Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, where we highlight the five most essential IU sports stories of the past week. 6-Banner Sunday is written by Ari Shifron.
IU got the split it needed this week in basketball to remain on track for a spot in the NCAA tournament. The Hoosiers recovered from a loss on Tuesday at USC with a thrilling win against Wisconsin on Saturday.
Also, we will look at Bracketology and the women’s basketball team got its first two Big Ten victories. As usual, we will conclude with weekly shows and a look at the rest of the Indiana sports in action.
In brief news, a former IU star was traded this week. Trayce Jackson-Davis was moved from the Golden State Warriors to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for a second-round pick.
Here is what is in this week’s edition:
• Hoosiers beat Wisconsin in overtime at Assembly Hall
• IU falls to USC in second game of West Coast trip
• Bracketology updates
• IU women’s basketball earns a pair of Big Ten wins
• Podcast on the Brink and Back Home Network shows
• Hoosier Roundup
Banner #1 – Hoosiers beat Wisconsin in overtime at Assembly Hall
IU basketball picked up a massive victory against Wisconsin on Saturday to remain on track for the NCAA tournament. In a contest between two teams on the right side of the bubble for March Madness, the Hoosiers won a thriller.
Indiana controlled this game comfortably for most of the day. However, as has happened so many times this season, IU couldn’t hold onto a lead late in regulation.
Sam Alexis did everything he could to keep IU a few possessions ahead by scoring inside, on a rare day when his squad struggled from long range with just five makes. However, the offense faltered in the final minutes and the Badgers turned a 68-62 deficit into a 72-68 lead in the final minute.
However, in a complete 180 from previous versions of Hoosier basketball, the 2025-2026 one makes its free throws in the clutch. Lamar Wilkerson had four makes from the charity stripe late to force overtime and four more in the extra session.
Indiana trailed 77-74 late in the OT, but Wilkerson made a layup to cut the deficit to a single point and Conor Enright drew a charge to give IU a possession to win. Wilkerson took advantage of this as he was fouled with under three seconds left and made both from the line to go ahead. A last-second half-court heave from Wisconsin was not close.
The final was 78-77 as Wilkerson finished with 25 points to lead the Hoosiers, including the last 10 points Indiana scored in the game. Alexis added 19 points, Tucker DeVries came out of his slump to contribute 16 points, while Enright rounded out the squad’s double-figure scorers with 11 points.
Afterwards, IU coach Darian DeVries spoke, Inside the Hall had a photo gallery, Ryan Corazza wrote The Minute After, Alex Bozich penned Five Takeaways and Nick Rodecap put together a column about Enright.
Banner #2 – IU falls to USC in second game of West Coast trip
The victory against the Badgers was critical given what happened on Tuesday. In the finale of their West Coast road trip, Indiana came out flat.
While IU made a late run after falling behind by double figures, it was not enough. The Hoosiers fell to USC 81-75 after getting the lead down to two in the final minute.
Wilkerson was the only one who scored big on the night. He was also the only Indiana player to hit double figures and scored nearly half of his team’s total points, finishing with 33.
Afterwards, Coach DeVries spoke, Corazza wrote The Minute After and Film Session, Bozich penned Five Takeaways and Josh Pos penned a column about IU nearly pulling the comeback.
Their next game comes up fast, but it’s against a team struggling big time due to multiple injuries. The Hoosiers face an Oregon squad with just one conference win tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
Banner #3 – Bracketology updates
At 16-8 overall and 7-6 in the Big Ten, the Hoosiers are almost certainly on the right side of the NCAA tournament bubble following their recent hot streak. With winning four out of five, IU now has two quad one wins and a solid NET in the low 30’s.
These metrics are significantly improved over previous versions of this squad, driven by large margins of victory against struggling teams. They have also kept their defeats to relatively low amounts outside of a couple of exceptions, which was also an issue in the past.
Looking at Bracketology, Indiana appears relatively safe in the field at the moment. They can likely shore up a spot by defeating the three struggling oppositions coming into Assembly Hall over the next few weeks. However, to avoid Dayton and the “First Four,” an additional victory would be helpful, as it would bring them to 20 overall wins on the season and a winning record in conference play.
Inside the Hall and Assembly Call’s own Bracketologist, Andy Bottoms. projected the Hoosiers as a 10 seed earlier in the week. Other projections had Indiana around the nine or 10 line as well.
Banner #4 – IU women’s basketball earns a pair of Big Ten wins
The women’s extreme struggles in this Big Ten season finally took a back seat this week. After going winless all of January, the squad has won its first two games in February, defeating Northwestern last Sunday and winning at Wisconsin on Wednesday.
While the NCAA tournament is well out of reach, the Hoosiers face arch-rival Purdue today in Bloomington, looking for a third straight win. This matchup is critical: only the top 15 teams make the conference tournament and a victory today would put them above the cutline.
Also, while March Madness is not realistic, beating the Boilermakers as well as struggling Rutgers and Penn State late in the season would keep the Hoosiers above .500 overall. This would make them eligible for the second-tier WNIT or WBIT and allow them to participate in some form of postseason play.
Finally, while 2025-2026 has been a significant challenge, the outlook is brighter. This is because the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history will come in next season and Addy Nyemchek, the top-ranked player in it, was named the program’s first McDonald’s All-American.
Banner #5 – Podcast on the Brink and Back Home Network shows
Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, Alex Bozich was joined by the IndyStar’s Zach Osterman to discuss IU’s offseason in football and the stretch run in basketball.
Also, the Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming.
Banner #6 – Hoosier Roundup
• Softball had a solid first weekend, defeating Army, Ohio State, Delaware, and Stonehill after a season-opening loss to elite Florida Atlantic.
• Wrestling continued what was a dominating week of the Badgers across IU athletics, upsetting top-15 Wisconsin.
• Men’s tennis beat Middle Tennessee, Toledo, and Dartmouth.
• Women’s tennis beat West Virginia to remain perfect to open their year.
• Women’s golf finished seventh at its first tournament of the spring season.
• Track and field took part in the Windy City Invitational.
• Water polo suffered its first loss of the season to Harvard.
• Football announced its new Director of Athletic Performance.
• Men’s soccer announced its spring exhibition schedule and signed its next recruiting class.
• Field hockey announced its spring exhibition schedule.
Now go enjoy yourself a 6-Banner Sunday.
Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor
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