Author: Seth Tow

Mackenzie Holmes has accomplished so much throughout her Indiana women’s basketball career. But on Sunday, she may experience her biggest achievement yet. Holmes, following her 28-point performance against Michigan State on Thursday, sits at 2,348 career points — 17 shy of passing Tyra Buss to become the program’s all-time leading scorer. Given that Holmes is scoring 22.5 points per game since Big Ten play restarted on December 31, she will most likely reach the milestone on Sunday against Purdue. Buss set her mark in four seasons, from 2014 to 2018. She led the Hoosiers to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in…

From the moment Mackenzie Holmes entered the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall media room Thursday night, it just felt different. The graduate student has made that walk from the locker room to the podium countless times over the last five years. She shows as much emotion as anyone on the court, and it occasionally creeps into her press conferences, but she’s typically measured and humble when she steps into the room and takes questions. Holmes still maintained those qualities Thursday. But her body language at the podium after IU’s thrilling 94-91 win over Michigan State exuded more pride than normal. She…

BLOOMINGTON — IU women’s basketball has faced plenty of tests this season. But the 14th-ranked Hoosiers hadn’t been tested on their home floor this year quite as hard as they were by Michigan State on Thursday. The Spartans came into Bloomington and forced IU to play their way for a majority of the game. But Indiana is a battle-tested, veteran team, and turned the tide when it mattered most. The Hoosiers flexed their clutch genes in the fourth quarter, and they flexed hard. Sophomore wing Yarden Garzon hit several big shots. Fifth-year guard Sara Scalia drilled a huge 3-pointer to…

Indiana’s class of returning sophomores has had very different seasons this year. Malik Reneau has taken a huge step forward, and is IU’s leading scorer. But CJ Gunn and Kaleb Banks haven’t been able to make similar strides. During a media availability over Zoom on Thursday, IU head coach Mike Woodson was asked about what’s kept Gunn and Banks from progressing this season. And he wasn’t entirely sure of that answer. “You know, I wish I knew. Because they have worked. I mean, in practice they work,” Woodson said. “I’ve just got find some confidence somewhere in one of them,…

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Indiana men’s basketball appeared to be on a familiar path. The Hoosiers struggled in the first half Tuesday at Ohio State, and trailed by double digits at halftime. They badly needed a strong start to the second half to shift the momentum, but gave up a 7-2 run out of the locker room. The Buckeyes stretched their lead to 18 points. IU answered with an 11-2 run, but had a lot of work to do. It felt like a repeat of several other games throughout this season — the team would keep fighting and not go down…

After Maryland women’s basketball rolled out some press defense against Indiana on Wednesday, Teri Moren thought her IU team handled it well. The Hoosiers committed more turnovers in the second half in College Park, but that had more to do with the Terps’ matchup zone with a lot of halfcourt traps. After that game, Moren said the Hoosiers prepared for Maryland’s press, and didn’t see it cause many issues. Sunday’s game against Ohio State was another story. The Buckeyes run a more aggressive full-court press, and it completely flustered the Hoosiers. And it ultimately proved the difference in the game,…

Indiana’s biggest road games of the season have been major disappointments this year. Sunday added another to the list. No. 10 IU women’s basketball struggled against No. 8 Ohio State’s press defense, and the Hoosiers fell 74-69 in Columbus at Value City Arena. Indiana (18-3, 9-2 Big Ten) wasn’t blown out like it was against Iowa and Stanford, and the Hoosiers didn’t go down easily. IU went on a 12-4 run within the final three minutes to put late pressure on Ohio State (19-3, 10-1). But this was a major missed opportunity. The Buckeyes pulled a game ahead of IU…

In an Indiana men’s basketball season defined by fleeting positives and more frequent negatives, Saturday brought one of the lowest points yet. In fact, IU’s 85-71 loss to Penn State at Simon Skjodt Assembly may not be only the worst loss of its season so far; it’s one of the worst losses of Mike Woodson’s tenure as head coach. Penn State (11-11, 5-6 Big Ten) came to Bloomington with a losing record. Its program is in transition, after Micah Shrewsberry departed following last season and Mike Rhoades took over. Its roster is even more transfer-laden than Indiana’s. At this point,…

The 3-point lines on both ends of the court have been one of the biggest problems for Indiana this season. The Hoosiers have been one of the worst 3-point offenses in the country, and defending the arc on the other side has been a struggle in many games as well. The low point came during the loss at Illinois, when they went 0 for 9 from 3-point range and the Fighting Illini went 7 for 23. IU improved against Iowa — both teams attempted 22 threes, but the Hoosiers made eight while the Hawkeyes drilled six. And IU’s defense has…

After suffering injuries against Iowa, Malik Reneau and Xavier Johnson are uncertain to play against Penn State on Saturday. IU head coach Mike Woodson provided updates on the pair during a media availability over Zoom on Friday. He said Reneau is dealing with an ankle injury and Johnson has an elbow injury. “Right now, we’re still evaluating them. I’ll know more today when we get to practice,” Woodson said. “I spoke to Tim (Garl) this morning. At this point, I don’t really know. I don’t. It was X’s elbow and Malik’s ankle. They didn’t do anything yesterday, so we’ll see if…