[6BS] Basketball Falls To Illinois And Purdue
After Rough Week, Hoosiers Clinging To NCAA Tournament Spot
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.
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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?
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.
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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.