Indiana
Indiana Bracketology: It Was A Good Week For The Hoosiers
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – When you’re on the NCAA Tournament bubble, you can control what you can control in terms of your own performance, but your fate is still dependent on how the teams around you fared as well.
For Indiana, it was a very profitable week. The Hoosiers won 78-62 at Washington on Saturday and defeated Penn State 83-78 last Wednesday. Those wins against lower tier Big Ten teams won’t help the Hoosiers rise up the NET rankings – the Hoosiers have moved up one spot to No. 55, but losses to either would have sent the Hoosiers tumbling.
The bigger news for Indiana was results elsewhere.
Of the 20 teams listed last week as Indiana’s competition on the bubble? Eleven of them saw their NET rankings drop. An additional team – Baylor – was added to the bubble list this week and also had its NET drop in the last week.
Only two teams – Georgia and Vanderbilt – made big leaps in the NET rankings. Most schools made incremental gains.
All of that helps Indiana. With key games at Oregon on Tuesday and at home against Ohio State on Saturday, the Hoosiers can help themselves. But if they can’t win both, Indiana will need more friendly results from the rest of college basketball to cement a NCAA Tournament berth.
The early returns are encouraging. In his bracketology released on Monday, Jerry Palm of CBS Sports had the Hoosiers firmly in the field. He had Indiana in the field as a No. 10 seed playing Saint Mary’s in Cleveland.
Here’s a look at the week that was and what will be for the bubble teams around Indiana in the NCAA Tournament hunt.
• Arkansas – The Razorbacks seemed to put themselves in decent shape with an overtime win over Texas Wednesday, but whatever good came from that was wiped out with a 72-53 loss at SEC bottom feeder South Carolina on Saturday.
The Razorbacks (19-12) dropped seven spots from last Monday’s NET to No. 47. Arkansas has key games at Vanderbilt on Tuesday and against Mississippi State on Saturday. Arkansas has to win at least one to keep itself on the right side of the bubble as the Razorbacks are 4-9 in Quad 1 games.
• Baylor – We’re adding the Bears to the bubble team list as Baylor is just 16-12. The NET is still healthy at No. 32 and Baylor has five Quad 1 wins, but Baylor needs to finish strong with games at TCU and a home game against Houston.
• Boise State – It was a big week for Boise State. An 82-65 victory over 23-win Utah State was a big resume booster, the highlight of a 2-0 week. The Broncos (20-8) had a three-place rise in the NET at No. 43. Boise State remains on the bubble with three Quad 1 wins and a 7-6 record in Quad 1-2 games.
• UC San Diego – The Tritons (24-4) are only a bubble team if it doesn’t win the Big West Conference, but they bolstered their at-large status with a 2-0 week. UC San Diego won a close one at Cal State Northridge and then blew out Cal State Fullerton at home, their 18th win by a double-digit margin. The NET rose by two spots to No. 34. Bubble teams will be praying that the Tritons win their conference tournament.
• Cincinnati – The Bearcats (17-12) had a solid win against Baylor and an expected loss at Houston. The NET ticked up four spots to No. 40, which could be helpful, but Cincinnati finishes the regular season against losing teams Kansas State and Oklahoma State, so they’ll need to win convincingly to maintain that NET.
• Drake – Drake played with fire with an overtime home win against 7-22 Missouri State and a four-point win at 10-20 Evansville, but emerged 2-0 for the week. The close wins did drop the Bulldogs’ NET ranking to No. 60. That could make a difference if Drake doesn’t win the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, which begins on Thursday.
• George Mason – George Mason (22-7) was a long shot to get an at-large bid in the first place and an 85-68 loss at Duquesne was likely fatal as far as the Patriots’ hopes are concerned. The loss to the Dukes dropped George Mason’s NET nine spots in a week to No. 74.
• Georgia – It was a big week for the Bulldogs. Georgia (18-11) defeated rival Florida and won at Texas in the last week. Those are both Quad 1 wins and Georgia improved its NET by eight spots to No. 33. The Bulldogs had been listed out of the field by several bracketologists a week ago, but Georgia has joined Indiana as a team on the rise at the right time.
• Nebraska – One of the teams that Indiana needs to lose, given that they lost to them, is Nebraska, and the Cornhuskers (17-12) obliged with an 0-2 week. A home loss to Big Ten contender Michigan hurt, but a home defeat to struggling Minnesota was a huge blow.
The NET dropped three spots to No. 57 as Nebraska dropped below the Hoosiers. Nebraska has a key bubble vs. bubble game at Ohio State on Tuesday and finishes with a must-win home game against struggling Iowa.
• North Carolina – North Carolina (19-11) protected itself with a 2-0 week, though neither win was strong with victories over Florida State and Miami. The Tar Heels’ NET ranking did rise three spots to No. 42. A loss at struggling Virginia Tech or a win over rival Duke on Saturday would have a big influence on North Carolina’s NCAA Tournament fate either for the bad or the good.
• Ohio State – The Buckeyes won their only game of the week, a nice road win at Southern California, though the Buckeyes’ NET ranking dropped two spots to No. 36. Ohio State has five Quad 1 wins. Ohio State’s fate will hinge on two bubble vs. bubble games this week. Ohio State hosts Nebraska on Tuesday and plays at Indiana on Saturday.
• Oklahoma – The Sooners (17-12) are plunging in the wrong direction. Oklahoma suffered excruciating losses to Kentucky (by one point) and at Ole Miss (by three points) in the last week. The NET didn’t suffer much as the Sooners dropped two spots in the last week to No. 53, but Oklahoma is now 5-10 in Quad 1 games and trending in the wrong direction. Oklahoma still has two Quad 1 games left against Missouri and at Texas. The Sooners need to turn things around in a hurry.
• Pittsburgh – Pitt (16-13) might be done as far as at-large hopes are concerned. The Panthers had an 0-2 week with losses to Georgia Tech and Louisville. Pitt’s NET dropped four spots to No. 59 and there are no Quad 1 opportunities left.
• San Diego State – The Aztecs (19-7) beat New Mexico in a key conference game to cap a 2-0 week. The Aztecs’ NET dropped a spot to No. 50. San Diego State has four Quad 1 wins and is solidly on the right side of the bubble. There are no remaining Quad 1 games left.
• SMU – The Mustangs (21-8) went 1-1 on a West Coast trip in which it likely needed to go 2-0. The NET dropped two spots to No. 41, but there’s not much there on the resume. SMU does not have a single Quad 1 win.
• Texas – The Longhorns (16-13) had a bad week with losses at Arkansas and at home against Georgia. The NET plunged eight spots to No. 46 in the span of a week. Texas is 4-9 against Quad 1 and just 6-13 in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games. Texas might need to sweep its remaining regular season games at Mississippi State and against Oklahoma to have a chance.
• Vanderbilt – In the jockeying among SEC teams, Vanderbilt (20-9) had a good week at 2-0. Both were quality wins as the Commodores won at Texas A&M and at home against Missouri. Both wins provided badly needed Quad 1 wins for Vanderbilt as the Commodores are now 5-8 in Quad 1 games and 9-9 combined in Quad 1-2 games.
Vanderbilt’s NET ranking rose six spots to No. 37 in the last week. Vanderbilt has key games against Arkansas and at Georgia in the final week of the regular season.
• Virginia Commonwealth – While fellow Atlantic 10 member George Mason suffered a very damaging loss, VCU (23-5) protected itself with a 2-0 week. While VCU leads the A-10, its NET ranking rose two spots in a week to No. 29. The Rams should be a bid stealer if they fall in the A-10 Tournament, though they don’t have a Quad 1 win.
• Wake Forest – Like fellow ACC bubble teams Pitt and SMU, Wake Forest needed a perfect week, but went 1-1. The loss was a damaging home defeat against 14-15 Virginia. The win was a three-point home victory over 12-17 Notre Dame. The NET dropped five spots to No. 68. Wake Forest plays Duke on Monday – the last chance to get another marquee win.
• West Virginia – The Mountaineers are beat up and hanging up by a thread to stay in NCAA Tournament consideration. West Virginia (17-12) beat TCU at home, but had a 21-point loss at BYU in the last week. The NET stayed the same at No. 48, but West Virginia can ill afford any more losses.
• Xavier – It was a good week for Xavier. A 2-0 week included a home win over Creighton. The NET rose four spots to No. 49 as the Musketeers positioned themselves to be on the right side of the bubble. Two winnable games remain in the regular season.
Indiana
Suspects flee robbery at Chase Bank in Plainfield
PLAINFIELD, Ind. (WISH) — Suspects fled a Plainfield bank after it was robbed Tuesday afternoon, police say.
Plainfield Police Department was called at 2:10 p.m. Tuesday to the robbery of a bank in progress at Chase Bank, 807 Southfield Drive. That’s southwest of the intersection of Quaker Boulevard and Stafford Road/East County Road 450 South in the Hendricks County town.
Deputy Chief Ryan Salisbury of the Plainfield Police Department said detectives were working on the case.
The police department posted on social media on Tuesday night that no one was hurt in the robbery, and the suspects, who were not in custody, fled prior to the arrival of first responders.
Indiana
Why Sophie Cunningham turned down multi-year contract offers to return to Indiana Fever
INDIANAPOLIS — Sophie Cunningham wants to emphasize she’s perfectly happy with the Indiana Fever. She just wishes she could be locked down longer.
Cunningham, who signed a one-year, $665,000 deal with the Indiana Fever for 2026, said on her podcast, “Show Me Something,” on Tuesday night that she was frustrated with the free agency process in the condensed offseason.
She shook her head vehemently when her co-host West Wilson asked if the contract was better than she thought it would be, then said in part, “It’s tough because I came off an injury … I’m not even going to lie to you, that’s a little, kind of, frustrating.”
Fans on social media largely took that as she did not get interest from other teams, she didn’t want to return to the Fever, or she was unhappy with the salary she got.
She shut those thoughts down on social media Monday night, then expounded on her frustrations with local media at Fever training camp on Tuesday morning.
Buy 2026 Indiana Fever tickets!
“I think Twitter kind of blew up last night about a comment I made on my podcast. But that wasn’t what I meant at all,” Cunningham said. “I think if you listen to the full clip, you really understand that I just wanted to be somewhere for more than one year. I’m almost 30 years old. I want to have a home. I want to get established. And I would love to get established in a place like Indiana.”
The Fever prioritized as much financial flexibility as possible this offseason because of the new EPIC clause, which allows both Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark to renegotiate their fourth-year salaries up to the max with an extension. Boston’s salary was bumped to $1 million in 2025, and she will make the supermax from 2027-29. Clark is eligible to negotiate up to the max in 2027, and both Clark and Boston could be making the supermax starting in 2028.
Only Lexie Hull and Monique Billings got major multi-year deals with the Fever out of free agency. Hull signed for $765,000 in 2026 and $803,250 in 2027, per Her Hoop Stats, while Billings got $800,000 for both 2026 and 2027. Damiris Dantas is the only other player that got a multi-year deal out of free agency, but that was for the minimum cap hit of $277,500.
Kelsey Mitchell signed a one-year, $1.4 million supermax, Cunningham returned on a one-year deal, and Myisha Hines-Allen and Tyasha Harris each signed one-year deals.
Cunningham added that she got multi-year offers from other teams, but chose to stay with Indiana on a one-year deal.
She wanted to return to Indiana, she said, because of friendships she created with her teammates and the potential they showed, even after six separate season-ending injuries on the roster. She is also closer to her hometown of Columbia, Missouri.
“When you find a group of girls who really make you fall in love with basketball games and you enjoy it, you enjoy them, not only on the court, but off the court, like, you want to hold on to that,” Cunningham said. “ … it was never about the money, it was just about the years, because I wanted to be with them. And God forbid a girl loves her teammates, you know what I mean?”
Cunningham is also coming off a major knee injury after she tore her MCL in August 2025. She was ruled out for the rest of the 2025 season and got surgery in Indianapolis, then had a six-month rehab process before she was cleared in February.
Since then, she has been ramping back up as much as possible, including playing one-on-one, three-on-three, plyometrics, and everything she does to get ready for a regular season.
Still, she said, she’ll need to actually play to get back into full basketball shape.
“Basketball shape is just different,” Cunningham said. “You can run as many suicides as you want, you can get your butt kicked however you want, but until you’re out here playing, you’re never fully going to be in game shape until you’re playing games.”
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at chloe.peterson@indystar.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.
Indiana
Indiana police find semi trailer loaded up with nearly 400 pounds of cocaine: troopers
CLOVERDALE, Ind. (WKRC) – Authorities in Indiana found a semi trailer loaded up with hundreds of pounds of suspected cocaine.
According to a statement issued by the Indiana State Police (ISP), 27-year-old Harmandeep Singh of Bakersfield, California was taken into custody after nearly 400 pounds of suspected cocaine were reportedly found in the trailer of a commercial truck.
Per the statement, an ISP trooper seized the suspected cocaine during a traffic stop on Interstate 70 in Putnam County, authorities said.
The stop occurred Tuesday morning near the 37-mile marker, just east of Cloverdale, after a commercial motor vehicle was observed exceeding the posted speed limit.
Police said Singh displayed several indicators of possible criminal activity during the encounter. After obtaining consent to search the vehicle, troopers discovered multiple duffel bags and cardboard boxes in the trailer containing approximately 392 pounds (178 kilograms) of suspected cocaine.
Authorities estimated the street value of the drugs at about $9 million.
Singh was taken into custody and taken to the Putnam County Jail, where he is being held on a $30,000 cash bond.
He faces the following preliminary charges, per the post:
- Possession of a narcotic drug
Formal charges will be determined by the Putnam County prosecutor.
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
Indiana State Police said drug interdiction remains a priority, with troopers focusing on major highways to disrupt the flow of illegal narcotics into the state.
-
Georgia5 minutes agoMan accused in fatal Georgia shooting spree dies in jail, officials say
-
Hawaii11 minutes ago
Police Commission narrows Honolulu chief candidates to 6 semifinalists
-
Idaho17 minutes ago11-year-old from Idaho competing for $20K, national spotlight – East Idaho News
-
Illinois23 minutes agoGOP Rep. Ryan Spain opposes Illinois redistricting changes
-
Indiana29 minutes agoSuspects flee robbery at Chase Bank in Plainfield
-
Iowa35 minutes agoIowa State football lands 2027 3-star linebacker commit Keaton Wollan
-
Kansas41 minutes agoPBS Kansas remembers employee killed in Wichita shooting; estranged husband charged
-
Kentucky47 minutes agoKentucky transfer Collin Chandler speaks out on why he returned to BYU basketball