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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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Man shot by security guard in hospital emergency room waiting area in Gary, Indiana

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Man shot by security guard in hospital emergency room waiting area in Gary, Indiana


A man’s family is demanding answers after he was shot by a security guard inside a hospital emergency room waiting area on Tuesday night in Gary, Indiana.

Methodist Northlake Hospital officials said, around midnight Tuesday night, its security staff responded quickly after a patient took out a gun. The hospital said he’d threatened to shoot himself or others.

The hospital commended the security guard who shot the man for “neutralizing the threat and helping ensure the safety of our patients and employees.”

Family members identified the man who was shot as Otis Brown. They said he is a kind father to a 12-year-old boy.

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“Just a great person, a happy-go-lucky, always out there trying to do the right thing,” said his fiancée, Stacey Taylor.

Taylor said she was on a business trip when she got a call that Brown had been shot multiple times.

“Scared, uncertainty; you know, what story is right? You know, what happened?” she said.

After he was shot, Brown was taken to University of Chicago Medical Center for treatment.

Taylor said she had no idea why Brown went to Methodist Northlake Hospital in the first place. His family said he was trying to leave the hospital when the shooting happened, claiming that the hospital gave him his gun back after he was cleared to leave.

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“We just want to get answers, just want to know what happened, particularly when people are defaming his name,” Taylor said.

She and Brown’s family hope the hospital has surveillance video footage that can help provide answers.

Gary police have not provided any details on the shooting. The Lake County Sheriff’s Department said it is investigating the shooting at the request of Gary police, but did not provide any further information.



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Indiana A.G. finishes Karl King Tower investigation, finalizes compliance order

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Indiana A.G. finishes Karl King Tower investigation, finalizes compliance order


The Indiana Attorney General has finished its investigation into Karl King Tower and issued a compliance order.

This is coming after a months-long investigation into the unsafe living conditions for residents at the apartments.

From December 2025 to January 2026, there were prolonged failures with the heating and a lack of heat for residents during winter conditions at Karl King.

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The property owner provided a 20% rent credit for affected tenants and documentation related to health and safety issues.

Below is the agreement from the Attorney General:

  • The owner must complete boiler and heating system improvements by September 30.
  • The property is subject to a monitoring period for multiple years.
  • The owner needs to provide on-site security, including cameras in common areas and monthly incident reports.
  • The building needs an on-site property manager to address resident concerns.
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The Attorney General has the authority to inspect the property and enforce compliance if commitments aren’t met.



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Indiana Baseball Series Preview Against Illinois

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Indiana Baseball Series Preview Against Illinois


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It’s been a rough season for the Indiana baseball team, but the Hoosiers have one more shot to finish the season on a high note against Illinois this week.

Indiana (21-30, 7-20) has lost five straight contests and failed to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament after finishing outside the top 12 in the Big Ten, meaning Saturday’s game against the Illini will be the Hoosiers’ last.

And that may very well be the biggest surprise in all of the Big Ten, considering IU won 33+ games each of the last two years and finished above .500 in Big Ten play each of the last three seasons.

About Indiana

Indiana’s disappointing season is almost over after getting swept by in-state rival Purdue over the weekend. IU has lost four straight Big Ten series and hasn’t won a series in nearly a month.

Regardless of who is playing well and who’s not, don’t be surprised if the majority of the seniors get to play this weekend.

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That probably wouldn’t be the case if Indiana were still able to qualify for the Big Ten Tourney, but with that out of the equation, expect to see the guys who might not ever play another competitive game of baseball get to see the field one last time.

The Hoosiers’ best pitcher is southpaw Tony Neubeck, who leads the team in wins, starts, innings pitched, and strikeouts. Neubeck has recorded back-to-back quality starts and could very well hear his name called in this June’s MLB Draft.

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Offensively, the Hoosiers have proven they can score some runs, and despite getting swept last week, scored 21 runs against Purdue. IU’s top hitter is Jake Hanley, who leads Indiana’s offense in at-bats, hits, home runs, RBIs, total bases, and walks.

About Illinois

Unlike Indiana, no matter what happens this week for Illinois, the Illini are automatically a lock for the Big Ten Tournament. Illinois might rest some of its everyday players who have played a lot and have some of its top arms on pitch counts, but outside of that, expect the Illini to play this series like it’s their last.

Illinois still has a chance to move up a spot in the Big Ten, and there’s no denying the fact that seeding matters.

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Illinois (27-23, 13-14) has won five in a row but has struggled on the road this season, especially in Big Ten play.

Still, though, Illinois has a couple of solid relievers — Sam Mommer and Sam Reed — and has an ace in Aidan Flinn.

Offensively, the Illini are inconsistent but did manage to score 26 runs in three games against Northwestern and have a couple of power hitters in AJ Putty and Collin Jennings.

Series Schedule

Thursday, May 14th (6 p.m. ET)
Friday, May 15h (6 p.m. ET)
Saturday, May 16th (2 p.m. ET)

All three games are available to watch via the Big Ten Network Plus (BIG+).

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