[6BS] IU Beats SIUE In Season Opener
Football Edges Michigan For First 10 Win Season In Program History
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.
In a 6-Banner that is almost entirely about game results, the IU basketball season is here for both the men’s and women’s teams. Also, football picked up arguably its biggest win in program history over Michigan.
Besides this, readers will find info about weekly shows. We will as usual conclude with a look at other Hoosier sports led by postseason scores for men’s soccer and field hockey.
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 Beats SIU Edwardsville In Season Opener
Hoosiers Take On Eastern Illinois Today
Women Win Opener But Suffer Surprising Loss To Harvard
Football Beats Michigan For First Ten Win Season In Program History
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Postseason Results For Men’s Soccer And Field Hockey
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: IU Beats SIU Edwardsville In Season Opener
The Hoosiers’ 2024-2025 season finally arrived with high expectations on Wednesday. With the games now counting towards the team’s record, IU faced SIUE in their season opener.
While it was not as big of a blowout as many fans may have wanted, it was also not the nail-biter that the opener against Florida Gulf Coast was in 2023-2024. In the end, despite some rough moments, Indiana won relatively easily 80-61 behind a career night from sophomore Mackenzie Mgbako.
Afterward, IU coach Mike Woodson spoke, Inside the Hall had a Photo Gallery, Ryan Corazza wrote a Minute After and Film Session, Alex Bozich provided Five Takeaways, and Will Foley penned a column about Mgbako.
Banner #2: Hoosiers Take On Eastern Illinois Today
Game number two of the 2024-2025 season is today. It will be against another squad towards the bottom of college basketball as the Eastern Illinois Panthers make the short trip to Bloomington.
The contest starts at noon on BIG+. Given the poor metrics of its opponent, the Hoosiers must win comfortably to not put a blemish on their resume.
Banner #3: Women Win Opener But Suffer Surprising Loss To Harvard
The women’s squad opened their season in dominant fashion with a 22-point win over Brown. However, IU coach Teri Moren was not happy with the performance.
It turned out Moren had a point as the Hoosiers laid an egg several nights later against Harvard in a surprising loss. The Crimson took Indiana to overtime and prevailed.
It appears the loss of all-time program great Mackenzie Holmes and sharp-shooter Sara Scalia is far bigger than anyone realized. While there is plenty of time to improve, the team will not be ranked in the polls for the first time since the end of the 2018-2019 season. They will have to pick up the pieces on Wednesday in a tough road contest against Butler.
Banner #4: Football Beats Michigan For First Ten Win Season In Program History
For the first time all fall, Indiana football was seriously tested and had a nail-biter until the final horn sounded. While Michigan is hovering around .500, they have by far the most talent of any squad the Hoosiers have seen in 2024 led by an elite defense.
The big thing the Wolverines lack though is strong quarterback play despite being superior to IU in many other aspects. As a result, Indiana led throughout but never by big margins. The defense though was able to stack the box and shut down Michigan’s run without any threat of a vertical passing game.
The Hoosiers raced to a 17-3 halftime lead but were stymied on offense throughout much of the final 30 minutes. With the score 17-15, IU had a huge punt return following a defensive stop which allowed them to kick a critical field goal. Once again the D was up to the task as the Wolverines could not get a final drive going and the boys from Bloomington held on for a 20-15 win.
With the victory, Indiana won its 10th game for the first time in program history. They also all but locked up a spot in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff assuming they win their home finale against hapless Purdue.
In between they head to Columbus against Ohio State in what will be a battle for a spot in the Big Ten Championship. Regardless of the result though, the CFP is very likely in the Hoosiers' future after being eighth in the inaugural rankings last 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
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 was recorded this week. It featured a discussion with the IndyStar’s Zach Osterman.
The Back Home Network was on-air multiple times this week. Bison Chat, multiple Crimson Cast episodes, Doing The Work, Dribble Drive, Xs and Joes, and Assembly Call Postgame all had episodes in the last few days.
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.
Gift subscriptions
And if you want to get really 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!
Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Postseason Results For Men’s Soccer And Field Hockey
Men’s soccer fell 1-0 in the Big Ten Tournament to Michigan. However, they will still almost certainly make yet another NCAA Tournament after a strong year. They also had several players honored by the conference.
Field hockey fell in the league tourney to Michigan after its best season in a long time. Also, one of their players was named Conference Defender of the Week, and several more were honored by the Big Ten.
Volleyball battled an elite Purdue team toe-to-toe but came up short in front of a record crowd.
Wrestling dominated Cal Poly.
Men’s golf took part in the Royal Ka’anapali and had the Big Ten Golfer of the Week.
Women’s tennis competed at the North Florida Invite and ITA Sectionals.
Men’s tennis competed at the Fighting Irish Mini Duals.
Track and field announced its 2024-2025 schedule.
Finally, Anthony Leal and Sydney Parrish are hosting a blood drive at Assembly Hall tomorrow where fans can donate blood.
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.
How do we watch IU - EAIL today?