6-Banner Sunday: Indiana finishes non-conference play with 10-3 record
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 holiday break, the Hoosiers returned to Assembly Hall Friday night for a marathon of a contest against Kennesaw State. In a fast-paced game, IU came out on top in their finale before Big Ten opposition resumes.
The women did not play this week but return to conference competition today. Besides this, Bracketology, power rankings, former Indiana players in the NBA, and Back Home Network shows wrap up the basketball portion of 6-Banner. We will, as usual, conclude with a look at other Hoosier sports led by more signees for football.
Here is what’s in this week’s edition:
• Hoosiers beat Kennesaw State to finish non-conference play
• Women resume Big Ten play beginning today
• Bracketology and Big Ten power rankings
• Hoosiers in the NBA update
• Back Home Network 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 – Hoosiers beat Kennesaw State to finish non-conference play
The result was mostly positive in a game that was up and down for IU. It started with the Cream and Crimson hitting their first five 3-pointers which led them to a 27-16 lead and sent Assembly Hall into a frenzy. However, the Owls were red-hot from long range all night and hit 17 while Indiana cooled off. By halftime, it was just a 50-46 advantage for the home side and once the intermission ended, KSU continued the pressure and eventually took a 68-64 lead.
However, the Hoosiers took over from there and went on a huge run and pulled away for a 100-87 win. Malik Reneau led the way with a career-high 34 points and put the contest on ice down the stretch. His production was especially critical with his team down two starters as Kel’el Ware and Xavier Johnson were out of commission.
Afterward, IU coach Mike Woodson spoke, Inside the Hall had a photo gallery, Ryan Corazza wrote a Minute After and Film Session, Alex Bozich penned Five Takeaways, while William McDermott put together a column on the dominating frontcourt performance. Also, Assembly Call had their postgame polls and email as well as a Film Room.
The team returns to action this week when Big Ten play resumes for good. This begins Wednesday and Saturday with Nebraska on the road and Ohio State at home.
Banner #2 – Women resume Big Ten play beginning today
The No. 16/15 women took the entire week off. However, they also return to conference play, which begins today as they look to defend their league title. They take on Illinois at 12:30 pm on Big Ten Network in Bloomington. The Hoosiers have won 15 straight over the Fighting Illini heading into it. However, Indiana’s neighbors to the west have drastically improved in the last couple of seasons under new coach Shauna Green. While they sit at just 6-5, they returned almost their entire squad from last season that made the NCAA Tournament and have suffered many close losses to high-level competition.
Thursday could be even more challenging. The Cream and Crimson face a red-hot Michigan squad that knocked off national contender Ohio State on Saturday. The Wolverines have been up and down, though, with a loss to middling Toledo. At their best, they are as good as anyone in the country and led by one of the better players in America in the form of Laila Phelia.
Banner #3 – Bracketology and Big Ten power rankings
New Bracketology was released for the men and women this week with both in entirely different positions. The men sit at 10-3 and managed to avoid a bad loss in non-conference play. However, they also currently sport a NET ranking that sits around 100 and has not beaten anyone inside the top 75. Right now, Joe Lunardi has them as a 13-seed with the caveat that they lead the Big Ten at 2-0 and are given the automatic qualifier. However, they may need that auto-bid to participate in March Madness as they are well outside the at-large picture. Without a huge Big Ten season, they could well be sitting at home come the postseason, given their current metrics.
The women, on the other hand, have a NET in the top 20 and are a lock to make the NCAA tournament. The only question for them is if they host the beginning of it in Assembly Hall for the third straight year. Currently, ESPN’s Charlie Creme has them doing just that as a four-seed.
Turning back to the men, Inside the Hall began updated their power rankings for the league. Currently, they have the Hoosiers as eighth between Michigan State and Maryland.
Banner #4 – Hoosiers in the NBA update
A couple of noteworthy items occurred for recent former Hoosiers. First, OG Anunoby was traded from struggling Toronto to the playoff-contending Knicks. This gives Anunoby an excellent chance to contribute on a solid squad.
Meanwhile, rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis has taken full advantage of Draymond Green’s indefinite suspension. McDermott wrote about TJD’s rookie season this week. With his increased role, he has scored in double figures six times in the last seven contests.
Banner #5 – Back Home Network shows
The Back Home Network was on-air a few times this week. Assembly Call had a postgame show for Kennesaw State on Friday and AC Radio the night before.
Meanwhile, Doing The Work had an episode on Wednesday. On it, they recapped the Bowling Green game from the week before.
Banner #6 – Hoosier Roundup
• New IU football coach Curt Cignetti added to his first recruiting class. The program announced several James Madison transfers following their bowl game to go with the previously known players.
• Wrestling will compete at the Southern Scuffle as well as the Midlands this coming week.
• Baseball was featured in the D1 site’s preview. They have high expectations after making their fourth NCAA regional final in program history last season.
• Former IU legendary swimming and diver Thomas Cole passed away at age 63.
Thanks for your continued support for 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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