Indiana
Purdue Takes Down Rival Indiana To Extend Big Ten Winning Streak, Highlighting College Baseball Roundup — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects – Baseball America
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Purdue catcher Connor Caskenette (Photo courtesy of Purdue)
Purdue on Friday continued its spectacular run with a big night at Alexander Field. The Boilermakers defeated Indiana, 7-4, to open the in-state rivalry series in style and take over sole possession of first place in the Big Ten standings.
Purdue (31-15, 12-4) has won 11 straight Big Ten games, a streak that dates to March 31. With its win Friday and Illinois’ loss to Ohio State, Purdue now sits alone atop the conference. Illinois 26-16, 11-5) and Nebraska (29-15, 11-6) are a game behind, with Indiana (25-19-1, 10-6) and Michigan (24-22, 10-6) two games off the pace.
Purdue led Indiana for most of the game Friday. It took a 2-1 lead in the first inning thanks to a two-run double from Connor Caskenette. Righthander Jordan Morales made that score hold up until the sixth inning when the Hoosiers tied the game at 2. But that stalemate didn’t last long, as the Boilermakers scored five runs over the seventh and eighth innings. Indiana made one final push in the ninth, but righthander Aaron Suval snuffed out the rally to close out the 7-4 victory.
Caskenette went 2-for-4 and drove in five runs to lead the offense. Morales, Avery Cook and Suval largely shut down a powerful Indiana lineup, limiting them to four runs on eight hits.
It was a banner night on what is quickly becoming a banner season for the Boilermakers. They on Tuesday became the first Big Ten team this season to reach 30 wins. This is their first 30-win season since 2018, when they went 38-21. Purdue is in first place in the Big Ten in May for the first time since 2012, the last time it won the conference. Between its conference standing, its winning streak and an RPI that has now entered the top 60, Purdue can start thinking about making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018.
Purdue’s rise has been remarkable and unexpected. The Big Ten’s preseason coaches poll only ranks the top six teams in the conference and Purdue was left off that list coming into 2024. But coach Greg Goff has the Boilermakers operating at the top of the conference. They’re led by Caskenette (.322/.435/.631, 12 HR) and freshman Luke Gaffney (.412/.497/.727, 11 HR), who missed Friday’s game, as well a strong pitching staff that ranks second in the Big Ten in ERA (4.63).
The pieces are all coming together for Purdue. There’s still a long way to go in the season and the Boilermakers have a precarious hold on both first place and a spot in the NCAA Tournament mix. But they’re playing excellent baseball at the right time of the season and now have a chance Saturday to win a key series against their rivals. If they can do that, they’ll carry plenty of momentum into the final two weeks of the season.
Ace Watch
Friday night is for the aces. Here we highlight some of the best pitching performances of the day.
Braden Davis, LHP, Oklahoma: Davis threw seven scoreless innings to lead Oklahoma to an 8-0 victory at Texas Tech. The junior struck out eight batters and scattered two hits and two walks. Davis improved to 6-3, 4.43 with 84 strikeouts and 34 walks in 65 innings this season.
Caleb Granger, RHP, Florida A&M: In a rivalry showdown against Bethune-Cookman, Granger threw seven scoreless innings to lead FAMU to a 4-0 victory. The junior struck out seven batters and worked around six hits and three walks. Granger this season is 8-2, 2.71 with 60 strikeouts and 21 walks in 69.2 innings.
Aiden May, RHP, Oregon State: May threw 6.1 scoreless innings to help Oregon State to a 2-1 victory at Washington State. He struck out seven batters and scattered five hits and two walks, while extending his scoreless innings streak to 16. May is 4-0, 3.13 with 52 strikeouts and 14 walks in 46 innings this season.
Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas: Smith struck out 14 batters in six innings to help Arkansas to a 10-3 victory at Kentucky to open a showdown for first place in the SEC. The junior held the Wildcats to one run on three hits and two walks while reaching double-digit strikeouts for the ninth time in 12 starts this season. The All-American improved to 9-0, 1.36 with 125 strikeouts and 25 walks in 66 innings.
Tyler Stromsborg, RHP, Southern California: Stromsborg threw seven scoreless innings to help USC beat Cal, 5-1. He struck out four batters, walked none and worked around three hits in his longest start of the season. Stromsborg is 3-8, 4.85 on the year.
Evan Webster, LHP, Louisville: Webster threw seven scoreless innings to help Louisville to a 3-0 victory at Boston College. He struck out six batters and scattered four hits and a walk. Webster improved to 4-1, 3.17, with 53 strikeouts and 14 walks in 59.2 innings on the season.
Around The Horn
- LSU defeated No. 1 Texas A&M, 6-4, to earn a massive series-opening win in Alex Box Stadium. The Tigers pushed ahead with a four-run sixth inning, as Josh Pearson delivered a big two-run double. Relievers Fidel Ulloa (1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R) and Griffin Herring (2.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER) combined to quiet the Aggies’ offense in the late innings. LSU (30-17, 8-14) got a crucial victory for its postseason push and became just the second team this season to win a series opener against A&M (39-7, 15-7), joining Florida. The Aggies’ only series loss to date was to the Gators and they’ll need to fight back on the road to avoid another.
- Florida also got a crucial win for its postseason push, as it beat No. 3 Tennessee, 4-3, in the nightcap of a doubleheader. The Volunteers won the opener, 6-2. The Gators (24-22, 10-13) beat Volunteers ace Drew Beam thanks to a strong effort from freshmen Liam Peterson (4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K) and Luke McNeillie (1 IP, 0 R, SV). Florida won an SEC game that wasn’t started on the mound by Jac Caglianone for the first time since March 29, which was five series ago. With Caglianone set to pitch Saturday, the Gators have a strong opportunity to end a four-series losing streak.
- Georgia Tech scored 11 runs in the final three innings of its nightcap at No. 4 Clemson to come back for a 14-12 victory. The Yellow Jackets were down to their final out of the game, trailing 12-11, when Mike Becchetti and Vahn Lackey hit back-to-back home runs to take the lead and stun the Tigers. While Clemson (35-10, 16-7) had won the opener, 11-4, it now faces a rubber game Saturday. Georgia Tech (28-16, 12-11) now has a golden opportunity for a key road series win as it tries to push into the NCAA Tournament mix.
- No. 13 NC State earned another impressive road win with an 8-7 victory at No. 5 Florida State. The Wolfpack jumped on Jamie Arnold early, scoring six runs on the lefthander in the first three innings. Alex Makarewicz (3-for-6) and Jacob Cozart both homered to lead NC State. The Wolfpack already own series wins against Duke, Clemson and North Carolina and are now one win away from another one against an ACC power.
- Troy routed No. 22 Louisiana, 16-5, in seven innings to extend its winning streak to seven games. The Trojans pounded out 13 hits and took advantage of six walks and six hit batters to score 16 runs, the most the Ragin’ Cajuns have allowed in a game this season. Louisiana (33-14, 17-5) still leads the Sun Belt, but Troy (33-14, 15-7) has cut the gap to just two games and will have the opportunity to further chip into the lead the rest of the weekend.
Indiana
50+ Indiana counties under travel advisories after snow storm. See map
Safety and preparation are the keys to staying safe this winter
Officials talk about winter preparedness, safety, tips. Safety and preparation are the keys. Here are some tips.
At least 50 Indiana counties are under a travel advisory, and 20 counties were issued a travel watch for Dec. 14, following an overnight snow storm.
The Indiana Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) travel advisory map has each county shaded in red for a travel warning, orange for a travel watch, yellow for a travel advisory and gray for a county without an elevated status report on it’s current travel conditions.
Here’s how you can check your county to see where it lands on the map.
Travel advisory
According to DHS, a travel advisory is the lowest level of a related advisory.
“Routine travel or activities may be restricted in areas because of a hazardous situation, and individuals should use caution or avoid those areas,” the department says on its website.
Watch advisory
According to DHS, a watch advisory is issued when conditions are threatening to a county’s safety.
“Only essential travel, such as to and from work or in emergency situations, is recommended, and emergency action plans should be implemented by businesses, schools, government agencies and other organizations,” the department’s website states.
Warning advisory
According to DHS, a warning advisory is the highest level of a related advisory, where people may be told not to travel at all.
“Travel may be restricted to emergency management workers only,” the department’s website states.
Here’s the winter weather info you need
🚨 Indiana Weather Alerts: Warnings, Watches and Advisories.
⚡ Indiana power outage map: How to check your status.
💻 Internet outages: How to track them.
🚫 What you should and shouldn’t do when the power is out.
🐶 Your neighbor left their pet outside. Who you should call.
Indianapolis weather radar
Jade Jackson is a public safety reporter for the Indianapolis Star. You can email her at Jade.Jackson@IndyStar.com and follow her on X, formerly Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON.
Indiana
What Darian DeVries, Tucker DeVries Said After Indiana Basketball’s Loss at Kentucky
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Indiana basketball coach Darian DeVries and senior forward Tucker DeVries met with reporters after the Hoosiers’ 72-60 loss to Kentucky on Saturday night at Rupp Arena in Lexington.
Here’s what the DeVries duo said during their near-seven-minute press conference.
Q: I guess, Darian, it’s sort of another night where it feels like it just kind of gets difficult to really break down an opponent off the dribble, kind of get that inside-out sort of paint touch to three looks you want, just like what, I guess, are you guys, what’s not happening there, what’s just kind of sort of failing at the source offensively when that’s not working?
DD: Yeah, I thought the first half, you know, we got some pretty good action, pretty good movement, I thought the second half, Kentucky certainly turned up the pressure and was able to get into us and we didn’t respond well enough and we turned the ball over too much and live ball turnovers against them are really hard because now they’re out in transition playing in space, so the turnovers and the offensive rebounding, I mean, that flipped the game around that second half.
Q: On Kentucky’s long run, what was the problem there?
Yeah, I thought the turnovers, it was a combination of things, I thought, you know, we left our feet a few times, I thought we just, you know, got on our heels a little bit and didn’t play as disciplined as we needed to, you know, as that, you know, the crowd got cranked up and things, that’s the time where you got to really dig in a little bit more, your screen’s got to be better, you got to play off of two feet more, and then the offensive rebounds, you know, they just went and got them and, you know, we didn’t do a good enough job of creating space and getting bodies and going and securing the ball.
Q: What do you think you need to improve on, the team needs to improve on against ball pressure at the point of attack?
DD: Yeah, the number one thing when you get at ball pressure is everything from an execution standpoint and a movement standpoint, it’s just got to be done with more force, you can’t continue just to get pushed out and everybody stands, so you have to find ways to give yourself up with a back hook, give yourself up with a screen, set up those screens with more force, you know, and get some movement to, you know, even as, you know, they had gotten ahead and we started to break it off a little bit, once we got movement again, we were able to get those clean looks or better looks, so it’s something we got to get better at, there’s no question.
Q: Tucker, your individual line tonight was really great, I mean, your effort was fantastic, 15 points, 7 rebounds, a lot of the three point shots tonight didn’t go down like they normally do for the Hoosiers, what do you think that is, was it just not seeing the basket as well, was it the defense, was it not in the offense where you were getting clean looks?
TUCKER DEVRIES: To be honest, making and missing shots, I thought tonight, honestly, wasn’t a problem, I know, certainly, I did not shoot it great, as a team we didn’t shoot that great either from three, but, you know, even with that being said, I think there were certainly areas that we needed to be a lot better at, as a group, and if we were able to, you know, especially in the second half, execute in those areas, I think that would have made up for some of those, you know, shooting habits and miscues, but, you know, making them missing shots sometimes is basketball, but I thought in the other areas, if we could just, you know, execute there a little bit.
Q: On that, if shots maybe weren’t the problem, what kind of was, do you think?
TUCKER: I mean, he hit on it pretty good, the turnovers and obviously the offensive rebounds they had, especially in the second half. I mean, I take full responsibility for both of those areas. Obviously, four turnovers is far too many. As a group, I think when they pick up the pressure, I think we just need to really focus on our execution a little bit more on every possession. But good thing is we get a good week here before we play again to really dial in on some of those areas that we’ve maybe lacked in the beginning.
Q: When Lamar picked up his fourth foul and missed nearly nine minutes, what went wrong offensively?
DD: Yeah, I don’t remember the exact sequences there, but, you know, not having Lamar out there is certainly a big part of our offense, and, you know, his foul trouble tonight certainly limited him with only the 21 minutes because he was, again, he’s, you know, a big focal piece of what we try to run our offense through, so, you know, I believe during that little stretch that he wasn’t out there, that’s when the turnovers started to happen and
we weren’t able to get into, you know, maybe some of our actions the way we needed to.
Q: Darian, you mentioned Kentucky’s offensive rebound and kind of flipping that game. Was that just their physicality, their effort out beating you guys or something else that you saw going on?
DD: Yeah, I thought their effort, their physicality in the second half was, you know, really good. I mean, they certainly cranked it up a notch in that second half and we needed to respond to it, but, you know, I thought their aggressiveness defensively, their aggressiveness in the offensive glass, you know, was ultimately the factor.
Q: Darian, you mentioned Lamar, but how much did the foul trouble for not just him, but other guys, affect you tonight?
DD: I mean, foul trouble is foul trouble. You have it every night, so you’ve got to figure out a way to deal with it and, you know, we just didn’t do a good enough job with that.
Q: Just to follow up on that, with this team, and you’ve talked about sort of where you are with the two bigs and things like that, like does foul trouble become sort of a compounding problem when it disrupts rotations? It felt tonight like maybe guys were just not either on the floor long enough to find the rhythm or maybe had to be on the floor too long because other guys were in foul trouble.
DD: Again, our guys, you know, their numbers are called, they’re ready to go. You know, certainly, you know, a guy like Lamar, you want him out there, but when he’s not out there, I feel very confident that the guys that are coming in are going to do their part and do their job and, you know, we certainly have a lot of faith in them, so, you know, unfortunately it just didn’t work out the way we wanted it to tonight.
Indiana
Dick Vitale, Charles Barkley team up to broadcast Indiana vs Kentucky
Kentucky basketball’s Mark Pope sees pride-worthy potential in squad
Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope says he’s done a poor job of getting the competitive spirit out of his team despite a 103-67 win over NC Central.
Basketball icons Dick Vitale and Charles Barkley headline the broadcasting crew for Indiana vs. Kentucky on Saturday, Dec. 13.
Vitale, a longtime ESPN analyst, and Barkley, a Basketball Hall of Famer-turned analyst, are teaming up to call two games this season, with the first coming between a pair of blue bloods in a nonconference matchup. Dave O’Brien will handle play-by-play duties.
Vitale and Barkley will broadcast together for the second time this season during TNT and CBS Sports’ First Four coverage of the men’s NCAA Tournament in March.
Watch Dick Vitale, Charles Barkley call Indiana vs. Kentucky live with Fubo (free trial)
The humorous duo will be appointment viewing for many college basketball fans, as both are known for their larger-their-life personalities. The team-up became possible after TNT lost its broadcasting rights for NBA games, moving TNT’s “Inside the NBA” to ESPN.
Vitale is returning to regular broadcasting in 2025 after battling multiple forms of cancer since 2021. He has called over 1,000 games for ESPN since joining the network in 1979.
Barkley, an 11-time NBA All-Star, averaged 22.1 points and 11.7 rebounds across his 16-year career. He was drafted No. 5 overall out of Auburn in the 1984 NBA Draft.
How to watch Indiana vs Kentucky today with Dick Vitale, Charles Barkley
Indiana-Kentucky will air live on ESPN, with streaming options available on the ESPN app or Fubo, which offers a free trial.
Indiana vs Kentucky time today
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- Date: Saturday, Dec. 13
- Location: Rupp Arena (Lexington, Kentucky)
Indiana vs. Kentucky is set for a 7:30 p.m. ET tipoff on Saturday, Dec. 13, from Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.
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