[6BS] Bryant And Anunoby To Face Off In Eastern Conference Finals
Hoosiers Moving Up In National Rankings For 2025-2026
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.
With little news directly related to the current team, a couple of former Hoosiers will face off deep in the NBA playoffs. Moreover, an Indiana team is involved in this.
Besides this, national rankings, roster, and recruiting updates. As usual, we will conclude with weekly shows and a look at other IU sports, led by softball’s season ending in their third straight NCAA Tournament.
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Here is what is in this week’s edition:
Bryant And Anunoby To Face Off In Eastern Conference Finals
Hoosiers Ranked 30th Nationally For 2025-2026 According To One Publication
Roster Updates
Recruiting Updates
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Softball’s Season Ends In NCAA Tournament
IU men’s basketball will play six games this season on Peacock and the women will play five contests on Peacock, making the streaming service a must-have for IU basketball fans. Sign up for Peacock using Inside the Hall’s link to help support the site and also enjoy Big Ten hoops all season long! In total, over 70 men's and women's games featuring Big Ten teams will air on Peacock this season (The link is an Inside the Hall affiliate link, so a commission will be paid to ITH if you click and subscribe to Peacock. Alex and the ITH team appreciate your support!)
Banner #1: Bryant And Anunoby To Face Off In Eastern Conference Finals
Former Hoosier Trayce Jackson-Davis and the Golden State Warriors have been eliminated from the NBA playoffs in the Western Conference Semifinals. This leaves just two former IU players still competing.
However, the remaining duo is quite a big deal for multiple reasons. First off, these two will face off in the Eastern Conference Finals. The players going head-to-head are O.G. Anunoby and Thomas Bryant.
Anunoby plays for the New York Knicks and is easily the most successful of the current professionals who once donned the Cream and Crimson. He is a regular starter and averages 18 points a game on a squad that has legitimate championship aspirations.
However, Bryant is part of the team that competes in Indiana and is just up the road from Bloomington. While he is the backup center to Myles Turner, he plays a critical role off the bench for the Pacers. As a result, many Hoosier supporters would like to see his side bring the first NBA title to the state.
Either way, though, a former IU player will be playing for an NBA Championship in June. If one of the squads is raising the Larry O’Brien Trophy, it will be the first time since the 1970s (and in the Pacers’ case, this was in the ABA).
However, it did not go as well on the women’s side for former Indiana players. Both Grace Berger (Minnesota Lynx) and Mackenzie Holmes (Seattle Storm) were cut from their WNBA teams.
Banner #2: Hoosiers Ranked 30th Nationally For 2025-2026 According To One Publication
Despite some unknowns with all the roster turnover, one publication is fairly bullish on IU for the upcoming season. Andy Katz’s rankings have Indiana at No. 30 for next season.
While being this high will make many Hoosier fans satisfied, the fact that arch-rival Purdue is No. 1 in this rundown might cause some mixed feelings. Other Big Ten squads here include No. 8 Michigan, No. 12 Oregon, No. 16 UCLA, No. 19 Illinois, No. 21 Wisconsin, No. 24 Michigan State, No. 27 USC, No. 28 Maryland, and No. 31 Ohio State.
Banner #3: Roster Updates
Once again, no new players joined the Hoosiers this week on the men’s side. However, there was still news regarding the roster.
Kanaan Carlyle became the final IU player from last season who played regularly to find a new home, moving down a level to Florida Atlantic. This leaves the unused Dallas James as the only one still looking for another opportunity.
With rosters now mostly set across the country, Inside the Hall looked at where teams in the Big Ten stand, personnel wise. Those wanting to view these players next year will need to subscribe to Peacock to see all of their games.
Turning to the women, they announced a minor addition for next year. They added a junior college transfer in Northwest Florida State’s Jade Ondineme.
Banner #4: Recruiting Updates
With the roster for this coming season nearly complete, new IU coach Darian DeVries has turned to high school recruiting. DeVries has offered scholarships this week to multiple elite players for future years. Also, Inside the Hall had a mailbag answering questions about this topic, amongst other things.
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
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
Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, The Sporting News’ Mike DeCourcy discussed the DeVries hire. Also, DeVries’ assistant Drew Adams was on with Hoosiers Connect.
Finally, the Back Home Network was also on air multiple times in the last few days. Crimson Cast, Dribble Drive, and Xs and Joes all had shows this week.
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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball’s Season Ends In NCAA Tournament
Softball was selected for its third straight NCAA Tournament. Here they went 1-2 to conclude their season losing twice to Oklahoma State and beating St. Louis.
Baseball finished off a series win over arch-rival Purdue after a Saturday loss last weekend. This weekend, they won a series against Michigan, setting them up as the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. However, with a resume not worthy of an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, they will need to win four straight in Omaha to make the postseason for a third consecutive year.
Volleyball’s Mady Saras signed a pro contract.
Wrestling signed a transfer.
Men’s golf finished their season after Clay Merchent came in 38th at the Urbana Regional.
Rowing is currently competing at the Big Ten Championships.
Track and field is also currently competing at the conference championship.
Thanks for your continued support for 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.