Indiana
Indiana men’s basketball vs Purdue: Q&A with Hammer and Rails
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With Indiana set to travel up to West Lafayette to take on Purdue in the first of two games in the conference’s greatest hoops rivalry, our friends over at our sister site in the SB Nation network, Hammer and Rails, stopped by to talk Boilermaker basketball.
Here’s what they had to say:
Q. I don’t think anybody expected Purdue to be bad or anything this year with Zach Edey departing. What were the expectations heading into the season and how have they changed now?
The expectations were high. Not as high as last year because losing a two time national player of the year is gonna hurt, but still high. A Big Ten title was an expectation for a lot of people given the return of Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, and TKR. I think a second weekend trip to the NCAA Tournament, where anything can happen was the feeling amongst the fans and I don’t think either of those thoughts have changed.
Q. How different is Trey Kaufman-Renn this season? Is it the kind of thing where Edey was absorbing most of his possessions and he was always this capable or has he gotten noticeably better since last season?
I think you’ve hit it on the head. It’s hard to play behind an All-American. While TKR and Edey played together last year TKR clearly wasn’t the focus. When you’ve got a guy like Edey you make sure he touches the ball. TKR can now be more of a focus of the offense and with more opportunities comes more experience. He’s had a great season thus far. We’ve seen improvement in his ability to hit both a little floater and a hook shotesque look in the middle of the lane.
Q. Have their been any commonalities to Purdue’s losses this season? Something that comes up in each defeat?
There have been a couple things that I think are commonalities for all teams. Purdue loses when they don’t shoot the three very well and when they turn the ball over. This year the more egregious losses have happened when Purdue didn’t take care of the ball. Painter’s goal each game is to keep TOs under 10. That does not always happen. In the loss to Penn State Purdue turned it over 24 times. You just can’t give opponents that many extra chances.
Q. You can add any non-Edey Purdue center under Painter to this roster. Which one and why?
That’s a tough question because it would have to be someone who could compliment TKR. I don’t want to take away from what he’s doing so well. Purdue could use a rim protector and somehow who can stretch defenses and step out to maybe hit a three every once in awhile. With that in mind I’ll take JaJuan Johnson but you really couldn’t go wrong with Isaac Hass, Matt Haarms, or any other 7-footer Purdue has had in recent years.
Q. Who are the non-Braden Smith and Kaufman-Renn players Indiana should be worried about?
Fletcher Loyer is Purdue’s best three point shooter so you’ve gotta focus on pushing him off the line and not allowing easy looks. Purdue’s also got CJ Cox a true freshman guard who has shown the ability to go off for 20+ on any particular day. He’s a good ball handler and an aggressive defender.
Q. Score prediction?
I’m taking Purdue and I think it won’t be close. When Braden Smith plays mad he’s hard to beat. I think he wants to stick it to IU for this one. He’s the type of player that just needs one thing to feel like a betrayal and you’re dead to him forever. I’m taking Purdue 84 – IU 65.
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Indiana
USA TODAY snowfall tracker shows how much snow has fallen in Indiana cities this season
Take a snow day with IndyStar (and pups) as we hit the sledding hill
Here’s how IndyStar’s Madyson Crane spent the snow day on Monday, with guest appearances from 4-legged friends Freya and Lucy.
Indiana has been hit with more snowfall this season than we have seen in recent years and more is on the way this week, according to the National Weather Service in Indianapolis.
Here’s a look at much snowfall Indiana has seen so far this season.
Here’s how much snow has fallen this season so far in cities across the state according to USA TODAY’s snowfall tracker as of Feb. 19, 2025:
- Anderson: 1 foot 9 inches
- Bloomington: 1 foot 9 inches
- Danville: 1 foot 9 inches
- Evansville: 1 foot 6 inches
- Fort Wayne: 1 foot 3 inches
- Greencastle: 1 foot 6 inches
- Greenfield: 1 foot 8 inches
- Indianapolis: 1 foot 6 inches
- Kokomo: 1 foot 7 inches
- Lafayette: 1 foot 4 inches
- Muncie: 1 foot 6 inches
- Noblesville: 1 foot 9 inches
- Rushville: 1 foot 8 inches
- Richmond: 1 foot 9 inches
- Terre Haute: 1 foot 2 inches
To view more cities on the interactive map visit the USA TODAY snowfall tracker.
How much snowfall does Indiana normally get?
According to NWS Indianapolis, the Indianapolis area gets on average, 25.5 inches of snow annually.
Based on the numbers for this season, we are on track to meet or even exceed that number. Indianapolis has seen 1 foot 9 inches of snow (21 inches) so far this season, and another 1.5 inches is expected to arrive on Thursday.
Katie Wiseman is a trending news reporter on Midwest Connect. Contact her at klwiseman@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @itskatiewiseman or Bluesky @katiewiseman
Indiana
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Cut From Indiana Republicans' Proposed Budget
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The program promotes childhood literacy by sending one book a month to kids from birth up to age five
Indiana Republicans have proposed cutting state funding for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program, which provides books to young kids in an effort to promote literacy.
According to the South Bend Tribune, legislators in the Indiana House of Representatives recently proposed a biennial budget that did not include the usual 50 percent matching funds the state provides to finance the program. The other half is provided by the United Way and local community foundations. The program would be unable to bear the full cost if the state reneges its funding.
Parton’s Imagination Library serves young readers across the country, providing one book a month to kids from birth until age five. In Indiana, the program was heavily embraced and now serves every county in the state. It’s been credited with helping to push Indiana up the nationwide rankings in child literacy rates from 19th to sixth.
Just this past January, Indiana’s outgoing Republican Governor, Eric Holcomb, hailed the program in an end-of-term op-ed for the IndyStar. Noting the state’s investment in literacy education, he said, “One of these days, Dolly Parton will pay us a visit to celebrate the statewide embrace of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, another tool to help our kids read.”
It’s unclear why exactly funding for the program was cut from Republican legislators’ proposed budget. Maureen Bauer, a Democratic state representative for South Bend said the initial budget was based on the priorities of Indiana’s new Republican Governor, Mike Braun. (Braun’s office did not immediately return Rolling Stone‘s request for comment. Nor did a rep for Parton.)
“It was a disservice to remove [the funding]” Bauer told the South Bend Tribune. She did add that House Democrats would aim to put the funding back when they presented their version of the budget. The budget will then be debated and combined with the Republican’s version before going to the state Senate.
Indiana
Obituary for Robert Denton at Grandstaff-Hentgen Funeral Service, Inc.
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