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Todd’s Take: Indiana Women’s Basketball Lost A Battle But Won The War In Big Ten Tournament

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Todd’s Take: Indiana Women’s Basketball Lost A Battle But Won The War In Big Ten Tournament


INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana’s women’s basketball players and coach Teri Moren walked a very fine line on Friday in the wake of an 84-79 loss to Big Ten regular season champion and second-ranked Southern California.

Was there disappointment in the loss? Of course. Opportunities to compete and beat the No. 2 team in the country don’t come around every day.

However, there was also plenty of pride in the effort and in the general performance of the Hoosiers at the Big Ten Tournament in its two-game stint.

“Really proud of our group. I know this about these guys. They can play with anybody in the country, and we’re disappointed that we don’t get to play another day, but as a staff, we’re really happy, not that we’re disappointed that we lost, but I’m really happy with our effort and our toughness today,” Indiana coach Teri Moren said.

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“We’re not happy that we lost. But looking at it from the back end? We got to the free throw line a lot, which we wanted to do. We never let them get a huge lead. We didn’t let them get away from us, and we showed that fight continuously,” Indiana guard Sydney Parrish said.

Moral victory territory? Some might say so, but Indiana won more victories in its two-day sojourn to Gainbridge Fieldhouse than it endured losses – and that was not assured going into the tournament.

The loss to USC represents a battle lost. A hard-fought battle and one that cemented Indiana’s worthiness as a NCAA Tournament team. Indiana has lost to No. 2 USC by seven and five points – that’s not a claim many teams would make if they played the talented Trojans twice.

So in that sense, Indiana lost the battle but won the eye-test war.

And don’t forget that Indiana did have something to prove in Indianapolis. The Hoosiers were on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Indiana was on the right side of the bubble, but any slip-up would have put the Hoosiers in jeopardy of having to play one of the First Four games, or if a combination of events really went against Indiana, of missing the NCAA Tournament entirely.

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Indiana no longer has to worry about that – as Moren emphatically noted in her press conference when she stated there is “no doubt” in her mind that the Hoosiers will be in the field.

She has cause to feel that way. Indiana won their head-to-head game against fellow bubble team Oregon, and they dispatched the Ducks in convincing fashion in Thursday’s 78-62 triumph.

Indiana bench

The Indiana Hoosiers bench celebrate an early charging call Friday, March 7, 2025, against the USC Trojans during the Big Ten women’s tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. / Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As mentioned, Indiana looked good against a Trojans team that stormed their way to the Big Ten regular season championship with a season-closing seven game win streak. Nothing Indiana did on Friday will be counted against them by the committee. Their effort will likely work in their favor.

In addition to all of that, Indiana got good fortune in other games at the Big Ten Tournament that could have caused them problems.

With Indiana and Oregon on the bubble from the Big Ten were Iowa, Minnesota and Washington. During the regular season, Indiana lost to the Ducks and Golden Gophers but won at Iowa and Washington. Indiana needed to win the head-to-head against Oregon and get good results from those other three teams to do the Hoosiers good.

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All of those prayers were answered. Minnesota, the other potentially problematic team for Indiana, was dumped in the first round by Washington. The Huskies were beaten on Thursday and Iowa remains alive as of when this column was written. The Hawkeyes play No. 3-seeded Ohio State on Friday night.

No one from the Big Ten is going to pass the Hoosiers in the NCAA Tournament pecking order. The Hoosiers no longer need to look over their shoulder in that respect.

More importantly, Indiana played well in Indianapolis. It was a tough draw, and the Hoosiers did about well as could be expected. All of Indiana’s primary contributors – Yarden Garzon, Shay Ciezki, Sydney Parrish, Chloe Moore-McNeil and Karoline Striplin – had good moments in Indy. So did Lexus Bargesser, Lilly Meister and even Faith Wiseman against Oregon on Thursday.

In an uneven season where focus and performance hasn’t been consistent, the two Big Ten Tournament games were played at an even keel of quality. That should do the Hoosiers good as they wait until they find out their NCAA Tournament destination.

Indiana women's basketball

The Indiana Hoosiers huddle Friday, March 7, 2025, before facing off against the USC Trojans during the Big Ten women’s tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. / Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“I’m just really content right now. I’m proud of this team. I’m proud of the growth we’ve had over the past few games,” Moore-McNeil said. “It’s been a lot of up and downs, and inconsistencies have been our trouble and issues. But I have no doubt that we’ve been better these past few games, and we’ll continue to get better during the tournament.”

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Perhaps the most important thing that Indiana can take away from its Big Ten Tournament experience: This team gained confidence and feels good about itself going into the NCAA Tournament. That also wasn’t assured, but it’s a welcome development for the Hoosiers.

“We showed it yesterday against Oregon. We showed today against USC. If we can just put together a full 40 minutes. We’re good,” Parrish said.



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50+ Indiana counties under travel advisories after snow storm. See map

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50+ Indiana counties under travel advisories after snow storm. See map


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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.

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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.

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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.

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💻 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



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What Darian DeVries, Tucker DeVries Said After Indiana Basketball’s Loss at Kentucky

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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.


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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. 

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Q: What do you think you need to improve on, the team needs to improve on against ball pressure at the point of attack? 

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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?

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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.

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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? 

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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. 

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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.

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Dick Vitale, Charles Barkley team up to broadcast Indiana vs Kentucky

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Dick Vitale, Charles Barkley team up to broadcast Indiana vs Kentucky


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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.

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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.

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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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