Indiana

Indiana Pacers earn win behind Ben Sheppard and Enrique Freeman, but starter woes cloud outing

Published

3 months ago

October 19, 2024

Indiana Pacers earn win behind Ben Sheppard and Enrique Freeman, but starter woes cloud outing

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers won their final preseason game in overtime on Thursday, and they had plenty of heroics to get it done. With 4:17 remaining, the Charlotte Hornets were ahead by 12. With 15 seconds left, that edge was six. The Hornets had done enough to win.

Yet a key putback from Quenton Jackson, a costly turnover from Tidjane Salaun, and a miraculous four-point play from Ben Sheppard later had the score tied as the clock hit zero. In the extra period, the Pacers were terrific as they earned a victory.

Late in the game, two youngsters were special. Sheppard, a second-year wing, was making plays down the stretch. He had 11 points in the fourth quarter as well as a key steal plus assist in the bonus frame.

The 2023 late first-round pick, who had a team option in his contract exercised on Friday, wrapped up preseason play with his best game. Enrique Freeman was equally terrific in crunch time. The 50th overall pick in the most recent draft continued his terrific play since being selected, dominating with energy, hustle, and efficiency.

Freeman finished the outing with 15 points and five rebounds. Nine of those points came in overtime, and three of those boards were in that stretch. His second-chance points made the victory possible — every single one of his rebounds were on the offensive end.

“Happy for that group,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of his reserves after the game. “Good stuff in the fourth quarter.”

Hard play defined the night for both Freeman and Sheppard. They battled on defense, ran hard in transition, and overall upped the Pacers energy. They both played their games and finished plays, which made them stand out. Indiana needed monster efforts from their third unit, and those two provided it.

“We had no energy, and we just came in with a spark and tried to bring us back into the game and made something happen,” Sheppard said. Freeman agreed. “Our group came in, and that was our job to do, is bring energy,” he explained.

Thanks to that pair, the blue and gold escaped preseason play 2-2. The team had good and bad stretches basically every game. Carlisle hoped to see more consistency in the final exhibition, yet that didn’t happen. They still won, but they didn’t show enough to feel good about where they are at.

The most important part of the Pacers inconsistent play came from their starting lineup. The team’s entire starting five was available to play for just the second time during the preseason, and they weren’t particularly successful outside of the first quarter.

In total, that group had a roughly 106.9 offensive rating with a 123.3 defensive rating. The Hornets had a true shooting percentage that approached 68% with Indiana’s starting five on the floor while their own true shooting percentage was 53.5%. They couldn’t get stops and struggled to score — and that came in spite of a solid first quarter from the five-man unit.

Indiana Pacers Ben Sheppard Enrique Freeman

Oct 17, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard DaQuan Jeffries (8) shoots the ball while Indiana Pacers guard Ben Sheppard (26) defends in OT at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

For the night, that lineup was -7. The first game that unit played, which came last week in Cleveland, they also were outscored. The Pacers starting five, a rock solid group last season, wasn’t effective in the preseason.

“Our starting group has just not been tied together,” Carlisle said. “We’re not doing a good enough job in a lot of the important areas.”

Some areas that Carlisle pointed out where that group has come up short were physicality, rebounding, and toughness. They need to work on it. Physical play hasn’t been there — Indiana has been afraid to hit first.

Defensive struggles aren’t shocking from that Pacers five-man combo. They were not known for their work on the less glamorous end of the floor last season. The inconsistent play on offense and lack of clear burst has been more jarring. That was the Pacers identity last season, and it hasn’t been there all the time.

“We’ve got to communicate better on both sides of the ball,” starting wing Aaron Nesmith said. He doesn’t think their defense has been on point despite the tools they have. “Zero in before game one. Some things we need to fix, and we’ll fix them.”

Fortunately for that group, their struggles have been masked twice by excellent play from reserves. Sheppard and Freeman earned Indiana a win last night. But in the regular season, when starters are relied upon for big minutes, the Pacers opening lineup needs to be better.

“We have five and a half days to try to get better and to get ready. Right now, we’re just not there,” Carlisle said. “We’ve all got to look in the mirror on the whole thing. But we have time, and we can still make progress.”

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Indiana

Man killed in northwest Indiana house fire

Published

6 hours ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

Man killed in northwest Indiana house fire

One person died in a house fire on Sunday morning in LaPorte County, Indiana, authorities said.

According to the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office, at around 7:06 a.m., deputies responded to a structure fire in the 200 block of South Longshore Drive near Fish Lake. Deputies approached the house, where “excessive smoke prevented them from safely entering to search for any occupants inside.”

Once the fire had been extinguished, first responders entered the residence and found one person who had died. The resident was identified as 64-year-old Ronald Conrad.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation on Sunday.

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Indiana

At the Buzzer: Indiana 77, Penn State 71

Published

13 hours ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

At the Buzzer: Indiana 77, Penn State 71

Quick thoughts on a 77-71 win against Penn State at the Palestra:

How it happened

It was a sharp start on both ends for Indiana on Sunday afternoon at the Palestra. The Hoosiers took care of the ball, hit the offensive boards and hit a couple of early perimeter shots to build an early 17-14 advantage. But as IU went to its bench, the offense waned, the turnovers increased and the Hoosiers managed just 12 points over the final 12:14 of the half. Fortunately, Penn State struggled, too. The Nittany Lions didn’t make a 3-pointer in the first half, shot just three free throws and didn’t make a field goal over the final 6:29 of the opening 20 minutes. With Malik Reneau unavailable due to injury, Oumar Ballo was the focal point of the Hosier offense and was sometimes unstoppable. Ballo had 14 points and nine rebounds in 16 first-half minutes.

Mackenzie Mgbako scored eight points in less than a minute to start the second half, forcing Penn State to take an early timeout with the Hoosiers leading 37-29. By the under-16 media timeout, Indiana’s lead was 44-33 after the Hoosiers made three 3-pointers before the timeout. After Penn State cut the lead to eight at 47-39, Indiana went on an 11-4 run to make it a 58-43 advantage with 11:34 remaining. The Hoosiers stretched the lead to 16 on a Trey Galloway 3-pointer with 10:20 left. But Penn State scored the next six points to pull within 10 at 61-51 at the 9:05 mark. Mgbako’s third 3-pointer of the second half stretched the lead to 11 with 7:39 remaining, but Oumar Ballo picked up his fourth foul on the next possession and had to go to the bench.

After Penn State cut the lead to four at 65-61 on a Nick Kern Jr. 3-pointer, Indiana brought Ballo back in and the big man converted a 3-point play to make it 68-61 with 5:25 remaining. By the final media timeout, Indiana’s lead was 69-63. Penn State had a chance to cut it to one possession with under 2:15 left, but Galloway got a key steal and took the team’s last timeout with the Hoosiers leading 73-68 with 2:04 to go. Out of the timeout, IU turned it over, Penn State hit a 3-pointer to make it 73-71 and Rice didn’t get the ball past halfcourt, giving Penn State the ball with 1:32 left. Zach Hicks missed a 3-pointer that would have given the Nittany Lions the lead and on the ensuing possession, Mgbako was fouled with 42.7 seconds left. Mgbako made both free throws to make it 75-71, Hicks missed a 3-pointer on Penn State’s next possession and Rice made two free throws to seal the win for Indiana.

Standout performers

Ballo led Indiana with 25 points, 13 rebounds and two blocked shots in 32 minutes. Mgbako finished with 20 points in 31 minutes. Luke Goode made three 3-pointers and finished with 12 points and seven rebounds in 25 minutes. And Rice had nine points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals in 31 minutes.

Statistics that stand out

Indiana went 9-for-23 on 3s (39.1 percent) and 16-for-22 from the free throw line (72.7 percent). The Hoosiers turned it over just 14 times. Penn State opponents were averaging 17 per game entering the contest.

Final IU individual statistics

Final tempo-free statistics

Assembly Call postgame show

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

Filed to: Penn State Nittany Lions

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Indiana

Point Spread: Indiana Big Underdog vs. Penn State in Philadelphia

Published

21 hours ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

Point Spread: Indiana Big Underdog vs. Penn State in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — There have been a lot of ups and downs during Mike Woodson’s three-plus years as head coach at Indiana, but one of the most disturbing trends is the Hoosiers’ inability to beat Penn State.

Woodson lost five of six games to the Nittany Lions before finally beating them 61-59 in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis, Minn. last season. And this is an average Penn State side that’s only made one NCAA Tournament (2023) during that run. Still, they have guards who pressure and make threes, and Indiana has struggled with rosters like that.

Oddsmakers are expecting more of the same on Sunday when the two teams hook up at The Palestra in Philadelphia for a Penn State alternate home game. According to the FanDuel.com gambling website, the 12-2 Nittany Lions are 6.5-point favorites over the Hoosiers (11-3). The over/under is 158.5.

The game starts at Noon ET and is televised on Big Ten Network. (How to watch story link below.) It’s the fifth time Penn State has played a Big Ten home game during the Christmas break at The Palestra, which was built in 1927 and is one of the most iconic building in the college game.

Indiana has been an underdog twice this season, and both ended badly, getting blown out late by both Gonzaga and Nebraska.

Here’s what we know so far about how Indiana and Penn State have fared against the point spread this season.

UPDATE … Rutgers is 12-2 on the season, and 2-1 in Big Ten games. They resumed league play on Thursday night with an 84-80 win over Northwestern in State College, Pa.

Penn State is just 6-8 against the spread this season. They’ve had an easy schedule, only playing two Power 5 teams in the nonconference schedule. They beat a 6-8 Virginia Tech team, but lost to Clemson., both from the ACC. Here’s what Penn State has done straight up and against the spread this season:

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