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Indiana Pacers Facing Their Most Important NBA Draft In Decades

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Indiana Pacers Facing Their Most Important NBA Draft In Decades


It’s been greater than three many years because the Indiana Pacers had a possibility to make the most of a single-digit first-round draft choose, however that can doubtless change on Thursday.

Indiana is slated to select sixth within the 2022 NBA Draft, the very best choice the franchise has owned since 1988. It’s an enormous selection for the entrance workplace to make — nailing the choose might push the Pacers again into the playoffs sooner or later, whereas whiffing the choose might ship the franchise to the NBA’s basement for a minimum of a number of extra seasons.

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From the skin, the sixth total choose would appear to comprise loads of stress for determination makers, however internally that isn’t the case. Pacers Vice President of Participant Personnel Ryan Carr is able to assist the entrance workplace make your best option doable.

“I don’t,” Carr stated when requested if he feels stress within the draft this yr. “Our employees of scouts work onerous it doesn’t matter what choose we’ve had. We’ve had drafts the place we didn’t have any picks, and we nonetheless work onerous since you by no means know what’s going to occur. And whoever you choose, you need to succeed. So I believe the stress we placed on ourselves is fairly constant. And we at all times put together to have the primary choose, that’s simply a part of what we do and the way we put together.”

Indiana is a diligent crew forward of the draft. Carr shared final summer season that the entrance workplace ranks gamers one by means of about 80 on their board no matter the place the crew is choosing within the draft. Having a transparent image of each prospect permits Pacers’ determination makers to really feel ready when draft day arrives.

In a typical yr, the entrance workplace runs by means of situation after situation to see who might be accessible when the blue and gold are on the clock. This yr, that’s a neater process because the franchise is selecting larger than they’ve since 1988. Regardless, it’s an necessary train, and finishing it speaks to the Pacers’ prepardness.

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These processes helped information Indiana to a profitable draft in 2021 — they walked away with All-Rookie second crew member Chris Duarte, in addition to promising large man Isaiah Jackson. These procedures now have extra depth due to the significance of this draft for Indiana.

Carr has been with the Pacers for almost twenty years and has seen many drafts, some profitable and a few not. He said that the entrance workplace and scouting division attempt to enhance yearly. “The method is essentially the identical yearly. Yearly we evaluate it, we add stuff to it, we attempt to get higher at it. I believe the caliber of participant is a better expertise, however I don’t suppose it impacts the method when it comes to analysis and all of the various things that go into making a choice on a participant,” Carr defined this week. That’s why the crew introduced in over 50 prospects for in-person evaluations throughout this pre-draft course of — they need as a lot info as doable to nail an important draft they’ve had in many years. “You’re nonetheless doing loads of work on them as individuals, analytics nonetheless does their factor. The analysis, we’re watching all people, whether or not they’re going to get picked first or go undrafted. So I don’t know that the method adjustments rather a lot, however I believe clearly the potential of the gamers is a better potential,” he stated.

The blue and gold introduced in a number of gamers who challenge to be picked within the lottery, together with a handful who’ve been pegged as potential decisions with the sixth total choose in mock drafts. Publicly, prospects equivalent to Bennedict Mathurin, Shaedon Sharpe, A.J. Griffin, Dyson Daniels, and Johnny Davis got here into Indianapolis to point out off their expertise and personalities. Privately, Keegan Murray descended upon Pacers’ amenities for a exercise, and Jaden Ivey had a digital assembly with the crew. Constructing off the success of the 2021 draft is essential for a crew nonetheless recovering from a 25-win season, and Indiana has executed their homework.

“The great factor is we’ve been in a position to speak to, be in entrance of, anyone that we might choose,” Carr stated.

On the exercises, dozens of crew staff and scouts are current. Nothing goes unnoticed. Even within the parts of the draft exercises that native media noticed, executives and coaches alike had been speaking to the prospects and offering some route.

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“That in itself was type of loopy,” Villanova wing Jermaine Samuels supplied when requested about Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle working with him one-on-one for a number of moments. “That’s in all probability the primary time a head coach has executed that.”

That is Carlisle’s second pre-draft cycle as the pinnacle coach of Indiana, and his consideration to element and one-on-one work is only one extra side that speaks to the Pacers preparedness.

These exercises assist the Pacers get to know potential draft picks as extra than simply gamers. Years of scouting offers each crew a way of what a participant can do on the court docket, however having them in your amenities permits determination makers to turn out to be acquainted with the prospects as individuals. That has a ton of worth, and it might come into play at any time throughout a participant’s profession in the event that they turn out to be accessible in a commerce or as a free agent. Robust draft preparation has a long-term influence.

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Within the short-term, the Pacers focus is on the draft and the sixth total choose. Realizing who the potential alternatives are each as gamers and folks is a requirement for the Pacers as they make certainly one of their most crucial roster choices in many years.

“The sixth choose, we wish him to be a foundational piece for us and are wanting ahead to including that piece,” Carr stated.

A foundational piece is a excessive bar, however alternatives to select this excessive scarcely seem for the franchise, and the Pacers are doing all the pieces they will to make it depend. Nailing the choice would put this foundational piece alongside Tyrese Haliburton and Chris Duarte, making a basis that ideally means the franchise is not going to have to select this excessive once more.

“It’s loads of enjoyable proper now. I might say the season to get right here wasn’t a complete lot of enjoyable. However, hopefully, this can be a reward for all of the gamers, our guys, going by means of a troublesome season and our entire employees and with the ability to hopefully assist us get again to the place we need to be,” Carr defined when requested in regards to the feelings of selecting within the top-10.

The unsuitable choose, or a nasty draft night time, might ship the Pacers towards one other season that isn’t enjoyable. The best choose might ship the Pacers again into the postseason, finally, and again into NBA relevancy.

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Thursday night time is an important draft for the Indiana Pacers in many years. The final time Indiana had a single digit choose, they went on to make the playoffs in 25 of the subsequent 31 seasons. The franchise should nail the 2022 NBA Draft in the event that they need to get again on an identical run of success.



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Weirdo Sports Columnist Gregg Doyel Gets Worked Up Over Ohio State Dominating Indiana, Gets Eviscerated On X

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Weirdo Sports Columnist Gregg Doyel Gets Worked Up Over Ohio State Dominating Indiana, Gets Eviscerated On X


It’s a day that ends in the letter ‘y,’ so Indy Star sports columnist Gregg Doyel is acting strange online. Thankfully, this scenario has nothing to do with him acting creepy towards WNBA star Caitlin Clark, but instead, centers around the Ohio State Buckeyes blowing out the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday.

For anyone who may have forgotten, Doyel stole the show during Clark’s introductory press conference with the Indiana Fever by making the scene all about himself in one of the strangest moves ever seen in a media setting.

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Doyel introduced himself to Clark by saying “Real quick, let me do this,” before reportedly forming a heart with his hands, a gesture Clark does towards her family after games.

Clark replied by very awkwardly asking “You like that?” before things got even weirder.

“I like that you’re here. I like that you’re here,” Doyel responded. “Yeah, I do that at my family after every game, so it’s very cool,” Clark replied. 

“Okay, start doing it to me, and we’ll get along just fine,” Doyel replied back.

Long story short, Doyel later apologized for his creepy actions but was ultimately suspended by the Indy Star for two weeks.

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Naturally, each time he shares his opinion on social media nowadays, he gets chirped into oblivion and Saturday was no exception.

Doyel took serious offense to Ohio State scoring a touchdown with 35 seconds left in regulation to ultimately cap off its win over Indiana 38-15. He specifically didn’t appreciate Ohio State quarterback Will Howard celebrating the nail-in-the-coffin touchdown by putting out a fake cigarette to mock Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti.

Doyel taking offense to a 23-year-old college quarterback celebrating a monumental win over an undefeated Indiana team is odd behavior, and folks in his mentions were sure to point out that fact.

Ohio State virtually guaranteed a spot in the College Football Playoff with the win over Indiana, and the Hoosiers should be safe as well, barring a colossal loss to Purdue to close out the regular season.





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10 Takeaways from Week 13: Seven ranked teams fall, as SEC upsets create more chaos

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10 Takeaways from Week 13: Seven ranked teams fall, as SEC upsets create more chaos


College football is unpredictable and delightful, which is why we live for what happens on Saturdays. And Week 13 delivered, with a Buckeye statement at the ‘Shoe, a massive upset in Norman and chaos from coast to coast.

Each Sunday, I’ll publish my biggest takeaways from the college football weekend. I’ll highlight the most interesting storylines, track College Football Playoff contenders and specifically shout out individual and team performances that deserve the spotlight.

Here are my top takeaways from Week 13:

1. The biggest winners from another wild Saturday are the ACC, Georgia, and Notre Dame.

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Evaluating projected CFP after Week 13

Nicole Auerbach, Joshua Perry and Jordan Cornette discuss a chaotic Week 13 in college football, analyzing the projected College Football Playoff bracket after major upsets from Oklahoma and Auburn.

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– The ACC now has a really good chance to get two teams into the 12-team bracket, now that Ole Miss and Alabama both picked up their third losses. SMU has been on the outside looking in in each of the projected brackets based on the real CFP rankings revealed thus far. The Mustangs should slide up and be in the field as an at-large team when the new rankings come out on Tuesday. My guess is that both Miami and SMU could be positioned high enough to stay in the mix as an at-large team if they lose in the ACC title game. In theory, the losers of the conference championship games aren’t supposed to be penalized for playing an extra game. We’ll see what the committee actually does, but this is the best-positioned the ACC has been to get two teams into the field in weeks.

– Georgia should be able to move up in the rankings now that the two teams it has lost to have three losses apiece. The selection committee had been honoring head-to-head results when evaluating comparable teams, which is why Georgia has been behind both Alabama and Ole Miss for the past two weeks. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bulldogs move up to be in position to host a first-round game (or to be within striking distance of a seed high enough to do that).

– Notre Dame has been arguably the most dominant team in the nation over the past two months. The committee already forgives the Irish for their September loss to Northern Illinois and has the Irish ranked high enough to host a first-round game. With Indiana falling on Saturday and Penn State struggling to beat unranked Minnesota, you have to think that Notre Dame could move up. I’d put the Irish ahead of both myself.

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HLs: Notre Dame blows out Army at Yankee Stadium

No. 6 Notre Dame scored early and often against No. 19 Army, rushing for 273 yards (on just 29 carries) and five touchdowns at Yankee Stadium as the Fighting Irish earned their ninth straight win.

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2. Indiana could be squarely on the CFP bubble now.

I’ve seen a wide range of reactions to Ohio State’s 38-15 win over Indiana on Saturday afternoon in Columbus. I’ve seen folks suggest that the Hoosiers acquitted themselves well enough to keep a spot in the 12-team field by not getting blown off the field by the No. 2 team in the country — and that’s certainly possible, considering how highly the CFP selection committee thinks of the Buckeyes. I also think that a potential 11-1 team whose only loss is to the No. 2 team in the country should have a pretty good chance to earn one of seven at-large spots (just like Penn State was!). Especially considering that Ole Miss and Alabama should fall out of the field after picking up their third losses.

But the Hoosiers also struggled mightily on the offensive side of the ball on Saturday outside of their opening drive. In their past three halves (dating back to the second half of the Michigan game), Indiana has tallied 169 total yards of offense combined. That’s not great! But it seems like every team in the country is flawed, and bubble teams will always have some blemishes on their resumes. And that’s where I think Indiana will be dinged a bit by the loss and the weak overall strength of schedule. Which is fine! I think the Hoosiers will be in the projected bracket when the rankings come out on Tuesday. But I’m not entirely sure where. Either way, Indiana’s definitely still in the mix, but the Hoosiers might have some restless nights between now and Dec. 8 because they no longer control their own path to the Playoff.

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HLs: OSU rides strong second half to win vs. IU

In this highly-anticipated Big Ten matchup, Ohio State’s Will Howard passed for two touchdowns and ran for one more to lead the No. 2 Buckeyes to a 38-15 win over previously unbeaten Indiana in Week 13 at Ohio Stadium.

3. Ole Miss will not make the Playoff.

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Lane Kiffin‘s team was supposed to be exactly the kind of program that would benefit from an expanded College Football Playoff. In the four-team CFP era, it would have basically required perfection for Ole Miss to get to the SEC title game and secure a Playoff berth. But now, 11-1 and 10-2 with a challenging SEC schedule would keep a team very squarely in the mix. And Ole Miss was comfortably in the projected bracket based on last week’s official CFP rankings, checking in at No. 9 in the rankings and the No. 10 seed in the field on the strength of the Rebels’ win over Georgia. But that signature win won’t be enough to make up for three losses to teams that are likely to all be unranked — to LSU and Florida (who are both barely above .500 on the season) and to Kentucky in the Wildcats’ only SEC win of the season. Despite all the chatter about the rigors of an SEC schedule, at some point you’ve also actually got to win the games. And Ole Miss has lost the games it couldn’t afford to do.

4. DJ Lagway should be one of the best quarterbacks in the country next year.

Lagway is the real deal. Every time I watch him play, I come away impressed with his arm strength, his poise and his athleticism. He’s even accurate when he’s getting hit or under pressure. I’m blown away by his toughness, and I can’t say I’m surprised that he led the Gators to a second win over a ranked opponent, this time over No. 9 Ole Miss. He’s 4-0 as a starter at the Swamp, which is actually a wild stat considering how hot Billy Napier‘s seat was after a 1-2 start. Now, the Gators have already committed to Napier running this program next fall and might finish a brutally challenging schedule with a 7-5 record. Part of the reason Florida kept Napier is because of Lagway, of course. He’s said he’s committed to his coach and happy about that decision. Never say never until the transfer portal closes, but there’s a lot to be excited about if you’re building a team around a quarterback as special as this one.

5. Cheers to Kansas and Florida, the ultimate season spoilers.

The Gators have knocked both LSU and Ole Miss out of the College Football Playoff picture in the past two weeks. And the Jayhawks became the first sub-.500 team to beat three consecutive ranked opponents with wins over Iowa State, BYU and now Colorado. At the time of each game, Kansas’ opponent controlled its own path to the Big 12 title game — and it most certainly did not when the clock hit zeroes. I always appreciate a good chaos agent, so I like these two teams coming out of nowhere to play their best football in time to ruin the season of everyone left on their schedules. That’s unlocking a new level of petty in a sport that thrives off of it. Bravo!

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6. SMU looks like it is the best team in the ACC.

The Mustangs are certainly the league’s most complete team. And I’d argue they’re the team I trust most, as we sit here in late November. Miami’s got an electric quarterback and quick-strike offense, but it’s also got a leaky defense (that struggled for three quarters against a Wake Forest team that had only had two ACC wins coming into Saturday’s game at Miami). Meanwhile, SMU has speed and talent on both sides of the ball, and the Mustangs have now reeled off eight straight wins since their early-season, three-point loss to BYU. Quarterback Kevin Jennings has started all eight of those games, and though he’s had a couple of tough days — that five-turnover game at Duke was certainly memorable — he’s largely been quite good. Jennings throws a beautiful ball, and he’s got good chemistry with a bunch of different receivers. Couple that with Miami transfer Brashard Smith’s 1,000-plus yards as a rusher, and this is both a reliable and dangerous offense. It just feels right that this team has clinched a spot in the ACC championship game in its first year in the league.

7. More chaos in the Big 12 race sets up a potential title game between Arizona State … and Iowa State?

Another week and another round of upsets in Big 12 country! Every time we think we know something about the top of the standings, they get flipped on their head. Arizona State knocked off No. 14 BYU (and stormed the field … twice) while Kansas beat No. 16 Colorado behind Devin Neal‘s four touchdowns and nearly 300 all-purpose yards. Now, the Sun Devils have a very good chance to make it to the Big 12 title game — beat Arizona and they’re in — while Iowa State would win the tiebreaker over its fellow two-loss Big 12 brethren to meet Arizona State in said title game if the Cyclones win out, too. Colorado is still alive in the Big 12 race, but the Buffs would need significant help to get there. I can’t imagine that not playing in the Big 12 championship game will hurt Travis Hunter‘s Heisman chances too much, but it is worth noting that he wouldn’t be playing the final weekend before voting closes while other contenders will be.

8. Notre Dame is a team I really trust.

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HLs: Love, Price total five touchdowns vs. Army

It was the running back tandem of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price that stole the show in No. 6 Notre Dame’s walloping of No. 19 Army in the Bronx, combining for 189 all-purpose yards and five (!) touchdowns.

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The Fighting Irish have been among the nation’s most dominant teams over the past two-plus months, dating back to that brutal loss to Northern Illinois. I’ve spilled a lot of ink here arguing that Notre Dame now is a very different team from the one we saw on that fateful September day — but I no longer need to make that case, because the selection committee agrees with me already. Based on last week’s rankings, the Irish would be hosting a first-round game. But they could and should slide up after yet another dominant win, this time coming at Army’s expense. Over Notre Dame’s nine-game winning streak, the Irish have outscored opponents, 399-92. Over the course of the entire season, the Irish now have the best point differential in FBS (+301). Notre Dame has an elite defense and a great rushing attack. So many teams across college football have fluctuated week to week, leading to some of the crazy upsets we’ve seen this fall. But Notre Dame has been a consistent and reliable team that, since the NIU loss, hasn’t overlooked a single opponent. I trust the Irish.

9. Penn State should drop in the next set of CFP rankings.

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Penn State has yet to earn a ‘marquee win’ in 2024

The Big Ten College Countdown crew breaks down Penn State’s narrow victory against Minnesota, questioning how good the Nittany Lions with the final College Football Playoff bracket fast approaching.

They probably won’t because of the teams ranked below them that lost, but the Nittany Lions aren’t exactly passing the eye test these days. They eked out a win over Minnesota to improve to 10-1, but that’s not exactly the kind of performance one would expect to see from the No. 4 team in the country against an unranked opponent, even on the road late in November. For the record, I don’t think Penn State is actually going to drop. But the selection committee says it starts from scratch each week, and if it truly starts from scratch it would perhaps make a bit more about the lack of a signature win on this resume and the fact that this team would be struggling mightily to move the ball without do-everything tight end Tyler Warren. It sure seems like the strongest part of Penn State’s resume is its loss to the No. 2 team in the country, and I’m just surprised that the committee continues to allow that — for both Penn State and Texas, who also has no marquee wins and is ranked third by the committee. I’d drop the Nittany Lions behind Notre Dame, personally.

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10. Our long national nightmare is over: Nebraska is going bowling!

The last time the Huskers played in the postseason? Dec. 30, 2016. For proud Husker fans, it’s been a long and very painful eight years. Just last week, I said I believed Nebraska was cursed, having lost nine straight games with a chance to become bowl-eligible with eight of those losses coming in one-score games. So, to snap that skid, Nebraska decided it wouldn’t allow the game to be close — so no curses could come into play late. The Huskers took a 17-point lead into the fourth quarter and pulled away for a 44-25 win over Wisconsin. It’s the most points Nebraska has scored in a game since Matt Rhule took over the program. That in-season offensive coordinator change sure looks smart now, and I’m genuinely so happy for everyone associated with this team and its community.





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What Quarterback Kurtis Rourke Said After Indiana’s 38-15 Loss At Ohio State

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What Quarterback Kurtis Rourke Said After Indiana’s 38-15 Loss At Ohio State


COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 5 Indiana lost its first game of the season Saturday at No. 2 Ohio State, 38-15.

The Hoosiers entered the game with the nation’s second-highest scoring offense, but they generated just 151 total yards and finished with a season-low 15 points. Ohio State sacked Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke five times, and he completed just 8-of-18 passes for 68 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions and one fumble.

Here’s everything Rourke said after the game.

On if it was the first time Indiana had used a silent count…

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Rourke: “In game, yeah, but we practiced it all week. So it wasn’t anything that was new to us.”

On what Ohio State was doing to be so impactful when blitzing…

Rourke: “They brought some good blitzes and timed it up well. Just had some good plays called and executed better.”

On what it couldn’t repeat from a successful first drive for the rest of the game…

Rourke: “I think we just executed better, at a lot higher level that first drive. We were able to take advantage of looks in plays that we had, then we didn’t execute down the stretch after that as well as we want to. In games like this, you have to.”

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On what made Ohio State’s blitzes successful…

Rourke: “It’s all stuff that we’ve seen before. I gotta do a better job of recognizing them and knowing where to go with the ball. As an offense, just be able to learn from a game like this and make sure it doesn’t happen.”

On the team’s mentality after a loss, knowing there’s still plenty to play for…

Rourke: “A loss is never fun, but the good news is that we’ve got another game next week, a big game, a rivalry game. So take 24 hours, then get ready for Purdue.”

On frustration over uncharacteristic mistakes…

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Rourke: “You gotta be close to perfect to beat a team like this, and we’re gonna have a chance to play a lot of similar teams like this. So knowing that we can’t have these mistakes and we gotta be on our game for the whole game, it’s a learning opportunity. But gotta be able to move on now and not have any more learning opportunities.

On if any of the mistakes surprised him, given Indiana’s veteran roster…

Rourke: “I wouldn’t think so. I think it’s just attention to detail. I always look to myself, knowing that there’s some plays I want to have back, some throws that I need to have in order for this team to move the ball down the field. There’s a lot of opportunities that I’m upset at myself and knowing that it won’t happen again. Those are mistakes that can’t continue, especially at this time of the season.”

On if there are parts of the offense Indiana has to junk after they didn’t work…

Rourke: “I don’t think so. Just gotta trust that moving forward we’re gonna handle it. I whole heartedly trust the offensive line, tight ends and receiver group and running backs. So my mindset doesn’t change, that I don’t need to do anything differently because I’ve been sacked a couple times. Biggest thing is I gotta protect the ball when I’m getting hit. That’s something I need to work on. It’s happened a couple times this year.”

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On the frustration of playing behind the sticks so much…

Rourke: “Yeah, it’s hard to win games when you have second and third and long. You gotta capitalize on those. So even going back to Michigan week, we gotta make sure we don’t put ourselves in those tough situations, because it’s hard to win games, like I said.”

On the difficulty of facing many third and long situations…

Rourke: “It’s tough, especially with a defense that’s as talented as they are. Like I mentioned, it’s difficult to convert on third and long, especially a good defense. But we had an opportunity to convert, and we weren’t able to. So that’s pointed at us as well. We’re gonna be in those situations, and we’re gonna need to be able to capitalize better than we did today.”

On if Indiana has done enough this season to show it’s one of the best teams in the country…

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Rourke: “Yeah, I hope so. We trust ourselves against anybody, and we look forward to hopefully an opportunity to get a rematch at some point. But just knowing that next week is the big game and we gotta go handle Purdue, and then take it one game at a time.”



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