[6BS] IU Splits Empire Classic Games In New York
[6BS] IU Splits Empire Classic Games In New York
Women's Basketball Picks Up Two Signature Wins And Men's Soccer Advances In NCAA Tournament
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.
Indiana was seriously tested for the first time this season in New York at the Empire Classic this week. The results went as expected and were somewhere between a total success and complete failure.
Meanwhile, on the women’s side, it was the best few days of the year so far with a couple of massive victories. Also, Assembly Call had shows and an update on IU’s games streaming exclusively on Peacock. We will as usual conclude with a look at how other sports in Hoosier Nation are doing led by Men’s Soccer advancing to their ninth consecutive Sweet 16.
Here is what’s in this week’s edition:
Hoosiers Knock Off Louisville
IU Dominated By Elite UConn Team
Women’s Basketball Wins Three Games This Week Including Signature Victories Over Tennessee And Princeton
Assembly Call Shows
Peacock Offering Discount To Watch IU Games Exclusively Streamed By Their Service
Hoosier Roundup-Men’s Soccer Advances In NCAA Tournament
IU men’s basketball will play five games this season on Peacock and the women will play seven, making the streaming service essential 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! (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: Hoosiers Knock Off Louisville
IU was able to leave New York with a victory over the Cardinals in their second game of the Empire Classic. By doing so they improved to 4-1 on the season.
The contest went back-and-forth but the Hoosiers closed on a 13-2 run to win 74-66. Indiana employed a zone defense late to turn the game around. By doing so, they avoided an embarrassing defeat to an opposing side that barely beat UMBC and was blown out by Chattanooga. Malik Reneau and Kel’el Ware continued to look strong in the post and finished with 12 points each. However, the team’s lack of shooters is causing the opposition to clog the paint and make life difficult for IU’s duo inside.
Afterward, Hoosier coach Mike Woodson spoke, Ryan Corazza wrote the Minute After and Film Session, Alex Bozich penned Five Takeaways, and William McDermott put together a column about the late switch to zone defense. Finally, Assembly Call had its postgame polls and email as well as a Coach’s Corner, Film Room, and article about whether to be optimistic about the play so far.
Banner #2: IU Dominated By Elite UConn Team
IU hung tough with reigning national champion Connecticut for a while and was within seven points through 35 minutes of play. However, the Huskies pulled away late for a 77-57 win as the Hoosiers suffered their first defeat of the season.
Reneau led the team with 18 points in the post while Ware added 11. However, poor outside shooting was the issue just as it has been all year as the Cream and Crimson went just 3 of 13 from behind the arc.
Afterward, Woodson spoke, Ryan Corazza wrote the Minute After, Alex Bozich penned Five Takeaways, and Amanda Foster put together a column about the defeat being a wake-up call. Finally, Assembly Call went Inside The Numbers and had its postgame polls, email, and Film Room.
The Hoosiers return to action today at 4:30 pm against Harvard in a pseudo-home game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Crimson are likely better than any opponent IU has faced so far outside of UConn and sit at 5-1 overall and inside the KenPom Top 150.
Banner #3: Women’s Basketball Wins Three Games This Week Including Signature Victories Over Tennessee And Princeton
After miserably failing an early season test at Stanford, things have brightened up considerably for Indiana. After falling to 21st nationally as a result of the defeat, the Hoosiers have since looked like the team that spent much of last season in the top five nationally and won the Big Ten outright.
They started the week last Sunday by defeating a lesser Lipscomb squad. However, the real measuring stick came over the Thanksgiving holiday. The Hoosiers went to Fort Meyers Florida and controlled contests against Tennessee and Princeton who have the potential to make a deep run in March. Led by the post play of Mackenzie Holmes and the outside shooting of Yarden Garzon and Sara Scalia, the Hoosiers defeated the Lady Vols 71-57 on Turkey Day before knocking off the Tigers 72-63 just over 36 hours later.
Indiana is now 5-1 and figures to make a big jump in the polls this week. They do not have another tough matchup until New Year’s Eve as they look to put together a long- winning steak. Their next contest is this Thursday at Maine (7 pm ESPN+). This will be a homecoming for Holmes who grew up just outside of Portland where the game is being played.
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
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 #4: Assembly Call Shows
Assembly Call was on-air twice this week. This included postgame shows following the contests against UConn and Louisville.
Also, Doing The Work was on-air a couple of times in the last few days. This included episodes following the Lipscomb and Tennessee games.
Banner #5: Peacock Offering Discount To Watch IU Games Exclusively Streamed By Their Service
A huge change in the Big Ten’s new TV deal will see a handful of games exclusively streamed on Peacock rather than traditional cable. This includes 12 matchups featuring the Hoosiers. Seven women’s contests starting in January (including Iowa, Maryland, and Purdue) and five men’s games beginning in December (including Ohio State, Purdue, and Wisconsin) will be seen there.
Now Peacock is offering a Black Friday deal through tomorrow where these matchups can be seen for a discounted rate. Instead of the normal $6.99 a month or $59.99 for a year, it can now be bought for $1.99 monthly with the promo code BIGDEAL or $19.99 annually with the code YEARLONG. The service can be canceled at any time.
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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Men’s Soccer Advances In NCAA Tournament
Men’s soccer beat Wake Forest on the road last Sunday to advance to their ninth consecutive Sweet 16. They head to Virginia today (1 pm ESPN+) with a spot on the line in the Elite Eight next weekend. Unlike the last couple of rounds, this matchup would take place somewhere within driving distance of most IU fans should Indiana advance. The potential contest would be either in the Hoosier State (Bloomington or South Bend) or just north of it in Kalamazoo Michigan. Also, former star Pat Noonan of FC Cincinnati was named MLS’ Coach Of Year.
Football fell 35-31 in the Bucket game to close the season and now the attention turns to whether Tom Allen will be kept as head coach. Also, a former Hoosier was named as a recipient of the Ford-Kinnick Leadership Award.
Volleyball swept the weekend vs. Michigan and Michigan State to close the season after falling to highly-ranked Wisconsin last Sunday. They conclude 2023 at 21-12 overall and 11-9 in the league. It is the first time the squad has finished at or above .500 in Big Ten play in over 20 years. However, with a poor RPI and only a couple of signature wins, their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2010 is unlikely (there is no conference tournament in volleyball to improve their resume or receive an automatic bid).
Wrestling competed at the Keystone Classic.
Men’s tennis announced their 2024 schedule.
Women’s soccer had a former player receive the Leanne Grotke Award and six current Hoosiers named as CSC Academic All-District.
Swimming and diving had three athletes receive weekly awards from the Big Ten.
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