Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

One former Hoosier won a title. Not only is OG Anunoby an NBA Champion again, but he was a major player in getting his team over the finish line this time.

Also, Inside the Hall launched a series previewing each Big Ten team, Indiana’s season projections, and women’s basketball got a commitment from a recruit. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the IU sports in action, which were led by volleyball announcing its fall schedule.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• Former Hoosier OG Anunoby Hits Game Winner In NBA Finals As He Celebrates NBA Championship

• Inside the Hall’s Big Ten Team Preview

• Season Projections

• Women’s Basketball Adds Recruit

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Volleyball Announces Fall Schedule

Banner #1: Former Hoosier OG Anunoby Hits Game Winner In NBA Finals As He Celebrates NBA Championship

While the number of former Hoosier basketball players currently thriving in the NBA is limited, there is one particular exception. This exception is New York Knicks starter OG Anunoby, who was instrumental in his squad’s championship run this week.

Anunoby averaged over 16 points per game in the regular season, which he has upped to over 20 in the playoffs. It could be argued that, outside of superstar Jalen Brunson, Anunoby was the Knicks’ best player in the postseason.

This duo’s play was superb as New York tore through the playoffs, and the reason the franchise’s first banner since 1972 will hang from the rafters. Anunoby himself had the game winner on an offensive rebound this week to help finish off a comeback from 29 points down on Wednesday while scoring 33 points individually. The Knicks concluded their title chase on Saturday as Anunoby hit the game-clinching free throw. He was also interviewed on the ABC broadcast after the buzzer sounded as his squad celebrated.

As Anunoby thrives in the NBA, it is easy to forget his roots began at IU, where he was discovered by former head coach Tom Crean at a camp while scouting Juwan Morgan, being overlooked by the recruiting world. Anunoby then played under Crean for two seasons from 2015-2017 and came on in Big Ten play to help the Hoosiers win the league title his freshman season.

He then missed most of his sophomore year with injury. However, he had shown enough to be drafted by the Toronto Raptors, where his squad won a title despite him being sidelined by appendicitis. Eventually, he joined the Knicks, where he has thrived after developing a three-point shot, despite periodic injuries sidelining him at times.

With his title in New York, he joins Isiah Thomas as the only former Hoosier to win multiple NBA Championships. Anunoby just completed his ninth season in the league, where his career is far from over.

Banner #2: Inside the Hall’s Big Ten Team Preview

Inside the Hall continued a series looking at all the Big Ten squads in detail. This week saw teams projected in the middle of the field previewed in Wisconsin, Iowa, Maryland, Oregon, and Purdue.

Banner #3: Season Projections

IU is expected to be much improved this upcoming fall following the offseason roster changes. Projections have Indiana projected relatively highly heading into 2026-2027, both in the Big Ten and nationally. This is after adding a much-improved front court and several top-end transfers that rank very highly.

Banner #4: Women’s Basketball Adds Recruit

While the IU women are in offseason mode, that does not stop them from recruiting. While it is not a big name or anyone with much information on them, the team did add an international prospect this week in Camille Pangonis for 2027.

The squad also found out who their home and away opponents will be for conference play this season. The 18-game slate features the permanently protected double-play with Purdue and a flip of venues with everyone else from last season.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Inside the Hall’s Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, Dylan Burkhardt again joined Alex Bozich to discuss the upcoming Big Ten season.

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air several times this week with programming.

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Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Volleyball Announces Fall Schedule

• Volleyball announced its fall schedule.

• Baseball revealed where its players will play in the upcoming summer leagues.

• Track and Field finished tied for 35th at the NCAA Outdoor National Championships.

• Field hockey announced a signing and named an associate head coach.

• Women’s tennis promoted a staff member to associate head coach.

• Finally, the Hoosiers had 150 student-athletes honored for their academics by the Big Ten.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

The recently former Hoosiers are taking their shot at the NBA. While they might face an uphill battle, workouts with pro franchises nonetheless took place.

Also, Inside the Hall launched a series previewing each Big Ten team, Indiana’s season projections, and the beginning of preparing for a summer trip to Peru for the Hoosiers. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the IU sports in action, which were led by men’s soccer announcing its fall schedule.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• Former Hoosiers Workout For NBA Teams

• Inside the Hall’s Big Ten Team Preview

• Season Projections

• IU To Begin Workouts For Peru Trip

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Football Sets Kickoff Times For First Five Games

Banner #1: Former Hoosiers Workout For NBA Teams

While no recent former Hoosiers are necessarily projected to be drafted, that doesn’t mean teams are not interested in trying them out. Between Summer League contracts, G-League contracts, and two-way deals, the ways into the NBA can go beyond draft night, even if the odds are longer.

This week, both Lamar Wilkerson and Sam Alexis got workouts with NBA teams. This duo was joined by Tucker DeVries, who also showed off his skills for the pros.

Banner #2: Inside the Hall’s Big Ten Team Preview

Inside the Hall started a series looking at all the Big Ten squads in detail. This week saw teams projected near the back of the field previewed in Penn State, Rutgers, Minnesota, Northwestern, and Washington.

Banner #3: Season Projections

IU is expected to be much improved this upcoming fall following the offseason roster changes. Projections have Indiana projected relatively highly heading into 2026-2027, both in the Big Ten and nationally.

This has fans relatively optimistic for the fall. Inside the Hall will provide coverage throughout the season with two new student reporters, Ian Plaskoff and Zach Horwitz.

Banner #4: IU To Begin Workouts For Peru Trip

Many teams are in offseason mode. However, the Hoosiers are in a different spot with competition relatively soon. This is because Indiana will compete this summer as Team USA in Peru as part of the FISU American Games. IU is already working out and preparing for this event.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Inside the Hall’s Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, Dylan Burkhardt joined Alex Bozich to discuss the upcoming Big Ten season.

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air several times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

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And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Men’s Soccer Announces 2026 Fall Schedule

• Men’s soccer announced its upcoming fall schedule.

• Women’s basketball added an assistant coach.

• Volleyball competed on its exhibition foreign tour.

• Softball had its coaches named as the regional coaching staff of the year.

• Swimming and diving will compete in the First College Swimming League Season.

• Wrestling had five Hoosiers earn All-American status at the U20 World Team Trials and U23 Nationals.

• Field hockey announced a signing.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

The non-conference schedule for IU has continued to take shape for the upcoming fall. It was confirmed this week that the Hoosiers’ matchups with Kentucky and Syracuse in Indianapolis are official.

Also, Inside the Hall continued its series on next season’s roster, an Indiana season preview, and the annual event at Huber’s Winery took place. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which was led by football announcing times for its early matchups.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• Non-Conference Schedule Update

• Inside the Hall’s Transfer Portal Player Spotlight

• Season Preview

• Annual Huber’s Winery Event

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Football Sets Kickoff Times For First Five Games

Banner #1: Non-Conference Schedule Update

The non-conference schedule has continued to take shape for the upcoming fall for IU. The Hoosiers were already scheduled to play Kentucky in Indianapolis.

However, a change to the date was necessary for the contest from Saturday, December 27, to Friday, Nov 20, with tickets available here. This is due to the fact that the Indianapolis Colts have primary tenancy over Lucas Oil Stadium, where the matchup will take place.

The Colts host the Cincinnati Bengals that same December weekend with a TBA date. The NFL’s late-season scheduling rules dictate that this game could take place on either Saturday or Sunday. The league’s strict flexible scheduling procedures do not allow franchises to block out dates or request exemptions for stadium conflicts during December. It is likely Indiana and Kentucky knew this risk when choosing the original date and anticipated that a change might be necessary.

Meanwhile, IU's high-profile clash against Syracuse on Monday, November 9, was confirmed in Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Thursday, June 4.

It should also be noted that this game faces no risk of a conflict with the Indiana Pacers once the NBA releases its schedule. Under NBA scheduling rules, franchises are explicitly allowed to block out specific dates for secondary arena events, meaning this date should be set in stone.

Other known matchups for IU this coming season are with Eastern Illinois (November 2), Bellarmine (November 5), and Bowling Green (November 27) coming to Bloomington. Other potential games will be announced later this summer, which should include a home game with a power opponent and potentially more neutral-site contests.

Banner #2: Inside the Hall’s Transfer Portal Player Spotlight

Inside the Hall continued a series looking at the incoming transfer players in detail. This week saw Bryce Lindsay and Justin Monden looked at.

Banner #3: Season Preview

IU is expected to be much improved this upcoming fall after the roster changes this offseason. Bart Torvik’s updated rankings have Indiana at No. 26 overall heading into 2026-2027, which would put them safely back in the NCAA Tournament. Torvik’s rankings appear to match consensus, as most other publications have the Hoosiers ranked in a similar spot somewhere in the 20’s.

Banner #4: Annual Huber’s Winery Event

IU held its annual event at Huber’s Winery this week. Indiana coach Darian DeVries was among the speakers, as was the Football coach of the defending national champion Hoosiers, Curt Cignetti.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Inside the Hall’s Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, the Des Moines Register’s Tyler Tachman joined the program to discuss Iowa’s Elite Eight run.

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air several times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

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And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Football Sets Kickoff Times For First Five Games

• Football announced kickoff times for its first five contests.

• Track and field had 19 athletes qualify for the NCAA East Regional, with five advancing to the National Championship.

• Women’s Golf had Sheridan Clancy competing as an individual at the NCAA Championships, where she placed in the top-30 overall.

• Volleyball competed on its exhibition foreign tour.

• Swimming and diving added an assistant coach to its staff.

• Wrestling will have 15 of its athletes competing at the U20 World Team Trials and U23 Nationals.

• Men’s tennis has a couple of its athletes attempting to make the US Open later this summer for the doubles competition. The team also announced a signing for next season.

• Women’s tennis also announced a signing for next season.

• Field hockey announced a signing as well.

• Softball had several of its players earn Academic All-District.

• Water Polo had several of its athletes earn academic honors.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

IU may be participating in an elite non-conference tournament in 2027. It was reported this week that the Hoosiers could possibly be part of the Diamond Cup, which will feature many of the top teams in college basketball.

Also, Inside the Hall started a series looking at next season’s roster, Indiana’s freshmen are highly ranked, and a special event celebrated IU Athletics. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which were led by volleyball announcing a foreign tour.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• IU Could Add Elite Non-Conference Tourney For 2027

• Inside the Hall’s Transfer Portal Player Spotlight

• All Three IU Incoming Freshmen Ranked Highly

• Victory And Vision Event Takes Place In Carmel

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Volleyball Announces Foreign Tour

Banner #1: IU Could Add Elite Non-Conference Tourney For 2027

As the 2026-2027 schedule has started to take shape, an event further down the road for 2027-2028 was reported as a possibility. This preseason tournament would be called the Diamond Cup.

This Diamond Cup could feature some of the top teams in college basketball, along with IU, including Arizona, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, and UConn. Any final announcement on this could come later this summer, and games would be on neutral sites.

It should be noted that the Hoosiers are already scheduled to play Kansas, Kentucky, and Michigan in 2027-2028. As a result, it is likely Indiana would be matched up with any of the other four squads should this event come to fruition.

Banner #2: Inside the Hall’s Transfer Portal Player Spotlight

Inside the Hall started a series looking at the incoming transfer players in detail. This week saw Jaeden Mustaf, Darren Harris, Markus Burton, Samet Yigitoglu, and Aiden Sherrell looked at.

Banner #3: All Three IU Incoming Freshmen Ranked Highly

The Hoosiers have three freshmen coming in for 2026-2027. How much this trio of newcomers can contribute remains to be seen.

Most of them are projected relatively highly by the RSCI (Recruiting Services Consensus Index), though. Vaughn Karvala comes in the highest at no. 57 nationally, while the more recently signed Trevor Manhertz comes in just behind at. no. 72, and Prince-Alexander Moody did not make the final top-100 ranking.

Banner #4: Victory And Vision Event Takes Place In Carmel

IU held an event in Carmel recently at the Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts. The gathering titled “Victory and Vision” sold out all 1,600 seats in the Payne & Mencias Palladium. Hoosier Coach Darian DeVries was among the speakers and spoke on a variety of topics.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Inside the Hall’s Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, CrimsonCast’s Galen Clavio discussed IU’s busy spring in basketball.

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air several times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Volleyball Announces Foreign Tour

• Volleyball announced an immanent foreign tour with exhibition matches in multiple countries.

• Rowing finished seventh at the Big Ten Championships.

• Track and field also competed at the Big Ten Championships and had 19 athletes qualify for the NCAA East Regional.

• Baseball had three players named to the All-Big Ten Team.

• Water Polo had four All-Americans.

• Swimming and diving announced that Luke Ryan was promoted to associate head coach.

• Field hockey announced a signing.

• Wrestling also signed someone.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

IU continues to close in on a full roster for next season. For the second straight week, a new commitment has pledged to the Hoosiers, marking the 12th player to join the squad for next year.

Additionally, Big Ten opponents were announced, all of Indiana’s freshmen are highly ranked, and the Hoosiers once again had strong attendance. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the IU sports in action, which were led by baseball and softball having their seasons end.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• IU Adds 12th Scholarship Player To Roster

• Big Ten Opponents Announced For Next Season

• All Three IU Incoming Freshmen Ranked In Top-100

• Hoosiers Lead Big Ten In Attendance

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Baseball and Softball Seasons Come To An End

Banner #1: IU Adds 12th Scholarship Player To Roster

IU reportedly added its 12th scholarship player for this coming fall. The Hoosiers have their roster nearing completion and are now filling the last few spots on it.

The addition this week is Justin Monden, a six-foot senior guard, who previously played at Maryland East Shore. Here, he averaged 6 points and 1.2 rebounds for them.

Indiana is not the only squad in the Big Ten that has nearly completed filling out its roster. Nearly every conference foe has also done so.

Banner #2: Big Ten Opponents Announced For Next Season

Speaking of conference foes, IU had its schedule breakdown finalized for Big Ten play. The Hoosiers caught a break with how it lays out as they draw Northwestern and Maryland for double plays to go along with the guaranteed home and home series yearly with Purdue.

Also, when it comes to single plays, Indiana avoids having to go to league powers Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, or Los Angeles, drawing all these squads only at home, along with Ohio State and Rutgers. When it comes to road games, the only tougher venues the Hoosiers will have to visit are Nebraska and Wisconsin. Otherwise, it’s trips to somewhat easier places in Iowa, Minnesota, the Pacific Northwest, and Penn State.

Banner #3: All Three IU Incoming Freshmen Ranked In Top-100

The Hoosiers have three freshmen coming in to go with eight transfers (including Monden) and the return of Trent Sisley so far. How much this trio of newcomers can contribute remains to be seen.

However, all of them are projected relatively highly by 247Sports despite not necessarily being blue chippers, as the class ranks no. 21 nationally. Vaughn Karvala comes in the highest at no. 64 nationally, while the more recently signed Trevor Manhertz comes in just behind at. no. 69, and at no. 86 is Prince-Alexander Moodie.

Banner #4: Hoosiers Lead Big Ten In Attendance

While IU generally announces tickets sold when it comes to final attendance, they nonetheless come in very highly nationally in total numbers. With nearly all seats accounted for via season tickets and student sales, Indiana is able to announce sellouts for all the games when school is in session. The only games coming in at less than that are over holiday breaks when the entire student section has to be sold to the general public.

While the total number of people who actually show up at the games appears much lower due to the above, the Hoosiers led the Big Ten in attendance at an average of 15,677 tickets sold per game. This was also good for ninth nationally.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Inside the Hall’s Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, The Sporting News’ Mike DeCourcy discusses the Hoosiers portal class.

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air several times this week with programming.

Also, when it comes to the Hoosiers making media appearances recently, incoming point guard Markus Burton appeared nationally on the Field of 68. Also, ITH put together a highlight package for the recently committed Clemens Sokolov.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Baseball and Softball Seasons Come To An End

• Baseball had arguably its worst season in many years come to an end with a series win over Illinois after Purdue closed out a sweep of IU. Assembly Call was on site against the Illini and Boilers, and wrote about how the talent of the last few years has not matched the results, and whether a player development first model is compatible in college.

• Softball was selected to the Knoxville Regional, going 1-2 overall, beating Northern Kentucky but falling twice to Virginia to close their season. It was another successful one as Shonda Stanton’s squad finished 43-16 overall and made the NCAA Tournament for a fourth straight year.

• Women’s golf closed its season by placing eighth at the NCAA’s Simpsonville Regional. However, junior Sheridan Clancy performed strongly here, coming in as the runner-up of the tournament, and will compete as an individual at the NCAA Championships as a result.

• Men’s soccer added an elite forward from the transfer portal for this coming fall.

• Field hockey announced an addition for next season.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

IU continues to close in on a full roster for next season. After a couple of weeks without a new commitment, the Hoosiers finally received a pledge from the 11th player to their squad for next year.

Additionally, all of Indiana’s freshmen are highly ranked, the rest of IU’s outgoing transfers have found new homes, and we look ahead to next season. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which was led by softball, awaiting its NCAA Tourney selection later today.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• IU Adds 11th Scholarship Player To Roster

• All Three IU Incoming Freshmen Ranked In Top-150

• Rest Of IU Transfers Find New Home

• 2026-2027 Season Preview

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Softball Awaits NCAA Tournament Selection

Banner #1: IU Adds 11th Scholarship Player To Roster

While not the splash moves of previous portal additions, IU reportedly added its 11th scholarship player for this coming fall. The Hoosiers already have their primary big men for next season, but they seemingly added a backup here to compete for rotation minutes off the bench.

This addition comes in the form of 19-year-old Clemens Sokolov, who previously played in Europe for Wuerzburg in Germany’s ProB league. Here, he averaged 6.4 points and 5 rebounds for this squad.

Banner #2: All Three IU Incoming Freshmen Ranked In Top-150

The Hoosiers have three freshmen coming in to go with seven transfers (including Sokolov) and the return of Trent Sisley so far. How much this trio of newcomers can contribute remains to be seen.

However, all of them are projected relatively highly by On3/Rivals despite not necessarily being blue chippers as the class ranks no. 20 nationally. The recently signed Trevor Manhertz comes in highest at no. 78 while Vaughn Karvala slides in just behind him at no. 81. Meanwhile, Prince-Alexander Moodie rounds out at no. 101.

Banner #3: Rest Of IU Transfers Find New Home

Jason Drake, Jasai Miles, Josh Harris, Nick Dorn, Andrej Acimovic, and Aleksa Ristic all left IU this offseason and entered the transfer portal. Now all of them have new destinations.

After Harris, Ristic, Drake, and Dorn announced their new schools last week, Miles and Acimovic made there’s known in the last few days. Miles will head to Loyola Marymount while Acimovic will move to Missouri State.

Banner #4: 2026-2027 Season Preview

Projections continue to be high for the Hoosiers next season after their massive transfer portal overhaul. Bart Torvik has the Hoosiers at no. 25 nationally. With the expectations, IU coach Darian Devries spoke to the media about the upcoming year as well as several other topics.

Before the regular season can start, though, Indiana announced another foreign tour over the summer with exhibition games. This time, though, they will represent the USA as a whole in the FISU American Games from July 20 to Aug 1.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air several times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Awaits NCAA Tournament Selection

• Softball knocked off Illinois to close its regular season before taking out Washington in the Big Ten Tournament. However, elite Nebraska was too much for them in the semifinals. With that said, at 42-14 and an RPI in the 30’s, IU is expected to hear its name called tonight for the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight year.

• Baseball had arguably its worst week of a bad season. They lost a series to lowly Northwestern and twice blew a late lead to arch-rival Purdue, as their year is all but over with only one more series left.

• Men’s golf finished 16th at the Big Ten Championships.

• Track and field hosted the Billy Hayes Invitational.

• Women’s basketball will compete in a tournament next November in Fort Myers, Florida, against Georgia Tech and Mississippi State. Also, two former Hoosiers made WNBA rosters.

• Volleyball revealed its opponents in conference play for next fall.

• Men’s Soccer alumni will compete in the TST for the fourth straight year.

• Finally, many IU athletes were amongst the students who graduated this weekend.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

A controversial change to the NCAA Tournament appears to be close to implementation for next season. Also, the students are moving closer to the court at Assembly Hall.

Additionally, some of IU’s outgoing transfers have found new homes, and we look ahead to next season. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which was led by softball continuing to play well.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• NCAA Tournament Could Be Expanding To 76 Teams

• IU Students Moving Closing To Court In Assembly Hall

• Several IU Transfers Find New Home

• 2026-2027 Season Preview

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Softball Hits 40 Wins

Banner #1: NCAA Tournament Could Be Expanding To 76 Teams

While not yet official, the NCAA appears ready to finalize an expansion of March Madness for both men’s and women’s basketball. Based on reports, the NCAA Tournament will controversially expand from 68 to 76 teams and go from a ‘First Four’ to a ‘First 12’.

Under the proposal, 24 teams would compete on Tuesday and Wednesday. Additionally, a second site besides Dayton could be added out west.

The Hoosiers have made the NCAA Tournament just twice in the last decade, in 2022 and 2023. However, IU has been among the first teams out frequently. Under this proposed expansion, Indiana likely would have been invited to participate in 2019, 2024, and 2025.

Banner #2: IU Students Moving Closing To Court In Assembly Hall

Through the mid-2000’s, IU’s student section included the bleachers behind the north and south baskets at Assembly Hall. However, a change at this point gave the north basket seats to the general public as premium seating.

For several seasons after students lost these close seats, a ‘stand up old people chant’ was done at times when the opponent shot free throws. However, this quickly faded away as newer generations of students were unaware that these seats once were part of their section.

Now, roughly 20 years later, those north side bleachers behind the basket are being included in the student section again. This will double the student seating on the court area from 600 back to roughly 1,200.

Where the 600 premium season ticket holders previously in these seats are moving to has not yet been announced. However, having more students near the court should improve the Assembly Hall atmosphere and make them more visible to the television cameras.

Banner #3: Several IU Transfers Find New Home

Jason Drake, Jasai Miles, Josh Harris, Nick Dorn, Andrej Acimovic, and Aleksa Ristic all left IU this offseason and entered the transfer portal. Now four of them have announced new destinations.

Harris is moving to Florida Atlantic, Ristic will head to Belmont, and Drake will go to Temple. However, the biggest move announced was that of Dorn late in the week. Dorn will head to Miami (FL), where former Hoosier Malik Reneau had a breakout season in 2025-2026.

Banner #4: 2026-2027 Season Preview

While the NCAA Tournament may be expanding (see above), early projections say IU should be safely in March Madness this time and has high expectations. ESPN projects the Hoosiers at no. 25 for 2026-2027, and several other publications have Indiana in a similar spot.

Several other Big Ten schools project highly as well. However, IU could be amongst the most improved after their elite haul in the transfer portal.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, Inside the Hall’s own Josh Pos joined to discuss potential NCAA Tourney expansion.

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Hits 40 Wins

• Softball had another huge week, taking a series from Michigan, and knocking off Evansville, and Illinois to reach 40 wins as they cruise towards a fourth straight NCAA Tournament berth.

• Baseball fell to Iowa, recovered to beat Louisville, and has split its first two with Northwestern.

• Women’s golf finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships and was selected to the NCAA Tournament.

• Track and field competed at the Jesse Owens Classic.

• Rowing won the Dale England Cup for the ninth straight year.

• Wrestling had four Hoosiers place at the U.S. Open.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

Football takes center stage this week with the conclusion of spring ball and a record number of IU players being drafted. Turning to basketball, yet another non-conference opponent was announced, and Indiana is projected in the NCAA Tournament after their massive portal haul.

Additionally, the women’s basketball team added important players from the portal. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which was led by softball continuing to play well.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• Spring Practice Concludes For Football As Record Number Of Hoosiers Drafted

• Eastern Illinois Added to Hoosiers’ 2026-2027 Schedule

• IU Projected As NCAA Tournament Team After Portal Overhaul

• Women’s Basketball Adds Key Players In Transfer Portal

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Strong Play

Banner #1: Spring Practice Concludes For Football As Record Number Of Hoosiers Drafted

Spring football came to a close for the defending national champion Hoosiers with the annual scrimmage as Curt Cignetti’s third version of his squad gets set for this fall. However, the biggest part of the practice was not what occurred on the field, but instead what happened at the same time about 400 miles to the east in Pennsylvania.

This is where the NFL Draft took place, and the IU had QB Fernando Mendoza taken with the number one pick overall by the Las Vegas Raiders. Mendoza was not the only player taken in the first round that night, as WR Omar Cooper went no. 30 to the New York Jets.

The run of Indiana players did not stop in subsequent days, as CB DeAngelo Ponds also went to the Jets and RB Kaelon Black was taken by the San Francisco 49ers on Friday. The final day of the draft doubled that number to eight total.

The four to hear their names called on Saturday were WR Elijah Sarratt to the Baltimore Ravens, TE Riley Nowakowski to the Pittsburgh Steelers, C Pat Coogan to the Tennessee Titans, and LB Aiden Fisher to the Houston Texans. The eight players drafted were the most Hoosiers ever taken in a single year.

Also, six undrafted guys signed free agent contracts, including RB Roman Hemby and WR EJ Williams joining Mendoza in Las Vegas, DE Mikail Kamara joining Black in San Francisco, and S Devan Boykin joining Nowakowski in Pittsburgh. Finally, S Louis Moore inked a deal with the Miami Dolphins, and LS Mark Langston with the Buffalo Bills.

Banner #2: Eastern Illinois Added to Hoosiers’ 2026-2027 Schedule

As IU filled in its roster this week, another non-conference matchup was announced. The Hoosiers will reportedly host Eastern Illinois on November 2 in their season opener.

The Panthers finished last season 13-20 overall and ranked No. 324 in KenPom. Indiana has won all three previous meetings, most recently in 2024.

This game becomes the fifth piece of the puzzle for the pre-Big Ten portion of the schedule. It joins previously announced contests against Bellarmine, Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Syracuse.

Banner #3: IU Projected As NCAA Tournament Team After Portal Overhaul

After seemingly hitting a grand slam in the transfer portal last week, the projections for next season appear to be much brighter now. The six committed prospects from last week (Markus Burton, Darren Harris, Bryce Lindsay, Jaeden Mustaf, Aiden Sherrell, Samet Yigitoglu) all come in relatively highly in the national rankings and is also amongst the best portal classes in the country.

This infusion of talent moved Indiana into the projected top-25 for 2026-2027. How it plays out on the court remains to be seen, but the Hoosiers are certainly expected to end their three-year NCAA Tourney drought and comfortably make March Madness.

Banner #4: Women’s Basketball Adds Key Players In Transfer Portal

The IU men were not alone in making a splash in the portal. The Indiana women also made significant additions here.

It was not the entire roster overhaul of their male counterparts. This is due to the fact that the women return three starters and bring in the sixth-ranked high school class in the country.

As a result, the portal is more about filling in around the edges for them. After adding Iowa State’s Alisa Williams the day the portal opened, and Nebraska’s Jess Petrie later, two more key additions were added this week.

These players coming to Bloomington for 2026-2027 both have extensive starting five experience for power five squads in positions of need. One is knock-down shooter Kenzie Hare from Iowa State, while the other is USC PG and defensive specialist Malia Samuels. Also, season tickets are now on sale for next year.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Strong Play

• Softball had another solid week, knocking off Valparaiso and traditional power Michigan as they continue to cruise towards a fourth straight NCAA Tournament berth. They did, however, fall to the Wolverines as well as a solid Iowa squad.

• Baseball beat Ball State and Abilene Christian out of conference. However, they lost a series at home to Iowa and are now in serious danger of missing the Big Ten Tourney for the first time in 15 years.

• Men’s tennis fell to Michigan but still qualified for the conference tournament, where they defeated Oregon before falling to Michigan State.

• Men’s golf finished 12th at the Hoosier Collegiate Invitational.

• Track and field competed at the Clark Woods Invite.

• Rowing competed at the Big Ten Invite.

• Wrestling has 10 Hoosiers competing at the U.S. Open.

• Finally, the annual Little 500 saw the Black Key Bulls win for the third straight year in the men’s race, and Alpha Chi Omega take the women’s race.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

The roster for next season, which was in its early stages of taking shape last week, is now nearly full and built with high quality players. Also, a non-conference opponent was learned.

Additionally, the women added an important player from the portal, and spring football continues. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which was led by softball continuing to win.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• IU Has Massive Transfer Portal Week To Build Contender

• Bowling Green Added to Hoosiers’ 2026-2027 Schedule

• Women Add Key Player In Transfer Portal As Well

• Spring Practice Continues For Football

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Winning Ways

Banner #1: IU Has Massive Transfer Portal Week To Build Contender

The Hoosiers seemingly hit a grand slam in the transfer portal this week. IU had four top players visit campus last weekend who were transferring. These prospects were Georgia Tech’s Jaeden Mustaf, Duke’s Darren Harris, Notre Dame’s Markus Burton, and Alabama’s Aiden Sherrell.

Not only did Indiana coach Darien DeVries get all four of these players to commit to play in Bloomington next year. He also managed to reel in SMU’s Samet Yigitoglu and Villanova’s Bryce Lindsay before they made it to campus for a visit.

While IU has gotten top players in the portal in previous years, this time it appears to be well constructed, where the needs fit the profile. The biggest of these is Burton, who is a former Indiana Mr. Basketball and gives the Hoosiers a dynamic point guard who is an elite scorer and can run the offense at a high level. This is something the team has not had since Yogi Ferrell’s time in Bloomington.

In Lindsay, IU gets a top three-point shooter for its backcourt, which is critical in Devries’ system. Meanwhile, Yigitoglu is one of the tallest players in program history, and Sherrell complements him as another big man. However, unlike past renditions of Indiana teams using double post players, Sherrell is a stretch four who can step out and shoot threes and should prevent the lane from getting overly clogged.

Whether Mustaf or Harris gets the final starting spot remains to be seen, but both can drive to the basket and knock down shots from deep. Either way, Indiana now has six players coming from high-level programs, and all but Harris averaged double figures at their previous stop. They will join the returning Trent Sisley (Andrej Acimovic has now entered the portal as well) and the four new freshmen in what is the presumed meat and potatoes of the 2026-2027 roster.

This infusion of talent moved Indiana into the top-15 of offseason projections. How it plays out on the court remains to be seen, but this season has both football and basketball with the top transfer classes in the country at IU, per On3 Sports.

Banner #2: Bowling Green Added to Hoosiers’ 2026-2027 Schedule

As IU filled in its roster this week, another non-conference matchup was announced. The Hoosiers will host Bowling Green on either November 27 or 28.

The Falcons finished last season 18-14 overall and ranked No. 144 in KenPom. Indiana has won all three previous meetings, but the teams have not met since 1998.

Also, this game becomes the fourth piece of the puzzle for the pre-Big Ten portion of the schedule. Its joins previously announced contests against Bellarmine, Kentucky, and Syracuse.

Banner #3: Women Add Key Player In Transfer Portal As Well

The IU men were not alone in making a splash in the portal this week. The Indiana women also made a significant addition here.

It was not the multi-player overhaul of their male counterparts. This is due to the fact that the women return three starters and bring in the sixth-ranked high school class in the country.

As a result, the portal is more about filling in around the edges for them. After adding Iowa State’s Alisa Williams the day the portal opened, the squad made a more noteworthy addition this week. This player committing is Nebraska’s Jess Petrie. She averaged double figures for the Cornhuskers last year and is the most impactful get from the portal since Shay Ciezki two years ago.

Speaking of Ciezki, she had a big moment as well this week. She was signed to a training camp contract by the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury after going undrafted during Monday’s draft.

Banner #4: Spring Practice Continues For Football

Spring football continues for IU. The Hoosiers are back on the field practicing now and looking to defend their national championship. Several players and coach Curt Cignetti spoke with the media after practice this week.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Inside the Hall’s Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, Alex Bozich is joined by IU Film Room creator and Greenwood Christian Academy head coach Tony Adragna to discuss Indiana’s transfer portal additions.

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Winning Ways

• Softball continued to dominate, completing a sweep of arch-rival Purdue and rolling past Notre Dame. They also have taken a series from Iowa this weekend, but fell to elite Louisville in a nail-biter during the midweek.

• Baseball had mixed results this week, defeating Indiana State as well as Evansville but falling to Maryland. They have also split their first two with Abilene Christian in this weekend’s series.

• Men’s tennis defeated Nebraska but fell to Michigan State.

• Women’s tennis fell to UCLA as well as USC.

• Water Polo lost to Arizona State to close their season,

• Women’s golf finished sixth in the Buckeye Invitational.

• Men’s golf finished 13th at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate.

• Track and field competed in multiple different invitationals this weekend.

• Wrestling signed a recruit.

• Finally, the Big Ten is adding a conference tournament for volleyball for the first time next fall.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

The roster for next season is in the very early stages of taking shape. Whether it’s outgoing or incoming players, some clarity emerged this week.

Additionally, Michigan won the national championship to end the Big Ten’s title drought, and spring football continues. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which was led by softball taking a series from arch-rival Purdue.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• Hoosiers Look To Add Players Via Transfer Portal

• IU Loses Several More Players to Portal

• Michigan Wins National Championship To End Big Ten’s Title Drought

• Spring Practice Continues For Football

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Softball Wins Series Against Arch-Rival Purdue

Banner #1: Hoosiers Look To Add Players Via Transfer Portal

While IU has not added anyone from the transfer portal yet, this weekend features visits to campus as the Hoosiers try to lock down signature players. The biggest of these by far is Notre Dame’s Markus Burton, who will be in Bloomington today for a visit.

Houston was thought to be Indiana’s biggest competition for Burton. However, the Cougars took a commitment from a top-level point guard on Saturday, giving IU a potential clear runway to land their top target.

Besides this, a couple of other prospects were in Bloomington this weekend including Duke’s Darren Harris and Georgia Tech’s Jaeden Mustaf. Other potential targets are South Alabama’s Adam Olsen, Tulane’s Rowan Brumbaugh, and Alabama’s Aiden Sherell, amongst others.

Banner #2: IU Loses Several More Players to Portal

IU had seven players eligible to return, but only two of them will it appears. Trent Sisley and Andrej Acimovic will likely be back wearing Cream and Crimson next fall.

Nick Dorn, Jasai Miles, Aleksa Ristic, Jason Drake, and Josh Harris all had eligibility to return. However, all five of these guys have announced they will instead enter their names in the transfer portal and depart Bloomington.

Joinging Sisley and Acimovic on the 2026-2027 roster are three incoming freshmen. These players are Vaughn Karvala, Trevor Manhertz, and Prince-Alexander Moody.

Banner #3: Michigan Wins National Championship To End Big Ten’s Title Drought

The Big Ten continued its year of winning national titles. This is because Michigan and former IU manager Dusty May ended the conference’s long national title drought in men’s basketball by defeating Connecticut to cut down the nets.

In women’s basketball, UCLA dominated South Carolina for the championship. This ended a similar title drought for the league.

Banner #4: Spring Practice Continues For Football

Spring football continues for IU. The Hoosiers are back on the field practicing now and looking to defend their national championship. Several players and coach Curt Cignetti spoke with the media after practice this week.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Wins Series Against Arch-Rival Purdue

• Softball took a series from arch-rival Purdue this weekend. This was after defeating Butler and losing to UCLA.

• Baseball defeated Ball State and Rutgers and has split its first two with Maryland in its weekend series.

• Water Polo lost to UCLA but beat San Jose State.

• Women’s tennis lost to Maryland and beat Penn State.

• Men’s tennis to Northwestern as well as Wisconsin.

• Rowing lost to Texas.

• Track and Field competed in the Crimson Tide Invitational.

• Wrestling signed a recruit.

• Finally, women’s basketball added its first player from the transfer portal.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

IU announced another signature non-conference game in Indianapolis for next fall. This matchup was learned as the roster for next season is in the very early stages of taking shape.

Additionally, the NCAA Tournament results and spring football has begun. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which was led by baseball getting back in the win column.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• IU Adds Non-Conference Matchup With Syracuse In Indy

• Where The Hoosiers Roster Is At

• NCAA Tourney Results

• Spring Practice Continues For Football

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Baseball Ends Long Losing Streak

Banner #1: IU Adds Non-Conference Matchup With Syracuse In Indy

As IU looks to next season, a major piece of the non-conference schedule was learned this week. It was already known that the Hoosiers would face Kentucky in their state’s capital city in December.

While that matchup will be in Lucas Oil stadium with a truly neutral atmosphere, Indiana will have a de facto home game against Syracuse at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on November 9. The contest is a rematch of the 1987 NCAA Championship, which is IU’s last title to date, as well as the 2013 Sweet 16, when the Orange knocked out an elite Hoosier team when they were a one seed.

Syracuse will be coached by Gerry McNamara, who is a program legend but will be debuting next season following recent struggles since Jim Boeheim’s retirement. The Orange are coming off a 15-17 season and have not made the NCAA Tournament since 2021.

Banner #2: Where The Hoosiers Roster Is At

The Hoosiers will look to build a stronger roster that can better compete in the Big Ten in 2026-2027 under second-year head coach Darian DeVries. IU has seven players eligible to return, but only three of them (Nick Dorn, Jasai Miles, and Trent Sisley) saw time in the rotation this season. Of these, Sisley announced this week he will be back in Bloomington for his sophomore season, while the other two’s plans remain unclear at this moment.

Of the remaining guys with eligibility, Aleksa Ristic was the only other guy with eligibility to see minutes last season, and it was only very sparingly. The other three bodies who can return to the program were injured or redshirting in Andrej Acimovic, Jason Drake, and Josh Harris. Other than Drake, who announced this week that he will enter his name in the transfer portal, what happens with these remaining guys remains to be seen.

The other three players who will definitely be on the roster besides Sisley are incoming freshman Vaughn Karvala, Trevor Manhertz, and Prince-Alexander Moody. Given the losses of their top rotational guys, IU will almost certainly need to fill several spots via the transfer portal with immediate impact guys. The Hoosiers are from alone here, however, and the portal opens this Tuesday officially.

Turning to the women’s side, there is a lot more clarity for Indiana here. While the Hoosiers have lost several players to the portal, including promising freshman Nevaeh Caffey, the return of three starters was confirmed. This includes Maya Makalusky, Zania Socka-Nguemen, and Lenee Beaumont, who are all key pieces going forward.

The program also brings in an elite recruiting class that includes what were the two highest-ranked recruits in program history until this week. This is because IU just received a commitment from an ever higher ranked prospect for 2027 in Finley Parker. Outgoing star Shay Ciezki also hinted at a strong portal class for the team for next season.

Banner #3: NCAA Tourney Results

The NCAA Tournament continued with the Final Four. With NIL seemingly widening the gap between mid-major and power five teams, the competition has featured fewer upsets than usual.

However, with that said, there have still been some great games. Despite the Hoosiers not being a part of it (outside of a brief cameo from Sam Alexis later on), the Big Ten sent nine teams to the dance, and six of them made the Sweet 16, with four on to the Elite 8, and two the Final Four.

The Final Four teams from the conference were Michigan and Illinois. While the Illini were knocked out by Connecticut, the Wolverines dominated Arizona. The two winners will play for the national championship in a game that could have Indiana fans wondering what might have been in an alternate universe.

This is because the Huskies have Hoosier native Braylon Mullins playing a key role, and IU was a finalist for his services. Also, Michigan is coached by former Indiana manager Dusty May.

The Big Ten will look to end long national title droughts in both men’s and women’s basketball in the next couple of days, though. UCLA will face South Carolina for the women’s championship this afternoon, while the Wolverines will take on Connecticut tomorrow night.

Banner #4: Spring Practice Continues For Football

Spring football is just beginning for IU. The Hoosiers are back on the field practicing now and looking to defend their national championship. Several players and coach Curt Cignetti spoke with the media after a practice this week.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Inside the Hall’s Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, Alex Bozich was joined by Rick Bozich to discuss previous Final Fours.

The Back Home Network has many shows also. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Strong Start To Season

• Baseball finally ended a long losing streak by dominating Rutgers on Friday Night. However, in between that, Nebraska finished a sweep of IU, while the Hoosiers also fell to Evansville and the Scarlet Knights with late collapses. In non-game news, one of Indiana’s games at Northwestern next month was moved to Wrigley Field.

• Women’s tennis beat Rutgers but fell to Nebraska.

• Softball gave elite UCLA a scare before losing twice.

• Men’s tennis lost to top-flight Illinois.

• Water Polo fell to elite Arizona State and Michigan.

• Women’s golf finished third at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic.

• Men’s golf competed at the Butler Spring Invitational.

• Track and Field competed in the Battle of the Bayou.

• Rowing took part in the Ohio State Regatta.

• Volleyball will take part in the newly created Big Ten vs. SEC Challenge. The program also put season tickets on sale for next fall.

• Finally, women’s basketball assistant coach Rhett Wierzba received an honor.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

IU introduced a new assistant coach in hopes of a better future. Meanwhile, the NCAA Tourney continues without them, as has happened most of the time in the last decade, with the Big Ten thriving.

Additionally, a look the roster’s current standing for Indiana and spring football begins. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which was led by softball continuing its strong start to 2026.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• IU Adds Assistant Coach To Staff

• NCAA Tourney Results

• Where The Hoosiers Roster Is At

• Spring Football Practice Begins

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Strong Start To Season

Banner #1: IU Adds Assistant Coach To Staff

As IU looks to next season, its bench of assistants is now fully staffed to help build a roster. Louisville assistant Thomas Carr (no relation to new staff member Ryan Carr) will head across the river to Indiana to fill the final spot on the staff that was one short in 2025-2026.

Carr will join Drew Adams, Rod Clark, Kenny Johnson, and Nick Norton as the assistant coaches for 2026-2027. He was an assistant with Pat Kelsey at College of Charleston before following him to be with the Cardinals.

Banner #2: NCAA Tourney Results

The Hoosiers’ season has been over for a couple of weeks after once again failing to secure a spot in March Madness. This was the third straight year and eighth time in 10 seasons IU has found itself in this position.

However, with or without Indiana, the NCAA Tournament continues. With NIL seemingly widening the gap between mid-major and power five teams, the competition has featured fewer upsets than usual and no mid-majors in the tournament’s second weekend.

However, with that said, there have still been some great games. Despite the Hoosiers not being a part of it, the Big Ten sent nine teams to the dance, and six of them made the Sweet 16, with four on to the Elite 8.

Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, and Purdue all made the second weekend, with all but Michigan State and Nebraska advancing. The Illini have already made the Final Four in Indianapolis, and the Wolverines will look to join them today with a matchup against Tennessee. However, the Boilermakers fell to Arizona who will play in Indy as well. The winner of Duke vs. UConn will take the final spot.

Banner #3: Where The Hoosiers Roster Is At

After the late-season collapse, the Hoosiers will look to build a stronger roster that can better compete in the Big Ten in 2026-2027 under second-year head coach Darian DeVries. IU has seven players eligible to return, but only three of them (Nick Dorn, Jasai Miles, and Trent Sisley) saw time in the rotation this season.

Aleksa Ristic was the only other guy with eligibility to see minutes last season, and it was only very sparingly. The other three bodies who can return to Bloomington were injured or redshirting in Andrej Acimovic, Jason Drake, and Josh Harris.

How many of these seven will elect to actually suit up for Indiana remains to be seen. The three players who will definitely be on the roster, though, are incoming freshman Vaughn Karvala, Trevor Manhertz, and Prince-Alexander Moody.

However, given the losses of their top rotational guys, IU will almost certainly need to fill several spots via the transfer portal with immediate impact guys to have any chance to return to March Madness. The Hoosiers are from alone here, however.

Given the nature of college basketball, almost everyone has to use the portal to compete, including many in the Big Ten. It opens after the National Championship game.

Banner #4: Spring Football Practice Begins

While basketball season has ended, spring football is just beginning for IU. The Hoosiers are back on the field practicing now and looking to defend their national championship. Indiana coach Curt Cignetti spoke with the media after a practice this week.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Inside the Hall’s Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, IU Film Room’s Tony Adragna discussed what IU needs to do in the transfer portal.

The Back Home Network has many shows also. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Strong Start To Season

• Softball continued its hot start to the season. They went 3-1 this week, completing a sweep of Maryland and sweeping Detroit Mercy, which included a no-hitter, while falling to elite Oregon. At 27-7, their RPI sits in the top 60, which is well within range for a fourth straight NCAA Tourney appearance.

• Swimming and Diving saw the men finish third nationally at the NCAA Championships.

• Men’s tennis had a huge week, defeating Penn State and rival Purdue.

• Women’s tennis fell to Illinois but upset ranked Iowa.

• Baseball seemed to be gaining momentum, but then lost all four games this week to Minnesota and Indiana State, as well as both contests at Nebraska. Sitting at just 10-16, a second straight year of missing the NCAA Tourney seems most likely barring a huge turnaround.

• Water Polo fell to Stanford.

• Track and Field competed in the Raleigh Relays.

• Wrestling signed a player for next year.

• Finally, several former IU baseball players made opening day rosters in the MLB.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

IU’s basketball season is over, but the NCAA Tourney continues without them, as has happened most of the time in the last decade. With the Hoosiers’ year coming to a close, Inside the Hall had a series wrapping up each player’s campaign.

Additionally, despite the lack of success, Indiana is still one of the most popular college basketball programs, and a look at how its former players did. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which was led by softball continuing its strong start to 2026.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• NCAA Tourney Results

• Inside the Hall’s That’s A Wrap Series

• IU Amongst Ten Most Popular College Basketball Programs

• How Former Indiana Players Did This Season

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Strong Start To Season

Banner #1: NCAA Tourney Results

The Hoosiers’ season is over after once again failing to secure a spot in March Madness as expected. This was the third straight year and eighth time in 10 seasons IU has found itself in this position.

However, with or without Indiana, the NCAA Tournament continues. With NIL seemingly widening the gap between mid-major and power five teams, the competition has featured fewer upsets than usual.

However, with that said, there have still been some thrilling results. Despite the Hoosiers not being a part of it, the Big Ten sent nine teams to the dance, and two of the most exciting games happened early on Thursday involving them. The first was Ohio State losing a nailbiter to TCU, and the other was Wisconsin getting knocked off late in a thriller against High Point, which was the only true ‘Cinderella’ to win in the first round.

However, after these two disappointments, it has been all roses for the conference, with Illinois, Michigan, and Michigan State all winning two games to advance to the Sweet 16. Finally, Nebraska seemingly completed its identity swap with IU late on Saturday night to also advance to the second weekend in a terrific blow-for-blow matchup with Vanderbilt. With the Cornhuskers success, the transformation from history to them being a ‘basketball school’ now and Indiana a ‘football school’ seems complete for the moment.

Purdue, UCLA, and Iowa will look to join these four other league programs in the Sweet 16 with games today. In other notable results, Duke nearly became the rare victim of a loss as a one seed in the first round but survived Siena. Meanwhile, their arch-rival, North Carolina, had a complete meltdown against VCU with inexcusable late turnovers. In another blueblood thriller, Kentucky hit a half-court prayer to force overtime and eventually knock off Santa Clara.

The only mid-major squad still with a chance at the Sweet 16 is Utah State, which has a very tall task against top-seeded Arizona today. Lastly, to emphasize the mostly ‘chalk’ results of this year’s tourney so far, budget-rich Texas is the only double-digit seed to advance to the second weekend at this point.

Banner #2: Inside the Hall’s That’s A Wrap Series

With the season now over for IU, Inside the Hall did a series breaking down each of the team’s rotation players in detail. They looked at Trent Sisley, Jasai Miles, Nick Dorn, Tayton Conerway, Reed Bailey, Conor Enright, Sam Alexis, Tucker DeVries, and Lamar Wilkerson.

Banner #3: IU Amongst Ten Most Popular College Basketball Programs

Despite the struggles, the popularity of IU’s basketball program has seemingly not faded. Using multiple factors, Nielsen ranked the Hoosiers the eighth most popular team in college basketball. Michigan was fourth, Illinois seventh, and Ohio State ninth, as the other Big Ten programs to crack the top-10, with Duke taking the top spot.

Banner #4: How Former Indiana Players Did This Season

11 former Hoosiers competed on other college basketball teams this year. These players were Kaleb Banks (DePaul), Kanaan Carlyle (Florida Atlantic), Gabe Cupps (Ohio State), Logan Duncomb (Winthrop), CJ Gunn (DePaul), Dallas James (Morgan State), Mackenzie Mgbako (Texas A&M), Jakai Newton (Georgia State), Malik Reneau (Miami [FL]) Myles Rice (Maryland), and Bryson Tucker (Washington).

Carlyle, Duncomb, Gunn, and Reneau were by far the most successful, averaging double figures. Team-wise, Cupps, Mgbako, and Reneau made it to March Madness, with Reneau the only one remaining as his Hurricanes look to upset Purdue today.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Inside the Hall’s Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, Crimson Cast’s Scott Caulfield crossed over from the Back Home Network to discuss IU missing the NCAA Tourney again.

The Back Home Network itself has many shows. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Strong Start To Season

• Softball continued its hot start to the season. After losing to Rutgers, they swept the rest of their results this week, knocking off IU Indy and taking two from Maryland to open that series. At 24-6, their RPI sits around 60, which is well within range for a fourth straight NCAA Tourney appearance.

• Baseball had its best week of the spring to date (outside of some unfortunate injury news), knocking off SEC power Vanderbilt on the road and taking two from Minnesota to open that series. Their RPI improved into the top 70 after sitting well outside the top 100 last week. However, sitting at just 10-12, a second straight year of missing the NCAA Tourney seems most likely barring a huge turnaround in the second half of the season. Also, the Big Ten announced a new format for the sport’s conference tourney in late May.

• Water Polo beat Pomona-Pitzer and San Jose State but lost to UC San Diego and Cal.

• Women’s tennis beat Minnesota but lost to Northwestern.

• Men’s tennis beat Washington but lost to Ohio State.

• Swimming and Diving saw the women finish seventh nationally at the NCAA Championships.

• Wrestling finished 21st at the NCAA Championships.

• Women’s golf finished fourth at the Valspar Augusta Invitational.

• Men’s golf finished tied for 12th at the Schenkel Invitational.

• Rowing concluded its opening weekend at the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational.

• Finally, football will show off its national championship trophy with a tour around Indiana. As a result of the sports success, Scott Dolson was honored as the athletic director of the year by NACDA, and coach Curt Cignetti will drive the pace car at the Indy 500.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

IU lost to Northwestern again in the conference tourney, very likely ending their season. As their NCAA Tournament chances are nearly zero, the Hoosiers will head into the offseason looking to build a stronger roster to get back to March Madness in 2026-2027.

Additionally, Lamar Wilkerson was honored by the Big Ten as a bright spot for the year and women’s basketball is on to the offseason as well. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which was led by softball continuing its strong start to 2026.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• Hoosiers’ Season Likely Ends With Another Loss To NW

• NCAA Bracketology

• Wilkerson Honored By Big Ten

• Women’s Basketball Looks To Next Season As Several Enter Transfer Portal

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Strong Start To Season

Banner #1: Hoosiers’ Season Likely Ends With Another Loss To NW

The Hoosiers headed to the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago, needing wins to stay alive in their quest for March Madness. Instead, Northwestern stopped IU dead in its tracks in a game that played out nearly identically to Indiana’s loss in Bloomington to the Wildcats a couple of weeks earlier.

IU came out of the gate firing and took a solid lead early. However, the second half was another dead performance for the Hoosiers, and in the end, NW pulled away for a 74-61 victory and their seventh straight win over Indiana.

Afterwards, IU coach Darian DeVries spoke, Ryan Corazza wrote a Minute After and Film Session, Alex Bozich penned Five Takeaways, and Quinn Richards and Josh Pos put together columns about the struggles to close the season.

Banner #2: NCAA Bracketology

By finishing 18-14 overall and 9-11 in the Big Ten, the Hoosiers are almost certainly on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble now. This means they will head into the offseason losers of six of seven games.

With that said, the conference is well-positioned to potentially end its long streak of not winning a national title. The league will send nine teams to the Big Dance, with Michigan and a couple of others being amongst the favorites to cut down the nets.

While IU sat 17-8 in early February and appeared cruising towards March Madness, water found its level to preseason projections, and the team ran out of answers down the stretch. As a result, they will head into the offseason needing to use the transfer portal again to try to fully rebuild into a better squad for 2026-2027, which opens April 7.

Indiana has made the tournament just twice in the last decade, and DeVries and new executive director Ryan Carr will be tasked with trying to improve a flawed roster. They did not create this decade of malaise, but will nonetheless be tasked with building a roster that needs a Big Ten-level point guard and post player, which it lacked this year. Fans are rightfully impatient as recent times have not matched the historic highs this program expects, and supporters have to hope the trio of incoming freshmen and newcomers can turn things around.

Banner #3: Wilkerson Honored By Big Ten

Despite the struggles, the one bright spot was outgoing senior Lamar Wilkerson. He was the one player with a complete skill set and easily able to hold his own in a grueling Big Ten. As a result, the conference honored him on the all-league team.

Banner #4: Women’s Basketball Suffers Season-Ending Loss To Buckeyes In Big Ten Tourney

Women’s basketball’s season is also over. Unlike the men, who have struggled mightily to find their way into March Madness, the women have been a fixture there. While they closed the year strong, winning seven of ten, they will still miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 20017-2018. However, before their long streak in the Big Dance, they made the WNIT multiple times, including winning it once.

While the squad could go back to this secondary competition again, they apparently are declining to do so. As a result, they will not participate in postseason play for the first time since 2014-2015, which was the inaugural season of current coach Teri Moren’s tenure.

While Indiana will not be playing, the Big Ten has an excellent chance to end its long drought of not cutting down the nets. A dozen teams will be headed to March Madness from the league, with UCLA and a couple of others in prime position to claim the trophy.

However, with the men also seemingly declining any form of postseason play, it will be the first time the month of March will not see postseason play for either gender at IU since 2010-2011. The women, however, have a very bright future with the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history and the presumed return of program stalwart Lenee Beaumont and freshmen Maya Makalusky and Nevaeh Caffey, who came on strong in February. They will need to add depth around the edges with three players at the back of the roster entering the transfer portal.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Strong Start To Season

• Softball continued its hot start to the season. They knocked off Minnesota last week to take that series and have won the first two over Rutgers this weekend, as well as a midweek game against Loyola Chicago. Their RPI sits around 60 in the NCAA’s first reveal, which is well within range for a fourth straight NCAA Tourney appearance.

• Baseball lost a conference series to woeful Washington. While they did beat Wright State in the midweek, their offense has been ice cold in conference play so far, as they have lost the first two to Oregon as well. They sit well outside the top-100 in the RPI, and a second straight year of missing the NCAA Tourney seems likely barring something unforeseen.

• Wrestling finished tenth at the Big Ten Championships, which is their highest since 2012. They will send six athletes to the NCAA Championships.

• Water Polo beat Princeton but fell to Long Beach State.

• Women’s tennis lost to Wisconsin.

• Men’s tennis fell to USC and Oregon.

• Track and field competed at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

• Rowing opened its season at the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational.

• Swimming and diving had many athletes qualify for the NCAA Championships on the women’s side.

• Football saw coach Curt Cignetti and QB Fernando Mendoza receive more postseason honors.

• Finally, IU announced that former athletic director Clarence Doninger passed away.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

IU had a trio of games this week, and unfortunately for Indiana fans, they won just one of them. This moves their NCAA Tournament chances to nearly zero without a huge run in the Big Tournament.

Additionally, women’s basketball saw its season end in the conference tourney. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which was led by softball continuing its strong start to 2026.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• Hoosiers Top Minnesota On Senior Night

• Michigan State Too Much For IU

• Indiana Falls To Ohio State In Bubble Battle

• Women’s Basketball Suffers Season-Ending Loss To Buckeyes In Big Ten Tourney

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Strong Start To Season

Banner #1: Hoosiers Top Minnesota On Senior Night

The game against the Golden Gophers was the bright light this week in a lot of darkness. On Senior Night, Indiana built a huge lead early against Minnesota and won going away 77-47.

Afterwards, IU coach Darian DeVries spoke, Inside the Hall had a photo gallery, Ryan Corazza wrote a Minute After and Film Session, Alex Bozich penned Five Takeaways, and Quinn Richards put together a column about the dominant victory.

Banner #2: Michigan State Too Much For IU

Facing a chance for a signature victory against Michigan State, the Spartans left no doubt who the better team was. MSU jumped out to a huge lead early behind hot shooting. While the Hoosiers never let the game get out of hand, they never seriously challenged for a victory, falling 77-64.

Afterwards, DeVries spoke, Inside the Hall had a photo gallery, Corazza wrote a Minute After and Film Session, Bozich penned Five Takeaways, and Josh Pos put together a column about the uphill battle all day.

Banner #3: Indiana Falls To Ohio State In Bubble Battle

Despite all the roster turnover in the offseason, the Hoosiers had a chance to put themselves into a great position to make the NCAA Tournament by beating the Buckeyes. Instead, their defense struggled all day in a 91-78 loss and moved Indiana further from the bubble.

Afterwards, IU coach Darian DeVries spoke, Corazza wrote a Minute After, and Bozich penned Five Takeaways.

Indiana returns to action as the no. 10 seed in the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday at 6:30 pm on BTN (the time slot and network for any possible matchups on the first three days remain constant). They will first face the winner of Penn State and Northwestern, who play the day before. If the Hoosiers win this, arch-rival Purdue awaits on Thursday, before Michigan State or Nebraska would be the opponent on Friday with a second victory.

By finishing 18-13 overall and 9-11 in the Big Ten, the Hoosiers are likely on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble now. They will almost certainly need to win at least three games in Chicago this week to have a chance to go dancing in March Madness.

Banner #4: Women’s Basketball Suffers Season-Ending Loss To Buckeyes In Big Ten Tourney

Women’s basketball closed its season on a hot streak, winning seven of nine before falling to Ohio State in the Big Ten Tourney to close its 2025-2026 campaign. However, a day earlier, they rallied from 20 points down to beat Nebraska in a thriller, leaving optimism for the future. Also, both Shay Ciezki and Maya Makalusky received postseason honors from the league.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Podcast on the Brink was recorded this week. Inside the Hall’s own Corazza joined Bozich to discuss the big picture of where the program is at.

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Strong Start To Season

• Softball continued its hot start to the season. They knocked off UNC Greensboro and Minnesota this week to improve their record to 17-5 despite losing one to the Gophers also.

• Baseball beat Western Kentucky and split its first two games with Washington.

• Women’s tennis beat Southern Indiana but lost to arch-rival Purdue.

• Men’s tennis fell to UCLA in its Big Ten opener.

• Swimming and diving had many athletes qualify for the NCAA Championships on the women’s side.

• Track and field had three athletes qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships.

• Men’s golf competed at the Colleton River Collegiate.

• Several former men’s soccer players are now competing in the MLS.

• Volleyball announced a top matchup for next fall against Tennessee.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

IU is looking to get better for the future and did so by hiring a new staff member. However, in the meantime, this season is now headed in the wrong direction after a very costly loss to Northwestern, putting their NCAA Tournament hopes in serious question.

Additionally, we will examine Bracketology, and the women’s basketball team had its best week of the season. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which was led by men’s swimming and diving winning yet another Big Ten Title.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• IU Basketball Hires New Staff Member

• Indiana Suffers Dreadful Loss to Northwestern To Put March Madness Bid In Serious Jeopardy

• NCAA Bracketology

• Women’s Basketball Upsets Oregon in Big Week To Clinch Big Ten Tourney Spot

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Men’s Swimming And Diving Wins Big Ten Title

Banner #1: IU Basketball Hires New Staff Member

As this season winds down, Indiana basketball made a hire to the staff that appears to be looking towards a better future. This addition is bringing on Ryan Carr to be the team’s executive director of basketball.

Carr is a 1996 IU grad and former undergraduate manager for the basketball squad while in school, and comes from right up the road in Indianapolis after a long stint in the NBA with the Pacers. While with them, he was Senior Vice President of Player Personnel and helped build a roster that was one game from winning an NBA Championship last summer.

With NIL and the transfer portal, Carr will be tasked with helping to construct a squad that is well-balanced compared to the past. This equivalent position is becoming much more common in college sports, given the constant turnover of personnel, and IU’s choice to fill it appears to be met with optimism.

In Carr, the Hoosiers bring on a guy with professional basketball experience in a front office. However, he combines this with previous work at the college level while serving for 10-years as assistant coach at UTEP. This combination would seem to make him a perfect fit, and Carr appears excited to have this new role.

Banner #2: Indiana Suffers Dreadful Loss to Northwestern To Put March Madness Bid In Serious Jeopardy

Tuesday night against Northwestern showed why IU needs a better-constructed roster in future years. While they finally have a modern system that emphasizes the three-pointer and spacing, the lack of post players and backup options when shots don’t fall continues to haunt the team.

The game against the Wildcats was Exhibit A when it comes to this. When shots were falling in the first half, Indiana built a nine-point halftime lead. However, the Hoosiers went ice cold in the final 20 minutes, and even their best scoring options, Tucker DeVries and Lamar Wilkerson, couldn’t buy a basket.

When the long shots are falling, IU can play with anyone in the country. However, when they don’t, Indiana can lose to anyone in the conference, as evidenced by Northwestern pulling out a 72-68 win despite being towards the very bottom of the league.

Afterwards, IU coach Darian DeVries spoke, Inside the Hall had a photo gallery, Corazza wrote a Minute After and Film Session, Bozich penned Five Takeaways, and Nick Rodecap put together a column about the defeat putting Indiana’s NCAA Tourney chances in serious question.

The Hoosiers returns to action today at 3:45 pm on CBS. They will face a must-win contest against elite Michigan State at Assembly Hall. While this is a tall task, it is a game IU must find a way to win if they want any chance of salvaging their NCAA Tourney chances.

Banner #3: NCAA Bracketology

At 17-11 overall and 8-9 in the Big Ten, the Hoosiers are right on the edge of the NCAA Tournament bubble after the costly loss to the Wildcats this week. They still have a decent NET near 40.

While their metrics are somewhat improved from the previous versions of this squad due to beating struggling teams by large margins until this week, they lack many high-end wins and have struggled with other postseason squads. To put themselves back in a likely discussion for March Madness, they likely need to sweep this week, which would include two more quad-one wins and get them to 20 victories overall. However, the level of competition makes this a big ask.

Looking at Bracketology, Indiana is still right on the brink of the field at the moment. However, they can ill afford any more losses, given their precarious position as either one of the last couple of teams in or the first few out in most projections.

Inside the Hall and Assembly Call’s own Bracketologist, Andy Bottoms, projected the Hoosiers as an 11 seed earlier in the week, bound for the play-in game in Dayton. However, this was before the defeat to Northwestern, showing how precarious IU’s position is.

Banner #4: Women’s Basketball Upsets Oregon in Big Week To Clinch Big Ten Tourney Spot

Women’s basketball has surged recently and that continued this week. While it is almost certainly too late to make the NCAA Tournament, the Hoosiers have now won six of eight and are getting hot down the stretch.

This week, they upset Oregon for their first victory over a projected NCAA Tournament squad this season. They followed that up by beating struggling Rutgers and Penn State. All three victories ensured IU finished above .500 overall, and as a result locked up a Big Ten Tourney berth. This feat also makes them eligible for the second-tier WNIT or WBI Tournaments to participate in some form of postseason play should they choose to accept.

Their run in the conference tourney begins as the 13-seed on Wednesday at 3:30 pm with a moderate challenge. The opponent will be 12-seed Nebraska in Indianapolis who beat the Hoosiers in Lincoln in a close game early in the league year.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Inside the Hall’s Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, Bozich is joined by Scott Agness, who covers the Pacers, to get more perspective on the Carr hire.

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Men’s Swimming And Diving Wins Big Ten Title

• Swimming and diving won the Big Ten Championship for the fifth year in a row on the men’s side.

• Softball had a huge week, winning six of seven games that included victories over Boston College and USF last weekend, as well as over Charleston Southern, Elon, and UNC Greensboro this weekend.

• Baseball had mixed results, this week defeating Xavier but falling to Notre Dame. They also have lost two of three to Western Kentucky so far this weekend.

• Wrestling competed at the Last Chance Open.

• Water polo fell to elite UCLA and USC.

• Track and field competed at the Big Ten Championships.

• Women’s golf finished ninth at the Chevron Collegiate.

• Volleyball announced it will compete on a foreign tour this summer.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

IU had its toughest matchups of the year. As a result, they were dominated by elite Illinois and Purdue.

Additionally, we will examine Bracketology, and the women’s basketball team struggled on the West Coast. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which was led by football, giving another extension to Curt Cignetti.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• Hoosiers Fall Flat In Second Half Against Illinois

• IU Dominated By Arch-Rival Purdue

• NCAA Bracketology

• Women’s Basketball Falls On The West Coast

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Cignetti Inks Another New Contract

Banner #1: Hoosiers Fall Flat In Second Half Against Illinois

IU basketball hung tough for a while, but then things got away in the second half in Champaign. With little offensive production outside Lamar Wilkerson, Indiana saw the Illini pull away for a 71-51 victory.

Afterwards, IU coach Darian DeVries spoke, Ryan Corazza wrote a Minute After and Film Session, Alex Bozich penned Five Takeaways, and Quinn Richards put together a column about rebounding struggles.

Banner #2: IU Dominated By Arch-Rival Purdue

Things got even worse in Mackey Arena as IU was never in the game from the moment it tipped off. Purdue dominated from start to finish, and when it was over, they had won 93-64.

Afterwards, IU coach Darian DeVries spoke, Corazza wrote a Minute After, Bozich penned Five Takeaways, and Josh Pos and Nick Rodecap put together columns about the struggles.

Indiana returns to action on Tuesday at 7 pm on FS1. They will face a must-win contest against struggling Northwestern back at Assembly Hall as the Hoosiers begin a critical three-game homestand.

Banner #3: NCAA Bracketology

At 17-10 overall and 8-8 in the Big Ten, the Hoosiers are likely still on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble despite the struggles this week. They still have a solid NET in the 30’s.

These metrics are much improved from the previous versions of this squad due to beating struggling teams by large margins. They have also kept their defeats to relatively low amounts outside of a couple of exceptions, including this week, which was also an issue in the past.

Looking at Bracketology, Indiana still appears relatively safe in the field at the moment. They can possibly shore up a spot by simply defeating the two struggling oppositions coming into Assembly Hall over the couple of weeks, but another win to get to 20 wins overall would make things much more comfortable. However, to stay out of Dayton and the “First Four’, an additional signature victory over Michigan State or Ohio State could be necessary.

Inside the Hall and Assembly Call’s own Bracketologist, Andy Bottoms, projected the Hoosiers as a 10 seed earlier in the week. Most other projections had Indiana around the nine or 10 line as well.

Banner #4: Women’s Basketball Falls On The West Coast

The women’s extreme struggles in this Big Ten season returned this week. With much tougher competition on the West Coast, IU fell in a blowout to UCLA.

It is now vital to beat struggling Rutgers and Penn State later this week, as it would keep the Hoosiers above .500 overall and likely lock up a Big Ten Tourney berth. This would also make them eligible for the second-tier WNIT or WBIT to participate in some form of postseason play.

First, though, today they have a moderate challenge. They take on Oregon at home with tipoff at 1 pm on BTN.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming. This included Crimson Cast’s Galen Clavio doing a bracketology episode on Saturday, confirming IU is still fairly safely in the NCAA Tournament field.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Cignetti Inks Another New Contract

• Football gave head coach Curt Cignetti yet another new contract. Also, QB Fernando Mendoza received yet another postseason award.

• Baseball defeated Bradley and UCF but fell to LSU.

• Softball was defeated by Nevada but beat Colgate and Saint Joseph’s.

• Wrestling was beaten by Nebraska but edged arch-rival Purdue.

• Women’s tennis fell to Louisville but beat Cornell.

• Men’s tennis fell to Memphis and beat Texas Tech.

• Water polo defeated UC Davis and McKendree.

• Swimming and diving finished conference runner-ups on the women’s side.

• Track and field competed at the Alex Wilson Invitational.

• Men’s golf finished tied for eighth at the Gator Invitational.

• Several former men’s soccer players are now competing in the MLS.

• Volleyball announced its spring exhibition schedule.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

IU got the victory it needed this week in basketball to remain on track for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers beat Oregon behind Lamar Wilkerson’s huge game.

Additionally, we will examine Bracketology, a non-conference opponent was revealed, and the women’s basketball team got a victory over arch-rival Purdue. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Indiana sports in action, which was led by a couple of coaching updates for football.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• Hoosiers Dominate Oregon Behind Wilkerson’s Huge Night

• NCAA Bracketology

• IU To Host Bellarmine Next Year

• Women’s Basketball Tops Archrival Purdue

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Sunseri Returning To Football Staff and Haines Honored

Banner #1: Hoosiers Dominate Oregon Behind Wilkerson’s Huge Night

IU basketball picked up a big victory over Oregon on Monday to remain on track for the NCAA Tournament (more below). In a contest that was a must-win to avoid a bad loss, the Hoosiers won by pulling away with red-hot offense.

Indiana controlled this game comfortably for most of the final 20 minutes. Led by 82% shooting in the second half and a huge night from Big Ten Player Of The Week Lamar Wilkerson, IU won easily 92-74.

Wilkerson’s 41 points led four Hoosiers in double figures. This performance came on a night when the 1975-1976 undefeated national championship team was honored, which included an announcement that a statue would be built for legendary coach Bob Knight.

Afterwards, IU coach Darian DeVries spoke, Inside the Hall had a photo gallery, Ryan Corazza wrote a Minute After and Film Session, Alex Bozich penned Five Takeaways, and Quinn Richards put together a column about Wilkerson.

Indiana returns to action today with a huge challenge. They head to Champaign to take on an elite Illinois squad at 1 pm on CBS.

Banner #2: NCAA Bracketology

At 17-8 overall and 8-6 in the Big Ten, the Hoosiers are almost certainly on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble following their recent hot streak. With winning five out of six, IU now has two quad one wins and a solid NET in the low 30’s.

These metrics are much improved from the previous versions of this squad due to beating struggling teams by large margins. They have also kept their defeats to relatively low amounts outside of a couple of exceptions, which was also an issue in the past.

Looking at Bracketology, Indiana appears relatively safe in the field at the moment. They can likely shore up a spot by simply defeating the two struggling oppositions coming into Assembly Hall over the next few weeks. However, to stay out of Dayton and the “First Four’, an additional victory would be helpful as it would get them to 20 overall on the season and a winning record in conference play.

Inside the Hall and Assembly Call’s own Bracketologist, Andy Bottoms, projected the Hoosiers as a 10 seed earlier in the week. Most other projections had Indiana around the nine or 10 line as well.

Banner #3: IU To Host Bellarmine Next Year

While this year still has a long way to go, another opponent for the 2026 non-conference schedule was learned for next fall. Previously, the only piece known was the signature matchup with Kentucky in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Now, an early-season contest on Nov. 5 against Bellarmine was reported by Jon Rothstein this week. The Hoosiers and Knights have never played outside of an exhibition game in 2015-2016 before Bellarmine moved up to division one, and the school is based in Louisville.

Banner #4: Women’s Basketball Tops Archrival Purdue

The women’s extreme struggles in this Big Ten season once again took a back seat this week. After going winless all of January, the squad won its third straight game by beating arch-rival Purdue 74-59 at home last Sunday.

This victory was critical, as only the top-15 make the conference tournament, and the win put them above that cutline. It is also vital to beat struggling Rutgers and Penn State late in the season, as it would keep the Hoosiers above .500 overall and likely lock up that Big Ten Tourney berth. This would also make them eligible for the second-tier WNIT or WBIT to participate in some form of postseason play.

Indiana faces a very tall task against UCLA today. This was after giving USC all they could handle on Thursday despite missing leading scorer and Big Ten Player Of The Week Shay Ciezki. Freshman Maya Makalusky showed why she is likely the program’s future star as she put up 29 points in the contest.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, Alex Bozich was joined by Delphi Bracketology’s Brian Tonsoni to discuss IU’s tournament resume.

Also, The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Sunseri Returning To Football Staff and Haines Honored

• Football brought back Tino Sunseri to be on the coaching staff while defensive coordinator Brian Haines was honored as the nation’s top assistant, as high expectations continue for next season.

• Softball defeated Pacific, Nevada, and Portland State, while falling to Arizona State.

• Women’s tennis beat Virginia Tech and Bellarmine to remain perfect to open their year.

• Water polo defeated Mercyhurst and Mount St. Mary’s.

• Baseball was swept in its season opening series against an elite North Carolina squad. Also, three players were honored by the Big Ten this preseason.

• Track and field competed at the Music City Challenge and Valentine Invitational.

• Women’s soccer announced its spring exhibition schedule.

• Swimming and diving coach Ray Looze was elected to the ISCA Hall of Fame.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

IU got the split it needed this week in basketball to remain on track for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers recovered from a loss on Tuesday at USC with a thrilling win over Wisconsin yesterday.

Also, we will look at Bracketology, and the women’s basketball team got its first two Big Ten victories. As usual, we will conclude with weekly shows and a look at the rest of the Indiana sports in action, which was led by a strong opening weekend from softball.

In brief news, a former IU star was traded at the NBA trade deadline. Trayce Jackson-Davis was moved from the Golden State Warriors to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for a second-round pick.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• Hoosiers Pick Up Key Win Over Wisconsin In Thriller

• IU Falls To USC To Close West Coast Road Trip

• NCAA Bracketology

• Women Pick Up First Two Big Ten Wins

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Softball Has Strong Opening Weekend

Banner #1: Hoosiers Pick Up Key Win Over Wisconsin In Thriller

IU basketball picked up a massive victory over Wisconsin on Saturday to remain on track for the NCAA Tournament (more below). In a contest between two teams clinging to a postseason bid, the Hoosiers won a thriller.

Indiana controlled this game comfortably for most of the day. However, as has happened so many times this season, a late run by the opponent occurred as the Hoosiers ran out of gas due to a lack of depth.

Sam Alexis did everything he could to keep IU a few possessions ahead by scoring inside, on a rare day when his squad struggled from long range with just five makes from there. However, the offense fell apart in the last few minutes, and the Badgers turned a 68-62 deficit into a 72-68 advantage in the final minute.

However, in a complete 180 from previous versions of Hoosier basketball, the 2025-2026 one makes its free throws in the clutch. Lamar Wilkerson had four makes from the charity stripe late to force overtime and four more in the extra session.

Indiana trailed 77-74 late in the OT, but Wilkerson made a layup to cut the deficit to a single point, and Conor Enright drew a charge to give IU a possession to win. Wilkerson took advantage of this as he was fouled with under three seconds left and made both from the line to go ahead. A last second halfcourt heave from Wisconsin was not close.

The final was 78-77 as Wilkerson finished with 25 points to lead the Hoosiers, including the last 10 points Indiana scored in the game. Alexis added 19 points, Tucker DeVries came out of his slump to contribute 16 points, while Enright rounded out the squad’s double-figure scorers with 11 points.

Afterwards, IU coach Darian DeVries spoke, Inside the Hall had a photo gallery, Ryan Corazza wrote a Minute After, Alex Bozich penned Five Takeaways, and Nick Rodecap put together a column about Enright.

Banner #2: IU Falls To USC To Close West Coast Road Trip

The victory over the Badgers was so critical due to what happened on Tuesday. In the finale of their West Coast road trip, Indiana came out flat.

While IU made a late run after falling behind by double figures, it was not enough. The Hoosiers fell to USC 81-75 after getting the lead down to one in the final minute.

Wilkerson was the only one who scored big on the night. He was also the only Indiana player to hit double figures and scored nearly half of his team’s total points, finishing with 33.

Afterwards, Coach DeVries spoke, Corazza wrote a Minute After and Film Session, Bozich penned Five Takeaways, and Josh Pos penned a column about IU nearly pulling the comeback.

Their next game comes up fast, but it’s against a team struggling big time due to multiple injuries. The Hoosiers face an Oregon squad with just one conference win tomorrow at 8:30 pm on FS1, where a bad loss will need to be avoided.

Banner #3: NCAA Bracketology

At 16-8 overall and 7-6 in the Big Ten, the Hoosiers are almost certainly on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble following their recent hot streak. With winning four out of five, IU now has two quad one wins and a solid NET in the low 30’s.

These metrics are much improved from the previous versions of this squad due to beating struggling teams by large margins. They have also kept their defeats to relatively low amounts outside of a couple of exceptions, which was also an issue in the past.

Looking at Bracketology, Indiana appears relatively safe in the field at the moment. They can likely shore up a spot by simply defeating the three struggling oppositions coming into Assembly Hall over the next few weeks. However, to stay out of Dayton and the “First Four’, an additional victory would be helpful as it would get them to 20 overall on the season and a winning record in conference play.

Inside the Hall and Assembly Call’s own Bracketologist, Andy Bottoms. projected the Hoosiers as a 10 seed earlier in the week. Other projections had Indiana around the nine or 10 line as well.

Banner #4: Women Pick Up First Two Big Ten Wins

The women’s extreme struggles in this Big Ten season finally took a back seat this week. After going winless all of January, the squad has won its first two games in February, defeating Northwestern last Sunday and winning at Wisconsin on Wednesday.

While the NCAA Tournament is well out of reach, the Hoosiers face arch-rival Purdue today in Bloomington, looking for a realistic third straight win. This matchup is critical, as only the top-15 make the conference tournament, and a victory today would put them above that cutline.

Also, while March Madness is not realistic, beating the Boilermakers as well as struggling Rutgers and Penn State late in the season would keep the Hoosiers above .500 overall. This would make them eligible for the second-tier WNIT or WBIT to participate in some form of postseason play.

Finally, while 2025-2026 has been an extreme struggle, the future is much brighter. This is because the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history will come in next season, and Addy Nyemchek, the top-ranked player in it, was named the program’s first McDonald’s All-American.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, Alex Bozich was joined by the IndyStar’s Zach Osterman to discuss IU’s offseason in football and the stretch run in basketball.

Also, The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Has Strong Opening Weekend

• Softball had a solid first weekend, defeating Army, Ohio State, Delaware, and Stonehill after a season-opening loss to elite Florida Atlantic.

• Wrestling continued what was a dominating week of the Badgers across IU athletics, upsetting top-15 Wisconsin.

• Men’s tennis beat Middle Tennessee, Toledo, and Dartmouth.

• Women’s tennis beat West Virginia to remain perfect to open their year.

• Women’s golf finished seventh at its first tournament of the spring season.

• Track and field took part in the Windy City Invitational.

• Water polo suffered its first loss of the season to Harvard.

• Football announced its new Director of Athletic Performance.

• Men’s soccer announced its spring exhibition schedule and signed its next recruiting class.

• Field hockey announced its spring exhibition schedule.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

IU finally appears to have turned the corner on the hardwood. Whether it be two signature wins or the recruiting trail, the Hoosiers had their best week of the season.

Also, football announced its schedule for next year. As usual, we will conclude with weekly shows and a look at the rest of the Indiana sports in action, which was led by big victories for swimming and diving.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• Hoosiers Knock Off Arch-Rival Purdue For First Signature Win Of Season

• IU Continues Hot Streak With Double OT Thriller Victory At UCLA

• Indiana Snags Third Recruit For Next Year

• Football Announces 2026 Fall Schedule

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Swimming And Diving Beats Louisville and Purdue

Banner #1: Hoosiers Knock Off Arch-Rival Purdue For First Signature Win Of Season

IU basketball appears to have caught the winning ways from football’s national championship, as the gridiron Hoosiers were honored at Assembly Hall on this night. This was part of a special Tuesday evening in Bloomington in multiple ways.

Led by the emergence of Nick Dorn and Reed Bailey to go with the always strong play of Tucker Devries and especially Lamar Wilkerson, this squad has rounded into form as it makes a postseason push. It started with a win over archrival Purdue 72-67.

Indiana controlled this game comfortably for most of the night. However, a late run from the Boilermakers cut the lead to 2 with about a minute left. Then Conor Enright drilled a dagger three and the team held on from there. Wilkerson and Dorn scored 19 and 18 points respectively as the team made 12 three pointers on the night to key the victory.

Afterwards, IU coach Darian DeVries spoke, Inside the Hall had a photo gallery, Ryan Corazza wrote a Minute After and Film Session, Alex Bozich penned Five Takeaways, and Quinn Richards and Josh Pos put together columns about the night.

Banner #2: IU Continues Hot Streak With Double OT Thriller Victory At UCLA

The winning continued in Los Angeles on Saturday. In the most thrilling back-and-forth victory this season, the Hoosiers came out on top 98-97 in double overtime.

Indiana held a 10-point lead with under two minutes to go before another late collapse forced overtime. Despite this, IU showed grit and heart in the extra sessions, making multiple clutch free throws and Wilkerson layups. In the end, Trent Sisley was fouled with under a second left in the second overtime and made the game-winning free throw.

Bailey, Dorn. and Wilkerson combined for 74 points with each scoring at least 24 individually in the victory. The squad as a whole also made a strong 31-38 from the free throw line, including 10-14 in the OT’s.

Afterwards, Coach DeVries spoke, Corazza wrote a Minute After, and Pos penned a column about IU’s character.

At 15-7 overall and 6-5 in the Big Ten, the Hoosiers likely moved to the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble with their first two quad one victories this season as they climb the conference standings. Their West Coast trip concludes on the other side of Los Angeles on Tuesday when they face USC at 10 pm on Peacock.

Banner #3: Indiana Snags Third Recruit For Next Fall

It wasn’t just on the court that major wins occurred this week. The victories also took place off it, as IU bagged a third big-time recruit for next fall.

Trevor Manhertz decided on Wednesday where he would play college basketball in 2026 and picked the Hoosiers. Manhertz is a top-75 wing and the third member of the class joining Prince-Alexander Moody and Vaughn Karvala.

Banner #4: Football Announces 2026 Fall Schedule

With their national championship now in the rearview mirror, the 2026 fall schedule was announced by the Big Ten for football this last week. While IU has had many big games in the last couple of years, pretty much every one of them has been on the road or at a neutral site.

This will change next year when Indiana has signature home games against Ohio State and USC. This is two of the eight matchups at Memorial Stadium next autumn.

The other piece of news related to the team is that star WR Omar Cooper Jr. declared for the NFL draft. However, even with him leaving, this room should be just as good going forward with the return of Charlie Becker and the addition of top-level Michigan State transfer Nick Marsh. Also, with Josh Hoover coming in to play QB, the Hoosiers should once again contend at the top of college football.

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Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, Alex Bozich was joined by Inside the Hall’s own Corazza to discuss IU’s victory over Purdue.

Also, The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming.

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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Swimming And Diving Beats Purdue and Louisville

• Swimming and diving swept arch-rival Purdue and ranked Louisville.

• Water polo beat a trio of opponents to continue its undefeated start to the season.

• Women’s tennis swept Cincinnati and Eastern Kentucky to remain perfect to open their year.

• Wrestling beat Michigan State and lost to Illinois.

• Track and field took part in multiple events this weekend.

• Men’s soccer signed five players from the transfer portal.

• Finally, women’s basketball lost to Purdue as well as Michigan this week. They have a legitimate chance, though, for their first Big Ten win when they face struggling Northwestern today.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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