6-Banner Sunday: IU snaps losing streak with win against Wisconsin
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 Trueblood Real Estate, 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.
After a four-game losing streak, everything finally came together for the Hoosiers against Wisconsin on Tuesday for a win. On the women’s side, Indiana got an easy victory at struggling Northwestern, but the more significant stories came away from the court.
Besides this, Bracketology, weekly shows from the Back Home Network, and Mike Woodson’s radio program conclude the basketball portion of 6-Banner. We will, as usual, conclude with a look at other IU sports led by another Big Ten championship from swimming and diving.
Here is what’s in this week’s edition:
• Hoosiers knock off Wisconsin to end losing streak
• Women cruise past Northwestern
• Bracketology updates
• Weekly Inside the Hall and Assembly Call shows
• Mike Woodson radio show recap
• Hoosier Roundup – Swimming and Diving wins Big Ten championship
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 Wisconsin to end losing streak
In one of the craziest games this season, the Hoosiers emerged victorious. The Cream and Crimson jumped out to a 15-point lead in the first half. However, Wisconsin came back and tied the contest at 54 with just over 10 minutes left.
Then a fire alarm went off in the balcony and Assembly Hall had to be evacuated. Once it was determined that there were no flames anywhere in the arena, play resumed after a short delay. The portion of the crowd that returned to their seats witnessed a thriller.
The score was tied at 70 with just under a minute left before a Malik Reneau layup gave Indiana the lead for good. After a Badgers miss, the Hoosiers closed it out with free throws for a 74-70 win. Kel’el Ware had a fantastic night with 27 points and 11 rebounds, while Mackenzie Mgbako and Reneau added 14 points each.
Afterward, IU coach Woodson spoke, Ryan Corazza wrote a Minute After and Film Session, Alex Bozich penned Five Takeaways, and William McDermott put together a column about the winning defensive effort from the team. Also, Assembly Call had their postgame email and polls and a Film Room.
Indiana is now 15-13 overall and 7-10 in the Big Ten. They are back in action today against struggling Maryland on the road at 2 p.m. on CBS.
Banner #2 – Women cruise past Northwestern
The No. 12/14 women took to the court just once last week. IU went to Northwestern and easily picked apart an 8-20 Wildcats squad in a game where the Hoosiers got plenty of playing time for the bench. The final was 84-64 as Indiana now sits at 15-2 in the league and 23-4 overall.
Ohio State has already clinched the conference title, but the Hoosiers will be playing for second place on senior day today against the Terps (3 p.m. on Peacock). It will be the final regular season home game and senior day for All-American center Mackenzie Holmes and sharpshooter Sara Scalia. One player who will not take part in the festivities is Chloe Moore McNeil, who confirmed on Saturday she will join Sydney Parrish and return in 2024-2025. The team is also pushing to have an attendance of at least 11,835 so they can average over 10,000 fans per game for the first time in program history and just the fourth time ever for a Big Ten squad.
Away from the court, several big stories occurred. Holmes was named a finalist for two postseason awards. Also, Teri Moren was announced as the National Under 18 USA Basketball squad coach. Finally, the team received a commitment from the top player in Missouri for 2025. Nevaeh Caffey pledged to the Hoosiers via X on Saturday and is described as an “athletic guard,” which is a player type Indiana has been missing all season.
The biggest story in women’s college basketball this week was one that loosely relates to IU. Caitlin Clark will no longer be in the Big Ten next season to battle the Hoosiers in the rivalry between them and the Hawkeyes. This is because Clark announced on Thursday she will not use a fifth season and instead declare for the WNBA draft.
In an ironic twist of fate, Clark will go from the opposition for many IU fans to the ally as she is almost certain to be drafted by the Indiana Fever with the top pick. This will team her with former Hoosier great and college rival Grace Berger. However, IU fans will likely have to root against Clark one final time when Indiana and Iowa are almost sure to square off in the semifinals of the league tournament next Saturday in Minneapolis.
Banner #3 – Bracketology updates
New bracketology was released for both the men’s and women’s teams. The women continue to sit in a great position to begin March Madness at home for the third straight season with a NET inside the top 15. Indeed, the selection committee released an update on where Indiana stands and they currently sit just inside the top 16 as a host at No. 14. Also in their bracket would be Stanford, Texas, and NC State. ESPN’s Charlie Creme has Indiana hosting 13-seed Fairfield. The other game in Assembly Hall would see five-seed Notre Dame and 12-seed Columbia.
As for the men, their path is considerably less rosy as they sit well outside the field per bracketology by both ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and Assembly Call’s Andy Bottoms. With a NET of around 100, they will have to rely on winning the league tournament to participate in March Madness.
Banner #4 – Weekly Inside the Hall and Assembly Call shows
Inside the Hall and the Back Home Network had several new shows this week. ITH’s Podcast on the Brink had Ryan Corazza on to discuss the Wisconsin victory.
Meanwhile, the Back Home Network was on multiple times this week. Assembly Call had a postgame show following Wisconsin and will be on again today after Maryland. Also, AC Radio was on Thursday and they talked about the state of the program.
Finally, Doing The Work had a show following Northwestern and will be again later today when their contest with the Terps concludes. Finally, Xs and Joes had a new episode this week and talked about how winning programs evaluate and acquire top personnel.
Banner #5 – Mike Woodson radio show recap
Woodson had his regular radio show last Monday. On it, he and Don Fisher discussed the defeats against Nebraska and Penn State and what the team can do to improve.
Banner #6 – Hoosier Roundup – Swimming and Diving wins Big Ten championship
• No. 5 men’s swimming and diving won their third straight Big Ten championship in dominant fashion.
• Softball beat Marshall to close last weekend. They then knocked off Bowling Green on Friday and the Falcons again on Saturday before edging out Valparaiso as part of a doubleheader.
• No. 20 baseball finished a sweep of Baylor last weekend. They then suffered a surprising loss to Purdue Fort Wayne and a beatdown against Alabama before picking up another signature win by defeating Dallas Baptist. Also, Devin Taylor was named Big Ten Player of the Week.
• Men’s soccer lost a spring exhibition match to St. Louis by a score of 1-0.
• No. 14 water polo beat Ponoma-Pitzer before falling to top-ranked UCLA.
• Women’s golf finished 15th at the Chevron Collegiate.
• Women’s tennis beat Cornell but lost to Iowa in their conference opener.
• Men’s tennis had their upcoming match against UCSD rescheduled.
• Field hockey announced their spring exhibition schedule.
• Track and field had several athletes officially qualify for the NCAA indoor championships.
Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.
Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor
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