6-Banner Sunday: IU basketball falls to Illinois and Purdue in rough week
- Staff
- 48m ago
Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, where we highlight the five most essential IU sports stories of the past week. 6-Banner Sunday is written by Ari Shifron.
IU had its toughest matchups of the season this week and was dominated by Illinois and Purdue.
Additionally, we will examine Bracketology and the struggles of women’s basketball on the West Coast. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of Hoosier sports in action, led by football, which gave another raise to Curt Cignetti.
Here is what is in this week’s edition:
• Hoosiers fall flat in second half against Illinois
• IU dominated by Purdue at Mackey Arena
• NCAA tournament bracketology updates
• IU women’s basketball falls by 44 at UCLA
• Back Home Network shows
• Hoosier Roundup
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 The Minute After and Film Session, Alex Bozich penned Five Takeaways, and Quinn Richards put together a column about IU’s rebounding struggles.
Banner #2 – IU dominated by Purdue at Mackey Arena
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, it was a 29-point loss.
Afterwards, IU coach Darian DeVries spoke, Corazza wrote The 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 p.m. ET on FS1. They will face a must-win contest against struggling Northwestern at Assembly Hall as a critical three-game homestand begins.
Banner #3 – NCAA tournament bracketology updates
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.
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 next couple of weeks. Still another win to reach 20 overall would make things much more comfortable. However, to avoid Dayton and the “First Four,” an additional signature victory against 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 – IU women’s basketball falls by 44 at UCLA
The women’s 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 for the Hoosiers 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 tournament berth. This would also make them eligible for the second-tier WNIT or WBIT.
First, though, they have a moderate challenge today. They take on Oregon at home with tipoff at 1 p.m. ET on BTN.
Banner #5 – Back Home Network 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.
Banner #6 – Hoosier Roundup
• 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.
Now go enjoy yourself a 6-Banner Sunday.
Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor
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