6-Banner Sunday: Record-breaking week for Mackenzie Holmes and Sara Scalia as IU women beat Purdue and 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.
Women’s basketball had a huge week with two wins and two program records broken. The men, on the other hand, have not seen action since Six-Banner last published. They will take on Northwestern today.
In other news, new Bracketology, Hoosiers in the NBA, and several episodes from this week’s shows were released. We will, as usual, conclude with a look at other Indiana sports, led by a solid opening weekend from the baseball squad.
Here is what’s in this week’s edition:
• Women beat Purdue and Wisconsin as Mackenzie Holmes and Sara Scalia set records
• Men’s basketball resumes play today against Northwestern
• Bracketology
• Hoosiers in the NBA
• Weekly Shows
• Hoosier Roundup
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 – Women beat Purdue and Wisconsin as Mackenzie Holmes and Sara Scalia set records
The No. 12/14 women took to the court twice last week. IU swept their two opponents, dominating both Purdue at home and Wisconsin on the road. IU now sits at 12-2 in the league and is tied with Iowa for second, a game behind first-place Ohio State. However, Indiana is four games clear of fourth place as this trio continues to run away from the rest of the conference.
Both contests saw records fall. All-American Mackenzie Holmes left no doubt she is the best in program history as she broke Tyra Buss’ all-time school record for most total points by an individual. Also, Sara Scalia became the player with the most three-pointers in a single season for the women’s side at IU.
The team is next in action on Monday for a President’s Day special at Illinois (2 p.m. on FOX). However, this week’s big showdown is on Thursday when the Hawkeyes come to Bloomington (8 p.m. on Peacock; see the advertisement above for subscription information). The contest between the two rivals is already sold out as the Cream and Crimson look for their first victory against a ranked squad this season.
Finally, both Holmes and Chloe Moore-McNeil were honored. Moore-McNeil was named national player of the week, while Holmes was part of the midseason team for player of the year.
Banner #2 – Men’s basketball resumes play today against Northwestern
After an eight-day break, Indiana faces Northwestern at home today (3 p.m. on FS1). The contest will have a couple of unique angles for IU as a high number of recruits are expected in attendance and the Hoosiers will wear special uniforms.
Later in the week, Indiana hosts Nebraska on Wednesday (8:30 p.m. on BTN). Then, next Saturday, the Hoosiers head back on the road to play Penn State (noon on BTN).
Banner #3 – Bracketology
New bracketology was released for both the men’s and women’s teams. The women’s side continues to sit in a great position to begin March Madness at home for the third straight season with a NET inside the top 15 and a 21-3 record. The NCAA Committee confirmed this as they released their top-16 teams who would host as of today, with Indiana at No. 15. ESPN’s Charlie Creme also has them as a four-seed hosting 13-seed Ball State. The other game in Assembly Hall would see five-seed Syracuse and 12-seed Richmond.
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 almost certainly have to rely on winning the league tournament to participate in March Madness. The committee on the men’s side also released their top-16 squads with arch-rival Purdue at No. 1 along with Wisconsin and Illinois in the picture from the Big Ten. The Boilers are also number one in the conference according to Inside the Hall’s power rankings.
Banner #4 – Hoosiers in the NBA
It has been rough recently for former IU players in the NBA. Victor Oladipo no longer has a team as the Memphis Grizzles released him. Oladipo continues to rehab an injury and has yet to play a minute this season.
Meanwhile, Trayce Jackson-Davis has seen a decrease in minutes on the Golden State Warriors with the return of Draymond Green from suspension, and OG Anunoby is currently sidelined from the New York Knicks due to an elbow issue. Finally, Thomas Bryant, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and Cody Zeller have seen limited playing time for the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, and New Orleans Pelicans, respectively.
The bright spot right now for former Hoosiers is the one with the longest tenure in the league. Eric Gordon has been in the NBA since 2008 and is still averaging double figures on the contending Phoenix Suns.
Banner #5 – Weekly Shows
Inside the Hall and the Back Home Network had several new shows this week. ITH’s Podcast on the Brink had Tony Adragna on to discuss the struggles of Indiana this season.
Meanwhile, the Back Home Network was on multiple times this week. Assembly Call had AC Radio on Thursday to discuss the firing of Chris Holtmann at Ohio State as well as take mailbag questions from listeners.
Also, Doing The Work had shows following the Purdue and Wisconsin games. Finally, Xs and Joes talked about rivalries in college sports.
Mike Woodson’s radio program took place last Monday night. On it, assistant coach Kenya Hunter filled in to discuss the loss to Purdue and look ahead to Northwestern.
Banner #6 – Hoosier Roundup
• Baseball’s season opened this weekend. After losing Duke to begin the campaign, the Hoosiers got a huge road win against ranked Coastal Carolina on Saturday. Also, pitcher Ryan Kraft was named to a preseason watch list and Big Ten coaches picked IU to finish second in the league behind Iowa.
• Softball beat N.C. Central to close out their season-opening weekend in Florida last Sunday. In Alabama on Friday, the Hoosiers beat Florida A+M and Troy Friday. However, on Saturday, they suffered a bad loss to struggling Gardner Webb before rebounding to beat the Trojans again later in the day.
• No. 15 water polo beat Cal Baptist and Iona to remain undefeated in 2024.
• Men’s tennis knocked off Middle Tennessee State before having their match against Rice canceled.
• Women’s tennis fell to Alabama, Memphis, and Colorado before beating Ball State.
• No. 17 wrestling fell to highly-ranked Ohio State and Michigan.
• Track and Field competed at the Alex Wilson Invitational in South Bend.
• Former IU soccer great Will Bruin announced his retirement from the MLS.
• Volleyball had its Big Ten home and away opponents announced for fall 2024. This now includes the addition of conference foes Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington.
• 11 field hockey players made the national academic squad.
• Former IU swimming and diving coach Dennis Dale was selected for a lifetime achievement award. Also, a Hoosier diver qualified for the Olympics in Paris this summer.
• Hoosiers Connect and Homefield announced a partnership for NIL opportunities.
Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.
Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor
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