Indiana
Swope scores 30, Indiana State downs UIC 89-83
CHICAGO — – Isaiah Swope’s 30 points led Indiana State over UIC 89-83 on Wednesday night.
Swope was 10-of021 shooting, including 6 for 16 from 3-point range, and went 4 for 5 from the line for the Sycamores (17-3, 8-1 Missouri Valley Conference). Robbie Avila added 26 points while shooting 9 for 14 (3 for 6 from 3-point range) and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line to go with 11 rebounds and six assists. Julian Larry added 12 points and seven assists. Jayson Kent chipped in 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The Flames (8-12, 1-8) were led by Isaiah Rivera, who recorded 24 points. Christian Jones added 17 points, six rebounds and seven assists for UIC.
Avila’s 18-point second half helped Indiana State close out the six-point victory.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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There are nights when the magic of the Pacers’ Finals run last summer seems so far in the rearview mirror.
Nights like Wednesday at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, when Indiana gave the night off to nearly all of the players who made that run possible, allowing them to get an extra night to rest injuries on the way into the All-Star break.
But Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan’s second-quarter appearance on the FanDuel Sports Network served as a reminder that Indiana’s front office remains in championship mode, even as the Pacers find themselves in the middle of a lottery fight due to an injury-riddled season.
Buchanan’s appearance underlined the urgency Indiana feels to capitalize on the promise of the past two seasons as Eastern Conference contenders, a status that drove last week’s blockbuster trade for former Clippers center Ivica Zubac.
Indiana sees Zubac as a core piece for a contender
The Pacers gave up a lot to get Zubac: Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson and three draft picks, including the potential to lose their 2026 first-rounder to the Clippers if that pick falls between picks 5-9.
“For us, the starting center position was our biggest hole, and you’re going to have to give up something to fill it,” Buchanan said. “We did give up a lot. Sometimes, in this business, you have to take a risk, and we’re taking a risk adding a new player, but we’re very confident he’s going to be a great fit with us.”
Indiana lost long-time center Myles Turner to the Bucks in free agency last offseason, leaving the Pacers’ championship core with a significant hole in the middle.
A bruising big man who will alter the center’s role in the Pacers system because of his skill set, Zubac brings positioning, defense and a knack for finishing at the rim.
Most importantly, he fills what Indiana saw as a glaring hole if it wants to be back in the Eastern Conference mix next season.
“We’re excited about Ivica,” Buchanan said. “Losing what we lost with Myles, we felt like that position was something we wanted to address to give this team the best chance to compete at the level we saw them compete at last year.”
Zubac will not make his Pacers debut “for a while” due to a lingering ankle issue.
But Indiana would like to see him on the floor at some point, even though the trade leaves the Pacers with plenty of incentive to stay firmly seated at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
“You’re going to see some chemistry built,” Buchanan said. “Once Big Zu is healthy and back playing, we want to see him get out there with his new teammates in our system.”
Tyrese Haliburton still sets the tone
The biggest reason for Indiana’s swoon this season is that its best player remains on the bench.
Buchanan pointed out Wednesday that the fact Haliburton is on the bench at all is something that should be noted. While taking special care to point out that the Pacers still operate the way they did while pursuing a championship last season, the Indiana general manager credited Haliburton for setting the tone.
“In the NBA, when someone has a season-ending injury, you don’t see them,” Buchanan said. “Tyrese Haliburton’s sitting on the bench every second for us, he’s on every road trip, he’s at every practice. That is what a leader does. His personality, his leadership defines who this team is.”
Pacers feel an urgency to get back to the Finals
The Zubac deal was driven by a desire to maximize the team’s championship window.
While Haliburton is still only 25 years old, Buchanan emphasized that Indiana is aware that the picture in the NBA can change quickly.
“When we looked at our team, when you look back to last year, the run we made, how special this group has shown it can be when you have the full team together. … We owe this group every chance to compete,” Buchanan said. “Because the window, as you know, is not always open for long in the NBA.”
Haliburton’s heartbreaking Achilles injury in Game 7 left the Pacers fighting an uphill battle this season.
But the Pacers are still a team that has its eyes on the ultimate prize, even though injuries have forced Indiana to play through a rough season before chasing it again in earnest.
The core of Indiana’s roster is still there, seated in a line at the Barclays Center on Wednesday night.
“If we would have done nothing, just sat back and watched other teams chase a championship, that’s no fun,” Buchanan said. “We want to be in that race. We want to be in that chase, and this team deserves it.”
Dustin Dopirak covers the Pacers all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Pacers Insider newsletter.
The Indiana Pro Day has been announced. Here are the top 2026 NFL draft prospects for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Pro Day season is nearly here for the Jacksonville Jaguars and their 2026 NFL draft prep.
A big one will reportedly be taking place on April 1st, when Indiana host their Pro Day in Bloomington.
According to Field Yates of ESPN, a “big NFL contingent” will be in attendance.
So, if the Jaguars’ organization is a part of that group, which prospects should they be focused on?
The Jaguars will be without a first-round pick in this year’s draft after moving up for Travis Hunter last April.
However, GM James Gladstone still maintains quite a bit of flexibility entering the 2026 NFL draft. In total, the Jaguars have 11 picks, giving Gladstone the ability to move around the draft board.
In addition to that, four of those picks are in the top 100, providing the Jaguars with the opportunity to add some immediate impact players.
Given the current construction of the roster, this feels like an offseason where the Jaguars could focus more heavily on the defensive side of the football.
With help from Pro Football Focus’ 2026 NFL draft big board, here are the top draft prospects from Indiana.
Top 2026 NFL draft prospects from Indiana
- QB Fernando Mendoza
- WR Omar Cooper Jr.
- CB D’Angelo Ponds
- WR Elijah Sarratt
- ED Mikail Kamara
- LB Aiden Fisher
- C Pat Coogan
- RB Roman Hemby
- RB Kaelon Black
- TE Riley Nowakowski
The Ohio creep linked to the death of missing Indiana teen Hailey Buzbee traded disturbing messages and photos with the girl a year before snatching her from her home last month – then led investigators to where her dismembered body was buried, federal prosecutors said.
Tyler Thomas, 39, was hit Tuesday with federal exploitation charges for crossing state lines to bring the 17-year-old back to his Ohio home and carrying out sickening sexual acts before she turned up dead, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
Buzbee was last seen near her Fishers, Indiana, home on Jan. 5, with her hacked up remains found deep in the woods of the Buckeye State on Feb. 2.
No charges have yet been filed in the teen’s death.
“The filing of these federal charges does not signal the end of the investigation,” US Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II said in a statement.
“Our prosecutors continue to work with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to collect and comb through evidence in pursuit of justice for Hailey and her family. We appreciate the public’s patience as the investigation proceeds.”
Prosecutors alleged Thomas, who met the teen gaming on Discord, drove about 160 miles overnight from Columbus, Ohio, to Fortville, Indiana, on Jan. 6 to pick her up at home after plotting Buzbee’s escape during year-long sexually-charged online chats.
Phone data allegedly tracked Thomas to a Logan Airbnb the night he grabbed Buzbee, then near the North County Trail in Wayne Nation Forest the next morning – the gruesome site where the girl’s mutilated remains were later found, court documents showed.
The sicko allegedly wiped his phone of disturbing Snapchat messages and sexually explicit photos of the teen taken at his Columbus residence and the Airbnb, where prosecutors said traces of blood were found.
Investigators also seized additional cell phones and computers from his home, uncovering obscene photos of a roughly 10-year-old girl and a vile Discord conversation with another teen who said she was in the 10th grade, according to the charging documents.
In one message, Thomas allegedly asked the teen: “Does baby carve parts of her body?” adding that she’d “look so good covered in red.”
During an interview with police on Jan. 21, Thomas allegedly told cops he believed Buzbee “was alive and safe” – but refused to admit to her murder, chillingly saying, “No, I wouldn’t tell you.”
He was charged with pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor and evidence tampering on Jan. 31.
Two days later, he led investigators to the exact spot where the teen’s lifeless body was buried under a thick layer of frozen dirt, prosecutors said.
Officials said his state charges will be dismissed as the federal case moves ahead.
Thomas is being held on a $1.5 million cash bond at Franklin County Jail.
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