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(11/13/19 4:52am)
Following only an 11-point win and a quite competitive game against Portland State on Saturday, Indiana needed a convincing win over North Alabama on Tuesday.
The Hoosiers took care of business, beating the Lions 91-65. In the process, Rob Phinisee gave another convincing performance that he is back to his normal self after recovering from injury.
Phinisee led the team with six assists and was also the second leading scorer of the night with 13 points while hitting 50 percent of his shot attempts.
“I do think hopefully he continues to build day by day and gets better and better,” Indiana head coach Archie Miller said of Phinisee’s performance.
Not only did the sophomore guard turn in a solid individual performance, but he led an Indiana offense that looked the smoothest that it has all year.
Phinisee did not start this game. It was Armaan Franklin, who has started every game thus far due to Phinisee's injury. In the second half though, Phinisee got the nod and it made all the difference.
At the half, Indiana only led by seven. In the second period, the script was flipped. Indiana started clicking offensively, outscoring the Lions 44-25. Phinisee led the charge, as his six assists accounted half of the total assists for the Hoosiers on the night.
It was an entire team effort and balanced scoring attack. Along with Phinisee, four other Hoosiers found themselves scoring in double digit scoring figures, including bench players Jerome Hunter and Damezi Anderson who had 13 and 10, respectively. Both are season highs for each player. As a team, Indiana shot 50 percent from the field and had 46 points off the bench.
“It's not going to be the same guy every night with this group,” Miller said. “We have a lot of different types of guys that can help us and contribute in a lot of ways.”
The Indiana offense also found itself rolling in spots that have been typical areas of struggle in the Archie Miller era at Indiana. The Hoosiers got to the line plenty and converted on their opportunities from the charity stripe, shooting a season-best 82 percent on 45 attempts. Moreover, Indiana hit eight 3-point shots and was 38 percent from beyond the arc, both season highs as well.
(11/11/19 4:35pm)
Two games into the regular season, and Indiana holds two wins by double-digit scoring margins over Western Illinois and Portland State.
Next up on the schedule is North Alabama, which Indiana hosts Tuesday night. North Alabama enters the matchup with a 1-1 record in only its second season as a Division 1 program. Last year, the Lions went 10-22 and lost in their first game of the Atlantic Sun tournament.
The Hoosiers will look to keep up their winning ways, but there are certainly some areas where Indiana needs to improve in by the time they reach the main competition of their schedule.
The biggest area of struggle thus far has been a typical strength of Archie Miller coached teams: defense. Following the win over Portland State on Saturday, Miller expressed his displeasure with the current state of the team’s defense.
“If we don't get our defense going in another direction here, we're going to experience some really hard moments in games,” Miller said. “We can't get stops.”
Indiana’s defense particularly struggled against guarding Portland State’s backcourt. The Vikings’ Holland Woods and Matt Hauser gave the Hoosiers quite the challenge on Saturday. The duo combined for 48 of Portland State’s total 74 points and were efficient doing so. The two shot a combined 55% from the field and were 8-for-14 on their 3-point attempts too. Past Holland Woods, the next leading scorer for Portland State had 10 points.
Indiana’s guards — Rob Phinisee, Al Durham and Armaan Franklin — played a little loose on the ball defensively, and that is what exposed them on Saturday, according to Miller.
“I would just say in general we don't have the toughness or the pressure on the ball right now that we're going to need,” Miller said.
Collectively, the entire team struggled with playing tight defense without fouling. Portland State went to the line 32 times, which was twice more than Indiana, while shooting a slightly better percentage than the Hoosiers did as well.
Miller also drew issue in the team’s lack of energy on defense, forcing very few takeaways and not protecting the rim as well as he would have liked.
“You kind of look at our deflections, we only had four steals, only four blocked shots,” Miller said. “Not a very active defense right now. That's going to have to pick up.”
The lack of blocks could have been attributed to the Hoosiers not playing much of big men Joey Brunk or De’Ron Davis in the second half, going small to matchup better with the tempo and press of Portland State. At the same time, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Justin Smith are both good post defenders in their own right.
The immediate response and major help to Indiana’s defensive ailments moving forward is a recovering Phinisee. After being sidelined in practice for almost the entire month of October with injury, he is showing that he is getting closer and closer to 100% and back to being the defensive specialist that he is.
Phinisee asserted himself a year ago as a staunch, on-ball defender. Having him back in full health could lead the way in righting the ship on defense as a team for Indiana.
He has progressed in minutes played every game thus far, from playing under 20 minutes against Gannon in the exhibition and Western Illinois to 26 minutes against Portland State. Should he keep progressing as he has, it’ll be only a matter of time before Phinisee is back in the starting lineup.
Miller said that Phinisee is still rusty at times and that he is playing more in the games right now than he is in practice, but he is making his game time count and contributing just as he was prior to being hurt.
“Defensively you saw glimpses,” Miller said of Phinisee’s effort. “When we needed to get some things done, he was really able to sit down and guard. When you get in tough ones, you're going to go with the guys that have been there. Rob has been there.”
(11/09/19 10:46pm)
In a more-challenging-than-expected 85-71 win over Portland State, Indiana made up for its defensive miscues with balanced scoring.
From top to bottom of the roster, about every guy who went in made an impact. Of Indiana’s 10 healthy scholarship players, nine of them played and eight scored. Four Hoosiers reached double digits in scoring as well.
The usual scoring leaders of Al Durham and Justin Smith led the way with 18 and 16 points, respectively, but it was the often-forgotten member of Indiana’s 2017 recruiting class, Race Thompson, who arguably made the most impact.
The high-energy hustle and unexpected scoring burst Thompson provided were necessary in the Hoosiers securing their second win of the season.
“Race in his 16 and a half minutes was very impactful,” Indiana head coach Archie Miller said. “Offensive rebounding, huge. Some of his baskets we needed because we were playing ugly for most of the game offensively.”
Playing the second-most minutes off the bench with 16, Thompson was highly efficient. He was just short of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Both were career highs for the redshirt sophomore.
What is more impressive than his nine rebounds alone was the fact that he had more offensive rebounds (five) than defensive (four). Keeping possessions alive and getting extra shots via Thompson’s effort on the glass for the Hoosiers was a needed boost and oftentimes how he scored his points.
Thompson’s stellar rebounding was crucial for Indiana. In a game where the team’s defense struggled, hitting the glass made up for it. Indiana outrebounded Portland State 41-24.
Thompson’s Indiana career has been a rollercoaster to say the least. Originally part of the class of 2018, he reclassified in the summer of 2017 to get to Bloomington earlier where he took a redshirt year.
Last year, in his first season seeing the court, Thompson battled injury and illness all year which limited him to nine games of action. Other than a standout defensive performance against Ethan Happ in the win over Wisconsin, Thompson’s role was very minimal.
In his redshirt sophomore season, it’s all starting to come together for Thompson. The health and ability are there, and now his role is present as well.
For the first time in his collegiate career, he has found a bit of consistency. In each of Indiana’s games thus far he has recorded at least 15 minutes off the bench and six rebounds.
More opportunity is available for Thompson too if he keeps up his positive contributions on the defensive end. Miller made it known he was unhappy with the team’s defensive effort.
“Right now, for me, this team defensively is not there yet,” Miller said. That's got to be our quest. With this team we got to find a way to get better fast on defense.”
As long as Thompson stays in good health, his role and responsibilities should only expand. Rebounding and guarding the post will always be his strengths and priorities, but more offensive opportunities could come in time too.
For Thompson, this is one good game, but merely a small portion of the big picture.
“I felt real good out there today,” Thompson said of his performance. “Had a good game. Just onto the next one. Excited to keep it going.”
(11/08/19 11:02pm)
After a 98-65 battering of Western Illinois on Tuesday, Indiana sets its sights on Portland State for its second game of the season on Saturday.
Portland State, like IU, is 1-0 after the Vikings defeated Puget Sound in a very similar outcome, winning by a score of 94-69.
A season ago, the Vikings were a .500 team with a 16-16 record before getting bounced in their first game of the Big Sky Tournament by Weber State. What Portland State lacks in success from a year ago it makes up for this season by retaining a very experienced rotation.
Four of the five members of the starting lineup are upperclassmen with three of them being seniors. It should be noted as well that that three of their starters are also transfers.
Indiana will pay particular attention to Holland Woods, Sal Nuhu and Matt Hauser, who are some of Portland State’s best playmakers.
Woods is a junior and three-year starter for the Vikings and has found plenty of success throughout his collegiate career. As a sophomore, his stat line included scoring 15 points, 5.3 assists and three rebounds per game. In the win over Puget Sound, he had 12 points along with five assists and five steals.
Nuhu, a senior and the team’s starting center, is expected to take a big leap in production for the Vikings in his final season. He had 12 points, seven rebounds and six blocks in his one game of action thus far. For a 6-foot-8 center, he protects the rim particularly well. In his junior year he had 64 blocks, an average of two per game.
Hauser, a guard and graduate transfer from Idaho, is already making an impact with his new team. He was the leading scorer with 13 points in the win over Puget Sound while also corralling three boards and steals.
On paper, if IU can limit the offensive production of the three standouts listed, the Hoosiers could be sitting in prime position to have success offensively. Portland State’s starting lineup is significantly smaller than Indiana’s.
Portland State’s starters are as follows:
(11/06/19 3:30am)
After being the hero a week ago, Justin Smith shared the spotlight with fellow junior Al Durham in a 98-65 over Western Illinois.
The two juniors put on a show and were the catalysts for the Hoosiers against the Leathernecks. Each player recorded over 20 points and was dominant on both ends of the floor.
Smith’s night included matching his career high 24 points along with seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks. His performance was in succession of a performance from a week ago when the forward led the team with 18 points in an 84-54 exhibition win over Gannon.
Smith may have been great against Gannon, but Indiana as a whole was relatively sluggish.
Adding Durham back into the rotation Tuesday after missing the game a week ago due to injury, and Indiana showed to be much more dangerous as a team.
“Al's an important part to what we do, he's a leader on our team,” head coach Archie Miller said. “I think he did a nice job with our team in terms of leading them.”
Durham’s 21 points while shooting 7-for-7 from the field with three assists, coupled with Smith’s standout night was the winning formula for Indiana’s dominance over Western Illinois.
(11/04/19 3:17pm)
Tuesday marks the start of the third season in the Archie Miller era with Indiana hosting Western Illinois in the season opener.
A season ago, Western Illinois finished with a 10-21 record and in eighth place in the Summit League regular-season standings. Despite the poor record, the Leathernecks made the semi-finals of the Summit League conference tournament by knocking off No. 1 seed South Dakota State, who had made three straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
This will be the fourth all-time meeting between the Leathernecks and Hoosiers with Indiana leading the series 3-0. They’ll look to continue that success and build some momentum as they start a crucial seven-game stretch.
Crucial is a weird way to describe the beginning of the season in college basketball, but for Indiana’s sake it is applicable.
Indiana’s schedule is set up quite interestingly this year. The Hoosiers play seven straight home games against non-power conference opponents to begin the season and follow that with 24 straight games against Big Ten or other major conference teams.
With the difficult back end of the schedule, and practically no breaks or “cupcakes” throughout the 24-game stretch, the need for wins is high in the first seven games to maximize the Hoosiers’ chances of making the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the Miller era and for the first time since 2016.
Let’s take a look at what to expect from each team on Tuesday.
(10/30/19 2:58am)
Being the only freshman of a backcourt that returned its three lead guards from a year ago, Armaan Franklin wasn’t expected to have as much of a role as he did in his first collegiate game, let alone be the starting point guard.
But that’s exactly what happened as the freshman from Indianapolis stole the show in an 84-54 exhibition win over Gannon Tuesday night.
Franklin was forced to be inserted as a starter while playing an unnatural position to him with team captains Devonte Green and Al Durham out with injury. To add to the pressure, regular starting point guard Rob Phinisee was limited off the bench and rusty after dealing with a lower abdominal injury throughout October.
The difficult circumstances didn’t bother Franklin though. The freshman was excellent in his first collegiate game with 12 points while shooting 50% from the field. He varied his scoring, hitting one 3-point attempt, a midrange jumper and some looks around the rim. Along with the scoring, Franklin had eight rebounds and four assists in a team-high 34 minutes played.
“I think Armaan's the one guy that even surprises me a little bit,” Indiana head coach Archie Miller said of his freshman guard. “He's been very, very good in our two live-action games. And he's played out of position tonight for 30 minutes and he hasn't learned one play at playing point guard, but he started the game at point guard tonight due to what we have kind of endured here in the last 48-some hours.”
(10/28/19 11:20pm)
Indiana commit Anthony Leal is a little old-school for his age.
He shows it in his game, demeanor, quiet personality and even his pregame music selection.
“I don’t listen to all like the crazy, hype, mumble rap type stuff that most people do,” Leal said. “It’s usually some chill type of music or some country music.”
Leal composes himself in a calmer manner on the court too. The four-star shooting guard and top-100 ranked prospect in the 2020 class doesn’t really display emotion or celebrate while on the court, he just does his thing and plays his game. He embodies toughness and prides himself on playing just as hard on defense as he does on the offensive end, even if scoring the ball is what comes naturally to him.
Leal is known for his impressive shooting ability, knocking down 41.9% of his shots from long range this past summer in AAU ball, but he is more than that. He has a good knack of finishing at the rim while also being able to play multiple positions. Naturally, with the ability to perform at a high level and being a versatile player, Leal has the talent to play at a program like Indiana. Beyond the talent, Leal fits perfectly on and off the court for the team he's wanted to play for since an early age.
Leal has grown up and lived in Bloomington his whole life, and as a son of two IU alumni who currently work for the university, playing basketball for Indiana was always the goal.
“To be able to call myself a Hoosier, it’s most literally a dream come true,” Leal said.
Leal has all the intangibles to represent his home school well and could be a key piece in establishing the success and culture that Indiana head coach Archie Miller is aspiring to instill. For years, IU has strived to reclaim the winning pedigree it's had in the past. Carrying over a winning pedigree to his college game is just one thing that an old-school player like Leal can offer when he becomes a Hoosier.
(10/28/19 4:06pm)
The forwards of the 2019-2020 Indiana Hoosiers offer a mixture of talent, experience and untapped potential.
There are seven scholarship forwards on the roster, which includes the big men of the team.
(10/23/19 8:11pm)
The guards on the 2019-2020 Indiana basketball roster present a variety of talent that will be crucial for Hoosier success.
Excluding walk-ons, the roster features four guards, all of whom should receive considerable playing time. The Hoosier guards include a player from each class:
(10/13/19 11:40pm)
In a game of defensive grit and few real chances to score, it was the most impossible of shots that put No. 4 Indiana over the edge for a 1-0 victory over Michigan Sunday afternoon.
In the 67th minute, weaving around two defenders on the left side of the box, Indiana redshirt junior Spencer Glass knocked in a beauty of a shot off his left foot into the top-left corner of the goal from a near impossible angle.
“I’m kind of known to cross it, but they blocked that pretty nice,” Glass said. “I saw their goalie took one step left, and normally you kind of either got to put it bottom right or top left. I saw top left and luckily, I was fortunate enough to put it there."
The goal even came as a shock to Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley, who thought the ball went to the side netting.
“I’m glad we converted, I didn’t think it was a goal,” Yeagley said. “But he said he saw a little window and he’s technical enough to make that play.”
Prior to the goal, the game was very reminiscent of Wednesday’s match-up against No. 16 Kentucky, a physical match-up that saw both squads go scoreless.
That Wednesday match-up left the Hoosiers somewhat drained after two periods of overtime and a total 110 minutes of play against a ranked opponent.
Against Michigan, the game was chippy from kickoff with plenty of collisions and a total of 18 fouls on both sides. Two Hoosiers and two Wolverines earned yellow cards as well.
Indiana and Michigan totaled seven shots on goal, with the Hoosiers owning five of those chances. The intense wind added to the team’s struggles moving the ball.
Once Glass broke through with his goal, there was no looking back. Indiana owned the remainder of the half to secure an 8-1-3 record on the season.
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The goal was Glass’ second of the year with his first coming a week ago on the road at Penn State. The junior is starting to make up some ground on his total of five from a season ago.
Glass’ increased production as of late has served the Hoosiers well and is something that Yeagley attributes to Glass calming down and just playing his game.
“I think at the start of the year he was putting a little bit too much pressure on himself,” Yeagley said.
Beyond the benefit of the individual boost for Glass, the goal keeps Indiana riding a high in conference play.
The Hoosiers remain the only undefeated team in Big Ten play with a 4-0-0 record and 12 points after their win over the Wolverines. Indiana is two points ahead of Penn State, the No. 2 team in the conference and four points ahead of No. 3 Michigan.
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Indiana hasn’t lost a regular season Big Ten game since Oct. 10, 2015 in a home game against Ohio State.
The winning ways have accustomed to Indiana to getting every opponent’s best shot and that’s the way they prefer it.
“There is no easy Big Ten game, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing,” Jack Maher said. “I think at Indiana we always got a target on our back, and we like it.”
(10/05/19 11:48pm)
The 2019 edition of Hoosier Hysteria could've very well resembled the quickly approaching Indiana Men’s Basketball Season.
Both being full of intrigue, surprise and a world of unknown.
A new-look roster with no Juwan Morgan or Romeo Langford -- along with a new McDonald’s All-American and a graduate transfer -- made for a different looking group on Saturday afternoon. There was also a stage entrance to the court, a new addition to traditional Hoosier Hysteria festivities.
And besides all that, topping it off was an unexpected fire drill, momentarily interrupting the team's introductions.
Following the introducing of sophomore guard Robert Phinisee, the fire alarm and a safety notification announcement came over the PA. Briefly, people started to file out the exits before being told to stay put.
The Hoosiers can’t avoid the fire drills as of late. Just a little over a year ago, the program had one during its media day before beginning the 2018-2019 season.
After the little hiatus, the real fun began.
(09/28/19 3:36am)
Following its first loss to Butler, No. 5 Indiana looked to be falling victim to the same struggle it had against the Bulldogs and all season: missed opportunities. But not only did Indiana encounter the same struggle, but it found the usual solution again: a freshman goal.
On Friday, the offense battled all night with Sacramento State. Both offenses were active and steadily applied pressure, but their efforts were countered by stout performances from each keeper. The Hoosiers took 13 shots and had a few great chances, but finally in the 75th minute the Hoosiers got their answer with a goal from freshman Josh Penn.
The freshman knocked in his second goal on the season and his career in a moment that seemed long overdue for the game. The left-footed strike came from the middle of the box off the assist from Maouloune Goumballe and Spencer Glass.
“It was a perfect ball, and easy to finish from there,” Penn said.
(09/25/19 2:16am)
Comparatively, Indiana basketball’s 2019 media day wasn’t as eventful as a year ago. That is, of course, due to the fact that there was no fire drill this time around.
Day one of Indiana basketball’s media day did offer great insight on the team though. Throughout the afternoon, all 11 scholarship players spoke to give a sense of their offseason progress and the current state of the team going into the season.
Tuesday afternoon’s press conference officially started the 2019-2020 Hoosier basketball season with a busy slate ahead. Head coach Archie Miller will speak Wednesday for day two of the media days, the first official practice is Saturday and Hoosier Hysteria will be on Saturday, Oct. 6.
Plenty of topics were addressed Tuesday, but the following stood out.
Jerome Hunter’s health
After a season full of promise and intrigue was lost last year for redshirt freshman forward Jerome Hunter due to serious injury that required leg surgery, it looks as if Hunter is making a real recovery.
Per a press release given at the media day, “Hunter is participating in all basketball-related activities.” Hunter will be closely monitored by the medical staff for the team as well.
“I’m excited to be back with my teammates,” Hunter said. “Seeing all the hard-fought games they went through last year; I mean I was motivated to get back.”
The possibility of finally having Hunter on the court could be a tremendous lift for the Hoosiers. The 6-foot-7 wing was a four-star prospect and the No. 59 overall ranked player in the 2018 recruiting class (247Sports Composite).
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“I feel like I’m versatile,” Hunter said. “I feel like I could just be anywhere on the court that he (Miller) wants me to be, so I feel like that could help the team a lot.”
Team chemistry
A consistent theme throughout the day and something mentioned by multiple players was the strong chemistry this team has already formed.
When asked about the possibility about this year’s squad being more successful than a season ago, sophomore point guard Rob Phinisee pointed to improved chemistry being a primary factor to that possible success.
"I’m not saying it was bad last year," Phinisee said, "but I mean I feel like we’re together this year.”
More chemistry and cohesion are to be expected after practically having a brand-new roster in the 2018-2019 season. Last year’s group included six newcomers, five freshman and one graduate transfer, along with nine of the 13 scholarship players being underclassmen.
This year, there is a larger contingent of returning players who have lots of experience both on the court and playing together with only three new scholarship players.
“I think we built the chemistry well at an early stage,” senior guard Devonte Green said. “We’ve got a lot of good players like we did last year. It’ll be a sight to see when it all comes into play.”
Joey Brunk’s leadership
Despite being a new member of the team, redshirt junior center and Butler transfer Joey Brunk looks to be a key player for the Hoosiers.
Brunk’s combination of height at 6-foot-11 and skill around the basket gives Indiana another legitimate option in the post, something the Hoosiers severely lacked a season ago.
“It’s been a great transition here,” Brunk said. “During my time at Butler, I had a great three years. It’s kind of a new chapter here at Indiana for the next two years.”
Last year at Butler, Brunk experienced somewhat of a breakout. The center was an occasional starter and averaged 7.6 points per game, 3.6 rebounds per game and shot just under 62 percent from the field.
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It was expected of Brunk to make an impact on the court for Indiana, but it seems as if he has already developed a leadership role on the team along with his talent.
“I’m comfortable with who I am, and I don’t have any problem talking and speaking up on anything,” Brunk said.
Teammate and senior big man De’Ron Davis spoke highly of Brunk’s leadership too.
“Joey, he’s a leader on and off the floor,” Davis said. “He brings a lot of energy, he’s a loud voice for us.”
New walk-on
In addition to the Hunter news, it was also announced that Indiana has added a new, third walk-on to the roster.
Jacquez Henderson, a 6-foot guard from Winter Park, Florida is the newest member of the Hoosiers. Henderson was a 2016 high school graduate and attended school at both Louisville and Butler before coming to Indiana.
Along with Henderson, Indiana will have two other walk-ons on the roster. All of them are new to the program this year. Joining Henderson will be freshman forward Nathan Childress and Cooper Bybee, a junior guard transfer of Olney Central College.
(09/18/19 3:31am)
Overtime is the new standard for Indiana men’s soccer.
In five straight games to start the season, the Hoosiers have played in five overtime competitions. Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw after two overtime periods between No. 4 Indiana and No. 16 Notre Dame kept the theme going.
“I think we grew as a team tonight, I thought we played really well but it feels like a loss,” junior midfielder A.J. Palazzolo said.
The in-state rivalry between the Hoosiers and Fighting Irish is known for producing some close battles. Turn the page to just a season ago when Indiana won 2-1 in overtime and beat the Irish again 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.
Despite the expectation of a close battle, this was a game Indiana let go through numerous missed opportunities, particularly on the attack.
Indiana put up a total of 25 shots with eight of them on goal. Notre Dame had eight shots for the entire game, three of them being on goal.
“To generate 25 shots against a good Notre Dame team is a very good positive,” Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley said. “It’s disappointing because you feel like you did enough to win the game.”
Out of all of those chances, Indiana could only muster a header in the 66th minute from freshman Herbert Endeley. Additionally, the Hoosiers had 13 corner kicks, none of which found the back of the net.
Capitalizing on its chances is something that has troubled Indiana’s offense thus far, especially early on in games. For the season, of Indiana’s eight total goals, only one has come in the first half.
Making the most of its early chances is something that Palazzolo and the team is wanting to change.
“It’s huge getting off to a better start,” Palazzolo said. “That’s something we’ll work on as the season goes on and I think that’ll come.”
Many of the scoring opportunities that fell flat for Indiana were prevented by Notre Dame senior goalkeeper Duncan Turnbull. The 6-foot-7 standout of a keeper kept the Hoosiers in check all night with six saves for the game.
“The keeper was very good,” Yeagley said of Turnbull’s performance. “His anticipation on a couple of our finishes were excellent.”
When looking to capitalize more on their opportunities and to turn the page offensively, more effective corner kicks could be the answer. The Hoosiers average a little under eight corners per game.
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Yeagley drew attention to the 13 corners against Notre Dame and said he feels as if could be a strength for the offense and the team as whole as the season progresses.
“As the season grows, we’ll have a few more modifications to be able to look at what they’re giving us for the night,” Yeagley said. “The serves were a little off tonight where we were looking to go.”
Other than the offense, Indiana had everything else down pat against the Irish. The Hoosiers only accounted for four fouls, had no offsides penalties and senior goalkeeper Sean Caulfield made two saves.
Continuing a stout defensive effort as seen Tuesday against the Irish, with the offensive growth and potential Yeagley sees, could be how this Hoosier team takes the next step.
Through all of the comebacks and overtime contests, the younger squad has shown a lot of potential.
“To know that you’ve done it this many times so later in the season if it’s another big match I don’t think the group will be as rattled,” Yeagley said.
(09/05/19 9:25pm)
Following Indiana's 34-24 win over Ball State on Saturday, there was one name buzzing above all — Michael Penix.
The redshirt freshman quarterback was excellent. Penix threw for a touchdown and had 326 passing yards while completing 24 of his 40 passes on the day. Additionally, he was the Hoosiers’ leading rusher with 67 yards on the ground.
Penix’s play and poise deserved to be praised, but the Indiana player who was arguably just as important in Saturday’s win came from the special teams unit.
Logan Justus. Kicker.
The fifth-year senior was an instrumental part of why the Hoosiers are 1-0 on the season. In the win, Justus went 4-for-4 on field goals and 2-for-2 on extra points. Three times in the game he set a new record for a career long field goal.
The first field goal was from 48 yards out. Right before half, he knocked one in from 49. His final kick of the game — and new personal record — was from 50 yards. All of them, he hit easily too. Justus said he felt like he could’ve kicked the ball even farther than 50 as well.
“This game I told the coaches I was comfortable with 56-58,” Justus said.
(08/31/19 2:55pm)
The 2019 Indiana Men’s Soccer season was expected to lack clarity in the beginning of the year.
One game through, and that expectation held true.
Despite only returning one starter from last season, the Hoosiers came into the year ranked No. 2 in the country and did return a number of players with experience from a run to the College Cup just a season ago.
It wasn’t any of the returning players, or even the lone returning starter, Jack Maher, a sophomore and Preseason All-American, that made the difference though in a 3-2 overtime win over Pittsburgh at home for the Adidas/IU Credit Union Classic.
Rather, it was the Hoosiers’ freshmen that led the way for the team in the comeback win. Indiana Head Coach Todd Yeagley elected to start three freshmen for the game, including forwards Josh Penn and Victor Bezerra, as well as midfielder Aidan Morris.
“The older guys have realized how important these young guys are to this team and they’re going to have to keep bringing them along to give them the confidence to make plays,” Yeagley said.
Six total freshmen played in the game too, including freshman forward Herbert Endeley, who scored the Golden Goal in the second overtime period to seal Indiana’s first win of the season.
The goal came in the 103rd minute on a breakaway along the left side of the field following a beautiful ball to Endeley from junior A.J. Palazzolo.
Endeley’s goal preserved a streak of now five straight home opening wins at Bill Armstrong Stadium for Indiana.
“It feels amazing,” Endeley said on scoring the goal. “There’s not many better opportunities to score your first goal for IU than a Golden Goal winner. It felt amazing, one of the best moments of my life.”
Coach Yeagley was certainly impressed with the young man’s effort as well.
“I’m really happy for Herb, he’s a great young kid,” Yeagley said. “For a freshman around the keeper like that, to keep his composure for the finish is excellent.”
Endeley wasn’t the only youngster to score either. In fact, two of three Indiana’s goals came from the first-year players.
After a dismal first half where Pittsburgh’s Edward Kizza manhandled IU’s backline with two goals, seven seconds apart in the 36th minute, Indiana needed a spark. It came off the foot of Penn in the 50th minute.
Penn’s first collegiate goal was exactly what the team needed and from that moment on, Indiana looked like a brand-new club. Ian Black’s goal to equalize came only seven minutes after Penn’s.
“It was a great feeling, obviously it was important for the team,” Penn said. “It was good to get us going right away.”
IU was going to need new faces to step up after losing so much talent from a season ago, but one game through, and the freshmen who saw the pitch already look on-par with the upperclassmen.
With the three freshmen starters being ranked as four-star and Top 100 recruits, the expectations were high. One night through, they met them. Growing pains and typical freshmen mistakes are bound to happen, but Coach Yeagley has a great foundation of young talent not only for this season, but years in advance.
Penn credited the freshmen class’ early success to the acceptance from the upperclassmen.
“From the first day of preseason you could see that the entire group is really hungry," he saId. "I think a big part of that was the upperclassmen are super accepting and giving us roles right away, so nobody really has nerves coming in."
(08/14/19 4:22pm)
The puzzle pieces are starting to come together for Indiana Basketball’s 2020 recruiting class as on Friday afternoon the Hoosiers landed top priority target and Bloomington native Anthony Leal.
The commitment is the second of Indiana’s 2020 class as just two weeks prior, Trey Galloway became the first. Indiana Head Coach Archie Miller continues to deliver on his promise of recruiting the state inside and out; of his 10 scholarship recruits during his time at Indiana, seven of them have been in-state players.
As a local kid, Leal has always had his basketball career connected with the possibility that he would end up playing for IU. Still, this was solely Leal’s decision.
“The speculation stuff really had no impact on me as far as what I was doing, but to be able to call myself a Hoosier it’s most literally a dream come true,” Leal said. “It’s something that I always imagined growing up.”
(08/01/19 3:05pm)
After a long drought of recruiting woes, last Friday, Indiana Head Coach Archie Miller received his first commitment of a scholarship high school recruit since December. On July 26, Trey Galloway, a class of 2020 shooting guard of Culver Academy picked Indiana over a long list of schools including Purdue, Michigan State, Iowa, Notre Dame and others.
(07/26/19 6:23pm)
Anthony Leal, a top priority target for Indiana Basketball’s in the 2020 recruiting cycle, announced that he has cut his list down to two schools yesterday via his Twitter account. The local standout of Bloomington South High School will only consider Indiana and Stanford moving forward in his recruitment.