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In their one and only home game against a power four non-conference opponent, Indiana took an early lead with a 14-0 run and never looked back.

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Myles Rice led all scorers with 23 points while Mackenzie Mgbako, Malik Reneau, Kanaan Carlyle, and Trey Galloway all finished in double figures.

“I think when you have a game like this and you go and watch film, and I think film is the best teaching tool in basketball besides practicing and getting it right on the basketball floor,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson. “They knew coming into tonight's game that they had to be better. I thought they responded.”

With the win, Indiana is now 3-0 on the young season and will host UNC-Greensboro on Thursday night at Assembly Hall before heading to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament.

Here are three stats, two observations, and one lingering question from Indiana's 87-71 victory against South Carolina.

Did you miss yesterday's edition of the postgame show?

IU-South Carolina Box Score

Postgame Show

3 Meaningful Stats1. Myles Rice Finishes With 21 PointsIndiana fans held high hopes for what Myles Rice could achieve in an Indiana uniform after the exhibition game at Tennessee; however, his first two regular season games did not live up to the hype.

The Washington State transfer scored a combined 16 points over his first two games at Assembly Hall.

On Saturday, Rice more than doubled his point total, scoring a game-high 21 points on an impressive 7-of-10 performance. The redshirt sophomore also hit a trio of triples after only making 1-of-3 in the season’s opening games.

“It's just within a flow,” Rice said postgame. “Whether I have two points, ten assists or 20 points, two assists I am always just going to try to make the right play.”

Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesRice obviously has an abundance of talent handling and dishing the basketball, but his scoring is what will set him apart from other guards in the country.

Mike Woodson needs a scoring point guard for his offense to work and that’s what Rice brought on Saturday afternoon.

Indiana Makes Season-High 8 Threes.Fans have griped about the subpar three-point shooting over the last few seasons. From not making enough to not taking enough, there has always been something that has been a problem for Indiana.

Saturday afternoon was one of the more impressive shooting performance Indiana has had in some time. In fact, the last time the cream and crimson made eight threes in a game was in January of last season when Indiana took down Iowa at Assembly Hall.

Five different Hoosiers knocked down a three as the Hoosiers finished 8-of-17 from beyond the arc, 47.1%.

“Hey, I'll take -- if we can get much better than that I'll take it. Tonight was a step forward in making threes. You know, what did we shoot, 47% from the threes. Anybody in college basketball would take that,” Woodson said. “We just got to keep working at it and keep improving.”

Indiana has proven its worth in the paint, but it’s past time that the Hoosiers become a threat from deep.

3. Indiana’s bench got outscored 26-7Of all the good that came of Saturday’s victory, Indiana lost an important stat: bench points.

Indiana has far too much depth to get flat-out dominated in this stat.

The Hoosiers got off to a rocking start in the first half, but as soon as Woodson went to the bench, the momentum had vanished and South Carolina worked themselves back into the game.

“Just better movement offensively. You know, we did it in spurts, and when we did it in spurts it looked pretty good, the ball movement from side to side and getting easy looks. Then we got stagnant. We went up 15 points; from that point on we didn't play very well from an offensive standpoint,” Woodson said. “Defense was still solid, but I just got to help us get better.”

Coaches must make substitutions during the game, but if the bench cannot maintain the same energy, Indiana will be in trouble against better opponents. Only eight Hoosiers saw the floor with Gabe Cups and Langdon Hatton not seeing the floor Saturday. That could be a preview of what is to come in conference games.

2 Important Observations1. Kanaan Carlyle Finally Got The Lid Off The BasketIndiana fans and observers expressed concern about Stanford transfer Kanaan Carlyle's offensive production after two games.

Carlyle only made 2-of-11 from the field in his first two starts in an Indiana uniform and was becoming increasingly frustrated with his own play. His body language was poor, but his defensive remained steadfast.

The breakout finally happened for Atlanta native, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including two makes from deep.

One of Carlyle’s made threes was a transition entrance pass from half-court that was so bad, that it actually went in.

The parity of Indiana’s offense is imperative for success and to see Carlyle to have his coming out party, is a welcome sight for Woodson and Indiana.

2. Oumar Ballo Has Already Improved At The Free Throw LineIt may not be pretty, but Oumar Ballo has seen a drastic improvement from the charity stripe.

The career 56.5% free throw shooter had some troubles in the first half, but when his team needed him to make his free shots, he delivered. Ballo finished 5-of-9 for the game and is now 9-of-15 (60%) on the young season.

South Carolina decided to foul Ballo, attempting to extend the game and keep Indiana from scoring points, but Ballo drilled the pair at the line and helped seal the victory for the Hoosiers.

Ballo can improve even more, and Woodson and the rest of staff has been working with him to get better in that aspect of his game.

1 Lingering QuestionWhy Doesn’t Indiana Play in More Marquee Non-Conference Games?After watching other Big Ten teams play quality opponents both at home and on the road last night, it's time to have this conversation.

For years, Indiana basketball has never shied away from an opportunity to play the best of the best.

That’s not the case this year. Indiana doesn't have a single marquee game on their non-conference schedule this season. In fact, South Carolina is the toughest non Battle 4 Atlantis opponent the Hoosiers will play.

Indiana basketball is a national brand and the games against Kansas and Kentucky need to be the beginning of a challenging non-conference schedule year in and year out.

It’s time to start playing top-tier programs at Assembly Hall and on the road, too.

What were your thoughts about yesterday’s victory over South Carolina?

Leave a comment

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

IU basketball continued its strong start to the season with two victories. Also, football made news on their bye week with an extension for their head coach.

Besides this, readers will find info about Indiana’s latest recruit officially being added to the fold and weekly shows. We will as usual conclude with a look at other Hoosier sports led by the continued struggles of women’s basketball.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

Hoosiers Knock Off South Carolina With Best Game Of Season So Far
Indiana Uses Huge Second Half To Pull Away From Eastern Illinois
Football Extends Curt Cignetti With Record Contract
Sisley Officially Signs With Basketball Program
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Women’s Basketball Falls To Butler

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. Alex and the ITH team appreciate your support!)

Banner #1: Hoosiers Knock Off South Carolina With Best Game Of Season So FarIU passed their first big test with flying colors on Saturday to improve to 3-0. With former Hoosiers Kel’el Ware and Thomas Bryant in the crowd (The Miami Heat had an off day before playing the Pacers just up the road on Sunday), as they continue their NBA careers, Indiana impressed on the Assembly Hall court.

Myles Rice led Indiana in his breakout game and Mackenzie Mgbako continued his strong play as IU was in charge from start to finish. The final was 87-71 as the Hoosiers put away power-five squad South Carolina by being nearly perfect at the free throw line.

Afterward, IU coach Mike Woodson spoke, Inside the Hall had a Photo Gallery, Ryan Corazza wrote a Minute After, and Matt Press penned a column about the team’s backcourt depth.

Banner #2: Indiana Uses Huge Second Half To Pull Away From Eastern IllinoisThe Hoosiers started slowly against Eastern Illinois and trailed at halftime last Sunday. However, they came out looking like a different team in the second half and outscored the Panthers 54-18 in the final 20 minutes. As a result, they pulled away for an easy 90-55 win. Mgbako had another strong afternoon and led four double-figure scorers with 18 points.

Afterward, Woodson spoke, Inside the Hall had a Photo Gallery, Corazza wrote a Minute After and Film Session, and Alex Bozich provided Five Takeaways and Numbers That Stand Out from IU’s first two games.

Banner #3: Football Extends Curt Cignetti With Record ContractWhile IU football had a bye week, they still managed to make major news. The architect of the Hoosiers’ first 10-0 start and double-digit win season in program history will be staying in Bloomington for a long time.

On Saturday, head coach Curt Cignetti inked an extension through 2032 that will pay him eight million dollars per year. This roughly doubles his current salary and provides him with additional resources.

With Cignetti at the helm, Indiana is in the top 5 of the college football playoff rankings. They appear headed to that tournament to play for a national championship as long as they beat Purdue in their season finale and stay competitive with Ohio State. All of this success has led to multiple players being on postseason watch lists.

Banner #4: Sisley Officially Signs With Basketball ProgramWhile IU missed out on several top recruits they did bag a big one. Top-100 player Trent Sisley, who played most of his high school career in southern Indiana, officially signed his letter of intent this week.

Sisley is ranked between 71 and 92 nationally from the three major recruiting services and is a four-star prospect. The Hoosiers will likely need to add additional players with spring signees either from high school or in the transfer portal. However, Sisley gives the team a contributor for future seasons and is now officially in the fold.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

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Banner #5: Weekly ShowsPodcast on the Brink was recorded this week. It featured a discussion with Inside the Hall’s own Will Foley.

The Back Home Network was on-air multiple times this week. Multiple Crimson Cast episodes, Doing The Work, Dribble Drive, and Assembly Call Postgame all had episodes in the last few days.

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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Women’s Basketball Falls To Butler* Women’s Basketball continued its early season struggles with a loss at Butler. However, they signed two highly-ranked players for 2025. * Volleyball battled an elite USC team toe-to-toe but came up short before falling to Iowa and Nebraska. They also signed the highest-ranked recruit in program history as part of their next class and Camryn Haworth set an assist record. * Wrestling beat Central Michigan and signed five athletes. * Cross Country competed at the Great Lakes Regional Championship. * Men’s tennis competed at the Big Ten Individual Championships and signed a player. * Women’s tennis signed two players for 2025. * Softball inked three players for 2025. * Finally, IU held an NIL day for athletes across the department.

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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Join us immediately following Indiana's Saturday afternoon game against South Carolina for another edition of The Assembly Call IU Postgame Show.

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Video replayWatch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to to see a replay of the ChatMob alongside the show.)

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On Sunday, and will recap the Hoosiers game against Stanford with another edition of Doing The Work — our show dedicated to the Indiana women’s basketball team.

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Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to see a replay of

the show or chat with the WorkAholics during the show.)

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Photo credit: Indiana University AthleticsGame Info:

Indiana v South Carolina
Assembly Hall
Saturday, November 16th
3:00 p.m. ET
TV: Peacock
Postgame Show

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PreviewThe start to Indiana's season has been encouraging: two dominant wins, improved offensive flow, and the emergence of Mackenzie Mgbako as a genuine scoring threat.

But Saturday's matchup with South Carolina presents the Hoosiers' first real opportunity to measure their progress against high-major competition.

Assembly Hall has seen its share of early-season drama over the years, particularly when opponents find shooting rhythm from beyond the arc. While Indiana has shown improved perimeter defense early this season (holding SIUE and Eastern Illinois to a combined 26.1% from three), South Carolina brings a different level of talent and experience to Bloomington.

"We got new guys and everybody's still trying to learn what the hell is going on," Mike Woodson acknowledged this week. "We have made progress. I'm not going to sit and let you guys tell us that we haven't because we have, but we got a long way to go."

This game, Indiana's only home contest against high-major competition before Big Ten play, should give us our clearest picture yet of what this revamped roster might become.

The Stars AlignBoth teams feature emerging stars, though their styles couldn't be more different.

Mackenzie Mgbako has been Indiana's revelation, averaging 24.5 points while displaying the kind of three-level scoring ability that made him a five-star recruit. His 74.1% shooting from the field (including 66.7% from three) has transformed Indiana's offensive spacing.

"I like everything about what he's done from an offensive standpoint," Woodson said. "And he's gotten a little better defensively."

For South Carolina, sophomore Collin Murray-Boyles brings a more bruising approach, averaging 20.3 points and 10.7 rebounds while shooting 62.9% from the field. "He is a load," Woodson noted, in what might be the understatement of the young season.

The matchup between Murray-Boyles and Malik Reneau could determine the game's outcome. Murray-Boyles has already attempted 23 free throws in three games, making Reneau's ability to defend without fouling absolutely crucial.

A Chess Match of Tempo and ThreesHere's where things get interesting.

South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris, familiar with Assembly Hall from his Wisconsin assistant days, has never had a team finish higher than 248th nationally in tempo. Last season, his Gamecocks averaged 19.4 seconds per possession (346th nationally).

While they're playing slightly faster this year, that's likely more about competition level than philosophical change. South Carolina will look to slow the game down and find quality looks, particularly from beyond the arc.

This is where the danger lies for Indiana. While South Carolina's shooters have started slowly this season (29.7% from three as a team), they have several players capable of heating up:

Myles Stute: 37.9% career three-point shooter (220-581)
Jamarii Thomas: 35.4% career (despite 0-4 start this year)
Jacobi Wright: Finding his rhythm this season (7-15) after shooting 32.9% for his career

The Gamecocks' starting lineup of Thomas, Wright, Stute, Murray-Boyles, and Alabama transfer Nick Pringle gives them scoring threats at multiple positions. Indiana can't afford to let them find early comfort from deep.

Depth and DevelopmentIndiana's improved depth could prove decisive.

Trey Galloway's playmaking (8.5 assists per game) has been exceptional off the bench, though Woodson noted, "Unfortunately, I can't play him 30 minutes because his body won't take it right now."

The Hoosiers will need contributions from senior Luke Goode's outside shooting and freshman Bryson Tucker's athletic scoring punch – particularly after the first-half struggles against Eastern Illinois showed what can happen when the energy isn't there from the opening tip.

If Reneau or Oumar Ballo get into foul trouble, Indiana might have to get creative – either going small with Mgbako at the four or turning to Langdon Hatton's more versatile offensive game.

The Assembly Hall EdgeParis knows the challenge ahead:

"There are a lot of hard places to play in that conference but that is one of them, particularly when they are playing well and when their fans believe that their team is good."

While this may not be North Carolina or Kansas coming to town, it represents a critical early test. The Assembly Hall crowd, perhaps still feeling out this revamped roster, has an opportunity to impact a game that could tell us a lot about Indiana's ceiling.

Keys to VictoryFor Indiana:

Control Murray-Boyles without fouling
Push pace and find quality shots (including transition threes) without getting sloppy
Continue Mgbako's efficient scoring against better athletes
Get early bench contributions to maintain momentum
Most importantly: Don't let South Carolina's shooters find early rhythm

For South Carolina:

Establish their more deliberate pace
Find early shooting confidence
Get either Reneau or Ballo in foul trouble
Control defensive glass to limit transition

The PredictionKenPom projects Indiana as a 6-point favorite with a 71% win probability.

While the Hoosiers' improved guard play and Mgbako's emergence suggest they could exceed that margin, there are just enough warning signs – South Carolina's ability to control pace, their shooting potential, Murray-Boyles' physicality – to warrant caution.

The first five minutes of both halves are likely to be crucial, as they so often are — perhaps especially so given the night-and-day difference between Indiana’s first half and second half play the last time out.

If Indiana can establish pace and defensive intensity early while keeping Murray-Boyles from getting easy position, they could win comfortably.

But if South Carolina controls tempo and finds early shooting rhythm? We'll all be having flashbacks to too many unexpected Assembly Hall heart-stoppers of years past.

Now over to you …

What are your keys to the game for Indiana?

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ITH: What to Expect IU v South Carolina

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Hinkle Fieldhouse Where Indiana Took On Butler Wednesday Night.

Indianapolis-The early season struggles continued as IU’s offense stalled in a 56-46 defeat to Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse. While some transition was expected, the Hoosiers fell to 1-2 on the season after a decade of unprecedented success.

Regardless of tonight’s results, the question is where the future lies with this program. After several years of elite play under all-time program greats Grace Berger and Mackenzie Holmes, the current answer is somewhat unclear as to where things are headed.

IU coach Teri Moren reiterated that not having Holmes changes how the offense runs.

“Certainly you miss Mackenzie,” Moren said. “There is no other way to say it. We have to have great balance. We have to have an inside presence.”

Fans however can certainly look to other IU teams after an unprecedented era of success for potential clues. The best path for Hoosier partisans would be to look at Indiana baseball in post-Kyle Schwarber times. After 2013 and 2014 of being amongst the very best in the country, and the greatest seasons in program history, 2015 was a transition year. It was not a smooth ride.

However, ultimately enough pieces remained from the previous era to return to the postseason and they have done so nearly every year since that time. An obvious connection here is despite the loss of Schwarber, solid role players returned in Scott Donley, Scott Effross, Kyle Hart, Brad Hartong, and Nick Ramos who had experienced the success of 2014.

Similarly, this women’s squad still has Yarden Garzon, Chloe Moore-McNeil, and Sydney Parrish who are all major contributors to the constant winning of recent times. While the early season has been bumpy without the program GOATS, this may get much better as 2024-2025 gets deeper.

Indeed 2015 baseball had head-scratching losses to Presbyterian and Furman early but also got some top victories as the spring wore on. This women’s squad will also have enough opportunities to redeem itself against great teams as well. This will more than make up for the recent setback against lowly Harvard and tonight.

Indeed, as better prospects come aboard and recruiting has improved, this is very possible. While the 5-star prospects are still not there, top-100 players with high upside are now a regular after years of mostly unranked recruits. This level of talent can often lead to regular NCAA Tournament appearances.

However, this is not a guarantee, and following baseball’s 2015 example this winter and in the future is far from certain. This creates a second possibility that would be less fortuitous but still ultimately acceptable for most.

This involves Tom Crean in a post-Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller world. While some Indiana supporters may bristle at this, further thought might make this choice more than acceptable. Indeed, IU coach Teri Moren has sighted Crean as one of the people she looks towards most.

This would see the 2024-2025 season not going as planned and missing the postseason altogether similar to Crean’s 2013-2014. However, the following couple of seasons went much better with postseason appearances again and included another deep tournament run.

While the roller coaster then went back down, a back and forth between success and failure should 100% be accepted by fans. Indeed, with the transfer portal and rosters changing yearly, this could be prevalent for many squads now for better or worse. Also, the women’s side has hardly had any success at all until Moren came aboard. As a result, some inconsistent success must be accepted by the Hoosier fan base.

Understandably, many supporters did not follow baseball or women’s basketball before their runs of glory. This has led some of the newer fans of these squads to think they have always and should always be elite. However, the reality of this is far from true.

The final possibility would be unfortunate and what this program needs to try to avoid at all costs. This path is that of IU volleyball in a post-Ashley Benson (daughter of IU basketball great Kent Benson) world. Similarly to Moren, the head coach at the time Sherry Dunbar, took over a downtrodden program and slowly built up to unprecedented levels in 2010 led by the younger Benson.

However, once Benson graduated, the program went right back to the bottom and Dunbar never had more success and was eventually relieved of her duty. Now-IU coach Steve Aird has built back up to moderate winning, but it unfortunately took a regime change.

Dunbar said the lack of results later in her tenure was a result of losing Benson among others and winning can be an up-and-down proposition.

“2011 was a struggle because we lost both of our middle blockers - one being a captain and the other a 1st team All American (Benson) due to graduation,” Dunbar said. “Athletics is a cycle and recruiting constant talent behind very accomplished players is what is needed to sustain that type of success. We certainly tried but didn’t meet those expectations.”

Given her Indiana roots and how much she has done for the women’s basketball program, it would be excruciating if Moren never has any more winning and a change needs to be made. However, this scenario is by far the least likely given her success has reached close to a decade now. With that said, it cannot be completely ruled out.

Indeed, Northwestern women’s basketball coach Joe McKeown is still on the sidelines in Evanston and had a high level of success with future pros and WNBA draftees Veronica Burton and Lindsey Pulliam. While McKeown never quite reached Moren’s heights, he did experience postseason and being at the top of the Big Ten from 2019-2021. However, once Burton and Pulliam moved on, the Wildcats have been at the very bottom of the league and have already lost to mid-majors Illinois State and Lehigh this fall.

What is scary, is along with Indiana’s loss to the Crimson, these other two defeats are the only ones in the conference to anyone outside the Power-Five. At the moment McKeown’s program has gone lifeless and it feels like his firing or resignation is inevitable at some point soon.

Moren must avoid McKeown’s path at all costs. While winning in a post-Holmes world at the same level has always been unlikely, following the way of Indiana baseball from 2015 on would be much more advantageous.

Moren said she certainly see brighter days moving forward and is content with what she has.

“I still love this group,” she said. “I think we have a ton of potential. We’ll get back to Bloomington and continued to do the work that is required and we will.”

More than anything though fans need to be patient no matter how good or bad results end up this winter. Within the next couple of seasons though we will know what path this program goes down. As it hits a fork in the road in the post-Mackenzie Holmes era of unprecedented success, fans should buckle up.

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Wilkinson Hall On Sunday As Indiana Took On USC In Bloomington

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Volleyball Program Has Taken Huge Step Forward But Has Bumped Up Against A Ceiling For Now And Waiting On BreakthroughBloomington-Indiana’s volleyball program has historically been one of the very worst the Big Ten has to offer in what has been an elite conference. The one exception to this was a small window in the late 2000s when All-Americans Erica Short and Ashley Benson (daughter of IU basketball great Kent Benson) were on the team.

As a result, those squads were much improved from 2007 to 2009, competing with the top of the league but falling short, while dominating the bottom half. However, without signature wins, they fell outside of postseason play each time.

Finally, in 2010, the Hoosiers held serve at home all season knocking off some of the best sides in the country. As a result, they had their breakthrough year, getting to the NCAA Tournament and for the first time ever won two postseason matches to make the Sweet 16.

However, once Benson and that era departed it was right back to the bottom. Finally, current head coach Steve Aird came in 2018 with struggles continuing. However, improvement has finally happened and for the third season in a row, Indiana is back to 2007 to 2009 levels taking out lower-level opponents and giving better ones a scare.

When a 2010-like breakthrough is coming though remains an open question. Sunday was the latest example of that proverbial ceiling being hit with a 3-1 competitive loss vs. elite USC.

Aird said taking that final step is not always easy but they are working on getting to the top.

“It’s really hard,” Aird said. “What I like about the group right now is they are resilient. Details are the next thing and the ability to make plays late in games.”

The Hoosiers’ RPI currently sits below 70 and well out of the postseason picture regardless of what Sunday’s result was. IU will likely finish around .500 in league play once again and not in the NCAA Tournament for the 14th straight season. This is because that ability to beat top teams remains elusive, despite the massive improvement.

Crowds Grow With Better Play and Newer Facility But Hoosiers Were Behind For Many YearsOne of the major reasons IU struggled for so many years was the lack of a good facility. For a long time, the team competed at an old high school gym well off campus that was not easy to get to.

The quality of a program’s stadium is a big deal as other historic bottom feeders Iowa and Northwestern shared the basketball facility for home matches. The Hoosiers and Hawkeyes have since built new state-of-the-art stadiums. However, with a top-flight Big Ten, there is more to do to be competitive.

Indeed IU’s Wilkinson Hall is as nice as any in the Big Ten but opened only in 2019. As a result, Indiana has been working with good facilities for five years rather than decades. Also, moving to a much more visible arena on campus next to Assembly Hall has greatly helped attendance.

After a sellout Friday of 2,857 against Purdue and a few others before that, Sunday had another huge crowd that looked roughly 80-90% full. Still, the program has a lot of catching up to do with places that have had this atmosphere and modern amenities for a long time with tons of winning to go with it.

Grae Gosnell ReturnsGrae Gosnell made her long-awaited to Bloomington on Sunday in the opposing uniform. After a solid four-year career wearing a Hoosier jersey, she was in Trojan colors in this match.

She was also bestowed the honor of singing the national anthem and was given a huge ovation by the opposing crowd when introduced. Both of these things prove how beloved Gosnell’s time wearing Cream and Crimson was and no one holds any ill-will for her grad transferring to an elite program.

Aird reiterated he had no issues with her going elsewhere for her final year.

“I’m happy for her,” Aird said. “I think at the end of her time here she had her degree and she had graduated. She is a wonderful young woman. She is with a great program and I am happy for her.”

_____________________________________________________________________

Postgame press conference with Aird can be seen below:

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Credit: Indiana University AthleticsAnd just like that, 6.5% of Indiana’s regular schedule is complete!

While you never want to overreact to two games against teams that don’t have the physical capabilities to compete with you for 40 minutes, we saw last season how troubling early-season trends can become season-long issues.

So while maintaining a healthy recognition of how small the sample size is, and how much numbers are likely to fluctuate as more games are played, let’s see if we can identify a few reasonable trends to feel good about … as well as a couple of red flags to keep an eye on as the season marches forward.

Green Flag: The results!We have to start with what matters most: the actual results.

While Indiana’s two wins are neither exceptional nor outstanding given the competition and expectation, they are rock solid — which is a major improvement over last season.

For purposes of comparison, I’ll use the early-season KenPom numbers.

CAVEAT ALERT!!!!

It should be noted that early-season analytics numbers can be very noisy given the inclusion of last season’s data (which rolls out of the calculations sometime in January). This is especially true now with rosters across the country so transient.

For example, last season Indiana opened with Florida Gulf Coast. They were ranked #146 at the time but finished the season ranked #241. Thus, that close-shave victory looked even worse in hindsight.

What it means for this season is that while both of Indiana’s opponents are in the 300s, it’s possible either could end up ranked much higher — and thus make Indiana’s wins more impressive — based on what they do the rest of the season.

Okay, with that annual caveat out of the way, let’s look at the current numbers, fluctuant as they may be:

Indiana placed #39 in this season’s KenPom preseason rankings. By the time the Hoosiers’ first game rolled around, that ranking was #42 (since other teams had played games).

The 19-point win over SIUE was slightly below the analytical expectation, so the Hoosiers dropped to #45. The 35-point drubbing of Eastern Illinois beat the analytical expectation, so the Hoosiers rose to #41 — essentially right back where they started.

That’s perfectly fine, albeit a slight missed opportunity. For example, Illinois opened the season ranked #23 and has now risen to #19 after beating Eastern Illinois by 45 and SIUE by 32.

What makes these first two results encouraging for IU fans is the comparison to last season.

Indiana was ranked #50 when its season-opener tipped. After narrow victories against FGCU and Army, Indiana’s ranking was down to #61. By the time the Harvard game rolled around on November 26th, Indiana had dropped all the way to #80 — a hole the Hoosiers could never pull themselves out of.

I wouldn’t put much stock into the actual numbers or rankings at this point. What matters is the trend.

Last season’s early-season results gave us an early red flag that Indiana might struggle to reach its modest preseason projections. This season’s solid results give us some early evidence that Indiana may be closer to the team everyone expects it to be. And given that most projections for IU are pretty optimistic, that’s a good early-season sign.

We’ll get another result and more data on Saturday against South Carolina … but so far, so good.

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Red Flag: Offensive 3-Point RateThree-point attempt volume has been an issue for Indiana going back to the Archie Miller days. So the problem isn’t isolated to Mike Woodson’s tenure.

But until Indiana can figure how to utilize the 3-point line more effectively on both ends of the court, there will be a ceiling on how high the Hoosiers can rise.

Last season, we saw disturbing 3-point trends early in the season that carried on through March.

Through the first two games against FGCU and Army, Indiana made a total of eight 3-pointers while shooting just 24. That’s an underwhelming (but passable) percentage of 33.3%, but Indiana only took 27.2% of its shots from beyond the arc.

Those trends persisted, as Indiana finished the season shooting just 32.4% from 3 (255th nationally) while taking 27.8% of its shots from 3-point range (351st nationally). In all, the Hoosiers ranked 355th in the country — seven spots away from dead last — in points produced from the 3-point line.

What made Indiana’s paucity of makes and attempts worse is what the defense looked like. Army and FGCU both hit a whopping 13 3-pointers in each game, while taking 58.5% of their shots from 3. Those outrageous numbers were never going to persist, but the trends did.

While Indiana’s opponents shot just 34.3% from 3 (211th nationally), they took 41.2% of their shots from beyond the arc. This resulted in opponents scoring 34.7% of their points against IU from 3 — or, 13.8% more than Indiana did.

It’s very hard to win basketball games consistently with that gap in 3-point production, even when you’re as dominant down low as Indiana has been under Mike Woodson.

So how are things looking through two games this season?

On the one hand, Indiana is making more 3s — 12 total through two games, up two per game from last season. The percentage is also higher, with IU shooting 35.3% from 3 as opposed to 33.3% last season.

But so far, Indiana’s 3-point rate is only showing marginal improvement. The Hoosiers are still only taking 28.6% of their shots from beyond the arc, which remains near the very bottom of college basketball.

And while the easy counter is to say that the Hoosiers shouldn’t be taking 3s in games where they are making 65.9% of their 2s, the reality is that Indiana won’t have this kind of size and skill advantage in many more games this season.

Last season, Indiana made 62.5% of its 2s in its first two games but finished the season at 53.4%. That number will always go down as the schedule strength normalizes. If Indiana can’t counter with more production from the 3-point line, there will be a hard cap on this team’s offensive efficiency, which is what we have seen through three seasons under Mike Woodson (and four under Archie Miller before that).

The offense will undoubtedly be better than last season’s because of the competence Myles Rice and Trey Galloway bring to the point guard position and the overall talent upgrade on the roster. But if Indiana wants to compete for a Big Ten title, or make a deep tournament run, they will have to start taking (and making) more 3s.

On the other hand, the defense is showing some signs of growth …

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As with Wednesday’s opener against SIUE, there were a few clenched-fist moments during yesterday’s Indiana basketball game.

In fact, after one half of play, the Hoosiers actually trailed Eastern Illinois 37-36. As you might expect, it was bleak inside of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall as the Hoosiers headed to the locker room. An already dormant crowd was lifeless, and there was a severe lack of energy from the home team on the court.

“I thought we were still home in the bed sleep. It was awful,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. “You got to give Eastern Illinois credit because they played hard and made shots.”

But in the second half, Indiana turned it around in a big way.

Mackenzie Mgbako once again led the Hoosiers in scoring with 18 points on an efficient 8-of-10 shooting en route to the victory.

Here are three stats, two observations, and one lingering question from Indiana's 90-55 victory against Eastern Illinois.

Did you miss yesterday's edition of the postgame show?

IU-Eastern Illinois Postgame Show

Box Score

3 Meaningful Stats1. Indiana Outscored EIU 54-18 in the Second HalfThe second half gave us some of the best basketball Indiana has played since Mike Woodson took over in 2021.

Everything worked for the Hoosiers as they pummeled Eastern Illinois for the entire 20 minutes.

The cream and crimson scored 1.543 points per possession. Meanwhile, the defense stymied the Panthers to the tune of just .500 points per possession in the half.

“I thought our defensive intensity was just lacking the first half. We adjusted the second half and guys came out and got after it,” Woodson said. “Couldn't ask for a better second half.”

The most important stat leading to the lopsided score was the turnover margin in the half. After 8 first-half turnovers, the Hoosiers cut it in half while forcing nine Panther turnovers.

Contrary to Wednesday night, Indiana didn’t have a single lapse of effort in the second half. As soon as they smelled blood in the water, the Hoosiers jumped all over EIU and did not let go.

Ballo Breaks AwayThere were questions after Wednesday night's game about Oumar Ballo's intensity, or lack thereof. Those same questions were often being pondered at times in the first half when Ballo didn't hustle back on defense after a turnover.

After that, a switch flipped for Ballo.

The Arizona transfer was brilliant from that point forward, finishing the game with 17 points, 9 boards, 3 assists, and 3 blocks.

Indiana will need this version of Ballo to continue showing up towards the end of the month when the competition stiffens.

3. Hoosiers Finish With 31 Fast-Break PointsAll summer long, Mike Woodson preached playing fast and pushing the pace. At times, the Hoosiers were playing too fast for their own good. The early minutes of the first half were plagued with careless turnovers.

However, in the latter stages of the half, things started to click in transition, which led to Indiana’s offensive explosion.

Everything was working for Indiana. It helped that Eastern Illinois’ long shots required long rebounds and allowed Indiana to jumpstart the fast break.

In the second half alone, the Hoosiers amassed 20 fast-break points, highlighted by a beautiful touch pass in transition from Trey Galloway that led to a Bryson Tucker slam.

Playing fast will at times have its downsides, but if Indiana can continue its success in transition, then there’s reason to believe the Hoosiers will be a more consistent offensive threat than what we saw in the first half.

2 Important Observations1. Luke Goode and Myles Rice Emerge as LeadersIndiana has struggled to find an identity as a team through two games, but Sunday shed light on the leadership qualities of Luke Goode and Myles Rice.

After Ballo gave up on a play in the first half, Goode was the first player off the bench when Woodson called a timeout to get on Ballo for his lack of effort. Ballo listened to Goode’s advice as he went on to have a great game.

© Robert Goddin-Imagn ImagesOn the other hand, Myles Rice was the vocal leader in the huddle right before the second half started. Rice gathered the team at the Big Ten logo just below the free throw line and delivered a spirited speech. The call was heeded, earning Rice some praise postgame.

“Like Goode, obviously won where he's been at,” Tucker said. “He knows where we're trying to get to. He's been one of the main talkers.”

Indiana will need its vocal leaders to help keep the team accountable during games, and it is becoming evident that Goode and Rice will assume the role.

2. Indiana Crowd Suffering From Football HangoverNoon tips on a Sunday don’t particularly draw crowds en masse, but add in the Indiana football program improving to 10-0 the day before, combined to make an awful crowd at Assembly Hall crowd on Sunday.

As the clock ticked closer to the start of the game, the student section remained sparse, nearly two-thirds empty.

It was a late-arriving general public crowd but nowhere near the standard of Indiana basketball.

In reflection of Indiana’s trip to Ann Arbor in December last year, the Crisler Center was bare, partly due to the Michigan football program playing in the College Football Playoff later that week.

Basketball obviously will take a backseat to football as long as Curt Cignetti’s team keeps winning, but the effect it has on the basketball program is noticeable.

1 Lingering QuestionWill Indiana Be Able To Address Shortcomings in Week Off?With six days in between games, Mike Woodson and his staff will have their work cut out for them as there are a plethora of wrinkles that need to be ironed out before the Hoosiers host South Carolina on Saturday.

From lapses of focus to careless turnovers, it is obvious that Indiana has things to work out.

Game planning for the Gamecocks is inevitable, but how much of the week will be spent watching film and fixing mistakes from the first two games of the season?

While you don’t want to harp on the flaws this early in the season, whole weeks without games are rare during the regular season. They are the optimal time to address flaws.

It will be interesting to see Indiana match up with a lightly regarded South Carolina team (they lost to North Florida in their season opener) on Saturday in the Hoosiers’ first power conference game of the young season.

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On Friday, and will recap the Hoosiers game against Butler with another edition of Doing The Work — our show dedicated to the Indiana women’s basketball team.

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Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to see a replay of

the show or chat with the WorkAholics during the show.)

Subscribe to Doing The WorkSubscribe to the Doing The Work podcast for free at any of the following places:

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Join us immediately following Indiana's Sunday's afternoon game against Eastern Illinois for another edition of The Assembly Call IU Postgame Show.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Video replayWatch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to to see a replay of the ChatMob alongside the show.)

Thank you to our sponsorsWe appreciate the support of our sponsors who help make our continued coverage of Indiana basketball possible.

Presenting sponsor: Homefield Apparel (promo code HOME23 for 15% off your first order)
Promotional partner for Meaningful Moment: Hoosier Ticket Project
Promotional partner for Inside the Numbers: Megan Mahaffey’s JacksonHewitt franchise locations in and around Bloomington
Game Ball sponsor: Bloomington Environmental (mention Assembly Call for a free radon test kit and mitigation estimate)
Hoosier Hustle Award sponsor: Security Pro 24/7 (formerly Evansville Security Services)

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

In a 6-Banner that is almost entirely about game results, the IU basketball season is here for both the men’s and women’s teams. Also, football picked up arguably its biggest win in program history over Michigan.

Besides this, readers will find info about weekly shows. We will as usual conclude with a look at other Hoosier sports led by postseason scores for men’s soccer and field hockey.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

IU Beats SIU Edwardsville In Season Opener
Hoosiers Take On Eastern Illinois Today
Women Win Opener But Suffer Surprising Loss To Harvard
Football Beats Michigan For First Ten Win Season In Program History
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Postseason Results For Men’s Soccer And Field Hockey

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. Alex and the ITH team appreciate your support!)

Banner #1: IU Beats SIU Edwardsville In Season OpenerThe Hoosiers’ 2024-2025 season finally arrived with high expectations on Wednesday. With the games now counting towards the team’s record, IU faced SIUE in their season opener.

While it was not as big of a blowout as many fans may have wanted, it was also not the nail-biter that the opener against Florida Gulf Coast was in 2023-2024. In the end, despite some rough moments, Indiana won relatively easily 80-61 behind a career night from sophomore Mackenzie Mgbako.

Afterward, IU coach Mike Woodson spoke, Inside the Hall had a Photo Gallery, Ryan Corazza wrote a Minute After and Film Session, Alex Bozich provided Five Takeaways, and Will Foley penned a column about Mgbako.

Banner #2: Hoosiers Take On Eastern Illinois TodayGame number two of the 2024-2025 season is today. It will be against another squad towards the bottom of college basketball as the Eastern Illinois Panthers make the short trip to Bloomington.

The contest starts at noon on BIG+. Given the poor metrics of its opponent, the Hoosiers must win comfortably to not put a blemish on their resume.

Banner #3: Women Win Opener But Suffer Surprising Loss To HarvardThe women’s squad opened their season in dominant fashion with a 22-point win over Brown. However, IU coach Teri Moren was not happy with the performance.

It turned out Moren had a point as the Hoosiers laid an egg several nights later against Harvard in a surprising loss. The Crimson took Indiana to overtime and prevailed.

It appears the loss of all-time program great Mackenzie Holmes and sharp-shooter Sara Scalia is far bigger than anyone realized. While there is plenty of time to improve, the team will not be ranked in the polls for the first time since the end of the 2018-2019 season. They will have to pick up the pieces on Wednesday in a tough road contest against Butler.

Banner #4: Football Beats Michigan For First Ten Win Season In Program HistoryFor the first time all fall, Indiana football was seriously tested and had a nail-biter until the final horn sounded. While Michigan is hovering around .500, they have by far the most talent of any squad the Hoosiers have seen in 2024 led by an elite defense.

The big thing the Wolverines lack though is strong quarterback play despite being superior to IU in many other aspects. As a result, Indiana led throughout but never by big margins. The defense though was able to stack the box and shut down Michigan’s run without any threat of a vertical passing game.

The Hoosiers raced to a 17-3 halftime lead but were stymied on offense throughout much of the final 30 minutes. With the score 17-15, IU had a huge punt return following a defensive stop which allowed them to kick a critical field goal. Once again the D was up to the task as the Wolverines could not get a final drive going and the boys from Bloomington held on for a 20-15 win.

With the victory, Indiana won its 10th game for the first time in program history. They also all but locked up a spot in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff assuming they win their home finale against hapless Purdue.

In between they head to Columbus against Ohio State in what will be a battle for a spot in the Big Ten Championship. Regardless of the result though, the CFP is very likely in the Hoosiers' future after being eighth in the inaugural rankings last week.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris

and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsPodcast on the Brink was recorded this week. It featured a discussion with the IndyStar’s Zach Osterman.

The Back Home Network was on-air multiple times this week. Bison Chat, multiple Crimson Cast episodes, Doing The Work, Dribble Drive, Xs and Joes, and Assembly Call Postgame all had episodes in the last few days.

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We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Postseason Results For Men’s Soccer And Field Hockey* Men’s soccer fell 1-0 in the Big Ten Tournament to Michigan. However, they will still almost certainly make yet another NCAA Tournament after a strong year. They also had several players honored by the conference. * Field hockey fell in the league tourney to Michigan after its best season in a long time. Also, one of their players was named Conference Defender of the Week, and several more were honored by the Big Ten. * Volleyball battled an elite Purdue team toe-to-toe but came up short in front of a record crowd. * Wrestling dominated Cal Poly. * Men’s golf took part in the Royal Ka’anapali and had the Big Ten Golfer of the Week. * Women’s tennis competed at the North Florida Invite and ITA Sectionals. * Men’s tennis competed at the Fighting Irish Mini Duals. * Track and field announced its 2024-2025 schedule. * Finally, Anthony Leal and Sydney Parrish are hosting a blood drive at Assembly Hall tomorrow where fans can donate blood.

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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In Indiana’s first matchup of the regular season, the Hoosiers secured an 80-61 victory over SIU-Edwardsville.

This win marks the second time under Mike Woodson that Indiana has claimed its season opener by double digits—the last being in 2022-23, when Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jalen Hood-Schifino led the team.

As with most season openers, Indiana showed a mix of strengths and areas for improvement.

In the film breakdown below, I highlight some of the effective sets Indiana ran for scores, moments where the offense hit a lull, and an analysis of how the Hoosiers performed on defense.

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Another season of Indiana basketball has kicked off, and year four of the Mike Woodson era began with an 80-61 victory over SIU-Edwardsville on Wednesday evening at Assembly Hall.

It was dicey at times, but on the back of a career night for Mackenzie Mgbako, the Hoosiers pulled away to earn their first victory of the 2024-25 campaign.

With that being said, here are three stats, two observations, and one lingering question from Indiana's 80-61 season opener against SIU-Edwardsville.

Did you miss yesterday's edition of the postgame show?

IU-SIUE Postgame Show

IU-SIUE Box Score

3 Meaningful Stats1. Mgbako dazzles en route to 31-point nightSometimes, it’s just your night. The basket looks three times as big, and everything is falling.

That’s exactly what Wednesday night was for Mackenzie Mgbako, who began his sophomore season with a bang.

He finished with a career-high 31 points, surpassing his previous high of 24. Last year’s Big Ten co-Freshman of the Year made 4-of-his-5 three-point attempts, shooting 13-of-17 from the field.

Credit: Indiana University Athletics“I thought tonight was one of the best games he's had since he's been here,” Woodson said. “He's still learning.”

Mgbako got hot early and never looked back, scoring 18 first-half points, including an impressive personal 6-0 run after the Cougars tied the game at 27 late in the first half. The run ultimately sparked a 15-3 Hoosier run to close the first half and played a large role in separating the two teams the rest of the way.

“I was just going with what the team gave me,” Mgbako said postgame. “It was like moving the ball, finding the right shots, and just taking them.”

SIUE had 16 offensive reboundsThe Hoosiers barely won the board battle against a relatively undersized opponent in SIUE.

Between Oumar Ballo and Malik Reneau, there shouldn't be a game where Indiana is in the negative in the rebound margin. There is no excuse for a team like SIUE to keep the difference at single digits for a large portion of the game.

Ultimately, Indiana out-rebounded the Cougars 43-34, but it was much closer than what Mike Woodson wanted to see.

“I just give them credit from a team standpoint. They wanted it a little bit more than we did,” Woodson said of the poor rebounding effort. “That's something that can't happen.”

Obviously, last night was the first of 29 regular season games for Indiana, but securing the defensive glass will likely be a point of emphasis throughout the season.

3. Indiana goes 14-17 from the charity stripeImprovement is still needed in some aspects of Indiana’s game, but one area in which the Hoosiers thrived at last night was the free throw line.

Harping on woes from the charity stripe has been about as Hoosier as a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich on an undersized bun — but last night, there were none of those gripes.

The brightest spot of what already is a good stat is that Ballo and Reneau teamed up to nail eight of their combined 10 attempts from the line. The two will be on the floor late in games this season, and it is imperative that they can consistently deliver from the stripe.

One game is the smallest of sample sizes, but getting to the line in transition and making the free ones will pay dividends as the season goes on.

2 Important Observations1. Myles Rice is going to be problem for opponents.All offseason long, there were rumblings of Indiana wanting to push the tempo and run the floor. Last night, Myles Rice proved why he was the right guy for the job.

The Washington State transfer finished with 11 points and 4 assists in the Hoosier victory. Although his turnover number was at 5, it was because he was pushing the pace almost too quickly.

Credit: Indiana University Athletics“He has to be patient to get us in something, then know what to go do what he needs to do offensively himself,” Woodson said. “Still a work in motion in terms of trying to get him to play the right way and be a true point guard.”

Woodson said at Big Ten Media Days in October that turnovers will happen when the team plays at a faster pace, so there shouldn't be much worry there.

Rice’s uncanny ability to deliver the ball through traffic brought awe to the Assembly Hall crowd. He received the most robust ovation during the pregame introductions and never released the grasp of the Indiana crowd.

2. Indiana was sluggish.At times, throughout both halves, Indiana’s energy level flatlined. From ugly turnovers to defensive lapses, there were stretches of play when SIUE was the better team.

After the game, Woodson addressed the lackadaisical stretches of play.

“Our bodies just weren’t moving,” Woodson said. “I gotta get us better in that area.”

Performances like last night’s are bound to happen in the early season, which is why teams like SIUE are scheduled in early November. However, with the rotation as deep as it was last night, there’s no excuse for stretches of lazy basketball.

1 Lingering QuestionCan Indiana succeed with a 10-man rotation?Last night, ten different Hoosiers checked into the game. This does not include those who may have checked into the game in the final three minutes.

In hindsight, it was more of an eight-man rotation that Woodson rolled with.

Langdon Hatton entered the game in the first half and played for two minutes. Gabe Cupps played three first-half minutes and didn’t return until the final minute of the game.

There will be moments when Indiana will need a spark from Cupps, but his playing time this season will pale in comparison to what he saw last year.

Mike Woodson has an issue that every coach dreams about: a deep roster with an abundance of talent. It is now up to him and his staff to determine what works best through trial and error the next couple of weeks.

Next opportunity for Woodson and Co. to learn more about their team will be when former Hoosier Marty Simmons brings his Eastern Illinois Panthers to Bloomington for a Sunday matinee at Assembly Hall.

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Tonight is the night for Indiana’s first true game of the season. The Hoosiers were victorious in two exhibition tilts against Tennessee and Marian, but tonight is the first game that counts.

The opponent: Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.

As soon as the game ends, join Coach, Ryan, and Andy for the postgame show.

For our paid subscribers, I’ve attached my scouting report on the Cougars. These are the same formats I used for my teams when I coached at the high school level.

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Indiana opened their 2023-24 season with a solid 80-61 victory over SIU Edwardsville, powered by sophomore Mackenzie Mgbako's breakout 31-point performance that served notice his offseason development was no mirage.

From the Assembly Call postgame discussion:

Mgbako's transformed confidence leads to a career-high 31 points on efficient 13-of-17 shooting
Myles Rice, Trey Galloway, and Kanaan Carlyle bringing distinctly different but complementary skills at guard
High expectations meeting early growing pains for Oumar Ballo
Questions about defensive rebounding after allowing 16 offensive boards
Signs of an evolving offensive identity under Mike Woodson
A dominant individual performance earns the game ball
Hustle Award goes to a spark plug guard who elevated the entire team's energy

The Hoosiers move to 1-0 and will look to build on this foundation when they host Eastern Illinois on Sunday at noon.

On the mics: Coach Brian Tonsoni, Andy Bottoms, Ryan Phillips

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Video replayWatch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to to see a replay of the ChatMob alongside the show.)

Thank you to our sponsorsWe appreciate the support of our sponsors who help make our continued coverage of Indiana basketball possible.

Presenting sponsor: Homefield Apparel (promo code HOME23 for 15% off your first order)
Promotional partner for Meaningful Moment: Hoosier Ticket Project
Promotional partner for Inside the Numbers: Megan Mahaffey’s JacksonHewitt franchise locations in and around Bloomington
Game Ball sponsor: Bloomington Environmental (mention Assembly Call for a free radon test kit and mitigation estimate)
Hoosier Hustle Award sponsor: Security Pro 24/7 (formerly Evansville Security Services)

Subscribe to The Assembly CallSubscribe to The Assembly Call podcast for free at any of the following places:

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Search for “assembly call” wherever you listen to podcasts. If you don’t find us, email Jerod.

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Bob, Mike, and special guest Robie Malcomson, host of the Trapped in History podcast, discuss how opportunities for athletes to earn NIL and share revenue are transforming the competitive landscape in college basketball.

Segment 1: How Does This New Landscape Impact How We See “Amateur” Athletics?

Who were Jim Thorpe, Phil Dickens, Sam Gilbert and Curt Flood? Why Do They Matter Here?
Why Could We Add Ed O’Bannon To This Group? How Has His Case Paved The Way For Direct Compensation?
In The Era of Tik Tok Stars and Influencers: Is Anyone Really an Amateur?

Segment 2: What Are The Impacts Of Paid Players On Who Finds Success (and Who Doesn’t)?

What Pathways Have We Or Could We See For High Major/Mid Major/Low Major Schools?
How Have Other Related Yet Distinct Factors Also Have Impacted Teams and Programs?
Why Water May Find Its Level In The Coming Years Like It Has In Other Sports Models?

Segment 3 and Wrap Up: How Will The 2024-25 Season (and particularly IU’s Activity) Demonstrate Some Of This And What We’re Looking For?

Some relevant videos and articles:

Sparta v Thebes
O’Bannon v NCAA
Curt Flood
Jim Thorpe
Mary Lou Retton
McCaskeys and Kevin Warren

Coming up in Episode 21:

The 2024-25 Basketball Season: What Programs Are Looking At or Bouncing Back From Coaching Tenure Regressions? What Does That Mean For The Teams and Their Fans?

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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On Friday, and will recap the Hoosiers game against Harvard with another edition of Doing The Work — our show dedicated to the Indiana women’s basketball team.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to see a replay of

the show or chat with the WorkAholics during the show.)

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

The basketball season is here as the Hoosiers kicked things off last Sunday with a charity exhibition game at Tennessee. Also, Indiana Dominated Marian in another scrimmage later in the week.

Besides this, readers will find info about the women competing in their exhibition match, some schedule info down the road, and weekly shows. We will as usual conclude with a look at other IU sports led by football moving to 9-0.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

IU Wins Charity Exhibition Game Vs. Tennessee
Indiana Dominates Marian
Women Massacre Maryville In Their Exhibition Contest
Hoosiers To Participate In Las Vegas Tournament Down The Road
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Men’s Soccer Beats UCLA To Continue Red Hot October

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. Alex and the ITH team appreciate your support!)

Banner #1: IU Wins Charity Exhibition Game Vs. TennesseeThe Hoosiers’ 2024-2025 season finally arrived to much hype last Sunday with a bigger challenge than normal. While it didn’t count for anything, IU faced Tennessee in a road charity exhibition contest and looked ready for the moment. In a back-and-forth affair, Indiana came out on top 66-62 as transfer Myles Rice led the team to victory in the final minute.

Afterward, IU coach Mike Woodson spoke, Ryan Corazza had a Minute After and Film Session, and Alex Bozich provided Five Takeaways.

Banner #2: Indiana Dominates MarianWhile the challenge level lessened significantly on Friday, the Hoosiers made their final exhibition game in Assembly Hall look easy. Taking on coach Pat Knight’s Marian squad, Indiana raced to a 106-64 victory over the NAIA school based out of Indianapolis.

Afterward, Woodson spoke, Inside the Hall had a photo gallery, Corazza penned a Minute After, Bozich provided Five Takeaways, and Matt Press wrote a column about Oumar Ballo and Malik Reneau.

Banner #3: Women Massacre Maryville In Their Exhibition ContestThe women’s squad also opened their exhibition season in dominant fashion. With all-time great player Mackenzie Holmes out of eligibility, the Hoosiers will need to replace her elite production despite returning many other contributors.

Her backup Lily Meister will get the first crack at filling these very big shoes. While the competition level was not high, Meister showed she could well be up to the task, contributing 19 points in a 95-27 win over Maryville. Cheryl Miller Watchlist Honoree Yarden Garzon one-upped her with a team-high 20 points as the squad hit 10 three-pointers.

Banner #4: Hoosiers To Participate In Las Vegas Tournament Down The RoadTurning to the future, IU will take part in a marquee preseason tournament. This event will take place in the Las Vegas Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium.

It is part of the Hall Of Fame Series and the Hoosiers’ opponent will be a familiar one in Kansas. The game will be on Nov. 12, 2027.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris

and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsPodcast on the Brink was recorded this week. It featured a crossover with Crimson Cast’s Galen Clavio.

The Back Home Network was on-air multiple times this week. Bison Chat, multiple Crimson Cast episodes, Doing The Work, Dribble Drive, and Assembly Call Postgame all had episodes in the last few days.

Refer a friendDo you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptionsAnd if you want to get really generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Football Runs Over Michigan State * Football dominated Michigan State to improve to 9-0 and reclaim the Old Brass Spittoon Trophy. Also, a couple of Hoosiers were honored in various forms. * Men’s soccer clinched at least a share of the regular season Big Ten title with a victory over Northwestern. They also dominated Trine to improve to 10-3-5 heading into postseason play as their goalie was honored by the conference. * Volleyball got back on track with a perfect week knocking off Northwestern, Rutgers, and Maryland. Also, their upcoming match with Purdue on Friday is already sold out and their Sunday showdown with USC had an adjustment to the start time. * Field hockey beat Michigan and Michigan State to finish their best conference season in years at 4-4 heading into the Big Ten Tourney. They also had one of their players earn Big Ten Freshman of the Week. * Wrestling dominated at Cal Baptist. * Women’s soccer fell to Nebraska to close out their season. * Cross country competed at the Big Ten Championship. * Swimming and diving fell to Texas.

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

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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Indiana defeated Marian on Friday night in Pat Knight's return to Assembly Hall. (Box score.)

As expected, the Knights were no match for Indiana's size and athleticism, but there were still some interesting takeaways from the Hoosiers' final preseason tuneup.

With Coach and Ryan on the mic (and a drop-in from Jerod midway through), we highlight the Banner Moment, key storylines, meaningful moments, and important stats from this game -- including:

Jakai Newton's long-awaited debut
The strong play of Indiana's bench
Many more moments from Myles Rice that have IU fans excited about their new point guard.
Another night of cold first-half 3-point shooting (followed up by a better second half)
Continued issues with the defense giving up open looks from 3

And much more.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Video replayWatch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to to see a replay of the ChatMob alongside the show.)

Thank you to our sponsorsWe appreciate the support of our sponsors who help make our continued coverage of Indiana basketball possible.

Presenting sponsor: Homefield Apparel (promo code HOME23 for 15% off your first order)
Promotional partner for Meaningful Moment: Hoosier Ticket Project
Promotional partner for Inside the Numbers: Megan Mahaffey’s JacksonHewitt franchise locations in and around Bloomington
Game Ball sponsor: Bloomington Environmental (mention Assembly Call for a free radon test kit and mitigation estimate)
Hoosier Hustle Award sponsor: Security Pro 24/7 (formerly Evansville Security Services)

Subscribe to The Assembly CallSubscribe to The Assembly Call podcast for free at any of the following places:

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Google Podcasts
Art19
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Search for “assembly call” wherever you listen to podcasts. If you don’t find us, email Jerod.

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Indiana plays host to Marian this evening in their second exhibition tilt of the season. The Hoosiers are coming off of a win against Tennessee on Sunday afternoon.

There are several IU connections to the Marian staff.

Marian’s head coach is Pat Knight, who is the son of legendary Bob Knight. This is Pat’s first head coaching role since the 2013-14 season…

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On Wednesday, and , will make their predictions for the upcoming season and answer your questions, on the next episode of Doing The Work— our show dedicated to the Indiana women’s basketball team.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support

our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to see a replay of

the show or chat with the WorkAholics during the show.)

Subscribe to Doing The WorkSubscribe to the Doing The Work podcast for free at any of the following places:

YouTube
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Art19
Podcast feed RSS (use this to subscribe in any player)
Search for “doing the work” wherever you listen to podcasts. If you don’t find us, email Jerod.

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On Sunday afternoon, Indiana traveled to Knoxville for a charity exhibition against the Tennessee Volunteers.

The Hoosiers were without Trey Galloway, Jakai Newton, and Bryson Tucker, but the remaining Hoosiers were able to eke out a comeback victory in both teams' first non-scrimmage public performance.

Indiana was led by newcomer Myles Rice and veteran Malik Reneau, and we got our first-look at several other Hoosiers. How did the new-look offense look? How did the defense look? We convened an exhibition edition of The Assembly Call immediately following the game.

On the mics: Coach Tonsoni and Coach Moats

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Video replayWatch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to to see a replay of the ChatMob alongside the show.)

Thank you to our sponsorsWe appreciate the support of our sponsors who help make our continued coverage of Indiana basketball possible.

Presenting sponsor: Homefield Apparel (promo code HOME23 for 15% off your first order)
Promotional partner for Meaningful Moment: Hoosier Ticket Project
Promotional partner for Inside the Numbers: Megan Mahaffey’s JacksonHewitt franchise locations in and around Bloomington
Game Ball sponsor: Bloomington Environmental (mention Assembly Call for a free radon test kit and mitigation estimate)
Hoosier Hustle Award sponsor: Security Pro 24/7 (formerly Evansville Security Services)

Subscribe to The Assembly CallSubscribe to The Assembly Call podcast for free at any of the following places:

YouTube
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Art19
Podcast feed RSS
Search for “assembly call” wherever you listen to podcasts. If you don’t find us, email Jerod.

Subscribe now

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

The basketball season is here as the Hoosiers kick things off today with a charity exhibition game at Tennessee. Also, Indiana lost out on another big-time recruit.

Besides this, readers will find info about former IU players in the NBA, football starring with College Gameday in town, and weekly shows. We will as usual conclude with a look at other Hoosier sports led by men’s soccer continuing its red-hot October.

When it comes to brief information, Inside the Hall posted a few more interviews from media day.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

IU Opens Season With Exhibition Game Today Vs. Tennessee
Indiana Loses Out On Mullins But Women Bag 2026 Recruit
Hoosiers In NBA
Football Beats Washington With College Gameday In Town
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Men’s Soccer Beats UCLA To Continue Red Hot October

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. Alex and the ITH team appreciate your support!)

Banner #1: IU Opens Season With Exhibition Game Today Vs. TennesseeThe Hoosiers’ 2024-2025 season will finally arrive today with a bigger challenge than normal. While it won’t count for anything, IU will face Tennessee in a charity exhibition contest that could tell a lot about how good the team is.

The game begins at 3 pm on SEC Network Plus (which is a free online stream for anyone whose cable company carries SEC Network). Head coach Mike Woodson had media availability this week to discuss the matchup.

It is a critical year for Woodson and the Hoosiers to get back on track after missing the NCAA Tournament last season and hitting a home run with multiple top players from the transfer portal. Many publications have Indiana highly ranked including slotting in at no. 18 in the prominent USA Today Coaches Poll. Fox Sports’ John Fanta shares this optimism after watching a recent team practice.

Banner #2: Indiana Loses Out On Mullins But Women Bag 2026 RecruitWhile the optimism for 2024-2025 is high, the long term stability of the program remains a question after another prominent recruiting miss. While Woodson has thrived with bringing in prospects from the transfer portal and high school players in the spring, he continues to struggle with long recruitments.

The latest top target to spurn the Hoosiers was five-star in-state guard Braylon Mullins who will take his talents to Storrs Connecticut. Despite an elite class from the state of Indiana, IU only managed to land Trent Sisley and will likely need to turn to the portal and late signees once again to fill out the roster.

While the men have missed out on top talent, the women were able to get a commitment from a 2026 player. This pledge came from the Louisville area and was in the form of Ashlinn James. While she has no ranking just yet, this city has been good to the squad in the past as two of the all-time program greats Grace Berger and Jaelynn Penn hail from here. James also appears to be another athletic guard which is something that has been in short supply in Bloomington.

Turning to more immediate times for the women, they are ranked in the coaches poll to open 2024-2025. They check in here at no. 24 which keeps a very long streak alive of having a number in front of their name.

Banner #3: Hoosiers In NBAWith the NBA season opening, seven former Hoosiers have found their way onto a roster. These players include O.G. Anunoby, Thomas Bryant, Eric Gordon, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Kel’el Ware, and Cody Zeller.

Of these guys, Anunoby and Jackson-Davis figure to have the biggest role for the New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors respectively. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers’ Gordon has the longest current tenure in the league having broken in all the way back in 2008.

Banner #4: Football Beats Washington With College Gameday In TownTurning away from basketball, football is having what could well be the best season in program history. They are off to an 8-0 start and one victory away from matching the most ever in a single year.

After struggling to fill Memorial Stadium for so many years, Indiana has completely sold out their last two home games while having Fox’s and ESPN’s well known pregame shows in town. The final couple of contests in Bloomington have also already had all the tickets bought.

Under first-year head coach Curt Cignetti, the Hoosiers have won every game easily by double figures including yesterday’s 31-17 triumph over Washington. As a result, they have risen to no. 13 in the rankings and will likely go even higher when the new polls come out today.

With just four games left in the regular season, both a Big Ten Championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff are within reach. Their next challenge is this coming Saturday when they head to Michigan State.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris

and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsPodcast on the Brink was recorded this week. It featured CBS’ Jon Rothstein discussing IU’s upcoming season.

The Back Home Network was on-air multiple times this week. Bison Chat, multiple Crimson Cast episodes, Doing The Work, Dribble Drive, and Xs And Joes all had episodes in the last few days.

Refer a friendDo you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptionsAnd if you want to get really generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Men’s Soccer Beats UCLA To Continue Red Hot October* Men’s soccer continued its undefeated October by knocking off UCLA to take the lead in the Big Ten and move within range of a national seed in the NCAA Tournament to host games. As a result of its nearly perfect play, a couple of Hoosiers were honored by the conference. * Volleyball was beaten by an elite Wisconsin squad. * Women’s soccer fell to Minnesota. * Field hockey came up short against Stanford and Ohio State. * Women’s swimming and diving beat Notre Dame. * Wrestling competed at the Wrestle-Offs. * Women’s golf finished seventh at the Ally. * Baseball was featured in a D1 Baseball publication.

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

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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Bob and Mike open with some discussion about (what else?) IU football, as well as Hoosier Hysteria and some IU basketball recruiting.

Then it’s down to business for the main segment, which is dedicated to one of the most common buzzwords heard today when watching hoops: “modern” basketball.

What exactly does that term? And how are offensive and defensive systems evolving?

Segment 1: If Everyone Runs Motion and Plays Help Defense, Why Does It Look Different Than It Did?

What is a “good” shot? Getting Your Shot and Preventing The Other Guy From Getting Theirs
What It Was and What It’s Evolved Into? The Move From Passing to Dribble Penetration
How Do You Balance The Need For Freedom Against the Necessity of Structure?

Segment 2: Leads, Posts and Wings- How Changes In Player Skill and Athleticism Is The Leading Factor In What Teams Do.

What Does The Modern Player Look Like? (And Yes, They Are Built Better)
Why Team Chemistry Still Matters A Great Deal? Longevity + Culture= Winning
Davids and Goliaths: How To Mitigate Your Weaknesses Versus Your Opponent’s Strengths?

Segment 3 and Wrap Up: The World Is Flat: An Idea and Innovation Can Span The Globe The Next Day

Some relevant videos and articles:

The offensive action taking over basketball
Why every NBA team runs 5-out offense
Warriors elevator doors
The Presidential Election of 1908
Caitlin Clark is thriving with one of Allen Iverson’s old plays
Channel: The Film Room

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

The YouTube video is below, and you can listen to the audio wherever podcasts are available.

Subscribe links for podcast:

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Don’t see it somewhere you normally listen to podcasts? Let us know.

If you thoughts or comments about the episode, feel free to comment on YouTube video, comment below, or reach out to Mike (@M_Wiemuth_) and Bob (@BobMoats) on Twitter or in our BHN Discord.

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On Wednesday, and , along with guest Jennie Crabtree, will preview the 2024-25 Indiana Hoosiers, on the next episode of Doing The Work— our show dedicated to the Indiana women’s basketball team.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support

our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to see a replay of

the show or chat with the WorkAholics during the show.)

Subscribe to Doing The WorkSubscribe to the Doing The Work podcast for free at any of the following places:

YouTube
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Art19
Podcast feed RSS (use this to subscribe in any player)
Search for “doing the work” wherever you listen to podcasts. If you don’t find us, email Jerod.

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

With schedule news now in the rearview mirror, recruiting moves to the forefront with many developments here. IU went one for two with their top targets last week and bagged their first commitment of 2025. Also, another prospect high on the Hoosiers’ list trimmed his options down to include Indiana.

Besides this, Inside the Hall continued their series previewing other Big Ten teams and weekly shows. We will as usual conclude with a look at other IU sports led by football beating Maryland to obtain their first 5-0 record since 1967.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

IU Gets First Recruit For 2025 By Winning Sisley Sweepstakes
Hoosiers Lose Out On Top Target Haralson
Mullins Trims List To Three With IU Among Them As Hoosiers Look To Grow 2025 Class
Inside The Hall’s Big Ten Team Preview
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Football Beats Maryland To Improve To 5-0

IU men’s basketball will play several games this upcoming season on Peacock and the women will play a few as well, 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: IU Gets First Recruit For 2025 By Winning Sisley SweepstakesThe week started with celebration for Hoosier fans with some massive recruiting news. After visiting Bloomington last weekend, one of the top recruits in the country pulled the trigger for IU and became the first commitment of 2025 in the process.

Trent Sisley will play his college basketball in Assembly Hall as the Hoosiers beat out Matt Painter and Purdue among others for his services. Sisley played his first three years of high school basketball at Heritage Hills before moving on to Montverde this fall. Current IU player Malik Reneau also made his previous stop there.

Sisley is the no. 75 player in the 2025 class according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He is also Hoosier coach Mike Woodson’s first commitment from the state of Indiana during his tenure. After his pledge, Inside the Hall did a Q&A with Sisley. Assembly Call also had an Emergency Podcast.

Banner #2: Hoosiers Lose Out On Top Target Haralson While the importance of landing Sisley should not be underestimated, Indiana missed out on another top in-state target a few days later. After narrowing his list to include IU and much anticipation from Hoosier fans, Jalen Haralson announced he is headed elsewhere.

While Haralson is staying in Indiana, he will play his college basketball further north at Notre Dame for Micah Shrewsberry who is assembling an elite class for the Fighting Irish. Haralson is the no. 13 player in the 247Sports Composite rankings and the highest-ranked player ND has ever landed.

Banner #3: Mullins Trims List To Three With IU Among Them As Hoosiers Look To Grow 2025 ClassThe other main target from Indiana that the Hoosiers are in heavy pursuit of is Braylon Mullins. Mullins has not decided on his future yet but is Sisley’s AAU teammate. He has also trimmed his list of schools he is considering to three which includes IU as well as powers Connecticut and North Carolina.

Inside the Hall looked at where Indiana stands with recruiting currently for 2025 following the Sisley commitment and Haralson miss. Other targets besides Mullins include Nate Ament, Mikel Brown Jr. Eric Reibe, and Bryson Tiller.

Banner #4: Inside The Hall’s Big Ten Team PreviewInside the Hall continued its series previewing other Big Ten teams. This week they looked at the squads projected to finish near the top of the league including UCLA, Illinois, Rutgers, Michigan State, and Purdue.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris

and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsPodcast on the Brink was on-air last week. On it, Crimson Cast’s Scott Caulfield crossed over to discuss the upcoming basketball season.

Crimson Cast was also active on their own with four new episodes. Bison Chat, Doing The Work, and Dribble Drive also recorded shows.

Refer a friendDo you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptionsAnd if you want to get really generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Hoosier Roundup-Football Beats Maryland To Improve To 5-0* Football faced their first close game of the season. However, they still prevailed over Maryland 42-28 to start 5-0 for the first time since 1967. * Men’s soccer played one of their best matches of the season against top-five ranked Ohio State. Despite pouring rain, Indiana gained a valuable point in the conference race with a 2-2 draw. * Volleyball beat to in-state rival Notre Dame to close non-conference play at 7-3. However, they fell in their Big Ten opener at Washington as well at Oregon a couple of nights later. Note the match in Eugene ended minutes before 6-Banner was sent to be published so no article or box score was available yet. * Women’s soccer won their first Big Ten game of the season this week by defeating Oregon in Eugene. They also fell to USC before that in Bloomington last Sunday. * Men’s golf won a tournament at Purdue. * Field hockey fell to Northwestern and Penn State. * Baseball split a pair of fall exhibition games at Louisville. * Women’s tennis had an athlete compete in the ITA All-American Championships. * Softball will compete in the Puerto Vallarta challenge next February. * Finally, Women’s basketball was picked a solid fifth in the Big Ten next year despite the expired eligibility of the program’s greatest player of all time Mackenzie Holmes. Also, the addition of both LA schools pushed the Hoosiers down a couple of spots with both newcomers expected to be in the top-five nationally.

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

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

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The first recruiting domino for IU in the class of 2025 has fallen.

On Monday, Mike Woodson and his staff received a commitment from Trent Sisley, coming on heels of his official visit to Bloomington.

Sisley, who played three high school seasons at Heritage Hills H.S. and will play this season at Montverde, is an important commitment for Woodson on a number of levels, all of which we break down in this emergency podcast.

On the mics: Jerod, Coach Adragna, and Alex Bozich from ITH.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Video replayWatch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to to see a replay of the ChatMob alongside the show.)

Thank you to our sponsorsWe appreciate the support of our sponsors who help make our continued coverage of Indiana basketball possible.

Presenting sponsor: Homefield Apparel (promo code HOME23 for 15% off your first order)
Promotional partner for Meaningful Moment: Hoosier Ticket Project
Promotional partner for Inside the Numbers: Megan Mahaffey’s JacksonHewitt franchise locations in and around Bloomington
Game Ball sponsor: Bloomington Environmental (mention Assembly Call for a free radon test kit and mitigation estimate)
Hoosier Hustle Award sponsor: Security Pro 24/7 (formerly Evansville Security Services)

Subscribe to The Assembly CallSubscribe to The Assembly Call podcast for free at any of the following places:

YouTube
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Art19
Podcast feed RSS
Search for “assembly call” wherever you listen to podcasts. If you don’t find us, email Jerod.

Subscribe now

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On Wednesday, and will preview the Way-Too-Early #24, Illinois Fightin’ Illini, on the next episode of Doing The Work— our show dedicated to the Indiana women’s basketball team.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support

our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to see a replay of

the show or chat with the WorkAholics during the show.)

Subscribe to Doing The WorkSubscribe to the Doing The Work podcast for free at any of the following places:

YouTube
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Art19
Podcast feed RSS (use this to subscribe in any player)
Search for “doing the work” wherever you listen to podcasts. If you don’t find us, email Jerod.

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

The IU basketball schedule is finally out much to the delight of Hoosier fans. However, this was not the only big news story as Indiana hosted a media day and it was a big recruiting weekend.

Besides this, Inside the Hall continued their series previewing other Big Ten teams and weekly shows. We will as usual conclude with a look at other IU sports led by football continuing to roll to victories.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

Full IU Basketball Schedule Released
Indiana Hosts Basketball Media Day
Recruiting Update
Inside The Hall’s Big Ten Team Preview
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Football Dominates Charlotte To Improve To 4-0

IU men’s basketball will play several games this upcoming season on Peacock and the women will play a few as well, 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: Full IU Basketball Schedule ReleasedThe full Big Ten schedule finally came out last week. While a few games had already been leaked, the entire slate is now known. The highlights besides the already announced Purdue matchups, are a Valentine’s Day showdown with conference newcomer UCLA and senior day versus Ohio State on March 8. While dates are now released, times and TV networks will come later on. Also, Inside the Hall’s Alex Bozich provided a few thoughts on the games.

The men were not the only side to have their schedule revealed as the women also had theirs made public. The highlight for them is JuJu Watkins and USC visiting Bloomington on January 19 while arch-rival Purdue invades Assembly Hall on Feb. 15. The Hoosiers are expected to once again have a good year. However, they must replace all-time program great Mackenzie Holmes. However, her long-time backup Lilly Meister will attempt to fill these very large shoes.

Banner #2: Indiana Hosts Basketball Media Day The schedule release is not the only thing that shows the 2024-2025 season is getting ever closer. Another sign that action will take place on the court before long was Indiana hosting a basketball media day last week.

IU coach Mike Woodson spoke at this event. Woodson discussed a variety of topics including the fact that his team might well employ smaller lineups more often. Women’s coach Teri Moren also did a press conference breaking down her squad.

Banner #3: Recruiting UpdateIt is a huge recruiting weekend for IU as three of their top targets for 2025 are in Bloomington. Two of these prospects are from Indiana in Braylon Mullins and Trent Sisley. They are joined on campus by Eric Reibe.

Also, another player the Hoosiers have been hard after is Jalen Haralson. His recruitment appears to be coming to a close as Haralson canceled his remaining visits and will make a decision very soon.

Banner #4: Inside The Hall’s Big Ten Team PreviewInside the Hall continued its series previewing other Big Ten teams. This week they looked at Oregon, Maryland, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Michigan.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris

and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsPodcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, the Columbus Dispatch’s Adam Jardy discussed Ohio State hoops.

The Back Home Network was also on-air several times. Both Assembly Call Radio and Doing The Work returned to the air this week. Also, Crimson Cast had episodes as did the Tuesday Night Bison Chat. Finally, Xs and Joes had a show as well.

Refer a friendDo you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Football Dominates Charlotte To Improve To 4-0* Football rolled over Charlotte 52-14 to improve to 4-0. Also, quarterback Kurtis Rourke was named the Big Ten Offensive Player Of The Week. * Volleyball fell to in-state rival Notre Dame. Also, Camyrn Haworth was honored by the AVCA, and the upcoming match with Oregon was flexed onto BTN. * Men’s soccer tied Evansville and fell to Maryland as their early season struggles continued. * Women’s soccer lost to UCLA. * Women’s tennis competed at the Columbia Fall Exhibition Invitational. They also had an athlete selected to compete in the ITA all-American Championships; * Men’s tennis took part in the MTSU Fall Exhibition Invite. * Finally, several IU athletes excelled in a summer internship program.

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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Armstrong Stadium In Bloomington Where The Match Took Place

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Is Two Better Than 22 When It Comes To IU Athletics?Bloomington-In almost any circumstances besides golf, the higher number is what many would want when it comes to success in sports. In this case, the obvious answer would be that 22 is the stronger digit as it refers to the number of IU sports that have more or less been successful in the last few years.

Indiana athletics has 24 sports and for the most part, everyone but the big two of football and men’s basketball have had more highs than lows. However, the two signature programs have struggled.

So far the early results from 2024-2025 say things may be headed in the opposite direction. With renewed excitement and results under Hoosier coach Curt Cignetti, the boys on the gridiron have been the standout program of the early autumn. Also, the hype of Mike Woodson’s squad seems to indicate a promising winter on the court.

Vice versa, the other fall sports that have been relatively strong the past few seasons, have had a very slow start. This includes men’s soccer which is generally the crown jewel of the teams in Bloomington.

After Friday’s result against Maryland, Indiana sits at just 2-3-3. As has been the case the last few seasons, this squad has been slow to get started and their long consecutive postseason streak is again in jeopardy.

This raises the question of whether soccer’s struggles amongst the other sports are worth it to IU fans if it means a successful season in football and men’s basketball. Supporters of Indiana can comment below on how they feel about this.

This Result, Especially In Isolation Is Not The IssueThe Maryland Terrapins, like the Hoosiers, are one of the top teams in college soccer most seasons. Indiana went toe-to-toe and got a bad result on a bad break that led to a Terps penalty kick and a 1-0 loss in a match that spanned two days due to weather. However, given how the season has played out so far, the defeat is more troubling than meets the eye.

Like the tie against Notre Dame, no person in Armstrong Stadium would be surprised to see this result not end in a victory. The issue is losses to middling St. Louis and Dayton squads and draws against struggling Evansville and Butler.

IU coach Todd Yeagley said the Terrapins are indeed one of the tougher challenges his squad has faced.

“Maryland’s a really good side and they are motivated,” Yeagley said. “They are playing tough and hard and there is good belief.”

This starts with the offense which for the second straight year is struggling to finish opportunities and score goals. Last fall, forward Tommy Mihalic had trouble finding the net. This time though Mihalic has been the lone Hoosier to put chances home. It is others such as longtime reliable attacker Sam Sarver who are not finding success this fall. Either way though, the best chances to score need to be converted very quickly in future matches to turn these struggles around.

As College Soccer Changes Elite Programs Have Struggled But Hoosier Fans Likely Won’t Be Patient The famous saying is “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”. This is relevant due to the nature of attention IU soccer and other Olympic sports at IU generally get.

While fans often get downright angry and complain when football or men’s basketball struggle in Bloomington, the other 22 sports generally see supporters go straight to apathy when hard times occur and don’t pay attention to that squad. This is no more evident than 2021 and 2022 Indiana Baseball, women’s basketball before 2019, and any other team that struggles outside the big two.

In some ways these other Hoosier teams have an advantage in that partisans follow them when they are strong, but don’t pay attention when they lose. However, it leads to the phenomenon of few knowing what is going on in the bad times as has happened for sports outside of football so far in 2024.

What is causing these struggles in soccer though? Indiana is far from alone as traditional power Penn State struggled two seasons ago and again this fall while Maryland had major issues last year. Also, traditional powers like Akron, Connecticut, Creighton, St. Louis, and UCLA have had more inconstancies in recent seasons.

The Hoosiers are extremely lucky that they have figured out their early struggles in the last few years as the above squads with similar success to the one in Bloomington have not always done so. The reasoning for this is likely due to parody and more foreign influence.

Yeagley explained why it is more difficult to win now than ever before.

“There’s just more better players,” Yeagley said. “There is better coaching. Where we would have big matchup advantages in games, you see less of that across the board. A team you would call a proverbial mid-major they can get some pretty good guys. The margins are not as big as they were 10,15, 20 years ago. Also, Internationals are 35 to 40% (of the sport) and are typically older.”

In each of the past three seasons with these slow starts, IU has figured it out once October hits. The proof will be in the pudding though if this happens again. It will need to if the squad wants to keep their very long NCAA Tournament streak (since 1987) alive.

_____________________________________________________________________

Postgame press conferences can be seen below:

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Join us Thursday night beginning around 9:30 p.m. ET for another offseason edition of The Assembly Call.

We'll react to Wednesday's Media Day and break down the full Big Ten schedule, which was released Thursday.

Plus we'll discuss the hot start by IU football and discuss this week's "talent tax" initiated by Tennessee.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This week’s showWatch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to to see a replay of the ChatMob alongside the show.)

Thank you to our sponsorsWe appreciate the support of our sponsors who help make our continued coverage of Indiana basketball possible.

Presenting sponsor: Homefield Apparel (promo code HOME23 for 15% off your first order)
Promotional partner for Meaningful Moment: Hoosier Ticket Project
Promotional partner for Inside the Numbers: Megan Mahaffey’s JacksonHewitt franchise locations in and around Bloomington
Game Ball sponsor: Bloomington Environmental (mention Assembly Call for a free radon test kit and mitigation estimate)
Hoosier Hustle Award sponsor: Security Pro 24/7 (formerly Evansville Security Services)

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Bob and Mike take a little detour from their typical college basketball deep dives to discuss the most exciting current topic in Indiana sports: college football!

They share their own college football stories, look around the college football landscape, and discuss the encouraging beginning to the Curt Cignetti Era.

Two videos mentioned during their discussion:

1991 Florida State at Michigan
1979 Holiday Bowl: Indiana v BYU

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

The YouTube video is below, and you can listen to the audio wherever podcasts are available.

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If you thoughts or comments about the episode, feel free to comment on YouTube video, comment below, or reach out to Mike (@M_Wiemuth_) and Bob (@BobMoats) on Twitter or in our BHN Discord.

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On Wednesday, and will preview the Way-Too-Early #20, Nebraska Cornhuskers, on the next episode of Doing The Work— our show dedicated to the Indiana women’s basketball team.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support

our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to see a replay of

the show or chat with the WorkAholics during the show.)

Subscribe to Doing The WorkSubscribe to the Doing The Work podcast for free at any of the following places:

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

While scheduling announcements happened again, a more disturbing story took center stage this week. More reveals involving the Big Ten slate did occur. However, it is the alleged conduct of a former IU doctor that rises to the top of the headlines.

Besides this, another major publication picked Indiana to win the Big Ten, recruiting updates, and weekly shows round out the basketball portion of 6-Banner. As usual, we will conclude with a look at other Hoosier sports starting with football which rolled to a huge win in their Big Ten opener on the road .

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

Independent Review Ordered By Indiana Against IU Basketball Doctor
Schedule Update
Another Major Publication Picks IU To Win Big Ten In Season Preview
Recruiting Update
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Footballs Rolls To Huge Win In Big Ten opener

IU men’s basketball will play several games this upcoming season on Peacock and the women will play a few as well, 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: Independent Review Ordered By Indiana Against IU Basketball Doctor A well-known Bloomington doctor Brad Bomba Sr. had disturbing allegations levied against him by a former IU basketball player. The identity of the athlete is not known.

However, he alleges that Bomba, who was a contracted physician for Indiana athletics in the late 1990s, subjected him to inappropriate prostate and rectal exams. The university has tasked Jones Day to do a fully independent investigation into the matter.

Jones Day has asked any athlete who may have been subjected to similar conduct to come forward and report it. This can be done by phone at 888-392-2296 or by email at IUinvestigation@JonesDay.com. The communication can be done anonymously if desired.

Banner #2: Schedule UpdateWhile the full Big Ten schedule will likely be out later this week, another major piece of it was reported a few days ago. It has been known for a while who IU’s opponents are and where the games will be played. However, times and dates are yet to be released.

However, College Basketball Insider’s Jon Rothstein leaked more news about some key conference matchups. The Hoosiers will host Minnesota to open league play on December 9 before traveling to Nebraska on December 13.

The reveal though that will excite Indiana fans most, is the annual rivalry games with Purdue being known. The first matchup will be on January 31 in West Lafayette with the return game in Bloomington on February 23.

Banner #3: Another Major Publication Picks IU To Win Big Ten In Season PreviewAnother major site that covers college basketball picked IU to win the conference in 2024-2025. The Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook was the first to project Indiana to come out on top in the league last week. Now Lindy’s Sports seconded this thought and picked Indiana to be the class of the Big Ten.

Rothstein added to the optimism as well. He tweeted out early on Saturday that both incoming transfer Luke Goode and freshman Bryson Tucker have been stand outs and will figure prominently into the rotation.

Turning away from the Hoosiers and to the rest of the conference, Inside the Hall continued its preview of other Big Ten squads. This week they looked at Minnesota, USC, Northwestern, Nebraska, and Iowa.

Banner #4: Recruiting Update247Sports updated their 2025 recruiting rankings last week. This included several Hoosier targets being high up in their numbers. This was led by the no. 4 player nationally Nate Ament. This was followed by no. 7 Mikel Brown Jr, no. 14 and no. 16 top targets Jalen Haralson and Braylon Mullins, no. 20 Bryson Tiller, no. 27 Eric Reibe, and no. 70 Trent Sisley.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris

and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsPodcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, rivals.com’s Rob Cassidy discussed recruiting.

The Back Home Network was also on-air several times. Austin Render’s Dribble Drive Podcast and Crimson Cast had episodes as did a new program on BHN called Tuesday Night Bison Chat. Finally, Doing The Work had a show as well.

Refer a friendDo you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptionsAnd if you want to get really generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Footballs Rolls To Huge Win In Big Ten opener* Football dominated UCLA in their Big Ten opener at the Rose Bowl 42-13. * Volleyball knocked off Chicago State, Southern Indiana, and Ball State to improve to 6-2. * Men’s soccer fell to Dayton on Monday. However, they won a thriller in their Big Ten opener at Rutgers on Friday with a late goal. * Women’s soccer dominated Lawrence. However, they were blown out by Ohio State in their Big Ten opener. Also, freshman Layla Sirdah was honored by the conference. * Field hockey was defeated by Miami (OH) and beat Ball State. * Women’s golf finished seventh in Nicholasville. * Men’s golf was ninth at the Knoxville Collegiate. * Cross country competed at the Fighting Illini Big Ten Preview.

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

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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On Wednesday, and will preview the #15, Ohio State Buckeyes, on the next episode of Doing The Work— our show dedicated to the Indiana women’s basketball team.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support

our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to see a replay of

the show or chat with the WorkAholics during the show.)

Subscribe to Doing The WorkSubscribe to the Doing The Work podcast for free at any of the following places:

YouTube
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
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Art19
Podcast feed RSS (use this to subscribe in any player)
Search for “doing the work” wherever you listen to podcasts. If you don’t find us, email Jerod.

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

Once again, a major scheduling announcement is the top story. This time it was a reveal involving the Big Ten slate. IU will play at a historic arena rather than on Penn State’s home court as originally thought.

Besides this, a major publication picked Indiana to win the Big Ten, recruiting updates, coaching staff additions, and weekly shows round out the basketball portion of 6-Banner. As usual, we will conclude with a look at other Hoosier sports starting with football which rolled to another win in its second game.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

IU-Penn State To Be Played At The Historic Palestra In Philadelphia On Jan. 5
Major Publication Picks IU To Win Big Ten In Season Preview
Recruiting Update
IU Adds Two Graduate Managers To Coaching Staff
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Football Sets Points Record In Lopsided Win

IU men’s basketball will play several games this upcoming season on Peacock and the women will play a few as well, 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: IU-Penn State To Be Played At The Historic Palestra In Philadelphia On Jan. 5 While the full Big Ten schedule will likely be out later this month, a piece of it was reported last week. It has been known for a while who IU’s opponents are and where the games will be played. However, times and dates are yet to be released.

However, College Basketball Insider’s Jon Rothstein leaked some news on Thursday about the matchup with Penn State. Instead, of playing on the Nittany Lion’s home court, the contest will take place three hours from State College in Philadelphia at the historic Palestra on Jan. 5.

PSU is expected to be near the bottom of the league and has the lowest Bart Torvik Ranking amongst the conference heading into 2024-2025 at 74. Inside the Hall previewed Penn State as well as no. 73 Washington.

Banner #2: Major Publication Picks IU To Win Big Ten In Season PreviewOne major site that covers college basketball picked IU to win the conference in 2024-2025. While several publications have picked the Hoosiers to finish high up in the Big Ten, the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook is the first to project Indiana to come out on top in the league. They also gave several preseason honors to incoming transfer Oumar Ballo.

Ballo was not the only one to receive praise from a national outlet. Rising sophomore Mackenzie Mgbako is featured on the regional cover of Lindy’s Sports college basketball preview. Also, Inside the Hall did a Mailbag which discussed the upcoming year among other things.

Banner #3: Recruiting UpdateWhile the fall semester has begun at IU, recruiting for future seasons continues. September 4 began a major period for looking at prospects and the staff is going all out. Jalen Haralson wrapped up what he told On3’s Joe Tipton was a “great overall visit” to Bloomington last weekend.

The coaches also saw Braylon Mullins as well as other top targets. Mullins also has an upcoming visit to campus later in the month. As a result of the activity on the recruiting trail, Inside the Hall updated its September recruiting board.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris

and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #4: IU Adds Two Graduate Managers To Coaching Staff IU announced the addition of two staff members as grad managers. One of them is a name Hoosier fans should be familiar with in recent former player Nate Childress. Childress was a walk-on at IU who played sparingly before transferring to Indiana Wesleyan for a final season. Now with his playing career behind him, Childress returns to his alma mater in a new role.

The other person moving into this job is Jackson Taylor. Taylor served as a team manager during his days as an undergraduate in Bloomington. He now moves into a similar position as he starts graduate school.

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsThe Back Home Network was on-air several times this week. Austin Render’s Dribble Drive Podcast and Crimson Cast had episodes as did a new program on BHN called Tuesday Night Bison Chat. Also, Xs and Joes recorded a show.

Finally, a couple of other shows had people with Hoosier ties on them. Incoming transfer Luke Goode appeared on the Players Perspective podcast while former coach Tom Crean talked with the Hoosier Hysterics.

Refer a friendDo you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptionsAnd if you want to get really generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Football Sets Points Record In Lopsided Win* Football scored the most points in program history during a 77-3 win over Western Illinois. The 701 total yards on offense were also a record. * Men’s soccer knocked off Yale for their first victory of the season before tying Butler on the road Wednesday. Also, Tommy Mihalic was honored by the conference. * Women’s soccer tied Brown and dominated Evansville. Also, Avery Snead was honored by the Big Ten. * Volleyball knocked off UC Davis in its home opener. However, they fell to elite Texas and Miami (FL) squads away from Bloomington later in the week. * Field hockey was defeated by Maine in their home opener. * Women’s golf opened their season with a fourth-place finish at the Boilermaker Classic. * Baseball announced its fall exhibition schedule. * Finally, IU Athletics announced another NIL partnership.

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

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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IU Warms Up For Their Wednesday Night Match Against Butler In Indianapolis

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Both Teams Create Plenty Of Chances But Make Bad Decisions When Trying To Finish AttacksIndianapolis-While this match ended in a 1-1 tie, it was likely a night where both IU and Butler felt like they should have scored several more goals. The Hoosiers struck early with a rocket into the net from just outside the box from Patrick McDonald.

However, Tommy Mihalic skyed a penalty kick over the net that IU earned from a Bulldog handball in the box. Also, Indiana created several point-blank opportunities on long balls over the top but made too many passes rather than shooting when the best chance was available.

For Butler, they equalized on a breakaway in the second half. However, while dominating the shots 17-10, they also took many quick attempts that were ill-advised and bounced easy balls to IU goalkeeper JT Harms for saves. While Harms was credited with seven stops, most were about as easy as possible to make.

In the end, both sides could not have done better when building their attack. However, their final decisions led to the Hoosiers passing one too many times and shooting too late when given the chance. Vice versa, the Bulldogs were shooting too early on offensive possessions and not forcing Indiana to defend for as long as they should have.

For his squad’s part, IU coach Todd Yeagley lamented the poor decisions when attacking.

“We squandered too many chances,” Yeagley said. “We’ve got to be better in the final third than that. We had three or four breakaways that we couldn’t find the right pass or we decided to pass when we should have shot. We let that one slip away.”

IU Off To Slow Start Again in 2024 But Fast Finish Is LikelyAfter tonight’s result, Indiana has just a 1-1-2 record. Slow starts are nothing new for this IU soccer team recently. In 2023, the team was just 3-3-4 before catching fire and winning the Big Ten while finishing 15-4-5 and making the Elite 8. In 2022, the squad made the College Cup after beginning 3-2-1 and ending 14-5-6. 2021 saw 5-3-1 turn into 15-6-1.

Why this is happening season in and season out since the Covid shortened 2021 season is an open question. However, Hoosier fans have little to worry about, and past precedent indicates victories will come in bunches pretty soon. It is nearly certain the squad will as usual be a legitimate conference and national championship contender before long despite not looking it yet.

Is The IU Vs. Butler Soccer Rivalry Dropping In Popularity? In 2013, 2015, and 2017 this IU vs. Butler soccer match was the hottest ticket in town and the sports focus of most fans and media locally in Indy. Also, attendance started at 5,029 in 2013 and peaked at 6,105 in 2017. Since then, this number has declined each time from 4,312 in 2019, to 4,073 in 2022 and 3,934 tonight. While the weather has been picture-perfect for each meeting and the atmosphere has been solid and evenly split fan-wise from those who do show up, the declining numbers are unavoidably noticeable. Also, the amount of attention paid to the event by both side’s supporters and the local media seems to be lessening each time.

What is causing this? I don’t have a good answer here other than to say that the popularity of college soccer in general has been in decline (while most other levels of soccer are increasing in popularity). Indiana’s elite play has been able to withstand this drop-off and continue to receive attention. However, this is not the case elsewhere. It is also possible that after a decade of this matchup on Butler’s campus, casual Hoosier and Bulldog supporters don’t want to come out each time.

Also, when Butler first joined the Big East and transitioned to big-time college sports, many of their fans and employees (I spoke to several in this mindset) felt like playing IU and other top programs validated their achieving this status. Now with this established, it is of less urgency when big-time opponents visit their campus which occurs regularly being in a power five league.

The Hoosiers return to action next Monday back at home against Dayton at 8 pm. It should be noted Assembly Call will not have live coverage of this match. This will return on September 20 when the Hoosiers host Maryland. Between now and then following the match with the Flyers, Indiana heads to Rutgers on September 13 and hosts Evansville on September 17.

_____________________________________________________________________

The postgame press conference with Yeagley can be seen below:

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Bob, Mike, and special guest Beau Haynes discuss the past, present, and future of the vaunted blue-blood head coaching job. How much have things really changed?

Segment 1: What Makes A Program’s Blood Blue?* Which program are at the top of the social register and how did they get there? * How do their fans and the program set expectations and maintain “standards?” * The search for the next Lama, Pop, or Godfather: why are blue-blood hires different?

Segment 2: Do These “Blue Blood” Designations Really Matter Anymore?* Why do prospective hires see offers they can refuse? * Do 18-year-old kids really know about the history of Chuck Taylor? * How have some programs broken into the country club locker room?

Segment 3 and Wrap Up * Does the modern landscape allow for true blue bloods anymore?

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

The YouTube video is below, and you can listen to the audio wherever podcasts are available.

Subscribe links for podcast:

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IU Warms Up For Their Sunday Night Match Against Yale In Bloomington

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Tommy Mihalic Scoring In Bunches Early OnBloomington-Tommy Mihalic has been one of Indiana’s best scoring threats in his time in Bloomington. In his first two seasons on campus, he tallied 12 goals in just 45 matches. However, last season things got frustrating for Mihalic as he kept missing putting the ball in the net from point-blank range multiple times, often hitting the post and crossbar.

This led to just one score in 2023. However, early signs this fall are that the guy from 2021 and 2022 is back. So far Mihalic is responsible for three of the team’s four balls in the back of the net as well as both goals on Sunday night.

Mihalic said he loves putting the ball in the net and enjoys the jubiliation of it.

“I said the other day I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to score,” Mihalic said “It definitely feels good, I’m really happy.”

Michael Nesci Has Been Breakout Freshman Star Michael Nesci came in as Indiana’s highest-ranked recruit for this fall according to Top Drawer Soccer. Overall, Nesci was the crown jewel of the nation’s seventh-best class and a top-100 player.

However, how quickly Nesci could contribute was an open question. With so many players returning in the Hoosier attack, it was unclear what role he might have. Early on though, he has looked ready to make a major impact from the get-go with his elite speed and scoring ability.

Nesci put one in the back of the net on a breakaway Thursday against Notre Dame to level the score at 1. On Sunday against Yale, his speed continued to give the opponent fits (it should be noted the Bulldogs had a hard time with Indiana’s quickness in general). Nesci got the start on Sunday and drew an early penalty kick after getting tackled during a point-blank look from a pass he took inside the box.

Mihalic said Nesci has played very well so far and knows he’ll help the squad all season.

“He’s great for a freshman,” Mihalic said. “He plays with a lot of confidence and edge. He’s been great for us and I know he’ll play a huge role on this team.”

The PK Nesci drew was upheld on review and converted by Mihalic. VAR continued to be the home side’s friend later on. A penalty was called on IU at the very end of the first half but overturned on second look. This is the first year of more expanded replay in college soccer and it very much helped the Hoosiers on Sunday in both instances.

Indiana Has Changed Their Annual Adidas/IU Credit Union Classic Significantly In Reason SeasonsFor many years Indiana would host two top-level opponents in the Adidas/IU Credit Union Classic while two other matches not involving the Hoosiers would also take place against Notre Dame. In return, Indiana would play in a similar tournament up in South Bend annually. Then in 2018, the Hoosiers and Fighting Irish agreed to only play in each other’s events every other season.

In the alternating years, Indiana found a different regional foe to play the other two sides at Bill Armstrong Stadium. Then in recent seasons, the classic has condensed down to IU playing just one or two matches similar to any other nights.

Hoosier coach Todd Yeagley said conference expansion and flexibility are the main reason for the changes but they will always have the event in some form over Labor Day.

“Part of it is the Big Ten scheduling the third weekend,” Yeagley said. “It was our tournament and Notre Dame’s and we felt like we were a little bit boxed in with scheduling. This will always be our classic. Some years we’ll have four teams. We’ll always have two games over this weekend.

The team is now 1-1-1 and returns to action on Wednesday in Indianapolis for their annual rivalry match against Butler at 7 pm. The fast artificial turf and the Bulldog’s ability to get balls over the top to speedy forwards has given Indiana fits at times there. However, IU won there two years ago and the crowd figures to be a relatively even split between each side’s fans per usual.

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Postgame press conferences can be seen below:

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

Once again, scheduling announcements are the top stories. This was led by the final piece of the pre-Big Ten slate being revealed with a charity exhibition game against a high-level opponent. Also, the Battle 4 Atlantis matchups were announced on the women’s side.

Besides this, Inside the Hall and UMHoops continued their series looking at the top players in the Big Ten, coach Mike Woodson appeared on a national program, and weekly shows round out the basketball portion of 6-Banner. As usual, we will conclude with a look at other Indiana sports starting with football rolling to a win in their opener.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

IU Announces Charity Exhibition Game Against Tennessee
Battle 4 Atlantis Matchups Announced For Women
Inside The Hall’s Top 40 Big Ten Players Series
Mike Woodson Appears On College Hoops Game Day
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Football Dominates FIU In Opener

IU men’s basketball will play several games this upcoming season on Peacock and the women will play a few as well, 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: IU Announces Charity Exhibition Game Against TennesseeWhile it will not count towards their record, Indiana added a marquee opponent to the schedule. The Hoosiers will face Tennessee in a charity exhibition game in their first competition of the 2024-2025 season.

The matchup will take place Sunday, October 27 on the road in Knoxville. Time and TV info are still TBA. However, tickets will be available for purchase on allvols.com beginning September 16 for anyone wanting to make the trip. The proceeds from the contest will go to the John McLendon Foundation.

The Volunteers finished 2023-2024 with a 27-9 record and made an appearance in the Elite Eight. They did lose six rotation players from last season but have a highly-ranked portal class coming in.

Banner #2: Battle 4 Atlantis Matchups Announced For WomenThe final piece of the women’s non-conference schedule was released earlier this week. It was already known the slate was highlighted by a trip to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis. However, while the matchups for the men were announced almost two weeks ago, the women’s side was not revealed until a few days ago.

The revelation of the first opponent for IU was Ivy League power Columbia on Saturday, November 23 at 1:30 pm. The Lions finished 23-7 in 2023-2024 and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as part of the First Four.

With relatively weak pre-Big Ten opponents outside of facing Stanford, beating Columbia is of utmost importance. This is because a victory would likely give Indiana a signature matchup with national power Baylor the next day. However, a defeat would almost certainly pit them against Southern Mississippi who missed out on March Madness last season.

Also, the first two rounds are streamed exclusively on FloHoops.com which costs $30 a month or $150 for the entire year. If the Hoosiers win their first matchup they will move to an ESPN network for the third game. If they are defeated in the opening round, all three will stream exclusively on FloHoops.

The other squads in this tournament on the opposite side of the bracket are Ball State, North Carolina, Texas A+M, and Villanova. Indiana will face one of these teams on the final day of competition.

Either way, IU will play three games in consecutive days. This will result in the toughest contests and opponents the Hoosiers will see early on and prepare them for the postseason in March when games are spaced close together.

Banner #3: Inside The Hall’s Top 40 Big Ten Players SeriesInside the Hall and UMHoops concluded their preview of the Big Ten as a whole that looked at the top-40 players in the conference. This week number 25 all the way down to the top-ranked person was revealed in the form of Purdue’s Braden Smith. Incoming transfer Myles Rice was the highest-numbered Hoosier at four.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris

and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #4: Mike Woodson Appears On College Hoops Game Day IU coach Mike Woodson appeared on the College Hoops Today podcast recently. Woodson sat down with Jon Rothstein last Monday afternoon to discuss a variety of topics. Inside the Hall provided a transcript of the discussion at this link.

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsPodcast on the Brink was on the air again this week. On it, UMHoops’ Dylan Burkhardt gave his thoughts on the top-40 player list he helped Inside the Hall compile.

Also, The Back Home Network was on-air several times. Austin Render’s Dribble Drive Podcast and Crimson Cast had episodes as did Doing The Work.

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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Football Dominates FIU In Opener* Football got the Curt Cignetti era off to a strong start with a dominating 31-7 win over FIU. * Men’s and women’s soccer had a doubleheader on Thursday night in Bloomington. Assembly Call was on-site and had a full recap of the women’s 6-0 win over Wright State and the men’s 2-2 tie against Notre Dame. * Volleyball got its 50th season off on the right note by knocking off Kennesaw State and Wichita State. * Field hockey beat Kent State to open 2024 but fell to ranked Liberty as well. * Cross Country opened up their fall with strong results at the Sam Bell Invitational that they hosted. * Baseball will have fall tryouts for potential walk-ons on September 19. * Softball announced its fall exhibition schedule.

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

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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Bill Armstrong Stadium Where IU Plays There Home Soccer Matches

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Weather Rears Its Ugly Head For A Late Night At Armstrong StadiumBloomington-Unstable air in the late afternoon wreaked havoc on the planned doubleheader for the men’s and women’s soccer teams. While Armstrong Stadium and Bloomington never saw actual rain, lightning from a nearby pop-up storm caused multiple delays.

The women’s match was scheduled to kick off at 4:30 pm but was immediately delayed by 15 minutes due to the nearby weather. When kickoff was ready to go, another one-hour stoppage did not allow the first kick to occur until 5:45 pm. However, nine minutes in, the game was stopped again due to lightning that was even closer to the field. Finally, at 6:35 pm everything was a go with no further interruptions.

However, by then, the long stoppages pushed the men’s contest back about one-half hour to 8:30 pm. This made for a very late night and over six hours at the stadium for anyone who attended both matches.

However, the elite facilities that are offered on campus prevented an even later start time for game two. Armstrong Stadium is one of the few college soccer facilities to feature a separate practice field next door which allowed IU and Notre Dame to warm up as the first game wound down. This made it so that minimal time was needed on the main pitch once it became open.

Indiana coach Todd Yeagley said he is grateful to have the second place to practice and a top-notch facility.

“Same size, same surface, and we’re 20 yards from our game field,” Yeagley said. “Big advantage for us to have that.”

Women Improve To 3-0 With Dominating Win Over Wright StateThe actual game was of minimal challenge to the Hoosiers. They scored right before the second delay nine minutes in and came back 40 minutes later once the lightning cleared with no momentum lost. They tacked on two scores late in the first half and rolled with three more in the final stanza for a 6-0 win.

Indiana sits at 3-0 early on in 2024 and looks to make a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance for the first time in program history. The postseason appearance in 2023 was their first in a decade and early results are promising. So far Indiana has victories over Tennessee in Bloomington and Ball State on the road before Thursday night’s result.

Hoosiers And Irish Battle To 2-2 Draw In Thrilling MatchUnlike their female counterparts, the men have had no issues making the NCAA Tournament. IU’s current postseason streak is quite long as Indiana has made it past the regular season every year since 1987. 2023 looked like it could end that streak as the Hoosiers have started slow each of the last few seasons before catching fire.

Since 2017, the team has been amongst the best in college soccer after a previous decade of standards that would thrill most programs but left Hoosier fans wanting more. While IU hoisted its last national championship in 2012 they were not close to any other hardware in that time. In the recent eight years, Indiana has won eight Big Ten trophies, been to four College Cups, and advanced past the Sweet 16 five times (between 2005 and 2016 they got past that round just twice).

The season started poorly last Friday night with a 2-0 loss to St. Louis on the road. IU has seemingly had an annual clunker away from home recently and this certainly fits that bill.

This left Thursday’s match against an elite Notre Dame squad as a big one. Indiana came out much stronger this time with multiple opportunities and controlled the flow with multiple good passes and attempts on goal. Irish freshman goalie Blake Kelly turned away multiple point blank attempts as his side struck first in the opening 45 minutes. The Hoosiers broke the door down halfway through the second period as the game went off the rails with three scores in a couple of minutes.

Michael Nesci and Tommy Mihalic scored in quick succession on breakaways for a 2-1 lead before ND equalized almost immediately. As a result another top-notch matchup between two of college soccer’s best ended in a draw.

Mihalic said while he loved his team’s effort, he doesn’t understand why so many opposing keepers seemingly have career nights against the Hoosiers.

“I don’t know what the goalies eat before our games,” Mihalic said. “The goalie had unbelievable saves. He is a freshman. He’s gonna be phenomenal.”

Indiana’s schedule lightens up now as they host Yale on Sunday at 8 pm. The team sits at 0-1-1 after their toughest two game stretch of the season.

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On Wednesday, and will preview one of IU’s newest Big 10 opponents and another Pre-Season Top 5, USC Trojans, with special guest, Kasey Kazliner of the Daily Trojan, on the next episode of Doing The Work— our show dedicated to the Indiana women’s basketball team.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support

our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to see a replay of

the show or chat with the WorkAholics during the show.)

Subscribe to Doing The WorkSubscribe to the Doing The Work podcast for free at any of the following places:

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

From a news perspective, the headlines picked up significantly this week for Indiana Basketball. This was led by the final piece of the non-conference schedule being filled in with the Battle 4 Atlantis matchups. Also, IU announced new sponsorship opportunities in Memorial Stadium and Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Besides this, Inside the Hall did more preview articles for the upcoming 2024-2025 season, women’s basketball revealed a roster addition, and weekly shows round out the first five banners. As usual, 6-Banner will conclude with a look at other Indiana sports led by women’s soccer picking up another victory.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

Battle 4 Atlantis Matchups Announced
Sponsorship Opportunities Announced For Assembly Hall And Memorial Stadium
Season Preview
Women Announce Late Roster Addition
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Women’s Soccer Beats Ball State To Move To 2-0

IU men’s basketball will play several games this upcoming season on Peacock and the women will play a few as well, 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: Battle 4 Atlantis Matchups AnnouncedThe final piece of the non-conference schedule was revealed earlier this week. It was already known the slate was highlighted by a trip to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis. However, the matchups themselves were not known before last Wednesday.

The revelation of the first opponent for IU was regional rival Louisville the day before Thanksgiving at noon on ESPN. The Cardinals struggled in 2023-2024 but replaced all 13 players and their coach. As a result, they will likely be significantly improved. Bart Torvik ranks them 62 after finishing last season near 200 (The Hoosiers are up to 30 from 83 in these projections).

With relatively weak pre-Big Ten opponents outside of Atlantis, beating Louisville is of utmost importance. This is because a victory would likely give Indiana a signature matchup with no. 9 Gonzaga 24 hours later and potentially top-6o Oklahoma or no. 10 Arizona in game three the day after.

By contrast, a defeat for IU in game one would almost certainly pit them against no. 83 West Virginia on Turkey Day. Then no. 60 Providence or no. 166 Davidson would be the most likely opposition.

Either way, Indiana will play three games in consecutive days. This will result in the toughest contests and opponents the Hoosiers will see early on and prepare them for the postseason in March when games are spaced close together.

Banner #2: Sponsorship Opportunities Announced For Assembly Hall And Memorial Stadium With athletic departments across the country searching for ways to make extra revenue, Indiana has come up with a way to involve businesses with advertising. With inflation and revenue sharing increasing the cost of running college sports by the year, IU announced new opportunities in Memorial Stadium and Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Starting immediately, IU Athletics and IU Sports Properties are offering branding logos on the playing surfaces of these facilities. This is the first time that Indiana has allowed advertisements of this type on the field and court itself. Interested parties should contact iusp@iu.edu for more info about this.

Banner #3: Season Preview Inside the Hall (ITH) continued its preview of the upcoming season with a look at the players and team in detail as well as the Big Ten as a whole. This included a feature on rising sophomore Gabe Cupps, as well as a breakdown of the IU defense. Also, ITH began a series looking at the top 40 players in the conference.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris

and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #4: Women Announce Late Roster AdditionIU’s women’s basketball team made a couple of personnel-related announcements last week. This included the late addition of Valentyna Kadlecova to the roster. Kadlecova is 6-foot tall and averaged a shade over 12 points a game at the U-20 European Championships. She hails from the Czech Republic.

The squad has already added two prominent transfers and a couple of freshmen and returns starters Yarden Garzon, Chloe Moore-McNeil, and Sydney Parrish. With most of its keep role players back, it remains to be seen how much Kadlecova contributes. However, at a minimum, she will provide competition in practice and could crack the rotation if all goes well. With her addition, 14 of the 15 allotted scholarships have been filled (women’s basketball is one of several sports where female teams have extra scholarships relative to their male counterparts to offset football and comply with Title IX).

Finally, off the court, it was announced that Kylie Durkee will be the Director of Athletic Performance. Durkee was previously at the University of Houston in a similar role where the squads she worked with had strong results on the court.

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsPodcast on the Brink was recorded a couple of times this week. In the first episode, Bart Torvik discussed more about his ranking systems.

The second show, previewed the matchup with the Cardinals by speaking with WDRB’s Eric Crawford. This television station is based in Louisville and covers all of the area’s sports teams.

Also, The Back Home Network was on-air several times. AC Radio returned on Thursday after a long absence. Also, Austin Render’s Dribble Drive Podcast and Crimson Cast had episodes.

Refer a friendDo you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

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We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Women’s Soccer Beats Ball State To Move To 2-0 * Women’s soccer won 2-1 at Ball State to improve to 2-0 on the young season. Assembly Call was one of the few media outlets on-site in Muncie and had a full recap. * Volleyball had an intrasquad scrimmage and announced themes for many of their home matches. * Men’s soccer struggled in a 2-0 loss to St. Louis on the road that was their season opener. Also, IU was named the favorite to win the Big Ten this fall after emerging at the top of the table in 2023 as well. * Football head coach Curt Cignetti had media availability this week as did a couple of team members. Also, a player received preseason recognition and IU announced some updates to the gameday fan experience. * Baseball had summer ball wrap-up for its returning players. * Cross Country had two athletes on the conference’s preseason watch list. * Men’s Tennis announced its fall exhibition schedule.

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

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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We’re back with a new episode tonight — Thursday, August 22nd, 2024.

Coach and Ryan will kick things off, with Jerod and Andy joining as soon thereafter.

We’ll dive into a bunch of different topics, including:

The ever-increasing influence of money in college sports
The Battle for Atlantis bracket — and what Indiana must do to consider it a successful trip
Why you should go shop at Homefield Apparel :-)
A series of questions Coach was asked on a recent podcast appearance, which he wants to hear us answer
A bunch of interesting mailbag questions from our audience

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This week’s showWatch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to to see a replay of the ChatMob alongside the show.)

Thank you to our sponsorsWe appreciate the support of our sponsors who help make our continued coverage of Indiana basketball possible.

Presenting sponsor: Homefield Apparel (promo code HOME23 for 15% off your first order)
Promotional partner for Meaningful Moment: Hoosier Ticket Project
Promotional partner for Inside the Numbers: Megan Mahaffey’s JacksonHewitt franchise locations in and around Bloomington
Game Ball sponsor: Bloomington Environmental (mention Assembly Call for a free radon test kit and mitigation estimate)
Hoosier Hustle Award sponsor: Security Pro 24/7 (formerly Evansville Security Services)

Subscribe to The Assembly CallSubscribe to The Assembly Call podcast for free at any of the following places:

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Bill Armstrong Stadium Where IU Plays There Home Soccer Matches

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Early Offensive Flurry Turns Into A WhimperMuncie-The game was barely six minutes old and IU put two early goals into the back of the net. First Kennedy Neighbors took a pass from Layla Sirdah on a breakaway just under four minutes in for the lead. Not even three minutes later, the Hoosiers had another break. While the shot was tipped out of bounds by the goalie, Indiana converted the subsequent corner on a header by Haden Vlcek that Sirdah set up.

However, after this, IU’s offense went into hibernation and got very few opportunities the rest of the afternoon. Ball State pulled one back in the 28th minute. From there, neither side got many looks and the second half especially was dominated by the defenses.

How Do The Hoosiers Replace Paige Weber?The Hoosiers could barely find the back of the net in 2022 with just 11 scores in 17 games while going 3-7-7. In 2023, IU allowed the same 16 goals they did the previous fall.

However, the entire fortunes of the squad turned around due to increased success offensively where they found the back of the net 31 times. This was mostly due to Paige Webber’s breakout year. She became a one-woman wrecking crew putting 12 balls into the goal. As a result, Indiana had a miraculous turnaround going 12-4-4 a season ago and making their first NCAA Tournament in a decade.

Fast forward to now and the Cream and Crimson no longer have Weber due to her eligibility expiring. This leaves the question of whether the team can continue its performance from last autumn or if goals will be hard to come by again.

So far the results are mixed. While the Hoosiers have a stout backline once again, the ability to score will be tested without Weber. While the flashes are there as happened early on Tuesday, the inconsistency in creating chances and finding the net remains an issue.

Ultimately, how many goals occur, will determine if 2024 is more like the lows of 2022 or the highs of 2023. The potential is there, but it needs to be realized.

Rick Greenspan And Fred Glass Deserve Credit For Upgrading Facilities At IU In The 2010sSome said IU had Mid-American Conference (MAC) level facilities as recently as 15 years ago. When walking the campus of Ball State in Muncie, this certainly appeared true as most of the Cardinals’ stadiums were on a level with those of the 2000’s in Bloomington.

These facilities are very nice for a MAC level program and Ball State is among the best in their conference across the board. However, these same types of places kept Indiana from being competitive in many ways for years in the Big Ten.

While the tenures of previous athletic directors Fred Glass and Rick Greenspan were not perfect, both deserve kudos for upgrading the Hoosiers’ facilities to match the rest of the league. From Cook Hall, to Memorial Stadium, to Andy Mohr and Bart Kaufman Field, to Assembly Hall, to Wilkinson Hall, to Armstrong Stadium, and the Pfau Golf Course, nearly every stadium on Indiana’s campus is now modern and as good as most in the country. Former IU point guard and now Ball State men’s basketball coach Michael Lewis could likely attest to this after his time in Bloomington during the 90’s. Lewis made an appearance at the match on Tuesday afternoon with his connections to both schools.

As a result of the upgrades, programs like women’s soccer and many others have taken a massive step forward both on the field and off it. For this, Glass and Greenspan deserve credit.

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

From a news perspective, it was a relatively quiet week for IU Basketball. However, the women’s team announced their non-conference schedule on Thursday.

Also, Inside the Hall did more roster previews for the upcoming 2024-2025 season. Additionally, a recruiting update, Hoosiers in the pros, and weekly shows round out the first five banners. As usual, 6-Banner will conclude with a look at other Indiana sports led by women’s soccer opening their season with a victory.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

Women Announce Non-Conference Schedule
Season Preview
Recruiting Update
Cupps And Parrish Make NIL Appearance
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Women’s Soccer Wins Season Opener

IU men’s basketball will play several games this upcoming season on Peacock and the women will play a few as well, 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 Announce Non-Conference ScheduleWhile the men’s non-conference schedule came out several weeks ago, the women announced theirs this week. Like their male counterparts, the slate is highlighted by a trip to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis. However, for them, it runs from the 23-25 of November rather than the 27-29. The field for the women includes Ball State, Baylor, Columbia, North Carolina, Southern Miss, Texas A&M, and Villanova.

The other noteworthy matchups are a November 13 road contest at Butler and a rematch with Stanford in Bloomington four days later. The squad returns starters Yarden Garzon, Chloe Moore-McNeil, and Sydney Parrish.

However, they must replace arguably the best player in program history with the departure of Mackenzie Holmes who is now a graduate manager for the team. Sharpshooter Sara Scalia also had her eligibility expire but has a replacement with a similar skillset in Penn State transfer Shay Ciezki. The ability for former Tennessee Vols center Karoline Striplin and previous backup big Lily Meister to replace Holmes in the post will determine the squads ceiling.

Banner #2: Season PreviewInside the Hall (ITH) continued its preview of the upcoming season with a look at the players in detail. This included incoming freshman Bryson Tucker, rising sophomore Gabe Cupps, rising senior Trey Galloway, Arizona senior transfer Oumar Ballo, and Illinois senior transfer and Indiana native Luke Goode.

Banner #3: Recruiting UpdateAs is typical during the summer, a few recruiting nuggets came to light this week for the 2025 class. The most noteworthy of these was the announcement that top-40 center Eric Reibe will take a visit to Bloomington from Oct 4-6. However, one top target who will not become a Hoosier is Malachi Moreno who committed to his home state Kentucky Wildcats on Friday.

However, just like for the coming 2024-2025 season, the portal will be instrumental in filling out the roster for 2025-2026. Also, ITH did an update to their mid-August recruiting board.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris

and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #4: Cupps And Parrish Make NIL Appearance NIL opportunities have continued to increase for athletes in the last couple of seasons. The latest example of this was Saturday in Fort Wayne.

During this time Gabe Cupps and Parrish made an appearance with a business they are partnered with for NIL. This place is called Scheerer McCulloch Auctioneers and both stopped by there yesterday to do a meet and greet with fans.

For Parrish, it wrapped up a busy week. This was because she also served as the sideline reporter on BTN+ for the women’s soccer match on Thursday (results below).

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsPodcast on the Brink returned this week with a new episode. On it, Brian Fonseca discussed the outlook for a much-hyped Rutgers squad for the upcoming 2024-2025 season.

Also, The Back Home Network was on-air twice this week. Both shows were about women’s basketball with Austin Render’s Dribble Drive Podcast as well as Doing The Work.

Refer a friendDo you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptionsAnd if you want to get really generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Women’s Soccer Wins Season Opener* Women’s soccer opened up the IU athletic season for the fall of 2024 with a 1-0 win over Tennessee. Also, three players were named to the Big Ten’s preseason watch list. * The Paris Olympics concluded for several IU athletes. * Football head coach Curt Cignetti had media availability this week as well as a few team members. Also, a couple of players received preseason honors and IU announced some updates to the gameday fan experience. * Men’s soccer added a transfer goalie for the upcoming fall. * Baseball announced the addition of an assistant coach as well as provided an update on former players in the pros who were once part of the program. * Softball also added an assistant coach. * Volleyball named their captains for the season. * Field hockey announced promotions for this season’s home games. * Women’s golf announced its schedule for the upcoming season. * Men’s golf added an assistant coach. * Women’s tennis released its schedule for the fall.

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

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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On Wednesday, and will preview one of IU’s newest Big 10 opponents and Pre-Season Top 5, UCLA Bruins, on the next episode of Doing The Work— our show dedicated to the Indiana women’s basketball team.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support

our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to see a replay of

the show or chat with the WorkAholics during the show.)

Subscribe to Doing The WorkSubscribe to the Doing The Work podcast for free at any of the following places:

YouTube
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Art19
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Search for “doing the work” wherever you listen to podcasts. If you don’t find us, email Jerod.

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

From a news perspective, it was a very quiet week for IU Basketball. As a result, Inside the Hall did several exhilarating previews for the upcoming 2024-2025 season. This involved the players, the schedule, the Big Ten as a whole, and recruiting.

Also, as usual, 6-Banner will conclude with weekly shows and other Hoosier sports. This week’s adventure outside of Indiana basketball involved the fall sports of volleyball and football ramping up.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what’s in this week’s edition:

Player Preview
Schedule Preview
Big Ten Preview
Recruiting Update
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Volleyball and Football Preview

IU men’s basketball will play several games this upcoming season on Peacock and the women will play a few as well, 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: Player Preview With the season approaching, Inside the Hall (ITH) took a look at the upcoming 2024-2025 year in several aspects. The first of these was previewing the expected top contributors.

This included the expected best player Mackenzie Mgbako whose ability to make a sophomore leap will be pivotal in Indiana’s ultimate fate. The Hoosiers also need big numbers from transfers Myles Rice and Kanaan Carlyle to return to the postseason as well as veteran Malik Reneau. ITH also did a mailbag that looked at the players among other topics.

Banner #2: Schedule PreviewAs well as previewing the players, ITH took a look at a couple of things from a schedule perspective. This included a preview of the Winthrop game as well as the Battle 4 Atlantis. With a relatively soft non-conference slate, the performance in the Bahamas against some of the nation’s best will likely make or break the pre-Big Ten resume.

Banner #3: Big Ten Preview After a down year, the Hoosiers look to make a jump in the conference standings. With the roster turnover (see above), IU is expected to make a massive improvement. ITH places Indiana a solid fourth behind Purdue, Illinois, and UCLA while Michigan State rounds out the top five.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris

and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #4: Recruiting UpdateWhile the upcoming season is imminent, the Hoosiers are already looking ahead and recruiting hard for the summer of 2025. This week, On3 updated its rankings for that class.

As has been the case throughout Indiana’s courting of these players, several continue to be high up in these numbers. This is led by no. 3 Nate Ament and No. 5 Chris Cenac. Among top targets, Bryson Tiller is 14, Malachi Moreno 21, Jalen Haralson 25, Braylon Mullins 35, and Trent Sisley 148.

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsThe Back Home Network was on-air twice this week. This included Austin Render’s Dribble Drive Podcast about women’s basketball, which featured USC radio announcer Eli Kleinmann. Also, Xs and Joes was newly released discussing the transfer portal.

Refer a friendDo you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptionsAnd if you want to get really generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Volleyball and Football Preview * Volleyball had a flurry of news this week. This included the release of single-game tickets, the TV schedule, the Big Ten’s media day, and two additions to the staff. * Football had media availability as well as a few players receiving preseason recognition. * More athletes with IU connections competed at the Paris Olympics this week. * Men’s soccer opened preseason practice this week. * Baseball had one of their key relievers receive recognition for his performance in the summer league. * Softball had six scholar-athletes. * Track and field’s legendary coach Ron Helmer was elected to the Coaches Hall of Fame posthumously. * Men’s golf announced their schedule for the upcoming season. * Men’s tennis is hosting an alumni event. * A youth sports day was announced.

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

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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Bob and Mike look back at last season and trace some highs and lows from different teams that went heavy in the portal to build their rosters.

Segment 1: How The Portal Worked Well For Some1. The Levels of Success In College Basketball (Chart 1) 2. South Carolina 3. North Carolina

Segment 2: How It Didn’t Go Well For Some Others1. Reviewing The Chip Stack Theory 2. Washington 3. Missouri

Segment 3 and Wrap Up: Indiana’s Portal HaulSlides:

Episode 15 Slides2.18MB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownloadE15 Levels Of Success Slide38.3KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownloadNext up, in episode 16, Mike and Bob will welcome special guest Beau Haynes to help them examine whether blue blood jobs are really dead.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

The YouTube video is below, and you can listen to the audio wherever podcasts are available.

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Don’t see it somewhere you normally listen to podcasts? Let us know.

If you thoughts or comments about the episode, feel free to comment on YouTube video, comment below, or reach out to Mike (@M_Wiemuth_) and Bob (@BobMoats) on Twitter or in our BHN Discord.

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

A couple of big-time stories came to light this week in the IU and Big Ten basketball world during a normally quiet summer. This included the Hoosiers filling the final scholarship for the fall and the conference hoops tournament returning to the state of Indiana in 2025.

Besides this, season previews, an update on a top recruiting target, and weekly shows round out the basketball portion of 6-Banner. We will as usual conclude with a look at other IU teams led by a schedule update for men’s soccer.

In late week breaking news, Hoosier Hysteria’s date was announced for Friday, October 18. Also, former IU star Victor Oladipo will be inducted into the IU Athletics Hall Of Fame as part of a larger class.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what’s in this week’s edition:

IU Fills 13th Scholarship
Future Big Ten Tournament Basketball Sites Announced
Season Preview
Haralson Sets More Visits
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Men’s Soccer Announces TV Schedule

IU men’s basketball will play several games this upcoming season on Peacock and the women will play a few as well, 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: IU Fills 13th ScholarshipWhile the top 12 players and major contributors were long known for Indiana basketball heading into this fall, the final scholarship was filled this week. It went to South Carolina State transfer Dallas James.

However, James did not play a major role at his previous stop averaging just 1.4 points per game for his career. With that said, he is seven-feet tall and will provide a body in practice and should be ready for minutes if needed. He also carries a 4.0 GPA.

Banner #2: Future Big Ten Tournament Basketball Sites AnnouncedIt turns out the Hoosiers’ many-year streak of playing at least a game each year in Indianapolis will continue. Despite not playing there in the regular season for the first time in a while, Indiana will play in the state’s largest city come March.

This is because it was announced this week that both the men’s and women’s conference basketball tournament will be contested in IU’s home state in March of 2025. The 2026 women’s as well as the 2027 men’s competition will also take place 50 miles north of the team’s Bloomington campus.

However, the rest of the events between now and 2028 will be held elsewhere. The 2026 edition for the men will be in Chicago while the 2027 men’s and 2028 women’s Big Ten championship will be in Las Vegas. Finally, the 2028 women’s league title will move to Detroit for the first time.

Banner #3: Season PreviewThe expectations for the 2024-2025 season continue to be quite high from multiple publications. Notable college basketball insider Jon Rothstein picked IU to finish second in the Big Ten behind Purdue. Also, Joe Lunardi released updated ESPN Bracketology for March of 2025 where he has the Hoosiers as a five seed.

To meet these standards, Indiana will need to get off to a good start. Inside the Hall continued its detailed preview of each opponent. This week ITH previewed South Carolina, UNC Greensboro, Sam Houston State, Miami (OH) and Chattanooga. They also looked at where each squad in the Big Ten stands on player transactions as well as did a mailbag.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris

and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #4: Haralson Sets More Visits As the Hoosiers continue to target 2025 in-state top prospect Jalen Haralson, their competition for his services continue to be top-notch. While the ninth-ranked national prospect will come to IU in late August, he also added visits to Kansas, Missouri, and Purdue this fall. This in addition to already scheduled trips to Michigan State and Notre Dame.

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsInside the Hall’s Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, the IndyStar’s Kyle Neddenriep talks recruiting.

Also, The Back Home Network had a couple of new shows this week. This included Crimson Cast, Doing The Work, and The Dribble Drive.

Refer a friendDo you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptionsAnd if you want to get really generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Men’s Soccer Announces TV Schedule * Men’s Soccer will make a conference leading five appearances on the Big Ten Network. * Several Hoosiers continue to compete at the Paris Olympics. * Football’s TE James Bomba and P James Evans were named to a preseason watch list. Also, IU coach Curt Cignetti and a couple of players spoke to the media this week. Finally, a change was announced to the color analyst for the radio broadcasts. * Volleyball’s Camryn Haworth was named to the preseason all-conference team. * Indiana athletics as a whole announced a partnership with Viaggio Pontoon Boats.

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

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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Since we launched The Assembly Call in 2011, there is one part of the experience that has filled me with more pride than any other …

And that is the privilege we’ve had to use our platform to support Indiana-based organizations like Homefield Apparel and Hoosier Ticket Project (HTP).

Today, we have the opportunity to do that once again, as the fine folks at HTP are hosting their annual Giving Blitz.

Support the HTP Giving Blitz!

As a reminder, Hoosier Ticket Project is a non-profit organization that was launched a few years back with the express goal of helping families experience IU athletic events in-person for the first time.

Their mission extends to IU fans of all ages, but there is something extra special about helping young IU fans — the next generation of this incredible fan base — get to their first live game.

Watching on TV or listening to Fisch or Austin Render on the radio is all well and good … but nothing creates the emotional bonds that drive lifelong fandom like in-person experiences at games.

It creates memories like this one, which last a lifetime:

So I am sending you this email to encourage you to support HTP and their wonderful mission of spreading the experience of attending IU athletic events as far and wide as possible.

And whether you are able to donate or not, everyone can support the Giving Blitz by sharing this email with your friends and family members.

Perhaps they will want to donate, or perhaps they haven’t yet attended an IU game and want to be one of the many families that HTP sends to a game.

Either way, whatever you can do — donate, share, or both — will help support HTP’s ongoing mission.

We donated:

Now it’s your turn to help!

And hey, if you donate $150 or more, they are throwing in this sweet t-shirt. :)

Support the HTP Giving Blitz

Share

Go Hoosiers!

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On Wednesday, and will preview one of IU’s newest Big 10 opponents, the Oregon Ducks, on the next episode of Doing The Work— our show dedicated to the Indiana women’s basketball team.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to see a replay of

the show or chat with the WorkAholics during the show.)

Subscribe to Doing The WorkSubscribe to the Doing The Work podcast for free at any of the following places:

YouTube
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Art19
Podcast feed RSS (use this to subscribe in any player)
Search for “doing the work” wherever you listen to podcasts. If you don’t find us, email Jerod.

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

The much-hyped Assembly Ball squad made a run in the TBT but ultimately came up short in the third round. This was after a furious rally and several players being unavailable.

Besides this, former Hoosiers in the NBA, recruiting and schedule updates, and weekly shows. We will as usual conclude with a look at other IU teams led by a potential change to scholarship allotments in several sports.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what’s in this week’s edition:

IU’s Alumni Squad Falls In Third Round Of TBT
Hoosiers In The Pros Update
Recruiting Updates
Schedule Update
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Scholarship Limits Could Change

IU men’s basketball will play several games this upcoming season on Peacock and the women will play a few as well, 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: IU’s Alumni Squad Falls In Third Round Of TBTWhile the IU basketball season is still months away, the competition wrapped up for the Assembly Ball squad in the TBT. While the former Hoosier players made a valiant effort, a lack of available bodies eventually did them in.

The squad did dominate their arch-rival Purdue alumni in the second round. However, the next game saw Indiana incredibly shorthanded. Despite a huge rally late, Eberlein Drive edged out IU 82-79 to end their tournament run short of a championship and the million-dollar prize.

Banner #2: Hoosiers In The Pros UpdateFormer Hoosier Kel’el Ware concluded his strong play in the summer league. It was a rousing success as he was instrumental in leading the Heat to the championship in Las Vegas. Ware’s performance also earned him first-team All-Summer League honors.

Banner #3: Recruiting UpdatesAs is typical in the summer, a couple of updates involving recruiting occurred. This included top 2025 target Braylon Mullins having IU on the list of schools he is still considering.

Besides this, a few highlight videos were released of high school players the Hoosiers are seriously looking at. This included Jalen Haralson and Mikel Brown Jr. Finally, Inside the Hall released an updated recruiting board.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris

and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #4: Schedule UpdateThe last unknown for the fall pre-conference schedule became official. It was announced this week that the Hoosiers will host head coach Pat Knight and Marian in an exhibition contest. Also, Inside the Hall started a series previewing Indiana’s opponents beginning with SIU Edwardsville and Eastern Illinois.

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsInside the Hall’s Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, radio play-by-play voice Austin Render discussed the women’s team.

Also, The Back Home Network had a couple of new shows this week. This included Crimson Cast and Xs & Joes.

Refer a friendDo you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptionsAnd if you want to get really generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Scholarship Limits Could Change * The NCAA will reportedly make changes to the scholarship limits in several sports. * Isaiah Specks was promoted to the Director Of Player Development/Scouting for women’s basketball. * Football participated in the Big Ten’s media day. * The Paris Olympics are underway for several former Hoosiers. * Volleyball will send a couple of its athletes to their sports media day. * Cross country announced their fall schedule. * Field hockey added an assistant coach. * The entire women’s tennis squad received academic honors, while six of their players were named scholar-athletes. * Men’s tennis received both team and individual academic honors.

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

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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Bob and Mike are joined by Galen Clavio to reflect on one of the most tumultuous times in the history of Indiana University sports: the final years of the Bob Knight.

Segment 1: The End of the Beginning to the Beginning of the End: Closing Out the Breaking Away Years1. Plaid Jackets to Sweaters, NapTown Rising, and Cowboy Bob Riding Off -- Life in the Mid 80s 2. Moving Past The Brink -- Cracks in the Foundation and Facade 3. A New Sheriff Comes To Town -- Is The Town Big Enough For The Two Of Them

Segment 2: Paradise Lost1. “We Need Players”- America’s New Public University Has An Obsolete Athletics Department 2. “Has The Game Passed Him By”- How Changes In The Game Impacted Mindsets 3. “Death By A Thousand Cuts”- The True Meaning of Zero Tolerance

Segment 3 and Wrap Up: Why This Still Matters?Next up, in episode 15, Mike and Bob will be looking at some transfer portal case studies to determine how some teams found success and others found the floor last season.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

The YouTube video is below, and you can listen to the audio wherever podcasts are available.

Subscribe links for podcast:

Apple Podcasts
Spotify
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Don’t see it somewhere you normally listen to podcasts? Let us know.

If you thoughts or comments about the episode, feel free to comment on YouTube video, comment below, or reach out to Mike (@M_Wiemuth_) and Bob (@BobMoats) on Twitter or in our BHN Discord.

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

The much-hyped Assembly Ball squad made its TBT debut. While it was closer than expected, it ultimately was a victory for the Indiana alumni squad.

Besides this, former Hoosiers in the NBA, recruiting updates, the MLB draft, and weekly shows. We will as usual conclude with a look at other IU sports led by an addition to the coaching staff for water polo.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what’s in this week’s edition:

IU’s Alumni Squad Wins TBT Opener
Hoosiers In The Pros Update
Recruiting Updates
Several Hoosiers Drafted By MLB Teams
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Water Polo Names New Assistant Coach

IU men’s basketball will play several games this upcoming season on Peacock and the women will play a few as well, 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: IU’s Alumni Squad Wins TBT Opener While the IU basketball season is still months away, the opener for the Assembly Ball squad made up of former Hoosier players made its debut in the TBT. Led by Indiana legend Yogi Ferrell, the team ultimately came out on top in a closer-than-expected contest 89-79.

Ferrell returned to his hometown of Indianapolis and dazzled inside Hinkle Fieldhouse with 27 points on 9-14 shooting including four three-pointers. Juwan Morgan also had a solid contribution scoring in double-figures with 12 points.

The next challenge will be tonight at 8 pm on FS1 when arch-rival Purdue’s alums go head-to-head with the onetime IU players at Butler University once again. Tickets for this can be purchased here with the winner of the entire event receiving a one-million dollar prize.

Banner #2: Hoosiers In The Pros UpdateFormer Hoosier Kel’el Ware continued his strong play in the summer league. Ware had yet another double-double as he continued to show he has potential for much NBA success with the Miami Heat.

Ware is not the only former IU player competing here at the moment. He is joined by Trayce Jackson-Davis after a strong rookie campaign as well as Miller Kopp.

Banner #3: Recruiting UpdatesAs is typical in the summer, a couple of updates involving recruiting occurred. This included 2025 target Eric Reibe having IU on the list of schools he is considering.

Besides this, a few highlight videos were released of high school players the Hoosiers are seriously looking at. This included Nate Ament, Malachi Moreno, Braylon Mullins, and Trent Sisley.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris

and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #4: Several Hoosiers Drafted By MLB Teams The baseball Hoosiers continue to be the most successfully consistent program in the Big Ten. 2024 was the team’s second straight NCAA tournament appearance and eighth in the last 11 seasons.

Now another handful of IU players will likely take the next step into the pros after being drafted by several different MLB squads. Six Indiana players including Luke Sinnard (third round), Nick Mitchell (fourth round), Carter Mathison (fifth round), Conor Foley (fifth round), Brock Tibbitts (13th round), and Brayden Risedorph (20th round).

The half-dozen Hoosiers taken were the most for the team since 2021 which brings the total number to 24 in IU coach Jeff Mercer’s tenure. It was also the most for any squad in the conference this year.

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsThe Back Home Network had several new shows this week. Austin Render, the primary radio announcer for baseball and women’s basketball at IU has started his own show on BHN called The Dribble Drive. The fifth episode was released last Monday. Also, Assembly Call Radio and Doing The Work returned to the air as did Crimson Cast.

Refer a friendDo you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptionsAnd if you want to get really generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Water Polo Names New Assistant Coach * Water polo named a new assistant coach. Also, 20 team members received academic honors. * Softball had an incoming freshman named as a first-team All-American. * 14 track and field athletes received academic honors. Also, a program legend had a street named after him. * Field hockey had a player compete in the U21 EuroHockey Championships. * Swimming and diving had two athletes of the year. * Men’s tennis had a player receive an NCAA post graduate scholarship.

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

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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We’re back on Thursday, July 18th with a new edition of The Assembly Call.

We’ll discuss where we’ve been and why we ended up taking such a long, unannounced and unplanned hiatus.

Plus, we’ll do a deep dive into Indiana’s non-conference schedule, look ahead to the IU alumni team playing in the TBT, and answer mailbag questions.

If you have mailbag questions, feel free to leave them as comments below.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

What is this “watch page”?This page is an example of the new “watch pages” we are posting here on our Substack for new episodes of The Assembly Call and Doing The Work.

The goal is to make sure you have everything in one easy place to watch, comment, and share.

We’ll typically pin these posts to our homepage around the time the shows go live, so you can always just go to assemblycall.com if you want to quickly find the live page.

This week’s showOn mic this week: Jerod, Andy, Ryan, and Coach

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to to see a replay of the ChatMob alongside the show.)

Thank you to our sponsorsWe appreciate the support of our sponsors who help make our continued coverage of Indiana basketball possible.

Presenting sponsor: Homefield Apparel (promo code HOME23 for 15% off your first order)
Promotional partner for Meaningful Moment: Hoosier Ticket Project
Promotional partner for Inside the Numbers: Megan Mahaffey’s JacksonHewitt franchise locations in and around Bloomington
Game Ball sponsor: Bloomington Environmental (mention Assembly Call for a free radon test kit and mitigation estimate)
Hoosier Hustle Award sponsor: Security Pro 24/7 (formerly Evansville Security Services)

Subscribe to The Assembly CallSubscribe to The Assembly Call podcast for free at any of the following places:

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Search for “assembly call” wherever you listen to podcasts. If you don’t find us, email Jerod.

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On Wednesday, and will preview one of IU’s newest Big 10 opponents, the Washington Huskies, on the next episode of Doing The Work— our show dedicated to the Indiana women’s basketball team.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to see a replay of

the show or chat with the WorkAholics during the show.)

Subscribe to Doing The WorkSubscribe to the Doing The Work podcast for free at any of the following places:

YouTube
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Art19
Podcast feed RSS (use this to subscribe in any player)
Search for “doing the work” wherever you listen to podcasts. If you don’t find us, email Jerod.

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

For the third straight time, Indiana basketball had a higher-than-average amount of news for an offseason addition. This was highlighted by the release of the entire non-conference schedule for the upcoming 2024-2025 season. Also, stories involving former Hoosiers in the pros and recruiting made headlines.

Besides this, a big update regarding the Bart Torvik metrics and weekly shows round out the basketball version of 6-Banner. We will as usual conclude with a look at other IU sports led by some upgrades to the Memorial Stadium game day experience.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what’s in this week’s edition:

2024-2025 Non-Conference Schedule Released
Hoosiers In The Pros Update
Recruiting Updates
Bart Torvik Ranking’s News
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Memorial Stadium Gameday Upgrades Announced

IU men’s basketball will play several games this upcoming season on Peacock and the women will play a few as well, 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: 2024-2025 Non-Conference Schedule ReleasedWhile a few games on the IU schedule had already trickled out, the entire non-conference slate was released last week. This is highlighted by a trip to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis over Thanksgiving (matchups will be revealed later) as previously announced. Also, early season home contests with Chattanooga, Eastern Illinois, Sam Houston State, South Carolina, and UNC-Greensboro were already public.

The other teams visiting Bloomington are Miami (OH), SIU-Edwardsville, and Winthrop. There will be no contests away from campus outside of the above holiday tournament until conference play.

Inside the Hall’s Alex Bozich had five takeaways about the games as well as a mail-bag discussing the non-conference showdowns among other updates. Also, it was revealed the Hoosiers will pay a flat $100,000 per matchup against each mid-major and nothing to the Gamecocks.

Banner #2: Hoosiers In The Pros UpdateMore former IU players in the pros were on the move last week. The most high profile of these was the trading of veteran Cody Zeller from the New Orleans Hornets to the Atlanta Hawks. Also, Juwan Morgan’s career will continue overseas in Montenegro where he joins Yogi Ferrell. Finally, Grace Berger has a place to play ball in the offseason once the WNBA year ends. She will be a part of OGM Orman Genclik Ankara in Turkiye.

As, for former Hoosiers trying to begin a career in the NBA, Kel’el Ware’s summer league performance has gotten off to a rousing start. Ware is joined several others there who recently played their college ball in Bloomington. This includes Miller Kopp who is competing with the Oklahoma City Thunder. As a result, he will miss the opener with the TBT’s Indiana Alumni squad he previously was announced to be a part of.

Banner #3: Recruiting UpdatesAs is typical in the summer, a couple of updates involving recruiting occurred. The most prominent of these, was top target Jalen Haralson helping the United State’s U17 squad win a gold medal at the FIBA World Cup. Also, IU is pursuing Bryson Tiller who had his highlights from last season released.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris

and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #4: Bart Torvik Rankings NewsThe popularity and relevance of the Bart Torvik Rankings have made them an increasingly used metric throughout college basketball. As a result of this, the NCAA announced they will be incorporated into the selection criteria for March Madness with a new stat called ‘wins above bubble’.

As for the numbers themselves, Torvik puts the Hoosiers at 31 to start the season this coming fall. CBS Sports is slightly more optimistic and has IU as a five seed in their inaugural Bracketology.

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsInside the Hall and The Back Home Network had several new shows this week. ITH’s Podcast on the Brink had the IndyStar’s Zach Osterman on to discuss Indiana’s non-conference schedule.

Austin Render, the primary radio announcer for baseball and women’s basketball at IU has started his own show on BHN called The Dribble Drive. The fourth episode was released last Monday. Also, Crimson Cast was on-air as were Xs and Joes and Right Up Meridian.

Refer a friendDo you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptionsAnd if you want to get really generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Memorial Stadium Gameday Upgrades Announced* Football announced upgrades to the Memorial Stadium gameday experience. * The MLB Draft starts today with several Hoosiers expected to be taken. Also, previously drafted former IU baseball player Tanner Gordon made his MLB debut last week. * Swimming and Diving announced yet another Olympian as one of 20 athletes with a connection to the Hoosiers who will compete in Paris. * Men’s Soccer had one of their star forwards named NPSL Young Player of the Year. * Two former Indiana volleyball players signed professional contracts * Wrestling finished 16th nationally in attendance. * A field hockey player was selected to the 2024 Nexus Championship. * Cross country had two Academic All-Americans. * Two Hoosiers received Big Ten post-graduate scholarships. * Finally, legendary Indiana businessman Jim Morris passed away on Saturday. Morris had deep ties to IU in several ways.

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

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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On this edition of Xs & Joes, Bob and Mike discuss a topic of paramount importance to so many college sports programs across the country: history and legacy. How much does it actually matter for present-day winning?

Segment 1: How To Define Programs’ Legacies?1. A Winning Tradition: Past Performance Does Not *Necessarily” Predict Future Results 2. A Program’s Mount Rushmore: The Images That Represent Who You Were And Are 3. Are You Cover or SI or Game Of The Week Worthy: The Changing Landscape of Media

Segment 2: Blue Bloods/New Bloods: Leveraging Your and/or Others’ Histories1. How Some Traditional Powerhouses Have Reinvented Themselves 2. How Other Programs Have Broken Through- Temporary and Consistent Performers 3. Are We Down or Dilapidated- When Does A Program Become “Grey Gardens”

Segment 3 and Wrap Up: Traditions and Fight Songs And Mike and Bob tease a special guest for episode 14: Galen Clavio!

Links from this episode below.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

The YouTube video is below, and you can listen to the audio wherever podcasts are available.

Subscribe links for podcast:

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Don’t see it somewhere you normally listen to podcasts? Let us know.

If you thoughts or comments about the episode, feel free to comment on YouTube video, comment below, or reach out to Mike (@M_Wiemuth_) and Bob (@BobMoats) on Twitter or in our BHN Discord.

Leave a comment

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Links from this episode:

Some show notes links. Rocky Top (Osbourne Brothers):

Rocky Top (Tennessee Marching Band:):

Maryland Fight Song:

FSU War Chant:

Tribute To Troy / USC Fight Song (USC Band):

Chimes of Indiana & Hail To IU (IU Alma Mater):

One Night In Old Havana (HoagyCarmichael):

Cornell School Song (Far Above Cayuga’s Waters):

Joe Kines (Alabama Interim Head Coach):

Farmer Fran (THE WATERBOY):

Bob Knight (Blue Chips):

(edited)

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As we look ahead to the 2024-25 season, the Indiana basketball team appears poised for a significant improvement.

With a roster that looks far stronger and more balanced than the one that closed out last season, fans and analysts have a palpable sense of optimism. The additions and developments over the offseason have bolstered hopes for a standout year.

And while some IU fans were disappointed that the Hoosiers’ rebuilt roster only checked in at #31 in Bart Torvik’s recently released 2025 projections, the stark reality is that represents a 52-spot improvement over Indiana’s final place (#83) in Torvik’s 2024 rankings.

So while it's easy to get caught up in the excitement amidst all the positive projections, potential concerns could impact the team's performance. In this post, we'll delve into some of these areas of uncertainty, exploring the challenges that the Hoosiers might face despite their promising outlook.

Side note: I’m also excited about next year’s team and also project them to be much better. This piece is just a way to acknowledge that there still could be some concerns that would hinder the Hoosiers.

Lineup ConstructionIt’s no secret that the game of basketball has transformed over the past decade or so. Whether you’re an NBA or college basketball guru, you watched the championship teams of both leagues play similar styles.

Both UConn and the Boston Celtics focused on space and pace, which created advantages for their offense.

Looking at UConn, they surrounded 7’2” Clingan with four guys that could either shoot, create, or do both. Their 4-out and sometimes 5-out approach gave defenses fits, as you can see below.

For Indiana, most have projected their starting lineup to look like this:

PG Rice

SG Carlyle/Galloway

SF Mgbako

PF Reneau

C Ballo

While Rice and Carlyle/Gallo can both create and Mgbako projects to be a good shooter, the pairing of Reneau and Ballo in the frontcourt doesn’t really lend itself to the spacing and creation of a lineup like UConn.

Both Ballo and Reneau are best with the ball in their hands around the rim.

Indiana does have options to slide a player like Mgbako down to the 4 alongside one of Ballo/Reneau, or to insert a player like Goode to play some ‘small ball’ 4. However, Indiana had similar opportunities to move Mgbako to the 4 last season and it virtually never happened.

Even in a game in which Kel’el Ware missed, Woodson inserted Payton Sparks into the starting lineup rather than going smaller with Mgbako at the 4.

Next, let’s discuss some potential issues related to Indiana’s reliance on post-ups, it’s minimal use of the 3-point line, and how this roster projects defensively.

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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 Kel’el Ware was drafted last week, more former Hoosiers are in the news now with free agency beginning in the NBA. Also, the best women’s basketball player in IU history could not stay away from campus for too long. She is now back in Bloomington on the coaching staff.

Besides this, there are some updates involving the schedule and recruiting, as well as a few other miscellaneous nuggets. We will as usual conclude with weekly shows and other Indiana sports led by a couple of items regarding volleyball.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what’s in this week’s edition:

Hoosiers In NBA Update
Holmes Returning To Women’s Basketball Team As A Grad Manager
UNC Greensboro Added To 2024-2025 Schedule
Recruiting, Staff, And Team Updates
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Volleyball Updates

IU men’s basketball will play several games this upcoming season on Peacock and the women will play a few as well, 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 In NBAAfter Kel’el Ware’s drafting into the NBA and OG Anunoby’s record contract, more former Hoosiers made news in that league with free agency now officially underway. The most noteworthy of these moves was long-time stalwart Eric Gordon agreeing to a deal with the championship-contending Philadelphia 76ers.

Also of note, was Thomas Bryant opting out of his deal with the Miami Heat only to re-sign with them and join Ware in South Florida. Finally, Romeo Langford is trying to hang on to a professional career in the United States and received an invite to the 76ers summer league squad. Ware will join Langford for summer ball as will 2023-2024 rookies Jalen Hood-Schifino (who will not take the court due to an injury) and Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Banner #2: Holmes Returning To Women’s Basketball Team As A Grad ManagerWomen’s basketball has won at an elite level for close to a half-decade now. Much of this was due to the play of outgoing center and the program’s all-time leading scorer, Mackenzie Holmes. In her five years in Bloomington, she led her squad to results not seen by any Hoosier basketball team since Calbert Cheaney was on campus in the early 1990s.

During Holmes’ career, she was part of three Sweet 16s, an Elite Eight, four top-four seeds in the NCAA Tournament, and the first Big Ten title in 40 years. Most impressively though, was the fact that after just four weeks in the top-25 before 2019-2020, the team spent every single week of Holmes’ career in the Associated Press Poll.

With Holmes’ eligibility now exhausted, she will be part of the squad in a different capacity. Despite being drafted into the WNBA, she is rehabbing after off-season knee surgery and will not join the Seattle Storm until 2025. In the meantime, her place remains at IU as she will be a graduate manager for her former Indiana team.

Joining her in the same position will be Lauren Fields. Fields also had a successful college stint but it was for the West Virginia Mountaineers rather than locally.

Banner #3: UNC Greensboro Added To 2024-2025 ScheduleA few games on the IU schedule had already been revealed previously. This includes a trip to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis over Thanksgiving and early season home contests with Chattanooga, Eastern Illinois, Sam Houston State, and South Carolina.

Now it has been reported that the Hoosiers will host UNC Greensboro On November 21. The Spartans come to Bloomington for a non-conference contest after being ranked a solid 147 in KenPom last season.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris

and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #4: Recruiting, Staff, And Team UpdatesWhen it comes to recruiting, a couple of stories happened here. The headline of these is top-target Trent Sisley joining a growing trend of leaving high school basketball for prep school. He is headed to Florida to compete at the Montverde Academy which is a place IU is very familiar with. Both Hood-Schifino and current starter Malik Reneau competed here as did former signee Liam McNeely who is instead headed to UConn.

ESPN released updated rankings for the 2025 class with Sisley coming in at no. 98. Also, in the top 100 that the Hoosiers are looking to reel in with connections to the state of Indiana are Jalen Haralson (9), Darius Adams (18) Braylon Mullins (30), and Malachi Moreno (37).

When it comes to the staff for 2024-2025, the team added Adam Howard as the assistant director of recruiting and operations. Also, an item of note occurred for an incoming player as Stanford transfer Kanaan Carlyle will take part in the Chris Paul Elite Guard Camp in Las Vegas.

While the Hoosiers are historically the most successful squad in the Big Ten, the KenPom era since 1997 has not seen them anywhere near as dominant. In that time, IU is right in the middle of the league with a program ranking of 23 since then.

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsInside the Hall and The Back Home Network had several new shows this week. ITH’s Podcast on the Brink had Eamonn Brennan on to discuss Indiana’s offseason success in the transfer portal.

Austin Render, the primary radio announcer for baseball and women’s basketball at IU has started his own show on BHN called The Dribble Drive. The third episode was released last Monday. Also, Crimson Cast was on-air twice.

Refer a friendDo you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptionsAnd if you want to get really generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Volleyball Updates* Volleyball’s Ramsey Gary helped lead the U-21 Team USA to the Gold Medal at the NORCECA Continental Championships. Also, season tickets are on sale for the fall. * Diving coach Drew Johansen was named the head coach for Team USA at the upcoming Paris Olympics. * Men’s golf added a transfer. * Women’s golf had five Scholar All-Americans and added an assistant coach. * Women’s tennis also announced the addition of an assistant coach. * Wrestling had a staff member go from a volunteer to full-time assistant. * Finally, legendary track and field coach Ron Helmer passed away after retiring from IU in 2022. Also, a former Hoosier qualified for the upcoming Olympics as part of his home country in this sport.

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

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

Many weeks in the offseason are quiet regarding Indiana basketball news. This, however, was one of the rare times in the summer when it went the opposite way, and there was one headline after another. Whether it be the drafting of Kel’el Ware, OG Anunoby’s free agent deal, a slight change to women’s basketball’s ticket distribution, or a schedule announcement, there was no shortage of attention-grabbing stories.

Besides this, the TBT draw, some recruiting and transfer updates, and weekly shows round out the basketball portion of 6-Banner. We will as usual conclude with a look at other Hoosiers sports led by the swimming qualifications finishing up in Indianapolis for the Paris Olympics.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what’s in this week’s edition:

Hoosiers In NBA Update-Ware Drafted And Anunoby Inks Free Agent Deal
Women’s Basketball Update-Ticket Distribution Changes Slightly
Schedule Update-Sam Houston State Added
Other IU Basketball News-TBT Draw Announced and Recruiting Update
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Indiana Swimmers Qualify For Paris Olympics

IU men’s basketball will play several games this upcoming season on Peacock and the women will play a few as well, 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 In NBA Update-Ware Drafted And Anunoby Inks Free Agent DealThe one major contributor for IU who departed the team after 2023-2024 is star center Kel’el Ware. This is because Ware played himself into a relatively high NBA draft pick after a phenomenal season in Bloomington. Picks were announced this week and pre-draft projections turned out slightly pessimistic. This is because Ware was taken with the first pick outside the lottery at no. 15 by the Miami Heat. Because of this, post-draft grades were somewhat mixed, although most gave roughly a “B” for the selection.

Ware became the 80th player who once donned the Cream and Crimson to hear their name called on draft night. The 81st and 82nd could be current Indiana players Kanaan Carlyle and Mackenzie Mgbako who are projected to be taken in the 2025 draft.

As Ware and others try to break into the league, O.G. Anunoby is already well entrenched in it. As a result of his strong play, Anunoby got the richest deal ever for a former Hoosier and will stay with the New York Knicks. The contract is for five years and 212 million dollars and will add to his 66 million dollars in career earnings already.

Also, long-time veteran Eric Gordon could be an attractive option off the bench somewhere despite being 35 years old. He opted out of his deal with the Phoenix Suns to become a free agent after 179 million dollars earned in his career. As for other former Indiana players, Trayce Jackson-Davis will be part of the USA Basketball Men’s Select Team after a phenomenal rookie season with the Golden State Warriors.

Banner #2: Women’s Basketball Update-Ticket Distribution Changes SlightlyAs women’s basketball at IU continues to win at an elite level, demand for tickets has gone higher every season. In 2023-2024, the team averaged over 10,000 fans per game for the entire season with some assigned seats in parts of the main level (rows 1-31 of east and west main). Now for 2024-2025, that number of reserved seats will grow to all 46 rows of said main level. This is similar to how it has been done for the NCAA Tournament games in Assembly Hall in 2023 and 2024. Whether all 46 rows of reserved seats will sell out via season tickets is unclear. However, season packages remain available in both the east and west main with the assigned seats as well as GA tickets on the court level and in the balcony.

The reason for the high level of winning here is Indiana coach Teri Moren who has been in charge of the program for a decade now. Moren has used her time this summer to coach the USA Women’s Basketball Team at FIBA U18 Women’s AmeriCup. Her squad was dominant at this event winning the gold medal with lopsided scores each time.

Banner #3: Schedule Update-Sam Houston State Added A few games on the IU schedule had already been revealed previously. This includes a trip to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis over Thanksgiving and early season home contests with Chattanooga, Eastern Illinois, and South Carolina.

Now it has been reported that the Hoosiers will host Sam Houston State State as well. The Bearkats come to Bloomington for a non-conference showdown after being ranked a solid 142 in KenPom last season.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris

and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #4: Other IU Basketball News-TBT Draw Announced and Recruiting UpdateThe TBT drawing took place last week. As a result of this, it is now known that the IU alumni team will face Valparaiso’s alumni at 8 pm. This showdown will take place on July 19 at 8 pm at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis with tickets available here.

When it comes to recruiting, another Hoosier target in Malachi Moreno has included Indiana in the final eight schools he is considering. Also, going forward, transfers would have 30 days instead of 45 to enter the portal following the season under a new proposal. Lastly, incoming transfer Luke Goode discussed summer workouts in an interview, and Inside the Hall had a new mailbag of reader questions.

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsInside the Hall and The Back Home Network had several new shows this week. ITH’s Podcast on the Brink had Stephen Bardo on to discuss Indiana’s offseason.

Austin Render, the primary radio announcer for baseball and women’s basketball at IU has started his own show on BHN called The Dribble Drive. The second episode was released last Monday. Also, Xs and Joes had a new show.

Refer a friendDo you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptionsAnd if you want to get really generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Indiana Swimmers Qualify For Paris Olympics * Multiple athletes with IU connections finished up competing at the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials in Indianapolis with several more qualifying for the squad in Paris. The program also had four transfers added to the squad for 2024-2025. * Track and field also had nine Hoosiers attempting to qualify for the upcoming Paris Olympics although none made it. * Football is hosting a Lift For Life event. * Two volleyball players made their country’s national team. * A field hockey athlete received academic honors. * 95 Hoosier athletes were named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars.

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

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

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On this edition of Xs & Joes, Bob and Mike record an episode they’ve been wanting to record for a while: a deep dive on freshman expectations.

Elite-level freshmen arrive on campus with high expectations, but at what level of fairness to them? How much is reasonable to expect from a freshman?

That’s the main topic this week.

Bob and Mike open with discussion about their summer travels, Tony’s book, Austin Render’s new BHN podcast The Dribble Drive.

And, of course, they discuss Homefield’s Sweet Summer Seven Subscription Box.

Segment 1: Help Is On The Way: What Are Expectations Placed on First Year Players?1. What Do Coaches Expect? (Slides 1-4) 2. How Does That Match Up To Players’ Views On Their Roles? 3. Should Fans Be More Realistic In Their Expectations?

Segment 2 Crossing The Sinai Desert: How To Judge A Freshman’s Contributions? 1. What Does A High Level Freshman Performance Look Like? 2. What Does A “Failed” Freshman Year Look Like? 3. What Is A Good Baseline Of Expectation?

Segment 3: The Future of FreshmenThe Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

The YouTube video is below, and you can listen to the audio wherever podcasts are available.

Subscribe links for podcast:

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If you thoughts or comments about the episode, feel free to comment on YouTube video, comment below, or reach out to Mike (@M_Wiemuth_) and Bob (@BobMoats) on Twitter or in our BHN Discord.

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

While there was not one attention-grabbing headline, a wide variety of topics did make some news in Hoosier Nation. These updates involved the upcoming schedule, recruiting, and former IU players now in the NBA.

Besides this, jersey numbers were revealed, Bart Torvik updated his team rankings for 2024-2025, and Bracketology. We will as usual conclude with weekly shows and a look at other Indiana sports led by the swimming qualifications up in Indianapolis for the Paris Olympics.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what’s in this week’s edition:

Schedule Update
Recruiting Update
Hoosiers In The NBA Update
Other News For The Upcoming 2024-2025 IU Basketball Season
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Indiana Swimmers Qualify For Paris Olympics

IU men’s basketball will play several games this upcoming season on Peacock and the women will play a few as well, 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: Schedule UpdateA few games on the IU schedule had already been revealed previously. This includes a trip to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis over Thanksgiving and early season home contests with Eastern Illinois and South Carolina.

Now it has been reported the Hoosiers will host one of the better Mid-majors in Assembly Hall. While the date is not yet known, the Chattanooga Mocs will reportedly come to Bloomington for a non-conference showdown after being ranked a solid 140 in KenPom last season.

In another update that affects not just Indiana but all squads, the NCAA reportedly will announce changes to exhibition contests and scrimmages. This modification involves allowing two off-campus showdowns that can now be ticketed and publicized. Also, the current exhibition games against a lower level of competition could now be against fellow division one peers.

Banner #2: Recruiting UpdateAs summer quickly approaches, the college sports season and especially IU basketball have entered a recruiting phase. With the 2024 roster now likely set, the Hoosiers have turned their attention to 2025 and beyond.

The 2025 class in the state of Indiana is one of the best in recent memory and has several top prospects. One of these is Trent Sisley who has narrowed his choices down to five schools and as expected, the Hoosiers were included on his list. Another top target is Jalen Haralson who has set an official visit to Bloomington on August 31. 247Sports released new rankings for this group of players with Haralson coming in at 14 and Sisley at 74 with several others in the top 100 as well.

Finally, the Hoosiers extended two additional scholarship offers for 2025. This was to out-of-state prospects in no. 33 Davis Fogle and no. 34 Acaden Lewis.

Banner #3: Hoosiers In The NBA UpdateThe one major contributor for IU who departed the team after 2023-2024 is star center Kel’el Ware. This is because Ware played himself into a relatively high draft pick after a phenomenal season in Bloomington. Picks will be announced this week on Wednesday (first round) and Thursday (second round).

New NBA mock drafts were recently released. All of them have Ware going no later than no. 23 while several have him up in the lottery as high as no. 10. One longtime NBA scout Ryan Blake said he could indeed go in the late lottery. As a result of these projections, Ware was invited to the green room with other top draft prospects.

As for the seven former Hoosiers already in the NBA, all but rookies Jalen Hood-Schifino and Trayce Jackson-Davis could well hit free agency. The player set to cash in the most is O.G. Anunoby who will get a lucrative deal. Longtime veteran Eric Gordon could also be an attractive option off the bench somewhere despite being 35 years old.

As for the remaining three, their outlook is less certain. Thomas Bryant has a player option to remain in Miami despite limited playing time. Finally, Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller’s future is very much up in the air after being high picks in the 2013 draft.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris

and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #4: Other News For The Upcoming 2024-2025 IU Basketball SeasonA few other nuggets happened in Hoosier Nation this week. The biggest sign that the upcoming season is getting closer is the fact that uniform numbers for the entire roster were announced.

As for expectations, they continue to be very high with all the roster additions this spring. Bart Torvik put out new rankings and has Indiana at no. 23 nationally which is fourth highest in the Big Ten. Updated Bracketology from Joe Lunardi has IU in the same range as a four-seed for March Madness in 2025.

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsThe Back Home Network had several new shows this week. Doing The Work had Austin Render on to discuss the offseason. Render is the primary radio announcer for baseball and women’s basketball at IU and he started his own show on BHN called The Dribble Drive. The first episode was released last Monday.

Also, Right Up Meridian had a couple of new shows about the NBA’s Indiana Pacers. Finally, Crimson Cast was on-air one time.

Refer a friendDo you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

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Gift subscriptionsAnd if you want to get really generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Indiana Swimmers Qualify For Paris Olympics * Multiple athletes with IU connections are competing at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Indianapolis with several qualifying for the squad in Paris. * Track and field also has several Hoosiers attempting to qualify for the upcoming Paris Olympics. They also had four of their competitors honored as Academic-All District. * USA Women’s Basketball’s U18 Team continues to dominate under current Indiana head coach Teri Moren. * Softball added an additional freshman and transfer for next spring. * Baseball has six players invited to the MLB Draft Combine. * Field hockey named their team captains for the upcoming fall season.

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

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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On Wednesday, and will be joined by the voice of the Hoosiers, Austin Render, to discuss off-season happenings and a too-early look at the 24-25 season — on our show dedicated to the Indiana women’s basketball team.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to see a replay of

the show or chat with the WorkAholics during the show.)

Subscribe to Doing The WorkSubscribe to the Doing The Work podcast for free at any of the following places:

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Apple Podcasts
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Art19
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Search for “doing the work” wherever you listen to podcasts. If you don’t find us, email Jerod.

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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 one of the quietest weeks for IU stories in the last edition of 6-Banner, a noteworthy headline occurred a few days ago. This involved a significant addition to Indiana’s TBT Alumni Team.

Besides this, recruiting, Inside the Hall finishing its preview of where every Big Ten team stands, an NBA draft update, and Podcast on the Brink. We will as usual conclude with a look at other IU sports led by a significant addition to the softball squad.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what’s in this week’s edition:

Hulls Added To TBT Team
Recruiting Update
Inside the Hall’s Big Ten Team Preview
NBA Draft Update
Podcast on the Brink
Hoosier Roundup-Softball Adds Elite Transfer

IU men’s basketball will play several games this upcoming season on Peacock and the women will play a few as well, 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: Hulls Added To TBT TeamThe basketball team made up of all IU alumni continues to get closer and closer to competition at the TBT next month. They begin play on Friday, July 19 at 6 pm in Indianapolis at Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse with tickets available at this link.

However, the headline here was the addition of another player as current Hoosier recruiting coordinator Jordan Hulls will be on the squad as both a player and coach. He is the sixth person announced to “Assembly Ball” joining Yogi Ferrell, Devonte Green, Miller Kopp, Juwan Morgan, and Troy Williams.

While basketball awaits games in this format, former Indiana soccer players finished competing in the sister event to this at the TST in North Carolina. They made a run to the Final Four of the event before falling to eventual champion La Bombonera.

Banner #2: Recruiting UpdateAs summer quickly approaches, the college sports season and especially IU basketball have entered a recruiting phase. With the 2024 roster now likely set (which includes highly-ranked freshman Bryson Tucker) and everyone on campus, the Hoosiers have turned their attention to 2025 and beyond.

The 2025 class in the state of Indiana is one of the best in recent memory and several of the prospects in it moved up in new rankings by rivals.com. Jalen Haralson continues to pace everyone and is now ranked at 7 while Darius Adams climbed to 16. Top target Braylon Mullins made a huge jump from the 80s all the way to 31. Meanwhile, Trent Sisley moved up slightly to 67. Also, Malachi Moreno who resides just over the border in Kentucky and is playing his summer ball on the other side of the Ohio River, rose to 24.

Inside the Hall, had a spring highlight video for Kiyan Anthony (son of NBA great Carmelo Anthony) who comes in at 36 nationally and is an IU target as well. ITH also did interviews with Mullins and Sisley. Finally, the coaching staff attended the NBPA Top 100 Camp In Orlando which features many players the Hoosiers are targeting for 2025 and 2026.

Banner #3: Inside the Hall’s Big Ten Team Preview Inside the Hall concluded its series previewing all the Big Ten teams for next season. The conference has expanded with the West Coast schools and now has 18 squads in the league. This week ITH looked at Purdue and newcomer UCLA.

Banner #4: NBA Draft UpdateThe one major contributor for IU who departed the team after 2023-2024 is star center Kel’el Ware. This is because Ware played himself into a relatively high draft pick after a phenomenal season in Bloomington.

New NBA mock drafts were recently released. All have Ware going no later than the end of the first round while several now have him up in the lottery. The Ringer’s Kevin O’Conner is the most bullish projecting him at nine to the Memphis Grizzles.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris

and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Podcast on the BrinkInside the Hall’s Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, ITH’s Alex Bozich is joined by Tyler Tachman of the Des Moines Register. The two discussed the outlook for every Big Ten Team heading into 2024-2025.

Also, Right Up Meridian had an episode this week from the Back Home Network. On it, Scott Caulfield was joined by Pacers’ reporter Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star to recap their season.

Refer a friendDo you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptionsAnd if you want to get really generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Adds Elite Transfer * Softball added an elite transfer for 2025 and likely 2026. This came in the form of Hoosier native and former Ohio State Buckeye Melina Wilkison who was injured most of last season. However, she hit .373 with 11 homers in 2023 and .342 as a freshman in 2022. * Volleyball announced its schedule for this coming fall. * Women’s soccer announced the addition of a new assistant coach. * Baseball’s Devin Taylor received a training camp invite to Team USA and also picked up multiple postseason awards. Reliever Jacob Vogel was also honored. * Wrestling announced their upcoming recruiting class which ranks 14th nationally. * Field Hockey also announced their upcoming recruiting class. * Track and field had four of their competitors honored as All-Americans. * Multiple athletes with IU connections are competing at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Indianapolis. * 136 IU athletes were recognized for their academic success. * Two IU players are attending the NCAA’s Inclusion Forum and Athlete Symposium.

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

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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As Indiana gears up for the 2024-25 season, the coaching staff continues to keep an eye on future talent.

This September, the Hoosiers will host three promising recruits from the Indiana Elite AAU team, a powerhouse on the Adidas circuit. Braylon Mullins, Malachi Moreno, and Trent Sisley have all scheduled visits to Bloomington for the weekend of September 20-22.

In this edition of IU Film Room, we’ll break down the games of these elite prospects. Each of them brings a well-established skillset to the court, plus plenty of future potential. Landing any (or all) of the three could significantly impact Indiana's future.

Let’s explore their strengths and how they might fit into the Hoosiers' system.

Braylon MullinsFirst up is Braylon Mullins, a name that has been making waves this spring. With big-time offers rolling in from programs like North Carolina and UConn, Mullins' rise has been spectacular.

His game is versatile, but his shooting is his standout skill.

In the video, I highlight several key aspects of Mullins' game:

Shooting: Mullins is lethal from beyond the arc. Whether he's coming off screens or spotting up, his shooting mechanics are consistent, reliable, and his release is lightning quick. His ability to score from deep makes him a constant threat and stretches defenses — something Indiana has desperately lacked for many seasons.
Attacking the Rim: Mullins isn't just a shooter. He can also get to the basket, using his agility and ball-handling skills to navigate through traffic and finish at the rim. This dual-threat capability keeps the defense honest in how they guard him.
Playmaking: One of the most impressive parts of Mullins' game is his assist-to-turnover ratio. For a high school player who often has the ball in his hands, maintaining a positive ratio is a testament to his decision-making and vision on the court.

Mullins' combination of shooting, driving, and playmaking makes him almost a must-get prospect for Mike Woodson and company. His potential fit with the Hoosiers is an area they have lacked but are in desperate need of.

Now let’s break down video of Mullins’ teammates, Malachi Moreno and Trent Sisley.

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

It was one of the quietest weeks for IU headlines this season as the summer swoon for college sports is now in full effect. The most prominent story is about some minor recruiting updates.

Besides this, Inside the Hall continued its preview of where every Big Ten team stands, Hoosiers in the pros, a TBT and TST update, and weekly shows. We will as usual conclude with a look at other IU sports led by the baseball team’s spring ending in the NCAA tournament to cap off the 2023-2024 athletic season on campus.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what’s in this week’s edition:

Recruiting Update
Inside the Hall’s Big Ten Team Preview
Hoosiers In The Pros
TBT And TST Update
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Baseball’s NCAA Tourney Results

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: Recruiting UpdateAs the weather warms up, the college sports season and especially IU basketball have entered what is mostly a summer swoon from a news perspective. With the 2024 roster now likely set, the Hoosiers have turned to 2025.

The 2025 class in the state of Indiana is one of the best in recent memory. It features five prospects playing high school basketball in the state that are ranked in the top 125 nationally. This includes Darius Adams, Jalen Haralson, Braylon Mullins, Azavier Robinson, and Trent Sisley.

Also, Malachi Moreno resides just over the border in Kentucky. However, he is playing his summer ball on the other side of the Ohio River and ranks inside the top 40 nationally. Indeed, Moreno, Mullins, and Sisley all are part of the prestigious Indiana Elite squad and the trio will visit Bloomington together this fall from September 20-22.

Inside the Hall, has spring highlights for Haralson, Moreno, Mullins, and Sisley. They also posted a video of Mikel Brown Jr. who is in the top 15 of the class and plays for Overtime Elite this summer.

Banner #2: Inside the Hall’s Big Ten Team Preview Inside the Hall continued its series previewing all the Big Ten teams for next season. The conference has expanded with the West Coast schools and now has 18 squads in the league. This week ITH looked at Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Rutgers, and newcomer USC,

Banner #3: Hoosiers In The ProsWhile the NBA season is down to the final series and has no former Hosiers left, other places have plenty of one-time IU players. Various baseball leagues as well as the WNBA, have competitors who once donned the Cream and Crimson.

Tim Herrin is a prominent reliever for the first-place Cleveland Guardians while Kyle Schwarber stars on the elite Philadelphia Phillies as both thrive in the MLB. Also, Matt Gorski has made it up to the Triple-A level and is currently in-state with the Indianapolis Indians while Elijah Dunham and Tanner Gordon are a step from the big league as well. Andrew Saalfrank is also on this tier of competition but was set back this week by a suspension for gambling violations.

Several other players are further down in the minor leagues including Bradley Brehmer, Phillip Glasser, Matt Lloyd, Jack Perkins, Grant Richardson, Peter Serruto, and Craig Yoho, while Braden Scott and Tommy Sommer are in independent ball. Finally, one-time major leaguers Alex Dickerson, Kyle Hart, and Sam Travis are in other countries playing currently.

Also, Grace Berger continues to play sparingly in Indiana at the top tier of women’s basketball for the Fever. The ProBallHoosiers X (formerly Twitter) account has updates on all of these players as well as others competing professionally who once wore Cream and Crimson.

Banner #4: TBT And TST UpdateThe basketball team made up of all IU alumni continues to get closer and closer to competition at the TBT next month. They begin play on Friday, July 19 at 6 pm in Indianapolis at Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse with tickets available at this link.

While basketball awaits games in this format, former Indiana soccer players are currently competing in the sister event to this at the TST in North Carolina. They have made a run to the Elite Eight of the event where they beat Concafa SC to advance to the Final Four.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris

and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsThe Back Home Network had several new shows in the last few days. Doing The Work, had rising sophomore Lenee Beaumont on their Wednesday night program. Also, TBH had a couple of new episodes of Crimson Cast while Xs and Joes broke down a legendary sports film based in Indiana.

Refer a friendDo you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptionsAnd if you want to get really generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Baseball’s NCAA Tourney Results* Baseball had its season end against Southern Mississippi in the NCAA Tournament to cap off an incredibly successful sports season on campus and in Indiana as a whole. Also, summer ball assignments were announced for the players who competed on this year’s team. * Rowing finished 15th at the NCAA Championships with nine on the squad named Scholar-Athletes and two achieving All-American honors. * Track and Field concluded its season at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. * Wrestling had six athletes named All-Americans at the U23 Nationals and signed a recruit. * Football announced a relocation of the student section as well as additional premium seating. Also, an athlete was named to a preseason watch list and two former Hoosier legends are on the college football Hall of Fame ballot. * Women’s tennis named their new coach. * Women’s soccer named their team captains for the fall. * 13 Indiana athletic programs earned perfect APR scores.

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

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

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On this edition of Xs & Joes, Bob and Mike step back into their wheelhouse: busting myths … or in this episode’s case, maybe killing sacred cows?

They open with a wistful goodbye to the Irish Lion and discuss everyone’s most beloved collegiate apparel company.

Then it’s time for a frank discussion about the film that helped cement Indiana’s reputation as the basketball state in the minds of so many.

Segment One dives into the real story that inspired Hoosiers: the Milan Miracle.

What really happened in 1954?
How did the timing of Hoosiers’ release impact its cultural significance?
Why it is still such a great and relevant movie

Segment Two then dives into the misguided mythos of Hoosiers.

Native Indiana players always have a reputation for punching above their weight
Personal fan preferences are superior to proven methods by winning programs
Teams should win more with less talent

Bob and Mike close with a discussion about the recently deceased Tates Locke, who had a strong Bob Knight connection, and another Indiana-based basketball movie.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

The YouTube video is below, and you can listen to the audio wherever podcasts are available.

Subscribe links for podcast:

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Don’t see it somewhere you normally listen to podcasts? Let us know.

If you thoughts or comments about the episode, feel free to comment on YouTube video, comment below, or reach out to Mike (@M_Wiemuth_) and Bob (@BobMoats) on Twitter or in our BHN Discord.

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On Wednesday, and will answer questions about IU Women’s Basketball with another edition of Doing The Work — our show dedicated to the Indiana women’s basketball team.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to see a replay of

the show or chat with the WorkAholics during the show.)

Subscribe to Doing The WorkSubscribe to the Doing The Work podcast for free at any of the following places:

YouTube
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Art19
Podcast feed RSS (use this to subscribe in any player)
Search for “doing the work” wherever you listen to podcasts. If you don’t find us, email Jerod.

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A View of Lindsay Nelson Stadium From High Above The Tennessee River Where Indiana Baseball Concluded Its NCAA Regional This Weekend

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Knoxville TN-Six weeks ago the spring sports season in the state of Indiana looked extremely bleak. However, once Memorial Day hit, everything had completely turned around in April and May for some of the better sports months the Hoosier state had seen in many years.

IU was faced with the prospect of their primary spring sports in baseball and softball missing the postseason, and finishing out the year through mid-May with little to play for. Then everything suddenly changed.

Coming off postseason appearances for both and almost everyone back, expectations were high. However, serious issues on the mound nearly torpedoed what should have been strong 2024s. Instead, both caught fire down the stretch and made the NCAA Tournament playing meaningful games throughout April and May. Led by powerful offenses that hit their stride, each squad squeaked into the postseason with strong runs in the conference tournament. This allowed both of them to be among the last four in the field of 64.

The pitching issues were never fully solved, and ultimately led to the demise in their regionals with just one combined victory. However, the future continues to be bright for both with some slight tweaks to the pitching approach.

Also, a team that does not reside in Bloomington but in the same state made a ton of noise. The NBA’s Indiana Pacers are generally the most paid attention to squad at this time of year by many residents. For the first time in a decade, they made a serious run in the playoffs to the Eastern Conference Finals. They got there by knocking off former Hoosier OG Anunoby and the New York Knicks in a thrilling series.

Turning back to sports on campus, several lower-profile ones were as hot as the warming weather. Men’s and women’s golf both made NCAA appearances. The women also won the conference as part of five Big Ten championships combined across 24 sports in 2023-2024. Also, rowing and track and field made postseason appearances while men’s tennis was much improved. Finally, the one sport the Hoosiers play outside their primary league is water polo. It was the most competitive they have ever been since moving to the elite Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

Turning back to the primary focus of this column, baseball (and to a lesser extent softball), their season ended with a blowout 15-3 loss to Southern Mississippi on Sunday. While the day closed 2024 with a whimper, overall it ended successfully with a 33-26-1 record with their eighth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 11 seasons.

IU coach Jeff Mercer said he is pleased with the team rallying to make it a solid season in the end.

“I am really proud of the way we battled back this year,” Mercer said. “Had some tough times and really responded well down the stretch and had a good run.”

Some tweaks around the edges will be needed with more pitching depth and control on the mound to take another step. However, the staff deserves major kudos for figuring it out eventually in each of the last three seasons. It will be up to Mercer to evaluate how to solve the problems on the bump. However, with three NCAA tournament appearances in five seasons, and a fourth that barely missed, the program is in good hands it would appear.

Mercer said having gone through the trials of 2024 as well as a couple of other things can address the issues that need improvement for 2025.

“Experience does help a ton and stay healthy,” he said. “We had to go through a mid-year player development process. We’ll have a really talented team again next year. You have to continue to push them to understand how difficult this truly is. We have to stay behind them and we have to encourage them and they have to know that we believe in them. Nothing replicates in-game experience. From that standpoint of success, we have to start at a higher point to begin with and go and get better and those things will take care of themselves.”

In the end, what looked like an ugly spring for Indiana sports teams, turned into the best in at least a decade with a huge close for all involved. With no MLB squad in the state, it now goes into the summer swoon for most fans.

The Indiana Fever, Indy Eleven, and Indianapolis Indians will play throughout the hot months. With phenom Caitlin Clark now leading the Fever, this could well get more attention than usual for them. However, most of June, July, and August tend to be the quietest months for competition in the Hoosier state as a whole.

Some will also follow their favorite MLB team with the Cubs and Reds being the most popular. Also, the Cardinals and White Sox command some support. However, with all of these squads struggling at the moment, there may be little to look forward to here. That is unless one or all of them has a similar turnaround to the Hoosier squad on the diamond.

Also, this is the final story of my sixth season covering Indiana athletics for Assembly Call outside of 6-Banner which will continue weekly. I would like to thank everyone for following along once again and look forward to being back in the fall with more coverage for the site.

Finally, it appears it will be another very strong season in 2024-2025 across the athletic department for nearly all sports. This should make every IU fan excited about what is coming across the board.

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

The 6-Banner topics were very active this week. The Indiana Alumni TBT squad, a major scheduling announcement, and the annual Huber’s Event are the headlines.

Besides this, Inside the Hall continued its preview of where every Big Ten team stands, and weekly shows rounded out the basketball portion of the column. We will as usual conclude with a look at other IU sports led by the baseball team’s performance in the NCAA tournament.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what’s in this week’s edition:

Yogi Ferrell Added To TBT Team
South Carolina Added to 2023-2024 Schedule
Huber’s Winery Event Recap
Inside the Hall’s Big Ten Team Preview And Recruiting Board
Weekly Shows
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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: Yogi Ferrell Added To TBT TeamA major addition was announced to the Assembly Ball TBT Squad this week. This team consists entirely of IU Alumni. They will compete at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis beginning at 8 pm on Friday, July 19. Tickets are available here with the winners of the event receiving $1 million.

It was already known that Devonte Green, Miller Kopp, Juwan Morgan, and Troy Williams would be a part of it. Now the most successful former Hoosier of recent times is joining in Yogi Ferrell.

Ferrell was in Bloomington from 2013-2016 and was instrumental in some of the best seasons of recent times. He was the starting point guard his entire career and was part of two Big Ten championships, a couple of Sweet 16 appearances, and three trips to the NCAA Tournament. Finally, he was the leading scorer for Indiana the last three years he suited up on campus.

Banner #2: South Carolina Added to 2023-2024 Schedule A major scheduling addition came to light this week. It was already known that IU would head to the prestigious Battle of Atlantis in the Bahamas over Thanksgiving for a trio of contests.

Besides this, a bigger-name opponent is coming to Assembly Hall on Saturday, November 16 for a one-off game. This opposition will be South Carolina. While the Gamecocks do not have the prestige of their national championship-winning female counterparts, they are nonetheless a solid side coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance and a high finish in the SEC.

The seemingly tough non-conference schedule coincides with high expectations for the Hoosiers in 2024-2025. Most publications have them projected in the top 25 for next season including Andy Katz of ncaa.com who ranks them the highest at 12.

Banner #3: Huber’s Winery Event Recap The yearly event in Southern Indiana at Huber’s Winery took place this week. In recent times it has become a fundraiser for Hoosiers Connect and NIL. It also includes IU’s top coaches speaking as well as several players.

The headliner was Hoosier head man Mike Woodson who addressed the crowd there on Wednesday night. His speech included topics such as his team’s success recruiting from the transfer portal and what style of play he might employ on the court.

Banner #4: Inside the Hall’s Big Ten Team Preview And Recruiting BoardInside the Hall continued its series previewing all the Big Ten teams for next season. The conference has expanded with the West Coast schools and now has 18 squads in the league.

This week ITH looked at Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska, Ohio State, newcomer Washington, and Wisconsin. The site also released a recruiting board looking at IU’s 2025 recruiting targets.

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Banner #5: Weekly ShowsPodcast on the Brink and The Back Home Network had several new shows in the last few days. POTB did a crossover with Brian Tonsoni of Assembly Call and Delphi Bracketology to discuss next season’s roster construction.

Meanwhile, AC Radio had a new episode on Thursday night. Finally, TBH had a couple of new episodes of Crimson Cast while Right Up Meridian recapped the Indiana Pacers’ most successful year in a decade.

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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Baseball’s NCAA Tourney Results* Baseball was somewhat unexpectedly selected for the NCAA Tournament despite an RPI of 56. They proved they were worthy of the invitation though by dominating Southern Mississippi at the Knoxville Regional on Friday. They then lost against top-seed Tennessee and will play again today at noon against the Golden Eagles in the double-elimination format. * No.12 rowing is in the process of competing in the NCAA Tournament and still has one day left. * Football announced kickoff times for their first three contests of 2024. * Men’s tennis added another transfer. * Water polo had three players honored as All-Americans. * Men’s golf had two athletes named All-Region. * Softball had four honored as Academic All-District. * Wrestling had 12 of their athletes receive invitations to compete at the U20 World Team Trials and U23 Nationals.

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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IU Celebrates Postgame At Lindsey Nelson Stadium Following Their 10-4 Opening NCAA Win Over Southern Mississippi Who They Face Again On Sunday

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Knoxville TN-It was evident very quickly who the best team on the field and in college baseball is. Unfortunately for the Hoosiers, it was not them but top-ranked Tennessee who dazzled and lived up to their billing from the very beginning.

IU ace Conor Foley was nowhere near his best with massive control issues and the Vols took full advantage almost immediately. As a team that smashes the ball for dingers regularly, the Volunteers used their familiar surroundings to belt three of them in the second and third innings to jump to a 9-0 lead.

Indiana was partially responsible for their demise with a couple of handfuls of early walks and a hit-by-pitch. This allowed nearly every Tennessee batter to battle the count each time and it ended up more often than not with a ball being crushed or a free base for them.

It was not much better for IU on offense at first as the Vol’s top arm Drew Beam kept the team from doing anything for a couple of innings. This proved critical as Foley lost his command in the second and by then the deficit was too big for any realistic comeback. Devin Taylor did smash his team-leading 19th home run the second time through the order for three RBIs to get the bats going a bit.

In the end though, Tennessee cruised to a 12-6 victory while jacking four pitches out of the park. While one could easily say the Cream and Crimson were nowhere near their best despite a decent offensive showing, it hardly mattered against the far superior Volunteers. Furthermore, as one of the very last teams selected to participate in the field of 64, the Hoosiers should not have any complaints about being matched up with the very best in the game.

IU Coach Jeff Mercer praised the Volunteers play afterwards.

“They are number one for a reason,” Mercer said. “Give them credit. They forced the issue and forced our hand.”

The good news for Indiana is baseball’s postseason is double elimination and 2024 is not yet over for them despite hanging by a thread. The conclusion however could well come at some point on Sunday as the Hoosiers turn around and rematch with Southern Mississippi at noon. A loss would end their season there while a victory would require them to turn around and once again face the Vols at 6 pm with a staff running low on options to take the mound.

Mercer said the familiarity of facing the Golden Eagles again helps his squad but also the opposition as well.

“It can both ways,” he said. “They’ve seen your hitters so they have an ability to match up. It does help us to be able to known an opponent a little bit but they also know you. There is an equity in that.”

No matter what happens though, the Hoosiers saved a spring that was going nowhere. They made a late rally for their eighth NCAA Tournament in 11 seasons and the third in five seasons under Mercer. This was despite an RPI in the mid-50s that is generally outside the realm of postseason consideration.

Some slight tweaks to the pitching might be needed around the edges. However, the program is in good hands and more than anything, it has met the challenge of being in a northern climate better than almost anyone.

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IU Celebrates Postgame At Lindsey Nelson Stadium Following Their 10-4 NCAA Opening Win Over Southern Mississippi

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Knoxville TN-IU baseball found themselves back in a place they have made a habit of getting to in the last decade. After just three postseason appearances in school history through 2012, the Hoosiers have achieved an NCAA Tournament berth eight times in the last 11 years starting with their breakthrough run to the College World Series in 2013.

However, the opening contests have been decidedly mixed in this time at just 4-3 heading into today’s game. Interestingly as a one or three seed, Indiana was a perfect 4-0. When obtaining a two seed they are 0-3.

Fortunately, for IU they were a three-seed for the second straight season and won by six runs just like they did in 2023. In the Lexington Regional last spring, the Hoosiers came out on top over West Virginia 12-6. On Friday, it was a 10-4 score against Southern Mississippi in the Knoxville Regional that once again favored the Cream and Crimson.

However, the similarities between the two contests end there as the victories were achieved in a completely different fashion. Against the Mountaineers, Indiana took advantage of a couple of wild pitches and bunted balls that were thrown away for errors to stay ahead in a back-and-forth affair before pulling away late.

This time with the Golden Eagles being the opposition, the Hoosiers were in charge from start to finish and had a banner day both at the plate and on the mound. The bats got going early and often with five runs in the first two innings and eight in the first five, before anyone from Southern Mississippi crossed the plate. For IU, this included a home run in the first inning by Brock Tibbitts and a couple of RBI doubles and singles thereafter to take complete command.

Indiana coach Jeff Mercer said it is important to try to win in any way possible once late-season baseball comes around.

“When you’re in this environment you have to use all the tools in your tool chest,” Mercer said. “You have to be able to use all of your tools and use all the different avenues for success.”

Finally, the Hoosiers’ pitching situation is in a far more advantageous position this time around. In Lexington, IU’s one long-length-starter and ace Luke Sinnard lasted just two innings. He left with an elbow injury that required surgery and is still being recovered from to this day. The closer for that game was Ty Bothwell who was rounding into form late after a rough year and threw the final 3.1 innings.

Now, Bothwell has turned into the reliable ace who leads the staff and he dazzled once again on Friday afternoon. Bothwell went the first 5.2 innings giving up just two earned runs while striking out nine batters in a fantastic showing. After this, Indiana only needed top bullpen arm Drew Buhr to finish the final 3.1 frames.

Mercer said this sets his team up well for the rest of the weekend.

“Anytime that you get your first game with two pitchers it’s a big help,” he said. “It gives you a lot better path and the guys executed really well.”

The team can now turn to Connor Foley in game two on Saturday at 6 pm. Foley is also a very reliable opener who provides length with a fastball that approaches 100 mph. Reliable relievers Aydan Decker-Petty, Brayden Risedorph, Julian Tonghini, and Jacob Vogel also remain available as well as several other arms out of the pen.

Indiana has their work cut out for them likely needing to get through host and top-ranked Tennessee to continue their season beyond this weekend. While it will be their biggest challenge of 2024, the Hoosiers have put themselves in a position to take their best shot at it.

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Join us on Thursday night for this week’s edition of AC Radio.

The OG IU sports podcaster Galen Clavio will be joining Coach Tonsoni to discuss the latest IU basketball headlines, as well as the next wave of changes coming to college sports.

Among the headlines to be discussed: IU’s non-conference game against South Carolina, Yogi Ferrell joining the IU TBT team, and last night’s annual event at Huber’s Winery.

Then Coach and Galen will provide the 35,000-view of what’s next as college sports officially removes the facade of amateurism. This is in advance of Galen’s upcoming series on CrimsonCast that will go into even more depth.

Plus: mailbag questions!

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

What is this “watch page”?This page is an example of the new “watch pages” we are posting here on our Substack for new episodes of The Assembly Call and Doing The Work.

The goal is to make sure you have everything in one easy place to watch, comment, and share.

We’ll typically pin these posts to our homepage around the time the shows go live, so you can always just go to assemblycall.com if you want to quickly find the live page.

This week’s showOn mic this week: Coach and Galen

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to to see a replay of the ChatMob alongside the show.)

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

It was a relatively quiet week for IU news wi…

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IU’s home field Bart Kaufman After Indiana’s 2019 Big Ten Championship

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Hoosiers Dominated In All Facets To Likely End Their 2024 Season While the Hoosiers nearly beat Nebraska this morning in a low-scoring pitchers duel, this time it was apparent the Cornhuskers were the better and deeper team from the get-go. They jumped on IU with three runs in the second and never looked back.

In the end, while the Huskers never had the big inning, they put up at least a single score in every frame but two. Also, they managed to slug several home runs on the day with Josh Caron accounting for three on his own.

Overall, the sudden power in Omaha all week that saw multiple bombs by many with the wind blowing in was a sight to behold. After years of struggles going yard in similar conditions, many players across all the squads (including IU star Devin Taylor) were surprisingly teeing off with moon shots deep into the bleachers.

When it was over, Nebraska left no doubt why they are the best squad in the conference and safely in the NCAA Tournament after their 10-4 win. They are the only side in the league with both elite hitting and top arms.

Indiana meanwhile has almost certainly closed their season at 32-24-1 while going 15-9 in the Big Ten. Much like 2016, the conference results were good enough to play into June. However, massive struggles in midweek games will likely keep them from a postseason berth. Their RPI is about 10 spots lower than what is generally considered for a regional berth.

How Has IU Done In A Two-Games To Win One Scenario In The Past?IU has had a mixed history when being in the catbird’s seat needing to win one of two games to advance when their opponent needed both. In the Big Ten tourney in 1996 and 2013 they lost the first game before coming back the second time to win it and make the postseason (although in the latter they saved a hosting position likely rather than a tourney spot which they had already locked up). In the 2009 and 2014 conference tourney as well as the 2013 NCAA Tournament, the Hoosiers took care of business on the first attempt. Finally, in the regionals in 2014 and 2022, Indiana was in the driver’s seat and lost both games.

Saturday’s results continued a trend of being very much a mixed bag when in the position they were. With the losses on Saturday, this tendency of being less than perfect continued. While 2014’s NCAA Tournament bow out as the one seed hosting was inexplicable, the recent ones have a very defined reason that needs to be addressed (see more below).

Hoosiers Need To Add Pitching Depth Going Forward And Be Strong On The Mound From The StartThe issue of not immediately taking advantage while being in the driver’s seat the last couple of seasons comes down to one thing: pitching depth. Tournament games are often low-scoring and whether it be Kentucky last season or Nebraska in 2024, both of these squads had 5-6 guys they can count on for long innings and several more elite short relievers. Indiana meanwhile has 1-2 guys they can count on for length and effective innings and a few decent shorter options.

The Hoosiers had plenty of arms they could count on in 2009, 2013, and 2014 in these positions and as a result got the job done more often than not. The last couple of springs they have not had enough of them and it is why they have struggled from a position of strength against stronger squads.

Like the past couple of seasons, the pitching got going after a slow start. However, going forward they need that to be solid once the first ball is tossed next February rather than coming around sometime in April as it did in 2022, 2023, and 2024. The staff deserves full credit for figuring it out each time and getting Indiana to play their best baseball in the final few weeks.

However, after likely missing the NCAA Tournament for a third time in four seasons this spring, it is imperative that more quality arms as a whole are found. They also need to make sure they are ready to go as a staff from the get-go.

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The Highlight Game Of The 2023-2024 Athletic Season Where Women’s Basketball Beat Oklahoma To Advance To Yet Another Sweet 16 And The Team Went Into The Stands To Celebrate With Fans It was another big year for IU Athletics as nearly every program celebrated varying levels of success. Whether it be the lesser-known rowing, the always elite men’s soccer squad, or everything in between, nearly anyone who donned Cream and Crimson had high-level performances.

Putting men’s basketball and football aside, the other 22 sports appear to either be on the right track or already there. From fall to spring there was always something for Hoosier fans to get excited about.

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The women’s soccer team was the first to take the field and set the stage for everything. After, struggling to score goals and little success in the past, everything finally went right. Led by Paige Weber’s breakout season where she found the back of the net 12 times, it all came together for a 12-4-4 season and their first postseason appearance in a decade.

Volleyball just missed the NCAA Tournament. However, at 11-9 in the conference and 21-12 overall, it was the best fall since program great Ashley Benson led them to the postseason in 2010.

In other early-season sports, field hockey was a rare struggle at just 6-13. However, men’s and women’s cross country made yet another postseason appearance at the Great Lakes Regional.

However, the highlight of the first semester as always was men’s soccer. For a while, it looked like it looked like 2023 would be memorable for all the wrong reasons as the squad sat in serious danger of missing their first NCAA Tournament since 1986. When October began, Indiana was at 3-3-4 with a poor RPI and in big trouble. However, as they always do, the team caught fire at that point and only lost once more. In the process, they captured both Big Ten trophies and came within a penalty kick of their fifth College Cup in seven seasons.

Hoosier coach Todd Yeagley said adjustments turned the struggles around.

“As we talked through the year we improved in all the little areas that were holding us back a little bit,” Yeagley said. “There wasn’t a magic piece to it but there was great belief.”

Moving to the winter, more winning results followed. Swimming and diving both won conference championships. The men got it done easily while the women did it in the most thrilling fashion possible by half a point in the final event. These results led to top-10 finishes nationally for both. Also, wrestling’s comeback to being competitive continued for another season as the squad finished 7-5 overall and was ranked for a good part of 2024 with an NCAA appearance.

For track and field, it was a solid fifth place finish in the conference for the men both indoors and outdoors, while the women settled for 10th and 11th. However, when it comes to female sports, it was women’s basketball that highlighted the cold months as has been typical recently.

While it was not the Big Ten Championship year of 2023, the team was once again ranked every week of the season as they have in each poll since 2020. In the end, it was the fifth straight postseason appearance and the third Sweet 16 appearance in four years. They also played eventual national champ South Carolina closer than anyone in March Madness.

The highlight of 2023-204 for them and arguably the whole athletic department, was a thrilling 75-68 second-round home win over Oklahoma. This result saw the Hoosiers advance past the first weekend with a late comeback where the team jumped into the stands to celebrate with the students. The gesture was likely a show of thanks to the crowds who showed up in droves. Over 10,000 fans per game were averaged for the first time (good for fifth nationally), and the team did not lose in Assembly Hall this season.

IU’s departing star and all-time program great Mackenzie Holmes said she had a flashback to a similar moment when she celebrated with their supporters in 2022.

“I did that a couple years back when we beat Princeton to take us to the Sweet 16, and this is my last game at Assembly Hall,” Holmes said. “I just really wanted to take it all in, so I asked Coach if it was okay if we did it and she gave me the okay and we just went for it. But I just want them to know how much I love them. They're the best fans in the country and I've been so blessed every second I've gotten to play in the Hall and I'll never take those moments for granted.”

Turning to the spring, there was one exception to go with the above-mentioned field hockey that never got off the ground in 2023-2024. This distinction belonged to women’s tennis. They have historically been the most successful female sport at IU and hold the athletic department’s only national championship on the women’s side. However, recent positive results have been fleeting as they struggled to a 6-20 record with a winless conference season. This resulted in the only coaching change at Indiana outside of Tom Allen.

The rest of the results ranged from solid to elite as the weather warmed up. This was highlighted by women’s golf achieving their first conference title since 1998. Meanwhile, men’s golf did not lead the pack in the league but did make another postseason appearance.

Water polo which is the only sport Indiana plays outside the Big Ten, had their most competitive season in program history. They finished 12th nationally while competing in the elite Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

Also unlike their female counterparts, men’s tennis was much improved from recent times and finished a solid 16-11 overall. Also, rowing and softball made postseason appearances as most women’s sports had banner years.

Finally, baseball failed to meet expectations after being among the favorites in the Big Ten and was ranked early in the year. However, a late-season rally got them close to the NCAA tournament after struggling in parts of March and April.

Of the 24 sports Indiana fields, 14 were ranked at some point this year, 16 made the postseason, five conference titles were won, and all but two (field hockey, women’s tennis) had success more often than not.

Overall, It was another banner year for all of IU athletics across the board. With the pieces in place going forward, these winning results should continue into 2024-2025

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IU’s home field Bart Kaufman After Indiana’s 2019 Big Ten Championship

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Indiana’s Struggles Against Nebraska’s Pitching All Season On Verge Of Ending 2024 Without NCAA Appearance Nebraska has by far the deepest and best pitching staff in the Big Ten. In four games against Indiana this spring, the Cornhuskers have completely befuddled the Hoosier bats and taken three of the four contests.

Indiana’s arms have also given the team a chance against the Huskers. However, just nine runs in four games by IU (outside of a huge ninth inning in their only victory) so far, has put them at a major disadvantage.

Whether it be ace Brett Sears, number two starter Mason McConnaughey , Sunday guy Jackson Brockett, or occasional starter Will Walsh, the Hoosiers have not scored more than two runs in lengthy starts against any of them. Walsh especially dazzled the Cream and Crimson with a complete game start Saturday morning of 100+ pitches.

To have a chance tonight in a winner-take-all semi-final, Indiana has to get the offense going and finally solve arms they have seen almost no success against so far. While the Hoosiers will not see McConnaughey who went yesterday, and are unlikely to see Sears who threw deep on Wednesday, the Cornhuskers could go back to Brockett who is on three days’ rest.

Nebraska is in a situation like IU last year, where their regional spot is locked in and may go to a bullpen game. Either way, the Hoosiers will need to get going at the plate tonight (6 pm BTN) for a chance to keep their season alive and move to tomorrow’s championship. Can they do against a consistent Brockett or multiple arms, what they did not against a dazzling but up-and-down Walsh who was very much elite on Saturday?

Did Mercer Make The Right Decision Throwing Bothwell This Morning?With Indiana being in the winner’s bracket in the semi-finals and having a lifeline to play tonight, IU coach Jeff Mercer decided to throw his two best arms available in Ty Bothwell and Drew Buhr this morning. The obvious question is whether to go all-out and not worry about future contests, or save those guys for tonight or tomorrow being in the driver’s seat?

Last year the Hoosiers were in the same position in the winner's bracket of the NCAA Tournament in Lexington. In that case, Mercer had no choice but to throw up-and-down guys. This was after ace Luke Sinnard hurt his elbow (which he is still out with) and had to use his top arms to win on Friday and Saturday to get to that point. As a result, Indiana was dominated Sunday in their first chance, before going back to the Friday guys for Monday’s winner-take-all game which was lost in a low-scoring thriller.

While Indiana has more depth this time, shorter starts by Bothwell twice and Conor Foley have taxed the bullpen. Buhr, who is their best reliever, is likely done for the tournament after two long outings relieving Bothwell.

This leaves the Hoosiers’ choices for tonight as being mostly inconsistent arms. The guys who can give the most length in Ayden Decker-Petty and Brayden Risedorph, threw 60+ pitches on Thursday, which puts their availability in question. The other options who have seen action are Julian Tonghini and Jacob Vogel who threw less than 20 pitches on Tuesday and could give several frames if effective. Also available are Brandon Keyster, Ryan Kraft, Ethan Phillips, Ty Rybarczyk, and Jack Moffitt, who like Nebraska’s Walsh have been Jekyll and Hyde. The remaining arms have seen limited action and likely will not go unless all the mentioned guys are used up. Also, if the Hoosiers can get to the championship tomorrow, Mercer told the BTN broadcast he would go back to Foley on two days’ rest.

The bottom line though is Mercer’s decision to use his best arms this morning, puts Indiana behind the eight ball and leaves them in a troubling spot of needing the offense to get going to advance. The argument of whether to hold Bothwell and Buhr back until they faced elimination remains. The decision either way though was going to open the coaching staff up to second-guessing.

Nebraska Fans Not Showing Out Like Normal In Omaha But That Is Likely To Change TonightGenerally, Cornhusker fans pack nearly the entire place at Charles Schwab Field when their team plays. However, with starting times that have been during a workday and now early morning, the turnout has been less than normal with supporters mostly between first and third base only.

With tonight’s start time finally being convenient for most people, it will be interesting to see if the place is once again full from foul pole to foul pole with some in the outfield. If so, the Hoosiers have their work cut out for them in a virtual road environment where they are also slated to bat first in the top half of innings.

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IU’s home field Bart Kaufman After Indiana’s 2019 Big Ten Championship

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Hoosiers Take Advantage Of Ohio State Mistakes and Survive Foley’s Rough Start To Begin 2-0 in Conference Tourney For The First Time In A Decade Friday was a wild game where neither side showered itself in glory. The Hoosiers had a rough day issuing 13 walks and committing an error, while starter and ace Connor Foley was less than his best in multiple facets.

Indiana cruised through two innings with a 5-0 lead before Foley had trouble in the third from many angles. It started on the mound with a wild pitch and a couple of walks. However, it got worse when he became the fielder and botched a throw to home plate for an easy out that instead scored two runs. He also had a balk later in the inning to bring a fourth guy across.

However, the Hoosiers’ trouble was nothing in comparison to the miscues Ohio State made. The Buckeyes handed IU a big second inning with two hit by pitches and a walk with no outs which was taken full advantage of.

Also, what should have been an easy time for OSU in the fifth inning of a tie game and all the momentum, instead turned into very sloppy fielding with three errors and gifting IU two runs. From there, Indiana cruised and stayed clean outside of the walks. This allowed them to be victorious in their first two games of the league tournament for the first time since they won it in 2014.

With Thursday’s 14-7 triumph, the Hoosiers will face the Ohio State versus Nebraska winner who plays on Friday. Indiana meanwhile is off until Saturday and will only need to win one of the two contests to advance to the single-elimination championship while their opponent would have to have both.

With IU being on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament, they likely need to get to Sunday to have any shot at an at-large bid (and playing a much higher-ranked Cornhusker side this weekend would help their chances as well). However, for the first time since 2014, they are in the best position possible and would be wise to get the automatic bid given their precarious resume.

Taylor Somehow Beats The Wind For A Home RunWhile a lot happened this game, the most impressive thing was IU star hitter Devin Taylor going yard with the wind blowing straight in. When the gusts blow across or come in from centerfield as it often does there, getting one out is nearly impossible for anyone.

However, Taylor defied all odds. It is hard enough to hit a dinger at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha (where the Big Ten Tournament is each season as well as the College World Series) in almost any conditions. Even a neutral or favorable breeze usually requires hitting a line drive into one of the bullpens down the line, or else going into the power alleys on a fly ball to muscle one into the first couple of rows.

To do it into the right-field bullpen with the draft coming inward is beyond anything a normal hitter could ever do. However, Taylor again with today’s blast, proved why he is the best major league-hitting prospect IU has had since current Phillies star Kyle Schwarber.

Taylor’s 18th of the season and 34th of his career was arguably his most impressive yet given the park and the conditions. It should also be noted he is only a sophomore and is not eligible for the pros until 2025. This means he will be wearing Cream and Crimson for one more season in his decorated career. That is if an elite southern team doesn’t make him an NIL offer he can’t refuse and enters the transfer portal.

Do The Hoosiers Have Enough Pitching To Take This Tournament? Whether in the winners or losers bracket, the question is if IU has enough pitching to win this Big Ten Tourney and guarantee themselves a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Often, these nearly-every day games in the postseason are a survival of who can save the most quality arms.

So far Indiana’s short starts from Foley and Ty Bothwell have made it necessary for them to use a ton of pitchers from their bullpen for extended time. Top reliever Drew Duhr had to throw 64 pitches against Purdue while Julian Tonghini, Jacob Vogel, and Brayden Risedorph all needed just under 20 to dispose of the Boilers.

To make matters worse, another high-leverage guy in Ayden Decker-Petty had to throw 67 pitches to take care of the Buckeyes on Thursday and is likely not available before Sunday’s final game. Also, Risedorph threw an additional 62 pitches today making him potentially unavailable in that time frame.

While Tonghini or Vogel might be able to give the team an inning or two again on Saturday, the Hoosiers will have to piece it together a bit at a time with guys who have been up and down. This includes Brandon Keyster, Ryan Kraft, Jack Moffit, Ethan Phillips, Ty Rybarczyk, and Eli Shaw.

However, getting through as much as 18 innings in a couple of days with what is available could be a challenge despite the days off in between. Indiana will once again need to score a lot of runs to have a chance to advance further.

However, it should be noted the opposition will be in an even rougher spot with arms. As a result, the Cream and Crimson are in the driver’s seat to advance despite being in a less-than-ideal spot on the mound. Also, Bothwell could likely open and throw extended time if the Hoosiers can get to the winner-take-all finale on Sunday.

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On Wednesday, and will discuss the newcomers to IU Women’s 2024-25 roster with another edition of Doing The Work — our show dedicated to the Indiana women’s basketball team.

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Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to see a replay of

the show or chat with the WorkAholics during the show.)

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IU’s home field Bart Kaufman After Indiana’s 2019 Big Ten Championship

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Hoosiers’ Offense Gets Going In Fifth Inning With A Splash And Then Tacks On In Best Fashion Park AllowsIU was overwhelmed by Purdue ace Jordan Morales for four innings. Then in the fifth, the Hoosier bats got going in a way that is extremely unusual at TD Ameritrade Field in Omaha.

Freshman Jasen Oliver managed to muscle a home run to the opposite field in right. The ball went over the wall just barely for a three-run shot and made a huge splash into a puddle there from earlier rains to give Indiana the lead for good.

Hitting a dinger is harder at this place than anywhere in baseball generally. Future pros such as onetime IU studs Kyle Schwarber or Matt Gorski, or even Maryland star Nick Larusso can sometimes barely get one into the bullpens down either line or into the power alley in the first couple of rows with a perfect swing.

However, the vast majority of players who come through here will never park one in the seats. The wind on Tuesday was blowing out, which made it easier to clear the fence than normal. With winds forecasted to shift to blowing across the rest of the tourney, it will get much tougher to go yard as it generally is.

The Hoosiers aware of this, produced offense in the sixth inning the way that is the easiest in this park to do it with small ball. Multiple slap singles and hard-hit doubles down the line allowed IU to tack on five more scores in the frame and break the game open.

Purdue made a late rally with some rare longballs as well. However, a huge base running mistake by them with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth inning, and a double play in the ninth, let Indiana hold on.

Outfield Defense By Both Teams Is A Sight To BeholdWith a swirling wind, the plays in the outfield can get quite interesting. The conditions in this cavernous place are not something any college player is used to.

A ball that was crushed by Carter Mathison was nearly a home run down the right- field line. However, a web gem jumping catch at the wall cost the Hoosiers an opening early score. Also a catch running into foul territory down the RF line by PU in the fifth took another run away.

However, if not for some spectacular plays by Indiana out there, the Boilers would have had at least three more runs than they did. Devin Taylor made two diving catches in LF on balls he had trouble tracking that saved scores with two outs. Also, Mathison laid out for a ball in center field that was a sac fly but would have gotten to the wall for another run if it had landed.

In the end, the final score could have been a 10-9 Hoosiers win if not for the defensive heroics. Instead, it was an 8-6 final with the Cream and Crimson holding on.

Hoosiers In A Pitching Hole IU coach Jeff Mercer said on the TV broadcast that lead starter Ty Bothwell had been sick all week. As a result, he looked less than 100% and lasted just three innings. In a different more power-friendly park, the Hoosiers may have been in a huge hole as the Boilers made solid contact against Bothwell.

However, by being where they were, the damage was minimal with just a single run given up before giving way to the bullpen who closed it out. While it worked out today and the Hoosiers got it done, they had to burn four top relievers in Drew Buhr, Julian Tonghini, Jacob Vogel, and Brayden Risedorph.

How this will affect Indiana going forward against stronger competition remains to be seen. They do have ace Conor Foley available to pitch Thursday on full rest in their next game (3 pm BTN), and maybe Bothwell again Sunday with his short outing. However, what the Hoosiers do once Foley departs and in the next couple of games after remains to be seen.

While the Hoosiers ultimately survived and remain in the coveted winners bracket it may be at a high price. With a really good home-state Nebraska squad likely looming between them and a championship game appearance at least twice, it remains to be seen if having to use so many arms could cost them on Thursday, potentially Friday, and even Saturday.

Indiana likely needs to get to the championship game on Sunday if not win the tournament to have a realistic chance at an NCAA Tourney bid. As a result, burning the bullpen to hold on could prove costly going forward.

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

The likely final piece to the roster was announced with another transfer portal commit this week. This should round out spring recruiting with a talented slate of players for 2024-2025.

Besides this, a piece of next year’s schedule was revealed, Hoosiers in the NBA, and weekly shows round out the basketball portion of 6-Banner. We will as usual conclude with a look at other Indiana sports led by softball being in the NCAA Tournament.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what’s in this week’s edition:

Hatton Commits To Hoosiers
Spring Recruiting Recap
IU To Host Eastern Illinois
Hoosiers In The NBA
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Softball Makes Second Straight NCAA Tournament

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: Hatton Commits To Hoosiers The Hoosiers had all but two of their roster spots filled when the week started. However, that number became one a few days ago when former Bellarmine player Langdon Hatton announced on social media he was coming to Bloomington after visiting campus.

IU then confirmed the signing the next day. Hatton averaged 10.5 points and 7.1 rebounds for the Knights in 2023-2024. He will serve as newcomer Oumar Ballo’s backup at center come the fall.

This addition likely closes spring recruiting for now. With only a single scholarship open and every position accounted for with multiple bodies, the Hoosiers go into next year with high expectations.

Banner #2: Spring Recruiting Recap The reason for the sudden hype is due to a spring where Indiana cleaned up in the transfer portal and added a five-star freshman. As a result, a squad that limped to a 19-14 finish with no postseason is now among the league favorites in 2024-2025.

Besides Ballo and Hatton, the Cream and Crimson shored up a shallow backcourt with the additions of Kanaan Carlyle and Myles Rice. This trio will likely pair with returnees Mackenzie Mgbako and Malik Reneau in a revamped starting lineup. They will be joined by blue-chip prospect Bryson Tucker, former Illinois sharpshooter Luke Goode, and returning senior Trey Galloway to form a formidable rotation.

Inside the Hall recapped IU’s roster moves this spring. They also looked at where other Big Ten teams stand following changes for everyone since the offseason began.

Banner #3: IU To Host Eastern IllinoisIt is already known that IU will head to the premier Battle of Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas over Thanksgiving for three games. This competition will highlight the team’s pre-Big Ten slate.

Besides this though, nothing else was announced as to who Indiana would play in November and December. That changed this week when it was confirmed the Hoosiers would host nearby Eastern Illinois on Sunday, November 10.

The Panthers will be paid $100,000 to come to Bloomington. They finished 2023-2024 with a 14-18 record and were no. 320 in KenPom. IU has easily dispatched EIU in both previous meetings. Also, the Panthers are coached by former Hoosier player Marty Simmons who has deep ties to the state of Indiana.

Banner #4: Hoosiers In The NBA The one prominent Hoosier contributor not returning in 2024-2025 is Kel’el Ware. This is because he is off to the NBA Draft.

Almost all sources have Ware in the back half of the first round following the NBA combine. Ware himself participated in the combine as well where he had measurements done on his body and was interviewed.

As for former Indiana players already in the NBA, OG Anunoby continues to be the last one still alive in the playoffs. He is out with an injury but could return for today’s decisive game seven.

Anunoby’s Knicks are still trying to disperse the local NBA team in the Indiana Pacers. It has been a thrilling series so far with each team winning at home in all six contests. The winner-take-all match will be today at Madison Square Garden with a 3:30 pm start time on ABC.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

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Banner #5: Weekly ShowsPodcast on the Brink and The Back Home Network had several new shows in the last few days. POTB discussed the Hatton addition with Greg Waddell.

Meanwhile, Assembly Call had AC Radio on Thursday to talk about the Hatton commitment as well. Finally, TBH had new episodes of Crimson Cast, Xs and Joes, and Right Up Meridian.

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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Makes Second Straight NCAA Tournament* Softball made their second straight NCAA Tournament as one of the last four teams in the field. The Hoosiers fell 7-6 in their opener and 5-1 in an elimination game to close a very successful season at 40-19 overall. Also, four players were honored as all-region. * Baseball lost the series finale to Nebraska last weekend. However, they took two of three from Michigan to close the regular season and keep their slim postseason hopes alive. They obtained the three-seed for the Big Ten Tourney where they open with a showdown against Purdue at 11 am Tuesday on BTN. Also, their midweek game against Louisville was rained out. * Men’s golf finished 8th at the NCAA Tournament to conclude their season. * Track and field competed at the Big Ten Championships with the men finishing fifth and the women 12th. * Women’s Soccer added a staff member. * Field Hockey announced its schedule for next fall.

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

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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Andy Mohr Field Where IU Softball Plays Its Home Games

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Kleinman Relieves Copeland To Keep Hoosiers In The GameMissouri surprisingly lost to Omaha in their NCAA opener. This gave the Hoosiers a much tougher matchup than expected against the top-seeded hosts in their first elimination game.

The Tigers boast an elite pitching staff and an offense that has often struggled including versus the Mavericks in their first game. However, IU’s top pitcher Brianna Copeland was torched in just 1.2 innings for a couple of runs against a squad batting less than .270 coming in. This gave the Hoosiers a very tall hill to climb against the best staff in the circle they have seen this season.

However, Sophie Kleinman came in to relieve Copeland and gave Indiana the best chance possible throwing 4.1 innings of just one-run ball. Mizzou did get to Kleinman for a couple of runs in the seventh. However, her performance in the second through sixth innings kept Indiana in the game.

Hoosiers Do Little At The Plate While it was not a surprise, the Cream and Crimson got very little going against the Tigers at the plate. Missouri came in sporting an elite ERA barely over two and looked every bit of it on Saturday as ace Lauren Krings mowed Indiana down fairly easily.

The Hoosiers managed just two hits on the day and had very few hard-hit balls. The best chance to do damage was a flyout to the warning track by Aliyah Andrews in the fifth inning that was caught. IU did finally strike on a solo shot in the last frame by Cora Bassett but the game was not in doubt at that point.

Indiana’s Successful Season Is Over No matter what happened this weekend, the last two seasons have been an unmitigated success for Indiana. It has been the best stretch since the 1980s for the program that has seen back-to-back 40-win seasons and NCAA appearances. This is after years of struggles that saw just one postseason appearance in the previous 18 springs.

The Hoosiers finished the 2024 campaign with a 40-19 record and made consecutive regional appearances for the first time since 1985 and 1986. With nearly everyone projected to return, the future of this squad continues to be extremely bright with more winning in 2025 under head coach Shonda Stanton.

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IU’s home field Bart Kaufman After Indiana’s 2019 Big Ten Championship

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Where Indiana Baseball Stands Currently After Michigan SeriesThe Hoosiers currently sit at 30-22-1 and 15-9 in the Big Ten with an RPI of around 60. That is out of contention for a second straight NCAA Tournament following a 3-2 loss, and 11-2 and 8-4 wins to take the series versus the Wolverines.

The Hoosiers do have several really good quad-one victories. However, with a double-digit number of quad-three and four losses, their metrics are not quite a resume worthy of playing June baseball. With just the Big Ten Tourney left, the Cream and Crimson’s most realistic chance of playing beyond that is to win it and get the automatic bid.

The Hoosiers will head to Omaha as the three seed (beginning at 11 am Tuesday on BTN vs. Purdue or Ohio State) in the league in a year they are built perfectly for the park. Charles Schwab Field which hosts both the league tournament and college world series is a pitcher-friendly park that rarely sees home runs. With a staff that has had a penchant for giving up the long ball and has been much improved lately, next week sets up perfectly to make a run.

While 2024 had not gone as well as planned early, IU has played better of late but is still not in a position of strength. The roller coaster of a season started strong at 6-1 with key victories. Then pitching issues caused extreme struggles until early April. This left Indiana with no margin for error and until early May the Hoosiers did everything right and got somewhat close to the bubble.

However, a series loss to Nebraska, and one defeat to Michigan this weekend is likely too much to overcome as the Hoosiers’ high-powered offense has been somewhat inconsistent recently. Also, contests against Cincinnati and Louisville that would have helped the resume were rained out.

As a result of all this, IU is almost certainly in a position of do-or-die next week in Nebraska. The Cream and Crimson are capable of delivering here but must get it done or it is no NCAA Tournament for the third time in four seasons. With long-inning starters Ty Bothwell and Conner Foley available to pitch the first couple of games after going on Thursday, and the whole staff having three days rest, this further enhances Indiana’s chances.

What IU Needs To Do In Future SeasonsThe Hoosiers were expected to compete with Iowa to be the cream of the crop in the Big Ten and neither has come close to meeting preseason projections. Instead, only Nebraska, maybe Illinois, and the auto bid are likely to be invited to the NCAA Tournament.

While this is not what Indiana fans expected, they cannot overreact. Regardless of who comes back in the offseason, the team could be in for a great 2025. I have seen time and again when a squad doesn’t live up to what should have happened the year before and then comes back with a big season after.

IU coach Jeff Mercer will need to evaluate why the pitching has taken so long each spring to get going as well as some inconsistencies on offense. However, the program is very close to being what everyone expects even if major offseason attrition occurs.

Winning the Big Ten is always possible every season (see the Cornhuskers 2024 turnaround) with everyone on essentially a high mid-major level and evenly matched season to season. The former Pac-12 squads may help some. However, none that are coming in had a great year. Winning in northern baseball is tough and IU has gotten that lesson the last few seasons despite a few areas needing to be shored up around the edges.

Hoosiers Offense Gets Going InAfter the offense stalled out for a few games including the series opener, the bats once again got going in the final two contests to take the series. The Hoosiers scored 19 runs and pounded six long balls in their offensive explosion in the final couple of games.

Star outfielder Devin Taylor led the way going 7-11 in the three-game weekend and hit a long ball in each contest. Since being moved to the leadoff spot, Taylor has been dominant and led the lineup as teams are more reluctant to pitch around the opening batter.

As a whole, the team has been led by its bats hitting nearly .300 for the season. They had seven of their nine regulars hitting nearly that individually and pounded 76 dingers this spring.

If the Hoosiers want to get beyond next week in Omaha as described above, they need their performance at the plate to continue. However, it must be at the respect of the cavernous field there. This will require getting a base or two at a time given the extreme difficulty of balls leaving the yard.

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Andy Mohr Field Where IU Softball Plays Its Home Games

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Hoosiers On The Wrong End Of Thriller This game had all the signatures of a typical thrilling NCAA Tournament game. Whenever postseason begins, things often get wild and Friday afternoon was no exception between an evenly matched IU and Washington squad.

It began relatively tame at first with the Huskies seemingly cruising with a 4-1 lead. However, the Hoosiers turned the tables in the fifth with a four-run inning and added a dinger in the sixth for a 6-4 lead. Just when it looked like Indiana had seized the momentum, UW roared back with a three-run sixth to put the Cream and Crimson three outs away from defeat.

IU had a chance in the seventh with a lead-off double and finally tied the game when down to their final out at 7. Washington then walked it off with two outs in the bottom half.

Both squads have top-flight offenses and average pitching. This showed throughout and especially late in the game with every ball being hit hard seemingly.

Both Teams Take Advantage Of Breaks, Mistakes, And Questionable DecisionsThe seemingly tame contest got wild with one decision to begin the fifth. Lefty Lindsay Lopez started for the Huskies and cruised through four innings. However, despite her success in the circle, she was removed by long-time legendary coach Heather Tarr in favor of righty Ruby Meylan who Indiana jumped all over.

With the UW lead at just 4-3, Lopez returned to the circle cold (in softball the starter only is allowed one reentry) and Sarah Stone crushed the first pitch she saw out of the park to give the Hoosiers a 5-4 lead. This fortune would continue in the sixth as IU took advantage of strange ground rules at Missouri for a solo shot and a 6-4 advantage. The top of the wall has a short fence behind it that in nearly every park would need to be cleared for a dinger. However, in Columbia merely hitting the top of that baseboard in front of the fence is considered to have left the yard despite actually being in play.

One more good bounce struck IU in the bottom of the same inning as Brooke Benson made an amazing catch to save sure extra bases. However, just when it appeared the Hoosiers had seized control, every break went against them from there in the final couple of frames.

It started with a bloop single to tie the game. Then a couple of errors on a bad play in the field saw the Cream and Crimson fall behind 7-6. In the seventh, IU hit every ball as hard as possible but only managed a couple of doubles to tie the game. The game-tying one for the Hoosiers had to be especially frustrating as Avery Parker missed a homer by a half-an-inch that barely hit the side of the aforementioned baseboard rather than the top of it to take the lead. In the bottom half, a misplayed ball at short and a game-winning double that was barely fair ended it with UW on top.

Indiana’s Season Still Alive But Only Barely With baseball and softball’s postseason being double elimination, the Hoosiers are still hanging by a thread in the loser’s bracket despite the defeat. They play at 5:30 pm Eastern time on Saturday against the loser of Omaha and Missouri. The defeated team will have their season end while the winner will turn around and play at 8 pm in another elimination game. All remaining contests in the regional will continue to be televised on ESPN+.

It would take four wins in two days to take the whole regional from the loser’s side and advance to the super-regional. It is slightly easier to do in softball than baseball with top pitchers being able to throw every inning of every day if needed with the natural underhand motion. However, emerging victorious in four contests in just over 24 hours is extremely difficult in any sport regardless of the difference in the situations on the mound versus in the circle.

No matter what though, the last two seasons have been an unmitigated success for Indiana. It has been the best stretch since the 1980s for the program that has seen back-to-back 40-wins seasons and NCAA appearances. This is after years of struggles that saw just one postseason appearance in the previous 18 springs.

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Indiana is continuing to round out its roster for the 2024-25 season, and Langdon Hatton is the latest commit.

Hatton, a Bellarmine transfer, is a 6’10 big hailing from Georgetown, IN. Last season for the Knights, he averaged 10.5 points per game, 7.1 rebounds per game, 0.8 blocks per game, and shot 48% from the floor.

While those numbers certainly aren’t eye-popping for a player coming from an 8-23 squad, Indiana’s staff wasn’t looking to add a big-time, high-usage player for the role they were hoping to fill.

Instead, Hatton is great insurance for a backup big spot.

Below, we’ll dive into some parts of Hatton’s game that I liked that I think can translate to his role with the Hoosiers.

Post-upsHatton was utilized in the post a lot at Bellarmine and was effective when he did so. He was in the 68th percentile in the country on post-ups.

As you’ll see below, Hatton does a really nice job of using his size and weight to uproot defenders, and he has excellent footwork around the basket.

I like the way he’s able to feel where the defender is at and use their leverage against them in the post.

While Indiana likely won’t be running a lot of actions for Hatton to isolate in the post, he is a guy that can go get a bucket in a late-clock situation.

Now let’s look at some additional play types where Hatton has had success:

Pick-and-roll
Attacking closeouts with the dribble
Understanding offensive movement
Shooting

Plus a few other positives he brings to the table.

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Join us on Thursday night for our weekly discussion about IU basketball. We'll get going around 9:15.

We’ll roll through some Hoosier Headlines, including the latest alum to join IU’s TBT team as well as Kel’el Ware’s interesting week at the NBA Combine.

Then we’ll focus on the newest Hoosier: Langdon Hatton. What skills and experience does Hatton bring to Bloomington? How is he likely to be used? We'll discuss all of that and much more on this week's episode.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

What is this “watch page”?This page is an example of the new “watch pages” we are posting here on our Substack for new episodes of The Assembly Call and Doing The Work.

The goal is to make sure you have everything in one easy place to watch, comment, and share.

We’ll typically pin these posts to our homepage around the time the shows go live, so you can always just go to assemblycall.com if you want to quickly find the live page.

This week’s showOn mic this week: Andy and Coach Moats

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to to see a replay of the ChatMob alongside the show.)

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On this edition of Xs & Joes, Bob and Mike welcome Coach Adragna to the show.

They open with a discussion about how they all met and discuss Tony’s background as a coach. This includes discussion of how Tony proposed to his wife, which any IU fan will be able to appreciate.

Then they turn their attention to the strange marriage between coaching and analytics. How should analytics be used to analyze and improve a team’s performance? How are they actually used? How could they be used better?

Then they dive into Indiana’s incoming transfers and what IU fans should expect from the revamped roster.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

The YouTube video is below, and you can listen to the audio wherever podcasts are available.

(Note: uploading to YouTube has been very slow today, so the video version may not be ready by the time this sends. If nothing is showing up below, it should be available here when it’s done uploading)

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If you thoughts or comments about the episode, feel free to comment on YouTube video, comment below, or reach out to Mike (@M_Wiemuth_) and Bob (@BobMoats) on Twitter or in our BHN Discord.

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Since graduating from Indiana in 2018 as part of the WNIT Championship team that helped lay the foundation of success that Indiana Women’s basketball has come to achieve, Amanda Cahill has carved out a successful pro career in Luxembourg for the past 6 seasons.

This past season, Cahill moved to play for Grengewald Hostert in the top level of t…

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

With the rosters mostly set now, multiple sites are projecting how the 2024-2025 season might turn out for the Cream and Crimson. Also, another player was added to the all-IU alumni TBT squad and the women had their conference opponents announced.

Besides this, Hoosiers in the NBA and weekly shows round out the basketball portion of 6-Banner. We will as usual conclude with a look at other Indiana sports led by a deep run in the Big Ten Tournament for softball.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what’s in this week’s edition:

2024-2025 Season Preview
Devonte Green Added to TBT Team
Single and Double Plays Announced For Women’s 2024-2025 Big Ten Season
Hoosiers In The NBA
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Softball Makes Second Straight Big Ten Tourney Championship

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: 2024-2025 Season Preview While the 2024-2025 season is still a long way off, that didn’t stop multiple sites from projecting how IU might do come next year. With the Hoosiers having all but two of their roster spots filled now (one of those may be taken by Bellarmine transfer Langdon Hatton who has a crystal ball projecting him to Bloomington) and most other squads nearly complete as well, a look ahead can commence.

Inside the Hall took a peek at where Indiana stands in the national discussion. Currently, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello has them 16th, CBSSports’ Gary Parrish projects 17th, and FanDuel’s John Rothstein is even more optimistic with a ranking of 15th. Also, On3’s James Fletcher ranks IU 21st, as does Bart Torvik, and FoxSports’ John Fanta is most pessimistic as he thinks 25th. Finally, Joe Lunardi’s early Bracketology has the Hoosiers in the same range as a four-seed.

The reason for this optimism is because the Hoosiers’ transfer portal class ranks among the best in the nation. Three different sites have it ranked in the top five in the country with 247Sports the highest at two. The additions of Oumar Ballo, Kanaan Carlyle, Luke Goode, and Myles Rice from other teams are the reason the Cream and Crimson are highly touted of for next season. However, top-30 incoming freshman Bryson Tucker should get extended playing time as well.

Banner #2: Devonte Green Added to TBT Team After several years of attempts, IU will finally have an all-Hoosier alumni squad in the annual TBT Tournament as announced last week. Miller Kopp, Juwan Morgan, and Troy Williams were added previously and now Devonte Green became the fourth member to commit on Friday. Tickets to see the players in action can be bought here with the bracket revealed on June 20 and competition beginning on July 19 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Also, for the second straight year, the sister event involving soccer in the TST will have an IU alumni team featuring multiple former Hoosiers. This competition will take place in Cary, N.C. beginning June 5 with tickets at this link. The draw for this was revealed a few days ago and Indiana will go head-to-head in a group with Georgetown alumni, Freedom United, and Trident FC.

Banner #3: Single and Double Plays Announced For Women’s 2024-2025 Big Ten Season Last week the men had their Big Ten opponents revealed. Now the women got their draw as well.

Their side of the ledger plays just 18 conference games with Purdue as the only home-and-home series with the addition of the West Coast schools. As for single plays, the Hoosiers got lucky and drew almost all the projected top teams in Bloomington only. This is highlighted by a visit from league favorite USC and JuJu Watkins. Also, coming to campus will be highly thought of Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska, Ohio State, and UCLA, as well as struggling Rutgers and Wisconsin. With Stanford also visiting in the pre-conference, Assembly Hall will have maybe the best slate of contests in program history.

As for the road, Indiana’s draw will be led by a visit to the Caitlyn Clark-less Iowa Hawkeyes who will now look to transfer Lucy Olsen and returning starting center Hannah Stuelke for scoring. The other tough trip will be to a solid Michigan State side. Outside of this, it is all opposition expected near the bottom of the conference in Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Oregon, Penn State, and Washington.

With the loss of program greats Mackenzie Holmes and Sara Scalia the team sits just outside the preseason top-25 according to ESPN’s Charlie Creme. However, with the rest of the roster coming back and no one transferring out, Creme has them safely in the NCAA Tournament as an eight-seed. They are highlighted by returning starters Yarden Garzon, Chloe Moore-McNeil, and Sydney Parrish. Also, the additions of Tennessee’s Karoline Striplin and Nittany Lion sharp shooter Shay Ciezki will be used to replace the roles of Holmes and Scalia.

Banner #4: Hoosiers In The NBA The one Hoosier starter not returning in 2024-2025 on the men’s side is Kel’el Ware. This is because he is off to the NBA Draft.

Except for one outlier, most sources have Ware towards the back half of the first round. Outside of SB Nation’s Ricky O’Donnell who projects him in the lottery as the 11th pick, every other writer has him between 19th and the very end of the opening round.

As for former Indiana players already in the NBA, OG Anunoby continues to be the last one still alive in the playoffs. He had a great game two of his series with 28 points before leaving with an injury and has been out ever since. His Knicks lead the local NBA team in the Pacers 2-1. It has been a thrilling three contests so far with all of them coming down to the wire. Game four is today in Indianapolis at 3:30 pm on ABC and Anunoby will once again be sidelined with his ailment.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

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Banner #5: Weekly ShowsPodcast on the Brink and The Back Home Network had several new shows in the last few days. POTB had the Sports Illustrated and Assembly Call’s Ryan Phillips on to discuss Indiana’s offseason so far.

Meanwhile, Assembly Call had AC Radio on Thursday to talk about the transfer portal. Finally, TBH had new episodes of both Doing The Work and Right Up Meridian.

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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Makes Second Straight Big Ten Tourney Championship* Softball likely played their way into their second straight NCAA Tournament with a huge week. After losing their regular season finale to Northwestern, the Hoosiers made a run through the conference tournament by knocking off arch-rival Purdue, the top-seeded Wildcats, and Nebraska to advance to their second straight league championship. Here they lost a heartbreaker to Michigan. At 40-18 and an RPI in the mid 40s, IU will learn their postseason fate today at 7 pm on ESPN2 during the selection show. Also, five Indiana players were honored by the conference. * Baseball topped Purdue last Sunday to win that series. They have split the first two games against Nebraska this weekend to keep their postseason hopes alive. Also, their midweek game against Cincinnati was rained out. * Women’s golf finished 10th at the NCAA Tournament to conclude their season. * Track and field is competing at the Big Ten Championships with the men in eighth and the women in 13th with one day to go. * Volleyball added three transfers for next fall. * Women’s Tennis announced a coaching change after several seasons where the program has struggled. * The athletic department hosted a “Night To Shine” Banquet to honor its athletes.

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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Andy Mohr Field Where IU Softball Plays Its Home Games

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Hoosiers Grit And Northwestern Mistakes Help IU Come Out On Top Over Legendary ProgramNorthwestern (along with Michigan) has been far and away the best team in the Big Ten for many years in softball. In 23 seasons under legendary head coach Katie Drohan, the Wildcats have won five Big Ten championships (including in 2024), made 17 NCAA Tournaments, participated in seven Super Regionals, and been to the College World Series three times.

The Hoosiers by contrast have had very few up cycles, other than a brief time in the 1980’s and now. Despite this, it was the squad in Cream and Crimson who showed the maturity to win a big game in the conference tourney quarterfinals and likely punch a ticket to the postseason.

NW scored first in the second inning. However, Indiana never let the game get away and tied it on a solo home run to dead center by freshman Alex Cooper in the fourth. However, it was a two-run fifth and an additional tack-on in the sixth that proved decisive.

IU never hit the ball hard in either of these frames. However, they took full advantage of their opponent’s charitable mood as the Hoosiers crossed the plate as a result of multiple walks, a hit batter, a bad throw to first base, a wild pitch, and an infield single.

These late scores allowed Indiana to hold off a final Northwestern rally for the 4-3 signature win. With the victory, IU finishes the season 2-2 against the nationally-ranked Wildcats and improves to 39-17 overall.

Indiana Likely Punches Ticket To Second Straight NCAA Tournament The last time this IU squad made an NCAA Regional in two consecutive seasons was 1985 and 1986. 2023 and 2024 now appear to be the first time since those years for this feat to occur. With the win Thursday, the Hoosiers sit in the mid 40s in the RPI and seemingly in the field of 64 regardless of what happens in the last two games of the conference championship.

Indiana now has seven quad one wins, as well as that same number in quad two. Also, with a 25-3 record versus quad’s three and four, the resume is now likely sufficient for an at-large bid to the postseason.

Despite being in a good position, IU can take the decision out of the committee’s hands entirely if they take the trophy in the league tournament on Saturday. The quest for the automatic spot begins tomorrow at 4 pm on BTN in the semi-finals against whoever comes out on top between Minnesota and Nebraska

Copeland Strong On MoundIn the success, of the past two seasons, the Hoosiers have relied on their elite offensive with batting averages of over .300 and hitting 60+ home runs each year. Mostly, the pitching has been good enough to not get in the way of the top performances at the plate.

With that said, Brianna Copeland has been a solid two-way player for the team as their lead pitcher with an ERA around three and a batting average north of .300. While she has not thrown anywhere near every inning in 2024, she is their workhorse having tossed 178.1 of the 368.2 frames the Hoosiers have played in.

On Friday, she held down a very good Wildcats lineup giving up just three earned runs while pitching six of the seven innings. She was also in the circle when the final flyout to right field was produced to give Indiana the victory.

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Join us on Thursday night for our weekly discussion about IU basketball. We'll get going around 9:15(ish) and no later than 9:30.

We'll roll through some Hoosier Headlines and discuss what Indiana is likely to do with its final two scholarships.

Then we'll dive into a conversation about how to be a fan in the portal era. What does so much roster turnover (and the explicit impact of money) mean for the connections we feel with our programs and players?

And then we'll answer a satchel full of listener questions.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

What is this “watch page”?This page is an example of the new “watch pages” we are posting here on our Substack for new episodes of The Assembly Call and Doing The Work.

The goal is to make sure you have everything in one easy place to watch, comment, and share.

We’ll typically pin these posts to our homepage around the time the shows go live, so you can always just go to assemblycall.com if you want to quickly find the live page.

This week’s showOn mic this week: Jerod, Coach, and Ryan

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to to see a replay of the ChatMob alongside the show.)

Thank you to our sponsorsWe appreciate the support of our sponsors who help make our continued coverage of Indiana basketball possible.

Presenting sponsor: Homefield Apparel (promo code HOME23 for 15% off your first order)
Promotional partner for Meaningful Moment: Hoosier Ticket Project
Promotional partner for Inside the Numbers: Megan Mahaffey’s JacksonHewitt franchise locations in and around Bloomington
Game Ball sponsor: Bloomington Environmental (mention Assembly Call for a free radon test kit and mitigation estimate)
Hoosier Hustle Award sponsor: Security Pro 24/7 (formerly Evansville Security Services)

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On Wednesday, and will discuss the records broken by the IU Women’s 2023-24 Season with another edition of Doing The Work — our show dedicated to the Indiana women’s basketball team.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to see a replay of

the show or chat with the WorkAholics during the show.)

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

With the rosters mostly set for both the men’s and women’s basketball now, other news items jumped to the forefront this week. The highlights of this were Big Ten opponents being announced, an all-IU alumni TBT squad coming to fruition, and Adidas continuing to be Indiana Athletics’ primary sponsor.

In lesser headlines, Inside the Hall has several off-season series, and weekly shows were recorded. We will as usual conclude with a look at other Hoosiers sports led by a staff shakeup for women’s basketball.

In a brief, OG Anunoby is the final former IU player standing in the NBA playoffs. His New York Knicks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in their series to move onto the second round. Anunoby will now have to compete against the team from the state where he played his college basketball. This is because the Indiana Pacers advanced past the opening round for the first time in a decade by taking out the Milwaukee Bucks. As a result, some Hoosier fans may now have a conflict about which side to root for when the squads face off.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what’s in this week’s edition:

Single and Double Plays Announced For 2024-2025 Big Ten Season
IU To Have TBT And TST Team
Indiana Extends Partnership With Adidas
Inside the Hall’s Offseason Series Updates
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Patberg Promoted And Warthen Added

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: Single and Double Plays Announced For 2024-2025 Big Ten Season While the 2024-2025 season is still a long way off, one piece of the puzzle is now known. With the Big Ten having 18 teams beginning next fall, the frequency of playing each conference rival will decrease. League play will continue to be 20 games meaning everyone will only compete against a trio of squads for a home-and-home. The remaining 14 contests will be played against opposition on the road or in Bloomington.

As for IU, they drew Ohio State, Penn State, and Purdue for double plays. Meanwhile, the Hoosiers will host Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Rutgers, UCLA, and USC. Finally, Iowa, Michigan State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin are the opponents Indiana will travel to face off against.

Banner #2: IU To Have TBT And TST TeamAfter several years of attempts, IU will finally have an all-Hoosier alumni squad in the annual TBT Tournament. The team will appropriately be known as ‘Assembly Ball’ and begin play within the state of Indiana at Hinkle Fieldhouse on July 19. The winner of the entire event will share a one-million-dollar prize.

So far, Miller Kopp, Juwan Morgan, and Troy Williams are committed to playing for “Assembly Ball” and more player announcements will follow. Tickets to see the players in action can be bought here with the bracket revealed on June 20.

Also, for the second straight year, the sister event involving soccer in the TST will have an IU alumni team featuring multiple former Hoosiers. This competition will take place in Cary, N.C. beginning June 5 with tickets at this link.

Banner #3: Indiana Extends Partnership With AdidasThe Hoosiers have had Adidas as their primary apparel partner for the previous 20 years. Now that will continue for at least 10 more, as Athletic Director Scott Dolson announced an extension with the company on the Hoosier Hysterics podcast last Tuesday.

Banner #4: Inside the Hall’s Offseason Series Updates With 2023-2024 now over, Inside The Hall continued a series looking at the IU team and their contributions from last season. This week featured Xavier Johnson, the squad’s offense and defense, and coach Mike Woodson.

Also, ITH looked at where other Big Ten teams are at from a roster perspective. Finally, they hypothesized how Indiana might fill its final couple of roster spots with a transfer portal watch list.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsPodcast on the Brink and The Back Home Network had several new shows in the last few days. POTB had the IndyStar’s Zach Osterman on to discuss the transfer portal.

Meanwhile, Assembly Call had AC Radio on Thursday to talk about lineup combinations. Finally, TBH had new episodes of both Xs and Joes and Right Up Meridian.

Refer a friendDo you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

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Gift subscriptionsAnd if you want to get really generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Patberg Promoted And Warthen Added* Women’s basketball shook up their staff with Amber Smith out as an assistant coach and recent IU great Ali Patberg being promoted to Smith’s role. Finally, another program alumni Keyanna Warthen will fill Patberg’s former job. * Baseball topped Rutgers for a sweep last weekend. They then split with arch-rival Purdue in the first two games of that series yesterday and today to keep their postseason hopes alive. * Softball lost a series against struggling Wisconsin last weekend putting a couple of bad defeats on the resume for a squad right on the NCAA Tournament bubble. However, a split so far with ranked Northwestern in the last couple of days helps mitigate the results against the Badgers somewhat. * Water polo fell to Arizona State to close their season. * Men’s golf finished sixth at the Big Ten Championship which was good enough for a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Also, their top competitor Drew Salyers was named to the all-Big Ten team. * Track and field competed in Bloomington at the Billy Hayes Invitational. * Men’s and women’s soccer released their schedules for the fall of 2024. * Swimming and diving will have an athlete compete in the upcoming Paris Olympics. * Rowing had a Big Ten Boat of the Week. * The athletic department recognized all of its spring graduates as part of IU’s year-end graduation.

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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[Editor’s note: Trying something new here. This an expanded writeup of the Banner Moment I opened last night’s show with.]

This week’s Banner Moment occurred for me on Wednesday evening, when I decided to do a little digging into the stats of our newcomers.

Specifically, I was curious about the demonstrated individual scoring ceilings of our projected roster for next season and how it compared to last year’s scoring-challenged IU team.

Here’s what I found …

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Last season versus next seasonLast season, Indiana did not have one player who played at least 40% of minutes who also entered the season with a career-high above 20 points.

Xavier Johnson’s career high is 32 points, in a game while he played at Pitt.
Payton Sparks’ career high is 24 points, in a game while he played at Ball State.
But neither of them played at least 40% of minutes for IU last season, so they don’t count for this analysis. (What good is their scoring ceiling if they aren’t on the court much?)

While Trey Galloway, Malik Reneau, and Kel’el Ware would all score at least 28 points in a game at some point last season, none of the three had demonstrated that kind of scoring ceiling before the season started.

As you’ll see here in a bit, entering a season with players who have proven they can score at a high level is far more predictive of success than entering a season with players who merely have the potential to score at a high level.

With last year as our baseline for comparison, let’s look at the demonstrated individual scoring ceilings for next season’s projected roster.

Here are the current career-high scoring totals for Indiana’s projected top six players:

Myles Rice: 35
Malik Reneau: 34
Kanaan Carlyle: 31
Oumar Ballo: 30
Trey Galloway: 28
Mackenzie Mgbako: 24

The delicious irony here is there are plenty of people — me included — who expect Mackenzie Mgbako to lead IU in scoring this season, yet he actually has the lowest single-game career high among this group of teammates. It’s a testament to how much more scoring depth IU will enter next season with.

I mean, look at the list again. That’s six guys who have already demonstrated they can score at least 24 points in a college basketball game. If you want to know why so many people are bullish about Indiana’s offensive potential for next season, that’s a big reason.

The Xs and Os are important … but not as important as the Jimmies and the Joes.

Okay, but is this just anecdotal from Indiana’s last two seasons, or does it actually matter that rosters have demonstrated this high-ceiling scoring ability before the season starts?

Here’s evidence to suggest it mattersFull disclosure: I didn’t do an exhaustive study here. I’m not a professional statistician or analytics expert. But almost every piece of anecdotal evidence I looked at followed a similar, predictable pattern that makes logical sense.

Let’s look at a few key pieces of evidence that suggest the amount of high-end scoring depth a team enters the season with matters.

National title winners

If you look at every national champion since 2012, when Kentucky won with the freshmen-laden Anthony Davis team, every single one of those teams have had at least two key rotation pieces who entered the season with career highs of at least 25 points.

In fact, all but three of these teams had at least one key player who entered that season already with a career-high of 30 or more and at least one more player in the high-20s. (Several NCAA champions had four or five players who fit this criteria.)

Indiana’s recent teams

Next, if you look at Indiana’s six NCAA Tournament teams since 2012, each of those teams had at least one player who entered the season with a career high of 30 points or more and at least one other player with a career high of 22 or more points.

For example:

Entering the 2023 season, Trayce had a career high of 43 points and Miller Kopp had a career high of 28.
Entering the 2013 season, Christian Watford had a career high of 30 points, while Cody Zeller (26) and Jordan Hulls (28) had each demonstrated an ability to score in the high-20s.
Interestingly, the 2015 team gets the closest to missing the criteria — with Yogi’s 30 points and Troy’s career high of 22. That team barely made the NCAA Tournament.

How does that compare to Indiana’s six non-tournament teams during that stretch? None of them met the scoring criteria.

For example:

The 2019 team had Juwan Morgan with a career high of 34 entering the season, but no other teammates with a career high of 20 or more.
The 2020 team had three players with career highs of 22 or more, but no none higher than 26.

To reiterate: this year’s Indiana team will open the season with SIX players who have career highs of 24 or more points, and four of those already have career highs of 30 or more. It’s pretty clear which group of recent IU teams the new roster is most like.

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Purdue’s recent teams

I noticed this trend with Purdue’s recent teams as well. Look at their five most recent seasons:

2024 (#3 in KenPom): Edey with a career high entering season of 38, plus five other players with career highs of 24 or more.
2023 (#7): David Jenkins with a career high entering season of 33, plus two others at 25 or greater.
2022 (#14): Trevion Williams with a career high entering season of 36, plus three others with career highs of 23 or more.
2021 (#25): Trevion with career high of 36, plus one other with career high of 23.
2020 (#24 but 16-15 record and would have missed tournament): Jahaad Proctor entered season with a career high of 35 from his time at High Point, but no other regulars entered the season with a career high greater than 21.

You can see Purdue’s success get bigger and bigger as Matt Painter built rosters with more and more demonstrated scoring ability entering the season — culminating with their national title game appearance this past season.

Here’s the takeawayIn a sport that continues to tilt in the direction of offense, having as many individual players who can “go off” on a given night is essential.

In recent seasons, Indiana has had very few paths to victory. All-time great players like Trayce Jackson-Davis could sometimes drag IU to victory, but if one or two key players were shut down or struggling, it was often lights out for Indiana’s chances to win.

This season? Heck, depending on who starts between Carlyle and Galloway, Indiana will have at least one bench player with a career-high of 28 or more points. How many other teams in America will enter the season with that level of demonstrated scoring punch? (And note that all six of Indiana’s players produced those career highs while playing at the Power 5 level.)

That’s what makes this Indiana roster so intriguing: it will finally enter a season with a healthy handful of proven bucket-getters.

It’s about time.

Indiana hasn’t had a top-25 offense since the 2016 season. And IU’s average offensive efficiency rank since 2016 is just 70.5, with a low of 105th last season.

Look, I still have plenty of questions about how all of this is going to look come November, especially on defense. But I’ll be very surprised if this collection of proven offensive talent doesn’t coalesce into one of the 25-best offenses in the country when it’s all said and done — and that’s even with my misgivings about IU’s offensive philosophy baked in. At some point, the scoring talent transcends the system.

Granted, if this Indiana team truly has visions of banners, or even a Final Four run, just being top-25 won’t not be enough. All but one champion since 2012 has had a top-10 offense. This is where the system maximizing the talent comes in — which might come in the form of IU decreasing its percentage of post-ups, focusing more on the offensive glass, or trading as many long 2s as possible for 3s, or preferably all three.

But there will be plenty of time for those discussions in the future.

For now, while we enjoy the offseason rebuild Mike Woodson has nearly completed, I’m willing to set aside concerns about the defense and the offensive reaching its ceiling. Why? Because even with conservative projections, this roster is likely to deliver offensive production that we haven’t seen since Tom Crean departed — which will be a sight for sore eyes.

So while Indiana’s defense will have to come together for this IU team to compete for a Big Ten title and deep tournament run, the offensive firepower alone should at least set the floor at being a top 4/5 team in the conference with a return to the NCAA Tournament.

That’s a big step forward for a program that bottomed out last season, with the possibility of it turning into a leap that could make the 2024-25 season one to remember.

Discussion* What do you think about the offensive ability of Indiana’s projected roster for next season? * How much do you think it matters that a team has several sources of demonstrated high-end scoring ability entering a season? * What is your gut feeling for how high Indiana’s offense will be ranked this season?

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Join us on Thursday evening at 9:15(ish) ET for our weekly chat about Indiana University men's basketball. (We'll try to start right at 9:00, but kid bedtimes could force a slight delay.)

We'll provide our scouting report of Indiana's newest transfer, Luke Goode, and then have some fun discussing some different lineup combinations this IU team will be capable of rolling out there.

Plus: Indiana has an alumni team in The Basketball Tournament. Who is already set to play? And who would complete our dream TBT lineup.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

What is this “watch page”?This page is an example of the new “watch pages” we are posting here on our Substack for new episodes of The Assembly Call and Doing The Work.

The goal is to make sure you have everything in one easy place to watch, comment, and share.

We’ll typically pin these posts to our homepage around the time the shows go live, so you can always just go to assemblycall.com if you want to quickly find the live page.

This week’s showOn mic this week: Jerod, Andy, and Ryan

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to to see a replay of the ChatMob alongside the show.)

Thank you to our sponsorsWe appreciate the support of our sponsors who help make our continued coverage of Indiana basketball possible.

Presenting sponsor: Homefield Apparel (promo code HOME23 for 15% off your first order)
Promotional partner for Meaningful Moment: Hoosier Ticket Project
Promotional partner for Inside the Numbers: Megan Mahaffey’s JacksonHewitt franchise locations in and around Bloomington
Game Ball sponsor: Bloomington Environmental (mention Assembly Call for a free radon test kit and mitigation estimate)
Hoosier Hustle Award sponsor: Security Pro 24/7 (formerly Evansville Security Services)

Subscribe to The Assembly CallSubscribe to The Assembly Call podcast for free at any of the following places:

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Search for “assembly call” wherever you listen to podcasts. If you don’t find us, email Jerod.

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On this edition of Xs & Joes, Bob and Mike turn their attention to the transfer portal. They discuss some misconceptions and myths, how it’s impacting the Sweet Spot, what we’re learning about the best way to balance portal recruiting and high school recruiting, and much more.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Segment 1: Why Would a Kid Want to Leave “My School”?1. Misconceptions and Myths- Things Aren’t Always What They Appear To Be 2. Current State of The Portal in Summer 2024- Overviews of Where Things Are 3. Applying Metrics to Players To Estimate Impact- We’re Going to Talk BPM (Slides 1-2) 4. And more.

Segment 2: What are some of the early findings with the Portal? 1. How is The Portal impacting the “Sweet Spot”? (Slides 3-4) 2. When is The Portal a proactive choice or a reactive decision? (Slide 5) 3. What is the best path for an incoming coach? (Slide 5)

Download slides:

Portal Vs Hs And Ss336KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownloadSegment 3 and Wrap Up* Summer Deeper Digs: How Can You Help? * Plus, More Fun Stuff Coming…

The YouTube video is below, and you can listen to the audio wherever podcasts are available.

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Here is an updated look at the IU Women’s roster over the next few years with scholarships and/or verbal commitments. Will update as we get information. I will say this, even though the NCAA allows women’s basketball 15 scholarships, going back the last few years, Coach Moren and staff have not used all the available scholarships.

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IU’s home field Bart Kaufman After Indiana’s 2019 Big Ten Championship

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Where Indiana Baseball Stands Currently After Winning Rutgers SeriesWith March Madness and life events keeping me from IU baseball coverage for just over a month, this weekend’s series against Rutgers will be as much of a catch-up on where the squad is at as recapping the series. The Hoosiers currently sit at 25-18-1 and 10-5 in the Big Ten with an RPI in the 70s. That is well out of contention at the moment for a second straight NCAA Tournament following 8-3, 12-6, and 18-6 victories for a sweep against the Scarlet Knights. While this weekend’s result is a good start, much more work needs to be done.

IU outfielder Mick Mitchell who has had a good year at the plate after transferring from Western Illinois, said the team understands they are in must-win situations with the recent turnaround.

“Every game is super important right now,” Mitchell said. “We are going into every game knowing it is the biggest game of the year.”

The Hoosiers do have several really good quad-one victories. However, with a double- digit number of quad-three and four losses their metrics are not near a resume worthy of playing June baseball. With just 11 games left, the Cream and Crimson’s best chance of playing beyond the conference tournament is to win it and get the automatic bid. Only the top eight of the league’s 13 (Wisconsin doesn’t field baseball) competitors make it. However, Indiana sits in a good position here, as they are multiple games clear of ninth place and clustered with several squads fighting for second through eighth place.

While 2024 had not gone as well as planned early, IU has played better of late and is worth a watch now. Ultimately how they finish, will determine how close they come to meeting preseason expectations.

Hoosiers Have Improved Since Early In The Year But Are Having A Down Season Relative To Expectations At The Worst Possible Time For Interest. IU was expected to compete for a Big Ten Title and easily make the NCAA Tournament after last year’s 43-20 season with most players back. However, early season struggles have made expectations come up way short to this point as described above.

It has also come at the worst possible time for fan interest and media attention. With a high number of professional and college sports in and near Indiana during the spring, the program has to compete for attention from several angles.

For the last decade and especially recently, they have been the most successful sports team in the state making it easy for Hoosier Nation to pay attention to baseball while other squads have struggled. However, that is now changing with different options for local sports that have suddenly become successful.

Whether it be the Indiana Pacers’ playoff run, the sudden interest with the Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark, strong starts from local MLB teams, or even IU Softball making a push for a second straight postseason appearance (although they had a rougher than expected weekend against Wisconsin), plenty of solid sports viewing options are present in the region now. While not all of these squads reside in Bloomington or even within the state’s borders, they do share many of the same fans who follow the city and university sports teams.

As a result, the Hoosier Boys on the Diamond have had a much rougher-than-expected spring at the worst possible time for media coverage and fan interest. While it has gotten better recently, it is quite possible many fans have moved on to the other sports options above given their hype and success, and may not give this squad another look until the postseason if at all.

While the weather has not been the best always, crowds that have regularly exceeded 2,000 in the past, did not have a single game hit that mark until this weekend when Saturday’s crowd barely past it. While mother nature has played a role in that also, the less-than-expected winning likely has as well.

The Hoosiers Gave Up Too Many Big Hits To Their Opponents in 0-2 and 1-2 Counts Early But It Has ImprovedThe main reason for the underachievement is the pitching as described here. While the issues on the mound have come from multiple angles, maybe the biggest catalyst had been not putting batters away when getting ahead of them.

Indiana has had an inordinate amount of home runs and hard hits given up on 0-2 and 1-2 counts. As the Hoosiers have improved in this area so have the results. The question is whether it has come too late to make anything out of this spring with a very tough schedule remaining. Only time will tell.

IU coach Jeff Mercer said inexperience early on is the reason for this issue happening early.

“I think you have guys in positions that weren’t expected to be in that position,” Mercer said. “A lot of times you overthrow. If I say don’t think about pink elephants the first thing you think about is pink elephants. I am in an 0-2 count and don’t hang me a slider and the first thing you do is hang the hell out of that slider. Execution early was a thing for us where we were soft in the middle”

However, he said as the players on the bump have gotten more experience, the problem has improved.

“Those guys have been in those situations and got their butt kicked and got toughened up,” he said. “You get back in there and do it again and again. You don’t want to hit a guy but you might. It is better than leaving a pitch over the middle of the plate.”

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

The final major roster pieces committed for both the men’s and women’s teams this week. Each squad got the sharpshooter they desperately needed while the women also added a post player.

Besides this, former Hoosiers in the NBA Playoffs, Inside The Hall’s player recap, and weekly shows. We will as usual conclude with a look at other Indiana sports led by a huge week from the IU golfers.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what’s in this week’s edition:

Goode Commits and Roster Updates
Striplin and Ciezki Commit To Women
Hoosiers In NBA Playoffs
Inside The Hall’s That’s A Wrap Series
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Women’s Golf Wins Big Ten Championship

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: Goode Commits and Roster UpdatesThe roster for next season is now nearly complete with 11 of the 13 scholarships accounted for. The biggest news by far was the commitment from Illinois sharpshooter and Indiana native Luke Goode after visiting campus earlier this week. While Goode is likely to play off the bench and averaged only 5.7 points per game in 2023-2024, he provides the much-needed threat from downtown IU has lacked, as he is a nearly 40% three-point shooter. This role is similar to former Hoosier Nick Zeisloft who was the final piece of the last Big Ten championship team in 2015-2016.

Also while this news was already known, IU made the signings of Kanaan Carlyle and Myles Rice official this week, and Inside the Hall had a column about the additions. In terms of outgoing Hoosiers, Kaleb Banks, CJ Gunn, and Peyton Sparks have all found new homes after entering the portal. Banks heads to Tulane, Gunn to DePaul, and Sparks back to Ball State.

Finally, former Florida Gulf Coast guard Zach Anderson visited last weekend. However, he appears to have ultimately decided against coming to Bloomington which is why the team turned to Goode.

Banner #2: Striplin and Ciezki Commit To WomenWith eligibility expiring for IU stars Mackenzie Holmes and Sara Scalia, reinforcements were needed for their minutes in 2024-2025. While Holmes has an obvious replacement in her backup Lily Meister, the team still needed another post player. This was achieved this week with the addition of Karoline Striplin from Tennessee. Striplin started part-time as a Lady Vol and averaged just over seven points a game.

However, the bigger pickup by far is Shay Ciezki. Before she announced for the Hoosiers this week, Indiana had no obvious replacement for Scalia at shooting guard in the starting lineup. With the addition of Ciezki, the team now has another knockdown shooter who will contribute immediately after averaging double figures for two seasons at Penn State. She is also nearly 40% from downtown, which will once again give the Cream and Crimson four elite shooters with the return of Yarden Garzon, Chloe Moore-McNeil, and Sydney Parrish to surround Meister.

With the roster nearly set, the athletic department put season tickets on sale for next season. They cost $112 per person for the year in reserved seating and $96 in general admission which will once again include the court, the upper parts of the main level, and the entire balcony.

Banner #3: Hoosiers In NBA PlayoffsThe NBA year is winding down with the beginning of the playoffs. Four former Hoosiers remain in the postseason in 2024 including OG Anunoby, Thomas Bryant, Eric Gordon, and Cody Zeller.

Anunoby’s New York Knicks secured the two seed in the eastern conference and lead the Philadelphia 76ers 2-1 in their series with Anunoby scoring in double figures all three games. Meanwhile, the other three players are decisive underdogs as Bryant’s Miami Heat and the New Orleans Pelican’s Zeller were the final teams to make the field in their conferences. They are taking on the top-seeded Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder respectively. The Heat trail their series 2-1, with Bryant making his first appearance in game 3 with 2 points in six minutes. Meanwhile, Zeller’s Pelicans are down 3-0 and he has yet to make an appearance in the series.

Finally, Gordon’s sixth-seeded Suns are taking on the third-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves and trail 3-0 as well. However, Gordon is not the reason for the struggles as he has scored in double figures in the last two games of the series.

Also, while they have no IU players currently, playoff basketball has returned to Indiana as the Pacers and Tyrese Haliburton lead the Bucks 2-1 in their series. Haliburton hit the game-winning floater in the final seconds of overtime in what was a thrilling game three.

Banner #4: Inside The Hall’s That’s A Wrap Series With 2023-2024 now over, Inside The Hall continued a series looking at all of the IU players and their contributions from last season. This week featured Gunn, Trey Galloway, Anthony Leal, Sparks, and Anthony Walker.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsPodcast on the Brink and The Back Home Network had several new shows in the last few days. POTB had The Sporting News’ Mike DeCourcy on to recap IU’s offseason to this point.

Meanwhile, Assembly Call had a special edition show to discuss the addition of Carlyle. Finally, TBH has a podcast called Right Up Meridian that discusses the Pacers with Tony Adragna and Scott Caulfield. They were on-air twice this week as they chatted about the ongoing series with the Bucks.

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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Women’s Golf Wins Big Ten Championship* Women’s golf won their first Big Ten Championship since 1998 and will head to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019. * Men’s golf won a tournament at Ohio State. * Baseball topped Minnesota last weekend to win that series and took the first two games from Rutgers this weekend. However, they settled for a tie against Ball State in a game that was called in extra innings for darkness as the Cardinal’s Stadium in Muncie has no lights. * Softball completed the sweep of Iowa last weekend and dominated hapless Butler during their midweek contest. However, a split at home so far this weekend against struggling Wisconsin, puts a bad loss on the resume for a squad right on the NCAA Tournament bubble. * Men’s tennis fell to Illinois and Michigan State this week to close their season. * Women’s tennis fell to Nebraska as their 2024 spring came to an end. * Water polo lost to Stanford but came back with a win over San Jose State. * Rowing won the Dale England Cup. * Track and field competed at Texas and Indiana State. * Volleyball will hold media day in Chicago this summer. * Swimming and diving had several academic All-Americans.

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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The newest addition to the IU women’s roster happened Thursday evening when former Penn State guard, Shay Ciezki (pronounced (Ches-kee), announced her commitment to the Hoosiers from the transfer portal. She will come to IU with 2 seasons of eligibility left. Ciezki was the number 56 recruit coming out of high school by ESPN.

On paper, she ap…

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No sooner than I posted that the Hoosiers had been pretty silent in the transfer portal than the news broke that former University of Tennessee Lady Vol, Karoline Striplin, committed to the Hoosiers.

Striplin will come to Bloomington with one season of eligibility left. She will provide depth at the center behind expected starter, Lilly Meister,…

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Photo lifted from Trey Galloway’s Twitter accountEvery year around this time, two things start to happen in unison:

College basketball writers across the country start posting their frequently updated offseason rankings.
A chorus of IU fans dismiss the rankings as meaningless.

This cycle continues all the way up until the official AP preseason poll gets published before the new season tips off.

My response to this is always the same:

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No, preseason rankings don’t mean anything concrete — in the sense that any individual team can over- or under-perform their ranking to an extreme degree. We see a few examples of this every season, and we’ve seen it with IU (more on this below).

But the rankings themselves do matter for two reasons:

Over time, in aggregate, preseason (and offseason) rankings have tended to be fairly good predictors of the overall talent level of a roster, which tends to be the largest predictor of whether that team will have a successful season or not.
It’s better for your program’s reputation in both a micro and macro sense to be anchored to high preseason rankings as opposed to low ones. The natural bias of rankers, analysts, and fans alike is to give more benefit of the doubt to teams that start ranked higher, in large part because of what I explained in #1.

Now … what if we zoom in on Indiana?

The troubled recent history of Indiana’s preseason rankings and actual performanceWhen you look specifically at Indiana’s recent history of preseason rankings and actual results, two trends emerge:

When it comes to making the NCAA Tournament, Indiana rarely makes it without being a top-30 team in the preseason. (I’m guessing you could say this about many schools.)
However, good preseason rankings have not been a reliable predictor of a successful season for IU … which is a big reason why Indiana has had three coaches since its last Sweet 16 appearance.

Below is a table showing Indiana’s preseason and final rankings in KenPom and the AP poll, plus each season’s tournament outcome, since 2011.

Note: I stopped at 2011 because that’s when KenPom stops showing preseason rankings, and it’s when the AP poll archive stops showing “Others Receiving Votes.” Between 2002 and 2010, Indiana only appeared in the AP preseason poll four times and the AP final poll twice. Yeah, we’ve been in the wilderness for a while.

What are the key takeaways from this table? Here is what I take away from it:

On average, Indiana has underperformed its preseason KenPom rankings by almost 12 spots. There are nine season of underperformance, two seasons of equal performance, and three seasons of over-performance (but only one since 2012).
Indiana has reached the NCAA Tournament six times since 2011. In five of those seasons, Indiana was ranked 30th or better in the KenPom preseason rankings. In four of those seasons, Indiana was ranked or receiving votes in the AP poll. The outlier, again, was that magical 2012 season when Indiana blew past expectations.
There have been four instances of an Indiana team missing the NCAA Tournament despite being ranked 27th or better in the KenPom preseason projections or 30th or better in the AP poll.
Since 2013, Indiana has outperformed preseason expectations just once: in 2016, by two spots in KenPom and one spot in the AP poll.
In Tom Crean’s final seven seasons at IU, his teams underperformed their preseason KenPom ranking just three times, but the underperformances were by an average of 29.3 spots.
In Archie Miller’s four seasons at IU, his teams underperformed their preseason KenPom ranking three times, with an average underperformance of 18.3 spots.
Each of Mike Woodson’s three Indiana teams have underperformed their preseason KenPom rankings, with an average underperformance of 25.7.
Overall, since 2017, Indiana has not over-performed its preseason expectation even one time. The average underperformance has been by 20 spots.

So, umm … yikes!

If any non-IU fan is reading this, and wants some insight into the fragile psyche of the fan base at large, this table tells a pretty compelling story.

The last 13 seasons, plus most of the decade prior to that, have produced very few significant high-water marks — mainly the Big Ten titles in 2013 and 2016.

Instead, Indiana basketball has mostly been defined by expectations of good or great seasons that have often delivered poor or merely satisfactory results.

Which brings us to the latest offseason rankings circulating in the wake of Indiana’s impressive April on the recruiting trail.

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What to make of Indiana’s optimistic offseason rankings?Here is a quick sampling:

ESPN’s Jeff Borzello: 16th
CBS’ Gary Parrish: 20th
Jon Rothstein: 20th

There are others, but most have Indiana somewhere in this neighborhood … which is similar to where the Hoosiers were ranked in the preseason in 2023 (4 seed), 2017 (no tournament), and 2016 (Big Ten title and Sweet 16).

Assuming Indiana lands Luke Goode and a decent backup big, which should solidify or even slightly embolden these top-20 rankings, there are two ways to view it based on the historical precedence:

1. When Indiana is perceived to have top-20 talent, the season usually ends up pretty good.

When you include the 2013 season, in which IU was preseason #3 in KenPom and preseason #1 in the AP poll, Indiana has been a consensus top-20 team four times. Those seasons resulted in:

2013: Big Ten Title and Sweet 16
2016: Big Ten Title and Sweet 16
2017: NIT loss and coach fired
2023: Top-4 Big Ten finish and Round of 32

Those aren’t Blue Blood-level results, but they do represent the high-water marks for IU since 2002.

The big exception is that 2017 season, which started off like gangbusters (wins over Kansas and UNC, a top-5 ranking) only to fall of a cliff.

While there were so early warning signs, the massive drop-off occurred mostly because of OG Anunoby’s season-ending injury and Tom Crean’s inability to guide that still-talented roster through choppy February waters.

2. If Year 4 of the Mike Woodson Era is at all similar to years 1-3 in terms of underperformance, Indiana will not reach the heights of its preseason ranking ... but might still get back to the tournament.

There is no denying the facts that Indiana has underperformed its preseason rankings all three seasons under Mike Woodson.

And while it’s worth nothing that even an underperformance from a top-20 ranking can still result in a very good season (like 2023), that’s not the kind of success that IU fans have been longing for since 2002 — when the Hoosiers were ranked #22 in the preseason AP poll and went on to share a Big Ten title and make it to the national championship game.

It’s also fair to note that three seasons for a coach, even in this era, is still an incomplete sample size. Given given that Woody has faced significant injury and roster construction issues in two of his three seasons at IU, there is legitimate hope that, with good health, this could finally be the roster that Woody is able to guide to the heights of IU fans’ hopes and his own championship-laced rhetoric.

Final ThoughtSo, back to the original question of this piece: do preseason rankings matter?

On the one hand, yes, because every significant success of the last 25 years (save one) has been preceded by a preseason ranking of at least top-20.

But on the other hand, no, because there are also a handful of examples of top-30ish preseason rankings resulting in unsuccessful seasons, two of which resulted in coaching changes.

Personally, after a season in which IU opened at 50 and plummeted all the way down to 91 by season’s end, I’m choosing to focus on the “YES” part of this answer because it represents an important momentum shift for IU basketball under Mike Woodson.

And with what I think is the most talented and well-constructed roster IU has had since at least 2016, I find myself more and more willing to viscerally indulge in the optimism that this season will be closer to 2023 and 2016 than 2021 and 2017.

What do you think?
How are you processing the optimistic offseason rankings for IU’s rebuilt roster?
Do you have any other takeaways from the results presented in the table?

Comment below!

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Here at Doing The Work, we have been getting questions about IU’s activity in the transfer portal, and all we can really say is this — we honestly don’t know. This program under Head Coach Teri Moren and staff has been very good at keeping their cards close to the vest. They don’t give much information until they are ready. We have seen this wit…

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It is no secret that foul troubles have plagued Malik Reneau in his first two seasons at Indiana.

In his freshman campaign, Reneau fouled 6.8 times per 40 minutes. As you’re likely aware, you can only foul five times per 40 minutes before you are disqualified from the game.

Reneau’s sophomore year, while better from a fouling perspective, was still at a higher rate than he or Mike Woodson would have liked. He committed 4.3 fouls per 40 minutes, with some early improvements reverting back toward the end of the season.

When projecting minutes distributions for the 2024-25 roster, many fans have noted that Malik’s fouling issues must play a factor.

While I don’t necessarily disagree, I wanted to look at the film to see all of the fouls Reneau committed and if there are easy things he can clean up — or if he’s just destined for another season of fouling too much.

Trigger warning: there are 95 fouls in the videos below.

Charge AttemptsStarting with the lowest volume of ‘foul type,’ Malik committed four fouls this past season attempting to draw a charge from an offensive player.

In these instances, Malik was typically too late to get to the spot and instead of drawing the charge, he got a blocking foul.

In situations like this, while I’m sure his coaches and teammates appreciate the effort, I think Reneau has to understand his value of being on the floor and let plays like these go.

Off the DribbleBecause Malik often plays the ‘4’ for Indiana, he’s tasked with guarding guys who can put the ball on the floor to get to the rim.

This was an area where Reneau really struggled last season, as his initial reaction on drives is to put his hands on the driver, which is an automatic foul.

When he gets beat off the dribble, he also attempts to overcompensate and try to block the shot, which almost never works in his favor.

Being paired with Oumar Ballo, Reneau will again be tasked with guarding stretch-4 types that can put the ball on the floor. This offseason, a big part of his development will be learning to guard these types without using his hands. Malik committed 17 of these fouls last season, so even cutting them in half would be a big win and help keep him on the floor.

CutsSometimes on the defensive end, Reneau would get caught being half a step slow in jumping to the ball and would get beat on a cut by the guy he was guarding. Some of these situations in which he was screened probably called for help from a teammate, but it’s impossible to know Indiana’s coverages on those plays without being in the locker room.

Even still, it’s another situation where Malik would get beat and then overcompensate by trying to block shots instead of just staying on his feet to contest.

Now let’s look at five additional foul types that have really plagued Malik: offensive fouls, help defense, blockouts/rebounds, post defense … and the dreaded frustration/silly fouls.

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Myles Rice and Kanaan Carlyle (vis @AdamHoward on Twitter)One of the fun parts about the college basketball offseason — especially these days, with so much roster movement — is playing around with lineup combinations as new pieces are added to the roster.

This is an especially fun and cathartic activity coming off a season in which your team didn’t sniff the NCAA Tournament thanks to a number of factors — notably among them injuries and a lack of player development, which highlighted roster construction issues — that left Mike Woodson without many trusted lineup options last season.

But as we sit here on April 24th, with everyone expected to be healthy for November and everything still very theoretical and on paper, it appears the roster Mike Woodson and his staff are building for next season will have a number of options for how it can play.

Here are some of my favorite ones to think about …

Last year’s starters … with solid point guard play* Rice
Galloway
Mgbako
Reneau
Ballo

Here is a stat that continues to surprise people:

According to the lineup rankings at EvanMiya.com, among five-man lineups that played at least 300 possessions together, Indiana’s regular starting five of Cupps / Galloway / Mgbako / Reneau / Ware was ranked #20 overall in the country in efficiency margin.

That is truly incredible given how overmatched Cupps seemed at times, despite his best efforts and some discernible growth toward the end of the season. Using Evan Miya’s BPR, which attempts to compute an individual player’s overall impact on his team, Cupps was a -0.28. (For comparison’s sake, Xavier Johnson delivered his career-low BPR last season of 2.25.)

Enter: Myles Rice.

The Pac-12 Freshman of the Year delivered a BPR of 3.65 last season for Washington State. Given that most players experience their biggest productivity and efficiency jumps between their freshman and sophomore seasons, it’s fair to expect Rice’s BPR to be even higher this season.

The other difference will be swapping Ballo in for Kel’el Ware.

Ware was Indiana’s most productive and important player last season, by both the eye test and the metrics. His BPR was 5.10. Now check Ballo’s at Arizona. His BPR last season was 6.36. The year prior it was 5.22. So barring something unforeseen, Indiana should also get more production out of the center spot than even the high level Ware delivered last season.

Mix in an expected sophomore jump from Mackenzie Mgbako, plus just moderate improvement from Reneau and Galloway, and even with the questions about shooting and defense it’s fairly easy to project this as one of the most efficient lineups in the country.

And if this is your starting lineup, that means you have a guy like Kanaan Carlyle coming off the bench to provide scoring punch against second units, which would be quite the upgrade over last season.

Speaking of Carlyle …

New starters … with Galloway as the 6th man* Rice
Carlyle
Mgbako
Reneau
Ballo

We can’t know what Mike Woodson will do with his starting lineup, because I’m guessing Mike Woodson doesn’t even know yet what he’s going to do with his starting lineup.

But my guess is that Rice, Mgbako, Reneau, and Ballo will be starting, with that fifth spot going to either Galloway or Kanaan Carlyle, who officially signed with IU today after transferring from Stanford.

We broke down Carlyle’s game on yesterday’s edition of The Assembly Call.

Carlyle’s overall freshman numbers don’t jump off the page, but his freshman season needs a lot of context to fully evaluate. He showed the ceiling of an elite scorer and was efficient on catch-and-shoot opportunities (more efficient, in fact, than even Luke Goode). He also has some ability as a secondary creator.

To put it into a context many IU fans will understand, the statistical profile from Carlyle’s freshman season is very similar to Jalen Hood-Schifino’s.

Putting Carlyle in this lineup gives you a more reliable outside shooter than Galloway. And if Malik Reneau can continue to develop his face-up game to pull his defender a little farther away from the paint, there is some real potential here to put defenses in a bind running pick and rolls between Rice and Ballo, with two shooters the defense has to respect on the wings, plus Reneau ready to feast on a one-on-one matchup.

Again, there are some questions here defensively, and you have to believe in the shooting development of Carlyle and Mgbako (which I think there is plenty of reason to do), but this lineup projects to have so much more dynamism that almost any lineup we’ve seen at IU since 2016. Any development from Malik as a scorer away from the basket will make it even tougher to handle.

Plus you have the added bonus of Galloway returning to his role as energy guy off the bench, who could still close games in the second half.

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Okay, those are the two easy lineups to project. Both of them are fun and full of potential.

Now let’s dig into some other combinations that we surely won’t see that often, but that could theoretically be used to great effect in the right matchup.

Note: for purposes of this discussion, I am projecting Luke Goode to eventually commit to IU. As you may have seen, he’s taking an official visit to IU on Thursday and Friday of this week.

Even if the Goode recruitment unexpectedly falls through for some reason, it appears Indiana is committed to finding a player who fits his profile for the bench. I just don’t think they’ll find one who is a better or more proven fit than Goode, so hopefully he commits on his visit.

If Goode does commit elsewhere, I think you could sub Anthony Leal into the lineups below where I have Goode and reasonably expect 80-85% of the impact. Goode’s BPR last season was 3.09 in an elite offense; Leal’s was 1.46 playing through Indiana’s struggles.

The Catch-and-Shoot Lineup* Rice
Carlyle
Mgbako
Goode
Reneau/Ballo

It’s been rare to see Indiana have three legitimate shooters on the floor together in recent seasons. This lineup would have it.

Here are the catch-and-shoot numbers for the “shooters” in this group:

Carlyle: 1.19 points per shot on 53 attempts (59.4% eFG)
Mgbako: 1.01 points per shot on 145 attempts (50.7% eFG) — and this number goes way up if you remove his awful shooting during non-conference play.
Goode: 1.15 points per shot on 133 attempts (57.5% eFG)

And Reneau isn’t half bad either, clocking in at 1.02 points per shot on 44 attempts (51.1% eFG).

Think about how Nebraska spreads the floor with credible shooters, then has open lanes for driving and cutting. You could envision something similar here for IU, with the added bonus of an efficient post player who can go punish a mismatch on the block.

Again, defensive and rebounding concerns abound with Ballo and Galloway off the court. That’s why this would be a situational lineup. But given that Reneau, Goode, and Mgbako all are at least 6’7 and have defensive rebounding percentages of at least 12.2% (plus Rice and Carlyle were both about 9% as freshmen), you could get away with it, and perhaps even dominate with it, if the offense is clicking and shots are falling.

If Reneau doesn’t improve his shooting, Ballo might be a better fit with this group because he is better in ball screens. Rice/Ballo ball screens with three reliable shooters around the perimeter will be a bear to defend.

The Multi-Attacker Lineup* Rice
Carlyle
Galloway
Mgbako
Ballo

This lineup drops Mgbako down the four and runs with three guards who can all score, create, and spot-up to varying degrees of above average.

The reason why Ballo fits better than Reneau in this lineup is because of his ball screen ability. Reneau has not been very effective as the roll man in PnRs, but Ballo has been. With Mgbako on the wing, and any of Rice, Carlyle, or Galloway able to run a PnR with Ballo while the others spot up, this lineup can attack you from anywhere.

The weakness here is that Rice wasn’t great in catch-and-shoot opportunities, and Galloway’s shooting has been all over the map. But if you assume one of those two runs most of the PnRs, with Carlyle and Mgbako flanking on the wings, it’s a lot for a defense to handle.

On the other end, Mgbako and Ballo need to be able to handle the opposing 4 and 5 and clean the glass, while Rice, Carlyle, and Galloway offer a switchable trio on the perimeter. Because of the offense/defense balance here, I wouldn’t be shocked if this 5-man group ends up having the highest efficiency margin of any 5-man lineup for IU next season.

The New and Improved All-Bench LineupI know, I know. Most of us don’t support Mike Woodson’s recurring early-season strategy of playing lineups comprised of all bench players.

Bench players tend to be bench players for a reason, so playing them all together can highlight the individual weaknesses of each player and lead to periods of inefficient play that might not cost Indiana games but do hurt in the metrics — which legitimately matter in college hoops, whether any of us like it or not.

But if we are to assume that this strategy will continue for the fourth straight season, I at least want the all-bench lineups to make more basketball sense than the ones we saw last season.

And this season’s roster is shaping up to make that a possibility.

Cupps
Carlyle/Galloway
Tucker
Goode
Backup Big

There are several potential iterations of this group, depending on who starts and what Mike Woodson does with Cupps. I tend to think Cupps will be given a chance to run the second unit, paired with either Carlyle or Galloway.

Either way, what makes this unit fun is the Tucker/Goode combo at the 3/4. Goode offers reliable shooting and a veteran presence who pairs nicely with Tucker’s length, athleticism, and inexperienced talent. It’s tough to know what to expect from Tucker as a freshman, but I don’t think his outside shot projects particularly well right away. So he’ll do more of his scoring in the midrange, on cuts, and in transition. He’ll also need some help defensively.

This lineup has some transition ability, and also is theoretically switchable defensively 2-4. We’ll have to see what backup big the Hoosiers bring in. Perhaps that guy adds some shooting; but at a minimum, IU just needs reliable rim protection and rebounding from that spot.

Leal could obviously function in this lineup as well, but he’s a little redundant with Goode.

The wild card is Jakai Newton. Despite remaining very bullish on Jakai’s future, I’m going into this season expecting very little from him due to the fact that he’s missed most of the last two seasons of competitive basketball. But he has the potential to be a dynamic member of the bench unit whenever his body and skills get up to speed with the college game.

The bottom line is that Indiana is projecting to have a nice mix of experience, proven production, and interesting young potential on its bench. That should make the bench minutes more productive than last season’s, no matter how Woody chooses to distribute them.

And here is one more fun combo that you wouldn’t want over-exposed, but could succeed in the right matchup …

Bonus: The Ultimate Shooting Lineup* Rice * Carlyle * Galloway * Mgbako * Goode

That’s three strong catch-and-shoot guys, two proven creators, and a couple of undersized players at the 4 and 5 who have at least proven an ability to get tough rebounds.

If you’re losing and need to start firing up 3s to come back, and the opposition doesn’t have an on-the-block 5, this lineup could work in a pinch. And if Reneau becomes a reliable 3-point shooter, you could swap him in for Galloway and not give up quite as much on the glass or defending the post.

Final ThoughtI’m sure this is a topic we’ll revisit often as the move through offseason.

Any way you look at it, even if you are viewing Indiana’s offseason roster rebuild through a skeptical eye, there is going to be more raw talent and proven ability on this year’s roster than last year’s. That alone will raise the floor for Indiana basketball, with a legit ceiling there to be had if all the pieces come together.

We’ll have to wait many months to start seeing if that will happen. But I don’t think we need to wait to discuss some of the potential combinations we’ll see on the court, and the more entertaining style of play they should bring to Assembly Hall.

Hopefully there will be a lot more winning too, because ultimately that’s all that really matters.

Now over to you …

Which lineup described above are you most excited about?
Which lineup not listed here are you interested to see?
What piece do you think IU is missing that could unlock another lineup archetype you’d be interested in seeing?

Leave a comment

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Join Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna on Tuesday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. ET for this special edition episode of The Assembly Call, wherein we will break down the official commitment of Kanaan Carlyle, who is transferring to IU from Stanford.

We’ll discuss:

What he brings to Indiana in terms of strengths and weaknesses
His fit alongside Myles Rice and Trey Galloway
How to contextualize his freshman numbers from Stanford.
And more.

Plus, we'll touch on some of the bench shooters Indiana has been in contact with and step back to take an overview look at how the roster is shaping up.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to to see a replay of the ChatMob alongside the show.)

Thank you to our sponsorsWe appreciate the support of our sponsors who help make our continued coverage of Indiana basketball possible.

Presenting sponsor: Homefield Apparel (promo code HOME23 for 15% off your first order)
Promotional partner for Meaningful Moment: Hoosier Ticket Project
Promotional partner for Inside the Numbers: Megan Mahaffey’s JacksonHewitt franchise locations in and around Bloomington
Game Ball sponsor: Bloomington Environmental (mention Assembly Call for a free radon test kit and mitigation estimate)
Hoosier Hustle Award sponsor: Security Pro 24/7 (formerly Evansville Security Services)

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

Another week and more big-time commitments for IU basketball. This time two of the top players in the portal committed to coming to Bloomington.

Besides this, Mackenzie Holmes has been drafted, former Hoosiers in the NBA Playoffs, Inside The Hall’s player recap, and weekly shows. We will as usual conclude with a look at other Indiana sports led by Little 5 and the football spring game.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what’s in this week’s edition:

Ballo and Carlyle Commit
Holmes Drafted By Seattle Storm
Hoosiers In NBA Playoffs
Inside The Hall’s That’s A Wrap Series
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Little 5 And Spring Football

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: Ballo and Carlyle Commit The roster for next season continues to take shape. The biggest news by far was a commitment from Arizona center Oumar Ballo who is thought of as the top player in the transfer portal. Ballo averaged a double-double last season and figures to be the next elite big man on IU’s roster following Kel’el Ware and Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Also pledging to Indiana this week was Stanford guard Kanaan Carlyle who is currently on a visit to campus. During his time in Bloomington on Saturday, Carlyle made it official. He will bring his double-figure scoring average from the west coast to his new home.

With Ballo and Carlyle in the fold, 10 of the 13 roster spots are now full with Indiana officially announcing the addition of 5-star freshman Bryson Tucker as well. How IU might fill the final spots remains up in the air. Inside The Hall took a look at who the Hoosiers are targeting. This includes Evansville’s Ben Humrichous, Wisconsin’s Connor Essegian, and Grace College’s Elijah Malone, among others.

Banner #2: Holmes Drafted By Seattle Storm Despite knee surgery keeping her out for next year, IU star and First Team All-American Mackenzie Holmes became the third straight Hoosier drafted into the WNBA. She joins current assistant coach Ali Patberg and the Indiana Fever’s Grace Berger as players taken in the last three seasons.

Speaking of the Fever, they will now be at the center of the women’s basketball world with the drafting of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark. While her team was the arch-rival of IU and many of their fans the last few years, she now becomes an ally within the state of Indiana by teaming up with Berger in Indianapolis for their pro careers.

Banner #3: Hoosiers In NBA PlayoffsWhile the WNBA season will get underway next month, the NBA year is winding down with the beginning of the playoffs. Five former Hoosiers made the postseason in 2024 including OG Anunoby, Thomas Bryant, Eric Gordon, Trayce Jackson-Davis, and Cody Zeller.

Jackson Davis’ Golden State Warriors were eliminated already in the play-in round. However, the other four remain alive. Anunoby’s New York Knicks secured the two seed in the eastern conference and will take on the Philadelphia 76ers. Meanwhile, the other three will be decisive underdogs as Bryant’s Miami Heat and the New Orleans Pelican’s Zeller were the final teams to make the field in their conferences. They will take on the top-seeded Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder respectively.

Finally, Gordon’s sixth-seeded Suns are taking on the third-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves. Also, while they have no IU players currently, playoff basketball will return to Indiana as the Pacers and Tyrese Haliburton made it in for the first time since 2020. They will take on the Milwaukee Bucks and their banged-up superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo in the opening round.

Banner #4: Inside The Hall’s That’s A Wrap Series With 2023-2024 now over, Inside The Hall started a series looking at all of the IU players and their contributions from last season. This week featured Kaleb Banks, Gabe Cupps, Mackenzie Mgbako, Malik Reneau, and Ware.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsPodcast on the Brink and The Back Home Network had several new shows in the last few days. POTB had ITH’s Ryan Corazza on to recap IU’s additions in the transfer portal.

Meanwhile, Assembly Call had their normal Thursday radio program as well as an emergency episode to discuss Ballo’s Commitment. Also, Crimson Cast was on-air three times this week.

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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Little 5 And Spring Football * The annual Little 5 bicycle race took place this weekend. Kappa Alpha Theta came out on top in the women’s race on Friday while the Black Key Bulls emerged victorious for the men on Saturday. * Football had its first spring scrimmage game in several years with the offense beating the defense 34-25. * Softball got back-to-back victories on walk-off home runs against Minnesota and Notre Dame. They also split with arch-rival Purdue and have taken the first two from Iowa in dominant fashion. * Baseball topped Penn State last weekend to win that series and took the first game from Minnesota yesterday. However, they suffered a bad midweek loss to Evansville which was sandwiched in between. * Men’s tennis beat Wisconsin and Northwestern. * Women’s tennis fell to Northwestern and Purdue. * Water polo lost to Stanford but came back with a big win over rival Michigan. * Rowing competed at the Big Ten Invitational. * Women’s golf finished fourth at the Buckeye Invitational. * Track and field competed at Lexington and Wake Forest. * Men’s soccer tied Notre Dame 1-1 in their final exhibition game despite being without several key players. * Finally, Levy’s is taking over the concession stands at IU games.

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

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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Join us for our weekly discussion about Indiana basketball at 9 ET on Thursday evening. We'll roll through some headlines and discuss how the new (and projected) roster pieces fit.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

What is this “watch page”?This page is an example of the new “watch pages” we are posting here on our Substack for new episodes of The Assembly Call and Doing The Work.

The goal is to make sure you have everything in one easy place to watch, comment, and share.

We’ll typically pin these posts to our homepage around the time the shows go live, so you can always just go to assemblycall.com if you want to quickly find the live page.

This week’s showOn mic this week: Jerod, Andy, and Ryan

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to to see a replay of the ChatMob alongside the show.)

Thank you to our sponsorsWe appreciate the support of our sponsors who help make our continued coverage of Indiana basketball possible.

Presenting sponsor: Homefield Apparel (promo code HOME23 for 15% off your first order)
Promotional partner for Meaningful Moment: Hoosier Ticket Project
Promotional partner for Inside the Numbers: Megan Mahaffey’s JacksonHewitt franchise locations in and around Bloomington
Game Ball sponsor: Bloomington Environmental (mention Assembly Call for a free radon test kit and mitigation estimate)
Hoosier Hustle Award sponsor: Security Pro 24/7 (formerly Evansville Security Services)

Subscribe to The Assembly CallSubscribe to The Assembly Call podcast for free at any of the following places:

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Search for “assembly call” wherever you listen to podcasts. If you don’t find us, email Jerod.

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On Tuesday afternoon, Indiana got a commitment from former Arizona center Oumar Ballo -- ranked by 247Sports as the #1 overall transfer portal prospect. Ballo joins Myles Rice and Bryson Tucker in a recruiting class that is giving Indiana fans legitimate hope of a bounce-back season in 2024-25.

In this emergency pod, Jerod Morris is joined by Tony Adragna of IU Film Room, Rick Bozich of WDRB in Louisville, and Alex Bozich of Inside the Hall to break down the Ballo and Rice commitments.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Among the topics discussed:

• Ballo's strengths and weaknesses

• How Ballo fits alongside Malik Reneau both offensively and defensively

• Why concerns about the two-big lineup are legitimate, but a few reasons why they may be a bit overblown in this case

• The strengths and weaknesses that Rice brings to the table

• The impact of improved guard play like what Rice projects to bring

• What else Indiana needs to look for as it continues to shop in the portal

• The impact of NIL on these commitments and the changing landscape of college hoops

And much more.

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to to see a replay of the ChatMob alongside the show.)

Thank you to our sponsorsWe appreciate the support of our sponsors who help make our continued coverage of Indiana basketball possible.

Presenting sponsor: Homefield Apparel (promo code HOME23 for 15% off your first order)
Promotional partner for Meaningful Moment: Hoosier Ticket Project
Promotional partner for Inside the Numbers: Megan Mahaffey’s JacksonHewitt franchise locations in and around Bloomington
Game Ball sponsor: Bloomington Environmental (mention Assembly Call for a free radon test kit and mitigation estimate)
Hoosier Hustle Award sponsor: Security Pro 24/7 (formerly Evansville Security Services)

Subscribe to The Assembly CallSubscribe to The Assembly Call podcast for free at any of the following places:

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Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Art19
Podcast feed RSS
Search for “assembly call” wherever you listen to podcasts. If you don’t find us, email Jerod.

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Last week, Indiana landed its first transfer portal commitment from Myles Rice of Washington State.

If you are still unfamiliar with Rice’s game, put together some video clips of Rice (along with Kanaan Carlyle and Oumar Ballo) in his latest edition of IU Film Room.

Rice was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and led Washington State to an NCAA Tournament berth in his first college season. It doesn’t take much time watching his film or looking at his stats to know this is a commitment worth being excited about. He may not be elite in any one category, but he’s good at everything.

The one fly in the ointment for some IU fans is Rice’s 3-point percentage as a freshman. He shot just 27.5% on the season on 3.75 attempts per game. On its face, that seems like a legitimate concern, especially for a program that has been dragged down by shooting issues for close to a decade now.

However, there are some objective reasons — not just hopeful ones — to simply be all-in with excitement about Rice without worrying too much about the 3-point shooting.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Even good shooters often struggle from 3-point range as freshmanThe biggest reason is the reality that many freshman, even good shooters, struggle with the adjustment to both the speed of college basketball and the longer 3-point line. This is why you see so many players shoot poorly as freshmen before making a big jump as sophomores and continuing to improve thereafter.

Yogi Ferrell is a great example. Even in the shooting-focused culture of Tom Crean’s program and being the 5th option on offense, Yogi shot just 30.3% from 3 as a freshman. That jumped to 40.0% as a sophomore, 41.6% as a junior, and 42.0% as a senior.

And while that’s just one example, you see it across college basketball from top prospects and even lesser-regarded ones. Al Durham shot 28.6% from 3 as a freshman, then up to 34.8% as a sophomore and 38.3% and 38.0% in his final two years at IU.

I could go on and on with examples, but you get the point.

Plus, Rice is a good free throw shooter. He shot 81.1% from the line last season on 127 attempts. That is perhaps the best indicator of all that he has good shooting form, touch, and confidence. It may just take a year to extend out to the 3-point line.

It’s also worth noting that Rice suffered a horrible slump down the stretch last season (0-22), which could possibly have been exacerbated by missing two full seasons of basketball after redshirting and undergoing treatment for cancer. So it behooves IU fans to give Rice another full season before judging his 3-point accuracy.

But banking on a sophomore jump isn’t the only reason to resist panic on Rice’s 3-point percentage. There is also reason to believe that he’ll get cleaner looks in the offense IU is building through returning players and portal additions.

Rice stands to benefit from being part of what projects to be a more balanced offensive attack at IULet’s dig into Rice’s shooting numbers from last season, via Synergy.

Myles Rice took 234 field goal attempts last season that were either catch-and-shoot jumpers or off-the-dribble jumpers. (These can include both 2-point jump shots and 3-point jump shots.)

Here is what his efficiency looked like, starting with catch-and-shoot jumpers.

Overall, Rice went 18-64 on catch-and-shoot jumpers, scoring 0.83 points per shot. That ranked him in the 25th percentile.

Of those 64 catch-and-shoot jumpers, 31 were guarded. He shot just 19.4% on those attempts, scoring 0.58 points per shot. That is a very poor efficiency rate, ranking in the 12th percentile nationally.
The other 33 catch-and-shoot jumpers were unguarded. He shot 36.4% on those attempts, scoring 1.06 points per shot. That is better from an efficiency rate, ranking in the 45th percentile, but still just average.

The other 180 jump shots he took were off the dribble. That was in the 96th percentile nationally in terms of volume. He shot 33.3% on those shots, scoring 0.77 points per shot, which was also in the 45th percentile nationally.

Look, the efficiency is not great here. I can’t argue that. And I understand why people might look at these numbers and get concerned. But what he did at Washington State is only instructive, not predictive. And all we care about is what these numbers might tell us about how he projects at IU in his sophomore season.

So what is the key takeaway here?

When you see a guard taking 77% of his jump shots off the dribble, you know he had the ball in his hands a lot, and was probably tasked with creating for others while not having much created for him.

The numbers back this up.

Washington State had a low team Assist Rate of 45.9% (282nd nationally), and only one player besides Rice had an Assist Rate above 11.1%. So it makes sense why Rice had a shot diet with such a high degree of difficultly — trying to make so many of his shots either off the dribble or guarded. Only 33 of his 234 shots (14%) were clean, unguarded, catch-and-shoot looks, which tend to be the highest efficiency jump shot.

This is one reason I expect Rice’s shooting efficiency to improve. At IU, he will be playing with secondary creators like Trey Galloway and Malik Reneau, plus potentially another dynamic combo guard like Kanaan Carlyle. This will put less of a consistent burden on Rice to take tough shots while likely giving him more opportunities for clean catch-and-shoot looks.

So my advice is to focus on the stats that really matter for a freshman lead guard:

Solid assist rate (22.7%)
Manageable turnover rate (18.1%)
Excellent free throw shooting (81.1%)
Very good finishing rates at the rim (61.3%)
Strong steal rate (2.9%)

Those are outstanding numbers, plus he has the experience of carrying an offense (25.8% usage) that won an NCAA Tournament game. You can’t ask for much more from a freshman point guard. And now he’s ours — with three years of eligibility remaining.

That said, there is one issue I have with Rice’s shooting that I hope will improve as he gains more experience and plays with more talented players.

Myles Rice, Indiana, and the dreading long 2The biggest drag on Rice’s offensive efficiency was his propensity to take long 2 — the most inefficient shot in basketball.

Rice took a whopping 73 long 2s last season, or roughly two per game. That was in the 91st percentile nationally. He shot just 37.0% on those shots, equating to just 0.74 points per possession.

Given the burden Rice carried to Washington State last season, taking some of these shots is understandable. Without having actually watched every game, it’s impossible to know how many of these shots were end-of-shot-clock heaves or bad possession bailouts (which are sometimes unavoidable), and how many were ill-advised shots early in a possession (which are always avoidable).

If Rice can reduce how many of these long 2s he takes, it will boost his overall efficiency on offense. The one potential issue is that this shot is, unfortunately, featured (or at least allowed) in Indiana’s offense.

Last season, Indiana took 136 long 2s, which was in the 96th percentile nationally. IU made just 30.9% of these shots.
Two seasons ago, IU took 175 long 2s, which was in the 97th percentile nationally. The Hoosiers actually made 40.6% of these shots that season, but it was still their most inefficient shot.
Even in Mike Woodson’s first season, IU took 131 long 2s, which was better, but still in the 81st percentile nationally.

So if you’re going to be worried about anything as it pertains to Rice and his shooting, it should be this: the match of a guard who has demonstrated a habit for taking long 2s with a program that either fully embraces the long 2 or, at best, enables a high volume of long 2s. I’ll be paying closer to attention to this than I will Rice’s 3-point shooting, which is fairly easy to predict will improve.

Still, even with this concern about long 2s, landing Myles Rice is unequivocally a home run for Mike Woodson and his staff.

Now we wait to see who else will be surrounding Rice in a rotation that is already shaping up to be more talented and balanced than last season.

Over to you …

What are your favorite elements of Rice’s game?
What is your level of concern about his 3-point and/or long 2 shooting?
What other portal prospects do you think would be good fits next to Rice and the rest of Indiana’s current roster?

Leave a comment

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

With the college basketball season over for everyone now, building a team for 2023-2024 has begun. From an IU perspective, they continue to look to fill their roster for next year and took a huge step towards that this weekend.

Besides this, an update on some recently departed Hoosiers, an NIL event, some news from around the game, and weekly shows. We will as usual conclude with a look at other Indiana sports led by a turnaround week for the softball squad.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what’s in this week’s edition:

Myles Rice Commits and Roster Updates
Departing Hoosiers Update
Hoosiers Connect Hosting Huber’s Event In May
Other College Basketball News
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Softball Gets Back On Track

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: Myles Rice Commits and Roster Updates The roster remains somewhat in flux as the offseason continues. While eight spots are accounted for, Indiana will need to turn to the transfer portal to fill the five open scholarships.

This weekend has several top-flight visitors who could provide a huge help next year. Oumar Ballo (Arizona), Kanaan Carlyle (Stanford), Connor Hickman (Bradley), Pharrel Payne (Minnesota), Myles Rice (Washington State), and Amari Williams (Drexel), are all currently visiting or are scheduled to do so in the coming days.

All of the above players fill much-needed roles for Indiana in some way. Right now Indiana has crystal ball picks for Ballo, Carlyle, and Rice.

Later on Saturday, Rice pulled the trigger for IU filling a much-needed void at guard. Rice averaged nearly 15 points a game for NCAA participant Washington State and figures to play a prominent role in 2024-2025.

Banner #2: Departing Hoosiers UpdateTwo Hoosiers who will not return in 2024-2025 had updates on their future. Kel’el Ware continues to prepare for the upcoming draft this summer and Inside the Hall has a look at where he currently stands.

However, the biggest bombshell of the week came from departing superstar center Mackenzie Holmes who is out of eligibility on the women’s side. Holmes announced she is having surgery on her knee that has bothered her since 9th grade. Despite being arguably the best player in program history, she missed a large chunk of the 2022 Big Ten season with this issue as well as having it flare up during the last two postseasons. Holmes has declared for tomorrow’s WNBA draft with the hope someone will take her and wait until she is available for minutes in the spring of 2025.

Banner #3: Hoosiers Connect Hosting Huber’s Event In May For many years, IU has had a fan event at Huber’s Winery in far Southern Indiana after the season. Once again, the official NIL arm Hoosiers Connect will host the evening on Wednesday, May 29. It starts at 6 pm that night and is $50 a person with tickets available here.

Banner #4: Other College Basketball News The earth shattering news in college basketball this week loosely involves the Hoosiers and overshadowed Monday’s national championship. Indiana and Kentucky had already announced the renewal of their series beginning in the fall of 2025. Some fans wondered if Wildcats head coach John Calipari would be around by the time the game in Bloomington takes place in 2028.

As it turns out, Calipari won’t be around for any of the games as it was announced this week he will take the same position at Arkansas. As for UK, they will turn to former player and BYU headman Mark Pope to lead them.

Despite this breaking news last Sunday night, the final game of the 2024 season still took place with Connecticut taking home their second straight title over the Hoosiers’ arch-rival Purdue. On the women’s side, South Carolina defeated Iowa relatively easily as the Gamecocks toughest matchup in March Madness turned out to be IU in the Sweet 16.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsPodcast on the Brink and The Back Home Network had several new shows in the last few days. POTB had UMHoops’ Dylan Burkhardt on to recap the national championship game among other things.

Meanwhile, Assembly Call had there normal Thursday radio program. Also, Doing The Work had a season recap, X’s and Joe’s took listener questions, and Crimson Cast was on-air three times this week.

Refer a friendDo you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptionsAnd if you want to get really generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Gets Back On Track* Softball has now won five straight contests to get back into postseason contention at 28-12 with their RPI back in the top-50. They defeated Michigan State to complete a sweep and have taken the first two from a solid Minnesota squad at home. Also, their doubleheader with Purdue was rained out for a second time and Sarah Stone received recognition from the Big Ten. * Baseball was unable to complete a sweep at Maryland and split with middling Penn State at home in the first two games of this series. Also, their midweek game against Ball State was rained out and Tyler Cerny and Joey Brenczewski were honored by the conference * Men’s tennis beat Butler but fell to Michigan State and Nebraska. * Women’s tennis fell to Maryland and Illinois. * Water polo beat San Jose State. * Men’s golf won the Hoosier Collegiate and Noah Gillard receive an award from the league * Track and field and cross country announced their recruiting class for next season * Men’s soccer announced the addition of two transfers. * Three football players were honored by the NFF Hampshire Society * Rowing’s varsity eight won boat of the week. * The Student Athletic Board at IU is doing a senior sendoff.

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

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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With the season officially complete, the topic of choice for college basketball fans has shifted to the transfer portal.

For Indiana, the portal is heating up with visits and Crystal Balls — which are official recruiting predictions from 247Sports staff writers.

Side note: I can’t talk about crystal balls and college basketball without mentioning this Bob Knight clip.

Within the past couple of days, Travis Branham of 247 Sports has registered Crystal Balls to IU for:

Myles Rice, G
Kanaan Carlyle, G
Oumar Ballo, C

In today’s film room, we’ll discuss each player and how they would fit in with Indiana if/when they ultimately make their commitment to the Hoosiers.

Myles Rice, G (Washington State)In case you’re curious how I feel about Myles Rice, I tweeted this a few days ago.

Myles Rice is the type of player who can immediately change the dynamic of a team.

As a freshman at Washington State, he averaged 14ppg and 4apg for a tournament team that was seen as overachievers. Rice was a big part of that.

The downside that some fans will see is that Rice was just 27.5% from three — but hold that thought. More on this in a bit.

As the tweet above proclaims, Rice is great at running the show. He makes the right decisions in pick-and-rolls, he’s tremendous in transition, and he has a calm demeanor about him that others feed off of.

Defensively, Rice is a plus defender. That is significant for a Mike Woodson defense. He needs the head of the snake to make an impact defensively and Rice does just that.

Rice is also an inspirational story. He missed the 2022-23 season as he was battling cancer. He beat it and came out in 2023-24 with a tremendous season. He is extremely easy to root for.

Below is a video breakdown of Rice and some of the things he does well that he could bring to IU.

Kanaan Carlyle, G (Stanford)Carlyle, another freshman guard, also has a Crystal Ball in for Indiana.

Carlyle and Rice both are from the Atlanta area and have connections with IU Assistant Coach, Yasir Rosemond.

Carlyle had an up-and-down year at Stanford, with an injury mixed in, but his talent is apparent when you watch him play.

He averaged 11.5 ppg with 2.7 apg. Much like Rice, Carlyle also struggled from deep. He was 32% from beyond the arc (again, more on this below).

While his percentages struggled, Carlyle was a very solid spot up shooter, as he was in the 82nd percentile last season.

Carlyle was also solid in ball screens and dribble handoffs for his Stanford squad. Video of what Carlyle does well is below.

Freshman to Sophomore JumpsAs was noted above, both Rice and Carlyle were freshmen last year. I highlighted what they did well, and noted that neither lit the nets on fire from beyond the arc.

While I think dynamic playmaking is more important for an offense than just ‘shooting,’ I understand the shooting concerns, so I wanted to address them a bit.

Overall, there were 210 freshmen in 2023 that took at least 25 threes and returned to D1 hoops for 2024.

Of those returnees, they took 7,576 more threes in 2024 but increased their collective percentage from 33% to 34%. That may seem small, but when factoring in the much higher volume, it showcases a solid jump.

68 players increased their percentage by 5% or more. That group took 2,705 more threes as sophomores but collectively raised their percentages from 29.3% as freshmen to 37.8% as sophomores.

47 players decreased their freshman -> sophomore percentage by 5% or more. As you can guess, the majority of these guys were lower volume as freshmen and increased their volume tremendously as sophomores.

As a whole, these 210 players bumped their average points per game from 6.4 ppg to 9.8 ppg as sophomores.

In summary, the sophomore to freshman jump is real.

That’s not to guarantee large jumps from Rice and Carlyle … but … free throw shooting numbers are usually a good indicator of whether those jumps are likely to happen. (A good free throw percentage tends to indicate good shooting form and touch, which can just take a little longer to translate to the college 3-point line.) As freshmen, Rice shot 81% from the line, and Carlyle shot 78%, respectively.

Also of note, when Rice and Carlyle squared off against each other on January 18th, Rice dropped in the win. Carlyle had 31.

Now that we’ve covered the two top guard portal guard prospects IU is focusing on — both of whom would plug major holes that plagued IU last season — let’s discuss the center prospect who also recently got a Crystal Ball to IU.

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On this edition of Xs & Joes, Bob and Mike turn the topics over to the listeners. We gathered a bunch of questions in Substack and Discord, and they go deep on the answers.

Among the questions and topics discussed:

Mike explains his scoring system for individual players
Does Indiana need a full rebuild?
Are IU fans delusional in the expectation that IU will ever achieve relevancy within the conference, let alone nationally?
Who would be your ideal 6 players for IU to add to next year’s team?
The widespread utilization of outside consulting groups/3-party vendors across college basketball
What is your guys’ demeanor as you watch IU games?
What happened to NIL being about repping local businesses or getting a portion of merch sales?
Is Mike's expertise used professionally (reimbursement) by teams, leagues, coaches, ADs etc., etc. at either collegiate or professional level and in what way?
What are the effects on IU, both negative and “positive,” with Purdue making a run to the Final Four for the first time in 44 years?
In the top performing teams, are there any clear trends with regard to positional size leading to more wins?
And … what is the greatest decade for rock and why is Mike wrong saying it's not the 70's? (Relevant videos below.)

And more.

The YouTube video is below, and you can listen to the audio wherever podcasts are available.

Subscribe links for podcast:

Apple Podcasts
Spotify
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PocketCasts
RSS Feed (to add it to a different podcast player)
Don’t see it somewhere you normally listen to podcasts? Let us know.

If you thoughts or comments about the episode, feel free to comment on YouTube video, comment below, or reach out to Mike (@M_Wiemuth_) and Bob (@BobMoats) on Twitter or in our BHN Discord.

Leave a comment

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Some links mentioned in the episode:

Disco Duck:

MacArthur Park:

Muskrat Love:

Afterburner Brewery: https://www.afterburnerbrewing.com/

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Right up Meridian is a Pacers podcast, hosted by two members of the Back Home Network, and .

During the season they post shows weekly, discussing the larger trends surrounding the Pacers and how the Pacers are fitting into the larger NBA landscape.

It's not a game recap show, but rather one that focuses on larger season trends, moves that could be made at the trade deadline or free agency, the effects of current and future salaries and their effect on the cap, along with discussion of larger NBA topics and how they relate to the Pacers.

Scott and Tony frequently bring in guests like IndyStar Pacers Beat Writer Dustin Dopirak and or younger up-and-coming broadcasters like Zion Brown.

All episodes are available on the BHN YouTube channel here:

Right Up Meridian on YouTube

And you can subscribe anywhere podcasts are available, including these locations:

Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Amazon Music

Here is the most recent episode:

If you have any questions or comments, leave them below!

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Join us at 9 ET on Thursday evening for our weekly chat about Indiana basketball.

We'll take a look at some of the portal visitors Indiana has lined up and discuss how a few notable ones might fit. We'll also reflect on Monday night's title game, the Kentucky-Cal situation, and answer some mailbag questions.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

What is this “watch page”?This page is an example of the new “watch pages” we are posting here on our Substack for new episodes of The Assembly Call and Doing The Work.

The goal is to make sure you have everything in one easy place to watch, comment, and share.

We’ll typically pin these posts to our homepage around the time the shows go live, so you can always just go to assemblycall.com if you want to quickly find the live page.

This week’s showOn mic this week: Coach, Ryan, and Tony Adragna

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to to see a replay of the ChatMob alongside the show.)

Thank you to our sponsorsWe appreciate the support of our sponsors who help make our continued coverage of Indiana basketball possible.

Presenting sponsor: Homefield Apparel (promo code HOME23 for 15% off your first order)
Promotional partner for Meaningful Moment: Hoosier Ticket Project
Promotional partner for Inside the Numbers: Megan Mahaffey’s JacksonHewitt franchise locations in and around Bloomington
Game Ball sponsor: Bloomington Environmental (mention Assembly Call for a free radon test kit and mitigation estimate)
Hoosier Hustle Award sponsor: Security Pro 24/7 (formerly Evansville Security Services)

Subscribe to The Assembly CallSubscribe to The Assembly Call podcast for free at any of the following places:

YouTube
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Art19
Podcast feed RSS
Search for “assembly call” wherever you listen to podcasts. If you don’t find us, email Jerod.

Subscribe now

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On Wednesday, and will discuss the IU Women’s 2023-24 Season in review with another edition of Doing The Work — our show dedicated to the Indiana women’s basketball team.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to see a replay of

the show or chat with the WorkAholics during the show.)

Subscribe to Doing The WorkSubscribe to the Doing The Work podcast for free at any of the following places:

YouTube
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Art19
Podcast feed RSS (use this to subscribe in any player)
Search for “doing the work” wherever you listen to podcasts. If you don’t find us, email Jerod.

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

With the college basketball season over except for the national championships, the offseason has begun for nearly everyone. From an IU perspective, they continue to look to fill their roster for 2023-2024.

Besides this, Sara Scalia performed well on the national stage, Former Hoosiers in the NBA, postseason results, and weekly shows. We will as usual conclude with a look at other Indiana sports led by a turnaround week for the baseball team.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what’s in this week’s edition:

Roster Updates
Scalia Wins Three-Point Championship
Hoosiers In The NBA Update
NCAA And NIT Tournament Results
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Baseball Gets Back On Track

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: Roster Updates The roster for the men’s team remains in flux as the offseason continues. While seven spots are accounted for, Indiana will need to turn to the transfer portal to fill the six open scholarships.

Of the seven known players who will be on the team for 2024-2025, the sole incoming freshman Bryson Tucker competed in the McDonalds All-American Game last Tuesday. Who may join him as a newcomer to the squad for next season remains an open question.

While they have no further commitments yet, the IU staff has many irons in the fire. The most well-known name to Hoosier fans is Iowa transfer and Indiana native Tony Perkins who has coming to Bloomington among his six options. Other names to watch are Stanford transfer Kanaan Carlyle and Drexel transfer Amari Williams who will both visit campus later this month.

Banner #2: Scalia Wins Three-Point Championship While the IU women’s team season is over as well now, their two outgoing seniors remained in the news this week. The most significant of these was Sara Scalia’s performance on a national stage.

At the Final Four in Phoenix, Scalia was in the three-point championship and won the competition on the women’s side. Scalia then flew to Cleveland for the Women’s College All-Star Game where she was joined by Mackenzie Holmes. This duo was also named All-Americans after leading the Hoosiers to a 26-6 record in 2023-2024.

Banner #3: Hoosiers In The NBA Update While college basketball is coming to an end, the NBA still has the last week of the regular season and a couple of months of playoffs. All six former Hoosiers are on teams with postseason aspirations.

While O.G. Anunoby has struggled with injury, he has had the best year of the bunch averaging nearly 15 points a game for the New York Knicks. Eric Gordon is also scoring in double figures for the Phoenix Suns. Meanwhile, Thomas Bryant, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and Cody Zeller have smaller roles on the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, and New Orleans Pelicans. Finally, Victor Oladipo is a free agent as his struggles with staying healthy continue.

However, the most noteworthy player is Trayce Jackson-Davis who donned the Cream and Crimson as recently as 2022-2023. Jackson-Davis has settled into a prominent role on the Golden State Warriors as a rookie averaging nearly eight points per game. He had the standout performance of his early career this week putting up 20 points against the Houston Rockets.

Banner #4: NCAA And NIT Tournament Results While the Hoosiers are not in March Madness anymore, two other Big Ten teams remain with the national championships in the next couple of days. Arch-rival Purdue will play Connecticut for their first-ever NCAA title on Monday after beating N.C. State in the Final Four.

On the women’s side, Caitlin Clark has Iowa competing for all the marbles today against South Carolina. After taking on the Gamecocks, Clark’s new home will be in Indiana soon when she begins her WNBA career with the Fever.

Also, Indiana State continued to grab headlines locally. They advanced to the NIT Championship at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis before falling to Seton Hall. The Sycamores now have to regroup going forward as head coach Josh Schertz was hired away by the Saint Louis Billikens.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsThe Back Home Network had several new shows in the last few days. The most prominent of these was Assembly Call’s Thursday radio program breaking down Tucker’s game. Also, Crimson Cast took to the air with two new episodes this week.

Refer a friendDo you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptionsAnd if you want to get really generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Baseball Gets Back On Track* Baseball got back on track this week with three key top 50 wins in dominant fashion. These games came against Indiana State on Tuesday as well as the first two this weekend in a series against Maryland. * Softball was swept by Michigan but beat Michigan State in the first two games of that series. Their midweek contests with Purdue were postponed for weather issues. * Men’s tennis fell to Ohio State and Michigan. * Women’s tennis fell to Michigan State. * Water polo lost to Arizona State * Men’s golf competed at the Butler Spring Invite and had one of their athletes named Big Ten Golfer of the Week. * Rowing competed against Ohio State. * Men’s soccer announced another team of former Hoosiers for the upcoming TST Tournament. * Volleyball’s spring exhibition schedule was announced. Also, Ramsey Gary was selected to the US under-21 national team. * Swimming and Diving received multiple postseason awards after their top-five finish at the national championship. * Wrestling had several athletes named Scholar All-Americans.

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

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

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Join us on Thursday evening for our weekly chat about Indiana basketball. The plan is to start at 9 ET, but there is a chance we don't start until 9:15-9:20 — since our broadcast schedule is apparently determined by the fluctuating whims of Jerod’s son’s bedtimes.

We'll give our thoughts on Bryson Tucker's game and how he might fit with what we know of Indiana’s roster, discuss the recent news of visits for portal recruits, and look ahead to this weekend's Final Four.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

What is this “watch page”?This page is an example of the new “watch pages” we are posting here on our Substack for new episodes of The Assembly Call and Doing The Work.

The goal is to make sure you have everything in one easy place to watch, comment, and share.

We’ll typically pin these posts to our homepage around the time the shows go live, so you can always just go to assemblycall.com if you want to quickly find the live page.

This week’s showOn mic this week: Jerod, Andy, and Ryan

Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to to see a replay of the ChatMob alongside the show.)

Thank you to our sponsorsWe appreciate the support of our sponsors who help make our continued coverage of Indiana basketball possible.

Presenting sponsor: Homefield Apparel (promo code HOME23 for 15% off your first order)
Promotional partner for Meaningful Moment: Hoosier Ticket Project
Promotional partner for Inside the Numbers: Megan Mahaffey’s JacksonHewitt franchise locations in and around Bloomington
Game Ball sponsor: Bloomington Environmental (mention Assembly Call for a free radon test kit and mitigation estimate)
Hoosier Hustle Award sponsor: Security Pro 24/7 (formerly Evansville Security Services)

Subscribe to The Assembly CallSubscribe to The Assembly Call podcast for free at any of the following places:

YouTube
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Art19
Podcast feed RSS
Search for “assembly call” wherever you listen to podcasts. If you don’t find us, email Jerod.

Subscribe now

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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 Homefield Apparel, 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.

The women’s team had their successful 2023-2024 season come to an end in the Sweet 16 in a thriller against undefeated South Carolina. Also, the men had a really good week when it comes to putting together next year’s roster with a recruit and two returnees.

Besides this, other results from March Madness and weekly shows. We will as usual conclude with a look at other IU sports led by swimming and diving at the national championships.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what’s in this week’s edition:

Women’s Basketball Beats Oklahoma To Advance To Sweet 16, Falls To Undefeated South Carolina In Thriller To End Season
Tucker Commits, Mgbako, and Cupps Staying
Ware Declares For NBA Draft
NCAA Tournament Results
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Swimming And Diving Finishes Top-Five At National Championship

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’s Basketball Beats Oklahoma To Advance To Sweet 16, Falls To Undefeated South Carolina In Thriller To End Season The NCAA Tournament produced a couple of nail-biting games for the women’s team this week. It started with a win over Oklahoma that saw the Hoosiers rally from a late 64-60 deficit to advance to the second weekend by a count of 75-68.

However, the successful year came to an end against undefeated and top-ranked South Carolina. IU faced a 61-40 disadvantage near the midway point of the third quarter. However, they then pulled off a 20-4 run to get back in the game and kept it close the rest of the way. It was only a 74-72 deficit in the final minute for the Cream and Crimson. However, the Gamecocks hit a three-pointer that sealed the deal as they held on 79-75.

The loss ended the greatest four-year run in program history at 99-25. It included three Sweet 16s, an Elite 8, and a Big Ten championship.

This season finished at 26-6 overall with a 17-0 record at home. The non-conference saw signature wins over Tennessee and Princeton on a neutral site as well as triumphs on the road against Maryland and Nebraska once league play began. The victory over the Terps in College Park was the first one there in program history. However, the top moment was an 86-69 domination of Iowa in a sold-out and raucous Assembly Hall. This full arena led the way as Indiana averaged over 10,000 fans for the first time and was one of just five schools to do so in 2023-2024.

The common link of these strong results is All-American post player Mackenzie Holmes. She leaves as the all-time leading scorer in program history and ahead of every Hoosier basketball player not named Calbert Cheaney. After spending just four weeks ranked before her arrival on campus, IU never spent a week outside the top 25 once she set foot in Bloomington. The other departure is Sara Scalia who spent two seasons on campus after transferring in from Minnesota. She was instrumental from long range as part of an attack that saw the Hoosiers lead the country in three-point percentage this year at 40%.

The rest of the starters are likely back with a strong culture built. This recent run of success should lead to continued postseason appearances and more winning results moving forward. Under head coach Teri Moren, a winning program has been established after little success before her arrival.

Banner #2: Tucker Commits, Mgbako, and Cupps Staying While the roster for the men’s team remains in flux as the offseason continues, a few more things are now known. The biggest of them was the announcement that 5-star recruit Bryson Tucker pledged to the Hoosiers marking the fourth straight year of a top commit in the spring.

Also, Mackenzie Mgbako and Gabe Cupps will return to the team for the 2024-2025 season. They join Trey Galloway, Anthony Leal, Jakai Newton, and Malik Reneau who have also said they will be back. Other than these players, Indiana will need to turn to the transfer portal to fill the rest of the open scholarships.

Banner #3 Ware Declares For NBA Draft While the roster for next season is still far from set with six spots open, a big-name Hoosier will not be back. As expected, starting center Kel’el Ware announced he is headed to the NBA.

Ware goes to the professional ranks after a huge leap forward in Bloomington following a struggling freshman year at Oregon. In 2023-2024, he was IU’s leading scorer averaging nearly 16 points a game. He was also instrumental in the five-game winning streak at the end of conference play and to begin the Big Ten Tournament.

Banner #4: Postseason Results While the Hoosiers are not in March Madness, two other Big Ten teams remained heading into this weekend. However, Illinois succumbed to Connecticut in an Elite Eight blowout that saw a 30-0 run for the Huskies at one point. However, it was the first time since 2005 that the Illini made it out of the second round and they then defeated Iowa State.

Meanwhile, Purdue remains alive after beating Gonzaga to advance to the final eight for the second time in the Matt Painter era. They face Tennessee today at 2:20 pm on CBS seeking their first Final Four since 1980.

Outside of the conference, Alabama made the Final Four for the first time. The last spot there will be taken today at 5:05 pm on CBS by an ACC squad as Duke and North Carolina State face off.

Also, Indiana State continues to grab headlines locally. They advanced to the NIT Final Four at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis just an hour from their campus.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield ApparelHomefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both and have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly ShowsBoth Inside the Hall and the Back Home Network had several new shows in the last few days. ITH’s Podcast on the Brink had Tony Adragna on to discuss Tucker’s commitment.

Assembly Call had its Thursday radio program. Meanwhile, Doing The Work did episodes after both the Oklahoma and South Carolina contests.

Also, Crimson Cast had a watch party during the contest with the Sooners as well as two additional episodes. Finally, X’s and Joe’s discussed March Madness this week.

Refer a friendDo you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptionsAnd if you want to get really generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Swimming And Diving Finishes Top-Five At National Championship* Men’s swimming and diving finished fourth at the NCAA Championships. * Baseball lost a series against Illinois last Sunday. After that, they defeated Middle Tennessee and split a four-game weekend with Butler. * Softball’s struggles continued as they were swept by Penn State and lost their first two against Michigan. This was sandwiched by a midweek victory over Louisville. * Men’s tennis fell to Cornell but rebounded with a win over Penn State. They also rescheduled their upcoming match against Butler. * Women’s tennis fell to Penn State and Michigan. * Water polo lost to USC. * Track and Field opened their outdoor season in Baton Rouge and Raleigh.

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

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

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This week on Assembly Call Radio, we’ll look ahead to the massive recruiting weekend coming up for the Hoosiers, and answer a bevy of listener questions.

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Ryan Phillips, Andy Bottoms, Brian Tonsoni

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post AC Radio: Previewing a Massive Recruiting Weekend for IU appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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This week on Assembly Call Radio, we will take a deep look at the upcoming non-conference schedule for the Indiana Women.

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post DTW: Look at the Non-Conference Schedule appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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This week on Assembly Call Radio, we roll through a few Hoosier Headlines and then welcome special guest Eamonn Brennan, formerly of ESPN and The Athletic, to discuss his alma mater (IU), the Big Ten, and where Indiana sits in the current college hoops landscape

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Ryan Phillips, Eamonn Brennan

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post AC Radio: Eamonn Brennan on IU, the Big Ten, and the College Hoops Landscape appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us on Thursday night at 9 ET for our weekly conversation about Indiana basketball. We’ll roll through Hoosier Headlines and mailbag questions, with a deep dive into five burning questions that will define the upcoming Big Ten basketball season. All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call. On the mics: […]

The post AC Radio: 5 Burning Big Ten Basketball Questions appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join Kathy Amos and Jeff Marlow as they host a special guest, Lenny Holmes, the father of Mackenzie Holmes! We will discuss Mack’s journey from Maine to IU, the trip to Greece, and get a look at college basketball from a parent’s perspective. All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call. […]

The post DTW: Lenny Holmes appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us tonight at 9 ET for our weekly discussion about Indiana basketball. We’ll roll through some Hoosier Headlines before engaging in a fun round of Indiana basketball trivia. Chris Williams (IU Artifacts) will be on hand with 20 questions, and Jerod, Coach, and two AC community members will compete for trivia supremacy. Play along! […]

The post AC Radio: IU Basketball Trivia Showdown appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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This week on Assembly Call Radio, we’ll cover some Hoosier Headlines, answer mailbag questions, and play a fun little game of buy or sell with some of the most prominent narratives making their way around the national college basketball conversation this offseason. Link to referenced offseason video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-z4SV-_nws All that and much more on this […]

The post AC Radio: Buy/Sell the Most Prominent National Narratives About IU Basketball appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us on Thursday night at 9 ET for our weekly discussion about Indiana basketball. This week, we’ll update the latest on IU recruiting, dabble in a little conference expansion talk, and then take some trips down memory lane to remember the best players, performances, and games since we launched The Assembly Call in 2011. […]

The post AC Radio: Recalling the Best IU Players and Performances Since 2011 appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join Kathy & Jeff during their conversation with Josh & Amanda from the Hoosier Ticket Project. On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos We also point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The […]

The post DTW: Let’s chat with Hoosier Ticket Project! appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us tonight at 9 ET for this week’s edition of AC Radio. We’ll discuss TJD’s summer league debut, and then welcome Brent Tonsoni to the show to get some insight on how college basketball players train in the offseason. All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call. On the mics: […]

The post AC Radio: How College Basketball Players Train in the Offseason (with Brent Tonsoni) appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join Kathy and Jeff when they talk with incoming freshman Lenee Beaumont! On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos Listen to the edited podcast here: And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode: (Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.) Subscribe for […]

The post DTW: Let’s meet Lenee Beaumont! appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join Kathy & Jeff as they talk with the point guard from the 1983 co-B1G championship team, Amy Metheny. On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos Listen to the edited podcast here: And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode: (Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan […]

The post DTW: Conversation with Amy Metheny appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us on Thursday night at 9 ET for our weekly discussion about Indiana basketball. This week we breakdown C.J. Gunn. All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call. On the mics: Brian Tonsoni, Andy Bottoms, Ryan Phillips Listen to the edited podcast here: And here is the unedited video of […]

The post AC Radio: C.J. Gunn Offseason Player Preview appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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In this special edition episode of The Assembly Call, Jerod is joined by IU alum and Bay Area radio veteran Damon Bruce for an in-depth and wide-ranging conversation about a number of topics of interest to IU fans and grads — chief among them, why Damon is so excited about Trayce’s fit in Golden State. […]

The post Damon Bruce on TJD, Bob Knight, and the New Media Landscape appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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This week, former Michigan basketball player and current Big Ten hoops analyst Ant Wright (@ItsAntWright) joins us for an offseason discussion about the Big Ten basketball. All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call. On the mics: Jerod Morris, Andy Bottoms, Ant Wright Listen to the edited podcast here: And here […]

The post AC Radio: Big Ten Hoops Talk with Ant Wright appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us on Wednesday night for this week’s edition of AC Radio, recorded one day earlier than usual due to tomorrow’s NBA Draft. We’ll have some special guests on to help us preview the NBA Draft, and specifically how things are shaping up for Jalen Hood-Schifino and Trayce Jackson-Davis. We’ll also look at the situations […]

The post AC Radio: An IU-Centric NBA Draft Preview appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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The radio voice of the IU Women, Austin Render, joins Jeff and Kathy to discuss the off-season. On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos, Austin Render Listen to the edited podcast here: And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode: (Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan […]

The post DTW: Austin Render appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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This week, we roll through some Hoosier Headlines, try to project minutes for the upcoming season, and answer mailbag questions. All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call. On the mics: Jerod Morris, Brian Tonsoni Listen to the edited podcast here: And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast […]

The post AC Radio: Projecting Minutes for the 2022-23 Season appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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This week, we’ll take a look at Indiana’s recruiting Hot Boards, which are loaded with high profile prospects. Then we’ll take a deep dive on Malik Reneau and what IU fans should expect from him as a sophomore. On the mics: Jerod Morris, Andy Bottoms, Ryan Phillips We also point out a few meaningful moments […]

The post AC Radio: Malik Reneau Offseason Analysis and IU’s Scalding Recruiting Hot Boards appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join Kathy and Jeff as they discuss the 3 new incoming players for IU Women’s Basketball. On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos (Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.) Listen to the podcast here: Or watch the video: NEED IU GEAR? You will find the comfiest and […]

The post DTW: Meet The Newcomers appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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This week on Assembly Call Radio, we react to yesterday’s stay/go decisions and then dive into the many fun lineup combinations Mike Woodson will be able to (theoretically) play with this season.

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Tony Adragna, Bob Moats

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post AC Radio: Coaches Corner Fun with Lineup Combinations appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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This week on Assembly Call Radio, we have our our weekly discussion about Indiana basketball. Calbert Cheaney is back, so we’ll react to the week’s biggest news. Plus: is Jeff Goodman right about the question marks that still surround the roster Mike Woodson and his staff are building? That and much more on this week’s episode.

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Ryan Phillips

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post AC Radio: Calbert Is Back! appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Doing The Work has an interview with IU starter Chloe Moore-McNeil.

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos, Chloe Moore-McNeil

Listen to the edited podcast here:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post DTW: Chloe Moore McNeil Interview appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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This week, we’ll reflect on Mackenzie Mgbako’s commitment, assess what Indiana should do with its final roster spot, and talk NIL with the host of the new NIL Hotline podcast, Galen Clavio.

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Brian Tonsoni, Ryan Phillips, Galen Clavio

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post AC Radio: One Final Burning Offseason Roster Question Plus NIL Talk appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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5-star, McDonald’s All-American forward Mackenzie Mgbako committed to Indiana over Kansas today. Minutes later, we convened our latest emergency pod to break it down. Rob Cassady from Rivals and Rick Bozich from WDRB in Louisville joined us to discuss their impressions of Mgbako from having seen him play in-person numerous times. (You’ll really like what you hear.) And Ryan and Tony joined Jerod to discuss what the commitment means, how it all played out, and how Mgbako fits with Indiana’s current projected starting.

All of that and so much more on this celebratory offseason episode!

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post 🚨 Emergency Pod: Mackenzie Mgbako Commits to IU! appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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The big news this week is the impending announcement of Mackenzie Mgbako, who will decide between Indiana and Kansas tomorrow. We’ll discuss his decision, plus the other options Indiana may still have in the transfer portal. That, and much more.

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Brian Tonsoni, Andy Bottoms, Ryan Phillips

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post AC Radio: Mackenzie Mgbako Decision Primer appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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This week on Assembly Call Radio, special guest Rocco Miller will join fellow bracketologists Andy Bottoms and Brian Tonsoni. They’ll discuss the realities of college basketball scheduling and how it impacts teams’ seasons and ultimate bracket fates. Plus, updates on IU’s transfer portal targets and more.

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Andy Bottoms, Brian Tonsoni, Rocco Miller

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post AC Radio: How College Basketball Scheduling Really Works with Rocco Miller appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Mike Woodson and Indiana secured another transfer portal commitment on Saturday afternoon when grad transfer Anthony Walker announced his intention to play for IU. Walker played the last four seasons at Miami, getting double-digit minutes in the Hurricanes’ Round of 32 win over Indiana this season.

While it’s easy to be underwhelmed by the pickup based on Walker’s stats, peeling back the layers of the onion reveals the logic for why IU’s staff wanted a guy like Walker. We discuss that on this episode, including some lingering questions we have about the pickup as well.

We also discuss today’s announcement of a matchup with Auburn in Atlanta, and Jordan Geronimo’s decision to attend Maryland.

On the mics: Jerod and Coach

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

The post 🚨 Emergency Pod: Anthony Walker Commits to IU appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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The NFL Draft may have the attention of most sports fans, but IU fans will still be celebrating the official return of Xavier Johnson, who had his medical hardship waiver granted. We’ll discuss the impact of X’s return plus much more.

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Brian Tonsoni, Ryan Phillips

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post AC Radio: X is Officially Back! appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join Kathy & Jeff as they look at the roster as it currently is and talk wish list in the Portal.

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post DTW: Early look at next year’s roster appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us for our weekly discussion about Indiana basketball. This week’s big news was Chris Ledlum surprising many by committing to Tennessee. We look at his decision from several angles, focusing especially on what’s next for Indiana in the transfer portal as the Hoosiers look to complete their roster for 2023-24. 69:49 23:20

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Brian Tonsoni, Andy Bottoms

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post AC Radio: What’s Next for IU in the Portal? appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us at 9 ET on Thursday night for our weekly discussion about Indiana basketball. This week we’ll discuss — what else? — the transfer portal, and the voids still remaining on IU’s roster as Mike Woodson and his staff look to fill the three remaining scholarships

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Brian Tonsoni, Ryan Phillips, Andy Bottoms

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post AC Radio: Dissecting the Obvious (and Not-So-Obvious) Roster Voids Left to Fill appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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When Kel’el Ware committed to Indiana, a two-part narrative quickly emerged about his one up-and-down season at Oregon.

The first part focused on Ware’s undeniable physical gifts and basketball talent. That has never been in question. But the other part of the narrative is that Ware might be a player with effort or “motor” concerns, and could those prevent him from reaching his full potential at Indiana and beyond?

Many IU fans found a story written by Nate Olson of SB Live and Best of Arkansas Sports that did a great job of trying to contextualize Ware’s season in Eugene. The story is titled “Accusations of Laziness Dogging Indiana Commit Kel’el Ware Deserve Deeper Look,” and you can read it here.

In this special edition of The Assembly Call, Jerod is joined by Olson to provide that deeper look on Ware as a player and person. Olson has covered Ware since his high school days as a prep superstar in Little Rock and knows Ware and his game as well as anyone in the media.

We discuss how, as a young player, Ware faced similar concerns about his motor and how he and his high school coach worked through them. What does that story suggest about the best way for the IU coaching staff to reach him and get the most out of him?

(Additional suggested reading: https://news.scorebooklive.com/oregon/2022/03/04/north-little-rock-big-man-kelel-ware-finally-letting-game-do-the-talking)

We also dive into what (probably) went wrong in Oregon, and why a surface level view of the two situations suggests that Indiana has a chance to be a much better fit.

Plus, Olson shares some anecdotes from Ware’s high school career that suggest he only scratched the surface of what he’s capable of offensively at Oregon. What kind of player could he become as soon as this season if Mike Woodson is able to fully unlock his confidence?

All of that and much more in this very insightful conversation with Nate Olson.

To learn more about SBLive Sports, which recently expanded their coverage into Indiana, visit https://scorebooklive.com/indiana.

Listen to the podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post What All IU Fans Need to Know About Kel’el Ware with Nate Olson of SBLive appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Mike Woodson and Indiana secured another big transfer portal commitment on Monday night as Kel’el Ware made his intention to play for IU official. Let’s react!

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Brian Tonsoni, Galen Clavio, Scott Caulfield, Tony Adragna, Jay Horrey

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post 🚨 Emergency Pod: Kel’el Ware Commits to IU appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Jerod chats with Spencer McClaughlin of Locked on Ducks about the newest Hoosier, Oregon transfer Kel’el Ware.

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Spencer McGlaughlin

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post Kel’el Ware Scouting Report with Spencer McClaughlin appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us for our weekly discussion about Indiana basketball. We’ll discuss the latest news from the transfer portal — nationally, in the Big Ten, and, of course, for our Hoosiers.

On the mics: Brian Tonsoni, Jerod Morris

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

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And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

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The post AC Radio: Transfer Portal Madness appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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This week on Assembly Call Radio, our team will discuss the latest roster comings and goings, including Ryan’s patented post-commitment scouting report of Payton Sparks, plus our thoughts on the departure of Tamar Bates.

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Brian Tonsoni, Andy Bottoms, Ryan Phillips

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post AC Radio: Payton Sparks Scouting Report and Impact of Tamar Bates’ Departure appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join Kathy Amos and Jeff Marlow as they discuss the Indiana women’s basketball season in retrospective

All that and much more on this edition of Doing The Work.

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post Doing The Work: Post-Season Wrap-up appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Indiana received its first addition from the transfer portal on Wednesday morning as Ball State transfer Payton Sparks announced his commitment to Indiana. Jerod and Coach Tonsoni break down Sparks’ game, what this means for Indiana’s overall roster, and what to expect from Sparks in the Big Ten. They also explain how their feelings about Sparks as a Hoosier have evolved since he was first mentioned as a possibility.

Also joining us is Evan Wilson, who plays at Akron, and has seen Sparks up close the last two seasons. He has some excellent insight into what Sparks brings to the table from a skills standpoint and, perhaps more importantly, from a mentality and culture standpoint. Follow Evan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ewilly02

If you want to really dive deep on who Sparks is as a player and what he’ll bring to the table for IU, this episode is for you.

Here is the audio:

And here is the video replay:

The post 🚨 Emergency Pod: Payton Sparks Commits to Indiana appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us for a special edition of AC Radio on Wednesday night (not our normal Thursday night) as we reflect on Indiana’s 2023 season while looking ahead to a massively important offseason that will dictate how the 2024 season goes.

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Brian Tonsoni, Bob Moats

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post AC Radio: Offseason Primer and Early Transfer Portal Scouting Reports appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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IU’s best season in program history came to a heartbreaking end on Monday at Assembly Hall to Miami 70-68. After a terrible first half, the Hoosiers battled really hard in the second half but came up just short in a thrilling second half where they tied the game multiple times in the last few minutes.

The finest season in program history comes to an end at 28-4 far earlier than expected. The team is likely to have another legitimate shot at a national title next year with only Grace Berger out of eligibility. The Hoosiers won big in December still with Berger out with an injury despite her being arguably the best player in program history. Upsets happen all the time in the NCAA Tourney and Indiana has not been good enough to be the victim of them. To be good enough to be the hunted instead of the hunter is a great place to be and should continue going forward.

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post DTW: Miami NCAA 2nd Round Post-Game Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Sunday, IU’s season came to an end with an 85-69 loss to Miami. It was a game where the Hoosiers struggled at the start, came alive in the middle, and faded at the end. The season ends at 23-12 and as by far the best one the Hoosiers have had in seven years. The team will lose several key players to graduation including All-American center Trayce Jackson-Davis. It will be a very different roster in 2023-2024 but the first couple of years of the Mike Woodson era has seen strides that included returning Indiana to the NCAA Tournament after a long absence. Where the program goes from here remains to be seen.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Brian Tonsoni, Andy Bottoms, Ryan Phillips

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU-Miami NCAA Tournament Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Saturday, IU easily rolled in the 1 vs. 16 matchup against Tennessee Tech 77-47 before the second largest crowd in Assembly Hall history. The Hoosiers were without star center Mackenzie Holmes who missed the game with a sore knee but rolled anyways against an inferior squad. The Hoosiers move on to face Miami (FL) on Monday in a matchup where both the men’s and women’s team face the same opponent in the second round of March Madness.

On the mics: Kath Amos, Jeff Marlow

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post DTW: NCAA Tourney post-game Tennessee Tech appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On a night when IU’s arch-rivals suffered the biggest upset in tournament history, the Hoosiers had no such problems. Indiana easily controlled an overmatched Kent State team enroute to a 71-60 victory in the round of 64 of March Madness. They move on to face Miami (FL) on Sunday at 8:40 pm on TNT.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Andy Bottoms, Ryan Phillips, Brian Tonsoni

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU-Kent State NCAA Tournament Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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This week’s AC Radio took place a day early, on Wednesday night, to avoid conflicting with one of the best nights on the sports calendar Thursday with March Madness. Our panel will preview IU’s matchup with Kent State, offer bold bracket predictions, and much more.

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Brian Tonsoni, Jerod Morris, Andy Bottoms,

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post AC Radio: IU-Kent State Preview and Bold Bracket Predictions appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Akron basketball player Evan Wilson joins Jerod to provide a unique take on IU’s first round opponent, Kent State. Evan grew up in Noblesville as an IU fan and still follows the Hoosiers closely. His Akron Zips team has played Kent State six times across the last two seasons. So Evan understands the intersections between the two teams as well as anyone.

We discuss his impressions of IU this season, the strengths and weaknesses of Kent State, what IU needs to worry about and where the Hoosiers have an advantage, plus his gut feeling for how the game may play out. We also get his perspective as a mid-major player on the possibility for NCAA Tournament expansion.

This is a fun, engaging conversation that will get you properly calibrated for the challenge Indiana faces on Friday night.

Follow Evan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ewilly02

Here is the audio:

And here is the video replay:

The post IU-Kent State Scouting Report with Akron’s Evan Wilson appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Sunday night Assembly Call discusses IU’s selection as a four seed in the Midwest Region against Kent State in the first round on Friday at 955 pm on TBS.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Ryan Phillips, Rick Bozich, Jeff Marlow, Brian Tonsoni, Galen Clavio

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post Instant Reaction: Men’s Selection Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Saturday, IU made furious rally late against Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament Semi Finals 77-73. However, the Hoosiers will head into Selection Sunday tomorrow (6pm on CBS) comfortably in the field for the first time in seven seasons as likely a four or possibly a five seed. The teams is 22-11 heading into March Madness which is there most wins since 2016.

On the mics: Andy Bottoms, Ryan Phillips, Jeff Marlow, Brian Tonsoni

We also point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU-Penn State BTT Semifinal Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Friday, IU advanced to their second straight Big Ten Tournament Semi-Final with a 70-60 victory over Maryland. After a struggle in the first half, the Hoosiers played arguably their best final 20 minutes to pull away for the win. Trayce Jackson-Davis led IU with 24 points while Jalen Hood-Schifino added 19 points including a game clinching three-pointer as the shot clock was running out with under two minutes left to go up nine. It is the seventh all-time appearance on Saturday for the team in the conference tourney and the they will look to end a five game losing streak in the semi’s when they play Penn State at 3:30 pm on CBS.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Brian Tonsoni, Ryan Phillips, Jeff Marlow

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU Maryland Postgame Show Big Ten Tourney appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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This week on On AC Radio, we’ll look at IU’s BTT path, get the latest Bracketology updates from our bracketologists, and then dive deep into the community mailbag.

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Ryan Phillips, Andy Bottoms

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post AC Radio: BTT Preview, Bracketology, and Mailbag appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Sunday, IU went to overtime and edged out Michigan in a rollercoaster of the a game 75-73. The Hoosiers led by double digits early but also trailed by a similar margin part way through the second half. They then rallied to tie and force overtime where they held on for the victory. The team finishes the regular season 21-10 overall and 12-8 in the league to tie for second place. This is by far the highest finish in conference since the Tom Crean era began outside of the two Big Ten titles. Indiana will get the double bye and be the three seed in the Big Ten Tournament where they fill face either Maryland, Nebraska, or Minnesota on Friday at 9pm eastern on BTN.

On the mics: Andy Bottoms, Ryan Phillips

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

I

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU Michigan Postgame Show Home appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Saturday, IU suffered a second half collapse against Ohio State in the semi-finals of the Big Ten Tournament. After building a 20 point lead, the final 20 minutes were amongst the worst of the season as the Hoosiers succumbed to the Buckeyes press they have torn apart in recent matchup. After a 79-75 loss, the Hoosiers will now see if they hold on to a number one seed when the NCAA Tournament selection show takes place on the night of March 12 on ESPN.

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Amanda Foster

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post DTW: Ohio State Postgame Big Ten Tourney appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Friday, IU struggled mightily early against Michigan State in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament but rallied for a 94-85 win in a far from perfect effort. The team is now 27-2 overall and faces Ohio State in the tourney semifinals tomorrow at 2:30 pm on BTN

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post DTW: Michigan State Postgame Big Ten Tourney appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On AC Radio we discuss Indiana’s place in the rapidly changing Big Ten standings as the final weekend of regular season play approaches, then we’ll spend some time assessing the legacy of Trayce Jackson-Davis as he prepares for his final home game in an Indiana uniform.

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Brian Tonsoni, Andy Bottoms

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post AC Radio: Big Ten Reset and The Legacy of TJD appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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With a four-day gap between games, this was the perfect time to invite on friend of the show Sam Vecenie to talk about the rising draft prospects of Jalen Hood-Schifino and Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Sam covers the NBA Draft for The Athletic and also hosts the Game Theory podcast. https://theathletic.com/podcast/208-game-theory-podcast/

We cover a number of topics in 30 minutes:

• How NBA teams view skill development with prospects

• The biggest plusses and minuses on Jalen’s scouting report

• How much credit does Mike Woodson deserve for Jalen’s development?

• The biggest plusses and minuses on Trayce’s scouting report

• Trying to find an NBA comp for Trayce

• Who else on Indiana’s current roster is Sam paying attention to?

And more.

Here is the audio:

And here is the video replay:

The post Talking Jalen, Trayce, and the NBA Draft with Sam Vecenie from The Athletic appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Tuesday the Hoosiers turned in easily their most disappointing performance of the season of the season as they were dominated by Iowa 90-68. Only Trayce Jackson-Davis had a good night and finished with 26 points while recording another double-double. In doing so he became Indiana’s all-time leader in rebounds. His efforts were nowhere near enough though as he got little help around him. The Hoosiers fall to 11-8 in the league and 20-10 overall. They are still a lock for the NCAA Tournament but now have some work to do to get a double-bye in the conference tourney and a top-four seed seed in March Madness and need a bit of help to achieve these goals.

On the mics: Brian Tonsoni, Ryan Phillips, Tony Andragna

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU-Iowa Postgame Show Home appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Sunday, IU lost for the first time since early January in a relatively meaningless contest against an elite Iowa team on the road 86-85. It took a buzzer beater from the all-world Caitlyn Clark to give the Hawkeyes the win in what was a thrilling contest where the Hoosiers battled up hill most of the afternoon. With the defeat, Indiana is still the outright Big Ten champ at 16-2 and the top seed in Big Ten tourney and likely a one-seed in NCAA tournament at 26-2 overall. This was arguably the toughest matchup IU will face the rest of the way outside of a potential national championship showdown with South Carolina. While the Hoosiers will face squads of Iowa’s caliber in a potential conference tourney championship, as well as the Elite Eight and Final Four, those will be on neutral sites making the difficulty level this afternoon harder.

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Jerod Morris, Zion Brown

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post DTW: Iowa Postgame Show Road appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Saturday, the Hoosiers went into Mackey Arena and beat their arch-rivals for the first time in 10 years on the road 79-71. After a slow first half, Indiana played arguably their best final 20 minutes of the season and held off every Purdue run they attempted late. Jalen Hood-Schifino had the game of his life with 35 points while Trey Galloway and Miller Kopp added 13 points each with terrific nights. Trayce Jackson-Davis contributed just 10 points and was taken out of his rhythm by national player of the year frontrunner Zach Edey. However, it hardly mattered as the guards and wings were excellent for all 40 minutes. The team improves to 20-9 overall and 11-7 in the league. They also put themselves in excellent position for both a top-four finish in the Big Ten and double bye in the conference tourney as well as a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Ryan Phillips, Jeff Marlow

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU-Purdue Postgame Show: Hoosiers Sweep Boilers For First Time In A Decade appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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This week on Assembly Call Radio, join us for our weekly discussion about Indiana basketball starting at 9 ET. This week, we’ll discuss the latest on Xavier Johnson’s possible return from injury, preview Saturday’s rematch in West Lafayette (with a special guest!), and answer mailbag question.

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Brian Tonsoni, Andy Bottoms, Greg Braggs

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post AC Radio: IU-Purdue Preview and Mailbag appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Thursday we previewed the Iowa game this Sunday with IU having the outright Big Ten Title already in hand.

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post DTW: Iowa Preview appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Tuesday, the Hoosiers fell 80-65 in East Lansing after a strong start. IU was unable to overcome an emotional Spartans team who was playing their first home game since the tragedy on their campus last week. With the loss Indiana falls to 10-7 in the league and 19-9 overall and have an even tougher matchup at Purdue next on Saturday at 7:30pm on Fox.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Ryan Phillips, Andy Bottoms, Brian Tonsoni

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU-Michigan State Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Sunday, the Hoosiers dominated their arch rivals from West Lafayette for the second time this season 83-58. In doing so the Hoosiers clinched a share of their first Big Ten championship in 40 years. It was also the programs first ever sellout crowd who witnessed the history being made. The team in 26-1 overall and 16-1 in the league and will get the number one seed in the conference tournament for the first time ever. They also have likely wrapped up a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament which has not happened before either.

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

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The post DTW: Purdue Postgame Show Home. IU is Big Ten Champs! appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Saturday, IU struggled for much of the day but found a way to beat Illinois for a second time this season for a two-game sweep, 71-68. The Hoosiers trailed from the time the score was 24-23 until Jalen Hood Schifino hit two clutch FT’s in the last minute to make it 69-67. The Illini were fouled on the next possession but only hit one of the two foul shots and Indiana broke a press for a layup to go up three before Illinois missed a tying three-pointer at the buzzer. The Cream and Crimson improve to 19-9 and 10-6 in the league.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Tony Andragna, Brian Tonsoni, Galen Clavio

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

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The post IU-Illinois Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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This is another bonus presentation in our main feed of content that is usually reserved only for our private community members. Learn more at https://hoosiers.mn.co/

This week, Jerod and Coach talk to Mike DeCourcy about IU’s loss at Northwestern, officiating, and where IU stands in his bracket. Then John Gasaway from ESPN stops by to preview IU-Illinois and provide his unique brand of insight on what really matters in college coaching and how to view analytics.

Finally, Jerod and Coach dip into the mailbag and answer a variety questions, starting with their ideas on how to help Tamar Bates bust out of his funk, their IU basketball Mount Rushmores, Indiana’s likelihood of getting a Big Ten Tournament double bye and much more.

Here is the audio:

And here is the video replay:

The post Banner Friday: Mike DeCourcy, John Gasaway, and Mailbag appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Thursday, Indiana easily defeated a top-15 but undermanned Michigan team 68-52. The Hoosiers are now 25-1 overall to set the program record for wins in a season. IU is now 15-1 in the league and will play Purdue on senior day (12pm BTN) for their first Big Ten title in 40 years in front of a sold out crowd.

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos,

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

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The post DTW: Michigan Postgame Show Home appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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IU fell behind by 19 points at halftime but made a furious rally. Egged on by a split crowd full of Hoosier alum in Chicago, Indiana came all the way back to tie the contest at 62 before Northwestern hit a game winning shot in the final few seconds for a 64-62 victory. The Wildcats are having their best season in program history and tonight’s environment mimicked a Big Ten and NCAA Tourney atmosphere both teams will see throughout postseason, With the loss the Cream and Crimson fall to third place 9-6 in the league and 18-8 overall. They play Illinois at Noon Saturday on ESPN in Assembly Hall.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Ryan Phillips, Andy Bottoms

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

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The post IU-NW Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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IU easily took apart a very good, but banged-up top-15 Ohio State on the road 83-59. Mackenzie Holmes dominated the Bucks in the post with a career-high 33 points on 15-18 shooting. Sara Scalia also had her best game in an Indiana uniform with 24 points and six threes while Grace Berger added a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

The team improves to 24-1 overall and 14-1 in the league. The magic number to clinch a share of the conference title is down to two and they face a ranked Michigan side they easily beat in Ann Arbor on Thursday at 8:30 pm on BTN in Bloomington. If all goes well for the home squad, they will face Purdue on senior day (noon BTN on Sunday) for their first Big Ten championship in 30 years.

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

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The post DTW: Ohio State Postgame Show Road appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Saturday, the Hoosiers pulled out a gutsy win against the Wolverines 62-61. Indiana trailed for much of the game but came back every time UM looked like they might pull away. IU took the lead for good on two Jalen Hood-Schifino free throws with just under three minutes left and then neither side scored again as the Cream and Crimson got several key stops down the stretch. Hood-Schifino had 21 points while Trayce Jackson-Davis led the squad with 28 points. No one else did much but the heroics of this dynamic duo was enough to escape Ann Arbor on the winning end for the first time in seven years. The team improves to 18-7 overall and 9-5 in the league and is now in sole possession of second place behind Purdue.

On the mics: Brian Tonsoni, Jerod Morris, Ryan Phillips

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

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The post IU-Michigan Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Since we didn’t host AC Radio last night to focus on the women’s team’s huge victory over Iowa, we decided to make this week’s Banner Friday community content available in our public podcast feed. Hopefully you enjoy this taste of our premium content and want to join us in the community. If so, go to http://assemblycall.com/community and use the free trial to try it out.

In this edition, Jerod and Coach talk to Mike DeCourcy about Indiana’s recent run and other Big Ten topics. Then they welcome Brendan Quinn from The Athletic and The Moving Screen Pod to get you ready for Indiana’s game against Michigan on Saturday night. After that, we dive into the mailbag and answer a bunch of questions submitted by community members.

Enjoy!

Here is the audio:

And here is the video replay:

The post Banner Friday: Mike DeCourcy, Brendan Quinn, and Mailbag appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Thursday, IU women’s basketball picked up possibly their biggest win in program history 87-78 over Iowa in a top-five matchup before a program record crowd of 13,046. The Hoosiers are now 23-1 overall and 13-1 in the league and have the inside track to the Big Ten title with a 1.5 game lead over the Hawkeyes with just four contests left.

On the mics: Kathy Amos, Andy Bottoms

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post DTW: Iowa Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Tuesday, IU stopped a long losing streak to Rutgers by grinding out a 66-60 win. Trayce Jackson-Davis led the Hoosiers with 20 points and 18 rebounds as they finally defeated the Scarlet Knights for the first time in his career (Rutgers was only Big Ten school TJD had yet to defeat during his time at Indiana). Jackson-Davis also surpassed 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds while on the team. The squad as a whole moves to second place in the league at 8-5 behind only Purdue and is now 17-7 overall.

On the mics: Brian Tonsoni, Ryan Phillips, Jerod Morris

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU-Rutgers Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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No. 4 Indiana easily beat a much improved Purdue team in front of sold out raucous atmosphere at Mackey Arena 69-46. IU pulled away with a terrific third quarter and got contributions all day from unexpected sources including Chloe Moore McNeil and Sara Scalia as four Hoosiers finished in double figures. The team improves to 22-1 and 12-1 in the league with five games left. The Cream and Crimson play the Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday in Bloomington (6:30pm BTN) with the winner having the inside track to a Big Ten Title as both squads are two games clear of everyone else in the conference with their single defeat.

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post DTW: Purdue Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Saturday, the Hoosiers knocked off the highly-ranked Boilermakers in a raucous Assembly Hall for the second straight season. Indiana jumped out to a 15-point lead but Purdue rallied behind elite big man Zach Edey who scored at will in the post after halftime. However, when the Boilers cut the lead to 71-70, IU made critical free throws and Jalen Hood-Schifino knocked down huge shots in last few minutes to hold on 79-74. The team improves to 16-7 overall and 7-5 in the league.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Galen Clavio

We also point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU-Purdue Postgame Show: Hoosiers Knock Off No. 1 Purdue appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Wednesday, Indiana dominated Minnesota 77-54 in their final game of the year against a struggling opponent. The Hoosiers improved to 21-1 overall and 11-1 in the league with just six regular season games left as the team chases a Big Ten title.

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos, Austin Render

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

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The post DTW: Minnesota Post-Game Show/Recap appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us on Thursday night for our weekly discussion about Indiana basketball. We’ll look ahead to Indiana’s Saturday matchup with Purdue and catch up on some mailbag questions.

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Brian Tonsoni, Andy Bottoms, Tony Andragna

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post AC Radio: IU-Purdue Preview and Mailbag appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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No. 21 IU’s five game winning streak was stopped in College Park against a solid Maryland team who has been elite at home. It was a rough offensive night for the Hoosiers who scored just 55 points and missed a ton of shots in a 66-55 defeat. Indiana falls to 15-7 and 6-5 in the Big Ten and have their biggest game of the year so far on Saturday at 4pm on ESPN against the countries top ranked team in arch rival Purdue.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Ryan Phillips, Brian Tonsoni

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU-Maryland Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Sunday, women’s basketball easily defeated a struggling Rutgers team 91-68. With the victory the Hoosiers take over the Big Ten lead at 10-1 with eight games left and are 20-1 overall. The schedule is a gauntlet down the stretch but IU is in prime position to possible win the conference for the first time since 1983.

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post DTW: Rutgers Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Saturday, IU used a 15-0 run to close the first half to pull away from Ohio State and easily held on from there for an 86-70 win. It was the Hoosiers fifth straight victory as Indiana improved to 6-4 in the league 15-6 overall. Jalen Hood Schifino led a red-hot night for the team from 3 point range with six triples and scored 24 points while Trayce Jackson-Davis had another double-double with 18 points.

On the mics: Andy Bottoms, Ryan Phillips, Mark Titus, brief appearance by Brian Tonsoni live from Assembly Hall

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU-Ohio State Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Thursday, IU got their biggest win of the season by knocking off no. 2 OSU with a huge third quarter 78-65. For the second straight game IU set a regular season attendance record of 10,455 fans. The team improves to 19-1 and 9-1 in the Big Ten to take over first place in the conference.

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Jay Horrey

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of Doing The Work.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post DTW: Ohio State Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Wednesday, IU struggled mightily against an undermanned Golden Gopher team. However, the Hoosiers were willed over the finish line by Trayce Jackson-Davis who had 25 points and 21 rebounds in a 61-57 win. Indiana was without head coach Mike Woodson who was recovering from COVID. TJD scored the game winning layup with under a minute left on an offensive rebound to break a 57 all tie.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Brian Tonsoni, Jeff Marlow

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU-Minnesota Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Monday, IU got a huge ranked win on the road against top-15 Michigan 92-83. With the victory the team is 18-1 which is their best start in program history. They are also 8-1 in the Big Ten and are tied atop the conference at the halfway point.

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Andy Bottoms

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post DTW: Michigan Post-Game appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Sunday, Indiana out toughed a physical Michigan State team by taking control in the second half for an 82-69 win. Trayce Jackson-Davis had another huge game with 31 points and 15 rebounds while the team shot 9-15 from three-point land and 21-24 from the free throw line. The Hoosiers improve to 13-6 overall and 4-4 in the league as they rolled to their third straight victory.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Andy Bottoms, Ryan Phillips, Brian Tonsoni

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU-Michigan State Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Behind Trayce Jackson-Davis’ 35 point dominant performance, IU rolled 80-65 in one of their most dominant road wins in a long time. The Hoosiers took control early and responded to every Illini run to pull away for the victory. The team is now 12-6 overall and 3-4 in the league and has steadied their proverbial ship with their last two impressive performances.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Andy Bottoms, Jeff Marlow

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU-Illinois Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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IU played very well after an early deficit to beat an up and coming ranked Illinois team 83-72. The Illini are building an elite program under new coach Shauna Green similar to what Coach Moren (who set the IU record for wins tonight) has built at IU. The team is now 17-1 in league and 7-1 overall.

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post Doing The Work Postgame: Illinois appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Sunday, no. 6 Indiana rolled over a struggling Badgers squad 93-56 before the second largest crowd ever of 10,422. Mackenzie Holmes led IU with 29 points while Yarden Garzon added 19 points in a huge day in front of her visiting family. The team improves to 16-1 overall and 6-1 in the Big Ten.

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post DTW: Wisconsin appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Saturday the Hoosiers got back on track with a big second half to pull away for a 63-45 win over Wisconsin. It is just the fourth victory over the Badgers since the 2008 and the first positive outcome against them that did not come down to the wire since 2005. Indiana improved to 11-6 overall and 2-4 in the Big Ten to get out of the basement of the league and brighten their postseason hopes a bit.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Andy Bottoms, Brian Tonsoni, Ryan Phillips

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU-Wisconsin Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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This week on Assembly Call Radio, we will provide further thoughts about Indiana’s loss to Penn State. Then we open up the mailbag for your questions.

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Brian Tonsoni, Andy Bottoms, Ryan Phillips

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post AC Radio: Andy and Ryan’s Penn State Reaction Plus Mailbag appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Thursday, the Indiana women won a thrilling game over Maryland in a top 10 showdown 68-61. The Hoosiers led after the first quarter and held off several Terp runs late for a huge victory. The team is now 15-1 overall and 5-1 in the league. After the game, our crew broke it all down on The Assembly Call IU Postgame Show.

On the mics: Kathy Amos, Amanda Foster

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post DTW: Maryland Postgame appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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The Hoosiers stayed close early but were eventually crushed by Penn State 85-66 in another blowout as the team continues to struggle. IU is now 1-4 in league play and 10-6 overall.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Brian Tonsoni, Jeff Marlow

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU-Penn State Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Sunday, the Hoosiers continued to struggle and fell into a big early deficit at home versus Northwestern and were unable to rally late in an 84-83 defeat. The team is now 10-5 overall and 1-3 in league play.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Andy Bottoms, Ryan Phillips, Brian Tonsoni

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU-Northwestern Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Sunday, Grace Berger returned from injury after an extended absence and led IU to any easy 72-50 victory road victory at Northwestern. The team improves to 14-1 overall and 4-1 in league play.

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post DTW: Northwestern Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On Thursday, Indiana jumped out to a huge 21 point lead early but Iowa came back to win a nail biter 91-89. The Hoosiers also lost Race Thompson to a potentially serious injury and plenty of questions can be raised now about where this season is headed? IU is now 10-4 overall and 1-2 in the league. After the game, our crew broke it all down on The Assembly Call IU Postgame Show.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Ryan Phillips, Andy Bottoms

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU-Iowa Postgame Show: Hoosiers Collapse Late Against Hawkeyes appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join Kathy Amos, Jeff Marlow, and special guest Amanda Foster as they discuss the Hoosiers New Year’s Day game against the Cornhuskers.

On the mics: Kathy Amos, Jeff Marlow, Amanda Foster

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post Doing The Work Postgame Show: Nebraska appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us on Thursday night for our weekly discussion about Indiana basketball. This week, we’ll roll through some Hoosier headlines, answer some burning audience questions, and take stock of the current state of the Hoosiers with a discussion about whether the glass is currently half full or half empty.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Brian Tonsoni, Tony Andragna

We also point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post AC Radio: Glass Half Full or Half Empty? appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join Kathy & Jeff as they break down IUWBB’s return to conference play against Michigan State.

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos

We also point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post DTW: Michigan State Postgame appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us immediately following Indiana’s game against Kennesaw State for The Assembly Call IU Postgame Show.

On the mics: Kathy Amos, Jeff Marlow, Andy Bottoms, Ryan Phillips

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU-Kennesaw State Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us on Thursday night at 9 ET for our weekly discussion about Indiana basketball. Chronic Hoosier will join Coach Tonsoni and Andy Bottoms to reflect on the last two weeks, which have seen Indiana suffer a handful of bad losses and a potential season-ending injury to Xavier Johnson. Where do the Hoosiers go from here?

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Brian Tonsoni, Andy Bottoms, Chronic Hoosier

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post AC Radio: What’s Next After 3 Bad Losses and X’s Injury? appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join Kathy Amos and Jeff Marlow as they discuss the Hoosiers’ victories over Morehead State and Butler.

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post DTW: Morehead State and Butler Recaps appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us immediately following Indiana’s game on Tuesday night against Elon for The Assembly Call IU Postgame Show.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Brian Tonsoni, Ryan Phillips

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU-Elon Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us immediately following Indiana’s game in Lawrence against Kansas for The Assembly Call IU Postgame Show.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Brian Tonsoni, Ryan Phillips.

We also point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU-Kansas Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us on Thursday at 9 ET for our weekly discussion about Indiana basketball. We’ll reflect on Indiana’s experience in Las Vegas and look ahead to this weekend’s big game against Kansas.

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Brian Tonsoni, Ryan Phillips, special guest Tate Frazier

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post AC Radio: Vegas Reflections and IU-Kansas Preview with Tate Frazier appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join Kathy Amos and Jeff Marlow as they recap Hoosier’s B1G road victory over PSU and preview their upcoming opponents.

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post DTW: Penn State Recap appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us immediately following Indiana’s battle in Vegas against Arizona for The Assembly Call IU Postgame Show.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Ryan Phillips, Andy Bottoms

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU-Arizona Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us on Thursday night at 9 ET for our weekly discussion about Indiana basketball. Jerod Morris and Andy Bottoms will be on hand with special guest Matt Cox from Three Man Weave to reflect on Indiana’s first two Big Ten games and look ahead to Saturday’s epic tilt in Vegas against Arizona.

All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Andy Bottoms, Matt Cox

Listen to the edited podcast here:

And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Subscribe for free to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Click here to view all the ways you can subscribe for free to our show. |

Programming notes:

You can listen to Assembly Call Radio live on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings, and on Saturday mornings beginning at 11:00 a.m.
You can also listen on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on The Big X — WXVW (1450 AM and 96.1 FM) — in the Jeffersonville area.

The post AC Radio: IU-Arizona Preview Extravaganza appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us immediately following Indiana’s home tilt with Nebraska for The Assembly Call IU Postgame Show.

On the mics: Jerod Morris, Ryan Phillips, Jeff Marlow

We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post IU-Nebraska Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join Jeff Marlow and Kathy Amos as they recap Sunday’s IU game versus Illinois.

On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos

We also point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

NEED IU GEAR?You will find the comfiest and most unique IU apparel at http://homefieldApparel.com, the new collegiate sports brand developed by our friends and long-time sponsors at Hoosier Proud.

And at http://hoosierproud.com, you will still find the best state-of-Indiana-themed apparel, plus our official Assembly Call logo t-shirts, while sending 10% of your purchase to causes around Indiana like Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.

Use the promo code ASSEMBLY at checkout at either site to get 15% off your first purchase.

Subscribe to The Assembly Call

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The post DTW: Illinois Recap appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us immediately following Indiana’s Saturday afternoon battle with Rutgers for The Assembly Call IU Postgame Show. On the mics: Jerod Morris, Brian Tonsoni, Ryan Phillips We also point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this […]

The post IU-Rutgers Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us for our weekly discussion about Indiana basketball. This week, Coach Tonsoni and Coach Adragna do a deep dive into what worked for Indiana in the Hoosiers’ big win over North Carolina. All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call. On the mics: Brian Tonsoni, Tony Andragna Listen to the […]

The post AC Radio: Coaches Corner Breakdown of IU-UNC appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join Kathy Amos and Jeff Marlow as they recap the #5/#4 Hoosiers game versus #6 North Carolina in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of […]

The post DTW: North Carolina ACC/Big Ten Challenge Post-Game Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us immediately following Indiana’s final Big Ten/ACC Challenge game against North Carolina for The Assembly Call IU Postgame Show. On the mics: Jerod Morris, Ryan Phillips, Andy Bottoms We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of […]

The post IU-North Carolina Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join Jeff Marlow and special guest Austin Render as they discuss the IU women’s trip to the Las Vegas Invitational where they played Auburn and Memphis. They will also preview the upcoming ACC/B1G Challenge with UNC at SSAH. All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call. On the mics: Jeff Marlow, […]

The post DTW: Las Vegas Recap and UNC Preview appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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On the eve of Indiana’s big game against North Carolina, Mark Titus from the world’s best college basketball podcast (Titus & Tate) joined Jerod to preview Wednesday’s matchup. The game has taken on a bit of a different tenor now that North Carolina has lost twice and fallen in the standings. We discuss whether this […]

The post Special Edition: IU-UNC Preview with Mark Titus appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us immediately following Indiana’s post-Thanksgiving home game against Jackson State for The Assembly Call IU Postgame Show. On the mics: Brian Tonsoni, Ryan Phillips We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on […]

The post IU-Jackson State Postgame Show appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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Join us immediately following Indiana’s game against Little Rock for The Assembly Call IU Postgame Show. On the mics: Jerod Morris, Brian Tonsoni We recap the game, point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition […]

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Join us immediately following Indiana’s Sunday matchup in Indianapolis against Miami (Ohio) for The Assembly Call IU Postgame Show. On the mics: Jerod Morris, Andy Bottoms, Brian Tonsoni We also point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, […]

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Join us immediately following Indiana’s road test at Xavier for The Assembly Call IU Postgame Show. On the mics: Jerod Morris, Ryan Phillips, Tony Adragna We also point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this edition […]

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Join us on Thursday night for our weekly discussion on Indiana basketball. We’ll preview IU-Xavier and provide early impressions of what we’ve seen from the Big Ten so far. Plus: mailbag! All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call. 21:45 39:47 On the mics: Andy Bottoms, Ryan Philips, Brian Tonsoni Listen […]

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Join Kathy Amos and Jeff Marlow as they break down the Hoosiers game at Tennessee and also the home game versus UMass-Lowell. On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos (Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.) Listen to the podcast here: Or watch the video: NEED IU GEAR? […]

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Join us immediately following Indiana’s Thursday night game against Bethune Cookman for The Assembly Call IU Postgame Show. On the mics: Brian Tonsoni, Ryan Phillips, Andy Bottoms We point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this […]

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Kathy Amos and Jeff Marlow will recap Indiana’s exhibition game versus Kentucky Wesleyan and the season opener versus Vermont. On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos We also point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, and hand out our game balls. All of that, and more, on this […]

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On Monday, Indiana pulled away in the second half for an easy 35 point victory after a slow start at the beginning. After the game, our crew broke it all down on The Assembly Call IU Postgame Show. On the mics: Jerod Morris, Ryan Phillips, Brian Tonsoni (brief cameo from Assembly Hall) (Music provided by […]

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Join us after today’s second exhibition game against St. Francis for another edition of The Assembly Call IU Postgame Show. On the mics: Jerod Morris, Andy Bottoms (Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.) Listen to the podcast here: Or watch the video: NEED IU GEAR? You will […]

The post IU-Saint Francis Postgame Show: Hoosiers Cruise In Final Exhibition Game appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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As we get ready for game action to begin, tonight’s episode will be an opportunity for our listeners/followers/community members to ask us anything about the IU Women’s team, Big Ten, and the national landscape. On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos Listen to the edited podcast here: And here is the unedited video of the […]

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We recap Indiana’s exhibition game against Marian for The Assembly Call IU Postgame Show. On the mics: Jerod Morris, Ryan Phillips, Brian Tonsoni (Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.) Listen to the podcast here: Or watch the video: NEED IU GEAR? You will find the comfiest and […]

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In the 11th episode of The Inside Scoop with Tamar Bates presented by Speakeasy Sales Copy, we look ahead to Scoop’s much-anticipated sophomore season. And while many pundits view Tamar as a prime “breakout” candidate, he’s not thinking that way, at least as it relates to individual accolades. He’s focused on learning from his freshman […]

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This week on Assembly Call Radio, join us for our annual Over-Under episode. Jay Horrey has a list of over-unders ready to go, and our intrepid hosts will courageously make their picks ahead of the season tipping off. All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call. On the mics: Brian Tonsoni, […]

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Guest Kyle Huesmann from Hawkeye Report joins DTW to talk Iowa Women’s Basketball and Big Ten Women’s Basketball. All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call. On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kyle Huesmann Listen to the edited podcast here: And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this […]

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Join Kathy & Jeff as they recap IU Women’s Media Day. All that and much more on this edition of Doing The Work. On the mics: Jeff Marlow, Kathy Amos Listen to the edited podcast here: And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode: (Music provided by Bob Thompson […]

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This week on Assembly Call Radio, special guest Alex Bozich from Inside the Hall joins us to discuss their recent series laying out the Top 25 players in the Big Ten. Where do we agree and disagree? Plus: Hoosier Headlines and answers to your questions. All that and much more on this edition of The […]

The post AC Radio: Who Are The Big Ten’s Best Players? (with Special Guest Alex Bozich) appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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This week on Assembly Call Radio, we’ll have instant reactions to Thursday’s Media Day festivities, and take listener questions. All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call. On the mics: Brian Tonsoni, Ryan Phillips Listen to the edited podcast here: And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of […]

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This week on Assembly Call Radio, Jerod and Coach will take a macro look at Indiana’s recruiting efforts, and then dive into a fun conversation about Big Ten coaches. On the mics: Jerod Morris, Brian Tonsoni Listen to the edited podcast here: And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s […]

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This week on Assembly Call Radio, we Join Jeff and Kathy, along with our guest, Amanda Foster from Inside The Hall as we discuss the 2022-23 IU Women’s Basketball Schedule that was released last week by the Big Ten office. All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call. On the mics: […]

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This week on Assembly Call Radio, we’ll hit all the relevant headlines and then do a way-too-deep dive into Big Ten schedule, which was released on Thursday afternoon. All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call. On the mics: Jerod Morris, Andy Bottoms, Ryan Phillips, Scott Caulfield Listen to the edited […]

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This week’s edition of AC Radio will feature a look at the week’s news, some thoughts on the upcoming IU football season, and then a deep dive into the listener mailbag. All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call. On the mics: Jerod Morris, Ryan Phillips Listen to the edited podcast […]

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This week on Assembly Call Radio, we’ll have a special guest: Matt Cox from 3-Man Weave. He’ll give his insight on IU, the Big Ten, and some of the biggest college basketball storylines of the upcoming season All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call. On the mics: Brian Tonsoni, Andy […]

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This week on Doing The Work we discuss the history of Title IX. On the mics: Kathy Amos, Jeff Marlow Listen to the edited podcast here: And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode: (Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.) Subscribe […]

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This week on Assembly Call Radio, we break down the massive Big Ten media rights deal and give their best minutes projection for Indiana’s deep, talented, roster. All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call. On the mics: Brian Tonsoni, Ryan Phillips Listen to the edited podcast here: And here is […]

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This week on Assembly Call Radio, we look at what’s at stake statistically for a few Hoosiers — most notably Trayce Jackson-Davis, who has a chance to rewrite the IU record books. All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call. On the mics: Jerod Morris, Andy Bottoms, Brian Tonsoni Listen to […]

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This week on Assembly Call Radio, we rank IU’s entire roster. All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call. On the mics: Jerod Morris, Brian Tonsoni, Jeff Marlow Listen to the edited podcast here: And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode: (Music provided by […]

The post AC Radio: Power Ranking IU’s Intriguing Roster From 1-13 appeared first on The Assembly Call.

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In place of Assembly Call Radio this week, we have an expert guest who can give us on insight on the topic everyone cares about during the last week in July: recruiting. Rob Cassidy is the Director of Basketball Recruiting for Rivals, and he gives his analysis and opinion on a variety of topics, including: […]

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This week on Assembly Call Radio, we discuss this week’s article about IU in The Athletic, react to some more player media interviews, and then spend some time discussing in-game coaching tweaks we’d love to see this season as IU looks to build upon last season’s late success. Plus, answers to community questions. All that […]

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This week on Assembly Call Radio, we heatedly debate the bombshell news of the Big Ten adding UCLA and USC. All that and much more on this edition of The Assembly Call. On the mics: Jerod Morris, Ryan Phillips, Andy Bottoms Listen to the edited podcast here: And here is the unedited video of the […]

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The Inside Scoop is back! The tenth episode of The Inside Scoop with Tamar Bates presented by Speakeasy Sales Copy, began with this text message from Tamar to Jerod: “The freshman want to hop on an episode with us.” So they did. And the resulting episode is filled with insight from four freshmen getting their […]

The post The Inside Scoop with Tamar Bates: Episode 10 – Scoop, Fino, Malik, Kaleb, and CJ appeared first on The Assembly Call.

The Assembly Call Indiana Basketball Podcast: Recent Episodes

Jerod Morris, The Assembly Call