INDIANA (WPTA) – The Department of Defense (DoD) announced on Monday that an investigation is now underway following an Indiana Army National Guard soldier’s death.

According to a press release, 34-year-old Capt. Eric Richard Hart of Indianapolis died on Saturday, Dec. 28, in Iraq.

The DoD says Capt. Hart died “as a result of a noncombat-related incident”, which remains under investigation at this time.

Officials say he was assigned to Headquarters & Headquarters Battalion, 38th Infantry Division, of the Indiana National Guard in Indianapolis.

No further information on the soldier’s death was shared.

21Alive News is working to learn more and will update this story as soon as more information is available.

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Indiana wrapped up non-conference play with a 77-68 win against Winthrop on Sunday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Here are five takeaways from the win against the Eagles:

Langdon Hatton delivers for a short-handed IU frontcourt

Langdon Hatton’s minutes had been limited through Indiana’s first 12 games. But with Oumar Ballo unavailable to play and Malik Reneau battling foul issues, it was Hatton’s turn to make an impact against Winthrop.

And the senior from Georgetown, Indiana, delivered his best performance this season.

Hatton logged a season-high 26 minutes in Sunday’s win and finished with seven points, 11 rebounds, three blocked shots, an assist and a steal.

He was 1-for-3 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line.

“Being from Indiana, it’s just a dream to even be on the team,” Hatton said postgame. “So when your number gets called, it’s like a dream come true. So it’s pretty awesome. Just excited to be able to help the team out.”

Whether Hatton’s play leads to a bigger role moving forward remains to be seen, but his fundamentally sound play and hustle were a welcome addition to Sunday’s win.

With only one big, the floor opened up for Myles Rice

With Ballo unavailable and the Hoosiers playing a one-big lineup all afternoon, Myles Rice had more space in the lane to operate.

Rice took advantage early and often on his way to a game-high 18 points.

The redshirt sophomore did most of his damage at the rim as he shot 7-for-10 on 2s. Rice also dished out three assists and had three steals in 32 minutes.

“I saw them pressuring me pretty much 75 percent of the length of the court,” Rice said postgame. “They were trying to pressure me at halfcourt, and to me, I found that like a little bit disrespectful just because of my speed and my quickness.

“And I just saw my opportunities to attack whether they were trying to like stop me from going one way and I would just go other way. But any time anybody tries to pressure me full court, I feel like I have the advantage just because of my speed and my quickness.”

Through 13 games, Rice is shooting close to 57 percent on 2s and has six games of 17 or more points.

A dismal perimeter shooting performance

Luke Goode made Indiana’s first 3-point attempt of the game at the 17:04 mark of the first half.

It would be the only time the Hoosiers connected from deep throughout the game.

Indiana shot a dismal 1-for-20 (five percent) from distance and is now shooting 30.6 percent on 3s this season. That ranks 278th in the country.

“You’re always concerned about them,” Mike Woodson said postgame when asked if he was concerned about the outside shooting. “We’re shooting them. And again, if they were bad threes, then I would really sit here and complain. But they were good threes, and I feel good about the guys that are shooting them.

“So again, eventually, they are going to make them. That’s how I think.”

With non-conference play complete, Indiana ranks 353rd in the country in point distribution from 3-pointers. The Hoosiers are scoring just 22 percent of their points off of 3s. Among high-major teams, only Michigan State and Syracuse rank lower.

Indiana finishes non-conference play with no wins of significance

Non-conference play is complete,and Indiana has 18 games remaining, all of which will come against Big Ten opponents.

The Hoosiers have significant work to do after not recording a single significant win in non-conference play.

Indiana bet big on the Battle 4 Atlantis as an opportunity for resume worthy wins and lost that gamble. The Hoosiers were blown out by Louisville and Gonzaga and then beat Providence, ranked just 78th in KenPom.

The best win on IU’s resume is currently South Carolina. The Gamecocks are the lowest-ranked KenPom team at No. 63 in the Southeastern Conference.

With the program outside the NCAA tournament field in most projections and with just a 20.8 percent chance to return to March Madness according to Bart Torvik’s TourneyCast, the Hoosiers will need to finish several games over .500 in league play to build a tournament-worthy resume.

“Every game is important moving forward,” Woodson said postgame. “Can’t look back. Every game is important. We’ve got Rutgers coming in. That’s my only focus right now.”

Woodson doesn’t address the absence of Oumar Ballo

Despite being in his warm-up shirt and candy stripe pants, Oumar Ballo never warmed up for Sunday’s game.

Ballo also seemed to be walking around just fine after being listed as questionable on the Big Ten’s availability report earlier in the day.

In his postgame press conference, Woodson was asked about the nature of Ballo’s absence and how long he had to prepare for it.

“I’m not going to address that,” Woodson said. “But didn’t have a lot of lead time. But that doesn’t matter. You know, guys that are in uniform have got to play, and he didn’t play tonight, and you know, we’ll sit down tomorrow and address his situation and get ready for Rutgers.”

With Ballo out, Reneau started at the five and finished with 14 points and seven rebounds in just 14 minutes due to foul trouble.

Filed to: Winthrop Eagles

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Former Pres. Jimmy Carter left an insurmountable impact on the American people, including Hoosiers.

Carter died at his home in Plains, Georgia on Sunday. He was 100 years old.

The one term president entered the White House in 1977, promising he would be a commander in chief marked by compassion.

“He was known internationally for his work in bringing peace, eradicating tropical diseases, a whole world of humanitarian relief projects,” Indiana University Law Professor Jody Madeira said.

Though his time in office was short, he focused on eliminating segregation, increasing public health, and broadening American interests abroad.

Madeira said his work across the glob is difficult to measure.

“He was also known for a lot of peace initiatives while he was in office…the Camp David Accords, the second round of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks and the Panama Canal Treaties,” Madeira said.

Back in the Midwest, Carter’s time in office came at a moment Hoosiers were eager to know how the United States’ relationship with allies, and foreign adversaries, could impact their day-to-day lives.

At the time, the region was considered a bellwether of stability following World War II and in the 1970s.

Indiana University Indianapolis History Professor and Director of American Studies Raymond Haberski says Carter’s decisions in those four years still impact us today and may have changed the trajectory for Indiana.

“He is known for the rise of globalization and the way that things became increasingly interconnected, especially after the Vietnam war,” Haberski said. “So, what happens to manufacturing in the Midwest? What happens to inflation, the price of gasoline? Things like that. But, all those things happen under Carter, and he was really the first president to begin to grapple with issues that affected people … in regions of the country that had been fairly stable.”

Each one of those topics permeate politics today, even in Indiana. But, it’s Carter’s life after the White House that he is remembered for.

“President Jimmy Carter is known as a very, very pivotal figure for Habitat for Humanity,” Madeira said. “He was a huge supporter. Ae also traveled extensively for peace negotiations around the world. He monitored elections around the world to ensure that they were full and fair and people were not disenfranchised. He actually had a third public health related venture, which is eliminating tropical diseases.”

Each one of those endeavors was felt in the Hoosier state, and continue to be.

“You know we are bold and sort of brave as Hoosiers,” Madeira said. “We do innovative things, and I think that is something that we have in common.”