Indiana
Five biggest games on the Indiana Pacers 2024-25 schedule
The Indiana Pacers schedule for the 2024-25 season has been revealed, and it’s unique. Between a trip to Paris and oscillating difficult and easier stretches, it’s a fascinating slate of 80 games.
Indiana’s four-game preseason slate has been announced, too, and they have 14 games on national TV in the coming season. The team has an elevated status that comes with winning, and their trip to the Eastern Conference Finals last season means more attention will be coming for the blue and gold this year.
Many of the Pacers’ battles will have a higher profile. Five, in particular, stand out.
Indiana Pacers at New York Knicks, Friday, October 25
This game is just the second one of the season for the blue and gold, but it will be fascinating. Indiana took down New York in the second round of the playoffs in 2024, and it was a dramatic series.
The best-of-seven set took seven games to wrap up, and the Pacers won the seventh game in New York — they beat a banged-up Knicks team and earned a trip to the East’s final series. The team in the Big Apple can’t have been happy to fall short.
The Knicks will want revenge, and they host the blue and gold on ESPN early in the season. It will be an intense duel.
Indiana Pacers at Boston Celtics, Wednesday, October 30
Speaking of postseason rematches, the Pacers will get their first chance to battle the Boston team that eliminated them in the Eastern Conference Finals early in the campaign.
The Celtics swept Indiana, and despite some of the games being close, the result is all that anyone remembers. Plus, the Celtics went on to win the title — they will have a target on their back all season long.
The blue and gold will try to get revenge early in the campaign. This game will also be on ESPN.
Indiana Pacers at Milwaukee Bucks, Friday, November 22
The Pacers and Bucks played many intense games during the regular season, and that created a bit of a rivalry in the Central Division. Indiana beat Milwaukee often last year, including in the In-Season Tournament Semifinals, and that added to their friction.
Then, they met in the first-round of the playoffs. Indiana won that series in six games, but the Bucks will be ready for the Pacers this year. The duels will be intense.
The first one of them comes on November 22, and it’s an In-Season Tournament game. It will be worth watching, and it will be on ESPN.
Indiana Pacers vs Los Angeles Lakers, Wednesday, March 26
The Lakers beat the Pacers in the In-Season Tournament title game last season, and the Pacers won’t forget it. It was among Indiana’s most important games last season, and they were overwhelmed by LA’s size.
This year, they face off in Indianapolis on ESPN late in the season. It will be a chance for the blue and gold to overcome their nemesis and show their growth late in the campaign. It’s also Indiana’s last game on ESPN of the 2024-25 slate.
Indiana Pacers vs Golden State Warriors, Friday, January 10
The Pacers host the Warriors early in 2025, and the opponent alone carries huge weight. Golden State is popular and has Steph Curry, who is always a huge draw for fans.
This year, on top of the increased eyeballs because of the opponent, Pacers-Warriors will be more exciting. It will be the first time Buddy Hield returns to Indianapolis since he was traded away back in February. He has never played against Tyrese Haliburton in the NBA.
The game will already have some extra juice. That added element will make it a memorable night.
Indiana basketball practice observations from June 25: Freshmen mixing in
IU has a game-changer, Thursday’s practice open to the media showed. IndyStar IU insider Zach Osterman explains what he saw.
BLOOMINGTON — Whatever he can.
That’s the answer. The question — one prompted by an urgency to add strength to his game — is what Vaughn Karvala, Indiana basketball’s athletic freshman wing, is doing to add weight. IU’s highest-ranked signee in the 2026 class, it’s not hard to envision a role for Karvala in Darian DeVries’ second season in Bloomington. The player himself knows that starts with meeting the physical demands of the college game.
Which starts with building onto to his 6-foot-7, 190-pound frame.
“The biggest thing for me is just putting on weight,” Karvala told reporters after practice Thursday. “That’s my biggest thing, getting stronger, trying to play with these guys that are three, four years older than me. I have to get stronger, I have to get faster, everything.”
A three-year letter winner at Oregon (Wisconsin) High School, Karvala spent his senior season at Bella Vista Prep in Arizona, bolstering a profile that saw him ranked No. 62 nationally per the 247Sports Composite.
Karvala averaged 26.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in his final season with Oregon, shooting close to 42% from behind the 3-point line. He averaged another 14.7 points per game with Team Herro on the EYBL circuit.
He handed DeVries a major recruiting win last fall, when Karvala picked the Hoosiers over Xavier and Cal. Now, both at the rim and behind the arc, Karvala looks like a player who can contribute meaningfully in his first year in college.
“I know my athleticism catches the eye, but I can still shoot it,” Karvala said. “But another thing is just working on rebounding, trying to get extra possessions for us.”
Whether on the glass or elsewhere, embracing the physical challenge of college basketball has been an emphasis for Karvala since he arrived in Bloomington earlier this summer.
That manifests itself offensively, when he tries to push the ball downhill and leverage that athleticism to attack the rim. It shows up defensively, where Karvala said he’s comfortable guarding the two, the three and, matchup depending, the four.
It even plays out on the glass, battling bigs up to including 7-2 teammate Samet Yigitoglu, who Karvala described with a smile as “the biggest guy I’ve ever seen.”
“Physicality, 100%,” Karvala said, when asked where he’s challenging himself. “Just playing with all these guys that have 20, 30, 40 pounds on me.”
Which starts with the physical demand of more weight. Karvala said he’ll eat chicken, steak or “whatever we have in the locker room” that can help him in that effort. His focus, he said, is simply to “eat a lot, and work out every day.”
As that weight and strength begin to build, Karvala knows the next step — to mentally prepare for the rough-and-tumble nature of life on the floor in the Big Ten — is just as important. Preparing his body comes first. Challenging himself to toughen up once it’s required follows quickly after.
“Just getting fully there, mentally,” he said. “You’re going to have to push your body to get through this.”
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KOSCIUSKO COUNTY, Ind. (WSBT) — It’s fair season and a new law uncorks adult beverage sales!
The new Indiana law will go into effect July 1st, making it legal to sell alcohol at county fairs.
The Kosciusko County Fair is set to kick off in just a few weeks and Indiana is officially allowing alcohol to be sold.
The law is bringing back something that’s not necessarily new to this fair.
Here’s what you need to know
The new law will go into effect on July 1st. It officially allows county fairs to apply for fee-free permits to sell alcohol.
Officials with the Kosciusko County Fair say they are participating this year. They are implementing the same guidelines they used when they sold alcohol just at grandstand events.
The difference now is, you can walk around the grounds with your drink. But strict guidelines will be in place for purchasing a drink.
“Actually, we’ve never had any issues. Because we card everybody, so we take that seriously. We also got the ID guides so we can identify the different types of IDs,” said Sheal Dirck, Treasurer of Kosciusko County Fair.
The Kosciusko County Fair already have guidelines in place, so this was an easy transition for the fair.
They will be the only vendors selling alcohol, which will make it easier to control distribution.
The sales will also bring in more revenue.
“Hopefully it allows to keep our ticket prices where they are because right now, insurance, utilities and everything else is going sky high and it’s hard to make ends meet,” said Dirck.
However, some fairs cannot participate because of the July 1st start date, like the Pulaski County Fair, which is going on right now. Pulaski County officials said it is on the agenda for next year. Whereas other fairs are choosing to sit this year out.
“We wanted not spend some time to, to see what that really means for us. It was not a decision we wanted to rush into. But we are happy for the option of it,” said Shelly Steury, GM of Elkhart County 4H Fairgrounds.
Leaders at the St. Joseph County and Elkhart County Fairs said neither of them are selling alcohol.
The Kosciusko County Fair is the only fair that will sell alcohol in our area this year.
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