Indiana
Notre Dame vs. Indiana: Predictions, odds for College Football Playoff
US LBM Coaches Poll: How SMU earned a CFP nod over Alabama
The final regular season US LBM Coaches Poll is here and Paul Myerberg breaks down the top storylines now that the CFP bracket is set.
Sports Pulse
The first-ever first-round matchup of the 12-team College Football Playoff will be an in-state rivalry game that’s rarely played.
No. 7 seed Notre Dame is set to host No. 10 seed Indiana on Friday, Dec. 19, with the winner advancing to the CFP quarterfinals to face No. 2 seed Georgia at the Sugar Bowl. It will be the first meeting in football between the Hoosiers and Fighting Irish since 1991 and just their second game against one another in the past 65 years, despite their campuses being just about 200 miles apart.
Led by coach Marcus Freeman’s ferocious defense, a potent rushing attack and the steady play of quarterback Riley Leonard, Notre Dame is the favorite after an 11-1 regular season in which it won by double digits in all but one game. The Fighting Irish reeled off 10 wins in a row following their shocking upset loss to Northern Illinois in September.
Indiana is in the midst of the best season in program history, with only a loss to fellow CFP qualifier Ohio State on its resume this year. First-year coach Curt Cignetti has the nation’s second-highest scoring offense and the Hoosiers also rank second in the country in total defense entering Friday’s first-round game. Though Indiana’s strength of schedule was questioned during the CFP selection process, its average margin of victory this season is more than 33 points per game.
But the playoffs will be a new challenge for both teams, with a national championship just four wins away. Here’s a look at some predictions for Notre Dame vs. Indiana, as well as odds, betting lines and how to watch this highly anticipated primetime matchup to start the 12-team CFP era.
CFP first-round predictions: Notre Dame vs. Indiana
USA Today: No. 7 Notre Dame over No. 10 Indiana
Paul Myerberg writes: “A relatively weak strength of schedule has Notre Dame flying under the radar as a legitimate contender. The Fighting Irish have one of the best-balanced team from offense to defense and special teams. Likewise with Indiana, even if the Hoosiers’ chances of winning one or more playoff games is viewed with a high degree of skepticism. Look for Notre Dame to slow down Kurtis Rourke and the Hoosiers while punishing the Indiana defense with the nation’s third-ranked running game in yards per carry.”
ESPN: Notre Dame has 73.7% chance to win
According to ESPN’s Matchup Predictor, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have a 70.4% chance to beat the Indiana Hoosiers in the first round of the College Football Playoff as of Friday, December 13.
The Sporting News: Notre Dame 28, Indiana 24
Bill Bender writes: “Indiana allowed 2.5 yards per carry this season, and that run defense will be tested by the Irish trio of Riley Leonard (721 yards, 5.8 ypc.), Jeremiyah Love (949 yards, 7.1 ypc.) and Jadarian Price (651, 7.3 ypc.). Kurtis Rourke will test an opportunistic Notre Dame secondary, and the Hoosiers will need the running game to be in order, too. It’s been a dream season for Indiana coach Curt Cignetti. Will it continue against the Irish? Notre Dame covered in each of its last seven games, but this one stays tighter.”
Fox Sports: Indiana wins
RJ Young writes: “The Fighting Irish will face the most complete team they’ve seen all year in Indiana. The Hoosiers have beaten 10 out of 12 opponents by double-digits and believe they are the best team in the state of Indiana. However, Al Golden’s defense has been outstanding, allowing only one team to score 35 points in a game this season.”
CFP first-round odds, lines: Notre Dame vs. Indiana
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are favorites to defeat the Indiana Hoosiers, according to the BetMGM college football odds.
Odds as of Wednesday, Dec. 18.
- Spread: Notre Dame (-7.5)
- Moneylines: Notre Dame (-300); Indiana (+230)
- Over/under: 51.5
How to watch Notre Dame vs. Indiana in CFP first round
- Date: Friday, Dec. 20
- Time: 8 p.m. ET
- TV: ABC/ESPN
- Stream: Fubo (free trial for new subscribers)
- Where: Notre Dame Stadium (Notre Dame, Indiana)
Watch select CFP games with Fubo
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Indiana
50+ Indiana counties under travel advisories after snow storm. See map
Safety and preparation are the keys to staying safe this winter
Officials talk about winter preparedness, safety, tips. Safety and preparation are the keys. Here are some tips.
At least 50 Indiana counties are under a travel advisory, and 20 counties were issued a travel watch for Dec. 14, following an overnight snow storm.
The Indiana Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) travel advisory map has each county shaded in red for a travel warning, orange for a travel watch, yellow for a travel advisory and gray for a county without an elevated status report on it’s current travel conditions.
Here’s how you can check your county to see where it lands on the map.
Travel advisory
According to DHS, a travel advisory is the lowest level of a related advisory.
“Routine travel or activities may be restricted in areas because of a hazardous situation, and individuals should use caution or avoid those areas,” the department says on its website.
Watch advisory
According to DHS, a watch advisory is issued when conditions are threatening to a county’s safety.
“Only essential travel, such as to and from work or in emergency situations, is recommended, and emergency action plans should be implemented by businesses, schools, government agencies and other organizations,” the department’s website states.
Warning advisory
According to DHS, a warning advisory is the highest level of a related advisory, where people may be told not to travel at all.
“Travel may be restricted to emergency management workers only,” the department’s website states.
Here’s the winter weather info you need
🚨 Indiana Weather Alerts: Warnings, Watches and Advisories.
⚡ Indiana power outage map: How to check your status.
💻 Internet outages: How to track them.
🚫 What you should and shouldn’t do when the power is out.
🐶 Your neighbor left their pet outside. Who you should call.
Indianapolis weather radar
Jade Jackson is a public safety reporter for the Indianapolis Star. You can email her at Jade.Jackson@IndyStar.com and follow her on X, formerly Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON.
Indiana
What Darian DeVries, Tucker DeVries Said After Indiana Basketball’s Loss at Kentucky
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Indiana basketball coach Darian DeVries and senior forward Tucker DeVries met with reporters after the Hoosiers’ 72-60 loss to Kentucky on Saturday night at Rupp Arena in Lexington.
Here’s what the DeVries duo said during their near-seven-minute press conference.
Q: I guess, Darian, it’s sort of another night where it feels like it just kind of gets difficult to really break down an opponent off the dribble, kind of get that inside-out sort of paint touch to three looks you want, just like what, I guess, are you guys, what’s not happening there, what’s just kind of sort of failing at the source offensively when that’s not working?
DD: Yeah, I thought the first half, you know, we got some pretty good action, pretty good movement, I thought the second half, Kentucky certainly turned up the pressure and was able to get into us and we didn’t respond well enough and we turned the ball over too much and live ball turnovers against them are really hard because now they’re out in transition playing in space, so the turnovers and the offensive rebounding, I mean, that flipped the game around that second half.
Q: On Kentucky’s long run, what was the problem there?
Yeah, I thought the turnovers, it was a combination of things, I thought, you know, we left our feet a few times, I thought we just, you know, got on our heels a little bit and didn’t play as disciplined as we needed to, you know, as that, you know, the crowd got cranked up and things, that’s the time where you got to really dig in a little bit more, your screen’s got to be better, you got to play off of two feet more, and then the offensive rebounds, you know, they just went and got them and, you know, we didn’t do a good enough job of creating space and getting bodies and going and securing the ball.
Q: What do you think you need to improve on, the team needs to improve on against ball pressure at the point of attack?
DD: Yeah, the number one thing when you get at ball pressure is everything from an execution standpoint and a movement standpoint, it’s just got to be done with more force, you can’t continue just to get pushed out and everybody stands, so you have to find ways to give yourself up with a back hook, give yourself up with a screen, set up those screens with more force, you know, and get some movement to, you know, even as, you know, they had gotten ahead and we started to break it off a little bit, once we got movement again, we were able to get those clean looks or better looks, so it’s something we got to get better at, there’s no question.
Q: Tucker, your individual line tonight was really great, I mean, your effort was fantastic, 15 points, 7 rebounds, a lot of the three point shots tonight didn’t go down like they normally do for the Hoosiers, what do you think that is, was it just not seeing the basket as well, was it the defense, was it not in the offense where you were getting clean looks?
TUCKER DEVRIES: To be honest, making and missing shots, I thought tonight, honestly, wasn’t a problem, I know, certainly, I did not shoot it great, as a team we didn’t shoot that great either from three, but, you know, even with that being said, I think there were certainly areas that we needed to be a lot better at, as a group, and if we were able to, you know, especially in the second half, execute in those areas, I think that would have made up for some of those, you know, shooting habits and miscues, but, you know, making them missing shots sometimes is basketball, but I thought in the other areas, if we could just, you know, execute there a little bit.
Q: On that, if shots maybe weren’t the problem, what kind of was, do you think?
TUCKER: I mean, he hit on it pretty good, the turnovers and obviously the offensive rebounds they had, especially in the second half. I mean, I take full responsibility for both of those areas. Obviously, four turnovers is far too many. As a group, I think when they pick up the pressure, I think we just need to really focus on our execution a little bit more on every possession. But good thing is we get a good week here before we play again to really dial in on some of those areas that we’ve maybe lacked in the beginning.
Q: When Lamar picked up his fourth foul and missed nearly nine minutes, what went wrong offensively?
DD: Yeah, I don’t remember the exact sequences there, but, you know, not having Lamar out there is certainly a big part of our offense, and, you know, his foul trouble tonight certainly limited him with only the 21 minutes because he was, again, he’s, you know, a big focal piece of what we try to run our offense through, so, you know, I believe during that little stretch that he wasn’t out there, that’s when the turnovers started to happen and
we weren’t able to get into, you know, maybe some of our actions the way we needed to.
Q: Darian, you mentioned Kentucky’s offensive rebound and kind of flipping that game. Was that just their physicality, their effort out beating you guys or something else that you saw going on?
DD: Yeah, I thought their effort, their physicality in the second half was, you know, really good. I mean, they certainly cranked it up a notch in that second half and we needed to respond to it, but, you know, I thought their aggressiveness defensively, their aggressiveness in the offensive glass, you know, was ultimately the factor.
Q: Darian, you mentioned Lamar, but how much did the foul trouble for not just him, but other guys, affect you tonight?
DD: I mean, foul trouble is foul trouble. You have it every night, so you’ve got to figure out a way to deal with it and, you know, we just didn’t do a good enough job with that.
Q: Just to follow up on that, with this team, and you’ve talked about sort of where you are with the two bigs and things like that, like does foul trouble become sort of a compounding problem when it disrupts rotations? It felt tonight like maybe guys were just not either on the floor long enough to find the rhythm or maybe had to be on the floor too long because other guys were in foul trouble.
DD: Again, our guys, you know, their numbers are called, they’re ready to go. You know, certainly, you know, a guy like Lamar, you want him out there, but when he’s not out there, I feel very confident that the guys that are coming in are going to do their part and do their job and, you know, we certainly have a lot of faith in them, so, you know, unfortunately it just didn’t work out the way we wanted it to tonight.
Indiana
Dick Vitale, Charles Barkley team up to broadcast Indiana vs Kentucky
Kentucky basketball’s Mark Pope sees pride-worthy potential in squad
Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope says he’s done a poor job of getting the competitive spirit out of his team despite a 103-67 win over NC Central.
Basketball icons Dick Vitale and Charles Barkley headline the broadcasting crew for Indiana vs. Kentucky on Saturday, Dec. 13.
Vitale, a longtime ESPN analyst, and Barkley, a Basketball Hall of Famer-turned analyst, are teaming up to call two games this season, with the first coming between a pair of blue bloods in a nonconference matchup. Dave O’Brien will handle play-by-play duties.
Vitale and Barkley will broadcast together for the second time this season during TNT and CBS Sports’ First Four coverage of the men’s NCAA Tournament in March.
Watch Dick Vitale, Charles Barkley call Indiana vs. Kentucky live with Fubo (free trial)
The humorous duo will be appointment viewing for many college basketball fans, as both are known for their larger-their-life personalities. The team-up became possible after TNT lost its broadcasting rights for NBA games, moving TNT’s “Inside the NBA” to ESPN.
Vitale is returning to regular broadcasting in 2025 after battling multiple forms of cancer since 2021. He has called over 1,000 games for ESPN since joining the network in 1979.
Barkley, an 11-time NBA All-Star, averaged 22.1 points and 11.7 rebounds across his 16-year career. He was drafted No. 5 overall out of Auburn in the 1984 NBA Draft.
How to watch Indiana vs Kentucky today with Dick Vitale, Charles Barkley
Indiana-Kentucky will air live on ESPN, with streaming options available on the ESPN app or Fubo, which offers a free trial.
Indiana vs Kentucky time today
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- Date: Saturday, Dec. 13
- Location: Rupp Arena (Lexington, Kentucky)
Indiana vs. Kentucky is set for a 7:30 p.m. ET tipoff on Saturday, Dec. 13, from Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.
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