12.14.07 College Basketball Update: Dec. 14
It’s been a pretty good start to the season for Indiana’s college basketball teams. Here’s an update on how some of them are doing heading into this weekend’s games.
The Vincennes Trailblazers finally lost their first game last weekend, and are 10-1 heading into this weekend’s Allegany College Pepsi Classic in Cumberland, Maryland.
After taking a couple weeks off for finals, the 6-0 UIndy Greyhounds are in Charlotte this weekend for the Queen’s University tournament. UIndy battles Lander on Saturday in the opener and will face either West Virginia State or host Queen’s on Sunday in the tourney finale.
The Mid-Central Conference continues to play great basketball. Grace, Goshen and Bethel all have double-digit victories already. Grace is riding an 8-game winning streak, and won the Optimist Holiday Inn Express Hoops for Hope Tournament last weekend. Marian hosts its own tournament this weekend, while on Saturday Indiana Wesleyan travels to IU South Bend, Huntington hosts Calumet College of St. Joseph and Goshen hosts Cornerstone.
St. Joseph’s is 3-0 thus far in a month-long, six game homestand. Up next for the Pumas – three games in five days against Purdue-Calumet, Ferris State and Saginaw Valley State.
There’s a full state of games involving Heartland Conference teams on Saturday. Rose-Hulman hosts Earlham, Franklin hosts Millikin, Anderson is at Olivet and Hanover takes a step up to play the Evansville Purple Aces at Roberts Stadium.
Speaking of Evansville, we would be remiss not to mention that this week marks the 30th anniversary of the tragic plane crash that took the lives of the men’s basketball team, coaches and support staff. Their memory has certainly not been forgotten in Evansville, or throughout Indiana.
Fresh off a win last Saturday over Marian, Wabash will host Franklin Tuesday the 18th. The Little Giants are over .500 for the first time this year at 4-3.
Indiana’s two Summit League teams are off to good starts in conference play. IPFW is 2-0 in the league, and goes out-of-conference to take on a tough #9 Michigan State squad in East Lansing on Saturday, while IUPUI is 1-0, 6-2 overall, and hosts Western Michigan.
Conseco Fieldhouse hosts the annual Wooden Tradition on Saturday. The Purdue Boilermakers take on Louisville, while the #18 Butler Bulldogs go up against Florida State.
The Indiana Hoosiers play the third game of a five game homestand as they host Western Carolina at Assembly Hall on Saturday night. The Hoosiers are up to #13 in the latest AP poll.
Notre Dame scored their 25th straight win at the Joyce Center, setting the school record for that arena, with a 108-62 blowout win over Northern Illinois last weekend. The Irish take this week off for finals and get back to action December 22 against San Francisco as part of a six-game homestand where they look to keep working towards the overall mark of 38 straight home victories set in the old fieldhouse from 1943-1948.
Ball State is still looking for their first win, and the Cardinals make the long trip to Arkansas State to take on the Indians on Sunday afternoon.
For more on all the statewide college basketball programs, visit the Indiana Sports Talk College Hoops page.
