Author: Mike Schumann

The countdown to Selection Sunday 2023 continues.  Now just two weeks away, it is time once again for our weekly look at where IU basketball stands in the eyes of the bracketology world. With two regular season games plus the Big Ten Tournament remaining, Indiana (20-9, 11-7) remains solidly in the NCAA Tournament field after splitting a week of brutal road trips to Michigan State and Purdue. The best estimate might be that Indiana is hovering right now between a No. 3 and No. 4 seed, and probably leaning towards a No. 4 at this point. With a minimum of…

Indiana may get a chance on Friday to avenge one of its two losses this season.  Another chance for revenge will have to wait until Sunday if the Hoosiers can get back to the Big Ten championship game. The conference released the 2023 women’s basketball tournament bracket on Sunday evening. As the No. 1 overall seed, IU earned a double-bye and will face the winner of a Thursday tilt between No. 9 Michigan State and No. 8 Nebraska.  IU lost to the Spartans in late December before defeating the Cornhuskers in a tight game in Bloomington on New Year’s Day. …

IU played their best basketball of the season on Saturday night.  Probably their best game in several seasons. The Hoosiers got off to a slow start.  They trailed 6-0 out of the gate, trailed by as much as seven, and never led in the first half despite keeping things reasonably close.  But a 19-3 early second half IU run completely changed the complexion of the game.  Indiana led 59-48 with 10:33 to go, and Purdue would never get closer than eight. Indiana swept Purdue in a season series for the first time since the 2012-13 season.  This was Indiana’s first…

WEST LAFAYETTE — Indiana defeated Purdue on Saturday evening by a final score of 79-71 at Mackey Arena. The Hoosiers completed their first sweep of Purdue since 2013. Purdue led 38-34 at halftime. Indiana was led in the game by Jalen Hood-Schifino with 35 points. Miller Kopp and Trey Galloway added 13 points apiece. That trio combined to make 7-of-13 from three. Indiana (20-9, 11-7) will next host Iowa on Tuesday in Bloomington at 7 p.m. ET. See also: Mike Woodson, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jalen Hood-Schifino post-game video THREE KEYS TO THE GAME 1. Hood-Schifino is a pro. Jalen Hood-Schifino…

They don’t come often, but when they do, it immediately becomes one of the more enjoyable wins of the year. It takes a special kind of team to go into West Lafayette and pull out a win.  Or has been the case in some years, just a really bad Purdue team. The last time IU won at Purdue (2013), former head coach Tom Crean said this about winning at Mackey Arena. “To win here, you’ve gotta really be on top of your game. It’s not just the offensive and defensive execution. It’s the attitude. It’s the energy, it’s the mental…

Game Day Essentials:  No. 17 Indiana (19-9, 10-7) at No. 5 Purdue (24-4, 14-4) Tip Time: 7:30 p.m. Eastern Location: Mackey Arena (14,240), West Lafayette, Ind. Television: FOX (Gus Johnson, Jim Jackson) Stream:  Fox Sports IU Radio Network: IU Radio Network Point Spread: Purdue is a 7-point favorite. KenPom Projected Score: No. 4 Purdue 75  No. 24 Indiana 67 Series: Purdue leads 125-91. IU won last meeting 79-74  on Feb. 4, 2023 More game coverage: Watch: Matt Painter and Zach Edey preview game against Indiana All-American matchup 2.0: TJD and IU preparing for another battle with Edey and Purdue Watch: Trayce…

Jesse McCulloch, a four-star center in the class of 2024, has narrowed his list of suitors down to eight schools: Alabama, Indiana, Kent State, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, and Xavier. McCulloch told On3’s Joe Tipton he has an early March official visit set up to Michigan State, and he’d like to officially visit Indiana and Xavier, although dates are not set yet for those two.  He also recently visited Alabama. The 6-foot-9 McCulloch previously took an unofficial visit to Indiana in the fall after the Hoosiers offered in July.  He played AAU basketball for the Indy Heat…

With spring practice around the corner, this is the time of the year when the less cynical IU fans begin to wonder — “could this be our year?” But hope doesn’t spring eternal for many after a brutal two season stretch. Coming off one of the better two consecutive season spans in program history, Tom Allen’s Hoosiers have done little to build belief.  After going a combined 14-7 in 2019-20, the Hoosiers went just 6-18 in 2021-22.  That was the lowest two-year win total for IU since the first two seasons of the Kevin Wilson era in 2011-12, coming immediately…

There was a time when he said he’d never return to anything associated with IU basketball. Bob Knight said it, he believed it, and everyone else believed it. Knight’s return to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall during halftime of the Purdue game three years ago was a very public change to that stance, but it still wasn’t as if he had suddenly become a friend of the program. The legendary former head coach and three-time national champion came back three years ago because it meant something to his former players.  At the time, everyone thought it was a one time thing.…

Can Indiana get back to its original starting lineup before the postseason arrives? It’s getting late in the shot clock. With just three regular season games remaining, IU basketball coach Mike Woodson said on Thursday he still doesn’t know if starting point guard Xavier Johnson will return to the floor. Johnson has been seen on the court participating in some light shooting and shootaround activities, but he still hasn’t crossed over to full contact basketball.  And that’s leaving his head coach unsure on how things will play out. “He’s doing some individual stuff, but contact, and doing drills with the…