Author: Seth Tow

With the dust settled on rosters for the 2023-24 season, we’re going team-by-team in the Big Ten to assess where everyone stands and how things could shake out this year. Next up is Nebraska, who enters year five under Fred Hoiberg still searching for its first postseason appearance under the former Chicago Bulls head coach. Nebraska closed the regular season on a strong run last year, with six wins in its last eight games, including upsets over Penn State, Rutgers, Maryland, and Iowa. But the Cornhuskers still finished just 9-11 in Big Ten play and 16-16 overall, and they underwent…

Add another accolade to the long list Mackenzie Holmes has accrued throughout her storied IU career. Holmes was named a preseason All-American by the Associated Press on Tuesday. She’s one of six players on the All-American team, along with Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, LSU’s Angel Reese, Virginia Tech’s Elizabeth Kitley, UConn’s Paige Bueckers, and Stanford’s Cameron Brink. Clark was the lone unanimous selection. Holmes is Indiana’s first-ever AP preseason All-American. She was also the program’s first postseason AP All-American back in 2021, and she became IU’s first-ever first-team selection last year. She’s coming off a huge season, with 22.3 points and…

Trent Howland tries to do it both ways. The burly Indiana running back is well aware of his size, at 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds. He was big enough to temporarily fill a need for linebacker depth last season. His strength and power can be a real weapon in the backfield. He hasn’t always weaponized those attributes to their full potential, thinking of his style more akin to a smaller player. But Howland is coming around on that, and is earning an increased role in the IU offense. “I know I’m big and I know I can run through people and…

The Indiana football quarterback carousel is rotating rapidly. It’s turning so fast, and the seats are so greased up, that nobody can hang on. After IU rotated between redshirt freshmen Brendan Sorsby and Tayven Jackson against Michigan last week, head coach Tom Allen acknowledged the constant back-and-forth has made things harder for both players and said the team would pick one as the starter moving forward. This was after the preseason quarterback battle extended into the first two weeks of the regular season, after which point Jackson was named the starter. The Hoosiers went with Sorsby on Saturday against Rutgers…

When Mackenzie Holmes suited up for her first game in an Indiana uniform, she looked unrecognizable compared to the career that would follow. The forward joined the Hoosiers in 2019, as they looked to build on their first NCAA Tournament win in four years. At 6-foot-3, Holmes was taller than most of her competition growing up, and developed into a five-star recruit at Gorham (Maine) High School. She had immense potential entering college. But her bright future wasn’t always clearly evident. Holmes’ first IU appearance came in an exhibition game against McKendree (Ill.) University in early November. And even before…

With the dust mostly settled on rosters for the 2023-24 season, we’re going team-by-team in the Big Ten to assess where everyone stands and how things could shake out next year. Next up is Rutgers, which has developed some consistency under Steve Pikiell in the last several years, but is still looking to take the next step. The Scarlet Knights finished in a tie for ninth in the Big Ten last year with a 10-10 league record, and a 19-15 overall mark. And they finished just short of a third consecutive NCAA Tournament bid — Rutgers was the second team…

Following its first Big Ten championship in 40 years, Indiana women’s basketball is back among the top teams in the country. The Hoosiers open the season ranked No. 9 in both the preseason AP Poll and coaches poll, which both came out on Tuesday. This is the second time in program history that Indiana earned a top-10 ranking in the preseason AP poll, and this is the 17th consecutive AP Poll in which IU has placed in the top 10, dating back to week 2 of last season. Overall, it’s the 36th top-10 AP Poll ranking in program history. And…

Indiana football, once again, does not have a starting quarterback. After the Hoosiers rotated between redshirt freshmen Tayven Jackson and Brendan Sorsby during last week’s 52-7 loss at Michigan, head coach Tom Allen would not name a starter for this week’s game against Rutgers. Jackson started and finished 7 for 13 for 52 yards with two interceptions, and he also lost a fumble. Sorsby went 6 for 15 for 44 passing yards, and he rushed for 30 yards on 13 attempts with a lost fumble. Allen said the team won’t continue rotating between the two players — the Hoosiers will…

Indiana football’s margin for error is gone. The Hoosiers host Rutgers on Saturday for their homecoming game, and it’s essentially a must-win game. That would’ve been the case even if their loss to No. 2 Michigan over the weekend was less lopsided. The 52-7 defeat was unquestionably disappointing, after an encouraging start to the game, but a big loss wasn’t unexpected in that matchup. But now, halfway through the regular season, Indiana has to get back on track before it’s too late. The math is simple. IU is 2-4 with six games to go. It’d need six wins to earn…

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Indiana football faced a daunting task coming out of its bye week, with a road battle against No. 2 Michigan at Michigan Stadium. The Wolverines (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) are one of the best teams in the country for a reason, and they showed it on Saturday. Indiana (2-4, 0-3) played one of its best quarters of the season to start the game and led 7-0 after the first 15 minutes, but Michigan ran away with it from there. The score got out of hand during the third quarter, and things quickly fell apart for the…