6-Banner Sunday: Three-win week has IU firmly in NCAA tournament mix

  • Mar 2, 2025 9:13 am
 

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 basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

Indiana was back on the court three times this week. When it appeared the Hoosiers were down and out, they picked up a signature win over archrival Purdue and avoided slipping up against Penn State. Also, on Saturday at Washington, they continued their hot play to close in on an NCAA tournament bid.

Besides this, the women had a rough couple of games but are still on track to make March Madness. We will, as usual, conclude with weekly shows and a look at other Indiana sports, led by swimming and diving winning another Big Ten championship.

In a brief story, a former Hoosier has signed with another NBA team. Jalen Hood-Schifino, who struggled to get his pro career going after a successful season in Bloomington, has agreed to a two-way deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• Dominant second half pushes IU past rival Purdue
• 3-point shooting helps Hoosiers outlast Penn State
• IU cruises past Washington for critical road win
• IU women drop two games but remain an NCAA tournament team
• Podcast on the Brink and Back Home Network shows
• Hoosier Roundup

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.)

Banner #1 – Dominant second half pushes IU past rival Purdue

While the coaching search continues, IU took to the court several times this week. Last Sunday, they took on arch-rival Purdue in Bloomington in what was their final chance to get a signature victory for their NCAA tournament resume.

The Hoosiers responded to the challenge after a slow start with arguably their best second half of the season. Indiana outscored the Boilers 48-21 in the final 20 minutes to win going away 73-58. This result gives IU coach Mike Woodson a 4-4 record against his squad’s biggest rival despite them having their best years with him at the helm.

With this victory, Indiana also put itself firmly back into March Madness contention. They still have a bit more work to do, but a postseason bid that looked impossible a couple of weeks ago is now within reach.

Afterward, Woodson spoke, Inside the Hall had a photo gallery, Ryan Corazza wrote a Minute Afterand Film Session, Alex Bozich put together Five Takeaways, while Kevin Vera penned a column about the strong defensive effort.

Banner #2 – 3-point shooting helps Hoosiers outlast Penn State

The Hoosiers had to avoid tripping up at home against a Penn State squad near the bottom of the league to continue to improve their NCAA tournament hopes. They accomplished this just barely.

Despite struggles on defense and trailing for most of the night, IU took the lead for good on back-to-back three-pointers by Trey Galloway late and held on from there. In the end, Indiana slipped by the Nittany Lions 83-78.

Afterward, Woodson spoke, Inside the Hall had a photo gallery, Corazza wrote a Minute After and Film Session, Bozich put together Five Takeaways, while Will Foley penned a column about keeping postseason hopes alive.

Banner #3 – IU cruises past Washington for critical road win

Facing a squad with the worst record in the Big Ten, Indiana showed no mercy and was in charge from start to finish for the first time since their conference opener against Minnesota. IU went ahead big early and led by double figures for most of the evening in a dominant 78-62 win.

Afterward, Corazza wrote a Minute After, Bozich put together Five Takeaways, while Matt Press penned a column about the Hoosiers being back in NCAA Tourney contention.

With the victories this week, IU improves to 18-11 overall and 9-9 in the league. They stay on the West Coast to face Oregon on Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on FS1 before their home and conference finale against Ohio State next Saturday at 3:45 p.m. ET on CBS.

Banner #4 – IU women drop two games but remain an NCAA tournament team

On the other side of Assembly Hall, it was a rough week for the IU women. The Hoosiers faced tough competition against ranked Michigan State and Maryland and succumbed to both.

With this result, the squad is now 17-11 overall and 9-8 in the league. Still, they have all but secured a 6th straight appearance in March Madness. However, they would do well to leave no doubt by knocking off a struggling Purdue squad today at 2 pm Eastern time on Peacock in West Lafayette in what is both sides’ conference finale.

Banner #5 – Podcast on the Brink and Back Home Network shows

Podcast on the Brink was recorded this week. The episode featured Mike Wiemuth of Xs and Joes to discuss the coaching search.

The Back Home Network was also on air multiple times in the last few days.

Assembly Call Postgame, Crimson Cast, Doing The Work, and Dribble Drive all had shows.

Banner #6 – Hoosier Roundup

• The swimming and diving men won yet another Big Ten Championship in dominant fashion.

• Softball continued its strong start to the season, defeating Lafayette and East Carolina but also falling to elite Texas Tech and Clemson.

• Baseball continued its up-and-down start to the season defeating Harvard, Northwestern, Mount St. Mary’s, and Stetson but also falling to Xavier as well as the Hatters in a rematch.

• Volleyball announced their Big Ten opponents for next fall as well as an upcoming spring exhibition match.

• Women’s soccer added an assistant to their new coaching staff.

• Track and field competed at the Big Ten Championships.

• Water polo upset UC Davis.

• Men’s tennis fell to Memphis.

• Women’s tennis beat UIC.

• Women’s golf finished 15th at the Chevron Collegiate.

Thanks for your continued support of 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

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Category: 6-Banner Sunday

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