back-to-back games only once this season, falling to the Atlanta Hawks on Nov. 24 and Nov. 27.
Projected Starters
Pacers: G – Andrew Nembhard, G – Ben Sheppard, F – Bennedict Mathuin, F – Pascal Siakam, C – Myles Turner
Cavs: G – Darius Garland, G – Donovan Mitchell, F – Dean Wade, F – Evan Mobley, C – Jarrett Allen
Injury Report
Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton – doubtful (sore left hamstring), Isaiah Jackson – out (torn right Achilles tendon), Aaron Nesmith – out (left ankle sprain), James Wiseman – out (torn left Achilles tendon)
Cavs: Ty Jerome – questionable (illness)
Last Meeting
Jan. 12, 2024: The Pacers outscored the Cavs 68-40 in the second half to post a 108-93 win at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Indiana trailed 53-40 at the break before erupting for 37 points in the third quarter on 10 points each by Bennedict Mathurin and Obi Toppin in the period. Cleveland scored just 18 points in the third quarter.
Leading 77-71 heading into the final frame, Andrew Nembhard dropped 11 points in the fourth quarter – making four of five shot attempts, including 2-for-2 from 3-point range – to help the Blue & Gold to a sixth straight win.
The Pacers shot 46.7 percent as a team while holding the Cavs to 39.8 percent overall, and both teams made 11 3-pointers. Cleveland turned the ball over 13 times in the game, and the Pacers took advantage by outscoring the Cavs 15-3 in fast-break points.
Six players scored in double digits for the Pacers, led by 19 from Nembhard and 18 by Pascal Siakam. Myles Turner had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Obi Toppin and Mathurin each scored 12, Thomas Bryant added 11, and Jarace Walker supplied eight points and 12 rebounds.
Cavs point guard Darius Garland led his team with 20 points, Donovan Mitchell scored 19, and Evan Mobley logged 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton played just 18 minutes and 30 seconds total, as he exited the game in the second quarter with a hamstring injury and didn’t return.
Noteworthy
All of Indiana’s wins during its current six-game winning streak have been by 10 or more points, which is a franchise record.
Cleveland and Indiana will play four times this season. After Tuesday’s game in Indianapolis, the Pacers will host the Cavs on April 10 before concluding their regular season in Cleveland on April 13.
When Indiana traded Caris LeVert to Cleveland in 2022, part of the package included a 2022 second round pick and 2023 first round pick. Those draft picks turned into current Pacers players Andrew Nembhard and Ben Sheppard.
Indiana split the season series with Cleveland last season, 2-2. The Pacers won the earlier two matchups and the Cavaliers took the later two.
Cavs guard Darius Garland was born in Gary, Indiana, and Craig Porter Jr. is from Terre Haute.
Broadcast Information (TV and Radio Listings >>)
TV: TNT – Broadcasters TBA
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan – Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Eddie Gill (analyst), Pat Boylan (sideline reporter/host)
INDIANA FOOTBALL
THIRTY-ONE NEWCOMERS ARRIVE IN BLOOMINGTON
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana football program and head coach Curt Cignetti welcome 31 newcomers to campus to start the spring semester, which includes 17 transfers and 14 freshmen into the program for spring ball. With 17 additions since the early signing period, IU has added 38 total newcomers for the 2025 campaign.
In all, IU signed 19 players on offense and 17 on defense and two specialists. Indiana’s defense added eight defensive backs, seven defensive linemen and two linebackers, while the Hoosier offense on boarded five offensive linemen, five wide receivers, four tight ends, three running backs and two quarterbacks. Special teams added one kickers and one punter.
Each of the 17 transfers arrive from the FBS level, with nine from Power 4 programs and eight from Group of Five teams. Ten of the transfers come on the offensive side of the football, five are on the defensive side of the ball and two are specialists.
The signees will arrive in Bloomington from 18 different states and Australia. Five are from Indiana, while four each arrive from Florida and Ohio. Three come from both Illinois and Georgia, while two apiece are from Maryland, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. Alabama, California, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, Nebraska and Pennsylvania saw one signee each. Punter Mitch McCarthy arrives from the mainland of Australia via UCF.
INDIANA WOMEN’S SOCCER
IU WOMEN’S SOCCER COACH ERWIN VAN BENNEKOM ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION
Bloomington, Indiana – IU Women’s Soccer Coach Erwin van Bennekom announced today that he has resigned his position to pursue a different opportunity.
Van Bennekom compiled a 44-39-20 record in six years at IU from 2019-24, including a 6-9-2 mark this past fall. His tenure was highlighted by the 2023 season when he guided IU to a 12-4-4 mark and its first NCAA Tournament berth in a decade. Van Bennekom’s 2023 team also climbed as high as No. 17 in the national polls.
“I want to thank Erwin and his staff for their tireless efforts to elevate the IU Women’s Soccer program both within the Big Ten Conference and nationally,” said IU Vice President and Director of Athletics Scott Dolson. “I wish Erwin and Kim the very best in all of their future endeavors.”
Associate Head Coach Tim Verschuren will assume the leadership of the program on an interim basis. IU will launch a national search for a new head coach of IU Women’s Soccer immediately.
INDIANA SOFTBALL
COPELAND, PARKER & MINNICK NAMED TO D100 PRESEASON LIST
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. –––– Indiana seniors Brianna Copeland and Taylor Minnick along with junior Avery Parker were all announced in the D100 Preseason Top 100 Player Rankings by D1 Softball on Monday morning.
Copeland was ranked at No. 54, Parker at No. 85 and Minnick at No. 95.
Copeland was the ace in the circle and hit at the top of the lineup for the Hoosiers in 2024. In the circle, Copeland had a 2.88 ERA, 174 strikeouts and recorded 20 wins. She hit eight home runs and 10 doubles, charted 36 RBI and had 18 stolen bases.
Copeland was an NFCA Second Team All-Region selection.
Parker, a junior, has been the team’s primary catcher the last two seasons. She had a .313 batting average with 11 doubles, 44 RBI and a team-high 13 home runs.
She earned NFCA Second Team All-Region honors.
Minnick hit third in the Indiana order and has been a four-year contributor in the outfield for the team. The Bloomington, Ind. native hit .357 from the plate with 24 extra-base hits, including 10 home runs, 54 RBI and drew 33 walks.
She was named NFCA First Team All-Region and All-Big Ten Second Team in 2024.
INDIANA MEN’S BASKETBALL
INDIANA BASKETBALL GAME NOTES – GAME 18 VS. NO. 13/15 ILLINOIS
Opening Tip
• Indiana University continues Big Ten Conference play in its 125th season of competition in men’s basketball against No. 13/15 Illinois at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Jan. 14, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The game will be available on Peacock with Noah Eagle (pxp) and Robbie Hummel (analyst) on the call.
• The Fighting Illini enter the game with a record of 12-4 (4-2 Big Ten) under eighth-year head coach Brad Underwood. Illinois ranks seventh in the country (second in the B1G) in scoring offense at 86.9 points per game while allowing just 67.2 points per outing on the defensive end. The Illini receive double-digit scoring efforts from five players and are led by freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis. The projected lottery pick has missed the last two games (forearm) but has averaged 16.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per contest. He shoots 49.6% from the floor, 41.4% from behind the arc, and 87.5% from the free throw line.
Game Information
Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025 • 7 p.m. ET
Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) • Bloomington, Ind.
TV: Peacock (Noah Eagle, Robbie Hummel)
Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, John Herrick)
Series History: Indiana leads, 96-92
Last Meeting: ILL 70, IU 62 on Jan. 27, 2024, in Champaign
Series History
• The Hoosiers hold a 96-92 series advantages in games played between the two border programs. Indiana has won 10 of the last 16 matchups played since the start of the 2014-15 season. IU has prevailed in eight of the last time contests in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
• Malik Reneau led a short-handed Hoosier attack with 21 points and seven rebounds in the lone game against Illinois last season, a 70-62 road defeat. Mackenzie Mgbako secured his first career double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds as the small-ball four.
Last Time Out
• The Hoosiers could not overcome slow starts to both halves in an 85-60 setback at Iowa on Saturday, Jan. 11. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak that spanned the end of the non-conference slate and three Big Ten Conference contests.
• Sixth-year senior center Oumar Ballo collected his third double-double in four games with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Redshirt sophomore guard Myles Rice added a team-high 12 points to go along with five assists.
• Indiana received 29 bench points, including nine each from sophomore guard Kanaan Carlyle and freshman wing Bryson Tucker.
Big Fella Ballo
• Sixth-year senior center Oumar Ballo is averaging 14.0 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.8 blocks per contest and is shooting 68.3% (84-of-123) from the floor. He is one of three high-major conference players (Johni Broome, Auburn; Hunter Dickinson, Kansas) to average at least 14.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.5 blocked shots per night, and the only player to post those numbers on 60.0% shooting or better.
• Ballo is one of five active players to score 1,400 career points and grab 1,000 career rebounds. He joins Hunter Dickinson (Kansas), Johni Broome (Auburn), Norchad Omier (Baylor), and Nelly Junior Joseph (New Mexico) on the exclusive list.
• The 7-footer ranks second among Big Ten players (Danny Wolf, Michigan) and 20th nationally in boards per game. Ballo has strung together eight games with double-digit boards, including a season-high 18 against Miami (Ohio) on Dec. 6.
Going the Extra Myles
• Over his last six games, redshirt sophomore guard Myles Rice is averaging 14.7 points on 41.5% (34-of-82) shooting from the floor to pair with 4.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.9 steals per contest. He has scored 18-plus points four times in that span.
• The Washington State transfer was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma on Sept. 12, 2022. After undergoing chemotherapy for five hours a session twice a month for six months, Rice learned his cancer was in remission on June 1, 2023.
A Goode Starting Lineup
• Senior forward Luke Goode was inserted into the starting lineup against Winthrop on Dec. 29. The Hoosiers are 4-1 since the lineup change and have averaged 76.0 points per contest. IU has shot 31-of-87 (35.6%) from the 3-point line over the last four Big Ten matchups.
• As a starter, Goode is averaging 9.6 points per game and has hit 12-of-28 (42.9%) from behind the arc to go along with 4.0 rebounds as a starter.
• The Fort Wayne native has made 113 3-pointers in 93 career collegiate games.
Ballo, Rice Too Much for Trojans
• Sixth-year senior center Oumar Ballo was one of four Hoosiers to reach double figures in the scoring column in an 82-69 victory over USC on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Ballo scored a game-high 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. He added eight rebounds and two blocked shots.
• Redshirt sophomore guard Myles Rice posted 19 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. Senior forward Luke Goode knocked down four 3-pointers to score 16 points, and fifth-year senior Trey Galloway chipped in 11 points and six assists.
PURDUE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
BOILERS OPEN WEST COAST SWING AT OREGON
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Prepared for its first West Coast swing in the expanded Big Ten, the Purdue women’s basketball team will head to Oregon on Wednesday night for a late 9 p.m. ET tip on B1G+.
Tim Newton will call the game courtside for the Purdue Global Radio Network on 95.3 BOB FM and Purdue Stretch Internet.
GAMEINFORMATION
Purdue (7-9, 0-5) at Oregon (12-5, 3-3)
Wednesday, Jan. 13
Time: 9 PM ET
TV/Stream: B1G+
Radio: 95.3 BOB FM
Audio: Purdue Stretch Internet
Live Stats: Purduestats.com
LAST TIME OUT
Rashunda Jones scored 11 points off the bench and Kendall Puryear dropped 10 in her first career start, as the Boilermakers fell 87-60 at Mackey Arena on Saturday. The Boilermakers could not find a way to claw into an early lead by the Wolverines. Destini Lombard and McKenna Layden both knocked down a pair of 3-pointers.
NOTES
• Wednesday will be the first meeting between the two ball clubs.
• The Ducks will be Purdue’s 212th unique opponent.
• Purdue enters the week with the No. 1 strength of schedule in the NET.
• Wednesday will be the first game since Dec. 21 in which the Boilermakers will face an unranked opponent.
• Wednesday night will mark the first unranked team Purdue will face in Big Ten play this season. Half of Purdue’s 16 games this season have come against teams in the AP Top 25.
• Jordyn Poole and Kendall Puryear made their first career starts against Michigan on Saturday afternoon. They became the first freshman duo to start a game since Kayana Traylor and Nyagoa Gony did it against Western Illinois in 2018-19.
• Destini Lombard dropped to third in the Big Ten in steals with 40 and second in steals per game with 2.7. Her 12 games this season with two or more steals leads the league alongside USC’s JuJu Watkins.
• Reagan Bass sits 11th in the league with 18 rejections and 1.2 blocks per game.
• McKenna Layden had her best game as a Boilermaker against No. 1 UCLA. The sophomore tallied eight points with four rebounds and a pair of 3-pointers in 27 minutes off the bench.
• The Boilermakers are one of five Big Ten teams to have three different players knock down 20 or more 3-pointers (Michigan, Washington, Nebraska and Minnesota). Destini Lombard leads the team with 26 made triples, while Sophie Swanson and Ella Collier have both connected 20 times from the outside.
• McKenna Layden has been a spark for the Boilermakers since the holiday break. The sophomore has connected five times from behind the arc with 5.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game over that stretch.
• Rashunda Jones is second on the team in scoring in Big Ten action. The sophomore is averaging 9.4 points with 3.0 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game, while shooting an even 50% from the field. Jones leads the team with 50 assists on the year.
• Jones’ production has gone up since moving to the bench earlier this season. She is averaging 8.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 23 minutes per game with the second unit.
• Purdue ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 23.8 points per game off the bench.
• Lana McCarthy is one of four freshmen in the Big Ten this season averaging over seven points and five rebounds per game. She is the only league rookie among the group to shoot 50% or better on the year.
• Purdue’s freshmen have combined to score 20 or more points in three of the last 17 games.
• Since the return to action after the holiday break, Purdue is third in the Big Ten with a 36% clip from behind the arc.
• Facing a daunting schedule, eight of Purdue’s nine losses have come to teams in the top 30 of the NET and all have either been Quad 1 or 2 defeats.
PURDUE FOOTBALL PORTAL TRACKER
Purdue football transfer portal additions (26)
| Name | Previous School | Position |
| Evans Chuba | QB | Washington State |
| EJ Colson | QB | UCF |
| Carson Dean | LB | Arkansas |
| Sam Dubwig | P | Arkansas |
| Christian Earls | TE | UNLV |
| Tony Grimes | CB | UNLV |
| Breeon Ishmail | Edge | Michigan |
| Nathan Leacock | WR | Tennessee |
| Chauncey Magwood | WR | UCF |
| Christian Moore | TE/FB | UNLV |
| Isaiah Myers | WR | Charlotte |
| CJ Nunnally IV | DE | Akron |
| Mani Powell | LB | UNLV |
| Luca Puccinelli | TE | Wake Forest |
| Hank Purvis | OL | UNLV |
| Tahj Ra-El | S | Memphis |
| Charles Ross | WR | USC |
| Alex Sanford Jr. | LB | Arkansas |
| Malachi Singleton | QB | Arkansas |
| Jalen St. John | OL | UNLV |
| Malachi Thomas | RB | Virginia Tech |
| Richard Toney Jr. | S | TCU |
| Ryan Turner | CB | Boston College |
| Giordano Vaccaro | OL | Manitoba (Can.) |
| Mason Vicari | OL | UNLV |
| Crew Wakley | S | BYU |
Purdue football transfer portal exits (32)
| Name | Position | New school |
| Botros Alisandro | CB | Old Dominion |
| Koy Beasley | CB | Miami of Ohio |
| Drew Biber | TE | Minnesota |
| Anthony Boswell | OL | Toledo |
| Cole Brevard | DL | Texas |
| Anthony Brown | S | |
| Ryan Browne | QB | North Carolina |
| Keelan Crimmins | P | |
| Marcos Davila | QB | Nebraska |
| Jamarius Dinkins | DL | |
| Jahmal Edrine | WR | Virginia |
| Tayvion Galloway | TE | Middle Tennessee |
| Jalen Grant | OL | NC State |
| Tarrion Grant | CB | Texas Tech |
| Nyland Green | CB | |
| Will Heldt | Edge | Clemson |
| Elijah Jackson | RB | Ball State |
| Joseph Jefferson II | CB | Western Michigan |
| Yanni Karlaftis | DL | Northwestern |
| Max Klare | TE | Ohio State |
| Damarjhe Lewis | DL | SMU |
| Jeffrey M’Ba | DL | Auburn |
| Mahamane Moussa | OL | Louisville |
| Shamar Rigby | WR | Oklahoma State |
| Aaron Roberts | OL | |
| Derrick Rogers | CB | Florida Atlantic |
| C.J. Smith | WR | Memphis |
| Leland Smith | WR | San Jose State |
| Dillon Thieneman | S | Oregon |
| Jaron Tibbs | WR | Kansas State |
| DJ Wingfield | OL | USC |
NOTRE DAME MEN’S BASKETBALL
IRISH BACK IN WIN COLUMN WITH 78-60 WIN OVER BOSTON COLLEGE
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – ‘Faith over doubt.’ Glenn & Stacey Murphy Notre Dame Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry preached this to his squad after the Duke game. The Fighting Irish (8-9, 2-4) kept the faith and got back into the win column with a 78-60 victory over the Boston College Eagles (9-8, 1-5)
“Really proud of the guys for keeping the faith,” Coach Shrewsberry said. “Even though this one was choppy and back and forth early on, we buckled down and made plays when we needed to. Shout out to Roper and Kebba and their hustle plays throughout the game.”
Tae Davis led the Irish in scoring for the seventh time this season, pouring in 26 points, which was one shy of his career high. It marked his fourth game of 20+ in the last seven matchups. Davis shot 9-14 from the field and 8-9 from the free-throw line. Another MVP was Julian Roper II who led the team in +/- today with +26.
Markus Burton supplied 20 points on 5-15 shooting, plus 9-10 from the stripe. Kebba Njie nearly got another double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. Matt Allocco also finished in double figures with 13 points on 5-8 shooting.
Notre Dame cleaned up their turnovers in the second half. After committing nine turnovers in the first half, they only coughed it up once in the second. The Irish tied their season high in offensive boards (17) and recorded a season best in second-chance points (25).
Defensively, the Irish achieved a season high in steals with 13. They were led by a season high of four from Burton.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was back and forth action to start, with neither team being able to pull away by more than six in the first half. Costly turnovers from the Irish left them down four at 22-18 with 5:50 remaining.
Down three at 30-27, the Irish would go on a 11-2 run sparked by four straight Markus Burton free throws. He was followed by baskets from Allocco and Davis to give the Irish the largest lead of the half as they were up 36-30 before an Eagles three-pointer at the buzzer cut the lead to three heading into halftime.
Davis was the lone Irish in double figures at the break with 11 points on 4-5 shooting. Burton followed right behind with nine points. As a team, ND shot 12-27 (.444) from the floor.
Boston College entered tonight’s matchup averaging 6.0 made threes per game. By 17:23 in the second half they had drained their seventh and were 7-12 from deep, giving them a 44-40 lead.
The Irish finally earned a little separation with just under 9:30 remaining. It started with Roper II and Davis who injected some life into the team and crowd. Roper II made the extra effort to chase down a rebound then dished to Davis who completed an and-one. Next possession, Allocco converted a long two and was fouled and finished off his and-one for the 56-48 advantage. The duo of Davis and Allocco spurred an 8-0 run over two minutes.
Roper II, Burton and Davis kept the offense churning and extended the ND scoring run to 20-4, pushing the lead to double digits up 66-52 with 3:20 remaining.
Four straight free throws from Davis and Burton coupled with a Davis and-one put the Irish up 16 to make it 73-57 with 1:35 left. The Eagles would knock down one last three, but a Davis jumper and Njie trey would close it out as the Irish secured the 18-point win 78-60.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame will be living life on the road. In fact, four of the next five contests are away from Purcell Pavilion. First, the Irish will travel to New York to clash with Syracuse on Saturday, Jan. 18, at 4 p.m. ET on ACC Network. Then ND will have their mid-week bye and return to action on Jan. 25 at Virginia.
BUTLER WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TO HOST HOYAS AT HINKLE ON TUESDAY NIGHT
The Bulldogs will go for their second-straight BIG EAST win on Tuesday night when they host the Georgetown Hoyas for a 7 p.m. tip. Butler heads into the contest with an 11-7 overall record while the Hoyas enter at 8-8. Each program is 1-4 in the BIG EAST standings.
Game Day
Date: Tuesday, January 14, 2025
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Location: Indianapolis, Ind. – Hinkle Fieldhouse
Live Stats: ButlerSports.com
Watch: FloSports.com – BEDN
Bulldog Bits
– Kilyn McGuff led Butler to victory against Providence with 14 points and seven rebounds.
– McGuff has scored in double figures 11 times this year including in each of Butler’s last three games.
– McGuff leads the BIG EAST and ranks 27th in the nation in double-doubles (7).
– McGuff leads the team and ranks second in the conference in rebounds per game (8.1).
– McGuff has led Butler in rebounding 14 times this year, including in each of Butler’s last four games.
– BU is third in the league in rebound margin (+3.1).
– McGuff is the only Bulldog to average 30+ minutes of playing time per game.
– McGuff and Karsyn Norman are the only two players on the roster to start in every game this year.
– Karsyn Norman tied her career-high point total vs. Providence with 11 against the Friars.
– Norman set new career-high marks by going 4-for-4 from the free throw line on Wednesday night.
– The Bulldogs lead the league in free throw attempts (19.2) and free throws made (13.3) per game.
– Norman led Butler with six assists against PC; it was the fifth time this year she reached six in a game.
– Sydney Jaynes had 13 points in the win over PC.
– Jaynes has scored in double figures, and has hit a 3-pointer in three-straight games.
– The Bulldogs are 9-2 this year when three players score in double figures.
– Butler limited Providence to just 16 second half points in their 10-point BIG EAST win.
– BU was only whistled for four fouls against the Friars.
– Butler is now 7-2 in games played at Hinkle.
– Butler leads the BIG EAST in bench points per game (24.9).
Scouting Georgetown
The Hoyas have lost three-straight and head to Hinkle Fieldhouse with an 8-8 overall record. Georgetown is now 1-4 in BIG EAST action taking recent losses to UConn, Villanova, and Seton Hall. Their lone conference win came at home over Xavier. Head Coach Darnell Haney has a trio of student-athletes impacting games on a nightly basis. Graduate guard Kelsey Ransom leads the league in scoring (19.9) and is second in assists (4.4). She’s the league leader in minutes played and is second in free throw attempts. Ariel Jenkins is the top rebounder in the BIG EAST averaging 10.2 per game and Victoria Rivera is one of the best 3-point shooters in the conference, making nearly three per contest.
All-Time Series
Georgetown leads the all-time series against Butler 12-11. The Hoyas took the slim lead by sweeping the Bulldogs one year ago. They won 60-55 at Hinkle Fieldhouse and 70-63 at McDonough Arena. Butler however swept Georgetown in Coach Parkinson’s first season at the helm. They won 72-48 on the road and 58-56 at home in 2022-23.
Last Game vs. The Hoyas
Georgetown snapped Butler’s four-game winning streak last February with a 70-63 victory in Washington, D.C. Kelsey Ransom led all players with 31 points. Butler’s leading scorer was Riley Makalusky with 21. Makalusky made three 3-pointers in the first quarter and only missed two shots the entire game. Eight of Butler’s 11 made field goals in the first half came from behind the arc and the Bulldogs would shoot 41 percent from long range in the game (12-29). A back and forth first half featured 14 lead changes over the opening 20 minutes. The two teams were tied 33-33 at the half, but GU used a 6-0 scoring run to take a 57-52 lead heading into the fourth. Butler had a chance to tie the game with less than a minute remaining, but the Hoya defense got a stop and would pull out the seven-point win.
Focused On Free Throws
The Bulldogs have made 35 of their last 40 free throw attempts, shooting 87.5 percent over their last three games. They made 12 of their 13 tries in the win over Providence (92.3%). It marked the first game for BU to shoot over 90 percent from the line (min. 13 attempts) since Nov. 20, 2023.
First 50
Cristen Carter and Riley Makalusky will each appear in their 50th game for Butler on Tuesday. Carter has started in 30 games for the Bulldogs and is just seven rebounds shy of 200. Makalusky has also started in 30 games for BU and has made 52 3-pointers over her first 50 games. She is also just four rebounds away from 100.
‘Dawgs Playing D
The Bulldogs are now 7-1 when they keep their opponent under 60 points. They limited Indiana to 46 points, Santa Clara to 50 and recently kept Providence to just 47. Butler’s 10-point win over the Friars made the team 6-1 in games decided by 6-10 points. Their first BIG EAST win came after two tough road losses at Creighton and Marquette. BU fell by just four to the Bluejays and three to the Golden Eagles.
Add to the Offense
Ari Wiggins and Sydney Jaynes have added an extra wrinkle to the Butler offense this season. Wiggins is shooting 58 percent from behind the arc and Jaynes has extended her range to shoot 50 percent from deep. Wiggins is 10-for-17 this year, a vast improvement over last year when she went 10-for-38. Jaynes is now 9-for-18 as a senior after going 7-for-27 as a junior.
A First for Butler Women’s Basketball
The Butler women’s basketball game against UConn set for Saturday, Feb. 22 is officially sold out! The final home game of the regular season will set a new program single-game attendance record with more than 9,000 fans expected to be at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Strande To Miss Rest of the Season
Caroline Strande left the Wisconsin game due to injury on Dec. 11 (ankle) and remained sidelined for the next two games. She returned to action against Seton Hall in the BIG EAST home opener on Dec. 29 and suffered a season-ending knee injury.
What’s Missing?
Caroline Strande and Jordan Meulemans provided Butler with 710 points last year. Strande led the team with her 15.1 scoring average and was recognized as a Second Team All-BIG EAST selection at the end of the 2023-24 campaign. She became the first Bulldog in program history to lead her team in points, rebounds and assists during the same season. Meulemans also suffered a knee injury before the start of the regular season. She made 61 3-pointers last year, shooting 42 percent from behind the arc.
18 3-Pointers
The Bulldogs set a single-game program record against Saint Francis by hitting 18 3-pointers. Eight different players made at least one 3-pointer and no Bulldog made more than four. As a team, BU shot 56.3 percent from behind the arc, making 18 of their 32 attempts. The old record of 16 was reached two times previously. BU hit 16 3-pointers at Georgetown on Jan. 11, 2014 and the 2023-24 team matched that effort with 16 against St. Thomas in game two of the Tiger Turkey Tip-Off.
10 Wins
The Bulldogs reached 10 non-conference wins before the start of BIG EAST play for just the second time since joining conference. Butler went 6-2 in November and highlighted that stretch of action with a 56-46 home win over Indiana. The victory came in front of a record-setting crowd of 4,135 fans.
Up Next
Butler will play at Xavier on Saturday, Jan. 18. The 2 p.m. tip from the Cintas Center will be the 55th meeting between the two programs.
BUTLER MEN’S BASKETBALL
BULLDOGS GET 4-STAR COMMITT
Four-star forward Efeosa Oliogu committed to Butler Monday. Oliogu chose Butler over Maryland, TCU and Arizona State among others. The 6-6 forward is ranked as the 31st-best small forward in the 2025 class and 125th nationally per 247Sports. Oliogu’s commitment moves Butler’s 2025 class to 14th nationally, ahead of LSU and just behind Michigan, per 247.
IU INDY MEN’S BASKETBALL
IU INDY’S GOODE NAMED #HLMBB FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
INDIANAPOLIS – IU Indianapolis men’s basketball freshman DeSean Goode has been named the #HLMBB Freshman of the Week for his play last week. Goode recorded his second double-double of the season with 15 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in the Jaguars’ emphatic win over Detroit Mercy on Thursday (Jan. 9) inside the Jungle.
It marked the second time this season that Goode has earned the league’s Freshman of the Week award.
Goode sparked the Jaguars 95-61 win over the Titans, hitting 7-of-11 shots en route to 15 points, 13 rebounds (11 offensive), three assists and a blocked shot. Goode’s work on the offensive glass helped the Jaguars to a 24-7 advantage in second chance points in the win over the Titans.
The 95 points scored and 34-point winning margin were both program highs in IU Indy’s Horizon League-era.
BALL STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL
CARDINALS SET TO PLAY AT OHIO TUESDAY NIGHT FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2023
The Ball State men’s basketball team is set to play at Ohio for the first time since 2023 at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Convocation Center in Athens.
The contest will be streamed on ESPN+, while Mick Tidrow and David Eha handle the radio broadcast on WMUN 1340AM – 92.5FM.
Ohio leads the head-to-head series 56-35 with a 30-11 edge at home. The two teams haven’t played each other in Athens since Jan. 10, 2023. The Bobcats won the lone matchup last season 84-79 in overtime on Feb. 6 at Worthen Arena.
Ball State (8-7, 2-1 Mid-American Conference) took down Bowling Green 91-69 on Saturday afternoon after a late 15-0 scoring run allowed the Cardinals to pull away from the Falcons, who had cut a 42-26 halftime deficit to six points with just over five minutes to play. Payton Sparks (19 points and 13 rebounds) led a balanced scoring attack that featured six Ball State players in double figures.
Ohio (9-6, 3-0 MAC) has won five in a row, most recently handling Northern Illinois 108-70 on Saturday afternoon at home. The Bobcats also beat Central Michigan (57-55 on Jan. 4) and Buffalo (88-79 on Jan. 7) on the road to begin conference play.
Jeff Boals is in his sixth season as the head coach of the Bobcats, who were projected to win the MAC regular season and tournament in the preseason poll. Ohio went 20-13 (13-5 MAC) last season to earn the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament, where it fell to No. 2 seed Akron in the semifinals.
The Bobcats pace the MAC and rank No. 24 in NCAA Division I with 15.2 fastbreak points per game, while their field goal percentage (47.8) and 3-point shooting (36.8) are both second in the conference.
Senior forward AJ Clayton leads Ohio in scoring (17.4 points per game) and rebounding (6.4) per game. The scoring average is currently the highest in the MAC with the rebounding average being sixth. Clayton, who was named the MAC Player of the Week on Monday, also leads the league in total blocks (28) and blocks per game (1.87).
The Cardinals return home to host Toledo at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
SPREAD OUT THE SCORING: Six Cardinals scored in double figures in Ball State’s 91-69 triumph over Bowling Green on Saturday: Payton Sparks (19 points), Juanse Gorosito (16), Mickey Pearson Jr. (16), Jeremiah Hernandez (14), Jermahri Hill (12), and Ethan Brittain-Watts (10).
It was the first time the men’s basketball team has placed six in double digits in the box score since Nov. 19, 2022 against IU-South Bend.
OFFENSIVE SHOWCASE: The Cardinals shot 58.9 percent (33-for-56) from the field in Saturday’s 91-69 winning decision against Bowling Green.
The shooting percentage was Ball State’s best since Nov. 24, 2023 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (61.1), while the total field goals made tied for the most in a game this season.
PAYTON POUNDING THE GLASS: Senior center Payton Sparks has recorded double figures rebounds in each of the last four games (16-12-16-13) to increase his season rebounding average to third in
the Mid-American Conference (7.1 per game).
The Winchester, Ind., native has now reached the 16-board mark in four career games.
70 IS A MAGIC NUMBER: The Cardinals have found success when scoring at least 70 points (7-2 record) and/or allowing fewer than 70 points (6-0) this season.
Ball State has put up at least 70 points in six straight games, which is the longest current stretch among MAC teams.
GETTING FAMILIAR WITH THE FREE THROW LINE: Junior guard Jermahri Hill (100) and Sparks (99) are first and second in the league in free throw attempts, respectively.
The duo also go 1-2 in the conference in free throws made, with 71 for Hill and 61 for Sparks, while forward Mickey Pearson Jr. (55) is fifth in the MAC.
LOCK IT DOWN: The Ball State defense ranks second in the MAC in scoring defense (70.8 points per game), field goal percentage defense (41.3) and 3-point defense (30.6 percent).
Ball State limited Kent State to 1-for-11 shooting from the field in the final four minutes of the Jan. 4 game to secure the road win.
HERNANDEZ HEATING UP: Graduate guard Jeremiah Hernandez has scored in double figures each of the last six games to increase his scoring average to 8.2 points per game on the season.
Hernandez tallied 14 on Saturday against Bowling Green and added five rebounds, four assists and three steals against the Falcons.
ONE-TWO PUNCH: Sparks and Hill have established a dynamic duo over the last few weeks, combining for 143 points, 78 rebounds and 20 assists in the most recent four games.
Hill led the Cardinals in scoring in three of those games while Sparks has been the leading rebounder in all four contests for Ball State.
DOMINANT DEFENSE: Ball State limited Evansville to 43 points and 29.1 percent shooting from the field on Dec. 21. Those were the lowest tallies the Cardinals had allowed an NCAA Division I opponent
to get since March 11, 2019 against Eastern Michigan.
The Cardinals limited the Purple Aces to their fewest points in the 58-game series history since 1935, and the 37-point margin of victory was the second-highest for Ball State ever vs
Evansville.
MILESTONE WATCH: After Sparks (currently 1,050 points) reached the milestone on New Year’s Eve, Hernandez (949) and Pearson Jr. (887) are each closing in on scoring 1,000 points in his Division I career.
Sparks (639 rebounds) is currently No. 14 in Ball State program history for a career.
GETTING TO THE LINE: The Cardinals pace the Mid-American Conference in both free throw attempts per game (27.3) and free throws made per game (19.2) through the season’s first 15 games.
Ball State ranks No. 4 and No. 7 in those categories in NCAA Division I, respectively. The total tallies (388 attempts and 270 makes) outpace the next-closest MAC team (Toledo) by 94 attempts
and 65 makes.
GORO-THREE-TO: Junior guard Juanse Gorosito was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Week after hitting seven 3-pointers for 21 and adding four assists and three steals on Dec. 14 at Bellarmine.
Gorosito is fourth in the conference in 3-pointers made (43) and second in shooting percentage (43.9) from distance, which ranks No. 26 in NCAA Division I.
HOME STATE HEROES: Brittain-Watts (2019), Zane Doughty, Joey Hart and Mason Jones (2023) were each named Indiana High School All-Stars, while three more Cardinals also had ties to the state before arriving in Muncie.
Ball State has the second-most players from Indiana high schools among Indiana-based Division I teams behind Purdue.
WORLD FLYERS: The 2024-25 Ball State roster consists of student-athletes from three different countries in addition to the United States of America.
Gorosito (Argentina), Ben Hendriks (Canada) and Jurica Zagorsak (Croatia) are international Cardinals this season. Interestingly, Juanse, Ben and Jurica were born on different continents, so Ball State has student-athletes from North America, South America and Europe on the team.
TRANSFERS FROM ALL OVER: Each of Ball State’s seven student-athletes who have transferred into the program have come from different college basketball conferences.
The list includes Ethan Brittain-Watts (Patriot League, Boston), Gorosito (West Coast Conference, Portland), Hart (SEC, Kentucky), Hernandez (Ohio Valley Conference, USI), Pearson Jr. (Big 12, TCU), Sparks (Big Ten, Indiana) and Hill who played junior college ball at South Plains in Levelland, Texas.
MEN’S BASKETBALL SELECTED TO HOST SOUTHERN MISS FOR SECOND LEG OF MAC-SBC CHALLENGE
The Ball State men’s basketball team will host Southern Miss for the second leg of the MAC-SBC Challenge, the Mid-American Conference announced Monday afternoon.
The Cardinals (8-7, 2-1 MAC) and Golden Eagles (8-9, 3-2 Sun Belt) are set to square off at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8 in Worthen Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
This is the second season of the two-game clash between the conferences, as Ball State played its season opener on Nov. 4 at Georgia State. The Cardinals beat Old Dominion 73-68 at Worthen on Nov. 11, 2023 in the initial MAC-SBC Challenge game for Ball State.
The Cardinals are coming off a 91-69 win over Bowling Green and are set to play at Ohio at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
BALL STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HEADS TO JMU TO COMPLETE MAC-SBC CHALLENGE ON FEBRUARY 8
CLEVELAND – The final opponent of the Mid-American Conference/Sun Belt Conference Challenge has been announced by the league office today. The Ball State women’s basketball team will travel to James Madison University on February 8.
This will be the second meeting between the Cardinals and the Dukes with Ball State winning last year’s inaugural contest by a score of 72-57 on Feb. 11 in Worthen Arena.
Ball State owns a 3-0 record in the MAC-SBC Challenge after winning its first match-up this season against Old Dominion by a 60-46 decision on Nov. 4 in Muncie. The Cardinals also posted an 86-71 defeat at Troy.
INDIANA STATE SOFTBALL
INDIANA STATE SOFTBALL ANNOUNCES 2025 FULL SCHEDULE
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State Softball has announced its 2025 spring schedule, highlighted by 15 games at Price Field. The Sycamores are set to compete in a 27-game Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) slate, beginning with a home series against Valparaiso from March 14-16.
The season opens with a five-week road stretch featuring competitive tournaments across four states. Indiana State will kick off its campaign at the FGCU Tournament (Feb. 7-9) in Fort Myers, Florida, with matchups against Long Island University, the host Florida Gulf Coast University, Boston College, and Boston University during opening weekend.
Following the FGCU Tournament, the Sycamores will travel to Birmingham, Alabama, to compete in the Samford Tournament (Feb. 15-16) and then head to Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the UT Chattanooga Tournament (Feb. 21-23). Indiana State will wrap up its early-season tournament schedule at the University of Tennessee Tournament in Knoxville (Feb. 28 – March 2).
In early March, the Sycamores will take on Butler in a midweek game on March 5 in Indianapolis. They will then head to Richmond, Kentucky, for a Round Robin Tournament (March 8-9) featuring games against Eastern Kentucky and Purdue Fort Wayne. The extended road trip concludes with a midweek clash at Illinois in Champaign on March 11.
The Sycamores will finally return to Terre Haute for their home opener, a three-game MVC series against Valparaiso from March 14-16 at Price Field.
Key MVC Home Series Include:
Valparaiso (March 14-16)
Murray State (March 21-23)
Evansville – Doubleheader (April 8)
Missouri State (April 11-13)
UIC (April 25-27)
On the road, Indiana State will face tough MVC opponents, including Drake (March 28-30), Southern Illinois (April 4-6), Bradley (April 18-20), and Belmont (May 2-4). The Sycamores will also play one final game of the season series against Evansville on April 15.
2025 Midweek Non-Conference Games:
Butler (March 5) – Indianapolis, IN
Illinois (March 11) – Champaign, IL
Ball State (March 25) – Terre Haute, IN
Eastern Illinois (April 22) – Charleston, IL
Indiana State will conclude its regular-season schedule with a three-game series at Belmont from May 2-4. They will then turn their attention to the MVC Tournament, held in Des Moines, Iowa, from May 7-10. The tournament champion will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
PURDUE FT. WAYNE MEN’S BASKETBALL
RASHEED BELLO’S PICKS UP HORIZON LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
INDIANAPOLIS – After averaging 24.5 points per game last week, Purdue Fort Wayne’s Rasheed Bello was named the Horizon League Player of the Week on Monday (Jan. 13).
In addition to his 24.5 points per game, he averaged 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals, 1.5 assists and 1.0 blocks in two games. He shot 55.2 percent overall (16-of-29) and 42.9 percent (6-of-14) from three while going a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line. Bello is now 22nd in the nation with a season free throw percentage of 90.7 percent.
Bello helped the ‘Dons to wins over co-preseason favorite Milwaukee and Detroit-Mercy. He scored 23 points in the win over Milwaukee and added 26 against Detroit-Mercy.
This is Bello’s third career Horizon League Player of the Week honor and second of the season.
The ‘Dons are 13-6 overall with the most wins in the Horizon League. In league play the ‘Dons are one of only three teams in the league with six conference wins.
Purdue Fort Wayne is at Wright State on Wednesday (Jan. 15).
EVANSVILLE MEN’S BASKETBALL
ACES WRAP UP ROAD TRIP ON TUESDAY AT UNI
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – A road swing through Iowa continues for the University of Evansville men’s basketball team on Tuesday evening when the Purple Aces face UNI at 7 p.m. at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls. ESPN+ and the Purple Aces Radio Network will have the broadcast.
Last Time Out
– Drake opened the second half on a 19-1 run and pulled away for a 63-40 win over the Aces on Saturday in Des Moines
– Evansville led by five points in the first half and trailed by just five at the break
– Tayshawn Comer was the top scorer for UE, finishing with 11 while Cam Haffner added 10 points
Settling In
– Freshman Kaia Berridge recorded the top offensive game of his career at Drake, finishing with six points
– Berridge knocked down both 3-point attempts in the game
– He played 16 minutes in the game and finished with the second-lowest plus/minus on the team
Showing Consistency
– Over the last six games, Tanner Cuff has recorded 9.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game
– He continues to pace UE with his average of 6.3 boards per game; that mark ranks 8th in the MVC
– On the offensive side, Cuff has scored 7 or more in seven of the last eight games and is averaging 8.9 PPG on the season
– He had the top game of his career against Chattanooga, scoring 18 while adding 5 boards, 4 assists, 2 blocks and a steal
Scouting the Opponent
– With a last second win at Illinois State on Saturday, Northern Iowa improved to 10-7 on the season and 4-2 in Valley play
– The win ended a 2-game skid that saw them drop games against Valparaiso and Murray State
– Tytan Anderson leads the Panthers with 14.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game
– Anderson is a 57.6% shooter from the field and is tied for the team lead with 24 steals
– Jacob Hutson is averaging 12.2 PPG while Trey Campbell and Leon Bond III score 11.5 and 11.4 PPG, respectively
EVANSVILLE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
RUNNER EARNS PROGRAM BEST SIXTH MVC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONOR
ST LOUIS. – For the sixth time this season freshman guard Camryn Runner (Cicero, Ind. / Hamilton Heights HS) has been recognized by the Missouri Valley Conference.
After a big offensive performance at Indiana State on Sunday Runner has been picked the MVC Freshman of the Week by conference staff. Runner paced the Purple Aces offense against Indiana State, dropping her fifth 20-point outing of the season with 24 points against the Sycamores.
Runner also had a career-best game in Terre Haute in multiple areas. She went a career-best 6-of-10 from behind the 3-point arc, recording the best performance from 3-point range by an Ace since 2022 with her six made treys. Runner dished out a career-high six assists, replacing her season high of five.
For the season, Runner is averaging 16.7 points per game and is one of two freshmen inside the top 10 in the Valley as the seventh top scorer in the league. Runner is also in the top 10 in the MVC for assists with 47 helpers in 15 games for 3.1 assists a game. The freshman also leads the league in minutes played at 34.8 minutes per game and is 58th nationally among Division I players.
With her sixth recognition, Runner is UE’s most decorated newcomer in the Missouri Valley Conference in a single season. Evansville’s previous leader was guard Sara Dickey who was named the MVC Newcomer of the Week five times in her first season with the Aces. The MVC Freshman of the Week award is in its second season and Runner is tied for the most recognitions with Belmont guard Jailyn Banks.
UE and Runner return to Meeks Family Fieldhouse for the first time in over a month later this week. Evansville welcomes the Missouri State Lady Bears to campus for a Purple Friday night game. Fans are encouraged to wear purple to Meeks for the game at 6 p.m.
WABASH FOOTBALL
BAKER-WATSON, PIERRE JOIN WABASH FOOTBALL COACHING STAFF
CRAWFORDSVILLE, Indiana — Wabash College head football coach Jake Gilbert adds two new assistants to his staff for the 2025 season. Brian Baker-Watson will serve as the Little Giants’ running backs coach and the athletics department’s scholar-athlete success coordinator. Noah Pierre joins the staff as the new defensive backs coach.
Baker-Watson brings 35 years of experience as a head coach, offensive and defensive coordinator, and recruiter to the Wabash program. Pierre coached at Franklin College in 2024 after playing defensive back at Indiana University, where he served as team captain in 2023.
“Brian and Noah will connect very well with our coaches and players,” Gilbert said. “I’m excited to have guys that care about relationships and positive coaching. Noah was a high-level player, a captain at Indiana University, and a great leader. He’s young and enthusiastic. Brian is highly experienced. He has been a head college coach and an offense coordinator at the college level. We are looking forward to the wealth and knowledge he brings.”
Baker-Watson began his coaching career at Moraine Valley Community College in Illinois, where he spent four seasons coaching offense, defense, and special teams. Baker-Watson started a five-year stint at St. Xavier University in Chicago in 1994 as an assistant coach before being elevated to defensive coordinator in 1997 and assistant head coach and offensive coordinator in 1998. Baker-Watson helped the program set 22 single-game and season offensive records and earn national recognition as the top-five program in the nation in scoring, passing yards, and total offense.
Baker-Watson joined the Concordia University Chicago staff in 1999 as defensive coordinator and was named head coach in 2000. He moved to Aurora University as a defensive line coach in 2003 to help the Spartans capture an Illini-Badger Conference title and an NCAA Division III playoff berth in 2004.
Baker-Watson returned to the Chicagoland area in 2005 as offensive coordinator, assistant head coach, and director of football operations at Benedictine University. His efforts as an assistant coach helped the Eagles improve from a 1-9 program to conference champions in 2010 and 2011. The program also ranked among the top 15 percent in the nation in scoring offense.
Baker-Watson moved to the high school coaching ranks in 2014 to lead South Putnam High School to sectional championship game appearances in 2015 and 2017 and a sectional title in 2018 as the program’s offensive coordinator. He joined the Greencastle High School staff in 2020 as assistant coach and offensive coordinator before taking a position at Avon High School as tight ends coach in 2023.
Baker-Watson graduated from Benedictine University, where he majored in business and economics. He earned a master’s degree in business administration from Aurora University.
“I’ve been a head coach and coordinator for years and have led a couple of teams to the NCAA tournament,” Baker-Watson said.” I’m happy to be here with Coach Gilbert. We see eye to eye on many different things, not only athletically but also on how to mentor young men. His vision for the future of Wabash football is aligned with what I’ve always believed.”
Pierre spent last season at Franklin College as the Grizzlies’ cornerbacks coach. He mentored a First Team All-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference player and helped Franklin become the top passing defense in the conference. Pierre graduated from Indiana University as a kinesiology major. He played in 50 games with 18 starts for the Hoosiers on the football field, including seven games with five starts before his final season ended due to an injury. Pierre also worked in Evansville as a mentor to at-risk youth.
“I’m relatively new to the coaching game and excited to learn from this veteran coaching staff,” Pierre said. “I have played football since I was four. Now, I’m in my second year of coaching and look forward to sharing my experience as a player with the Wabash team.”
TAYLOR ATHLETICS
GRUBBS AND JONES COLLECT ADDITIONAL POSTSEASON ACCOLADES
UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor’s Jonathan Grubbs and Aven Jones combined for multiple NAIA All-American honors recently, adding to the previous AFCA NAIA Second-Team All-American nod for Jones in December.
Grubbs joined Jones in collecting an All-American honor, being named a Victory Sports Network Honorable Mention NAIA All-American for his work on the powerful offensive line for No. 25 Taylor.
Grubbs started all 11 games at the left tackle position for Taylor (9-2, 4-1 MSFA) during his junior season, being named the MSFA Mideast League Offensive Lineman of the Year after helping the Trojans lead the NAIA during the regular season with 54 rushing touchdowns. Grubbs also helped TU rank second in the regular season with 311.7 rushing yards per game, as the Taylor offense set program records with 48.4 points per game, 486.4 yards per game and the 311.7 rushing yards per game.
Jones added three more All-American awards to his AFCA honor, being named an Associated Press and Walter Camp First-Team All-American, as well as a VSN Third-Team All-American.
Jones finished his final collegiate season with 132 total tackles, five sacks, 8.5 tackles for lost yardage and a trio of forced fumbles while starting all 11 games from his linebacker position. Jones led the NAIA in tackles during the regular season and ended the 2024 campaign ranked second in total stops and second with 12.0 tackles per outing.
The play of Grubbs and Jones helped No. 25 Taylor to a 9-2 record, marking a seven-win turnaround from the prior season and posting the second-highest win total in program history.
TAYLOR ATHLETICS
WEBB SWEEPS CL MEN’S BASKETBALL WEEKLY AWARDS
JACKSON, Mich. – Senior forward Anton Webb was awarded both the Crossroads League Men’s Basketball Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week for January 6-12, as announced by the league on Monday.
Webb’s honors represent the sixth and seventh Crossroads League weekly accolades he’s picked up in his career, all of which have come during his dominant 2024-2025 senior season.
In a 79-76 upset win over No. 22 Indiana Wesleyan on Jan. 8, Webb scored a game-high 26 points on 9-of-12 accuracy from the field, collected eight rebounds and tallied two assists, a block and a steal. The 26 points brought Webb to over 1,000 across his entire collegiate career, and 19 of them came in the second half to fuel Wednesday’s rivalry victory.
The Dayton, Ohio, native then delivered a supremely clutch performance on both ends of the court on Saturday in a 110-102 triple-overtime win over Goshen.
The thrilling victory saw Webb make a game-saving block in the paint at the regulation buzzer, score a buzzer-beating, game-tying layup to send the game to a second overtime, notch two blocks in the span of three game-time seconds in the third overtime, and knock down a dagger three-pointer with 1:10 to go in the final extra session.
Webb closed Saturday’s instant classic with 33 points, 20 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and a steal to end his week averaging 29.5 points on 64.7 percent shooting, 14.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 blocks per game.
The forward leads all Crossroads League players on the season with 12.1 rebounds per game, and he ranks among the top five in both steals and blocks per contest.
Webb and Taylor (11-6, 4-3 CL) next battle No. 17 Huntington (13-4, 3-4) on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 7:30 p.m.
VINCENNES MEN’S BASKETBALL
NO. 24 TRAILBLAZERS SCORE EARLY AND OFTEN IN BIG REGION 24 WIN OVER SHAWNEE
VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University men’s basketball team jumped back into the Top 25 this week in the first NJCAA Division I National rankings for 2025, checking in at No. 24 in the country.
The Trailblazers got the first opportunity to improve on this ranking Monday night as the Trailblazers hosted Shawnee Community College inside the Physical Education Complex.
VU was able to get off to a great start and build an early lead as the Blazers closed out their eighth straight win, winning over the Saints 89-50.
Vincennes came out of the gates firing early Monday night in front of the home crowd, opening the game by scoring the first nine points of the contest and quickly building a big 19-3 lead over the Saints.
Shawnee would answer back and cut the VU lead back to 10 at 24-14 but the Trailblazers were able to use a late 13-1 scoring run to pull away again and take a 46-25 advantage into the locker room at the break.
Coming out of the locker room in the second half the Saints opted to switch to a zone defense which allowed the VU shooters to catch fire from three-point range midway through the second half.
VU would hit seven of 13 three-point shots during the second half as the Trailblazers finished the game with an outstanding 53 percent shooting percentage as a team.
The Blazers continued to add to their lead and put the game away for good late by outscoring Shawnee 13-4 to close out the big 89-50 victory for the Trailblazers.
“Defensively we’ve held teams in the 50’s all three games since we’ve been back,” VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. “51 points against Volunteer State, who has some guys who can score and have scored against good teams. 59 on the road against SWIC and they scored a couple of buckets in the last minute or we could have held them in the low 50’s. Then 50 tonight where we almost kept them in the 40’s.”
“It’s not an accident,” Franklin added. “Our guys are getting down and doing a better job of covering. We’ve done a better job of not having as many live ball turnovers, which we were giving up and it was hurting us. Giving the other team buckets when they couldn’t face our defense because of that. And we’ve taken pretty good shots. You take good shots then they aren’t getting anything easy because we aren’t giving up long rebounds on bad shots. All of those things have come together for us to put up some good numbers defensively. We’re trying to make sure we don’t give them anything easy. We’re not a big gambling team, that’s not how we play. But we will try to force you into a tough first shot and don’t give you a second one. That’s what we’ve always done and our team is doing a better job of that now.”
The Trailblazers spread the ball out extremely well Monday night offensively with eight VU scorers finishing the game with at least eight points.
VU was led offensively by sophomore Michael Cooper (Minneapolis, Minn.) who finished his night with 14 points and eight rebounds.
Sophomore Bryan Akanmu (Paris, France) was the second VU scorer in double figures, just missing out on a double-double with 11 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Freshman Christian Andrews (Asheville, N.C.) rounded out the Trailblazer double figure scorers, connecting on two of four from three-point range to finish the game with 11 points and a pair of assists off the bench.
Sophomore and 2024 NJCAA All-American Lebron Thomas (Bishopville, S.C.) and freshmen Dayton Williams (Louisville, Ky.) Jalen Calloway (Chicago, Ill.) and Travelle Bryson (Anderson, S.C.) all finished the game Monday night with nine points, with Thomas adding three assists, Williams dishing out a team-high six assists and Bryson coming away with five rebounds in the game.
Freshman Kenaz Ochogwu (E. Providence, R.I.) got going early and finished his night with eight points for the Trailblazers.
“We were 10 of 19 from three tonight and I thought we shot probably 17 good ones,” Franklin said. “There was probably one late by Hussein and I’m not a big sideways catch guy and Travelle shot one in transition. He was open. Both of those shots were open but they maybe weren’t as good. But for the most part, we shot good ones. We went inside-out with it and when we do that, I think we’re a team that should hit shots. I think we’ve got guys that can make shots. We spread the floor. We’re not an easy cover because we can drive the ball and attack you. We’ve got some guys who can score in the post, you’ve always got to be honest with them and we can spread the ball out a little bit. It’s hard to cover that if you move the ball well, play smart and tough and have those weapons and then we always have the cherry on top of the sundae that we are always going to get on the offensive glass.”
“By the time we get it all put together, we’re a hard team to cover,” Franklin added. “We’re starting to put things together and the big thing this week is, do we get hungrier. Do we smell it now. We’re now, we can do anything, it’s all in front of us and to do that we have to get better. We’ve got to really, really grind to get it and I won’t know if we’ve got that until I get back out here in practice because we’ve got possibly some version of a first place game Saturday against Lake Land. Could be both of us are undefeated or they could be one game back. They have been voted ahead of us in the District for the last month. So, we get to get them in here Saturday.”
The Trailblazers will look to keep the hot streak going as they get set for another tough Region 24 test Saturday, Jan. 18 inside the P.E. Complex when VU hosts Lake Land College from Mattoon, Ill. Tip-off time Saturday is set for 4 p.m. eastern.
“There are three NJCAA Polls out there,” Franklin said. “Nic Neilson does one, which I think is probably the best because of the way he computes it. JUCO Advocate does one with some media members and in those we were No. 12 and No. 17. I think that’s a truer ranking. We’re at No. 24 right now because we’ve been getting voted second in our own District. So I think we are more true in that 12 to 17 range with what we’ve earned. We’ll see where we are but I think we can compete with anybody. But to prove that is what these weeks are about.”
“Shawnee came in here undefeated in the District,” Franklin added. “We knew that this week we were going to face two teams that were probably going to come in undefeated with us. We handled one tonight and we’ve got another one on Saturday and to do that we have to have a great week of preparation. That’s across the board. We’ve got to rebound better, move our feet better, move the ball better, post better. It’s everything.”
“But the biggest thing that we have to do and there were times tonight I didn’t think we did, is we’ve got to try to have our intensity level at it’s highest point for 40 minutes,” Franklin said. “And you have to push yourself to do that to have any chance of getting to that and at the end of the year you are going to have to do that to try to contend for National Championships. That’s our thought process. The first thing you’ve got to do is win your District, win your regular season and you’ve got to get good to do that. But our overall thought process is still the same. When it’s all over, we want to be the last ones standing and to do that we’ve got to put 40 minutes together. We’re not doing that yet but we’re getting closer.”
VINCENNES WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
LADY BLAZERS BACK ON TRACK WITH BIG REGION 24 WIN OVER SHAWNEE
VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Lady Trailblazers got back in the win column Monday night as the Lady Blazers hosted Region 24 opponent Shawnee Community College inside the Physical Education Complex.
The Lady Blazers were able to bounce back in front of the home crowd and come away with a big 98-52 victory over the Lady Saints.
Vincennes opened the game very strong Monday night inside the P.E. Complex, after trading baskets with the Lady Saints, the Lady Trailblazers took complete control of the game by closing out the first quarter of play on a 25-0 scoring run to take a commanding 27-3 lead after the first 10 minutes of play.
Shawnee would get their offensive game going in the second quarter, opening the second period on a 9-2 run of their own before the Lady Blazers again gained control of the game with a 10-3 run to take a 39-15 lead.
Shawnee would attempt a late push to cut into the VU lead before halftime but still headed into the locker room trailing the Lady Blazers 44-23.
The Lady Saints continued to battle in the third quarter, cutting the VU lead down to 19 at 57-38 before VU again took their game to another level and closed out the third quarter on a 17-2 scoring run to take a 74-40 lead into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth the Lady Blazers put the finishing touches on this Region 24 game early, opening the final 10 minutes of action by outscoring Shawnee 15-6 and cruising down the stretch to come away with the big 98-52 victory over the Lady Saints.
The Lady Blazers were led offensively by another big game by freshman Delora Pricop (Satu Mare, Romania), who finished off her third straight double-double and eighth double-double of the season with 28 points and 17 rebounds.
Freshman Emani Washington (Indianapolis, Ind.) set a new career-high Monday night with 27 points, six assists, six rebounds and three steals.
Freshman Ahmya Thomas (Phoenix, Ariz.) had another tremendous all-around game, filling up the stats sheet with 22 points, nine rebounds, eight steals and six assists.
Freshman Jazmyn Robey (Sellersburg, Ind.) was the fourth Lady Blazers scorer in double figures, setting a new career-high with 17 points and four rebounds in the game.
The Lady Blazers hit the road for the rest of the week as they now get set for a road Region 24 showdown at Rend Lake College in Ina, Ill. Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. eastern.
The Lady Blazers will then cap off this three game week Saturday, Jan. 18 when VU heads to Rockford, Ill. to face off against Rock Valley College at 2 p.m. eastern.
The next home game for your Lady Trailblazers is Wednesday, Jan. 22 when VU hosts Olney Central College inside the P.E. Complex at 5 p.m. eastern.
INDIANA SMALL COLLEGE WEB SITES
INDIANA WESLEYAN ATHLETICS: https://iwuwildcats.com/
EARLHAM ATHLETICS: https://goearlham.com/
WABASH ATHLETICS: https://sports.wabash.edu/
FRANKLIN ATHLETICS: https://franklingrizzlies.com/
ROSE-HULMAN ATHLETICS: https://athletics.rose-hulman.edu/
ANDERSON ATHLETICS: https://athletics.anderson.edu/landing/index
TRINE ATHLETICS: https://trinethunder.com/landing/index
BETHEL ATHLETICS: https://bupilots.com/
DEPAUW ATHLETICS: https://depauwtigers.com/
HANOVER ATHLETICS: https://athletics.hanover.edu/
MANCHESTER ATHLETICS: https://muspartans.com/
HUNTINGTON ATHLETICS: https://www.huathletics.com/
OAKLAND CITY ATHLETICS: https://gomightyoaks.com/index.aspx
ST. FRANCIS ATHLETICS: https://www.saintfranciscougars.com/landing/index
IU KOKOMO ATHLETICS: https://iukcougars.com/
IU EAST ATHLETICS: https://www.iueredwolves.com/
IU SOUTH BEND ATHLETICS: https://iusbtitans.com/
PURDUE NORTHWEST ATHLETICS: https://pnwathletics.com/
INDIANA TECH ATHLETICS: https://indianatechwarriors.com/index.aspx
GRACE COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://gclancers.com/
ST. MARY OF THE WOODS ATHLETICS: https://smwcathletics.com/
GOSHEN COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://goleafs.net/
HOLY CROSS ATHLETICS: https://www.hcsaints.com/index.php
TAYLOR ATHLETICS: https://www.taylortrojans.com/
VINCENNES ATHLETICS: https://govutrailblazers.com/landing/index
“SPORTS EXTRA”
NUMBERS IN SPORTS
4 – 14 – 22 – 60 – 88 – 32 – 74 – 12 – 13 – 10 – 26 – 27 – 53
January 14, 1927 – Hap Day who wore the sweater with a Number 4 on it for the Toronto Maple Leafs scores the first hat trick in franchise history against the New York Rangers.
January 14, 1940 – Number 14, Green Packers End Don Hutson scored the lone touchdown in the 1940 NFL pro Bowl as the Packers defeated the All-Star team made up of the other 9 NFL clubs 16-7. With 38 ticks remaining in the 1st half, in a punting situation, Cecil Isbell fired a strike from his own goal line to a racing Hutson who scored on the 92 yard suprise passing play.
January 14, 1943 – Montreal Canadiens’ left wing, Alex Smart became the first NHL rookie to score a hat trick in his first NHL game, a 5-1 win at home over the Chicago Black Hawks
January 14, 1946 – Frank Boley Dancewicz was the top pick in the NFL Draft by the Boston Yanks. Boley, who played Quarterback for Notre Dame ended up wearing the Number 22 jersey for the Yanks.
January 14, 1951 – 1st NFL Pro Bowl, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: American Conference beats National Conference, 28-27; The game MVP was Cleveland Browns, QB, Number 60, Otto Graham. This would be the final season that quarterbacks from the merged AAFC would be allowed to wear their old number in the NFL. The Browns signal caller would wear Number 14 for the balance of his career.
January 14, 1961 – Chicago Bears former player, Willard Dewveall became the first NFL player to join AFL. Dewveall wore Number 88 with both the Bears and his new team the Houston Oiler.
January 14, 1962 – 12th NFL Pro Bowl, LA Memorial Coliseum: Western Conference beats Eastern Conference, 31-30; MVPs: Number 32, Jim Brown, the Cleveland Browns, RB for the offense and on defense the top player selected was Green Bay Packers, DT, Number 74, Henry Jordan.
January 14, 1964 – 14th NBA All-Star Game, Boston Garden: East beats West, 111-107; MVP selected was a Point Guard, Number 14 of the Cincinnati Royals, Oscar Robertson.
January 14, 1968 – Super Bowl II, Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, FL: Green Bay Packers beat Oakland Raiders, 33-14; MVP: Bart Starr, Number 12, Green Bay, QB
January 14, 1969 – 19th NBA All-Star Game, Baltimore Civic Centre: East beats West, 123-112; MVP was Cincinnati Royals, PG, Number 14, Oscar Robertson
January 14, 1973 – Super Bowl VII, LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA: Miami Dolphins beat Washington Redskins, 14-7; MVP: Miami, Safety, Number 13, Jake Scott. It is interesting that the Dolphins had a Number 13 become a Super Bowl MVP and it was not Dan Marino.
January 14, 1975 – 25th NBA All-Star Game, Arizona Vets Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Az: East beats West, 108-102; MVP: NY Knicks, PG, Number 10, Walt Frazier
January 14, 1987 – Catfish Hunter (Number 27) and Billy Williams (Number 26) were elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
January 14, 1993 – Utah Jazz center Number 53, Mark Eaton blocks 2 shots in a 96-89 win over Seattle SuperSonics; becomes only 2nd player in NBA history (along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) to record 3,000 career blocks
FOOTBALL HISTORY
January 14, 1940 – Gilmore Stadium, Los Angeles – The 2nd NFL All Star Game went on as scheduled as the Champion Green Bay Packers would play the best players from the remainder of the League. The All-Stars featured Washington’s Slingin’ Sammy Baugh and Bears Sid Luckman under center, with Detroit’s Cotton Price per the Pro-Football-Reference.com. Green Bay under coach Curly Lambeau had the star power of Don Hutson, Clarke Hinkle and Beattie Feathers. The Packers showed why they were the top team as they defeated the NFL All-Stars, 16-7.
January 14, 1946 – The NFL Draft for the 1946 season had Frank Dancewicz the flashy quarterback from the University of Notre Dame as the first pick by the Boston Yanks. The American Football Database tells us that Frank played three seasons in the NFL all with Boston. Quarterbacking runs strong in his bloodline because Frank’s grandson, Chris Pizzotti, was later the starting signal caller for Harvard’s football team.
January 14, 1951 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum – The very first NFL Pro Bowl game took place. We had seen in prior years that the NFL used an All-Star game to celebrate their top players of the season against the team that had just recently won the title. The NFL broke away from that format to a closer facsimile to what we witness today except the players from the championship games would also participate. The first game itself was a good one too as the American Conference outlasted the National Conference, 28-27 per the Pro-Football- Reference.com. Cleveland Browns quarterback Otto Graham claimed the Most Valuable Player Award for the game.
January 14, 1961 – The AFL landed it’s first player that they signed away from the NFL. Former Chicago Bears Willard Dewveall inks a deal with the Houston Oilers according to a Medium.com story. There were others like the retired former Bear George Blanda who thought George Halas never gave him a fair shake at the QB position in Chicago.
January 14, 1962 – LA Memorial Coliseum – The 12th NFL Pro Bowl was played as the NFL’s Western Conference edged out the Eastern Conference, by the score of 31-30. MVPs were the great Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns and Green bay’s Defensive tackle Henry Jordan. Other stars in this contest of the NFL’s best players of 1961 included Jim Taylor who led the league in rushing that season with the Packers, Giants QB Y.A. Tittle, Mike Ditka the tight end of the Bears, Detroit Lions players Alex Karras, Yale Lary and Dick Night Train Lane and so many more legends which can be found on the Pro-Football-Reference website.
January 14, 1968 – Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida -In the day it was dubbed as the second AFL-NFL World Championship Game but it would later be known as Super Bowl II. The AFL’s Oakland Raiders met the NFL’s top team, the Green Bay Packers. The Washington Post has a great write up on the game I encourage you to check out for the details. Bart Starr showed why he was one of the best in the business and the Packers defense was phenomenal. Raider signal caller Daryle Lamonica was under siege most of the day and this pressure forced some crucial errors. One of these was the 60 yard pick six that Green Bay cornerback Herb Adderley had in the fourth quarter to pad an already big Packers lead. The Green Bay Packers played well as a team and upstaged the Oakland Raiders, 33-14. The game’s MVP was Bart Starr who was sacked 3 times but managed to throw for 202 yards and a score against a very good Oakland defense.
January 14, 1973 – LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California – Super Bowl VII featured a team on a mission that spoke about multiple times in this series, the Miami Dolphins. The franchise that stood in the way of gridiron immortality was the Washington Redskins. It was a hard hitting game and the Dolphins used running back Larry Csonka to fuel their offense and he pounded out a game high 112 yards on the ground against the fierce Redskin defense. The game got pretty exciting late in the contest according to a story on the WashingtonPost.com. The Dolphins held a 14-0 lead with over two minutes remaining. Washington forced Miami to attempt a 42 yard field goal to ice the game but instead the kick was blocked and the loose ball ended up in kicker Garo Yepremian’s hands and he unwisely tried to toss it forward but after a tip of the pass Washington’s Mike Bass grabbed the errant throw and found the endzone at the 2:07 mark in the final quarter. The Dolphins were forced to punt after a three and out and Washington was in business at their own 30 yard line with 1:14 remaining. The Dolphin defense came in and put an end to the comeback bid and the clock expired with two Miami defenders piled up on Redskin quarterback Billy Kilmer. The final score was Miami is a 14-7 thrilling finish to complete the first and so far the only undefeated championship season in the Super Bowl era. The game’s MVPwas Miami Safety Jake Scott.
January 14, 1990 – AFC Championship at Denver’s Mile High Stadium was a matchup of two teams that we had seen three times in a four year period of the late 1980’s, the Cleveland Browns and the Denver Broncos. The website Taylorblitztimes.com has a great detailed article on the game. Denver Broncos beat Cleveland Browns 37-21
January 14, 1990 – Candlestick Park, San Francisco – The NFC Championship San Francisco 49ers crushed the Los Angeles Rams, 30-3 to advance to the Super Bowl per the Pro-Football-Reference.com. The only three touchdowns of the game occurred on the 21 unanswered points in the second quarter powered by Niners Bert Jones, Roger Craig and Joe Montana to John Taylor 18 yard scoring connection.
January 14, 1996 – Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh – The season’s AFC Championship featured the Indianapolis Colts and their gritty quarterback, Jim Harbaugh. Chuck Moody of the United Press International covered the game story as Pittsburgh’s Bam Morris plunged in with 1:34 left to put the Steelers up by four points late. The game got a little bit hairy after that though as Harbaugh launched a Hail Mary to the endzone that his receiver Aaron Bailey had in his hands momentarily until it rolled out to hit the artificial turf of Three Rivers Stadium. The Pittsburgh Steelers hung on to overcome the Indianapolis Colts, 20-16 and advance to the Super Bowl.
January 14, 1996 – Texas Stadium, Irving – The NFC Championship game had the Dallas Cowboys outlasted the Green Bay Packers, 38-27.
January 14, 2001 – Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland – The AFC Championship game had the Baltimore Ravens defeating the Oakland Raiders, 16-3.
January 14, 2001 – Giants Stadium, East Rutherford – NFC Championship,: New York Giants beat Minnesota Vikings, 41-0
TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
Jan. 14
1943 — Montreal’s Alex Smart scores three goals in his first NHL game and leads the Canadiens to a 5-1 victory over the Chicago Black Hawks.
1962 — Margaret Smith wins her third straight Australian Open with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Jan Lehane.
1968 — The Green Bay Packers win their second straight Super Bowl. The game draws the first $3 million gate in football history. Bart Starr, the game’s MVP, completes 13 of 24 passes for 202-yards.
1973 — The Miami Dolphins, who went 14-0 in the regular season and won two playoff games, beat the Washington Redskins 14-7 in the Super Bowl to become the only undefeated team in NFL history.
1990 — Joe Montana sets an NFL record when he tosses his 30th and 31st postseason touchdown passes as the San Francisco 49ers beat the Los Angeles Rams 30-3 in the NFC championship game. Terry Bradshaw had thrown 30.
1990 — John Elway passes for 385 yards and three touchdowns as the Denver Broncos advance to their fourth Super Bowl with a 37-21 victory over the Cleveland Browns in the AFC Championship.
2001 — Led by Kerry Collins’ five touchdown passes, the New York Giants reach their first Super Bowl in a decade with a 41-0 romp past the hapless Minnesota Vikings — the biggest rout in NFC championship history.
2006 — Johnny Weir win’s his third straight title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and Sasha Cohen takes the women’s division.
2007 — In Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria, Julia Mancuso and Lindsey Kildow captures the top two places in a World Cup super-combi and Resi Stiegler just misses making it an American sweep. The 1-2-4 finish is a first for American women in a World Cup alpine skiing event.
2012 — Tom Brady throws for a record-tying six touchdown passes, five in the first half and three to Rob Gronkowski, to lead the New England Patriots to a 45-10 win over Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos in the divisional playoffs.
2012 — Alex Smith completes a 14-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis with 9 seconds left just after Drew Brees put the high-powered Saints ahead, and the resurgent San Francisco 49ers capitalize on five New Orleans turnovers for a thrilling 36-32 playoff victory.
2017 — Top-ranked UConn breaks its own NCAA record with its 91st consecutive victory, scoring the first 21 points and romping past SMU 88-48. Coach Geno Auriemma and the Huskies (16-0) surpass the record of 90 that his team first accomplished more than six years ago. The four-time defending national champion Huskies haven’t lost a game since falling in overtime at sixth-ranked Stanford on Nov. 17, 2014.
2017 — New England’s Dion Lewis becomes the first in NFL postseason history to have a rushing TD, receiving TD and kickoff return for a TD in a single game, which led to the Patriots’ 34-16 division playoff win over Houston.
2020 – Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora is fired amid Major League Baseball’s investigation into sign-stealing by the Houston Astros; Cora was the Astros’ bench coach before moving to Boston
TV SPORTS TUESDAY
| NBA REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| Cleveland Cavaliers vs Indiana Pacers | 7:00 pm | TNT |
| Oklahoma City Thunder vs Philadelphia 76ers | 7:00pm | NBCS-PHI FanDuel Sports SE |
| Phoenix Suns vs Atlanta Hawks | 7:30pm | AFSN FanDuel Sports SE |
| New Orleans Pelicans vs Chicago Bulls | 8:00pm | GCSN CHSN |
| Sacramento Kings vs Milwaukee Bucks | 8:00pm | NBCS-CA FanDuel Sports WI |
| Denver Nuggets vs Dallas Mavericks | 9:30pm | TNT KFAA |
| Brooklyn Nets vs Portland Trail Blazers | 10:00pm | YES Rip City |
| NHL REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| Anaheim Ducks vs Washington Capitals | 7:00 pm | ESPN+ Victory+ MNMT |
| Philadelphia Flyers vs Columbus Blue Jackets | 7:00pm | ESPN+ NBCS-PHI FanDuel Sports OH |
| San Jose Sharks vs Detroit Red Wings | 7:00pm | ESPN+ FanDuel Sports DET NBCS-CA |
| Seattle Kraken vs Pittsburgh Penguins | 7:00pm | ESPN+ Kong ATTSN-PIT |
| Tampa Bay Lightning vs Boston Bruins | 7:00pm | ESPN+ FanDuel Sports Sun NESN |
| Dallas Stars vs Toronto Maple Leafs | 7:00pm | ESPN+ Victory+ Sportsnet |
| Ottawa Senators vs New York Islanders | 7:30pm | ESPN+ Sportsnet MSGSN |
| Florida Panthers vs New Jersey Devils | 7:30pm | ESPN+ Hulu |
| Vancouver Canucks vs Winnipeg Jets | 8:00pm | ESPN+ Sportsnet |
| Calgary Flames vs St. Louis Blues | 8:00pm | ESPN+ FanDuel Sports MD Sportsnet |
| Vegas Golden Knights vs Nashville Predators | 8:00pm | ESPN+ FanDuel Sports South Scripps |
| Montreal Canadiens vs Utah Hockey Club | 9:00pm | ESPN+ Utah16 Sportsnet |
| New York Rangers vs Colorado Avalanche | 9:00pm | ESPN+ MSG ALT |
| MEN’S NCAA BASKETBALL | TIME ET | TV |
| Villanova at Xavier | 6:30pm | FS1 |
| Ole Miss at Alabama | 7:00pm | ESPN2/U |
| Texas A&M at Kentucky | 7:00pm | ESPN2/U |
| Mississippi State at Auburn | 7:00pm | SECN |
| Louisville at Syracuse | 7:00pm | ACCN |
| Marquette at DePaul | 7:00pm | CBSSN |
| Saint Louis at VCU | 7:00pm | MASN |
| Illinois at Indiana | 7:00pm | Peacock |
| North Texas at East Carolina | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Toledo at Akron | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Western Michigan at Kent State | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Ball State at Ohio | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Buffalo at Bowling Green | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Eastern Michigan at Central Michigan | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Miami (OH) at Northern Illinois | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Georgetown vs. St. John’s | 7:30pm | Peacock |
| Charlotte at Wichita State | 7:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Valparaiso at Belmont | 7:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Evansville at UNI | 8:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UTSA at Rice | 8:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Providence at Creighton | 8:30pm | FS1 |
| Little Rock at Southeast Missouri | 8:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Miami (FL) at Duke | 9:00pm | ESPN |
| Missouri at Florida | 9:00pm | ESPNU |
| Arkansas at LSU | 9:00pm | SECN |
| Clemson at Georgia Tech | 9:00pm | ACCN |
| Texas Tech at Kansas State | 9:00pm | CBSSN |
| Wyoming at Boise State | 9:00pm | MWN |
| Ohio State at Wisconsin | 9:00pm | Peacock |
| Oklahoma State at BYU | 9:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Air Force at Nevada | 10:00pm | KNSN |
| New Mexico at San Jose State | 10:00pm | MWN |
| Iowa at USC | 10:30pm | FS1 |
| Baylor at Arizona | 11:00pm | ESPN |
| UCF at Arizona State | 11:00pm | ESPNU |
| Colorado State at San Diego State | 11:00pm | CBSSN |
| WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL | TIME ET | TV |
| Minnesota at Maryland | 7:00pm | BTN |
| SOCCER | TIME ET | TV |
| Serie A: Como vs Milan | 12:30pm | Paramount+ |
| Bundesliga: Holstein Kiel vs Borussia Dortmund | 12:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Bundesliga: Bayer Leverkusen vs Mainz 05 | 2:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Bundesliga: Wolfsburg vs Borussia M’gladbach | 2:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Bundesliga: Eintracht Frankfurt vs Freiburg | 2:30pm | ESPN+ |
| EPL: Chelsea vs AFC Bournemouth | 2:30pm | USA Peacock |
| EPL: Brentford vs Manchester City | 2:30pm | Peacock |
| EPL: West Ham United vs Fulham | 2:30pm | Peacock |
| Serie A: Atalanta vs Juventus | 2:45pm | Paramount+ |
| EPL: Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool | 3:00pm | Peacock |