THE INDIANA SRN “SPORTSPAGE” THURSDAY NOVEMBER 9, 2023

“SCOREBOARD”

INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL REGIONAL TITLE GAMES

1A

PARK TUDOR (12-0) AT NORTH JUDSON (8-4)

ADAMS CENTRAL (12-0) AT CARROLL (FLORA) (12-0)

NORTH DECATUR (9-3) AT SHERIDAN (9-3)

PROVIDENCE (12-0) AT INDIANAPOLIS LUTHERAN (10-0)

2A

LAVILLE (11-1) AT LAFAYETTE CENTRAL CATHOLIC (9-3)

BLUFFTON (10-2) AT FORT WAYNE LUERS (9-3)

EASTERN HANCOCK (8-4) AT SOUTHMONT (7-5)

NORTH POSEY (11-1) AT TRITON CENTRAL (11-1)

3A

KNOX (12-0) AT WEST LAFAYETTE (9-3)

INDIANAPOLIS CHATARD (12-0) AT DELTA (8-4)….INDIANA SRN BROADCAST

GIBSON SOUTHERN (10-2) AT TRI-WEST (11-1)

HERITAGE HILLS (11-1) AT BATESVILLE (11-1)

4A

NEW PRAIRIE (10-2) AT NORTHWOOD (10-2)

LEO (10-2) AT MISSISSINEWA (12-0)

MOORESVILLE (7-5) AT NEW PALESTINE (10-2)

EAST CENTRAL (12-0) AT EVANSVILLE MEMORIAL (9-3)….INDIANA SRN BROADCAST

5A

VALPARAISO (9-2) AT MERRILLVILLE (9-2)

FORT WAYNE SNIDER (10-1) AT MISHAWAKA (9-2)

WHITELAND (7-4) AT DECATUR CENTRAL (9-2)

EVANSVILLE NORTH (8-3) AT BLOOMINGTON SOUTH (10-1)

6A

CROWN POINT (11-0) AT PENN (10-1)

HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN (9-2) AT WESTFIELD (10-1)

BEN DAVIS (10-1) AT INDIANAPOLIS CATHEDRAL (8-3)

WARREN CENTRAL (5-6) AT CENTER GROVE (10-1)

INDIANA GIRLS BASKETBALL

BOONVILLE	42	PIKE CENTRAL	25
DANVILLE	50	UNIVERSITY	34
FISHERS	75	ANDERSON	48
HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN	65	FRANKLIN	44
HOMESTEAD	52	NORTHRIDGE	44
INDIANA MATH & SCIENCE	35	INDIANAPOLIS RIVERSIDE	13
INDIANAPOLIS HERRON	59	INDIANAPOLIS TINDLEY	35
INDIANAPOLIS SCECINA	34	HAGERSTOWN	29
KOUTS	43	HOBART	25
LAKE STATION	66	HAMMOND MORTON	56
LEBANON	55	TIPTON	7
LEO	54	FORT WAYNE WAYNE	39
NEW PALESTINE	54	GREENWOOD	38
NORTH JUDSON	63	BOONE GROVE	52
RANDOLPH SOUTHERN	55	UNION CITY	37
ROCHESTER	40	NORTHWESTERN	20
SOUTH DECATUR	48	RISING SUN	35

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

WEEK 11

WEDNESDAY

MIAMI OH 19 AKRON 0

BOWLING GREEN 49 KENT STATE 19

TOLDEO 49 EASTERN MICHIGAN 23

THURSDAY, NOV. 9

VIRGINIA AT NO. 11 LOUISVILLE | 7:30 P.M. | ESPN

SOUTHERN MISS AT LOUISIANA | 7:30 P.M. | ESPNU

FRIDAY, NOV. 10

NORTH TEXAS AT SMU | 9 P.M. | ESPN2

GRAMBLING AT ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF | 9 P.M. | ESPNU

WYOMING AT UNLV | 10:45 P.M. | FS1

SATURDAY, NOV. 11

NO. 3 MICHIGAN AT NO. 10 PENN STATE | 12 P.M. | FOX

NO. 8 ALABAMA AT KENTUCKY | 12 P.M. | ESPN

GEORGIA TECH AT CLEMSON| 12 P.M.| ABC

TEXAS TECH AT NO. 16 KANSAS | 12 P.M. | FS1

TULSA AT NO. 23 TULANE | 12 P.M. | ESPN2

INDIANA AT ILLINOIS | 12 P.M. | BTN

HOLY CROSS AT ARMY | 12 P.M. | CBSSN

VANDERBILT AT SOUTH CAROLINA | 12 P.M. | SEC NETWORK

VIRGINIA TECH AT BOSTON COLLEGE | 12 P.M. | ACC NETWORK

TEMPLE AT SOUTH FLORIDA | 12 P.M. | ESPN+

NORFOLK STATE AT DELAWARE STATE | 12 P.M. | ESPN+

MURRAY STATE AT ILLINOIS STATE | 12 P.M. | ESPN+

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT YOUNGSTOWN STATE | 12 P.M. | ESPN+

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN AT ROBERT MORRIS | 12 P.M. | ESPN+

YALE AT PRINCETON | 12 P.M. | ESPNU

FORDHAM AT LAFAYETTE | 12:30 P.M. | ESPN+

BROWN AT COLUMBIA | 12:30 P.M. | ESPN+

MARYLAND AT NEBRASKA | 1 P.M. | PEACOCK

OLD DOMINION AT LIBERTY | 1 P.M. | ESPN+

GEORGETOWN AT BUCKNELL | 1 P.M. | ESPN+

LEHIGH AT COLGATE | 1 P.M. | ESPN+

WESTERN ILLINOIS AT INDIANA STATE | 1 P.M. | ESPN+

PENN AT HARVARD | 1 P.M. | ESPN+

NORTH DAKOTA AT SOUTH DAKOTA | 1 P.M. | ESPN+

DAVIDSON AT MOREHEAD STATE | 1 P.M. | ESPN+

TENNESSEE STATE AT EASTERN ILLINOIS | 1 P.M. | ESPN+

STETSON AT VALPARAISO | 1 P.M. | ESPN+

EAST TENNESSEE STATE AT WESTERN CAROLINA | 1 P.M. | ESPN+

VMI AT FURMAN | 1 P.M. | ESPN+

CORNELL AT DARTMOUTH | 1:30 P.M. | ESPN+

ARIZONA AT COLORADO | 2:00 P.M. | PAC-12 NETWORK

UCONN AT JAMES MADISON | 2 P.M. | ESPN+

MEMPHIS AT CHARLOTTE | 2 P.M. | ESPN+

APPALACHIAN STATE AT GEORGIA STATE | 2 P.M. | ESPN+

TROY AT UL MONROE | 2 P.M. | ESPN+

UTAH TECH AT AUSTIN PEAY | 2 P.M. | ESPN+

BRYANT AT LINDENWOOD | 2 P.M. | ESPN+

PRESBYTERIAN AT DRAKE | 2 P.M. | ESPN+

MORGAN STATE AT SOUTH CAROLINA STATE | 2 P.M. | ESPN+

WOFFORD AT THE CITADEL | 2 P.M. | ESPN+

NC STATE AT WAKE FOREST | 2 P.M. | CW NETWORK

GARDNER-WEBB AT TENNESSEE TECH | 2:30 P.M. | ESPN+

BAYLOR AT NO. 25 KANSAS STATE | 3 P.M. | ESPN+

SAM HOUSTON AT LOUISIANA TECH | 3 P.M. | ESPN+

PRAIRIE VIEW A&M AT SOUTHERN | 3 P.M. | ESPN+

TARLETON STATE AT ABILENE CHRISTIAN | 3 P.M. | ESPN+

EASTERN WASHINGTON AT MONTANA STATE | 3 P.M. | ESPN+

IDAHO AT WEBER STATE | 3 P.M. | ESPN+

NORTHERN COLORADO AT NORTHERN ARIZONA | 3 P.M. | ESPN+

UNI AT MISSOURI STATE | 3 P.M. | ESPN+

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE AT UT MARTIN | 3 P.M. | ESPN+

VIRGINIA LYNCHBURG AT KENNESAW STATE | 3 P.M. | ESPN+

SAMFORD AT MERCER | 3 P.M. | ESPN+

RUTGERS AT NO. 22 IOWA | 3:30 P.M. | BTN

MIAMI (FLA.) AT NO. 4 FLORIDA STATE| 3:30 P.M. | ABC

NO. 18 UTAH AT NO. 5 WASHINGTON | 3:30 P.M. | FOX

MINNESOTA AT PURDUE | 3:30 P.M. | NBC

NORTHWESTERN AT WISCONSIN | 3:30 P.M. | FS1

NO. 13 TENNESSEE AT NO. 14 MISSOURI | 3:30 P.M. | CBS

NO. 15 OKLAHOMA STATE AT UCF | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN

FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+

NEW MEXICO STATE AT WESTERN KENTUCKY | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+

PITT AT SYRACUSE | 3:30 P.M. | ACC NETWORK

UAB AT NAVY | 3:30 P.M. | CBSSN

TEXAS STATE AT COASTAL CAROLINA | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+

NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL AT HOWARD | 3:30 P.M. | ESPNU

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AT NORTH DAKOTA STATE | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+

AUBURN AT ARKANSAS | 4 P.M. | SEC NETWORK

WASHINGTON STATE AT CAL | 4 P.M. | ESPN2

EAST CAROLINA AT FLORIDA ATLANTIC | 4 P.M. | ESPN+

LAMAR AT NICHOLLS | 4 P.M. | ESPN+

ST. THOMAS (MINN.) AT SAN DIEGO | 4 P.M. | ESPN+

SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA AT TEX. A&M COMMERCE | 4:30 P.M. | ESPN+

ARKANSAS STATE AT SOUTH ALABAMA | 5 P.M. | ESPN+

EASTERN KENTUCKY AT CENTRAL ARKANSAS | 5 P.M. | ESPN+

SOUTHERN UTAH AT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN | 5 P.M. | ESPN+

CAL POLY AT SACRAMENTO STATE | 5 P.M. | ESPN+

STANFORD AT NO. 12 OREGON STATE | 5:30 P.M. | PAC-12 NETWORK

UC DAVIS AT IDAHO STATE | 6 P.M. | ESPN+

WEST VIRGINIA AT NO. 17 OKLAHOMA | 7 P.M. | FOX

CINCINNATI AT HOUSTON | 7 P.M. | FS1

SAN DIEGO STATE AT COLORADO STATE | 7 P.M. | CBSSN

NO. 9 OLE MISS AT NO. 2 GEORGIA| 7 P.M. | ESPN

GEORGIA SOUTHERN AT MARSHALL | 7 P.M. | NFLN

NO. 7 TEXAS AT TCU | 7:30 P.M. | ABC

FLORIDA AT NO. 19 LSU | 7:30 P.M. | SECN

MICHIGAN STATE AT NO. 1 OHIO STATE | 7:30 P.M. | NBC

MISSISSIPPI STATE AT TEXAS A&M | 7:30 P.M. | ESPN2

RICE AT UTSA | 7:30 P.M. | ESPNU

HOUSTON CHRISTIAN AT MCNEESE | 8 P.M. | ESPN+

DUKE AT NO. 24 NORTH CAROLINA | 8 P.M. | ACCN

ARIZONA STATE AT UCLA | 9 P.M. | PAC-12 NETWORK

MONTANA AT PORTLAND STATE | 9 P.M. | ESPN+

NEW MEXICO AT BOISE STATE | 10 P.M. | FS1

IOWA STATE AT BYU | 10:15 P.M. | ESPN

USC AT NO. 6 OREGON | 10:30 P.M. | FOX

FRESNO STATE AT SAN JOSE STATE | 10:30 P.M. | CBSSN

AIR FORCE AT HAWAI’I | 11 P.M. | SPECTRUM SPORTS PPV

NFL WEEK 10

CAROLINA PANTHERS AT CHICAGO BEARS (THU) 7:15P (CT) 8:15P PRIME VIDEO

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS VS NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (FRANKFURT) 3:30P (CET) 9:30A NFLN

CLEVELAND BROWNS AT BALTIMORE RAVENS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P FOX

HOUSTON TEXANS AT CINCINNATI BENGALS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS AT JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P FOX

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS AT MINNESOTA VIKINGS 12:00P (CT) 1:00P FOX

GREEN BAY PACKERS AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS

TENNESSEE TITANS AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS

ATLANTA FALCONS AT ARIZONA CARDINALS 2:05P (MST) 4:05P CBS

DETROIT LIONS AT LOS ANGELES CHARGERS 1:05P (PT) 4:05P CBS

NEW YORK GIANTS AT DALLAS COWBOYS 3:25P (CT) 4:25P FOX

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS AT SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 1:25P (PT) 4:25P FOX

NEW YORK JETS AT LAS VEGAS RAIDERS 5:20P (PT) 8:20P NBC*

DENVER BRONCOS AT BUFFALO BILLS (MON) 8:15P (ET) 8:15P ESPN

MEN’S TOP 25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL

#10 FLORIDA ATLANTIC 75 LOYOLA CHICAGO 62

WOMEN’S TOP 25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL

#2 UCONN 102 DAYTON 58

#13 TEXAS 80 SOUTHERN 35

#15 STANFORD 87 HAWAII 40

#16 NORTH CAROLINA 102 GARDNER WEBB 49

#20 COLORADO 97 LEMOYNE 38

NBA SCOREBOARD

INDIANA 134 UTAH 118

PHILADELPHIA 106 BOSTON 103

WASHINGTON 132 CHARLOTTE 116

BROOKLYN 100 LA CLIPPERS 93

NEW YORK 126 SAN ANTONIO 105

PHOENIX 116 CHICAGO 115 OT

HOUSTON 128 LA LAKERS 94

MILWAUKEE 120 DETROIT 118

MINNESOTA 122 NEW ORLEANS 101

OKLAHOMA CITY 128 CLEVELAND 120

MIAMI 108 MEMPHIS 102

TORONTO 127 DALLAS 116

DENVER 108 GOLDEN STATE 105

SACRAMENTO 121 PORTLAND 118 OT

NHL SCOREBOARD

OTTAWA 6 TORONTO 3

FLORIDA 4 WASHINGTON 3 OT

LOS ANGELES 4 VEGAS 1

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER

PHILADELPHIA 1 NEW ENGLAND 0

NATIONAL SPORTS RELEASES/HEADLINES

NFL NEWS

PANTHERS-BEARS PREVIEW

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) The Chicago Bears are facing a win-win scenario.

Beat the Carolina Panthers and they boost their chances at the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

It’s an unusual spot to be in, yet that’s where the Bears find themselves heading into their matchup at Soldier Field on Thursday night. If they come out on top, it would be a win on two fronts.

That’s because Chicago (2-7) owns Carolina’s first-round draft pick next year.

“I’m just trying to get to 3-7,” Bears guard Teven Jenkins said. “That’s the only thing I’m worried about, sir.”

The Bears had the No. 1 pick in the draft last spring after finishing with the league’s worst record. They traded it to Carolina for receiver DJ Moore.

Chicago is in the running for the top spot with its own first-round pick. But another route at the moment is through Carolina (1-7). Only Arizona (1-8) has a worse record.

Panthers coach Frank Reich said he hadn’t considered the potential draft implications and the potential to play a sort of spoiler.

“Interesting question,” he said. “I guess this is good, but I hadn’t even thought about that. This is just about tryin’ to win the next football game. One of the things I said to the guys today – sometimes when you get in this position, you look back and you wanna change some things that have happened. You wish, somehow, that you can double down.

“‘Hey, let’s put it all in this one game. Let’s double down on everything. Get it all back!’ But that’s not real life. That’s not real life in the NFL. That’s not real life, period. You gotta take ’em one at a time.”

Both teams have more immediate concerns. And for both, they involve the quarterback spot.

For Chicago, quarterback Justin Fields is doubtful because of a dislocated right thumb. That means rookie Tyson Bagent likely will start his fourth straight game.

“He’s getting better, though,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said of Fields. “Accuracy’s improving. He’s throwing it better. And he’s starting to do more and more and more.

“So we’ll see it where it goes.”

Fields hasn’t played since dislocating his right thumb during a Week 6 loss to Minnesota. The Bears are 1-2 with Bagent – an undrafted rookie from Division II Shepherd University in West Virginia – as their starter after losing last week at New Orleans.

For Carolina, rookie Bryce Young looks to rebound from his worst game as a pro in last week’s loss to Indianapolis.

MOORE OF THAT

The most recent time the Bears played on a Thursday night, Moore had the best game of his career.

He went off in a Week 5 win at Washington, setting career highs with 230 yards and three touchdowns. Since then, he hasn’t had more than 55 yards in a game.

Moore will be facing his former team for the first time since a blockbuster trade in March. The Bears sent the No. 1 pick to Carolina and moved back eight spots in this year’s draft.

They also acquired the Panthers’ 2024 first-round pick.

Moore could be in for another big game in prime time. Carolina’s secondary is banged up with Jaycee Horn (hamstring/IR) and C.J. Henderson (concussion) out this week.

DEFENSIVE INJURIES

Carolina’s defense has been plagued by injuries all season and it enters Thursday night even thinner on the depth chart after several more on Sunday.

Outside linebacker Brian Burns will not play after suffering a concussion against Indianapolis.

That position has also been depleted by injuries with Justin Houston and Yetur Gross-Matos already on injured reserve.

That leaves the Panthers young at outside linebacker as second-year player Amare Barno and rookies DJ Johnson and Eku Leota are left to handle the reps.

Carolina’s secondary is likely to be without starting cornerback C.J. Henderson, who like Burns remains in the concussion protocol. Starting cornerback Jaycee Horn has been on injured reserve since Week 1 and is not quite ready to return.

YOUNG’S STRUGGLES

Young, the No. 1 pick in the draft, has one of the worst QB ratings in the NFL. He is coming off a game where he threw three interceptions – two of which were returned for touchdowns by Colts cornerback Kenny Moore – against the league’s 32nd-ranked defense.

Despite Young’s struggles, Reich said he is sticking with him as the starter.

“I’ve seen this happen to the best quarterbacks in the history of the game,” Reich said. “They all have games like this. Sure, it’s easy to put it on the quarterback, but you bounce back. That’s what makes the great ones.”

LACK OF SACKS

Chicago comes in with a league-low 10 sacks. Maybe this is the week to get the pass rush going.

The Bears acquired Montez Sweat from Washington at the trade deadline to do just that. He didn’t have much of an impact at New Orleans with just two tackles in his Chicago debut. But he should be a little more comfortable this week.

Carolina has allowed 29 sacks – tied with Tennessee for fifth most in the NFL. Only the New York Giants (49), Washington (44), New York Jets (32) and Bears (30) have given up more.

THIELEN FACES FAMILIAR FOE

The Panthers’ most productive player this season has been 33-year-old wide receiver Adam Thielen, who has 62 receptions for 610 yards and four touchdowns for one of the league’s worst offenses.

Thielen has plenty of experience playing against the Chicago Bears having spent 10 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, but hasn’t had much success against them. He’s never had more than 68 yards receiving in game against Chicago.

• The Bears are 7-3 (.700) against the Panthers all-time, which is their second-best record against any current NFL team (19-8-1, .704, vs. Steelers). The Bears are one of seven franchises with a winning percentage of .700 or better against the Panthers.
• The Panthers have scored two rushing touchdowns this season, tied for the second fewest in the NFL (Broncos, one). Conversely, Carolina has allowed 14 rushing touchdowns, second most in the NFL (Colts, 15). The differential (-12) is the worst in the NFL.
• Bryce Young has the fourth-best completion percentage in the NFL on third downs this season (67.2%; min. 40 attempts), but only 36.2 percent of those attempts have been for a first down, 25th in the NFL.
• The Bears committed five turnovers in their loss to the Saints last week. Chicago has an NFL-worst 18 giveaways and a minus-nine turnover differential. The last time the Bears led the NFL in giveaways was in 1957 (43).
• Cole Kmet is second among NFL tight ends with five receiving touchdowns since Week 4 (Mark Andrews leads with six). After seven TD last season, Kmet’s two-year total of 12 TD has only been bested by Mike Ditka (his best two-year span was 1961-1962, 17 TD) and Greg Olson (2009-10, 13 TD) by Bears tight ends all-time.
• The Bears have run the ball on 46.7 percent of their offensive plays this season, the fifth-highest rate in the league. The Panthers have run the ball 36.6 percent of the time, the fourth-lowest rate in the NFL.

CAPSULES

CAROLINA PANTHERS (1-7) AT CHICAGO BEARS (2-7)

DATE: Thursday, Novmeber 9, 2023 GAME TIME: 8:15 PM ET

Prime Video: Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit, Kaylee Hartung

Westwood One: Ian Eagle, Joe Thomas

SiriusXM (team name linked to SXM App) CAR: 81 or 226 CHI: 83 or 225 National: 88

ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY

REG. SEASON: CHI leads series, 7-3 (won 5 of past 6)

POSTSEASON: CAR leads series, 1-0

THE LAST TIME …

REG. SEASON: 10/18/20: CHI 23 at CAR 16

POSTSEASON: 1/15/06 NFC-DIV: CAR 29 at CHI 21

PANTHERS NOTES:

QB BRYCE YOUNG (rookie) can make 1st-career TNF start. Had TD pass vs. 0 INTs & 87.1 rating in his only career primetime start (Week 2 vs. NO). Aims for his 3rd in row on road with 80+ rating. • RB CHUBA HUBBARD had 67 scrimmage yards (58 rush, 9 rec.) in Week 9. Has 50+ scrimmage yards in 12 of his past 14. Aims for his 4th in row with 50+ scrimmage yards. • RB MILES SANDERS aims for his 4th in row on Thursday with 60+ scrimmage yards. • WR ADAM THIELEN led team with 5 catches last week & ranks 3rd in NFC with 62 receptions in 2023, his 7th-career season with 60+ catches. Aims for his 4th in row on road with 11+ catches & aims for his 8th in row with 5+ receptions. Aims for his 3rd in row on Thursday with TD catch. Has 4 rec. TDs in his past 4 vs. Chi. & aims for his 3rd in row at Chi. with TD catch. • TE HAYDEN HURST led team with 52 rec. yards last week. Had TD catch in his only career game vs. Chi. (9/27/20 w/ Atl.). • LB BRIAN BURNS aims for his 5th in row with TFL & needs TFL for 3rd-straight season with 10+ TFL. Has 8 TFL & 4 sacks in his past 5 on road. Has sack in 3 of 4 career games on Thursday. • LB FRANKIE LUVU led team with 11 tackles last week & aims for his 3rd in row with 11+ tackles. Has 10 TFL in his past 8 on road. Aims for his 3rd in row on Thursday with sack. Is 1 of 3 (Maxx Crosby & Christian Wilkins) with 200+ tackles (216) & 30+ TFL (34) since 2021. • LB JUSTIN HOUSTON aims for his 3rd in row on Thursday with sack. Has 5 sacks & 6 TFL in 4 career games vs. Chi. & aims for his 4th in row at Chi. with sack. • DT DERRICK BROWN aims for his 3rd in row with PD. Has 5 TFL in his past 4 in primetime.

BEARS NOTES:
CHICAGO leads NFC with 135.3 rush yards per game this season. • QB JUSTIN FIELDS had 282 pass yards & 4 TDs vs. 0 INTs for 125.3 rating on TNF in Week 5 (at Was.). Has TD pass in 6 of his past 7 primetime starts. Aims for his 4th in row in primetime with 50+ rush yards. • QB TYSON BAGENT (rookie) had 1st-career game with 2 TD passes last week. • RB D’ONTA FOREMAN rushed for 83 yards last week & has 65+ scrimmage yards in 3 of his past 4. Rushed for 914 yards & 5 TDs in 2022 with Car. Aims for his 4th in row on Thursday with rush TD. • WR DJ MOORE had 230 rec. yards & 3 rec. TDs on TNF in Week 5 (at Was.). Has 50+ rec. yards in 4 of his past 5 TNF games. Aims for his 4th in row at home with 5+ catches & 50+ rec. yards. Was selected in 1st round (No. 24 overall) by Car. in 2018 NFL Draft & had 364 catches for 5,201 rec. yards & 21 TDs in 80 games (2018-22) with Panthers. • WR DARNELL MOONEY had season highs in receptions (5) & rec. yards (82) in Week 9. • TE COLE KMET had 6 catches for 55 yards & 2 rec. TDs in Week 9, his 4th-career game with 2 rec. TDs. Is 1 of 2 TEs (Mark Andrews) with 5+ rec. TDs in each of past 2 seasons. • LB T.J. EDWARDS led team with 15 tackles & had TFL & PD in Week 9, his 6th game with 10+ tackles this season, tied-2nd most in NFL. Ranks 2nd in NFL with 98 tackles in 2023 & needs 2 tackles for 3rd-straight 100+ tackle season. • LB TREMAINE EDMUNDS aims for his 3rd in row at home with PD & 5th in row at home with 6+ tackles. • LB JACK SANBORN aims for his 3rd in row at home with TFL. Has 5+ tackles in 5 of his past 6.

BEAR DOWN: QB JUSTIN FIELDS DOUBTFUL FOR THURSDAY

Rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent was prepared to start his fourth consecutive game with the Bears listing Justin Fields as doubtful after he was limited in practice this week.

Fields returned to practice on a limited basis on Friday but continues to be less than full strength dealing with an injured right thumb.

He was officially dubbed doubtful to return for Thursday night’s home game against the Carolina Panthers (1-7).

The Bears (2-7) are still calling Fields “week to week,” the same assessment given from the team since he was injured in the Oct. 15 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Bagent relieved Fields in that game and his comeback attempt came up short with a game-ending interception. Bagent is 1-2 as a starter.

He posted his first career game with two touchdown passes in a 24-17 loss at New Orleans last week.

VIKINGS OPEN 21-DAY WINDOW FOR WR JUSTIN JEFFERSON

Minnesota Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson returned to practice Wednesday for the first time since straining his right hamstring on Oct. 8.

The Vikings designated Jefferson to return from injured reserve and opened the 21-day practice window for the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year.

Jefferson, 24, was placed on IR on Oct. 11 and has been sidelined throughout a four-game winning streak by the Vikings (5-4), who host the New Orleans Saints (5-4) on Sunday.

Jefferson was injured during the second half of Minnesota’s 27-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5. He has 36 receptions for 571 yards and three touchdowns in five games this season.

He led the NFL in receptions (128) and receiving yards (1,809) in 2022, making the Pro Bowl for the third time and the All-Pro first team for the first time.

If Jefferson returns this weekend, he will be rejoining a new-look offense now under the direction of quarterback Joshua Dobbs following Kirk Cousins’ season-ending Achilles injury.

GIANTS TAB QB TOMMY DEVITO TO START VS. COWBOYS

New York Giants undrafted rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito will start Sunday’s road game against the Dallas Cowboys, coach Brian Daboll announced Wednesday.

Daboll also said outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari will be designated to return from injured reserve, thereby opening his 21-day practice window. Ojulari was placed on IR on Oct. 15 due to an ailing ankle.

DeVito, 25, is getting the nod after Daniel Jones tore the ACL in his right knee on the final play of the first quarter in Sunday’s 30-6 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. Jones is out for the rest of the season.

DeVito replaced Jones but threw two interceptions in his first three pass attempts before finishing with 175 yards and a touchdown.

Matt Barkley will serve as the backup quarterback for the Giants (2-7) in their game against the Cowboys (5-3).

Ojulari, 23, had two tackles in three games (all starts) this season.

He has totaled 65 tackles, 13.5 sacks and four forced fumbles in 27 career games (21 starts) since being selected by New York in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

REPORT: PATRIOTS CB J.C. JACKSON WILL NOT TRAVEL TO GERMANY

New England Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson is not expected to travel with the team to face the Indianapolis Colts this weekend in Frankfurt, Germany, NFL Network reported Wednesday.

Per the report, “questions about (Jackson’s) reliability” contributed to the Patriots’ decision to go without him this week. The team has a bye following Sunday’s game.

Sports Illustrated reported that Jackson was late to the team hotel last Saturday, resulting in him being benched to begin New England’s game against the Washington Commanders.

The Patriots can turn to cornerbacks Jonathan Jones, Jack Jones, Myles Bryant, Shaun Wade and Alex Austin to play in place of Jackson, who was acquired by the team in October.

Jackson, who turns 28 on Nov. 17, played for New England from 2018-21. He signed a five-year, $82.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Chargers in March 2022 but played only five games that season due to injury.

He has recorded 190 tackles, 61 passes defensed and 26 interceptions in 74 games (49 starts) with the Patriots and Chargers. He won Super Bowl LIII with New England and made the Pro Bowl in 2021.

REPORT: JASON PIERRE-PAUL LOOKING TO JOIN CONTENDER

Free agent pass-rusher Jason Pierre-Paul is willing to sign with a playoff contender’s practice squad, NFL Network reported Wednesday.

The 34-year-old veteran

The 34-year-old veteran has been on the market since March after starting 13 games for the Baltimore Ravens last season.

Pierre-Paul is a three-time Pro Bowl selection and a two-time Super Bowl champion with 94.5 career sacks in 179 games (150 starts) with the New York Giants (2010-17), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2018-21) and Ravens.

Drafted 15th overall by the Giants in 2010, he has recorded 629 tackles, 167 quarterback hits, 21 forced fumbles, 10 fumble recoveries, five interceptions and three defensive touchdowns while playing defensive end and outside linebacker.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

MICHIGAN CAUTIONS BIG TEN AGAINST ‘RUSH’ TO PUNISHMENT

The University of Michigan responded to the Big Ten’s inquiry over alleged illegal sign-stealing, cautioning the conference not to issue a “premature” punishment against the program and/or head coach Jim Harbaugh, multiple media outlets reported on Wednesday.

Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti reportedly could hand out sanctions on Thursday.

Michigan’s response urged Petitti not to rush to judgment due to feedback from other Big Ten schools, arguing that a quick verdict would create an “indefensible precedent.”

Per Yahoo Sports, Petitti might issue a multi-game suspension for Harbaugh, who has denied having knowledge of any wrongdoing.

Yahoo got a copy of 10-page letter signed by Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel. The university maintains that former football staffer Connor Stalions ran a rogue operation that featured banned in-person scouting of upcoming opponents, arguing that no other Michigan coaches were aware of Stalions’ efforts.

The school also argued that other Big Ten programs stole Michigan’s signs, stating, “The conference should act cautiously when setting precedent given the reality that in-person scouting, collusion among opponents, and other questionable practices may well be far more prevalent than believed.”

Michigan is also lining up its legal defense for a potential fight. According to ESPN, the school’s response letter on Wednesday was a joint effort from Michigan’s Board of Regents, the university’s general counsel and outside counsel Williams & Connolly from Washington.

Multiple media outlets have reported that Stalions had purchased game tickets to watch Big Ten foes as well as several potential College Football Playoff opponents such as Georgia, Clemson and Alabama. Stalions also reportedly bought seats at numerous Big Ten games in areas where the opponents’ sideline signals could be viewed.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

NO. 10 FLORIDA ATLANTIC OVERWHELMS LOYOLA CHICAGO IN OPENER

Vladislav Goldin scored 19 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked five shots as the 10th-ranked Florida Atlantic Owls defeated the host Loyola Chicago Ramblers 75-62 on Wednesday night.

It was the season opener for both teams.

The Owls, who made it to the Final Four last season, also got four steals and two assists from Goldin, the towering 7-foot-1 center. His numbers represented game highs in every category except assists.

Three other Owls players scored in double figures were Nicholas Boyd (13), Brandon Weatherspoon (12) and Johnell Davis (12). Bryan Greenlee added six points and a game-high five assists.

The Ramblers were led by 6-6 forward Philip Alston, who had 15 points on 4-for-12 shooting. He added six rebounds.

Alston averaged 14.6 points and 5.6 rebounds last season.

Eleven Ramblers players scored on Wednesday, including Cornell transfer Greg Dolan, Dartmouth transfer Dame Adelekun and Oral Roberts transfer Patrick Mwamba.

Dolan started and scored five points while Adelekun and Mwamba scored six each off the bench.

The Owls, who led by as many as 19 points in a game that was not close in the second half, shot 46.4 percent from the floor, including 8-for-23 on 3-pointers (34.8 percent). The Owls were also plus-two on rebounds and plus-five on forcing turnovers.

Loyola shot 43.1 percent from the floor, including 6-of-17 on 3-pointers (35.3 percent). The Ramblers were outscored 15-12 at the foul line.

Florida Atlantic, which led 43-30 at halftime, will play its home opener on Tuesday against Eastern Michigan.

The Ramblers will play host to Eastern Illinois on Saturday.

AUBURN ADDS FIVE-STAR, FOUR-STAR RECRUITS TO 2024 CLASS

The Auburn men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl and the Tigers had a huge recruiting day on Wednesday, officially signing five-star guard Tahaad Pettiford and getting a verbal commitment from four-star small forward Jahki Howard.

Pettiford, who had committed to Auburn in February, is a 6-foot-1 senior from Hudson Catholic High School in Jersey City, N.J. He is rated in the 247Sports Composite as No. 26 in the Class of 2024, second among point guards and third in all of New Jersey.

The 6-6 Howard, who played for the Overtime Elite league in his native Atlanta, is ranked in the 247Sports Composite as No. 76 in this senior class, 19th among small forwards and eighth in the state of Georgia.

Howard visited Auburn on Saturday, according to 247Sports, and picked the Tigers over finalists Arkansas, Arizona State and Georgia Tech.

THE OFFICIATING IN THE TITLE GAME BETWEEN LSU AND IOWA WAS BELOW EXPECTATIONS, NCAA REVIEW FINDS

The national championship game in women’s basketball last spring was unforgettable for a lot of good reasons. LSU beating Iowa for its first title. A record television audience of nearly 10 million viewers. The spicy intensity between star players Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark.

The game will also be remembered for its controversial officiating and The Associated Press has learned that an NCAA review concluded the refereeing did not meet expectations.

The organization had planned a review of NCAA Tournament officiating after the 2024 championship concludes next April, but it was sped up by a year after criticism of the LSU-Iowa showdown.

NCAA vice president for women’s basketball Lynn Holzman said the officials were graded on the accuracy of their calls and the overall accuracy number fell short.

“In the championship game itself, for example, we typically have a performance that I think is 91% historically,” she said. “In that game, the percentage of correct calls was below that, around 88%. That’s factually the case.”

The NCAA did not provide the review or details to the AP, but an independent review of LSU-Iowa done by an official who did not participate in the game found the percentage of correct calls was much lower than 88%. (Out-of-bounds violations were not included as part of the independent analysis; it was unclear if they are included in the NCAA figure.)

According to the independent review, mistakes made during the game included a foul on Reese at the end of the first quarter that was her second of the game. In the third quarter, two offensive fouls were missed, one on each teams. Both resulted in video monitor reviews but neither ended up in penalizing the offensive player, said the official, who did the review for AP only on condition of anonymity because they feared the criticism could impact their career.

The 88% correct call rate was on par with the rest of the 2023 NCAA Tournament, but not ideal for the most important game of the season.

“Officiating across the board is a concern for people,” said North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart, president of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association who added that she hoped the findings would be shared with coaches. “Doing that assessment was a good step showing that they are trying to address it.”

The NCAA review was conducted by the Pictor Group. It offered six observations and recommendations that include better education and training for the NCAA women’s basketball committee and subcommittee on officiating, selecting crews and assigning the referee and crew chiefs.

“They felt that the national officiating program is run with integrity and there’s no question around any of that,” Holzman said. “They identified areas we can be better.”

The NCAA updated its rulebook over the summer. One change, had it been in place last year, would have impacted the title game:

Players now will no longer be charged with a technical foul for certain delay-of-game violations like the one given to Clark late in the third quarter because she didn’t pass the ball to an official after a foul was called. Since it was the second delay-of-game violation for Iowa, Clark was charged with a technical — her fourth foul of the game.

“Our committee is going to get a specific education about how we evaluate officials and this is what we’re looking at,” Holzman said. “The committee is going to be trained up.”

Holzman noted the review was only about the NCAA Tournament and that individual conferences govern their officials during the regular season.

For the upcoming NCAA Tournament, there will once again be 116 officials working along with five alternates. An additional 94 officials will be selected for the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament. This will allow the opportunity for more officials to gain postseason experience. In the past, some of the NCAA Tournament officials would also work WNIT games. Last year was the first time the NCAA had all-female crews for the semifinals and final.

NBA NEWS

NBA ROUNDUP: NIKOLA JOKIC, NUGGETS EDGE WARRIORS

Nikola Jokic produced 35 points and 13 rebounds, Reggie Jackson scored 20 points and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Golden State Warriors 108-105 on Wednesday in a matchup of the past two NBA champions.

Michael Porter Jr. added 17 points while Aaron Gordon finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds for Denver, which swept a four-game homestand.

Stephen Curry put up 23 points and Klay Thompson had 15 for the Warriors, who have lost two of their past three games. Thompson’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer slipped out of his hands.

The Warriors played without Draymond Green (personal reasons) and Gary Payton II (non-COVID illness). Denver guard Jamal Murray missed his second straight game with a right hamstring strain.

76ers 106, Celtics 103

Joel Embiid had 27 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots, Tyrese Maxey added 25 points and nine rebounds and host Philadelphia held on to clip Boston.

Tobias Harris scored 17 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. contributed 14 for the Sixers, who won their sixth game in a row following a one-point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in their season opener.

Kristaps Porzingis led the Celtics with 29 points, Derrick White added 19 and Jayson Tatum had 16 points, 15 rebounds and six assists. Trailing 106-103, the Celtics had a chance to tie the game, but Porzingis missed a 3-point try with 6.2 seconds left.

Kings 121, Trail Blazers 118 (OT)

Domantas Sabonis’ free throw with 42.8 seconds remaining in overtime broke a tie, Malik Monk dropped in a pair of foul throws with 13 seconds left and Sacramento snapped a three-game losing streak with a victory over visiting Portland.

The Trail Blazers’ Jerami Grant (38 points, nine rebounds) had two looks at a potential tie but missed consecutive 3-point attempts in the final 9.1 seconds. The extra session was required after Monk scored the final four points of regulation for the Kings.

Sabonis led the Kings with 27 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Monk had 23 points and a team-high 10 assists.

Suns 116, Bulls 115 (OT)

Grayson Allen scored 26 points while sinking a career-high eight 3-pointers and Kevin Durant added 25 points to lift Phoenix past host Chicago in overtime.

Jusuf Nurkic scored the go-ahead layup off a screen-and-roll pass from Durant with 7.3 seconds left in OT and finished with 20 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists. Nurkic missed two free throws with 0.4 seconds to go, but the Bulls’ backdoor lob attempt on their final possession was unsuccessful.

Making his regular-season debut for the Suns after dealing with back spasms during the preseason, Bradley Beal contributed 13 points. His night featured three 3-pointers, as Phoenix finished 19-for-48 from beyond the arc.

Heat 108, Grizzlies 102

Bam Adebayo scored a season-high 30 points and added 11 rebounds to fuel visiting Miami past Memphis, which remains winless at home in four tries.

Adebayo made 8 of 15 shots from the floor and 14 of 16 attempts from the free-throw line. That effort came on the heels of his 22-point, 19-rebound, 10-assist performance in the Heat’s 108-107 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.

Miami’s Tyler Herro sustained a right ankle sprain after landing on the foot of Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr. during the first quarter. Herro did not return to the contest, finishing with six points and two assists in eight minutes. Jackson scored a team-high 28 points.

Wizards 132, Hornets 116

Kyle Kuzma pumped in 33 points and Washington snapped a four-game losing streak with some huge offensive bursts against host Charlotte.

Danilo Gallinari and Delon Wright paced Washington’s bench scoring with 18 points apiece. The Wizards’ reserves outscored the Hornets’ backups 72-23.

LaMelo Ball led the Hornets with 34 points and seven assists. Gordon Hayward added 18 points.

Rockets 128, Lakers 94

Jalen Green scored a game-high 28 points while Alperen Sengun chipped in 19 as host Houston extended its winning streak to four games with a wire-to-wire victory over injury-ravaged Los Angeles.

Green was efficient throughout, making 11 of 15 attempts. Sengun was 8 of 10 from the floor while, like Green, adding seven rebounds.

The Lakers, who added Anthony Davis (hip) to a long list of sidelined rotation players, dropped their third game in a row. Los Angeles reserve Rui Hachimura scored a team-high 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds in his return from a four-game absence caused by a concussion.

Pacers 134, Jazz 118

Aaron Nesmith scored 24 points to lead six players in double figures as Indiana took control in the fourth quarter to beat Utah in Indianapolis.

Myles Turner and Bennedict Mathurin scored 22 points apiece, while Tyrese Haliburton scored all 16 of his points in the second half for the Pacers, who have won three of their past four games.

Jordan Clarkson scored 33 points to lead the Jazz, who lost their fourth straight. Lauri Markkanen had 24 points and nine rebounds.

Knicks 126, Spurs 105

Julius Randle posted another double-double for host New York, which scored the first 13 points of the game and was never seriously threatened in a win over San Antonio.

Randle finished with 23 points and 16 rebounds in his seventh double-double in eight games this season. Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 25 points while RJ Barrett had 24 points for the Knicks, who committed just four turnovers.

Jeremy Sochan scored 16 points while Malaki Branham and No. 1 draft pick Victor Wembanyama each had 14 points for the Spurs, who have lost three straight. Wembanyama missed his first seven shots from the field and scored just six points in the first three quarters.

Nets 100, Clippers 93

Lonnie Walker IV scored a season-high 21 points and host Brooklyn survived a shaky finish to defeat Los Angeles and keep James Harden winless with his new team.

Walker stepped up for the Nets after Cam Thomas was lost for the final 20:33 due to a sprained left ankle. Royce O’Neale clinched Brooklyn’s first home win by hitting a 3-pointer with 18.3 seconds to go.

The Clippers’ Paul George scored 24 to lead all scorers, but they shot just 39.6 percent and missed 28 of 36 3-point tries in their third straight defeat. Harden contributed 12 while hearing boos every time he touched the ball against the team that traded him to Philadelphia at the 2022 trade deadline.

Timberwolves 122, Pelicans 101

Anthony Edwards scored 26 points and dished eight assists as Minnesota cruised past New Orleans in Minneapolis.

Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 23 points on 9-for-12 shooting for the Timberwolves, who won their fourth game in a row. Rudy Gobert registered 17 points and 21 rebounds.

Brandon Ingram scored 24 points on 11-for-25 shooting and rookie Jordan Hawkins added 14 points for the Pelicans, who lost their third straight game.

Bucks 120, Pistons 118

Damian Lillard had 34 points as host Milwaukee overcame Giannis Antetokounmpo’s ejection and a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Detroit.

Bobby Portis had 18 points for the Bucks, and Brook Lopez added 14, including a pivotal 3-pointer in the late going. Antetokounmpo was whistled for a technical in the first quarter and picked up another three minutes into the second half, triggering an automatic ejection. He stared down Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart after a dunk.

Cade Cunningham put up 33 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and Marcus Sasser supplied 26 points for the Pistons, who have lost six straight games.

Raptors 127, Mavericks 116

Pascal Siakam recorded season bests of 31 points and 12 rebounds and also had five assists to help Toronto knock off host Dallas.

OG Anunoby added 26 points and Dennis Schroder had 18 for the Raptors, who won for the third time in the past four games. Scottie Barnes contributed 14 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

Luka Doncic registered 31 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and four steals for the Mavericks, who fell for just the second time in eight games this season. Kyrie Irving added 22 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. buried five 3-pointers while scoring 17 points.

Thunder 128, Cavaliers 120

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a season-high 43 points to lift host Oklahoma City past Cleveland.

The Thunder closed out their season-high, six-game homestand with a 3-3 record, winning the final two games. Oklahoma City swept the two-game season series with the Cavaliers.

Caris LeVert led Cleveland with 29 points off the bench while Evan Mobley added 22 and Donovan Mitchell had 20. Mitchell shot just 1 of 9 from beyond the 3-point arc, however.

NHL NEWS

NHL ROUNDUP: SAM REINHART’S OT GOAL LIFTS PANTHERS OVER CAPS

Sam Reinhart scored 15 seconds into overtime to give the visiting Florida Panthers a 4-3 win against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night.

Reinhart, who also had an assist in the game, took a cross-ice pass from Aleksander Barkov as he entered the zone and drove to the net before lifting the puck into the top right corner.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Evan Rodrigues and Barkov each had a goal and an assist, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves for the Panthers.

Anthony Mantha scored twice, Connor McMichael had a goal and an assist and Aliaksei Protas had two assists for the Capitals. Darcy Kuemper made 21 saves.

Kings 4, Golden Knights 1

Anze Kopitar scored his 400th career goal and also had an assist and Cam Talbot made 37 saves as Los Angeles knocked off Vegas in Las Vegas to stay unbeaten on the road.

Adrian Kempe also had a goal and an assist, and Trevor Moore and Pierre-Luc Dubois added goals for Los Angeles, which became the eighth team in NHL history to win its first seven road games to begin a season.Jordan Spence added two assists for the Kings, who completed a 4-0-0 road trip.

Kopitar scored an empty-netter to seal it with 11.8 seconds left and become the fourth player in Kings history with 400 goals, joining Luc Robitaille (557), Marcel Dionne (550) and Dave Taylor (431). William Karlsson scored a goal and Adin Hill made 29 saves for Vegas.

Senators 6, Maple Leafs 3

Dominik Kubalik and Claude Giroux each scored two goals and visiting Ottawa closed the game with three straight goals to defeat Toronto, handing the Maple Leafs their fifth loss in six games.

Tim Stutzle added a goal and three assists and Jakob Chychrun had a goal and an assist for Ottawa. Mathieu Joseph tallied three assists and Giroux added an assist for a three-point game. Joonas Korpisalo stopped 27 shots for the Senators, who won for the second time in seven games.

William Nylander had a goal and an assist for the Maple Leafs, stretching his season-opening point streak to 13 games. Tyler Bertuzzi and Nicholas Robertson also scored goals, while John Tavares added two assists and Joseph Woll made 21 saves for Toronto.

BASEBALL

OHTANI FREE AGENCY SWEEPSTAKES OFF TO A CLANDESTINE START AT MLB’S GENERAL MANAGER MEETINGS

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The race to add two-way baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani in a blockbuster free agency deal is off to a clandestine start.

“Special player, that’s all I’ll say,” said Chris Young, general manager of the World Series champion Texas Rangers.

“We’re going to be interested in looking at everything that’s available that can make us better,” New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said.

“We may ask some questions, but I can’t tell you we’re diving all in,” Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown said.

All 30 Major League Baseball general managers have gathered this week at baseball’s GM meetings in Scottsdale. Privately, they’re surely discussing the developing Ohtani sweepstakes, which could cost the winning team upward of $500 million. But publicly, questions about the potentially historic bidding have been met with careful statements.

Even the team that employed the Japanese sensation the past six seasons — the Los Angeles Angels — doesn’t seem to have a good read on his future.

“There’s going to be a lot of attention on it and I understand why,” Angels GM Perry Minasian said. “Great player. We’ll see how the offseason develops. We’ve got our plan and we’re going to try to execute that plan and see where it leads us.”

Ohtani is one of the most fascinating cases for baseball’s free agency system since it began in 1976.

He’s 29 years old and just produced one of the best two-way seasons in MLB history, batting .304 with 44 homers while also having a 10-5 record on the mound with a 3.14 ERA.

It’s unclear how much value he’ll provide as a pitcher in the coming seasons. He had Tommy John surgery in September for the second time in six years, and the list of pitchers who have successfully returned after having the procedure done twice is fairly short.

Recent World Series winner Nathan Eovaldi, Jameson Taillon and Daniel Hudson are a handful who have had success. Two-time All-Star Jason Isringhausen had the surgery three times and still came back to have a few more solid seasons. Current Dodgers star Walker Buehler — who recently had his second TJ surgery — hopes to join that group.

Even if Ohtani can’t contribute much on the mound, he’s one of the game’s elite hitters. He’s also a good enough athlete that he could be an option for first base or the outfield as he gets older.

There’s also an off-the-field component that can’t totally be quantified. Ohtani has reached a celebrity status that few other current baseball players can even imagine, and his arrival in any city would undoubtedly mean a huge boost for fan interest.

Instead of setting the free agent market this offseason, Ohtani is a market all his own.

“He brings so much to the game, so much excitement, he’s got a fan base, he’s an exciting player,” said Brown, the Astros GM. “I would love to have him, but are we going to go out and pursue Ohtani? We may ask some questions, but I can’t tell you we’re diving all in.”

Then he said what pretty much every GM in Arizona was saying this week.

“We will definitely ask questions, though.”

Ohtani is the crown jewel of this year’s free agent class, which appears a little short on franchise-altering players, particularly among hitters. Cody Bellinger is a former MVP who had a great bounce-back year with the Cubs. Four-time Gold Glove winner Matt Chapman is a quality third baseman. Tim Anderson is a two-time All-Star who is looking for a change of scenery.

The pitching scene is a little more robust, with veterans Aaron Nola, Sonny Gray, Jordan Montgomery and Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the market

But none of them come close to bringing the juice — on or off the field — that Ohtani provides.

Still, a half-billion bucks? That’s a lot of money.

Former Angels teammate Mike Trout has the richest contract in the sport’s history at $426.5 million over 12 years, signed in 2019.

“You don’t base an offseason on one single player,” Minasian said. “You have to have Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, Plan D, so on and so forth. We’re going to work like we always we do. We’re going to be aggressive, we’re going to have a lot of conversations and see how everything goes.”

The Seattle Mariners are among a handful of teams that would seem a logical fit for Ohtani, given the upward trajectory of the franchise, the city’s history with former Japanese star Ichiro Suzuki and it’s relatively large Asian population.

Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto agreed that the Mariners have a lot to offer — though he wasn’t specifically talking about Ohtani.

“I think that’s with any free agent courtship,” Dipoto said. “It’s the one time in a baseball player’s life that you’re recruiting like a college program. You’re trying to sell your city, you’re trying to sell your vision, you’re trying to sell your people.”

FREDDIE FREEMAN VIES FOR FIFTH ALL-MLB SELECTION

Freddie Freeman will look to earn his fifth consecutive All-MLB honor in balloting that began when the nominees were announced Wednesday.

The Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman is the only player who made first-team or second-team All-MLB every year since the award began in 2019.

Five other players are seeking a fourth All-MLB designation: New York Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole, Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto, Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts, San Diego Padres outfielder Juan Soto and Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez.

Two-way star Shohei Ohtani, a free agent who played this year with the Los Angeles Angels, is again nominated at two positions. He made the first team as a starting pitcher in 2022 and as a designated hitter in 2021, and he made the second team as a DH in 2022 and a starting pitcher in 2021.

First- and second-time honorees will be chosen for catcher, first base, second base, third base, three outfielders (regardless of position), designated hitter, five starting pitchers and two relief pitchers. No league affiliations will be considered, and voting is to focus strictly on the regular season.

Fans can vote online until Nov. 19, and their results will be factored in along with votes from media members, ex-players and baseball officials. The winners will be revealed on Dec. 16.

All-MLB nominees:
First base
Pete Alonso, New York Mets
Yandy Diaz, Tampa Bay
Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers
Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis
Josh Naylor, Cleveland
Matt Olson, Atlanta
Christian Walker, Arizona

Second base
Ozzie Albies, Atlanta
Jose Altuve, Houston
Luis Arraez, Miami
Nolan Gorman, St. Louis
Nico Hoerner, Chicago Cubs
Ha-Seong Kim, San Diego
Ketel Marte, Arizona
Marcus Semien, Texas

Shortstop
Orlando Arcia, Atlanta
Bo Bichette, Toronto
J.P. Crawford, Seattle
Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore
Francisco Lindor, New York Mets
Corey Seager, Texas
Dansby Swanson, Chicago Cubs
Trea Turner, Philadelphia
Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City

Third base
Nolan Arenado, St. Louis
Alex Bregman, Houston
Jake Burger, Chicago White Sox/Miami
Matt Chapman, Toronto
Rafael Devers, Boston
Josh Jung, Texas
Manny Machado, San Diego
Isaac Paredes, Tampa Bay
Jose Ramirez, Cleveland
Austin Riley, Atlanta

Catcher
William Contreras, Milwaukee
Willson Contreras, St. Louis
Jonah Heim, Texas
Ryan Jeffers, Minnesota
Sean Murphy, Atlanta
Cal Raleigh, Seattle
J.T. Realmuto, Philadelphia
Adley Rutschman, Baltimore
Will Smith, Los Angeles Dodgers

Designated hitter
Yordan Alvarez, Houston
Bryce Harper, Philadelphia
J.D. Martinez, Los Angeles Dodgers
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
Marcell Ozuna, Atlanta
Brent Rooker, Oakland
Jorge Soler, Miami
Justin Turner, Boston

Outfield
Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta
Randy Arozarena, Tampa Bay
Cody Bellinger, Chicago Cubs
Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers
Corbin Carroll, Arizona
TJ Friedl, Cincinnati
Adolis Garcia, Texas
Nolan Jones, Colorado
Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
Steven Kwan, Cleveland
Josh Lowe, Tampa Bay
Chas McCormick, Houston
Luis Robert Jr., Chicago White Sox
Julio Rodriguez, Seattle
Anthony Santander, Baltimore
Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia
Juan Soto, San Diego
Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego
Lane Thomas, Washington
Kyle Tucker, Houston
Christian Yelich, Milwaukee

Starting pitcher
Chris Bassitt, Toronto
Kyle Bradish, Baltimore
Corbin Burnes, Milwaukee
Luis Castillo, Seattle
Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees
Zach Eflin, Tampa Bay
Nathan Eovaldi, Texas
Zac Gallen, Arizona
Kevin Gausman, Toronto
Sonny Gray, Minnesota
Merrill Kelly, Arizona
Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
George Kirby, Seattle
Pablo Lopez, Minnesota
Jordan Montgomery, St. Louis/Texas
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
Freddy Peralta, Milwaukee
Eduardo Rodriguez, Detroit
Kodai Senga, New York Mets
Blake Snell, San Diego
Justin Steele, Chicago Cubs
Spencer Strider, Atlanta
Framber Valdez, Houston
Justin Verlander, New York Mets/Houston
Logan Webb, San Francisco
Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia

Relief pitcher
Bryan Abreu, Houston
Adbert Alzolay, Chicago Cubs
Shawn Armstrong, Tampa Bay
Felix Bautista, Baltimore
David Bednar, Pittsburgh
Matt Brash, Seattle
Yennier Cano, Baltimore
Aroldis Chapman, Kansas City/Texas
Emmanuel Clase, Cleveland
Alexis Diaz, Cincinnati
Camilo Doval, San Francisco
Jhoan Duran, Minnesota
Pete Fairbanks, Tampa Bay
Josh Hader, San Diego
Clay Holmes, New York Yankees
Raisel Iglesias, Atlanta
Chris Martin, Boston
Hector Neris, Houston
Evan Phillips, Los Angeles Dodgers
Ryan Pressly, Houston
Jordan Romano, Toronto
Tanner Scott, Miami
Paul Sewald, Seattle/Arizona
Devin Williams, Milwaukee

ANGELS TAB RON WASHINGTON AS NEW MANAGER

The Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday named Ron Washington their new manager, giving the club its fourth skipper since Mike Scioscia was not brought back after the 2018 season.

Washington, who served as the Atlanta Braves’ third-base coach the past seven seasons, will be tasked with leading the Angels to their first winning season since 2015, when the club went 85-77. That was one season after the club’s last playoff appearance.

Washington, 71, was the Texas Rangers manager for eight seasons, compiling a 664-611 record before he was fired. But he hasn’t held the position since he was dismissed late in the 2014 season. He helped Texas to the World Series in 2010 and 2011, with the club losing to the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals, respectively.

Only the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Dave Roberts has led his team to consecutive World Series appearances as manager since.

Washington replaces Phil Nevin, who was let go after this past season. Nevin, who took over when Joe Maddon was fired early in the 2022 season, went 119-149 at the helm of the Angels.

With the decision at manager complete, Los Angeles now will look to compile a roster for 2024. Two-way star Shohei Ohtani is a free agent and speculation has circulated that star outfielder Mike Trout could be traded in a potential roster rebuild.

Wildly considered among two of the top players in the game, Ohtani and Trout never were able to get the Angels to the playoffs in six seasons together. Trout has been in the postseason just once, when the Angels were swept in three games by the Kansas City Royals in 2014.

Washington’s Rangers teams went 18-16 in three separate postseasons. Twice in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series, the Rangers were one strike away from a title before losing that contest and falling in Game 7 to the Cardinals.

TOP INDIANA RELEASES/NEWS

COLTS FOOTBALL

COLTS CB KENNY MOORE II NAMED AFC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR WEEK 9

Colts cornerback Kenny Moore II on Wednesday was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 9.

During the team’s 27-13 win over the Carolina Panthers, Moore II became the first player in Colts’ history to have two pick-sixes in the same game. He also had eight tackles and two pass deflections.

This is the second time that Moore II has been named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week. The first was in Week 14 of the 2020 season.

Moore II has been with the team since 2017, making him the longest-tenured defensive player on the team. In seven and a half years with the Colts, he’s made his presence felt both on and off the field. He was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2021 and has been voted a team captain by his peers for the past two seasons.

Through nine games this season, Moore II leads the team and all NFL cornerbacks with seven tackles for loss. He also has 61 tackles, 1.5 sacks and three interceptions.

INDIANA PACERS

GAME REWIND: PACERS 134, JAZZ 118

Game Rewind

Through three quarters of action on Wednesday night, it appeared no lead was safe between the Indiana Pacers and Utah Jazz.

In the fourth quarter, however, the highest-scoring team in the NBA put the game away, utilizing its depth on offense while also locking in on the defensive end.

After trading the lead 14 times through 36 minutes, and leading by three points going into the final frame, the Pacers (5-3) scored 10 unanswered points midway through the fourth quarter and never looked back in a 134-118 victory over the Jazz (2-7) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Indiana led 101-98 before outscoring the Jazz 33-20 in the final frame. In the fourth quarter, the Pacers held the Jazz to 30.4 percent shooting from the field.

The Pacers’ bench played at a high level in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Jazz reserves 20-2. The Blue & Gold bench also had more points than the team’s starters (20-13) in the final frame.

“I thought our second unit tonight really gave us a lot,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. “They gave us physical play defensively and they were doing good things offensively. They were in there during some of those stretches in the fourth … and our starters came back in and finished the game in a big way. It was great to see.”

In all, six players scored in double figures for the Pacers, and the team combined for 26 assists. The Pacers outshot the Jazz 51.7 to 46.9 percent overall.

Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith scored 24 points off the bench to lead the Blue & Gold, while Bennedict Mathurin and Myles Turner logged 22 points each, and Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Smith each scored 16. Haliburton also finished with 13 assists, Smith pulled down 11 rebounds, Mathurin had nine rebounds and Turner had six boards.

For the Jazz, Jordan Clarkson led all scorers with 33 points (12-for-26 shooting), Lauri Markkanen had 24 points and nine rebounds, and John Collins totaled 14 points and nine boards.

After trading the 10 times in the first half, the Pacers used a late push to build a 67-60 lead over the Jazz by intermission. Second-year Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard drilled a corner 3-pointer at the buzzer to extend the Blue & Gold lead to seven before the break.

Turner came out on fire to start the game, registering 20 of his points in the first half on 7-for-10 shooting. Nesmith also played a key role early, registering 12 points for the Blue & Gold in the opening 24 minutes.

Quarter one was all about the big runs.

The Pacers opened the game ahead 7-0, thanks to five points Turner, but the visitors responded with a 12-0 scoring spree that saw Markkanen and Clarkson score five points each.

Following a timeout by Carlisle with 8:46 left in the opening frame, Mathurin drained a 3-pointer and Turner added a basket to knot at 12. The teams then kept it close until a 7-0 run by Utah put the Jazz up 25-16 with 4:27 on the clock.

In the final 2:32 of the first quarter, the Pacers scored 10 straight points, capped by 3-pointers by Buddy Hield and Mathurin, to tie the game at 29.

The sides traded the lead four times through the first four minutes of the second quarter, but the Pacers were able to stay ahead at 39-38 thanks to 3-pointers from Mathruin and Hield.

Indiana later went on a 10-2 run to lead 58-51 with 97 seconds left. Baskets by Kelly Olynyk and Clarkson, and a 3-pointer by Keyonte George, narrowed the deficit, but the Pacers stayed ahead 67-60 thanks to the clutch shot by Nembhard.

Haliburton had no points, but seven assists, at halftime. He found his shooting stroke in the third quarter, posting 14 points in the period on 5-for-8 shooting.

Alternatively, Clarkson went 5-for-9 for 13 points in the third quarter.

The Jazz put together an 11-2 run in the first two minutes of the third quarter, retaking the lead at 71-69 following 3-pointers by Markkanen and Ochai Agbaji.

Indiana and Utah continued trading the lead until seven straight points by Haliburton gave the Pacers an 87-80 edge with 4:31 left in the third frame. That scoring run then extended to an 11-2 stretch, with the Pacers ahead 91-84 with 3:22 on the clock.

The Jazz were able to tie the game twice before the end of the third period, but a basket by Mathurin with 12 seconds left and a stepback jumper near the free throw line by Nembhard with a second on the clock gave the Pacers a 101-98 lead going into the final frame.

To start the fourth quarter, the Pacers went on a mini 5-0 run before the Jazz answered with a 6-0 scoring streak.

From 9:45 in the fourth quarter to 7:03, the Pacers strung together the key 10-0 run on four points each by Brown and Smith. That scoring stretch extended to 14-2, and the Jazz never got closer than ninepoints to the lead the remainder of the game.

“Everyone was just locked in to another level,” Smith said of the bench play in the fourth quarter. “We took our intensity up to another level, took pride and guarded our matchups one-on-one, and that led to our offense.”

Indiana now turns its attention to a tough task on Thursday night when the Milwaukee Bucks (5-2) come to town. This season, the Pacers are 0-1 on the second legs of back-to-backs while the Bucks are 1-0. Milwaukee beat the Detroit Pistons (2-7) 120-118 on Wednesday.

Inside The Numbers

Bennedict Mathurin finished with season highs in both points (22) and rebounds (9) against the Jazz.

Indiana’s bench outscored Utah’s reserves 59-37 in the game.

Both teams made 17 total free throws in the game.

The Pacers outscored the Jazz 74-66 in the paint.

Indiana had 11 turnovers to Utah’s 21 giveaways. The Pacers had just four turnovers in the second half.

Myles Turner matched a season-high with three blocks in the game.

Jalen Smith recorded his first double-double of the season. Tyrese Haliburton, who leads the league in assists per game, earned his sixth double-double across seven games played.

Stat of The Night

In the fourth quarter, the Pacers’ bench outscored the Jazz 20-2. The Pacers bench also had more points than its starters (20-13) in the final frame.

You Can Quote Me On That

“I’ve got a whole different role. I don’t get as easy shots as I was getting last year. I’m playing against better players. I’m just trying to find the right way to play and help my team win.” – Benedict Mathurin on moving to the regular starting lineup this season

“Defenders are expecting me to go all the way to the rim. That creates a lot of open shots for my teammates, and I’m trying to pass it.” – Mathurin on averaging more assists this season

“The main thing for me is defense. I’m trying to get my defense to the same level as my offense. I feel like it’s going to come as the season goes on. … That’s the main thing for me as a player, and I feel like that’s the best way possible to help my team win.” – Mathurin on improving his game

“Last year obviously didn’t go the way I wanted, so I dug-in in the offseason and just kept working. Right now, I’m just playing my game and doing my job.” – Smith on his play this season

“It was my night. The ball was finding me and I took advantage of what the defense was giving me.” – Nesmith on his 24 points

“As a second unit, you kind of have an advantage coming into the game. You get to see the speed and how the defense is playing and that tempo of the game. .. I feel like our second unit brought energy, and we were just locked-in from the get-go.” – Smith on the bench play

“I thought this was probably Benn’s best game in two years. People want to see him shoot a bunch of shots and score a bunch of points, but that isn’t necessarily what wins. What wins is being a part of a system, doing your job within the system, taking the right shots within the system, running to the corner when your job is to run to the corner, and making simple plays. I thought tonight he took some major steps. … He earned the 38 minutes.” – Carlisle on Mathurin’s performance

“I chalk it up to the type of character that he has. He went through some things last year where there was some real ups and downs, mentally (and) emotionally. (He) starts 27 games, gets benched, goes through some of the mental gyrations with that and just decided that, ‘I’ve gotta pick it up. I’ve gotta work harder when I get my opportunities. I gotta raise my level.’ He did that.” – Carlisle on Smith

“Aaron is a winning kid. I spent time with him in the summer and know what he’s about. He just plays hard and loves being a part of the team. He’s doing some special things for us.” – Carlisle on Nesmith

“Great players recognize what is needed. In the first half, they were trapping him, they were hitting him, they were trying to get the ball out of his hands. All he did was keep moving it to the right people. We had a seven-point lead at halftime, which was great because we went through some tough stretches in the first quarter, and a little bit in the second quarter as well. But in the third quarter, he found the openings. Lloyd (Pierce) had a couple of good suggestions of ways to get him loose, and he started attacking downhill and the scoring aspects of his game changed. Great players on nights where shots aren’t there find other ways to beat you And that’s exactly what he did.” – Carlisle on Haliburton

Noteworthy

Indiana is 49-48 all-time against Utah.

With three blocks on Wednesday, Pacers center Myles Turner passed Horace Grant for 72nd on the all-time blocks list. Turner has 1,137 blocks in his career.

Making two 3-pointers on Wednesday night, Pacers sharpshooter Buddy Hield is now tied with Carmelo Anthony (1,731) for the 27th most 3-pointers by a player all-time.

Notre Dame guard Dara Mabrey revved up the crowd pregame. Wednesday night’s home game marked 100 days until the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend commences in Indianapolis.

The Pacers will wear their CITY EDITION jerseys and debut a special court on Thursday night against the Milwaukee Bucks. Get a sneak peek and learn more at Pacers.com/City.

Indiana is 2-0 against Western Conference teams this season.

Tickets

The Pacers welcome Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Thursday, Nov. 9 at 7:00 PM ET.

GAME PREVIEW: PACERS VS BUCKS

The Pacers (5-3) will try to close out a busy homestand with another victory on Thursday night, when they host the Milwaukee Bucks (5-2) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on the second night of a back-to-back for both teams.

Thursday’s game will conclude a stretch that has seen Indiana host five games over just seven days. It has been more successful than stressful so far, as the Blue & Gold have won three of the first four contests on the homestand, with the only blemish a one-point loss to Charlotte on Saturday.

The Pacers rebounded with a record-setting win over San Antonio on Monday, followed by a 134-118 victory over Utah on Wednesday. Indiana pulled away from the Jazz in the fourth quarter, outscoring the visitors 33-20 in the final frame.

Several players had strong performances for the Blue & Gold in Wednesday’s win. Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Smith continued their stellar starts to the season, both recording double-doubles. Aaron Nesmith scored 24 points off the bench, while Myles Turner dropped 22 and swatted three shots. But the most encouraging performance came from second-year guard Bennedict Mathurin.

It’s been an adjustment for Mathurin this season moving into the starting lineup. He has the ball in his hands less now that he is playing more alongside Haliburton and the coaching staff has tasked him with finding ways to impact the game in ways besides scoring. He scored 10 points or less in four straight games entering Wednesday, but had a big offensive night against Utah, tallying a season-high 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting (4-of-7 from 3-point range), nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals.

“I’ve got a whole different role,” Mathurin said after the win. “I don’t get as easy shots as I was getting last year. I’m playing against better players. I’m just trying to find the right way to play and help my team win.”

The Bucks have a different look this season after pulling off a stunning trade just before training camp to acquire seven-time All-Star Damian Lillard from Portland in a three-team deal. Milwaukee gave up Jrue Holiday — one of the pillars of their team that won the NBA title in 2021 — in the deal, but it was an all-in move designed to pair a second superstar alongside two-time MVP Giannis Antetkounmpo.

So far, the Bucks are off to a strong start and they enter Thursday’s game riding a three-game winning streak. Their latest victory was a hard-fought 120-118 win over Detroit that had a unique twist, with Antetokounmpo ejected minutes into the second half after picking up a second technical foul. Lillard stepped into the lead role in his absence, scoring 34 points to lead Milwaukee to victory.

Lillard hasn’t shot the ball well yet from distance (he’s made just 29.3 percent of his 3-point attempts, including a 2-for-12 performance from beyond the arc on Wednesday), but still has topped 30 points in three of his first seven games as a Buck and is averaging 11.4 free throw attempts per game.

Containing Antetokounmpo was already a tall task, but now teams also have to account for Lillard, one of the league’s most prolific scorers over the past decade. Thursday’s game will be a big test for the Pacers’ defense, which entered Wednesday night 25th in the league in defensive rating (116.4 points per 100 possessions) and 28th in opponent free throw attempts (26 per game).

Projected Starters

Pacers: G – Tyrese Haliburton, G – Bruce Brown, F – Bennedict Mathurin, F – Obi Toppin, C – Myles Turner

Bucks: G – Damian Lillard, G – Malik Beasley, F – Khris Middleton, F – Giannis Antetokounmpo, C – Brook Lopez

Injury Report

Pacers: None

Bucks: None

Last Meeting

March 29, 2023: Jrue Holiday scored a career-high 51 points while Giannis Antetokounmpo added a 38-point, 17-rebound, 12-assist triple-double as the Bucks pulled away in the second half for a 149-136 victory over the Pacers.

Holiday went 20-for-30 from the field, 3-for-6 from 3-point range, and 8-for-10 from the free throw line, eclipsing his previous career high by 11 points while also tallying eight rebounds and eight assists.

Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, went 14-for-18 from the field and 10-for-14 from the charity stripe, as he and Holiday combined for 89 points as the Bucks avenged a 139-123 loss to the Pacers on March 16 in Milwaukee.

Rookie guard Bennedict Mathurin led seven Pacers in double figures with 29 points and also pulled down nine rebounds, while Aaron Nesmith added 22 points on 5-of-5 3-point shooting.

Noteworthy

The Pacers will wear their 2023-24 CITY EDITION uniforms for the second time this season on Thursday and will also debut the new CITY EDITION court. Learn more about the uniforms and see the court design at Pacers.com/City.

The Bucks have won 11 of the last 12 and 15 of the last 17 meetings with Indiana, including their last five contests at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Pacers guard Buddy Hield’s next 3-pointer with break a tie with Carmelo Anthony for 27th place on the NBA’s career 3-pointers made list. Both players currently have 1,731 career threes.

Pacers forward Jordan Nwora was drafted by the Bucks in the second round 2020 and won an NBA championship with Milwaukee as a rookie. He was traded to Indiana in February in a four-team deal.

Broadcast Information (TV and Radio Listings >>)

TV: Bally Sports Indiana – Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (sideline reporter/host)

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan – Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Eddie Gill (analyst), Pat Boylan (sideline reporter/host)

Tickets

The Pacers welcome Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Thursday, Nov. 9 at 7:00 PM ET.

INDIANA MEN’S BASKETBALL

MCNEELEY SIGNS LETTER OF INTENT

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana University head men’s basketball coach Mike Woodson has announced the signing of five-star forward Liam McNeeley.

The 6-7 small forward is the fourth-highest rated recruit in program history, according to 247Sports. He ranks behind former lottery picks Romeo Langford (14th overall by Boston in 2019) and Noah Vonleh (9th overall by Charlotte in 2014), and current Hoosier freshman forward Mackenzie Mgbako.

Liam McNeeley

Forward | 6-7 | 190

Richardson, Texas | Montverde Academy

No. 13 on ESPN | No. 15 on 247Sports | No. 13 on Rivals

Consensus 5-star and top-15 nationally-ranked recruit … led Montverde in scoring at 12.4 points per contest during his junior season … also contributed 4.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.0 steal per game in 18.4 minutes … made 103-of-207 (49.8%) of his shots from the floor, 52-of-116 (44.8%) from the 3-point line, and 52-of-62 (83.9%) from the free throw line … totaled 16.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists for the Florida Rebels in the EYBL circuit during the summer on 37.5% shooting from the 3-point line … averaged 17 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks per game as a sophomore at John Paul II … won the TAPPS 6A state title in his second high school season … compiled 24 points per game to lead the 2022 Nike EYBL 16U Circuit and was called up to the 17U level … averaged 14.5 points in 15 games playing up with the Drive Nation program … won a gold medal with the 2021 USA Basketball U16 National Team … son of Ashley Elsey and Matthew McNeeley.

Woodson on McNeeley:

“Liam is a very smart basketball player who will bring leadership, skill, and high-level shooting to our ball club. He is a selfless player that will do everything he can to help us win games. His versatility and shooting ability really stood out to our staff throughout the recruiting process. He plays the game the right way, he is a winner, and now he is a Hoosier.”

INDIANA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

NO. 9 IU SET FOR SEASON OPENER THURSDAY AGAINST EIU

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – No. 9/9 Indiana officially tips on the 2023-24 regular season when it hosts Eastern Illinois on Thursday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Game time is set for 7 p.m. ET.

GAME DAY INFO

#9/9 Indiana (0-0) vs. Eastern Illinois (0-1)

Thursday, November 9, 2023 • 7 p.m. ET

Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall • Bloomington, Ind.

Broadcast: B1G+

Radio: B97 (Austin Render)

Live Stats: HoosierStats.com

Social Media: Facebook | X | Instagram

ABOUT THE COACHES

Indiana  Eastern Illinois

Teri Moren          Matt Bollant

Career Record: 399-223 (21st Season)      Career Record: 424-242 (22nd Year)

Indiana Record: 200-93 (10th Season)      EIU Record: 81-94 (7th Season)

ABOUT THE PANTHERS

EIU started off the season at IUPUI on Monday, dropping the contest 77-72. Last season, the Panthers went 21-8 overall and 14-4 in the OVC, finishing second overall in conference play. Junior forward Macy McGlone, who was also a first team All-OVC honoree last season, leads the returners, as she averaged 12.5 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game. Junior guard Miah Monahan (9.2 ppg.) returns to the roster this season as well.

NOTES

All-time, the Hoosiers are 35-13 in season openers and hold a 23-5 record in openers at home. IU has won 10-straight openers including all nine under head coach Teri Moren. It has also started the season at home in nine of the last 10 seasons, its only road opener at Butler in 2021-22.

Graduate student forward Mackenzie Holmes will have a chance to push her name higher in the IU record books in her final season. She needs 14 points to move in to third place all-time past Karna Abram (1,910) and 21 points from securing second place all-time from Denise Jackson (1,917).

IU returns four starters from the 2022-23 squad who went 24-8 overall and won the outright regular season Big Ten championship on its way to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Five All-Big Ten players return from that roster including Holmes, senior guard Chloe Moore-McNeil (second team) and honorable mention honorees senior guard Sydney Parrish, senior guard Sara Scalia and sophomore guard Yarden Garzon.

The Hoosiers being the season ranked in the Top 10 and making its fourth-straight appearance in both national preseason polls. They came in at No. 9 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and WBCA/USA Today coaches poll.

Indiana head coach Teri Moren needs just one more win to secure her 400th career win. She would be the fifth active coach in the Big Ten to reach 400 career wins. Moren is in her 21st season as a collegiate head coach with stops at Division II UIndy and Indiana State.

HOOSIERS SIGN FENN AND WISEMAN ON NATIONAL SIGNING DAY

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana women’s basketball head coach Teri Moren has announced the signing of Faith Wiseman (Martinsville, Ind.) and Sydney Fenn (Buffalo, N.Y.) to letters of intent in the early signing period, which began on Wednesday.

“We welcome Faith and Sydney who have officially joined our Hoosier family today,” Moren said. “We knew going into this recruiting cycle that we needed to find a couple of post players with versatility. They both possess unique skill sets and can help us in many ways, both offensively and defensively. They are both tough, competitive players who come from wonderful families. We are excited about their futures here in Bloomington.”

Fenn is a 6-3 forward from AZ Compass Prep, where she averaged 12.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 blocks per game as a junior. Fenn was named the PA Jam Fest standout player, Prime Event standout player, She Got Game Classic watch list and All Hoop Group first team.

Wiseman is a 6-4 forward out of nearby Indian Creek, who averaged 16.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks as a junior in 2022-23. She led the Braves to a Class 3A semi-state championship appearance last season and helped the team finish 27-2 overall. She has earned numerous awards including IBCA Underclass All-State Supreme 15 Team, All Western Indiana Conference, ICGSA 1st Team All-State, a spot on the Indiana Junior All-Stars, Johnson County Co-Player of the Year and All-USA Central Indiana Super Team 2nd Team.

INDIANA MEN’S SOCCER

SEVEN-GOAL SHOOTOUT SENDS HOOSIERS TO SEVENTH-STRAIGHT BIG TEN FINAL

BLOOMINGTON — 2,800 plus watched seven goals hit the back of the net in Indiana men’s soccer program’s 4-3 win Wednesday (Nov. 9) night on Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium.

The Hoosiers (11-4-4, 4-2-2 B1G) gave up 1-0 and 3-1 leads, but senior forward Maouloune Goumballe had the last say in the 87th minute to finish off the No. 5-seeded Michigan Wolverines (5-6-7, 2-1-5 B1G). With the win, Indiana advanced to its seventh-straight Big Ten Tournament Championship match, where it will face familiar foe and No. 2-seeded Penn State.

IU will host the final Sunday (Nov. 12) at noon ET at Armstrong Stadium. Tickets are on sale now, and admission is free for Indiana University students, faculty and staff that present a valid Crimson Card.

The Hoosiers went into the half with a 3-1 lead thanks to goals from Goumballe, senior midfielder Hugo Bacharach and junior forward Tommy Mihalic. Michigan answered with scores in the 54th and 72nd minutes before a second yellow to junior defender Jason Bucknor in the 75th minute put them down a man. Goumballe and the Hoosiers took advantage 11 minutes later, scoring the winner with just under four minutes to play.

KEY MOMENTS

• 21′ – Goumballe cut inside from the left wing and fired low from 19 yards, sneaking it past the diving keeper and into the near post.

• 22′ – A minute later, Michigan was back level. A long pass across the field from senior midfielder Simon Vasquez found Bucknor past him mark on the right wing and in front of goal. The junior finished around IU senior goalkeeper JT Harms.

• 36′ – Junior Samuel Sarver’s free kick fell to Mihalic at the top of the box. His shot was blocked, and, after some confusion, the ball came to Bacharach in the box. Bacharach’s left-footed effort had no trouble getting through the crowd, and IU retook the lead.

• 45′ – Indiana was awarded a free-kick with 10 before halftime. Sarver blasted a low shot that the keeper saved but couldn’t corral. A crowd of Hoosiers swarmed the ball, but Mihalic got to it first and put in the rebound.

• 48′ – Harms made a pair of great saves to delay the comeback. Freshman forward Alex Waggoner was through on goal, but Harms made himself big and pushed away his attempt with an outstretched left hand. Bucknor was on the end of the rebound, but Harms got across the six to send the second attempt away as well.

• 54′ – Michigan was awarded a penalty after a foul by freshman Alex Barger around the top of the 18-yard box. The call was reviewed and couldn’t be overturned. Senior midfielder Quin Rogers buried it from the spot and cut U-M’s deficit in half. 

• 57′ – Mihalic was inches from his second when a cross trickled into his feet in front of an open goal. The ball hopped on him, and his first-time effort sailed into the crossbar.

• 72′ – A cross from Michigan freshman defender Matthew Fisher found the head of graduate midfielder Riley Ferch, who finished into the far corner.

• 75′ – Bucknor, who received a caution in the 13th minute, earned his second yellow card for a challenge on Mihalic. Michigan would play with 10 men for the final 15 minutes. 

• 83′ – IU thought it had its winner in the 83rd minute as senior forward Karsen Henderlong’s free header sailed towards goal. However, review showed that a Wolverine defender cleared it off the line just in time to keep the match tied.

• 87′ – A give-and-go between Bacharach and senior defender Brett Bebej set up Bacharach for a shot on goal. He forced a save, and Goumballe was in the right place to poke in the rebound, scoring the match-winner.

NOTABLES

• Indiana seventh consecutive Big Ten Tournament final appearance marks a conference record. IU previously advanced to, and won, six consecutive championship matches from 1994-1999.

• IU earned its eighth win in nine matches. The Hoosiers have scored 20 goals in that span.

• Indiana is 9-1-2 when playing at Bill Armstrong Stadium this season.

• The Hoosiers have advanced from all six Big Ten Tournament matches against Michigan and lead the all-time series with a 24-4-5 record.

• Indiana tied a program record for goals scored in a Big Ten Tournament match, recording four goals for the fifth time in its tourney history. The Hoosiers last scored four goals in 2017 during a 4-0 victory over Ohio State to advance to the first final of the current seven-year streak. 

• Sunday will mark the ninth meeting between IU and Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament final. Indiana has won six of those eight previous meetings.

• Goumballe doubled his season scoring mark with his first-career brace. The senior has recorded five goal contributions over IU’s last four matches (four goals, one assist).

• With his assist to Mihalic’s goal, Sarver tallied his eighth goal contribution (four goals, four assists) over his last eight matches played. He leads IU in goals (7) assists (6) and points (20).

• For the second time in three matches, Bacharach tallied a goal and an assist in the same match.

UP NEXT

The Hoosiers will play for their 16th Big Ten Tournament title and 34th conference title overall, hosting No. 2-seeded Penn State at Bill Armstrong Stadium Sunday at noon ET.

PURDUE MEN’S BASKETBALL

PAINTER ANNOUNCES FIVE COMMITMENTS ON NATIONAL SIGNING DAY

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue head coach Matt Painter has announced that five prospects have signed their national letters of intent and will join the Boilermakers for the 2024-25 season.

The class is ranked eighth by Rivals.com and ninth nationally by 247Sports. It is Purdue’s highest-ranked recruiting class since the class of 2007, when the Baby Boilers were ranked No. 4 nationally by Scout.com and No. 5 by Rivals.com.

The class is second in the Big Ten behind Rutgers according to Rivals.com. 

Guards C.J. Cox and Jack Benter, wing Kanon Catchings and post players Raleigh Burgess and Daniel Jacobsen have all submitted their paperwork and are now officially members of the Boilermakers.

“Obviously, we were able to touch a lot of points with this class. Anytime you have skill like these guys provide who can move and pass and play together, it really opens up a lot of different things you can run on both ends. Getting size and versatility in this class was really important to us,” Painter said. “We’ve got a bit of everything with this class and can still take one more player. We still need some help in our backcourt with what we are losing this year. We feel like if we can get one more guard that it will really help our case next season and moving forward. We’re excited about this class and where we are going with our program. This is a class that has a lot of skill and high basketball IQ.”

Under Painter, Purdue’s recruiting classes have now been ranked in the top 20 three different times (2007 – 5^th; 2012 – 19^th; 2024 – 8^th).

JACK BENTER (Guard / 6-5 / Brownstown, Indiana / Brownstown Central)

• An outstanding scorer, Benter excels at Brownstown Central, already setting the school record for career points and points in a game.
• A 3-star recruit on 247Sports, Benter accepted an offer early (June 2022), turning down offers from Indiana State, Bellarmine and Liberty. Virginia, Virginia Tech, Northwestern, Stanford and Penn State were others showing interest.
• Fits the mold of previous Purdue recruits Dakota Mathias and Sasha Stefanovic.
• Averaged 18.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists as a freshman.
• Then his sophomore year, averaged 26.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists as a sophomore, shooting 45 percent from 3-point range (93-of-207).
• Named to the Indiana Junior All-Star Team following his junior season.
• Shattered a backboard on a breakaway dunk during his junior season.
• Tallied 50 points against Jennings County on Jan. 6, 2023.
• Led the Braves to a sectional championship as a sophomore and to the semi-state championship game as a junior. Should be considered a favorite to win the state title as a senior.
• Competed in the Top 100 showcase after his sophomore year.
• Played for Grand Park Premier AAU.

PAINTER QUOTABLE: “Jack really gives us the type of player that has thrived here at Purdue in terms of skill level and understanding of his game, in the mold of Dakota Mathias and Sasha Stefanovic. He has really good size at the two or three position even though he handles the ball a lot and plays point at Brownstown Central. He is a great decision maker and can really stretch the defense with his ability to shoot the three.”


RALEIGH BURGESS (Forward / 6-10 / Cincinnati, Ohio / Sycamore)

• Missed some of his junior season, but is now 100 percent for his senior season at Sycamore.
• Ranked as the No. 89 prospect nationally by Rivals.com, Burgess received 19 offers, turning down offers from Indiana, Cincinnati, Iowa, Virginia, Wisconsin among others.
• Was averaging 14.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.2 blocks as a junior before his injury. Was named second-team All-Southwest District All-star despite playing only half the season.
• A stretch big man that can step out and hit the three, but also play on the block.
• Chose Purdue because it was a perfect fit of basketball and education.
• As a sophomore, averaged 10.9 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks while shooting 62.6 percent from the field.
• In July 2022, helped his AAU team (Indiana Elite) to a 3Stripes Select Basketball U16 Championship.

PAINTER QUOTABLE: “Raleigh has the ability to play two positions at the four and the five and his athleticism, mobility and the ability to play both in and out is something that we really looked for in this class. He has the ability to stretch the defense, but also play down low. His versatility and size makes him interchangeable and he plays really hard and has a lot of fun playing the game.”


KANON CATCHINGS (Forward / 6-9 / Brownsburg, Indiana / Brownsburg / Overtime Elite)

• The second-highest ranked recruit of the Matt Painter era, Kanon Catchings is ranked as the No. 22 prospect by 247Sports.
• Currently playing at Overtime Elite after a sensational career at Brownsburg (Ind.). Became the first player from the state of Indiana to play at Overtime Elite.
• Currently averaging 14.5 points and 5.1 rebounds in 21.7 minutes per game on Overtime Elite’s Cold Hearts team. Shooting 18-of-42 (.429) from 3-point range and 51.3 percent from the field.
• Committed to Purdue in September (2022) as an unranked player, but exploded onto the scene in the last year.
• Committed early to Purdue with his only other offer from Xavier. Was starting to gain interest from Indiana, Illinois, Michigan State, Ohio State and others.
• Son of former Illinois great Tauja Catchings and nephew of Naismith Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings.
• In a win over state runner-up Kokomo and the No. 4-ranked recruit in the country, Flory Bidunga, Catchings scored a Cox Tournament-record 39 points, tallying 25 points on 9-of-10 shooting in the opening half.
• Averaged 17.5 points and 4.8 rebounds as a junior at Brownsburg.
• Was one of the youngest players invited to try out for the 2023 USA Basketball U19 World Cup team this past summer.
• Excelled on a loaded Indy Gym Rats team in the AAU season.

PAINTER QUOTABLE: “Kanon has morphed into a big guard role at 6-9, 205 pounds, and can really play a lot of positions because of his versatility. His athleticism and skillset is really impressive and he is an elite shot-maker whether it’s catch-and-shoot or getting to his pull-up. He is still growing and expanding his game, but he’s just scratching the surface in terms of what he can do. He is outstanding in structure and is a very good player at all three levels. He has a chance to be a very productive player here at Purdue.”


C.J. COX (Guard / 6-2 / Lexington, Massachusetts / Milton Academy)

• An incredibly underrated player, Cox had no high-major offers before committing to Purdue in early October.
• Chose Purdue over offers from most of the Ivy League and UMass, but caught Painter’s attention this summer on the AAU circuit.
• Stars at Milton Academy in one of the toughest conferences in the country (NEPSAC). Led Milton to the 2023 NEPSAC championship a year ago, outdueling one of the top recruits in the country in the 2026 class.
• Also led the Middlesex Magic to the AAU Under Armour Championship last summer. Averaged 12.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game while shooting over 40 percent from deep in the summer AAU circuit.
• In a premier Las Vegas AAU event, averaged 18.7 points, shooting 43 percent from long range, including 29, 27 and 26-point games, one of which came against a loaded Indiana Elite team.
• Becomes just the second signee in school history from Massachusetts (Jacquil Taylor).

PAINTER QUOTABLE: “C.J. was an absolute steal for us. We are very fortunate to get somebody with a lot of substance who has such a competitive spirit to him. He’s very skilled and developed into a very good shot-maker, whether it be catch-and-shoot 3’s or on pull-ups. He can hurt you in a lot of ways and has a unique ability to take good shots. His shot selection and discipline on offense is something that really helps a team. C.J. has really good ball skills and is going to be a very good player at our level.”


DANIEL JACOBSEN (Center / 7-3 / Chicago, Illinois / Brewster Academy)

• A late addition to the class, Jacobsen committed to the Boilermakers on Nov. 3, turning down offers from Wisconsin, Creighton, Iowa, Minnesota, Clemson and Xavier.
• Jacobsen reclassified from the Class of 2025 and is ranked as the No. 94 prospect in the On3 national rankings.
• Excelled at Peach Jam, AAU’s biggest event, averaging 12.2 points and 9.1 rebounds in just 19 minutes while starring in the pick-and-roll.
• Averaged 8.3 points and 4.9 rebounds on the Nike EYBL circuit with JL3 Elite out of Houston. Shot 49.2 percent from long range, earning session standout accolades at Session II.
• Started his high school journey in New Mexico, where he averaged 6.2 points and 6.1 rebounds as a high school sophomore.
• Will play his senior season at Brewster Academy, where former Boilermaker Aaron Wheeler attended school.
• Has tremendous upside and potential.

PAINTER QUOTABLE: “Daniel is a great shot-blocker, who is very versatile on both ends. He has a level of fluidity to him, and is very long and moves well. He can also pick-and-pop and really shoot the ball at a high level. He has the ability to really stretch the defense and has a lot of untapped potential. Daniel is a very talented player who is just scratching the surface of the player he can become and we are excited to watch his progress.”

PURDUE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

GEARLDS LANDS TRIO ON NATIONAL SIGNING DAY

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue women’s basketball head coach Katie Gearlds landed a trio of talented high school seniors for National Signing Day on Wednesday, adding to the Boilermakers’ talented young core for the years ahead. Jordyn Poole, Lana McCarthy and Kendall Puryear committed to play at Purdue starting with the 2024-25 season.

“We are excited to have Jordyn, Kendall and Lana officially become Boilermakers,” Gearlds said. “These three have a relentlessness to win games. They all have incredible potential which will translate to making an impact on our program when they set foot on campus next year.”

JORDYN POOLE

5-7 | G | Fort Wayne, Ind. | Fort Wayne Snider

Instagram – _jpoole | Twitter – _JordynPoole3

“To get one of the nation’s best players to stay home is exciting for the future of Purdue Women’s Basketball.  Jordyn is an elite playmaker, possessing the ability to create for others or score it herself.  Jordyn has a knack for making other people better.  Jordyn has the speed and athleticism to become a lockdown defender to compliment her offensive talents.” – Gearlds on Poole

NOTABLE

• No. 54 overall player, four-star prospect with a 93 rating by ESPN HoopGurlz

• No. 38 player in the nation by Prospects Nation

• No. 1 player in Indiana by Prep Girls Hoops

• Named a preseason candidate for Indiana Miss Basketball

• 2023 Chris Paul Elite Guard Camp invitee and participant

• 2023 SAC Player of the Year

• Earned a spot as an Indiana Junior All-Star and Indiana All-Star Core Group member

• Garnered three All-State, first team All-Summit Conference, first team all-area nods

• Indiana Underclass Supreme 15 All-State

• Adidas All-American in AAU

• Invited to the 2022 Adidas All-American Camp and 2021 Wooten Camp

PREP

• Earned three letters for Fort Wayne Snider High School

• Has a 54-17 high school record through three seasons, winning two sectional titles and one regional championship

• Scored 1,000th career point to start her senior season

• Guided the Panthers to a 21-5 record, reaching semi-state as a junior

• Powered the way offensively with 16.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.5 steals per game, while shooting 48% from the field and 41% from behind the arc on 52 triples, dropping 30 points on two occasions

• Named the SAC Player of the Year, an Indiana Junior All-Star Core Group member, First Team All-State and First Team All-Summit Conference as a junior

• Went 20-4 as a sophomore to reach the regional championship game

• Recorded 12.5 points, 4.5 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game during her sophomore campaign

• Nearly totaled a triple-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in a sectional game her sophomore season

• Tabbed Second Team All-State, First Team All-Summit Conference and Second team All-Area as a sophomore

• Garnered Freshman First Team All-State and First Team All-Summit Conference with 12 points and 4.5 assists per game in 2020-21

PERSONAL

• Full Name: Jordyn Nicole Poole

• Birthdate: Aug. 14, 2006

• Birthplace: Huntsville, Ala.

• Intended Major: Sports Management

• Parents: Jason Barnes and Kristin Poole-Barnes

• Brothers: Chase and Christopher Barnes

• Sisters: Jayah Barnes and Jenae Barnes

• Her father Jason earned three letters playing football at Ball State

• Her mother Kristin ran track at Alabama A&M

• Her great uncle Roosevelt Barnes was standout basketball and football player for the Boilermakers in the early 1980, before a four-year career in the NFL with the Detroit Lions, where he was named the Yale Lary Special Teams MVP twice

• Her cousin Caleb Swanigan played for the Purdue men’s basketball team and was named the 2017 Big Ten Player of the Year, the Lute Olson Award and Pete Newell Big Man Award winner and a consensus First Team All-American

KENDALL PURYEAR

6-2 | F | Lee’s Summit, Mo. | Blue Springs South

Instagram – K.Puryear | Twitter – blkbeltballer22

“Big, Strong and Powerful are the first things you think of when it comes to Kendall.  A high school double-double, she can score it on the low block or be just as efficient in the high and mid post.  A black belt in karate, Kendall brings that same intensity to the defensive end.” – Gearlds on Puryear

NOTABLE

• No. 2 player in Missouri by Prep Girls Hoops

• Named to Class 6A All-State, two-time Suburban Gold First Team All-Conference, The Examiner’s All-Area and two-time all-district

• Twice led the state of Missouri in field goal percentage

PREP

• Earned letters in basketball and track at Blue Springs South High School

• Dominated junior season to average 15.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 57.8% from the field

• Garnered Class 6 All-State, all-conference, all-district, all-area honors after junior year

• Took the Lady Jags to the Missouri State Class 6 Final Four, finishing third, and won the Suburban Gold Class 6 District 7 Conference title as a sophomore

• Nearly averaged a double-double with 9.1 points and 8.1 rebounds to earn all-conference and all-district as a sophomore

• Finished her sophomore campaign with the highest field goal percentage in the state at 61.6%

• Tallied 7.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game as a freshman and notched the state’s best shooting clip at 59.8%

• Won conference her junior year in the shot put, finished third in the district, did not compete at state due to basketball

PERSONAL

• Full Name: Kendall Sarai Puryear

• Birthdate: April 4, 2006

• Birthplace: Kansas City, Mo.

• Intended Major: Mechanical Engineering

• Parents: Kevin and Vicki Puryear

• Brother: Kevin Puryear

• Sister: Aleyse Puryear

• Brother Kevin was a four-year letterwinner and three-year starter at Missouri for Purdue alumnus Cuonzo Martin

• Kevin scored 1,241 points in 119 starts to finish 27th in Mizzou history for scoring, was named SEC All-Freshman in 2016

LANA McCARTHY

6-4 | Bedford, N.H. | Bedford

Instagram – lanajm_15 | Twitter – _lanamccarthy

“Lana is flat out a winner, having played in 8 state championship games by the time she gets to us speaks on that.  Lana is a skilled post player, that can finish either hand or knock down midrange shots. Defensively she can make an impact with her ability to defend the rim and guard in space, her best basketball is truly ahead of her.” – Gearlds on McCarthy

NOTABLE

• No. 7 player in New England by Prep Girls Hoops

• No. 1 player in New Hampshire by MaxPreps

• Three-time All-State honoree in basketball and volleyball

• Three-time NW Sports Page Underclassman Team honoree

• Won one basketball state championship, reaching three title games, and a trio of volleyball state championships

• Two-time captain and the first ever junior captain in program history

• Tabbed the New Hampshire Player of the Year in volleyball

PREP

• Earned letters in basketball and volleyball at Bedford High School

• Took the Bulldogs to third straight state championship game, averaging a double-double during the regular season with 18 points and 11 rebounds per game, before upping her scoring to 21.7 points per game in the playoffs as a junior

• Earned second straight First Team All-State honor along with a spot on the NH Sports Page Underclassman Team as a junior

• Tallied 14 points per game to take Bedford to state championship game appearance in sophomore campaign

• Tabbed First Team All-State and NH Sports Page Underclassman as a sophomore

• Led Bedford to a New Hampshire State Championship with 16.8 points per game, earning honorable mention all-state and a spot on the NH Sports Page Underclassman Team as a freshman

• Three-time volleyball state champion, earning three straight First Team All-State honors

• Named the New Hampshire Division I Player of the Year and First Team All-State during senior campaign after leading the Bulldogs to third straight state championship in volleyball, setting the state record for blocks in the process

PERSONAL

• Full Name: Lana Jade McCarthy

• Birthdate: Nov. 15, 2005

• Birthplace: Manchester, N.H.

• Intended Major: Nutrition

• Parents: Robert and Sharron McCarthy

• Sisters: Melody Rose

PURDUE FOOTBALL

GAME 10 PREP: FOOTBALL BACK AT ROSS-ADE TO HOST MINNESOTA

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Following back-to-back road games, Purdue Football returns home for the first time in nearly a month. The Boilermakers host Big Ten West foe Minnesota at Ross-Ade Stadium, their first home game in 28 days. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

The Boilermakers won last year’s matchup 20-10 in Minneapolis, handing the No. 21 Golden Gophers their first loss of the season. Purdue to looking to beat Minnesota in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2010-11.

HONORARY CAPTAIN   

• George Karlaftis (2019-21) will serve as the honorary captain for Saturday’s game.

• Playing in 27 games over his Purdue career, Karlaftis earned All-Big Ten Conference honors following all three seasons as a Boilermaker. He was a second team honoree as a freshman and sophomore before becoming a consensus first team selection during his junior campaign, collecting All-America honors in his final season, as well.

• He became the second All-America defensive end in Purdue history, joining Ryan Kerrigan.

• Karlaftis was selected with the 30th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the first Boilermaker drafted in the first round since 2011.

• As an NFL rookie, Karlaftis helped the Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl LVII.

QUARTERBACKS BEWARE   

• Big Ten quarterbacks definitely need to beware of two Boilermakers on both sides of Ryan Walters’ defense.

• Outside linebackers Kydran Jenkins and Nic Scourton have wreaked havoc throughout the season, leading the Big Ten in sacks with 7.0 apiece and ranking 14th nationally.

• The two Boilermakers also have combined for more tackles-for-loss than any duo in the Big Ten. Jenkins ranks second in the conference with 12.5 TFLs, while Scourton is closely behind in third with 12.0 TFLs.

• With all of them being solo, Jenkins sits eighth nationally in solo sacks.

• Against No. 3 Michigan, Scourton recorded a pair of sacks for the sophomore’s first multi-sack game of his career.

OPPONENT SNAPSHOT 

• Minnesota enters Saturday’s matchup with a 5-4 record, including an even 3-3 in conference play following a 27-26 loss to Illinois.

• The Golden Gophers are one of the least penalized teams in the country, ranking third in fewest penalties per game (3.3) and fifth in fewest penalty yards per game (31.1).

• Kicker Dragan Kesich has made 18 field goals this season, leading the Big Ten and ranking third nationally.

• Daniel Jackson paces the Minnesota receiving corps with 38 receptions for 562 yards. He has caught seven of the team’s 10 touchdown passes this season, all from quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis.

• P.J. Fleck is in his seventh season as Minnesota’s head coach after spending four years guiding Western Michigan.

LAST YEAR’S MATCHUP  

• The Boilermakers went into Minneapolis and handed No. 21 Minnesota their first loss of the 2022 campaign, 20-10 (Oct. 1, 2022).

• Purdue jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and scored 10 points in the final quarter to break a 10-10 tie.

• Devin Mockobee led the team with 112 yards rushing on just eight attempts, highlighted by a 68 yard scamper late in the fourth, to earn the first 100-yard game of his career.

• Cam Allen recorded two interceptions, the second multi-interception game of his career. Allen went on to be named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for his performance.

• The Boilermaker defense held the Golden Gophers’ Big Ten leading rushing attack (second nationally at 294.5 yards per game) to just 47 yards on 26 attempts. It was the first time Purdue has held a team to less than 50 rushing yards since doing so against Nebraska on Oct. 28, 2017.

POSITIVE TAKEAWAYS FROM LAST WEEK

• While it was not the desire outcome facing one of the best teams in the country, Purdue put together some of the best numbers against No. 3 Michigan.

• The Boilermakers became the first team to outgain Michigan on the ground (125-110), limiting the Wolverines to a season-low 110 rushing yards.

• Purdue held leading rusher Blake Corum to a season-low 44 yards on 15 carries (2.9 yards per carry).

• The Boilermakers became the only team to score multiple times in the red zone against Michigan this season. The Wolverines entered the game allowing just 13 points in the red zone through their first eight games.

• Purdue did not allow a touchdown pass from Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, becoming the first team to hold him scoreless this season.

• Michigan entered the game allowing only 47 points (5.9 per game) as the nation’s top scoring defense. Purdue’s 13 points were a season high allowed by the Wolverines.

THEY REMEMBER NOVEMBER       

• The Boilermakers have finished the season strong by going 3-1 in the month of November each of the past two seasons.

• Last year, Purdue rattled off three straight wins to end the month, capturing the Big Ten West title outright and advancing to the Big Ten Championship for the first time in program history.

• In 2021, the Boilermakers began the month with a victory over No. 3 Michigan State. Following a setback to No. 4 Ohio State, Purdue beat Northwestern and Indiana in back-to-back weeks to finish the conference slate 6-3 and earn a berth to the TransPerfect Music City Bowl.

FUMBLEROOSKI         

• The Boilermakers have recovered eight fumbles on the season, including five over the past two games, to rank second in the Big Ten and 10th nationally.

• Cole Brevard, Kydran Jenkins and Antonio Stevens have recorded two fumbles apiece to lead the conference and rank eighth in the country.

• Purdue forced five fumbles at Nebraska (Oct. 28), recovering four of them.

• Anthony Brown forced a fumble on the opening kickoff, and Stevens recovered to bring the Purdue offense on the field.

• Dillon Thieneman forced two fumbles, while Cole Brevard recovered a pair of fumbles. Both Boilermakers tied single-game school records for each stat.

• Jenkins stopped Nebraska on fourth-and-one, stripping the ball before picking it up and rumbling 55 yards for a touchdown.

BUTLER MEN’S BASKETBALL

EVAN HAYWOOD SIGNS WITH BUTLER MEN’S BASKETBALL

Local standout Evan Haywood has signed a national letter of intent to join the Butler men’s basketball program. He will suit up for the Bulldogs beginning with the 2024-25 season.

Haywood, a 6-4 guard from Carmel, Ind., is beginning his senior season at Brebeuf Jesuit High School in Indianapolis. He has played on the summer circuit with both the Progeny 2024 and EG10 17U programs.

“We are excited to have Evan join our Butler family,” said head coach Thad Matta. “Evan is a terrific young man with Butler ties who is a high-level shooter with great knowledge of the game and athleticism.”

As a junior at Brebeuf, Haywood averaged 14.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.8 steals while shooting 37 percent from three-point range. He earned both all-conference and All-Marion County honors following the season.

Evan’s uncle, Rodney, played basketball at Butler. He, Matta and Jody Littrell were captains on the 1989-90 Bulldog team, which was Barry Collier’s first season as the head coach at Butler. 

Butler (1-0) returns to action Friday night, hosting Southeast Missouri State at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

BUTLER WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ADDS THREE ON NATIONAL SIGNING DAY

INDIANAPOLIS – Head Coach Austin Parkinson is happy to announce the addition of three talented student-athletes to the women’s basketball program on National Signing Day. Mckenzie Swanson (6-3, F) Lily Zeinstra (5-11, G) and Jocelyn Land (6-0, F) all made their decisions official early on Wednesday morning, giving the Bulldogs a strong recruiting class.

Mckenzie Swanson

6-3, Forward

Rochester, Mich.

Birmingham Marian H.S.

Swanson is a 6-3 forward at Birmingham Marian High School playing for head coach Michelle Lindsey. A 4-star recruit by Prospect Nation, Swanson also holds an Elite 150 ranking. The McDonald’s All-American Nominee has posted monster numbers over her three-year career at Birmingham Marian. She averaged 13.6 points, 12.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game as a junior to be named All-State, All-Region, All-County, and All-Catholic. As a sophomore, Swanson’s stat line included 19.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game.

Birmingham Marian has won two district championships and one conference championship with Swanson in the mix. She had a 21-point, 20-rebound game against Saint Mary’s Prep and poured in 25 points vs. Regina while adding 10 rebounds and four steals. A two-time team captain, Swanson was recognized as the HTL Post Player of the Year and a Wooten Top 150 player. She made the Detroit News All North Girls Basketball Team and was a Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan (BCAM) Academic All-State selection. Swanson also played AAU ball for Wisconsin Elite.

“McKenzie has a very high motor which is something I love,” Parkinson explained. “She rebounds outside of her area and has expanded her range on the perimeter. She has a lot of tools in the post that will only get better at the college level.”

Personal: Daughter of Bernie and Jaclyn Swanson… Has two siblings; Ella and Ava.

Why Swanson Chose Butler: I chose Butler for its culture, excellence in academics, and the basketball program. From the first day I stepped on campus, Butler has felt like home. I believe that the friendships and connections that I will make here will last a lifetime and contribute to my personal and professional growth.

Lily Zeinstra

5-11, Guard

Byron Center, Mich.

Byron Center H.S.

Zeinstra is a 5-11 guard at Byron Center High School, playing for head coach Cam Burns. She averaged 20.5 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game as a junior and was named All-State. A three-time all-conference selection and two-time team captain, Zeinstra heads into her senior season looking to help Byron Center collect their fourth-straight conference championship. The Bulldogs have won over 50 games the last three seasons and have claimed back-to-back District Championships.

Zeinstra scored 33 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the District Championship game. She jumped into the starting lineup during her freshman season and averaged 16.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists as a sophomore. Zeinstra excels in the classroom and was recently named Academic All-State. She played AAU ball for West Michigan Drive.

“Lily is an extremely versatile guard who can facilitate for others and score the basketball,” Parksinson said. “I’ve seen her hit seven-plus threes in a game, and I’ve also seen her get four or more and-1’s in a game. She also loves to get after it defensively.”

Personal: Daughter of Steve and Laura Zeinstra… Has two siblings; Avery and Taylor.

Why Zeinstra Chose Butler: I chose Butler because of the close-knit community. The women’s basketball coaching staff have done an amazing job communicating with me and have made my choice to play at Butler so easy. I really feel in love with Butler’s campus and the wide variety of majors they offer.

Jocelyn Land

6-0, Forward

Chanhassen, Minn.

Holy Family Catholic H.S.

Land is a 6-0 small forward at Holy Family Catholic High School, playing for head coach Matt Thuli. As a junior, Land averaged 24.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. The year prior, she scored 19 points per game while averaging 9.7 rebounds. Those numbers made her an all-conference selection and helped her team win a conference championship.

Land had a memorable game against Delano High School as a junior on Feb. 3, 2023. She scored 40 points against Tigers while adding eight rebounds. Great individual efforts made Land an All-State honorable mention selection in 2023 and she was also named Offensive MVP at Holy Family Catholic. In the AAU circuit, Land played for the Minnesota Fury.

“Jocelyn is like having a point forward at times with her ability to handle the ball against taller forwards but also has the ability to score on the blocks,” Parkinson stated. “She has consistent range on her outside shot and has the ability to guard multiple positions.”

Personal: Daughter of Jeff and Sara Land… Has three siblings; Judah, Gabriella, and Natalya.

Why Land Chose Butler: The coaches value you not only as a student-athlete, but as a person. The environment at Butler is something that I value as well, and it was very important to me in my recruiting process.

BUTLER CROSS COUNTRY

BULLDOGS HEAD NORTH FOR FRIDAY’S NCAA CROSS COUNTRY GREAT LAKES REGIONAL

The Bulldogs return to Wisconsin Friday for the 2023 NCAA Great Lakes Regional.

The meet will be Butler’s fourth of the season in the state of Wisconsin and the team’s second on the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course.

The Great Lakes regional is one of nine regional meets that will take place nationally Friday.

The Butler men are ranked No. 12 nationally in the most recent USTFCCCA poll, and are also ranked second in the Great Lakes region behind only Wisconsin, which serves as the host institution for Friday’s meet. Notre Dame, Michigan and Michigan State round out the Top 5 in the regional rankings entering the weekend.

The top two teams in each regional secure automatic bids to the NCAA Championship later this month. Those 18 teams are joined by 13 at-large selections. The first four regional individual finishers not from an automatic qualifying or at-large team also secure an auto-bid to the championships.

The Butler men enter Friday’s meet on the heels of capturing the BIG EAST team title Oct. 28, which was the Bulldogs’ third men’s title in the last four years under head coach Matt Roe.

Florian Le Pallec led the Bulldogs, finishing third in a time of 25:05.45 on the Wayne Dannehl Course in Kenosha, Wis. He was followed closely by William Zegarski and Matthew Forrester in fourth and fifth, respectively. That trio, along with Will Minnette (tenth), Jesse Hamlin (14th) and Jack McMahon (16th), each earned All-BIG EAST honors for their performance.

Those six will be joined in the line-up by David Slapak, Martin Kovacech and Sean Robertson.

A year ago, Barry Keane captured the regional title and Hamlin finished second. That duo helped the Bulldogs to a fourth-place team finish and ultimately an at-large NCAA Championships berth.

Butler’s women enter regional action following a fifth-place team finish at the 2023 BIG EAST Cross Country Championships.

Elsa Rusthoven and Wiktoria Klebowska each picked up All-BIG EAST honors. Rusthoven was Butler’s top finisher, placing 13th in a time of 21:01.70. Klebowska was 17th.

Those two, along with Abby Olson, have led the Bulldogs throughout the 2023 campaign. They will be joined on the starting line by Abby Fostveit, Ashlyn Minton, Ashley Learn, Renate Toldo, and Morgan Werner.

The top-ranked women’s teams in the region are Notre Dame, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio State. Butler is one of 34 teams set to compete in the regional.

The Thomas Zimmer Championship Course hosted the 2018 NCAA Cross Country Championships and will do so again next season in 2024. Butler’s men and women ran on the course earlier this season at the Nuttycombe Invitational Oct. 13.

The women’s 6k race is set for 12:30 p.m. (Eastern; 11:30 a.m. CT), while the men’s 8k race will follow an hour later.

The 2023 NCAA Division I Men’s & Women’s Cross Country Selection Show will air Saturday (Nov. 11) at 5 p.m. on NCAA.com. A link to the show will be on the front page of NCAA.com.

BUTLER ATHLETICS

BUTLER VP/DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS BARRY COLLIER ANNOUNCES HIS RETIREMENT, EFFECTIVE APRIL 30, 2024

In a message to the Butler University community earlier this morning, Butler Vice President and Director of Athletics Barry Collier announced his retirement, effective April 30, 2024. His message, as well as a message from Butler President James Danko to the Butler community following Collier’s announcement, can be found below.

Additional information on Collier’s career and accomplishments can be found here.

Message from Barry Collier, Butler University Vice President and Director of Athletics

Dear Butler Community:

After more than fifty years in collegiate athletics, thirty-one as a member of the Butler family, and, after much thought and prayer, I have decided to retire, effective April 30, 2024. I look forward to spending more time with my loving wife, Annette, and our growing family and friends.

I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities afforded me as a student-athlete, coach, and director of athletics and for the many wonderful relationships that I have built along the way. While it has been my privilege to be a member of teams at eight different institutions, Butler is the place that I have always called home.

When I first stepped onto Butler’s campus in the fall of 1974, I immediately felt at home. I loved my time in a Bulldog uniform and competing in Hinkle Fieldhouse. While my coaching career took me around the country for years, my heart was never too far from Indianapolis. In 1989, the opportunity to lead the Butler Bulldog men’s basketball program was the fruition of a dream, and my eleven years on the bench were memorable. To be able to return to Butler in 2006 to lead the Department of Athletics has been the icing on the cake.

It has been my honor to be a part of the Butler Family, to proudly wear the blue and white uniform, then to recruit and mentor tremendous young men as the men’s basketball coach, and to have them remain a part of my life; and to lead an athletics department of incredibly talented professionals who work each and every day on behalf of our student-athletes. I am also very thankful for the support of our trustees, administrators, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and donors.

I have pledged to President Danko my assistance in any way that he requests through the transition, and I have offered to continue to help the University in any possible way in the years ahead. I will always be a proud Bulldog.

Thank you and Go Dawgs!

Sincerely,

Barry Collier

Message from James Danko, Butler University President

Dear Butler Community:

Earlier today, Barry Collier, a cornerstone of Butler University as a coach and as a Vice President and Director of Athletics, shared with the community his intention to step down from his position effective April 30, 2024.

Throughout his time at Butler as a student-athlete, coach, administrator, and leader, Barry has personified our core values of dedication, spirit, and excellence. He has consistently demonstrated these qualities with utmost integrity and distinction. While it is impossible to encapsulate all of Barry’s accomplishments here, rest assured that his contributions are both significant and numerous.

In the coming months, we will take every opportunity to honor Barry’s remarkable legacy at Butler University. He will also play a pivotal role in the Department of Athletics leadership transition over the next six months. I will be in touch with further updates regarding the transition in due course.

Today, we pause to extend our deepest thanks and to celebrate one of our very own. And knowing Barry, he will remain committed to the work at hand through the transition.

Warm regards,

Jim Danko

IUPUI WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL INKS DESTINI CRAIG

INDIANAPOLIS – Head coach Kate Bruce and the IUPUI women’s basketball team announced the addition of Destini Craig with the signing of her NLI today, Wednesday, November 8.

“We are thrilled to add Destini to our Jaguar family,” said head coach Bruce. “She is a great player and her versatility, both offensively and defensively, will fit perfectly with our style of play.”

Craig, a 5’10” forward out of Fort Wayne, Indiana, has made a name for herself throughout Indiana hoops. During her sophomore season with Snider High School, she averaged 15.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.2 steals per game while shooting 61 percent from the two point range. She collected two 30-point games with 31 against Carmel and 32 against Carroll. Craig was named Underclass Large School All-State following her sophomore campaign.

During her junior campaign with Northrop High School she averaged 10.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game before suffering a season ending injury six games into the season. Now back for her senior year, she ranks No. 14 in all of Indiana basketball according to the IndyStar.

“Destini comes from a well respected Indiana high school and AAU program and she is a proven winner,” said Bruce. “She excels in the classroom and in the community and we are so excited for her to be a part of our program.”

Craig is set to join the Jaguars before the 2024-25 season.

IUPUI MEN’S SOCCER

GOMEZ, JAGUARS AIMING FOR NCAA TOURNAMENT

Sophomore standout Josemir Gomez stands alongside 10 of his teammates, all ready to clash with the Cleveland State Vikings. Its a piercingly bright October Saturday and gusts of wind cut through Carroll Stadium, contributing to the urgent undertones of the day’s match. The sun bounces off the crimson-red number 24 jersey as his name is echoed throughout the stadium with the bursts of wind. “Josemir Gomez!” the PA announcer drawls.

This isn’t new for Gomez–he started in 17 of his 19 appearances in the 2022 season. He continues to be a staple of the Jaguars’ attack in his second season with 17 starts and counting in this campaign.

The white “24” stamped on his chest, however,

is

is new.

Last season Gomez wore the number 18 for the Jaguars, now he wears 24.

“Last year I scored nine goals,” Gomez said. “I want to score 15 [this year]…it just added up to 24. So every time I look at it I got to [get] 24.”

This approach works for Gomez–he’s contributed seven goals and two assists to date with more to come. All of which came through increased defensive presences from opponents aware of his capabilities on the field.

“Every team in the league already knows what he brings to the table, so they try to mark him with like three guys around him,” said junior midfielder Medard Mikobi.

Despite this heightened attention, Gomez’s accuracy is significantly higher than his numbers from just a season ago. More than half (51.2 percent) of his shots have been on target–an impressive increase from his freshman season mark of 44 percent.

Gomez isn’t worried about individual distinction, however. IUPUI has never won a Horizon League Championship and he maintained that team success is the main goal of the season. Gomez added that a trip to the NCAA Tournament would round out his goals for his remaining time at IUPUI.

The rest of the Horizon League won’t let the Jaguars waltz into a championship, they’ll have to fight their way through fierce competition. But Gomez has always found a way, even while he rehabbed a broken leg in his first year as a Jaguar.

Fresh out of Indianapolis North Central High School, Gomez found himself thrown into adversity at IUPUI. Forced to take a redshirt year due to his injured leg, Gomez was constrained to stay on campus during away game road trips, bound to focus on his rehab and studying for his construction management degree. He was isolated from his teammates and left on the outside of the Jaguars’ season looking in.

There was no sugar-coating it for Gomez, his first year was grueling. His competitive attitude left him yearning to be on the field with his teammates, and he channeled the mental anguish and frustration of injury into his dedication to success.

“There was nothing else I could do, you know? I had to get back on the field,” he said.

Gomez knew that eventually his work would pay dividends, eventually he would be back on the field, and eventually it would be his turn. He sharpened his focus during practice and treatment–his turn was coming sooner than he thought.

Gomez had to grow to love soccer; it wasn’t his favorite initially.

Nine-year-old Gomez picked up the sport when his parents signed him up for it in Mexico, though he did so begrudgingly. He didn’t want to play at first, but all of his friends were playing and he enjoyed spending time with them.

Gomez also felt an initial obligation to play due to his family ties to soccer–his father pursued a professional career in Mexico and he has three younger cousins involved in the sport here in Indianapolis. Just like his redshirt year, Gomez persisted and let his competitive drive take over.

“All my friends started playing in the streets,” he said. “It became a habit to just go outside and start kicking the ball.” Though his skills didn’t meet his standards in the beginning, Gomez stuck with it, and “out of nowhere it just clicked.”

His coach started him out in the center back position–the last line of defense before the goalkeeper.

“I started scoring goals out of nowhere as a center-back,” Gomez said, “I was like ‘Oh, this is kind of fun!'”

And the goals kept coming. Gomez found the back of the net more and more, and eventually saw himself moved from center-back to center midfield. His offensive prowess followed him into the attack–everywhere Gomez played there were goals to follow.

Gomez continued to add goals to his tally and eventually moved to the forward position.

To the IUPUI Jaguars’ benefit, he still finds the goal actively and often.

His freshman campaign included nine goals and three assists while playing an average of 64 minutes per match. His nine goals alone led the Jaguars’ scoring efforts. Gomez garnered national attention and was named to the nation’s top 100 freshmen list by Top Drawer Soccer.

He was a First-Team All-League honoree, named to the Horizon League’s All-Freshman team, and awarded Horizon League Freshman of the Year at the end of the season.

“If you’re going to do something just always do your best,” Gomez said. “Always stay consistent. At least that’s what I try to do.” He emphasizes this to his teammates, bonds with whom he values highly and believes translate to success on the field. The value of these bonds was apparent to Gomez all the way back in the streets of his hometown, kicking the ball around as a nine-year-old boy. They’re one of the reasons he grew to love soccer; one of the lights at the end of a dark, injury-shadowed, freshman season tunnel.

According to Gomez, the Jaguars are a family–they have each other’s backs–and they play like it.

“At some point you’re going to mess up so you want someone to be behind you,” Gomez said.

He has the backs of his teammates through his consistent work ethic and level-headed approach to the game. Gomez epitomizes balance–a rarefied trait in athletes of his age. He is dedicated to the sport, but also to those that surround him within it.

“Playing a [college] sport is like having a job. You have to stay educated in the sport,” Gomez said.

Gomez often watches YouTube highlights of Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o, Brazil’s Kaká, and Barcelona’s Luis Suárez during pregame–sometimes even the night preceding the game.

Though he takes elements from the professional players that he watches, Gomez’s game is his own. “They’re professionals so it’s hard to keep up with them. At some point you have to do your own thing,” he added, “anything you’re good at, you have to do it.”

Gomez and the No. 3 seeded Jaguars will take on No. 2 Green Bay on Thursday in the second semifinal of this year’s Horizon League Men’s Soccer Championship. The winner will play in the championship game for the right to compete in the NCAA Tournament. 

“Stay consistent with your work because at some point it’s going to pay off,” Gomez reiterated.

He now reaps the benefits of that work and hopes to aid the Jaguars’ in making an NCAA Tournament appearance as well as claiming the school’s first Horizon League Championship.

NOTRE DAME MEN’S SOCCER

DOWD AND RILEY HEADLINE ALL-ACC HONORS

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Fresh off one of its best regular seasons in program history, the Notre Dame men’s soccer team picked up a number of league honors on Wednesday, as voted on by the ACC head coaches.

Senior goalkeeper Bryan Dowd was named the ACC Goalkeeper of the Year and McFarland Family Men’s Head Soccer Coach Chad Riley took home ACC Coach of the Year honors.

Seven members of the squad were selected to All-ACC teams, highlighted by Dowd and junior forward Matthew Roou, both receiving first team accolades. Fellow junior forward Eno Nto earned second team status and the trio of junior midfielder Bryce Boneau, junior defender Kyle Genenbacher and senior forward/midfielder Daniel Russo were placed on the third team.

Freshman forward Nolan Spicer picked up All-Freshman Team accolades.

The six Irish players on the three All-ACC teams tie the program record for most in a single season, also occurring during the 2013 campaign.

MCFARLAND FAMILY MEN’S HEAD SOCCER COACH CHAD RILEY

Riley led the Irish to their first undefeated season in ACC play in program history, finishing with a record of 6-0-2 in league play on the way to winning the ACC Coastal Division after being selected fifth in the division in the preseason. The 20 points the Irish earned in ACC play is the most any ACC team has earned since Wake Forest earned 21 (7-1-0) during the 2018 season.

This marks the second time a Notre Dame coach has been named the ACC Coach of the Year in program history, with Bobby Clark also winning the honor in 2013. Riley now has four league coach of the year awards in his career, picking up three from the Ivy League in his five seasons at Dartmouth.

#31 BRYAN DOWD

Dowd becomes the first Notre Dame player to earn ACC Goalkeeper of the Year status, as the 2022 season was the first year the league bestowed the honor. Dowd had an incredible regular season, allowing just eight goals over 15 matches and recording eight clean sheets. The senior shot-stopper ranks in the top 10 in the country in both shutouts (8) and save percentage (.812).

Dowd has made 52 saves, while allowing just 12 goals on the year while posting a record of 10-2-4. The senior had a career night in a clean sheet performance at Akron, making a career-high 12 saves. The 12 saves were the most by an ACC goalkeeper in the regular season and the third most by any goalie at the DI level.

#21 MATTHEW ROOU

The junior forward has been a menace to opposing defenses during the 2023 campaign, scoring a career-high 10 goals over 15 matches to earn first team honors. Roou ranks second in the ACC in goals per game (0.67), points per game (1.53) and is tied for second in total goals (10). Roou recorded the first hat trick in his career in the win over IUPUI. Roou currently has 21 career goals to go along with 10 career assists, totaling 52 career points for the forward.

#9 ENO NTO

The Derby, England, product earned second team accolades after scoring a career-high 10 goals during the regular season for the Irish. Nto made national headlines in the regular season finale, scoring a career-high four goals in the 6-0 victory over No. 20 Pitt. The four-goal performance represented the most goals from an Irish player in a match since Joseph Lapira scored four against Indiana on Sept. 3, 2006.

#13 BRYCE BONEAU

Boneau has been an integral part of Notre Dame’s success this season, as he has controlled the midfield for the Irish in 2023 to garner third team honors. The junior midfielder has three goals and is tied for the team lead in assists with six. Boneau is coming off his most productive attacking performance of the season, scoring his first career brace and adding an assist against Louisville.

#5 KYLE GENENBACHER

The junior right back has been a mainstay on the Notre Dame backline all season, one of the best defensive units in college soccer in 2023. Genenbacher picked up third team status after helping the Irish record nine clean sheets over 16 regular season games. Genenbacher and the defense allowed just eight goals in the regular season, the lowest total of any ACC team. The defender also scored a goal and added four assists during his junior campaign.

#11 DANIEL RUSSO

Russo was selected to the third team after scoring some of the biggest goals for the Irish this season. All three of Russo’s goals on the year either won the match for Notre Dame or leveled the contest against ACC opponents. The senior forward scored the winner against Clemson with a remarkable free kick in the second half. He also added late equalizers on the road against UNC and Wake Forest to keep Notre Dame unbeaten in the ACC.

#22 NOLAN SPICER

Spicer has improved over the course of the season, becoming a regular in the Irish attacking rotation by the end of the year to earn ACC All-Freshman honors. The forward has four assists in his rookie season, highlighted by an impressive two assists in the win over No. 20 Pitt in the regular season finale.

BALL STATE BASEBALL

EIGHT SIGNED TO BASEBALL’S 2024 CLASS

The Ball State baseball team and head coach Rich Maloney have landed seven signees for their 2024 recruiting class.

The class includes five pitchers and three position players, while four come from Indiana, two from Ohio and one each from Michigan and Virginia.

“Hats off to recruiting coordinator Alex Maloney and pitching coach Justin Wechsler on landing this special group,” Maloney said. “Only time will tell how good this group will be, but our staff is chomping at the bit to work with these young men. This class has a combination of competitive fire, athleticism and upside.”

John Colligan

Alexandria, Va. | West Potomac HS

A shortstop who projects as a centerfielder at Ball State, Colligan has earned three varsity letters and spots on the second team (junior) and first team (sophomore) of the Patriot Conference all-league teams. The team captain was the Wolverines’ team MVP as a sophomore and second team all-region in 2022 as well after batting .448 with 19 RBI. Colligan hit .330 with two home runs and 16 RBI last season.

Academically, Colligan is an honor roll member who plans on majoring in applied cybersecurity with a minor in software engineering when he arrives at Ball State.

Coach Maloney on Colligan

“John is a very athletic outfielder with good size and a definite upside.”

Brady Fitzpatrick

Hamilton, Ohio | St. Xavier HS

Fitzpatrick is a left-handed pitcher from a suburb of Cincinnati who boasts a career 2.50 ERA. The lefty was named to the World Wood Bat Association and Perfect Game Firecracker all-tournament teams. The Ohioan has earned three varsity letter and been a captain for two seasons.

Fitzpatrick plans to study physical therapy at Ball State.

Coach Maloney on Fitzpatrick

“Brady’s a gritty LHP who pounds the strike zone. His competitive fire gives him a bright future.”

Brendan Garza

Mattawan, Mich. | Mattawan HS

A right-handed pitcher who earned first team all-conference and second team all-state honors as a junior, Garza has a career 1.41 ERA and 97 strikeouts on the mound. Garza led the Wildcats to district and regional championships and a state runner-up finish. The Michigander is a two-time all-conference member in soccer and has won three basketball varsity letters.

Garza plans to study business and marketing with a minor in economics.

Coach Maloney on Garza

“Brendan is a good athlete, highly competitive, with a loose arm and a good upside.”

Brayden Huebner

Evansville, Ind. | Evansville North HS

A two-time team captain at shortstop for a highly-ranked Huskies team, the right-handed hitting shortstop was named his team’s most improved player. Huebner will have played varsity baseball and basketball four years each before graduating and was named second team all-conference in basketball as a junior.

Academically, Huebner is a member of the National Honor Society and has landed on the honor roll every year of high school.

Coach Maloney on Huebner

“A solid infielder who plays with a lot of confidence and has a bat that should contribute early in his career.”

Kade Langhorst

Zionsville, Ind. | Indiana University HS

Langhorst has accumulated a 25-0 record in his high school career, which includes a stint at IMG Academy. The righty has also competed with the highly-ranked Indiana Bulls travel team and was in the starting rotation for Canes National.”

Coach Maloney on Langhorst

“Cade is a wiry RHP who has an advanced feel for his pitches.”

DJ Scheumann

McCordsville, Ind. | Mt. Vernon HS

Scheumann’s primary position is catcher but can also play outfield. He will be a two-time team captain after leading the Marauders again during his senior season. The switch hitter tallied a .291 batting average and .458 on base percentage as a junior, leading Mt. Vernon to a conference championship.

Scheumann plans to study business when he arrives in Muncie.

Coach Maloney on Scheumann

“DJ is a switch-hitting catcher who has excellent size, a strong arm and a promising bat.”

Chase Wagner

Zionsville, Ind. | Zionsville Community HS

A right-handed pitcher who also plays outfield, Wagner holds a career 0.88 ERA in high school and landed on the Hoosier Crossroads all-conference second team as a junior. On the mound, he has racked up 62 strikeouts in 40 innings. Wagner is also an accomplished wrestler having made it to the state finals twice in three years on the varsity team.

Academically, Wagner has earned technical honors at Zionsville and plans to major in business management and minor in communications at Ball State.

Coach Maloney on Wagner

“Chase is a highly-regarded pitcher in the state of Indiana and a former wrestler with competitive fire and an above average breaking ball.”

Charlie Whitacre

Gahanna, Ohio | Gahanna Lincoln HS

Another lefty pitcher from Ohio, Whitacre touts a career 2.40 ERA after having most recently posting a 2.30 ERA with 70 strikeouts in 50 innings pitched in 2023. He led the Lions to an Ohio Capital Conference championship as a junior, with a season highlight being a 12-strikeout performance in 4.0 innings pitched.

Whitacre plans on majoring in business at Ball State.

Coach Maloney on Whitacre

“Charlie is a tall wiry LHP with his best days in front of him.”

BALL STATE MEN’S GOLF

HAPPY GILMORE SIGNS GOLF LETTER OF INTENT WITH BALL STATE

MUNCIE, Ind. – Ball State men’s golf coach Mike Fleck has announced the signing of widely recognized junior golfer Happy Gilmore. One of Indiana’s top high school golfers the past three seasons, Gilmore opens play at Bloomington South High School this spring with hopes of leading his team to the state finals for a fourth straight season.

A three-time all-state player, Gilmore finished seventh in the IHSAA State Finals as a sophomore and eighth as a junior while leading the Panthers to fourth-, sixth- and fourth-place team finishes, respectively.

In junior golf competitions over the last year, his highlights include qualifying for the 2023 United States Junior Amateur Championship by shooting 66 at Delaware Country Club in the local qualifier. He finished as runner-up this fall in the Indiana Golf Hoosier Junior Championship (73-70 -143) and most recently finished fourth in an elite international field of players at the Golfweek International Junior Invitational in Orlando, Florida (73-69 – 142).

“The excitement and energy around Happy joining our program is evident,” said Ball State golf coach Mike Fleck. “We are not only getting an elite junior player, but we are adding a great young man to the mix. He has positioned himself as one of the best and most recognizable junior golfers in the country, and has a tournament tested resume of success both in Indiana and nationally. Ball State golf is excited to welcome Happy Gilmore to our family!”

Known in the junior golf circles as Happy Gilmore, he was born Landon James Gilmore and the nickname of “Happy” arrived when he won a long drive competition at the Pepsi Little People’s Golf Tournament around the age of 9. A spectator called him “Happy,” and it stuck.

INDIANA STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

SYCAMORES CLOSE SEASON-OPENING ROAD SWING AT MIZZOU

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State closes an early-season two-game road trip Thursday night when it heads west to face Missouri at 8 p.m. The game will be carried on SEC Network Plus.

Last Time Out

Forty minutes weren’t enough to settle a winner Monday night between Indiana State and Northern Kentucky, but it was the visiting Sycamores who started the season 1-0 after defeating the Norse 85-82 in overtime inside Truist Arena.

Bella Finnegan led all scorers with 25 points, while Kiley Bess added a career-high 22 points and six rebounds in her first game as a Sycamore. Mya Glanton finished one point and one rebound shy of a double-double, while Chelsea Cain had 14 points and seven rebounds.

Indiana State jumped out to an early six-point lead on the strength of back-to-back triples from Finnegan, and led by as many as eight midway through the first quarter. Jumpers from Bess and Savannah White late in the second helped the Sycamores take a 35-30 lead into the locker room, but NKU used a strong second half to go up by five late in the fourth. Bess and Cain knocked down crucial shots for the Sycamores to force overtime, and Indiana State limited NKU to a 1-for-7 clip from the field in the extra period on its way to a season-opening win.

Road Trippin’

Thursday’s game at Missouri caps a two-game road trip to begin the season for Indiana State. The Sycamores defeated Northern Kentucky in overtime 85-82 in Highland Heights to begin their season.

Indiana State is 11-17 in road games under Killinger, including Monday’s win at NKU. Indiana State was 4-8 on the road last season.

Career Night

Indiana State senior guard Kiley Bess began her Sycamore career in style, playing an instrumental role in the Trees’ season-opening win at Northern Kentucky.

Bess set career-highs of 22 points, six rebounds and five assists in her Indiana State debut, knocking down seven of her 11 attempts from the field and going 7-for-10 from the charity stripe. She also led the Sycamores in minutes played with 40.

Crashing The Glass

Indiana State has placed a heavy emphasis on offensive rebounds since head coach Chad Killinger arrived, and the Sycamores have consistently been among one of the better offensive rebounding teams in the conference over the last two seasons.

Indiana State’s 2023-24 season got off to a good start on the glass, as the Sycamores outrebounded Northern Kentucky by a 46-30 margin. The Sycamores finished with 17 offensive rebounds, turning those extra opportunities into 12 second-chance points.

Thieves Avenue

Indiana State has had a penchant for forcing turnovers since head coach Chad Killinger took the reins of the program, as the Sycamores have become one of the nation’s best when it comes to takeaways.

ISU forced 20 turnovers in its season opener against Northern Kentucky, and often converted those takeaways into points on the other end. The Sycamores finished Moday’s win with 22 points off turnovers and 20 fastbreak points, with many of the fastbreak points coming off transition baskets created from turnovers.

Trees Against The Top

Thursday’s game against Missouri is the third game for the Sycamores against a Power Five opponent in the Chad Killinger era.

The Sycamores lost to Nebraska during the 2021-22 season and Purdue during the 2022-23 season.

Coming Full Circle

Indiana State assistant coach Alexis Newbolt is in the midst of a full-circle moment in her first season on the sidelines in Terre Haute.

Newbolt played two seasons at Indiana State (2014-16), earning MVC Newcomer Week honors once during her playing career with the Blue and White. Her playing career coincided with the last time the Sycamores earned votes in the AP Top 25, which came during the 2014-15 season.

In addition to her playing career as a Sycamore, Newbolt also has a prior connection to head coach Chad Killinger. Newbolt played for two seasons under Killinger at Moberly Area CC (2012-14), earning NJCAA All-America honors during her time as a Greyhound.

Missouri at a Glance

Missouri enters Thursday’s game at 1-0 after defeating Belmont in its season opener. The Tigers reached the second round of the WNIT last season after posting an 18-14 record.

Preseason All-SEC selection Hayley Frank and Mama Dembele led the Tigers with 15 points apiece in their win over Belmont, while Ashton Judd and Grace Slaughter each pulled down 10 rebounds.

Robin Pingeton enters her 14th season as the head coach at Missouri and has a record of 226-181 at the helm. The Tigers have made the NCAA Tournament four times in her tenure, most recently in 2019.

At least one Missouri student-athlete has familiarity with the Sycamores, as Abby Feit transferred to Mizzou after four years at Evansville.

Series History Against Missouri

Missouri has a 2-0 lead in the all-time series, with both previous matchups taking place in Columbia. The Sycamores and Tigers last met during the 2016-17 season.

Last Game Against Missouri (Nov. 22, 2016)

A 14-0 run to start for Missouri led the Tigers to their 40th consecutive non-conference win at home, a 77-48 defeat of Indiana State inside Mizzou Arena.

Junior forward Ashley Taia led the way for the Sycamores (2-2) with 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field Taia was the only ISU player to connect on multiple 3-pointers, finishing the game with two. Diamonisha Sophus finished her night with seven points and a team best six rebounds.

The Sycamores cut the Mizzou lead to eight points at 38-30, early in the third quarter as ISU opened the second half on an 11-4 run with five points coming from junior Ashley Taia and a pair of baskets from Wendi Bibbins. Mizzou answered that run with a 13-0 run of their own to close out the quarter and it was all academic from then on.

Up Next

Indiana State plays its first home game of the season November 15, welcoming Illinois-Springfield to Hulman Center for an 11 a.m. tip. The home opener is also the Sycamores’ Education Day game, with middle school students from Vigo and Clay County slated to be in attendance.

PURDUE FT. WAYNE MEN’S SOCCER

‘DONS PLAY AT OAKLAND IN #HLMSOC CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIS

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Mastodon men’s soccer team won their first ever Horizon League Championship match last weekend and earned the right to take on top-seeded Oakland in the semifinals on Thursday (Nov. 9).

Game Day Information

Who: No. 5 Purdue Fort Wayne (7-5-4) at No. 1 Oakland (7-8-2)

When: Thursday, November 9 | 1 PM ET

Where: Rochester, Mich. | Oakland Soccer Field

Live Stats:Link

Watch:ESPN+

Know Your Foe

Oakland is the top seed in the Horizon League Championship. They won the league’s regular season title for the second time in three seasons going 6-3-0 in league matches. Mikey Ketteman was named the Horizon League Offensive Player of the Year last week after scoring eight goals in nine league matches, to go along with three assists and 2.00 shots on goal per game.

Series History

Purdue Fort Wayne is 1-21-1 all-time against Oakland. The ‘Dons hosted Oakland back on Oct. 7 and played to a tight 2-1 loss. Seth Mahlmeister gave Purdue Fort Wayne an early lead, but Ketterman scored twice to lift Oakland in their regular season meeting.

Making History

With Sunday’s win over Detroit, the ‘Dons made history with their first ever win in the Horizon League Championship. Purdue Fort Wayne is now 1-0 in Horizon League postseason matches as they made their first appearance this season.

Clean Sheet

Max Collingwood has leveled up his game when it matters most. Collingwood made three saves in a 1-1 tie with IUPUI on Wednesday to earn the ‘Dons a key point to help clinch their entry to the 2023 Horizon League Championship. For that effort, he was named #HLMSOC Defensive Player of the Week. While the weekly honor only recognizes the final regular season match of the season, Collingwood continued his strong play on Sunday and was a big reason the ‘Dons earned a 1-0 victory over Detroit Mercy. He finished with three saves in the shutout. 

Record in Michigan

Thursday will be the Mastodons’ third match of the season in the state of Michigan. The ‘Dons have visited Detroit twice and are 1-0-1 in those matches, including Saturday’s win. Against teams from Michigan overall, the ‘Dons are 2-1-1 when you include a win over Adrian and the prior loss to Oakland. 

Cream of the Crop

Five Purdue Fort Wayne men’s soccer student-athletes were named to the 2023 All-Horizon League teams on Friday. Junior Seth Mahlmeister and senior Soshi Fujioka were named to the All-Horizon League First Team. Graduate student Luke Morrell and junior Juan Romero were selected to the Second Team. Aidan Antcliff picked up a spot on the All-Freshman Team. It’s the most student-athletes given all-league honors and the most first team members since the ‘Dons last conference tournament appearance in 2018.

A Perfect 10

Seth Mahlmeister scored his 10th goal of the season in the regular season finale against IUPUI. He’s now tied for fourth with Adam Beckett for the most goals in a season in program history. This season, he leads the Horizon League and is 28th nationally with an average of 0.62 goals per match.

Literal Goals

The Mastodons have scored a total of 24 goals this season. It’s the most goals in program history since 36 goals in 2018 and ranks eighth in the D1 era. On the other side, the ‘Dons’ goals against average is 1.250 which currently sits as the best average in the team’s D1 era.

A Helping Hand

Soshi Fujioka has delivered eight assists this season which is the fourth-most in Purdue Fort Wayne’s DI era, the most in the Horizon League, and the 21st most nationally this season.

Lots of Shots

Seth Mahlmeister registered his 31st shot on goal of the season last week which ties him for second-most in the program’s D1 history. He’s averaged 1.94 shots on goal per match this season, the ninth-best average in the country. As a team, Purdue Fort Wayne is second in the Horizon League with 13.44 shots per game and second in the conference with 5.81 shots on goal per game.

Balanced Attack

The Mastodons have seen 12 different players score a goal this season. Seth Mahlmeister leads the team with ten goals while Luke Morrell, Abe Arellano, and Marco Valencia each have two. It’s the most goal scorers since 12 different Mastodons scored a goal in 2005.

Up Next

The winner of Thursday’s match will face either Green Bay or IUPUI on Saturday (Nov. 11).

PURDUE FT. WAYNE MEN’S BASKETBALL

MEN’S BASKETBALL HOME OPENER SET FOR THURSDAY EVENING

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Fresh off a win over DePaul on Tuesday, the Mastodon men’s basketball team has a quick turnaround to Thursday’s (Nov. 9) home opener. It will be a 7 p.m. tip with Andrews. Andrews is a private college from Berrien Springs, Michigan. They are a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association.

Game Day Information

Who: Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons (1-0) vs. Andrews Cardinals (0-2).

When: Thursday, November 9 | 7 p.m. ET

Where: Fort Wayne, Ind. | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum

Live Stats: Link

Watch: ESPN+

Radio: 1380 AM

Game Notes (PDF): Link

Series Record: First Meeting

ON THE DEPAUL WIN:

// It was the Mastodons’ first ever win over a Big East opponent.

// Four of five starters finished in double-digits: Quinton Morton-Robertson (24), Rasheed Bello (15), Jalen Jackson (13) and Anthony Roberts (13).

// The ‘Dons shot 50 percent from three (9-18) and 44.4 percent from the field (28-63).

// The Mastodons held DePaul’s starters to 5-of-17 (29. 4 percent) from three.

// Purdue Fort Wayne won the turnover battle 22-10 and held a 12-4 edge in steals.

// 26 points came off turnovers, for 31.7 percent of the total 82 points the ‘Dons scored.

// The ‘Dons had a positive assist/turnover ratio at 11-10.

// The ‘ Dons led for 29:51 minutes.

// While the ‘Dons held their largest lead of the game in the first half, they actually shot better in the second half from the floor (40.5 percent to 50.0 percent) and from three (45.5 percent to 57.1 percent).

// Jalen Jackson had 13 points with a career-high eight rebounds.

// Quinton Morton-Robertson led the ‘Dons with a game-high 24 points, making 4-of-4 from three. It is his first career game shooting 100 percent from three with at least three attempts. 16 of his points came in the second half.

// Anthony Roberts had four steals, his most as a Mastodon. He had four steals twice in his Division II days (at Wayne State (Neb.) 1/21/22 and vs. Minnesota State 2/1/22).

// Anthony Roberts led the ‘Dons in minutes with 35:38. He didn’t play 30 minutes in any game for the ‘Dons all of last season.

// Maximus Nelson had two treys off the bench, including a three with 7:55 left that tied the game at 58.

// Freshman Corey Hadnot II recorded nine points and three assists in 29 minutes off the bench in his first collegiate game.

MASON SHROUT JOINS MASTODON MEN’S BASKETBALL PROGRAM

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Mason Shrout has signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Purdue Fort Wayne men’s basketball program in 2024-25.

Shrout (6-5, guard) is from Camden, Ohio and Preble Shawnee High School. He played AAU for Wildcats Select. He was a First Team All-D3 Ohio selection. As a junior, he averaged 23.1 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. He shot 50.1 percent from the floor and 39.4 percent from three. He was the District 15 Player of the Year. He is his high school’s all-time leading scorer.

“We have built our program on gym rats that love to play and are obsessed with their player development coupled with versatile skill sets and Mason is another great fit with our program—he’s extremely versatile,” Mastodon head coach Jon Coffman said. “Mason has an elite basketball IQ, can score the basketball at a high level and can really, really pass it. And most importantly, he competes on every possession. Having recruited Mason for so long, there is no doubt in my mind that he is an everyday person and really buys into what our Program is all about.  We’re ecstatic to have Mason join the ‘Dons!”

The ‘Dons are 1-0 after a season opening victory at DePaul. Purdue Fort Wayne hosts Andrews on Thursday (Nov. 9) in the 2023-24 home opener.

EVANSVILLE MEN’S BASKETBALL

MEN’S BASKETBALL BACK IN ACTION ON THURSDAY

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Three days after a season-opening win over Miami Ohio, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team will be back inside the Ford Center on Thursday night to face UHSP.  Tip is set for 7 p.m. with ESPN+ and the Purple Aces Radio Network covering the action.

Setting the Scene

– Evansville is in search of its first 2-0 start since 2019 when it faces the Eutectics on Thursday

– This will mark the first time UE has faced the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis

– UHSP was previously known as St. Louis College of Pharmacy

Last Time Out

– Monday’s season opener saw the Purple Aces hold strong in the late minutes to defeat Miami Ohio by a score of 72-64

– The RedHawks held a 34-32 lead at the break and were shooting 62.5% on the night after hitting 7 of their first 11 shots to open the second half

– Over the final 12 minutes of the contest, the defense for the Aces clamped down, holding MU to 25% shooting (5-of-20) while finishing with the 8-point win

Clutch When It Counts

– Ben Humrichous put the team on his back in the win over Miami, scoring all 18 of his points in the second half

– With UE trailing by six points inside of 12 minutes remaining, Humrichous went on to score 15 of Evansville’s next 19 points, turning a 52-46 deficit into a 65-57 lead

– By himself, Humrichous outscored Miami by a 15-5 margin during an 8-minute stretch

– He added 8 rebounds and 3 assists

Freshman Debut

– Making his first appearance in an Aces uniform, freshman Joshua Hughes recorded 12 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks

– On the floor for 17 minutes, Hughes was 3-for-6 from the field and connected on 6 of his 8 free throw tries

Solid Start

– Yacine Toumi made contributions in all facets of the game in the 2023 opener

– Toumi picked up 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and an assist in 24 minutes of action

– He connected on 5 of his 9 field goal attempts as UE took the victory

Scouting the Opponent

– UHSP enters Thursday’s game with an 0-3 record after dropping a 98-65 contest on Tuesday at Missouri Valley

— Three players are currently averaging 14 points or more, led by Jas Suvalija

– The freshman has averaged 14.7 points per game while shooting 40.7% from 3-point range

– Sophomore Landon Engelage checks in with 14.3 points while freshman Brady Bowers is currently posting 14.0 PPG

– Engelage is the top rebounder for the Eutectics with 6.3 per contest

EVANSVILLE SWIMMING

SWIMMING & DIVING HEADS TO A3 PERFORMANCE INVITATIONAL

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville swimming and diving teams will cap the fall portion of their 2023-24 schedule this weekend, as the Purple Aces will travel to Carbondale, Illinois to take part in the A3 Performance Invitational, hosted by Southern Illinois.  The three-day meet will begin with preliminary round swims on Thursday morning at 10 a.m. and continue through Saturday evening.

The Purple Aces will join Southern Illinois, Southern Indiana, Valparaiso, Nebraska-Omaha, Bellarmine and Eastern Illinois (women only) in the three-day mid-season championship meet.  The UE men will take the pool for the first time October 14 on Thursday, as the Purple Aces swept Valpo and USI in a dual meet that day.  The UE women, meanwhile, last competed on October 20 in a quad meet at Indiana State.

On the men’s side, juniors Patrik Vilbergsson (Kopavogur, Iceland) and Benjamin Hasanovic (Innsbruck, Austria) posted a pair of individual victories in the pool on October 14, while sophomore diver Levi McKinney (Boonville, Ind./Boonville) posted an NCAA Zone qualifying mark on his way to earning his first Mid-American Conference Diver of the Week honor.

On the women’s side, freshman Evelyn Chin (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) cracked UE’s career top 10 in the 100-Yard Butterfly in Evansville’s last meet at Indiana State, while senior diver Madison Rollett (Evansville, Ind./Reitz) has started the year strong with a pair of individual titles on the diving boards.

Preliminary round swims will begin at 10 a.m. each of the three days of the A3 Performance Invitational.  Finals will begin at 5 p.m. on both Thursday and Friday, with Saturday’s finals beginning at 4 p.m.  The meet will be live-streamed on the SIU Rec Center Facebook page each day.

SOUTHERN INDIANA MEN’S BASKETBALL

EAGLES FINISH OPENING ROAD TRIP AT #4 MICHIGAN STATE

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball completes its season-opening road swing Thursday with a visit to fourth-ranked Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. (CST) and will air live on the Big Ten Network (Spectrum Cable 39/528/920; Astound Cable 372/686).

The game can also be heard on ESPN 97.7FM (http://listentotheref.com) and 95.7FM The Spin (http://957thespin.com).

Following the season-opening road trip, the Eagles return to the friendly surroundings of Screaming Eagles Arena for the home opener Sunday when they host Chicago State University for a 3:30 p.m. contest. USI, which is slated to host 14 home games this year at Screaming Eagles Arena, has single-game tickets on sale now on USIScreamingEagles.com.

The Eagles opened the 2023-24 campaign with a tough loss at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri, Monday night. USI went point-for-point with SLU in the second half, but could not overcome the 12-point opening half deficit, and lost 75-63. Junior guard Jordan Tillmon led the way for the Eagles with 15 points and eight rebounds.

Michigan State, which is ranked fourth in the Associated Press and the USA Today Top 25 polls and second in the Big Ten 2023-24 preseason poll, also opened this year’s campaign with a loss after falling in overtime to James Madison University at home, 79-76. Graduate guard Tyson Walker led the Spartans with 35 points.

Chicago State, which hosts Mercer University Thursday before visiting USI, began the season by losing at Bowling Green State University, 70-41. The Cougars took the first meeting with the Eagles last year in Chicago, 78-61.

The USI-Chicago State match-up is the start of a two-game homestand for the Eagles that will conclude November 14 when they host Tiffin University for a 7 p.m. contest. USI has a 6-0 series lead over the Dragons all-time. 

All USI men’s basketball home games can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+.

SOUTHERN INDIANA SWIMMING

EAGLES SWIM AND DIVE TAKE ON THE A3 PERFORMANCE INVITE

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – After two weekends off, the University of Southern Indiana Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving travel to Carbondale, Illinois to compete in the A3 Performance Invitational, hosted by Southern Illinois University on November 9-11.

The Screaming Eagles will compete against Southern Illinois University, the University of Evansville, Bellarmine University, Eastern Illinois University (women), Valparaiso University, and the University of Nebraska-Omaha. This will be the Eagles second year competing in the invite.

USI Men

In their last weekend of competition, USI Men’s Swimming and Diving placed fourth out of ten teams at the Indiana Intercollegiate Meet hosted by Purdue University on Saturday. The Eagles also took on the University of Illinois at Chicago at Indiana State University, falling 200-98 on Friday night.

Freshman Camden Richardson (Spring Hill, Tennessee) showed a consistent increase in his 100 yard backstroke time placing first both Friday (53.33) and Saturday (53.29). Freshman Cole Baker dazzled at Purdue in the 50 yard freestyle (21.18) which ranks him second in the record book.

Season Performance Leaders

Of the 16 recorded individual events, the Eagles have nine different swimmers who are leading the team in an event. Freshman Sam Smith (Trafalgar, Indiana) leads the team with four events in the 500 yard freestyle, 1000 yard freestyle, 100 yard butterfly, and the 200 yard butterfly. Sophomore Garrett Crist (Bargersville, Indiana) leads the team in the 50 and 100 yard backstroke. Sophomore Gabriel Groves (New Carlisle, Indiana) claims two events in the 100 yard freestyle and the 200 yard individual medley. Sophomore Caleb Davis (Spring, Texas) leads the squad in the 50 and 100 yard breaststroke.

The current one-meter diving season leader is sophomore Lane Pollock (Boonville, Indiana) recording a score of 244.20 at the UE Tri-Meet. Freshman Nathan Deputy (Evansville, Indiana) leads the Eagles in the three-meter dive with a score of 246.45 at the IUPUI meet.

USI Women

USI Women’s Swimming and Diving placed sixth out of ten teams at their last meet in the Indiana Intercollegiate Invite at Purdue University. The Eagles also competed in a quad meet at Indiana State University going 0-3.

Freshman Hayden Shurtz (Ft. Wayne, Indiana) went on a tear all weekend breaking her own school record in the 100 yard backstroke (1:05.37). Her previous record time was (1:06.66). At the same meet, Shurtz broke the school record in the 200 yard breaststroke (2:25.44). Sophomore Sarah-Catherine Dawson (Prospect, Kentucky) keeps improving meet by meet shattering her own school record in the 100 yard butterfly (58.50).

Freshman Maranda Uttke (Grafton, Wisconsin) excelled in both diving events on Friday. Uttke broke her own school records in the one-meter event (211.50 pts) and the three-meter event (200.90 pts).

Season Performance Leaders

The Eagles have eight different leading swimmers in the 16 recorded individual events. Shurtz is the leader of the pack with four events including the 100 yard breaststroke, 200 yard breaststroke, 100 yard individual medley, and the 400 yard individual medley. Four others lead two events including freshman Caiya Cooper (LaPorte, Indiana) in the 200 and 500 yard freestyle, freshman Reagan Holmes (Henderson, Nevada) in the 100 and 1000 yard freestyle, sophomore Sarah-Catherine Dawson (Prospect, Kentucky) in the 100 and 200 yard butterfly, and sophomore Kate Hilgarth (Indianapolis, Indiana) in the 100 and 200 yard backstroke.

Uttke’s brilliant performance at the Indiana State Quad Meet vaulted herself into the season lead in both the one and three meter diving events.

A3 Performance Invitational

The prelims will start at 10 a.m. each day Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Finals start at 5 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and 4 p.m on Saturday. Watch the live stream through the SIU Rec Center Facebook page.

Stay updated with the live statistics on the MeetMobile App.

VALPO BASKETBALL

MEN’S HOOPS TO HOST IUPUI TO CAP FRIDAY NIGHT ARC DOUBLEHEADER

IUPUI (1-0, 0-0 Horizon)

at Valparaiso (1-0, 0-0 MVC)

Game No. 2 – Friday, Nov. 10, 8 p.m. CT

Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000) – Valparaiso, Ind.

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team will continue a home-heavy early-season schedule on Friday night when the Beacons match up with a Division-I opponent for the first time in 2023-24 as IUPUI comes to town for an 8 p.m. tip. This will mark the second half of a volleyball/basketball doubleheader at the Athletics-Recreation Center as head coach Carin Avery’s team hosts Drake at 5 p.m. Anyone who purchases a men’s basketball ticket can arrive early and receive admission to the volleyball match at no additional charge. Anyone who purchases a volleyball ticket will be encouraged to stay for the men’s basketball game at no additional charge, but must move to the upper mezzanine area at the conclusion of volleyball.

Last Time Out: Valpo started the season in a positive manner in Roger Powell Jr.’s first game as a collegiate head coach on Monday, pulling away by halftime with a 62-23 lead over Trinity Christian through 20 minutes that turned into a 100-61 final. Five Beacons tallied double figures in the scoring department – Isaiah Stafford (20), Jaxon Edwards (16), Jahari Williamson (16), Jerome Palm (11) and Ola Ajiboye (10). Cooper Schwieger had a near double-double of nine points and eight rebounds. Edwards rejected three shots while Stafford collected four steals.

Following the Beacons: Streaming – ESPN+ – Todd Ickow (play-by-play) and Jamie Stangel (analyst)

Radio – 95.1 FM, WVUR, ValpoAthletics.com, TuneIn Radio App – Noah Godsell (play-by-play) and Jack Hutter (analyst)

Twitter updates – @ValpoBasketball

Links for video, audio and live stats will be available at ValpoAthletics.com.

Head Coach Roger Powell Jr.: Roger Powell Jr. (1-0) is in his first season as the head coach of the Valpo men’s basketball program. After helping guide Gonzaga to a 121-13 record during his four seasons as an assistant coach, Powell returned to Valpo, where he was part of head coach Bryce Drew’s staff from 2011-2016 and led the team to 124 wins in five seasons, including a program-record 30 victories and a National Invitation Tournament (NIT) title game appearance in 2015-16. He was part of head coach Mark Few’s Gonzaga staff as the Bulldogs reached the 2021 national championship game after winning their first 31 games of the season. During Powell’s first season on staff in 2019-20, Gonzaga was 31-2 at the time the NCAA college basketball season was halted due to COVID-19. The Bulldogs reached the Sweet Sixteen in each of his final three seasons on staff, including two Elite Eight appearances and the aforementioned trip to the 2021 national title game. Prior to his arrival at Gonzaga, Powell served as the associate head coach at Vanderbilt University under Bryce Drew from 2016-2019. During his stint as an assistant at Valpo, he was part of four Horizon League regular-season championships in a five-year period while also leading the 2012-13 and 2014-15 squads to Horizon League tournament titles and NCAA Tournament appearances. A product of Joliet West High School and a native of Joliet, Ill., Powell capped a prolific collegiate playing career at Illinois with a national title game appearance in 2005 before going on to a successful professional playing career.

Series Notes: Valpo leads 16-8 in an all-time series between these two instate foes that began in 1998-99. This will mark the renewal of an old conference matchup as these two programs shared Mid-Continent Conference affiliation from 1998-2008. This will be the first installment of Valpo vs. IUPUI since Dec. 20, 2012, when Valpo prevailed 89-69 at the ARC.

Scouting the Jaguars 

Picked 10th of 11 in the Horizon League Preseason Poll.

Played in front of a record-setting crowd of 4,867 at Indiana Farmers Coliseum on Monday, opening the season with a 70-63 win over Spalding.

Under the direction of third-year head coach Matt Crenshaw.

Starting back-to-back games against Missouri Valley Conference competition as they will visit Indiana State on Tuesday.

Went 5-27 and 2-18 in the Horizon League last season.

Home-Heavy Start

This will mark the second of three straight home games to begin the 2023-24 season. Valpo will play six of its first seven at the ARC.

This will mark the first time Valpo has started a season with three straight home games since 2016-17, when the Beacons started by hosting Southern Utah, Trinity Christian and Coppin State.

Valpo has owned a record of .500 or better at home in 31 straight seasons.

Reaching the Century Mark

Valpo scored 100 points in the Nov. 6 season opener vs. Trinity Christian, marking the first time the team scored 100 since Dec. 7, 2021, a 101-58 win over East West.

The 39-point margin of victory against the Trolls was Valpo’s largest since the aforementioned Dec. 7, 2021 game against the Phantoms (+43).

Valpo was one of 34 teams in the country to score triple digits on opening night.

Five Beacons tallied double figures in the scoring column, the first time that has occurred since March 3, 2022 vs. Evansville in the MVC Tournament.

Starting on the Right Foot

Valpo snapped a three-game opening night losing streak and improved to 9-3 over the last 12 years on opening night.

The program improved to 18-1 in its last 19 home openers with the Nov. 6 win over Trinity Christian.

With a win on Friday vs. IUPUI, Valpo would start a season 2-0 for the first time since 2017-18, when the Brown & Gold got off to an 8-0 start.

Roger Powell Jr. became the fourth straight Valpo head coach to win his first game at the ARC.

From Down Town

Valpo drained 14 3-pointers on Nov. 6 vs. Trinity Christian, the team’s highest total since Feb. 22, 2020 vs. Bradley.

The Beacons got off 33 3-point attempts, the team’s highest total since 34 in double overtime on Feb. 4 of last season vs. Drake. This marked the team’s highest number of 3-point tries in a regulation game since Nov. 24, 2021 vs. Tulane (34).

Isaiah Stafford went 5-of-6 from 3-point territory, becoming the first Valpo player to hit five or more 3s in a game since Maximus Nelson on Feb. 4, 2023 vs. Drake. Stafford’s success from beyond the arc helped him to a team-high 20 points.

Valpo was one of 26 teams in the nation with 33 or more 3-point attempts on opening night.

The Beacons had 72 total shot attempts in the win over the Trolls, the team’s most since Nov. 27, 2021 vs. Trinity Christian. Valpo was one of 28 teams in the country to take 72 or more shots on opening night.

Finders Keepers

Valpo swiped 15 steals in the Nov. 6 win over Trinity Christian, one of only 13 teams nationally with 15 or more steals on opening night.

This marked Valpo’s highest steal count since Dec. 17, 2020 vs. Purdue Northwest.

The team was led in steals by Isaiah Stafford, whose four represented a career high.

Stafford became just the third different Valpo player in the last six seasons to boast 20 or more points and four or more steals in the same game, joining Nick Edwards (Dec. 21, 2022 vs. Stonehill) and Javon Freeman-Liberty (six times).

Valpo scored 41 points off Trinity Christian’s 28 turnovers. The 28 giveaways marked the most by a Valpo opponent since Purdue Northwest also turned it over 28 times on Dec. 17, 2020 at the ARC.

Other Notes Wrapping Up Nov. 6: Valpo 100, Trinity Christian 61

A dozen Valpo players took the court, including eight who made their Beacon debuts. Four of those saw their first collegiate action.

Returnee Jerome Palm contributed 11 points, tying a career high in scoring that was established on Dec. 1 of last season at Belmont.

Ola Ajiboye surpassed his previous collegiate career high of eight points, which occurred against Western Michigan while playing for Central Michigan last season. He poured in 10 in his Valpo debut, eight of which came at the free-throw line.

Jahari Williamson and Jaxon Edwards had 16 points apiece, behind only Isaiah Stafford’s game-high 20.

Darius DeAveiro handed out a team-most six assists.

Cooper Schwieger started in his collegiate debut and scored nine points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds. He became the first Valpo freshman with nine or more points and eight or more rebounds in a game since Sheldon Edwards on Dec. 9, 2020 vs. SIUE.

Rookie Kaspar Sepp added eight points off the bench on 3-of-4 shooting.

Notes Wrapping Up Nov. 1: Valpo 82, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods 71 (Exhibition)

Although stats from the game do not count since it was an exhibition, the 26 points from Isaiah Stafford would have marked the second-highest NCAA total in his collegiate career. His career high is 31 on Feb. 26, 2022 vs. Lindenwood while playing for Southern Indiana.

Stafford’s five assists would have outdone his previous career high of four that came on Jan. 31, 2022 at Lindenwood while playing for Southern Indiana.

Darius DeAveiro had eight assists without committing a turnover. Just two Valpo players in the last decade have had eight or more assists and no turnovers in a regular season game – Daniel Sackey on Dec. 18, 2019 at High Point (nine assists, no turnovers) and Deion Lavender on Nov. 24, 2018 at West Virginia (10 assists, no turnovers).

Valpo had 72 field-goal attempts in the game. The last time Valpo had 72 or more in a regular-season game was Nov. 27, 2021 vs. Trinity Christian (73). Valpo had fired off 72 shots or more just seven times in the last decade and only five times in games that finished in regulation.

Valpo dished out 17 assists against just nine turnovers. The team’s last regular-season game with 17+ assists and single-digit turnovers was Nov. 27, 2021 vs. Trinity Christian.

The team’s top two performers in the plus-minus category were Stafford and Cooper Schwieger. Valpo outscored the opponent by 20 when Stafford was on the court and the team was +18 with Schwieger in action.

Jaxon Edwards paced the team with eight rebounds including five offensive caroms.

Stafford (26), Schwieger (13), Sherman Weatherspoon IV (13) and Edwards (12) all scored in double figures.

The team grabbed 16 offensive rebounds leading to 23 second-chance points.

Valpo held a 42-24 advantage in the paint.

Schwieger started his first collegiate contest, one of nine players who made their unofficial (exhibition) Valpo debuts on Wednesday.

The Game’s Biggest Stage

Valpo head coach Roger Powell Jr. owns the unique distinction of having played and coached in the national championship game.

Just 12 coaches in the last 25 years have coached in the national title game after previously playing in the national title game, and two others have coached in the national championship game after being a rostered player but not seeing action in the national title game as a student-athlete.

In the last quarter of a century, only two coaches have coached in the national title game after previously playing in the national title game at a different school – Roger Powell Jr. and Kenny Payne.

Name                          Year, Team as Player             Year, Team as Coach

Sean May                    2005, UNC                              2022, UNC

Roger Powell Jr.        2005, Illinois                          2021, Gonzaga

Jeff Capel                    1994, Duke                             2015, Duke

Nate James                  1999 & 2001, Duke                2015, Duke

Jon Scheyer                2010, Duke                             2015, Duke

Ricky Moore               1999, UConn                           2014, UConn

Kenny Payne              1986, Louisville                     2014, Kentucky

Danny Manning          1988, Kansas                          2008 & 2012, Kansas

Chris Collins               1994, Duke                             2010, Duke

Jim Thomas                1981, Indiana                          2002, Indiana

Johnny Dawkins         1986, Duke                             2001, Duke

David Henderson        1986, Duke                             1999, Duke

Quin Snyder                1986, Duke                              1999, Duke – DNP

Jeremy Case               2008, Kansas                          2022, Kansas – DNP

“The Rev” in the Community

Since head coach Roger Powell Jr. was hired to lead Valpo’s program, he has made numerous community engagement appearances including IBCA State Wide Clinic, Popcorn Fest, Valpo Kiwanis, Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Indiana, Big Shoulders NWI, the Valpo Athletics Coaches Tour and many more.

An engaging speaker with an active social media presence, Powell has launched a video series featuring local restaurants called “Powell Party of Six,” showcasing the Powell family meals in the community. Episode 1 featuring Burgerhaus was released prior to the season with more editions to come.

Nicknamed “The Rev” because of his strong faith and calling as a preacher, Powell’s hire as Valpo head coach made an immediate media splash. The news was featured prominently in the Chicago Sun-Times, on CBS 2 Chicago’s 4 p.m. news and WGN-TV’s GN Sports. He appeared on the Mully & Haugh morning show on 670 The Score in Chicago and Indiana Sports Talk with Bob Lovell out of Indianapolis.

What They’re Saying About Coach Powell

Bryce Drew, Valpo Legend, Former Valpo Head Coach, GCU Head Coach: “I am very excited for Roger to be a head coach. He is more than ready to lead his own program, so this is perfect timing for him. I will be cheering for Roger and the Beacons!”

Homer Drew, Legendary Valpo Head Coach: “We’re really happy and thrilled to see Roger return to Valparaiso University. His love for the University and the community of Valparaiso makes him a great fit. Roger is an excellent teacher; he has tremendous knowledge of the game of basketball. He has been part of the Drew family since he arrived on campus and was an assistant coach for Bryce. He is a dedicated and hard recruiter, and being from the Chicago area, he has a lot of friends and contacts in that area.”

Mark Few, Gonzaga Head Coach: “Roger has been a very instrumental part of our program these past four years. He is the total package as a coach, and one of the best human beings I have ever been around. He will not only be a great addition to the University, but a positive force in the surrounding community. We look forward to watching his teams grow not only on the floor, but also in their life away from basketball.”

Chris Standiford, Gonzaga Athletic Director: “I am happy for Roger and his family. His positive energy and winning attitude will serve him well as a head coach. Valpo is getting a great coach, and more importantly, a terrific person.”

Scott Drew, Baylor Head Coach: “Roger is not only an outstanding basketball coach, but an even better person and representative of Valparaiso University. The community will welcome him as they already know him and his family. He will do a tremendous job.”

Tommy Lloyd, Arizona Head Coach: “Roger Powell is a first-class individual. He is well liked by the players he coaches and his colleagues in the business. I have no doubt that Roger’s passion, energy and fire will help bring back the glory days of Valpo Basketball!”

Alec Peters, Valpo’s All-Time Leading Scorer: “The amount of love and passion that Coach Powell is going to put into the program is going to be unmatched. His energy, competitiveness and character are going to show up every day and everyone will feel it.”

Inside the Assistants

Valpo’s staff features two coaches who have played in the national title game – Powell and A.J. Moye. Powell has also coached in the national title game.

Powell, Moye and Matt Gordon have all either coached or played in the Final Four.

Powell, Moye, Gordon, Pat Baldwin and Lubos Barton have all either coached or played in the NCAA Tournament.

Assistant coach Pat Baldwin brings head coaching experience to the staff as he spent five seasons at the helm at Milwaukee before serving as an assistant coach under Patrick Ewing at Georgetown during the 2022-23 season. He also worked under Chris Collins as an assistant during a successful run at Northwestern, so he has recent stops in the Big Ten and Big East to go along with head coaching experience.

Assistant coach Matt Gordon spent the last two years in the Big 12 Conference at Oklahoma as Director of Recruiting and Special Assistant to head coach Porter Moser. He joined Moser in Norman, Okla. after they previously worked together for a decade at Loyola. Gordon knows what it takes to win in the Missouri Valley Conference as he played a key role in a turnaround that saw the Ramblers post a 156-80 (.661) record during his seven seasons as an assistant coach. He helped the team to two Sweet Sixteen appearances in a four-year period including a historic run to the Final Four.

Assistant coach J. Moye was a standout during his playing days at Indiana, where he took the Hoosiers to the 2002 national title game before beginning a professional playing career. He trained professional and collegiate players from 2011-2023 as part of Rising Talent Development (Mamba Sports Academy), serving as the Master Basketball Trainer for Kobe Bryant’s academy. Moye played against Powell in the Big Ten and they later finished out their playing careers as teammates with Skyliners Frankfurt in Germany in 2010-11.

Director of Recruiting & Player Development Lubos Barton returns to Valpo over two decades after wrapping up his storied career donning the brown and gold. After retiring from his professional playing career, Barton stayed in the game of basketball by beginning his coaching career overseas in 2016. A member of the Valpo Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2017, Barton was a standout on the court from 1998-2002, leading the team to three Mid-Continent Conference regular-season titles, three conference tournament championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances.

Special Assistant to the Head Coach Quintin Garrison served as the associate head coach at Trinity International University from 2018-2023.

Video coordinator / Director of Basketball Operations Sean Taylor served as SIUE’s graduate assistant/video coordinator from August 2021 to May 2023.

Associate Director of Sports Performance Vijay Blackmon is in his second season as the strength & conditioning coach for Valpo men’s basketball. He previously worked with strength & conditioning as part of Bryce Drew’s Grand Canyon program.

Inside the Roster

The 2023-24 roster features four returning letterwinners and 11 newcomers. The team lost 11 letterwinners from last season including all five starters.

This marks the first time since the 2013-14 season that Valpo has no starters returning from the previous season. The 2012-13 NCAA Tournament team started all seniors – Ryan Broekhoff, Kevin Van Wijk, Erik Buggs, Will Bogan and Ben Boggs. The 2013-14 season featured a five-member freshmen class led by Alec Peters.

Prior to this season, Valpo had at least two returning starters in nine consecutive years.

The 12 scholarship players on the roster include three returners, five true freshmen and four transfers. Valpo also has three walk-ons – one returner, one former Valpo football player and one transfer.

The 12 scholarship players are comprised of two seniors, two juniors, two sophomores and six freshmen (five true; one redshirt).

The half dozen freshmen represent the team’s most since 2008-09, when the team also had six on the roster – De’Andre Haskins, Cameron Witt, Nick Shelton, Andrew Ferry, Erik Buggs and Logan Jones.

This year’s roster features players from five different countries – The Netherlands, Canada, Estonia, South Sudan and the United States. In addition, six states are represented – Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia and Kansas.

Returnee Rundown

Junior guard Darius DeAveiro ranked 14th in the Missouri Valley Conference in assists per game last season. He ranked fifth in the league in assist to turnover ratio at 1.89. During his rookie year in 2021-22, he finished the season as one of two freshmen nationally with 50 or more assists and fewer than 25 turnovers. He was named a captain by head coach Roger Powell Jr. prior to the season.

Senior guard/forward Connor Barrett is the team’s leading returning scorer and the longest-tenured member of the program. Now in his fourth season at Valpo, Barrett saw action in 31 of the team’s 32 games a year ago and scored a season-high 13 points including three made 3s on Dec. 18 vs. Elon.

Senior forward Jerome Palm was named a captain by head coach Roger Powell Jr. prior to the season. He joined Valpo last year after a pair of junior college seasons. He had a season-high 11 points to go along with nine rebounds on Dec. 1 at Belmont.

Newcomer Notes

Sophomore guard Jaxon Edwards has experience in the Missouri Valley Conference after playing in 11 games during the 2022-23 season as a freshman at Murray State. He led Cathedral to the 2021-22 Indiana 4A state championship in high school.

Freshman guard Sherman Weatherspoon IV played at Golden State Prep in Napa Valley, Calif. in 2022-23, averaging 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Sophomore forward Ola Ajiobye played in 30 of 31 games with 14 starts at Central Michigan as a true freshman in 2022-23.

Freshman guard Jahari Williamson played for Canada’s U19 World Cup Team in Summer 2023 after participating in the U18 2022 Canada Games for Team Ontario.

Freshman forward Lucas Scroggins spent the 2022-23 season at Bosco Institute in Crown Point.

Freshman forward Cooper Schwieger averaged 11.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists at Link Year Prep in Branson, Mo. last season.

Junior guard Isaiah Stafford averaged 12.5 points per game to help John A. Logan to the junior college national title and a 33-2 mark in 2022-23 after spending his freshman season at Southern Indiana in 2021-22.

Freshman forward Kaspar Sepp played for the Estonian national team during the 2023 summer after helping Estonia beat Finland to earn a promotion to the “A” division during the 2022 summer.

Redshirt freshman Lual Manyang received a medical redshirt in 2022-23 due to a preseason injury at Hofstra.

The Dot Farewell Tour

Longtime Valpo men’s basketball official scorekeeper Dot Nuechterlein has announced that she will retire from her duties at the scorer’s table following the 2023-24 season.

Nuechterlein, age 86, began as the official scorer at Valpo in 1984. Her four-decade long tenure as the holder of an official scorebook featured two seasons doing so at Columbia while she lived in New York City during a brief hiatus from Valpo.

According to Nuechterlein, she was the first female to serve as full-time official scorer for a Division-I men’s college basketball team when she took over the post at Valpo in 1984.

Beacon Bits

Random facts on each Valpo player.

#0 Jaxon Edwards – Played football up until high school but stopped after eighth grade when he injured his hand.

#1 Jerome Palm – Started playing basketball at age 15.

#2 Connor Barrett – Is an avid golfer.

#3 Anthony Sciarroni – Spent three years on the Valpo football team before joining the men’s basketball program as a walk-on.

#4 Sherman Weatherspoon IV – Father Sherman Weatherspoon III is a Northwest Indiana native and Gary Roosevelt product… Enjoys clothes, going on walks, nature and hiking.

#5 Ola Ajiboye – Enjoys meeting new people, playing table tennis, swimming and being around people.

#6 Darius DeAveiro – Played soccer until his freshman year of high school, when he gave up the sport to focus on basketball. Played on the state team for soccer at age 13 and traveled significantly for the sport, including a trip to England.

#7 Jahari Williamson – Owns numerous golf medals.

#10 Lucas Scroggins – Loves to draw and hopes to pursue an art-related career.

#13 Cooper Schwieger – Twin brother Carson plays at Wright State. A lot of people think they are identical, but they are fraternal twins.

#19 Isaiah Stafford – Enjoys spending time with family as well as playing board games, card games and video games.

#20 Joe Vick – Walk-on whose favorite sports memory is playing in Bankers Life Fieldhouse (now Gainbridge Fieldhouse).

#21 Kaspar Sepp – His national team coach is former teammates with Valpo assistant coach A.J. Moye and his prep coach is Moye’s former roommate.

#34 Lual Manyang – Favorite TV show is Shark Tank and his favorite athletes are Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kobe Bryant.

#35 Luke Carroll – Walk-on who enjoys golfing and fishing in his spare time.

Tradition of Excellence

Valpo has 14 NCAA Tournament appearances and four NIT berths in the program’s proud history, with the team’s postseason success highlighted by a Sweet Sixteen run in 1998.

The program has produced nine All-Americans, won 15 regular season conference championships and 10 conference tournament crowns.

Valpo also boasts eight NBA players, 10 conference players of the year and 20 20-win seasons.

Nine of the team’s NCAA appearances have come since 1996.

Valpo has developed a myriad of professional basketball players over the last quarter century, most notably a pair of recent NBA players. Ryan Broekhoff (class of 2013) signed a contract with the Dallas Mavericks in the summer of 2018 after spending five seasons playing internationally in Russia and Turkey. Alec Peters (class of 2017) was the 54th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns. Peters appeared in 20 games for the Suns in 2017-18, highlighted by a 36-point performance in the season finale against Dallas – a new single-game high by a Valpo alum in the NBA. He has gone on to a successful career overseas with CSKA Moscow (2018-2019), Anadolu Efes (2019-2020) and Kirolbet Baskonia (2020-2022) and Olympiacos (2022-present).

Valpo has produced over 50 professional players in the last three decades.

VALPO VOLLEYBALL

VOLLEYBALL CLOSES OUT HOME SLATE THIS WEEKEND

Valparaiso (18-10, 10-5 MVC)

Friday, Nov. 10 – Drake (20-7, 13-2 MVC) – 5 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 11 – UNI (21-6, 15-0 MVC) – 6 p.m.

Next Up For Valpo Volleyball: It’s the final weekend of home action at the ARC for the Valpo volleyball team this weekend, as the Beacons take on the top two teams in the MVC standings. Valpo faces off with Drake on Friday evening for the program’s #oneVALPO match and then celebrates its seniors on Saturday night in the Senior Night match versus UNI.

Previously: Valpo extended its road winning streak in Valley play to six consecutive matches, rallying from down two sets to earn a 3-2 win at Bradley before capping the weekend with a 3-1 victory at Illinois State.

Looking Ahead: The regular season concludes Wednesday evening at UIC. The MVC Tournament begins Sunday, Nov. 19 at Missouri State.

Following the Beacons: Both of this weekend’s matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Links for the live video and stats are available via ValpoAthletics.com.

Head Coach Carin Avery: In her 22nd season as head coach at Valparaiso, Carin Avery is the all-time winningest head coach across all sports in the history of Valpo Athletics. She has won 489 matches (489-238, .673) at the helm of the program and has led Valpo to three league regular season and tournament titles. The program has made six postseason appearances under Avery, including three NCAA Tournament appearances, and advanced to the championship match of the 2021 NIVC. Avery has coached 60 All-League recipients over her tenure at Valpo, which has spanned three different conferences. She is Valpo’s all-time leader in both victories and winning percentage, and owns a 544-262 (.675) record overall as a head coach.

Series History: Drake – Valpo is 13-6 all-time against the Bulldogs, including an 12-5 mark under Avery and a 9-4 record since joining the Valley. Valpo had won six in a row in the series before Drake snapped that streak in the second matchup last season, and the Bulldogs earned a 3-1 win in Des Moines in this season’s first meeting. Emma Hickey posted 28 digs in that match.

UNI – The Panthers hold a 17-4 advantage all-time over Valpo, including a three-set win earlier this season in Cedar Falls. The Beacons’ middles had strong performances in that contest, as Mallory Januski tallied 12 kills on .435 hitting and Miranda Strongman recorded nine kills on .471 hitting.

Scouting the Opposition: Drake – The Bulldogs come into the ARC in second place in the MVC standings, with a 13-2 record in Valley play and a 20-7 overall mark. Jada Wills leads all Valley players with 5.91 digs/set, while Haley Bush recently became the Bulldogs’ all-time leader in career kills.

UNI – The Panthers look to clinch the MVC regular season title this weekend, as they come into the weekend a perfect 15-0 within the Valley and 21-6 overall. Emily Holterhaus averages a team-best 3.77 kills/set, while Kira Fallert is right behind her with 3.43 kills/set. Defensively, Olivia Tjernagel ranks among the MVC leaders with 1.11 blocks/set.

Valpo Picked Sixth in Preseason Poll: Valpo has been picked to finish in sixth place in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2023, according to preseason polling of the conference’s head coaches. The Beacons accumulated 73 points in the polling to come in at sixth position, outpacing Illinois State by two points. UNI claimed seven of 12 first-place votes and nipped Drake by two points for the top spot in the poll.

Looking Back at Last Season: The Beacons enjoyed another successful season in 2022, finishing the campaign with a 22-11 overall record. Valpo posted a 9-9 mark in MVC play to finish in sixth place in the newly-expanded 12-team conference and won a match at the MVC Tournament for its fourth straight appearance. The Beacons earned an at-large bid to the 2022 NIVC, their third showing in the tournament in the last five seasons. After a record-setting rookie campaign, freshman libero Emma Hickey was named a Second Team All-MVC and MVC All-Freshman Team honoree.

What’s Back: Valpo returns plenty of experience from last year’s squad, as 11 letterwinners are back this year, including four starters plus the libero. In all, 98% of the assists, 89.3% of the digs, 62.7% of the blocks and 60.9% of the kills from last season are back in 2023.

Who’s New: Joining the 11 returnees on this year’s team are six players looking to make an impact in their first season as Valpo. The sextet includes four true freshmen and two transfers – one fifth-year grad transfer and one sophomore.

Top of the Charts: With Valpo’s win over Purdue Fort Wayne to close out nonconference action, head coach Carin Avery surpassed Valpo Athletics Hall of Fame member Emory Bauer for the most wins by a Valpo head coach across all sports in department history.

Bauer amassed his victories over three different sports, collecting 361 wins in 28 seasons as head coach of the baseball program, 109 victories in 22 years guiding the football team and eight wins in one season as men’s basketball head coach.

Avery’s record total, meanwhile, has obviously come all at the helm of the Valpo volleyball program. In her 22nd season as head coach, Avery’s teams have averaged better than 22 wins per year in her first 21 years guiding the program. Valpo has finished with a winning record 19 times and has posted 20 or more victories 17 times. Under Avery, Valpo has posted the six winningest seasons in program history, including a program-best 29 wins in 2004.

Celebrating the Seniors: Valpo will recognize seven members of its program for Senior Day this weekend, a class which has helped the program maintain its status as one of the conference’s most consistent and successful programs. The longest-tenured member of the class is Bella Ravotto, who is completing her fifth season at Valpo. Mallory Januski and Victoria Bulmahn have both been here for four years. Miranda Strongman and Olivia Blackketter have spent the last two years as Beacons, while Laura Ilizastigui joined the program prior to this season. Valpo will also recognize Gretchen Kuckkan, who missed out on competing this year due to injury.

Tournament Berth Secured: The win over Illinois State on Saturday clinched Valpo’s berth in this year’s eight-team MVC Tournament. The Beacons are also in good shape for a potential top-four finish, which would give them a first-round bye in the tournament, as they enter the weekend all alone in third place, one game ahead of a two-way tie for fourth.

Winning Tradition Continues: Valpo’s win Friday night at Bradley secured a winning 2023 season, the 20th winning season in 22 years under head coach Carin Avery. The Beacons are also just two wins shy of the 20-win milestone, which would be the 18th 20-win campaign in Avery’s 22 seasons.

Strong Run of Results: The Beacons are in the midst of eight victories in their last nine matches, vaulting Valpo up the MVC standings from ninth place to third place. Included in this stretch was a six-match winning streak, the program’s longest since joining the Valley. The last time Valpo won eight matches in a nine-match span in league play came back in 2013, when it started off Horizon League action 8-1 through its first nine matches.

Road Warriors: In this stretch, Valpo has posted a perfect 6-0 record on the road, earning road wins at Indiana State, Evansville, Southern Illinois, Missouri State, Bradley and Illinois State. It is the program’s first time winning any six true road matches in a row since the 2014 season. It is the first time Valpo has won six consecutive conference road matches since the 2004 team went a perfect 7-0 away from home in Mid-Continent Conference play.

Another Milestone Approaches: Junior outside Elise Swistek is on the verge of cracking four figures for career digs, as she enters the weekend with 977 career digs to her credit. Remarkably, Swistek would become the third Beacon this season to hit the 1,000-dig milestone, joining Emma Hickey and Victoria Bulmahn. Should Swistek reach the mark, Valpo would have 26 players all-time with 1,000 or more digs, four of whom are currently active, as Bella Ravotto is also a member of that club.

But I’m About to Play My Ace: The Beacons made their mark on the program’s record book last Friday against Bradley, racking up 11 service aces in the win over the Braves – tied for the most aces in a five-set match in the 25-point era. Addy Kois had three aces in that match, continuing her recent strong form at the service line, as she has tallied 10 service aces over Valpo’s last three matches.

Climbing the Digs Chart: Both fifth-year outside Bella Ravotto and sophomore libero Emma Hickey continue to climb the program’s career digs chart. Ravotto, who moved into the top-10 in program history for career digs last month, enters this weekend with 1,598 career digs – just 55 shy of Sarah Dooms in seventh position. Meanwhile, Hickey – who became the fastest player in program history and MVC history to 1,000 career digs earlier this season – now owns 1,270 career digs, is already up to 17th in program history in the category and is just 19 digs away from the top-15 in Valpo history.

All-Tournament Team Honorees: Six different Valpo players made nine All-Tournament Teams in the season’s first four weekends:

Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational – Emma Hickey, Mallory Januski

Stacheville Challenge – Januski, Miranda Strongman

Popcorn Classic – Bella Ravotto (MVP), Olivia Blackketter, Januski

EIU Volleyball Invitational – Strongman, Sam Warren

Three Times the Fun: Parse the previous list and you’ll see senior middle Mallory Januski picking up a trio of All-Tournament Team honors this season. It is the first time a Valpo player has earned spots on three All-Tournament teams in the same season since Allison Ketcham did so in 2018. But, one of Ketcham’s honors came in the postseason at the MVC Tournament – Januski is the first Valpo player in the Carin Avery era to receive three All-Tournament Team spots from solely early-season, preconference tournaments.

A Balanced Attack: Last year’s Valpo team was notable for its balance on the attack, and this year’s squad has been no different. Elise Swistek’s 2.51 kills/set leads the Beacons, but ranks just 23rd overall among Valley players. Five regulars are averaging between 1.83 and 2.51 kills/set.

Capturing Crowns: The Beacons’ triumph in the Popcorn Classic added yet another crown to the program’s trophy case. Valpo has now won 34 in-season tournament titles in head coach Carin Avery’s time at the helm of the program. The team has won at least one tournament in 17 of her seasons, and multiple tournaments 11 times. Those tournament titles have come in 14 different states.

Another 20-Win Campaign: It’s a milestone that has become routine for the program, yet still impressive in its totality – Valpo finished with 22 wins in 2022 and has now won 20 or more matches in 17 of Carin Avery’s 21 seasons as head coach. Even more remarkably, one of the four seasons Valpo didn’t reach 20 wins was the shortened spring 2021 campaign, when the program played just 20 matches total. The Beacons also secured their 19th winning season in Avery’s 21 seasons at the helm.

Top Half Finishes: In addition to the 20-win season, the Beacons also secured a top-half finish in the MVC standings as they finished in sixth place in the 12-team conference. Valpo has now finished in the top-half of the Valley standings in each of its six years in the conference, the only MVC program to accomplish that feat – Illinois State had finished top-half each of the last five years, but dropped out of the top-six in 2022. Going back further, Valpo has posted top-half conference finishes in 20 of Avery’s 21 seasons – as well as qualifying for the conference tournament in each of her 21 seasons – and 29 of the last 30 years overall.

Digging Deep: Valpo continued its long tradition of strong back row play last fall, finishing 10th nationally and leading the MVC with 17.27 digs/set. The program has ranked among the top-30 nationally in digs/set in each of the last 12 seasons, highlighted by the 2017 campaign in which it led the nation with 20.03 digs/set. Other top finishes include third nationally in the spring 2021 season (20.37/set), a fourth-place rank in 2010 and a sixth-place finish in 2015. Since the move to 25-point scoring, only seven teams have averaged more than 20 digs/set over the course of a season, and Valpo is the only program to have done it twice. 2018 saw Valpo lead the nation with 2,613 total digs – a mark which set a program single-season record and a Division I record in the 25-point era.

Hickey Sets New Standards: Emma Hickey made an immediate impact on Valpo’s backcourt and the record books in her rookie season. She set Valpo and MVC freshman record for digs in a season, finishing with 735 total digs, and led the Valley and ranked fourth nationally with 5.70 digs/set. No D-I freshman was within 200 digs of her season total, while it was tied for the second-most digs by a D-I freshman in the last 12 seasons. Her 735 digs are tied for fourth overall on Valpo’s single-season chart and rank sixth in MVC history as well.

Januski Runs the Middle: Senior middle Mallory Januski bided her time behind a pair of All-Conference middles in her first two seasons at Valpo, but given the opportunity in 2022 to run with a starting role, Januski took full advantage. She led Valpo and ranked fourth in the Valley with a .353 hitting percentage, a mark which smashed the program’s single-season record. Januski also ranked seventh in the Valley with 0.98 blocks/set, tallying 122 total blocks — seventh-most by a Valpo player in the 25-point era. That total includes a monster 13-block performance at Murray State, a program record for the 25-point era.

UINDY MEN’S SOCCER

MEN’S SOCCER MOVES UP IN FINAL REGIONAL RANKINGS

INDIANAPOLIS – The UIndy men’s soccer team was named second in the final Super-Region 3 rankings, released Wednesday. Fellow GLVC member Illinois-Springfield claimed the number one spot in the region, with Great-Midwest (G-MAC) member Tiffin at third.

The Greyhounds defeated Truman 2-1 in the GLVC Tournament quarterfinals this past Sunday. The Hounds are now 11-1-5, 9-1-4 in GLVC play, going into the semifinals on Friday. The Championship match will take place on Sunday. Both games will take place at Corwin Clatt Stadium in East Peoria, Ill.

The NCAA DII Soccer Tournament selection show will air on Monday Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. on NCAA.com

SUPER-REGION 3

1	Ill. Springfield	12-1-5
2	UIndy	11-1-5
3	Tiffin	12-2-3
4	McKendree	11-1-6
5	Maryville (MO)	10-3-5
6	Lake Erie	11-5-3
7	Wis.-Parkside	9-4-3
8	Lewis	10-3-4
9	Purdue Northwest	8-3-4
10	Southern Nazarene	12-4-2
11	Rogers St.	11-5-2
12	Davenport	6-5-5

MARIAN WOMEN’S SOCCER

MARIAN DROPS 1-0 OVERTIME LOSS TO SPRING ARBOR IN CROSSROADS LEAGUE TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS

SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – The Marian women’s soccer team battled hard, but ultimately came up short in a 1-0 overtime loss to top-seeded Spring Arbor in the Crossroads League Tournament Semifinals on Wednesday night.

Spring Arbor controlled the first half, creating chances from the opening whistle. The Cougars put together a pair of shots and corner kicks in the first four minutes, before firing one off that hit back netting only to be called offside to keep the score locked at 0-0. Minutes later, Mycheala Johnson deflected a shot put on frame from the hosts, while coming up big again around eight minutes later.

Marian struggled to find an offensive flow in the first 45 minutes, while the Cougars continued to pound on shots. In the final six minutes of the first half, Spring Arbor put up four shots, with three coming close to a score. Offense was hard to come by in the first half for the Knights as they ended with zero shots to the Cougars 11. Although the offense was not firing for Marian, Johnson kept her team in the game with her four saves.

Marian started off the second half as Katie Koger booted a pair of shots towards goal, but was kept out from the Spring Arbor keeper. The Cougars responded with three on target shots, while Kylie Conrad gave the Knights another good look at the 60:37 mark. The two teams continued to go back and forth with neither being able to find a goal, sending the game into overtime.

The first half of overtime was all Spring Arbor as they came out on the attack with three quick shots. The Cougars scored on their fourth attempt of the overtime period to take the 1-0 lead, that would hold the remainder of the first half of overtime. Trailing 1-0, Marian needed a goal to keep themselves alive send the game into PK’s. Marian Corro Celma gave her team hope in the 107th minute, but Spring Arbor’s defense held on and allowed the Knights only one shot in the final 10 minutes of play, giving them the 1-0 victory.

Spring Arbor outshot Marian 23-4, with the Knights having three shots on frame. The Cougars also led in corner kicks 8-2. In Marian’s four shots, Koger led with two, while Conrad and Corro Celma each added one. Johnson made eight saves and allowed one goal in her 110 minutes of action.

With the loss, Marian falls to 13-3-3 on the season. The Knights will eye an at-large bid in the NAIA Tournament after maintaining a rank at No. 10 in the women’s soccer coaches poll earlier today. Marian will also aim to be a host for the sixth consecutive year for the opening rounds of the tournament on November 16 and 18. The field will be announced on Monday, November 13.

MARIAN MEN’S SOCCER

MARIAN FALLS TO BETHEL IN CROSSROADS LEAGUE TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS

MISHAWAKA, Ind. – The top-seeded Pilots of Bethel sent the fifth-seeded Marian men’s soccer team home with a 3-1 loss on Wednesday evening in the Crossroads League Tournament Semifinal.

Both teams were creating chances early to start the game, but it was Marian becoming the aggressors first as Sebastian Gonzalez had a header on goal that was saved by the Bethel keeper. Around five minutes later, Evan Dawdy got in on the action with his first attempt of the game before Gonzalez fired one off to the goalie. Bethel took their first two shots of the half, both being off target. The momentum seemed to be on the Knights’ side as they created more chances in the early minutes, but it was the Pilots finding the back of the net first in the 37th minute to take the 1-0 lead.

The remaining minutes of the first half were all Bethel as they fired off one more attempt that found the hands of Alvaro Rueda, keeping the score at 1-0 going into the break. Despite the goal, the first half proved to be fairly evenly matched, with Marian trailing 5-4 in shots and both teams having two on goal attempts.

Bethel wasted no time to get the offense going in the second half as they scored at the 49:38 mark to extend their lead to 2-0. Marian answered back in under a minute with a goal coming from Kameron Hooker to cut their deficit back to 2-1. The Knights quickly tried to build upon their goal with an attempt coming from Hooker that was blocked. The Pilots went on the attack next over the next few minutes, firing off two shots and a corner kick, which eventually led their third goal of the night.

With the game at a 3-1 score, favoring the hosts, the game was put on pause for a lightning delay. After the delay, neither team seemed to not be able to create as the game would go into another delay and eventually be called at the 77:37 mark. Bethel would go on to win 3-1.

Bethel outshot Marian 11-8 and led in corner kicks 3-2. In Marian’s eight shots, Gonzalez led with four, while Hooker added two and scored on one of his attempts. Romaric Berneron and Dawdy each shot once. Rueda made three saves and allowed three goals on the night.

With the loss, Marian falls to 12-5-2 on the season. The Knights will eye an at-large bid in the NAIA Tournament after receiving votes in the men’s soccer coaches poll earlier today. The field will be announced on Monday, November 13.

MARIAN VOLLEYBALL

MARIAN DROPS FIVE-SET BATTLE AT NO. 20 MT. VERNON NAZARENE IN CL SEMIFINALS

Mount Vernon, Ohio – The Marian volleyball team put up a fight Wednesday night in the Crossroads League Tournament Semifinals against No. 20 Mount Vernon Nazarene, but were unable to close after leading 2-1 as the Cougars rallied back for a five-set win. Marian ends their run in the tournament with a 20-10 overall record.

A pair of runs highlighted the early stages of the opening set, as Mount Vernon took the first major lead with a 8-4 advantage following five unanswered points, while the Knights were able to respond with 4-1 spurt of their own. The Cougars would push ahead again thanks to a 5-1 run, as they claimed the largest lead for either team in the set with a 16-11 advantage. Logan Smith, Mikayla Christiansen and Averi Lanman helped the Knights fight back after falling behind 19-15, eventually climbing back within a point on three different occasions, however they were unable to close as they fell 25-22 in set one.

Marian responded well in sets two and three, winning both games to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Marian dominated early in the second set as Gabby Fish and Khori Dryden landed kills, as they pushed in front 10-3. The Cougars scratched back with a pair of 3-0 runs to make things less comfortable, but a service error shortly after a Marian timeout gave the Knights a 16-12 advantage, which they used to jump on top 20-14. Mount Vernon would inch closer as they were able to get within a pair, but Marian capitalized on a service error, scoring three of the final four points as the freshman Dryden ended the 25-20 second set.

The third set featured the largest point differential of the match, as Marian breezed to a 25-16 win. Errors and Madison Brooks kills headlined Marian’s ability to take an early lead, and after briefly giving the home team an edge, pushed through with Fish and Christiansen providing a 12-9 score. The Cougars managed to get within a point twice, but couldn’t close the gap as a finishing 7-1 run led by five Dryden kills gave Marian their 2-1 match lead.

The Knights looked to close the match in four sets as they battled to open the fourth set, but found themselves trailing by four as the Cougars used a 4-1 run to claim a 12-8 lead. A timeout froze the Cougars and allowed Marian to get back into system as inched within two, building steam as a 5-0 paced by four MVNU errors provided a 19-17 lead. Despite the lead and being six points away from a win, Marian failed to finish off the Cougars, as four consecutive errors gave the hosts a 21-19 lead. Mount Vernon finished the fourth set on an 8-1 run, leveling the match at two sets each with their 25-20 win.

Marian jumped first in the winner-take-all fifth set, growing a 6-3 lead behind four Dryden kills and a dump kill from Logan Smith. The Cougars used a timeout to halt the Marian momentum, as they scored four of five points to bring the set even. Marian led 8-7 as they switched sides of the net behind a Christiansen kill, but again found themselves trailing as two Cougar kills showed 9-8 on the board. Marian dug deep once again as Christiansen and Brooks scored three unanswered points, with a service error on the fifth rally in the sprint giving the visitors a 12-10 lead. Mt. Vernon would rally off three consecutive points to force a Marian timeout, but the Knights scored a block out of the timeout to even the score 13-13. With both teams sitting two points away from the championship match, the Cougars struck first with a block on Dryden, and won the match on the ensuing rally as Logan Smith was called for a ball-handling violation, ending the night in a 15-13 fifth set defeat.

As a team Marian led the match in kills, digs, assists, and hitting percentage, but blocks from the Cougars and untimely errors led to the Mount Vernon victory. Dryden led Marian individually with a career-high 19 kills, while Brooks scored 11 kills with a .310 hitting percentage. Logan Smith and Ainsley Neighbors each recorded a double-double of 10 digs, as Smith finished with 23 assists and Neighbors with 25. Smith has now recorded a double-double in five consecutive matches and 14 times this season.

Emma Lyons led the defense with 26 digs and one service ace, while Sydney Schaffer had 14 digs and Christiansen had 11. Christiansen also finished with nine kills. Averi Lanman led the Knights with five block assists.

Marian will await to find out their NAIA Tournament fate, as they will aim to be an at-large team. The NAIA Selection Show will air on Monday, November 13 at 3 p.m. on the NAIA YouTube channel.

SMALL COLLEGE ATHLETICS

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

NBA STANDINGS

Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
	W	L	Pct	GB	Home	Road	Div	Conf	Last 10	Streak
Philadelphia	6	1	.857	—	5-0	1-1	3-0	4-1	6-1	6 W
Boston	5	2	.714	1.0	2-0	3-2	2-1	5-1	5-2	2 L
Brooklyn	4	4	.500	2.5	1-3	3-1	0-1	3-3	4-4	1 W
New York	4	4	.500	2.5	2-2	2-2	0-1	2-3	4-4	2 W
Toronto	4	4	.500	2.5	2-2	2-2	0-2	1-3	4-4	2 W
Central Divison
	W	L	Pct	GB	Home	Road	Div	Conf	Last 10	Streak
Milwaukee	5	2	.714	—	4-1	1-1	1-0	5-2	5-2	3 W
Indiana	5	3	.625	0.5	4-2	1-1	2-1	3-3	5-3	2 W
Cleveland	3	5	.375	2.5	1-3	2-2	0-2	2-3	3-5	1 L
Chicago	3	6	.333	3.0	2-3	1-3	1-1	2-2	3-6	1 L
Detroit	2	7	.222	4.0	1-3	1-4	1-1	2-2	2-7	6 L
Southeast Division
	W	L	Pct	GB	Home	Road	Div	Conf	Last 10	Streak
Atlanta	4	3	.571	—	2-1	2-2	1-1	2-2	4-3	1 L
Orlando	4	3	.571	—	2-1	2-2	–	–	4-3	1 L
Miami	4	4	.500	0.5	3-1	1-3	1-0	2-3	4-4	3 W
Washington	2	5	.286	2.0	1-1	1-4	1-2	1-5	2-5	1 W
Charlotte	2	5	.286	2.0	1-3	1-2	1-1	2-3	2-5	2 L
Western Conference
Northwest Division
	W	L	Pct	GB	Home	Road	Div	Conf	Last 10	Streak
Denver	8	1	.889	—	6-0	2-1	2-1	7-1	8-1	4 W
Minnesota	5	2	.714	2.0	5-0	0-2	2-0	3-0	5-2	4 W
Oklahoma City	5	3	.625	2.5	3-3	2-0	0-1	0-3	5-3	2 W
Portland	3	5	.375	4.5	1-2	2-3	–	1-3	3-5	2 L
Utah	2	7	.222	6.0	2-2	0-5	0-2	2-4	2-7	4 L
Pacific Division
	W	L	Pct	GB	Home	Road	Div	Conf	Last 10	Streak
Golden State	6	3	.667	—	1-1	5-2	2-1	5-2	6-3	1 L
Phoenix	4	4	.500	1.5	1-2	3-2	1-1	2-3	4-4	2 W
Sacramento	3	4	.429	2.0	2-1	1-3	1-2	3-4	3-4	1 W
LA Clippers	3	4	.429	2.0	3-0	0-4	0-1	2-2	3-4	3 L
LA Lakers	3	5	.375	2.5	3-0	0-5	2-1	2-3	3-5	3 L
Southwest Division
	W	L	Pct	GB	Home	Road	Div	Conf	Last 10	Streak
Dallas	6	2	.750	—	3-1	3-1	2-0	2-1	6-2	1 L
Houston	4	3	.571	1.5	4-1	0-2	0-1	3-2	4-3	4 W
New Orleans	4	4	.500	2.0	2-2	2-2	1-0	2-3	4-4	3 L
San Antonio	3	5	.375	3.0	1-2	2-3	1-1	3-2	3-5	3 L
Memphis	1	7	.125	5.0	0-4	1-3	0-2	1-5	1-7	1 L

NFL STANDINGS

American Football Conference
East Division
	W	L	T	Pct	GB	PF	PA	Home	Road	vs. Conf	vs. Div	Streak
Miami Dolphins	6	3	0	.667	0.0	285	225	4-0-0	2-3-0	4-2-0	2-1-0	1 L
Buffalo Bills	5	4	0	.556	1.0	240	160	4-1-0	1-3-0	2-4-0	1-2-0	1 L
New York Jets	4	4	0	.500	1.5	132	156	2-3-0	2-1-0	2-3-0	1-1-0	1 L
New England Patriots	2	7	0	.222	4.0	135	228	1-4-0	1-3-0	2-3-0	2-2-0	2 L
West Division
	W	L	T	Pct	GB	PF	PA	Home	Road	vs. Conf	vs. Div	Streak
Kansas City Chiefs	7	2	0	.778	0.0	208	143	4-1-0	3-1-0	5-1-0	2-1-0	1 W
Los Angeles Chargers	4	4	0	.500	2.5	201	174	2-2-0	2-2-0	2-3-0	1-1-0	2 W
Las Vegas Raiders	4	5	0	.444	3.0	156	193	3-1-0	1-4-0	2-3-0	1-1-0	1 W
Denver Broncos	3	5	0	.375	3.5	172	226	2-3-0	1-2-0	1-4-0	1-2-0	2 W
North Division
	W	L	T	Pct	GB	PF	PA	Home	Road	vs. Conf	vs. Div	Streak
Baltimore Ravens	7	2	0	.778	0.0	239	124	3-1-0	4-1-0	4-2-0	2-1-0	4 W
Pittsburgh Steelers	5	3	0	.625	1.5	133	163	3-2-0	2-1-0	4-2-0	2-0-0	1 W
Cleveland Browns	5	3	0	.625	1.5	181	139	4-1-0	1-2-0	3-2-0	1-2-0	1 W
Cincinnati Bengals	5	3	0	.625	1.5	155	162	3-1-0	2-2-0	1-3-0	0-2-0	4 W
South Division
	W	L	T	Pct	GB	PF	PA	Home	Road	vs. Conf	vs. Div	Streak
Jacksonville Jaguars	6	2	0	.750	0.0	193	156	2-2-0	4-0-0	4-2-0	2-1-0	5 W
Houston Texans	4	4	0	.500	2.0	187	165	3-1-0	1-3-0	2-2-0	1-1-0	1 W
Indianapolis Colts	4	5	0	.444	2.5	232	242	1-4-0	3-1-0	3-3-0	2-2-0	1 W
Tennessee Titans	3	5	0	.375	3.0	148	160	3-1-0	0-4-0	2-4-0	0-1-0	1 L
National Football Conference
East Division
	W	L	T	Pct	GB	PF	PA	Home	Road	vs. Conf	vs. Div	Streak
Philadelphia Eagles	8	1	0	.889	0.0	252	195	4-0-0	4-1-0	6-0-0	3-0-0	3 W
Dallas Cowboys	5	3	0	.625	2.5	220	148	3-0-0	2-3-0	2-3-0	1-1-0	1 L
Washington Commanders	4	5	0	.444	4.0	191	245	1-3-0	3-2-0	2-4-0	0-3-0	1 W
New York Giants	2	7	0	.222	6.0	101	217	1-3-0	1-4-0	2-3-0	1-1-0	2 L
West Division
	W	L	T	Pct	GB	PF	PA	Home	Road	vs. Conf	vs. Div	Streak
San Francisco 49ers	5	3	0	.625	0.0	218	140	3-1-0	2-2-0	4-1-0	2-0-0	3 L
Seattle Seahawks	5	3	0	.625	0.0	171	175	3-1-0	2-2-0	4-1-0	1-1-0	1 L
Los Angeles Rams	3	6	0	.333	2.5	178	204	1-3-0	2-3-0	2-4-0	2-1-0	3 L
Arizona Cardinals	1	8	0	.111	4.5	151	240	1-3-0	0-5-0	1-5-0	0-3-0	6 L
North Division
	W	L	T	Pct	GB	PF	PA	Home	Road	vs. Conf	vs. Div	Streak
Detroit Lions	6	2	0	.750	0.0	200	165	3-1-0	3-1-0	4-1-0	1-0-0	1 W
Minnesota Vikings	5	4	0	.556	1.5	206	190	1-3-0	4-1-0	5-2-0	2-0-0	4 W
Green Bay Packers	3	5	0	.375	3.0	160	159	2-2-0	1-3-0	3-3-0	1-2-0	1 W
Chicago Bears	2	7	0	.222	4.5	188	242	1-3-0	1-4-0	1-4-0	0-2-0	2 L
South Division
	W	L	T	Pct	GB	PF	PA	Home	Road	vs. Conf	vs. Div	Streak
New Orleans Saints	5	4	0	.556	0.0	195	171	2-2-0	3-2-0	2-2-0	1-1-0	2 W
Atlanta Falcons	4	5	0	.444	1.0	166	192	3-2-0	1-3-0	3-3-0	2-0-0	2 L
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	3	5	0	.375	1.5	158	167	1-3-0	2-2-0	3-3-0	1-1-0	4 L
Carolina Panthers	1	7	0	.125	3.5	140	226	1-3-0	0-4-0	0-5-0	0-2-0	1 L

NHL STANDINGS

Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	ROW	GF	GA	Home	Road	L10
Boston Bruins	12	10	1	1	21	9	39	23	5-0-1	5-1-0	8-1-1
Tampa Bay Lightning	13	6	3	4	16	6	50	45	4-0-2	2-3-2	5-1-4
Florida Panthers	12	7	4	1	15	7	35	35	4-1-0	3-3-1	7-2-1
Detroit Red Wings	13	7	5	1	15	7	48	42	4-2-1	3-3-0	5-4-1
Toronto Maple Leafs	13	6	5	2	14	5	45	48	3-4-0	3-1-2	4-4-2
Buffalo Sabres	13	6	6	1	13	6	41	41	3-4-0	3-2-1	5-4-1
Montreal Canadiens	12	5	5	2	12	4	36	44	4-3-0	1-2-2	4-5-1
Ottawa Senators	11	5	6	0	10	5	44	38	3-4-0	2-2-0	5-5-0
Metropolitan Division
	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	ROW	GF	GA	Home	Road	L10
New York Rangers	12	9	2	1	19	9	39	27	3-1-0	6-1-1	8-1-1
Carolina Hurricanes	13	8	5	0	16	7	45	44	4-0-0	4-5-0	6-4-0
New Jersey Devils	12	7	4	1	15	7	46	45	3-2-1	4-2-0	6-4-0
New York Islanders	11	5	3	3	13	5	29	31	3-2-3	2-1-0	4-3-3
Washington Capitals	11	5	4	2	12	3	24	34	4-3-1	1-1-1	5-3-2
Columbus Blue Jackets	12	4	5	3	11	4	32	39	3-3-1	1-2-2	3-4-3
Philadelphia Flyers	13	5	7	1	11	5	38	41	3-4-0	2-3-1	3-6-1
Pittsburgh Penguins	11	5	6	0	10	5	38	31	2-4-0	3-2-0	5-5-0
Western Conference
Central Division
	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	ROW	GF	GA	Home	Road	L10
Colorado Avalanche	11	8	3	0	16	7	38	31	4-0-0	4-3-0	7-3-0
Dallas Stars	11	7	3	1	15	6	32	29	3-2-0	4-1-1	6-3-1
Winnipeg Jets	12	6	4	2	14	6	41	41	2-2-1	4-2-1	5-3-2
Arizona Coyotes	12	6	5	1	13	4	41	35	4-2-0	2-3-1	5-4-1
Minnesota Wild	12	5	5	2	12	4	44	49	3-2-1	2-3-1	4-4-2
St. Louis Blues	11	5	5	1	11	4	27	33	4-2-0	1-3-1	5-5-0
Nashville Predators	12	5	7	0	10	5	34	36	3-2-0	2-5-0	4-6-0
Chicago Blackhawks	11	4	7	0	8	4	26	38	1-3-0	3-4-0	3-7-0
Pacific Division
	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	ROW	GF	GA	Home	Road	L10
Vegas Golden Knights	14	11	2	1	23	8	53	32	7-1-1	4-1-0	7-2-1
Vancouver Canucks	12	9	2	1	19	9	54	24	5-0-1	4-2-0	7-2-1
Los Angeles Kings	12	8	2	2	18	8	51	34	1-2-2	7-0-0	8-1-1
Anaheim Ducks	12	7	5	0	14	7	37	34	3-3-0	4-2-0	6-4-0
Seattle Kraken	13	4	6	3	11	4	34	46	2-3-0	2-3-3	4-4-2
Calgary Flames	12	4	7	1	9	4	32	43	2-3-0	2-4-1	3-6-1
Edmonton Oilers	11	2	8	1	5	2	29	47	1-4-1	1-4-0	2-7-1
San Jose Sharks	12	1	10	1	3	1	14	56	1-5-1	0-5-0	1-9-0

NUMBERS IN SPORTS

4 – 24 – 28 – 19

November 9, 1950 – White Sox released Number 4, Luke Appling, who had been a Sox since 1930

November 9, 1965 – Center fielder, Willie Mays, Number 24 of the Giants was named National League MVP

November 9, 1976 – Oakland A’s released Number 28,  Billy Williams, ending his Hall of Fame baseball career

November 9, 1982 – Brewers’ Robin Yount, Number 19 won the American League MVP, unanimously

November 9, 1991 – Houston’s Roman Anderson is 1st NCAA to kick 400 pts

November 9, 2021 – 105 year old Julia Hawkins sets world record as first woman and first American her age to run 100 meters Louisiana Senior Olympic Games

TV SPORTS THURSDAY

NFL REGULAR SEASON	TIME ET	TV
Carolina at Chicago	8:15pm	AMZN
NBA REGULAR SEASON	TIME ET	TV
Milwaukee at Indiana	7:00pm	NBATV Bally Sports
Atlanta at Orlando	9:30pm	NBATV Bally Sports
NHL REGULAR SEASON	TIME ET	TV
NY Islanders at Boston	7:00pm	MSGSN NESN
Vancouver at Ottawa	7:00pm	Sportsnet
Montreal at Detroit	7:00pm	Bally Sports Sportsnet
Chicago at Tampa Bay	7:00pm	Bally Sports NBCS-CHI
Minnesota at NY Rangers	7:00pm	MSG Bally Sports
Dallas at Columbus	7:30pm	ESPN+ HULU
Arizona at St. Louis	8:00pm	Bally Sports
Nashville at Winnipeg	8:00pm	Bally Sports Sportsnet
Seattle at Colorado	9:00pm	ALT Root Sports
Pittsburgh at Los Angeles	10:30pm	Bally Sports ATTSN-PIT
Edmonton at San Jose	10:30pm	ESPN+ HULU
COLLEGE FOOTBALL	TIME ET	TV
Virginia at Louisville	7:30pm	ESPN
Southern Miss at Louisiana	7:30pm	ESPNU
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL	TIME ET	TV
Northwestern State at Tulane	7:00pm	ESPN+
James Madison at Kent State	7:00pm	ESPN+
Fairfield at Rhode Island	7:00pm	ESPN+
American at William & Mary	7:00pm	Flo Sports
ETSU at Elon	7:00pm	Flo Sports
Mid-Atlantic Christian at Hampton	7:00pm	Flo Sports
Howard at Georgia Tech	7:30pm	ACCNx
Utah Valley at Sam Houston	7:30pm	ESPN+
Stephen F. Austin at Middle Tennessee	7:30pm	ESPN+
WKU at Wichita State	7:30pm	ESPN+
Lindenwood at Iowa State	8:00pm	ESPN+
Omaha at TCU	8:00pm	ESPN+
Lamar at SMU	8:00pm	ESPN+
Kentucky State at Tennessee State	8:00pm	ESPN+
Alabama A&M at North Alabama	8:00pm	ESPN+
Health Sciences & Pharmacy at Evansville	8:00pm	ESPN+
Florida A&M at Nebraska	8:00pm	BTN+
LIfe Pacific at Southern Utah	8:30pm	ESPN+
North Park at SIUE	8:30pm	ESPN+
CSU Bakersfield at USC	9:00pm	PAC12N
Cal Poly at Denver	9:00pm	ALT2
CSUN at Idaho	9:00pm	ESPN+
U. of Arts & Sciences (OK) at UTEP	9:00pm	ESPN+
New Mexico at Saint Mary’s	10:00pm	ESPN+
Portland State at UC Santa Barbara	10:00pm	ESPN+
Saint Francis U at San Francisco	10:00pm	ESPN+
Northern Kentucky at Washington	11:00pm	PAC12N
Bethesda at San Jose State	11:00pm	NBCS-BAY
GOLF	TIME ET	TV
DP World Tour: Nedbank Golf Challenge	5:00am	GOLF
LPGA Tour: The Annika	11:00am	GOLF
PGA Tour: Butterfield Bermuda Championship	2:00pm	GOLF
PGA Tour Champions: Charles Schwab Cup Championship	5:00pm	GOLF
SOCCER	TIME ET	TV
UEFA Europa League: Toulouse vs Liverpool	12:45pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa League: LASK Linz vs Union Saint-Gilloise	12:45pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa League: Ajax vs Brighton & Hove Albion	12:45pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa League: Rennes vs Panathinaikos	12:45pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa League: Qarabağ vs Bayer Leverkusen	12:45pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa League: Slavia Praha vs Roma	12:45pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa League: Servette vs Sheriff	12:45pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa League: Maccabi Haifa vs Villarreal	12:45pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa Conference League: Viktoria Plzeň vs Dinamo Zagreb	12:45pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa Conference League: Legia Warszawa vs Zrinjski	12:45pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa Conference League: Ferencváros vs Genk	12:45pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa Conference League: Čukarički vs Fiorentina	12:45pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa Conference League: PAOK vs Aberdeen	12:45pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa Conference League: HJK vs Eintracht Frankfurt	12:45pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa Conference League: Nordsjælland vs Spartak Trnava	12:45pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa Conference League: Nordsjælland vs Spartak Trnava	12:45pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa League: Häcken vs Molde	3:00pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa League: Atalanta vs Sturm Graz	3:00pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa League: Sporting CP vs Raków Częstochowa	3:00pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa League: Rangers vs Sparta Praha	3:00pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa League: Real Betis vs Aris	3:00pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa League: Freiburg vs Bačka Topola	3:00pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa League: Servette vs Sheriff	3:00pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa League: AEK Athens vs Olympique Marseille	3:00pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa Conference League: West Ham United vs Olympiakos Piraeus	3:00pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa Conference League: Slovan Bratislava vs Lille	3:00pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa Conference League: Olimpija vs KÍ	3:00pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa Conference League: Zorya vs Maccabi Tel Aviv	3:00pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa Conference League: Breidablik vs Gent	3:00pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa Conference League: Club Brugge vs Lugano	3:00pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa Conference League: Ludogorets vs Fenerbahçe	3:00pm	Paramount+
UEFA Europa Conference League: Aston Villa vs AZ	3:00pm	Paramount+
Brasileirão: Corinthians vs Atlético Mineiro	5:00pm	Paramount+
Brasileirão: Goiás vs Santos	5:00pm	Paramount+
Brasileirão: Botafogo vs Grêmio	6:00pm	Paramount+
Brasileirão: Bahia vs Cuiabá	7:30pm	Paramount+
MLS: Los Angeles FC vs Vancouver Whitecaps	10:00pm	MLS Pass
TENNIS	TIME ET	TV
Metz-ATP & Sofia-ATP Early Rounds Billie Jean King Cup Finals Group Stage	4:00am	TENNIS
Metz-ATP & Sofia-ATP Early Rounds Billie Jean King Cup Finals Group Stage	12:00pm	TENNIS
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL	TIME ET	TV
Jacksonville vs Miami	11:00am	ACCNX
Trinity Baptist vs North Florida	11:00am	ESPN+
Florida A&M vs Middle Tennessee	11:30am	ESPN+
Northern Illinois vs Arkansas State	12:00pm	ESPN+
Friends vs Oral Roberts	12:00pm	Summit
Louisiana Christian vs Louisiana Tech	12:30pm	ESPN+
CSU Stanislaus vs San Francisco	4:00pm	ESPN+
Maine vs La Salle	4:30pm	ESPN+
Eastern Kentucky vs SIU Edwardsville	6:00pm	ESPN+
Harvard vs Boston College	6:00pm	ACCN
Jamestown vs North Dakota State	6:00pm	–
Siena vs Binghamton	6:00pm	ESPN+
South Carolina Upstate vs East Carolina	6:00pm	ESPN+
Tennessee vs Florida State	6:00pm	ESPN2
Bethune-Cookman vs Florida	6:00pm	SECN+
Wilberforce vs Morehead State	6:00pm	ESPN+
Vanderbilt vs UT Martin	6:30pm	ESPN+
Georgetown vs Temple	7:00pm	ESPN+
Longwood vs Delaware	7:00pm	FloSports
Eastern Illinois vs Indiana	7:00pm	B1G+
Army vs Marist	7:00pm	ESPN+
Marshall vs George Mason	7:00pm	ESPN+
Brown vs Holy Cross	7:00pm	ESPN+
Oklahoma vs Mississippi	7:00pm	SECN
Coastal Carolina vs Duke	7:00pm	ACCNX
Radford vs Western Carolina	7:00pm	ESPN+
Erskine vs Wofford	7:00pm	ESPN+
UMass vs Northeastern	7:00pm	FloSports
Florida Atlantic vs Mercer	7:00pm	ESPN+
Wagner vs Rutgers	7:00pm	B1G+
Grambling vs North Texas	7:30pm	ESPN+
UIC vs Northwestern	8:00pm	B1G+
Virginia Tech vs Iowa	8:00pm	ESPN2
Louisiana vs Auburn	8:00pm	SECN+
Alabama State vs Memphis	8:00pm	ESPN+
Western Illinois vs Wisconsin	8:00pm	B1G+
Portland State vs UC Davis	8:00pm	ESPN+
Central Michigan vs South Alabama	8:00pm	ESPN+
Queens (NC) vs LSU	8:00pm	SECN+
Drake vs Saint Louis	8:00pm	ESPN+
Rice vs Abilene Christian	8:00pm	ESPN+
Indiana State vs Missouri	8:00pm	SECN+
Stonehill vs DePaul	8:00pm	FloSports
Iowa vs Virginia Tech	8:00pm	ESPN2
Jacksonville State vs Utah Tech	9:00pm	ESPN+
New Mexico vs Pepperdine	9:00pm	ESPN+
Seattle U vs Cal State Northridge	9:00pm	ESPN+
WOMEN’S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL	TIME ET	TV
CSU Northridge vs UC Davis	6:00pm	ESPN+
Eastern Kentucky vs Bellarmine	6:00pm	ESPN+
St. John’s vs Seton Hal	6:30pm	FloSports
South Carolina vs Mississippi State	9:00pm	SECN

What to Watch: Thursday, 11/9/23

COLLEGE FOOTBALL	TIME ET	TV
Virginia at Louisville	7:30pm	ESPN

Louisville Cardinals leads all time series 6-5 versus Virginia Cavaliers. Last season Louisville won 24-17 on the road versus Virginia. Since 2014 Louisville is 3-1 at home and 5-3 overall versus Virginia. Last time the Cavaliers won on the road versus the Cardinals was in 2021.

NBA	TIME ET	TV
Milwaukee at Indiana	7:00pm	NBATV Bally Sports

The Milwaukee Bucks finished first in the Eastern Conference last season with a record of 58-24. The Indiana Pacers finished 11th in the Eastern Conference in the 2022-23 season with a record of 35-47. The Bucks lead 2022-23 regular season series 3-1 versus the Pacers. Last season Milwaukee was 26-15 on the road and Indiana was 20-21 at home.

Atlanta at Orlando

9:30pm

NBATV Bally Sports

The Atlanta Hawks finished seventh in the Eastern Conference last season with a record of 41-41. The Orlando Magic finished 13th in the Eastern Conference in the 2022-23 season with a record of 34-48. The Hawks lead 2022-23 regular season series 3-1 versus the Magic. Last season Atlanta was 17-24 on the road and Orlando was 20-21 at home.

NFL	TIME ET	TV
Carolina at Chicago	8:15pm	AMZN

Chicago Bears leads all time series 7-4 versus the Carolina Panthers. The Bears and Panthers last met in 2020 which the Bears won 23-16 on the road versus the Panthers. The Panthers last win at Chicago was in 2006. The Bears are 5-1 at home against the Panthers since 1995.

NHL	TIME ET	TV
NY Islanders at Boston	7:00pm	MSGSN NESN

The New York Islanders finished fourth in the Metropolitan division last season with 93 points. The Bostons Bruins finished first in the Atlantic division in the 2022-23 season with 135 points. Last season NY Islanders was 17-18-6 on the road and Boston was 34-4-3 at home. Last season the Bruins were 3-0 versus the Islanders during the regular season.

Seattle at Colorado

9:00pm

ALT Root Sports

The Seattle Kraken finished fourth in the Pacific division last season with 100 points. The Colorado Avalanche finished first in the Central division in the 2022-23 season with 109 points. Last season Seattle was 26-11-4 on the road and Colorado was 22-13-6 at home. Last season the Kraken were 2-1 versus the Avalanche during the regular season.

TV FRIDAY

NBA REGULAR SEASON	TIME ET	TV
Philadelphia at Detroit	7:00pm	NBCS-PHI Bally Sports
Charlotte at Washington	7:00pm	NBCS-WSH Bally Sports
Brooklyn at Boston	7:30pm	ESPN
New Olreans at Houston	8:00pm	Bally Sports ATTSN-SW
Utah at Memphis	8:00pm	ATTSN-RM Bally Sports
Minnesota at San Antonio	8:00pm	Bally Sports
LA Clippers at Dallas	8:30pm	Bally Sports
LA Lakers at Phoenix	10:00pm	ESPN
Oklahoma City at Sacramento	10:00pm	Bally Sports NBCS-CA
NHL REGULAR SEASON	TIME ET	TV
Minnesota at Buffalo	7:00pm	MSG-BUF Bally Sports
Calgary at Toronto	7:00pm	Sportsnet
Carolina at Florida	7:00pm	Bally Sports
Washington at New Jersey	7:00pm	MNMT MSGSN
San Jose at Vegas	10:00pm	NBCS-CA Scripps
Philadelphia at Anaheim	10:00pm	Bally Sports NBCS-PHI
COLLEGE FOOTBALL	TIME ET	TV
North Texas at SMU	9:00pm	ESPN2
Wyoming at UNLV	10:45pm	FS1
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL	TIME ET	TV
Air Force at LIU	1:00pm	SNY
Central Connecticut at Quinnipiac	4:00pm	ESPN+
Charlotte vs. Liberty	4:30pm	ESPN+
Charleston vs. Duquesne	6:00pm	CBSSN
Kennesaw State at Florida State	6:00pm	ACCNx
UMass Lowell at Dartmouth	6:00pm	ESPN+
Le Moyne at Villanova	6:30pm	FS1
Jacksonville at Xavier	6:30pm	FS2
Youngstown State at Michigan	6:30pm	BTN
Penn at Saint Joseph’s	6:30pm	NBCS-PHI
St. Joseph’s Long Island at Stony Brook	6:30pm	SNY
Arizona at Duke	7:00pm	ESPN2
Maryland vs. Davidson	7:00pm	ESPNU
Wake Forest at Georgia	7:00pm	SECN
Florida vs. Virginia	7:00pm	ACCN
Troy at Oregon State	7:00pm	PAC12N
Princeton at Hofstra	7:00pm	MSG2
Samford at VCU	7:00pm	MASN
USC Upstate at Vanderbilt	7:00pm	SECN+
A&M-Commerce at Kentucky	7:00pm	SECN+
Chattanooga at Louisville	7:00pm	ACCNx
Abilene Christian at NC State	7:00pm	ACCNx
Binghamton at Pitt	7:00pm	ACCNx
UCF at Miami (FL)	7:00pm	ACCNx
Texas A&M at Ohio State	7:00pm	Peacock
North Carolina A&T at UNCG	7:00pm	ESPN+
Monmouth at West Virginia	7:00pm	ESPN+
Belmont at Furman	7:00pm	ESPN+
Austin Peay at George Mason	7:00pm	ESPN+
Detroit Mercy at Cincinnati	7:00pm	ESPN+
Boston College at The Citadel	7:00pm	ESPN+
Sacred Heart at Iona	7:00pm	ESPN+
Radford vs. Marshall	7:00pm	ESPN+
Ave Maria at FGCU	7:00pm	ESPN+
Wilberforce at Eastern Kentucky	7:00pm	ESPN+
Morehead State at Purdue	7:00pm	BTN+
Boston University at Rutgers	7:00pm	BTN+
UTSA at Minnesota	7:30pm	Peacock
Hendrix at Central Arkansas	7:30pm	ESPN+
Lehigh at Penn State	7:30pm	BTN+
Delaware State at Texas	8:00pm	LHN
Grambling State at Colorado	8:00pm	PAC12N
Mid-Atlantic Christian at Oral Roberts	8:00pm	–
Tennessee Tech at Murray State	8:00pm	ESPN+
Eastern Washington at Ole Miss	8:00pm	SECN+
Indiana State at Alabama	8:00pm	SECN+
Nicholls at LSU	8:00pm	SECN+
Southeastern Louisiana at Auburn	8:00pm	SECN+
Gardner-Webb at Arkansas	8:00pm	SECN+
Alabama State at Iowa	8:00pm	Peacock
Manhattan at Kansas	8:00pm	ESPN+
Harvard at Rice	8:00pm	ESPN+
Queens at Southern Illinois	8:00pm	ESPN+
Mississippi Valley State at Oklahoma	8:00pm	ESPN+
Bellarmine at Kansas State	8:00pm	ESPN+
Oakland at Illinois	8:00pm	BTN+
UTRGV vs. South Dakota	8:30pm	Summit League Network
Rider at Marquette	8:30pm	FS1
Southeast Missouri at Butler	8:30pm	FS2
Dayton at Northwestern	8:30pm	BTN
Temple at Navy	8:30pm	CBSSN
Idaho State at St. Thomas	8:30pm	–
Little Rock at UIC	9:00pm	ESPN+
Memphis at Missouri	9:00pm	SECN
Sacramento State at Stanford	9:00pm	PAC12N
Montana at Oregon	9:00pm	PAC12N
Yale at Gonzaga	9:00pm	–
Wright State at Colorado State	9:00pm	MWN
Tennessee at Wisconsin	9:00pm	Peacock
San Diego State at BYU	9:00pm	ESPN+
IUPUI at Valparaiso	9:00pm	ESPN+
South Carolina vs. Virginia Tech	9:30pm	ACCN
Clemson vs. UAB	9:30pm	ESPN+
Prairie View A&M at Washington State	10:00pm	PAC12N
UC Riverside at Utah	10:00pm	PAC12N
Jackson State at California Baptist	10:00pm	ESPN+
Southern Miss at Akron	10:00pm	ESPN+
Pacific at California	11:00pm	PAC12N
Lafayette at UCLA	11:00pm	PAC12N
COLLEGE HOCKEY	TIME ET	TV
Harvard vs Colgate	7:00pm	ESPN+
Dartmouth College vs Cornell	7:00pm	ESPN+
Yale vs Princeton	7:00pm	ESPN+
Brown vs Quinnipiac	7:00pm	ESPN+
Ohio State vs Notre Dame	7:30pm	Peacock
GOLF	TIME ET	TV
DP World Tour: Nedbank Golf Challenge	4:00am	GOLF
LPGA Tour: The Annika	10:00am	GOLF
PGA Tour: Butterfield Bermuda Championship	1:00pm	GOLF
PGA Tour Champions: Charles Schwab Cup Championship	4:00pm	GOLF
SOCCER	TIME ET	TV
Serie A: Sassuolo vs Salernitana	12:30pm	Paramount+
Bundesliga: Borussia M’gladbach vs Wolfsburg	2:30pm	ESPN+
Serie A: Genoa vs Hellas Verona	2:45pm	Paramount+
La Liga: Athletic Club vs Celta de Vigo	3:00pm	ESPN+
Ligue 1: Montpellier vs Nice	3:00pm	beIN Sports
MLS: Seattle Sounders FC vs Dallas	10:00pm	MLS Pass
TENNIS	TIME ET	TV
Metz-ATP & Sofia-ATP Semifinals Billie Jean King Cup Finals Group Stage	4:00am	TENNIS
Metz-ATP & Sofia-ATP Semifinals Billie Jean King Cup Finals Group Stage	12:00pm	TENNIS
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL	TIME ET	TV
Murray State vs Arkansas	11:30am	SECN+
Fairfield vs Lipscomb	12:00pm	ESPN+
New Orleans vs Tulsa	12:00pm	ESPN+
Southern-New Orleans vs Nicholls	12:00pm	ESPN+
South Dakota vs Creighton	12:30pm	FloSports
Weber State vs BYU	1:00pm	ESPN+
Tennessee State vs Charlotte	2:00pm	ESPN+
Stetson vs South Florida	4:00pm	ESPN+
Navy vs Penn State	5:00pm	B1G+
New Hampshire vs Boston University	5:00pm	ESPN+
Winthrop vs Alabama	5:30pm	SECN+
Lamar vs UT Arlington	6:00pm	ESPN+
Roosevelt vs Indiana Wesleyan	6:00pm	ESPN+
UMass Lowell vs Rhode Island	6:00pm	ESPN+
UNT Dallas vs Texas A&M-Commerce	6:00pm	ESPN+
George Washington vs Manhattan	6:00pm	ESPN+
Guilford College vs North Carolina A&T	6:00pm	FloSports
Western Michigan vs Georgia State	6:30pm	ESPN+
Merrimack vs NJIT	7:00pm	ESPN+
Central Connecticut vs Syracuse	7:00pm	ACCNX
Seton Hall vs Columbia	7:00pm	ESPN+
Charleston Southern vs Clemson	7:00pm	ACCNX
St. John’s vs Monmouth	7:00pm	FloSports
Chattanooga vs Austin Peay	7:00pm	ESPN+
VCU vs William & Mary	7:00pm	FloSports
Chicago State vs Detroit Mercy	7:00pm	ESPN+
Vermont vs Providence	7:00pm	FloSports
Denver vs North Alabama	7:00pm	ESPN+
Life University vs Kennesaw State	7:00pm	ESPN+
Albany vs Fordham	7:00pm	ESPN+
Georgia vs Belmont	7:30pm	ESPN+
Liberty vs Stephen F. Austin	7:30pm	ESPN+
SE Louisiana vs Mississippi State	7:30pm	SECN+
Florida International vs UT Rio Grande Valley	7:30pm	ESPN+
Tarleton vs Texas Tech	8:00pm	ESPN+
Air Force vs Houston	8:00pm	ESPN+
New Mexico State vs UTSA	8:00pm	ESPN+
Tarleton vs Texas Tech	8:00pm	ESPN+
Nebraska vs Wyoming	8:30pm	MWN
Western Kentucky vs Southern Utah	8:30pm	ESPN+
Cal State Fullerton vs Pacific	9:00pm	ESPN+
Villanova vs Portland	9:00pm	ESPN+
Charleston vs UNLV	9:30pm	MWN
WOMEN’S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL	TIME ET	TV
UConn vs Butler	12:00pm	FloSports
Western Kentucky vs Middle Tennessee	1:00pm	ESPN+
Davidson vs Duquesne	2:00pm	ESPN+
East Carolina vs South Florida	2:00pm	ESPN+
East Tennessee State vs The Citadel	3:00pm	ESPN+
Georgia State vs UL Monroe	3:00pm	ESPN+
West Virginia vs Texas Tech	4:00pm	ESPN+
Northern Iowa vs UIC	5:00pm	ESPN+
Georgia Southern vs Troy	5:00pm	ESPN+
Pittsburgh vs Georgia Tech	5:00pm	ACCN
Creighton vs Seton Hall	6:00pm	FloSports
DePaul vs Villanova	6:00pm	FloSports
Southern Indiana vs Lindenwood	6:00pm	ESPN+
Drake vs Valparaiso	6:00pm	ESPN+
Murray State vs Indiana State	6:00pm	ESPN+
Northern Kentucky vs IUPUI	6:00pm	ESPN+
Wright State vs Purdue Fort Wayne	6:00pm	ESPN+
Charleston Southern vs Presbyterian	6:00pm	ESPN+
Buffalo vs Bowling Green	6:00pm	ESPN+
Ohio vs Central Michigan	6:00pm	ESPN+
Kent State vs Eastern Michigan	6:00pm	ESPN+
Furman vs UNC Greensboro	6:00pm	ESPN+
Samford vs Chattanooga	6:00pm	ESPN+
Western Carolina vs Wofford	6:00pm	ESPN+
Florida Atlantic vs Charlotte	6:00pm	ESPN+
UAB vs Temple	6:00pm	ESPN+
NJIT vs UMBC	6:00pm	ESPN+
Northern Illinois vs Ball State	6:00pm	ESPN+
Western Michigan vs Toledo	6:00pm	ESPN+
Robert Morris vs Youngstown State	6:00pm	ESPN+
Florida State vs Syracuse	6:00pm	ACCNX
Clemson vs Notre Dame	6:30pm	ACCNX
Georgia vs Tennessee	6:30pm	SECN+
Duke vs Louisville	7:00pm	ACCNX
North Carolina vs Wake Forest	7:00pm	ACCNX
Texas A&M vs Missouri	7:00pm	SECN+
LSU vs Florida	7:00pm	SECN+
Arkansas vs Alabama	7:00pm	SECN+
NC State vs Boston College	7:00pm	ACCNX
Stetson vs Jacksonville	7:00pm	ESPN+
North Alabama vs Lipscomb	7:00pm	ESPN+
Central Arkansas vs Austin Peay	7:00pm	ESPN+
Jacksonville State vs Louisiana Tech	7:00pm	ESPN+
Tennessee State vs Western Illinois	7:00pm	ESPN+
Southeast Missouri State vs Tennessee Tech	7:00pm	ESPN+
Eastern Illinois vs SIU Edwardsville	7:00pm	ESPN+
Little Rock vs UT Martin	7:00pm	ESPN+
Belmont vs Evansville	7:00pm	ESPN+
Bradley vs Missouri State	7:00pm	ESPN+
Illinois State vs Southern Illinois	7:00pm	ESPN+
Harvard vs Pennsylvania	7:00pm	ESPN+
Columbia vs Yale	7:00pm	ESPN+
Dartmouth vs Princeton	7:00pm	ESPN+
Cornell vs Brown	7:00pm	ESPN+
Oakland vs Green Bay	7:00pm	ESPN+
Cleveland State vs Milwaukee	7:00pm	ESPN+
Houston vs Oklahoma	7:00pm	ESPN+
Bryant vs New Hampshire	7:00pm	ESPN+
BYU vs UCF	7:00pm	ESPN+
VCU vs Dayton	7:00pm	ESPN+
George Washington vs Saint Louis	7:00pm	ESPN+
SMU vs Tulane	7:00pm	ESPN+
Rice vs North Texas	7:00pm	ESPN+
Appalachian State vs Louisiana	7:00pm	ESPN+
Coastal Carolina vs Texas State	7:00pm	ESPN+
James Madison vs South Alabama	7:00pm	ESPN+
Marshall vs Arkansas State	7:00pm	ESPN+
Old Dominion vs Southern Miss	7:00pm	ESPN+
Rhode Island vs Loyola Chicago	7:00pm	ESPN+
Kansas vs Iowa State	7:30pm	ESPN+
Memphis vs Tulsa	7:30pm	ESPN+
TCU vs Baylor	8:00pm	ESPN+
Liberty vs UTEP	8:00pm	ESPN+
UTSA vs Wichita State	8:00pm	ESPN+
Northern Colorado vs Idaho	9:00pm	ESPN+
Hawai’i vs UC Irvine	9:00pm	ESPN+
Sacramento State vs Portland State	10:00pm	ESPN+
UC San Diego vs Cal Poly	10:00pm	ESPN+
Long Beach State vs UC Santa Barbara	10:00pm	ESPN+