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2024-25 Indiana non-conference opponent preview: Sam Houston State

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2024-25 Indiana non-conference opponent preview: Sam Houston State


Indiana’s 2024-25 non-conference schedule was finalized on July 9 and Inside the Hall will have a team-by-team look at each opponent. Today: Sam Houston State.

Indiana’s eighth non-conference game – and first contest after the Battle 4 Atlantis – should provide a formidable test.

Sam Houston State, which finished last season 142nd in the KenPom ratings and 128th in Bart Torvik, has NCAA tournament aspirations entering the 2024-25 campaign.

The Bearkats were listed as a No. 12 seed in a CBS Sports bracketology in early July and are currently projected as the 114th-best team nationally for next season by Torvik.

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Sam Houston State finished last season with the 126th-best defense nationally, according to Pomeroy’s adjusted defensive efficiency numbers. In his current projections for the 2024-25 season, Torvik has the Bearkats 130th offensively nationally next season and 111th defensively.

Chris Mudge enters his second at the helm in Huntsville, Texas, after finishing with a 21-12 last season and winning the regular season Conference USA title. The 40-year-old was a student manager under Rick Barnes at Texas and has been at Sam Houston State since 2010 as an assistant (2020-2021) and the associate head coach for two seasons before taking over as head coach.

Mudge again has a roster capable of competing for the conference title as he returns four of the top five scorers from last season. The most notable contributor the Bearkats lost was second-leading scorer Davon Barnes, who left for Ole Miss via the transfer portal.

Leading scorer Lamar Wilkerson is back after exploring his options in the transfer portal. The 6-foot-4 senior guard averaged 13.8 points and shot 34.7 percent on 3s and 83.1 percent from the line last season.

Damon Nicholas Jr., another 6-foot-4 senior guard, returns after leading the Bearkats in steals and averaging 8.1 points a season ago. Nichols Jr. started 28 of the team’s 33 games and averaged 1.4 steals, shooting 36.8 percent on 3s.

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Brennen Burns, a Division II transfer, should be in the mix for the starting point guard spot. The 5-foot-10 guard arrives from SE Oklahoma State, where he averaged 17 points, 6.7 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 33 minutes per game. Burns shot 39.6 percent from distance.

Up front, 6-foot-8 senior Cameron Huefner is back and should have the first shot at starting at the four. Last season, Huefner averaged 7.8 points and 3.1 rebounds in 19.4 minutes per game and started seven games.

Sam Houston State added a big man from the transfer portal in Kalifa Sakho, who arrives from Utah State. The 6-foot-11 senior averaged 2.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per game last season for the Aggies.

Guard Marcus Boykin, a 6-foot-1 senior, started 11 games last season and shot 37.8 percent on 3s while averaging 7.3 points in 18.4 minutes per game. Josiah Hammons, a 6-foot-2 guard transfer from Incarnate Word, should also figure heavily into the guard rotation. Hammons averaged 12.5 points and shot 35.5 percent on 3s a season ago.

Dorian Finister, a 6-foot-5 wing, brings experience from the high-major level. Finister averaged nearly 13 minutes last season at Kansas State and averaged 2.8 points and 2.3 rebounds for the Wildcats. Kian Scroggins, a 6-foot-7 senior, is also back for the Bearkats. Scroggins started five times last season and averaged six points and led Sam Houston State in rebounds at 5.9 per game.

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Given the strong mix of returnees and transfer portal additions, Mudge has the personnel to regularly go eight or nine deep with this roster. Eight of the top nine in the projected roster are seniors, which should make the Bearkats one of the most experienced mid-major teams in the country.

While the name Sam Houston State doesn’t stand out on paper, the Bearkats are the type of non-conference opponent who is more than capable of playing spoiler. Of Indiana’s eight confirmed non-conference games, Sam Houston State is the second highest ranked in the Torvik projections behind South Carolina.

Filed to: Sam Houston State Bearkats



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Indiana

Is ‘The Bachelorette’ happening? This Carmel contestant weighs in

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Is ‘The Bachelorette’ happening? This Carmel contestant weighs in


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Should ABC air the canceled-for-now season of “The Bachelorette”? A Carmel man who was set to compete on it seems to think so.

Matt Carroll, a 43-year-old Purdue basketball alum and Carmel resident, took to social media over the weekend to address the cancelation of season 22 of “The Bachelorette,” on which he appeared. Public opinion on whether the show should see the light of day is split, but the former Boilermaker forward and industrial real estate broker hopes the footage makes it to air.

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Disney and ABC pulled season 22 of “The Bachelorette” because its lead, “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Taylor Frankie Paul, faces an ongoing domestic violence investigations. The network announced the decision March 19 after TMZ leaked a video from a 2023 domestic violence incident involving Paul and her ex Dakota Mortensen.

Neither Carroll nor the show have officially commented on the cancelation, but that doesn’t mean he and other contestants haven’t hinted at their feelings on social media.

Carroll’s Instagram reel — in which he struts through the streets of Carmel, rose in hand, RAYE’s “Where the Hell is My Husband” soundtracking it all — breaks the ice. “So…about that,” he joked, tagging both “The Bachelorette” and Bachelor Nation, the franchise’s official hub for news and content.

The reel has garnered comments from fellow Carmel residents wishing Carroll well, even offering to set him up with local singles. Notably, though, some of Carroll’s followers have called for the season to air — and he agrees.

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“Trying to manifest that they still air this,” one comment from model Brittany Mason reads. “America wants it the world wants it!”

“From your lips to God’s ears,” Carroll replied.

Another response from him put it more plainly:

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“I’m still hoping they decide to air it.”

Whether “The Bachelorette” will air is unclear. Disney Entertainment Television’s official statement only indicated that it was halting the season “for now,” so it’s possible the network could dust off the footage and air it after all.

Contact IndyStar Pop Culture Reporter Heather Bushman at hbushman@indystar.com. Follow her on X @hmb_1013.



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Game times announced for Saturday’s Final Four in Indianapolis

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Game times announced for Saturday’s Final Four in Indianapolis


INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament’s Final Four is set.

Four teams have advanced to the Final Four and will compete for the national championship this upcoming weekend in Indianapolis.

The two national semifinal matchups will take place on Saturday. Tip times for the two games have been announced:

  • 6:09 p.m. EDT – No. 3 seed Illinois vs. No. 2 seed UConn
  • 8:49 p.m. EDT – No. 1 seed Michigan vs. No. 1 seed Arizona

The winners of Saturday’s games will then play in the National Championship Game on Monday, April 6.

Each game will take place inside Lucas Oil Stadium.

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Hundreds gather at Indiana State Capitol for ‘No Kings’ protest

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Hundreds gather at Indiana State Capitol for ‘No Kings’ protest


INDIANAPOLIS — Hundreds of Hoosiers gathered at the Indiana Statehouse Saturday morning as part of nationwide ‘No Kings’ events to voice their concerns about the current administration.

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Hundreds gather at Indiana State Capitol for ‘No Kings’ protest

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“I’m out here today because what’s happening in our government is completely trash,” Donna Sipes told WRTV. “It’s wrong. We need to do something about it.”

“I’m tired of every single day when the TV comes on to see what stupid thing he’s done next,” Lindi Marti said.

WRTV

Attendees noted the growing popularity of the demonstrations.

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“This is my fourth one to come to. I didn’t come to all of them when it was really cold, but I’m glad to see that they are getting a lot more people out here every time,” Marti added. “It seems like there’s more and more coming.”

Demonstrators highlighted specific foreign policy concerns, including the administration’s handling of the war in Iran.

“We’re bombing the heck out of them. We’re killing civilians,” Marti’s husband said. “We’re getting ready to send our Marines.”

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WRTV

Others focused on the administration’s handling of immigration.

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“That’s what I’m concerned about,” Reverend Kenny Little told WRTV. “Little kids, they’re taking them away from their family. And I’m just one of those people, I think everyone got rights.”

Indiana medical students also attended the rally to speak out against changes to the healthcare system.

“We’re really worried about the attacks on the health care system in general, but with Medicaid… current estimates range from anywhere from 325,000 to 450,000 Hoosiers will lose coverage by 2032,” Wade Catt said with concern.

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WRTV

With midterm elections approaching later this year, attendees emphasized the importance of now taking action at the ballot box.

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“If we don’t vote, then things are gonna not, they’re gonna stay the same,” a protester said.

Meanwhile, Indiana Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith says he’s happy to see Hoosiers exercise their First Amendment right to protest.

However, he takes issue with the idea that President Trump is acting like a king. Beckwith says the fact that people have the freedom to protest is proof that the president is not acting like a tyrant.

He acknowledges that bridging the gap between the sides is probably an uphill battle, but believes communication is key.

“I think when you sit down with people face to face, you’re confronted with humanity. There’s another human sitting across that table from you and talking to you. And so, all I have to say, I think that’s probably the thing I would encourage all Hoosiers to do is say, ‘Hey, if you don’t agree with somebody or if you don’t like somebody, why don’t you try grabbing coffee with them? And give it 30 minutes, and just see what happens.’ I bet most of the time people will walk away with a much softer heart and spirit towards that person before they came in,” Beckwith said.

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Beckwith is currently on a 92-county tour of the state. He says all sides are welcome to attend his events.

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