Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.
With Darian Devries now in place as the head coach, the question is which players will join him in Bloomington. A new roster must be put together with the entire team in the transfer portal.
Besides this, the women had the season end in their 6th straight NCAA tournament and some roster updates for that squad. We will, as usual, conclude with weekly shows and a look at other Indiana sports, led by men’s swimming and diving nearly winning a national title.
Here is what is in this week’s edition:
• IU men’s basketball roster updates
• IU women’s basketball falls to South Carolina in NCAA tournament second round
• IU women’s basketball roster updates
• A glance at the 2025 NCAA tournament
• Podcast on the Brink and Back Home Network shows
• Hoosier Roundup
Banner #1 – IU men’s basketball roster updates
With the entire team now in the transfer portal, Darian Devries will need a new roster. While it is expected that Devries’ son Tucker will follow his dad to campus and incoming freshman Trent Sisley is sticking with the Hoosiers, many unknowns remain outside of that. Luke Goode is petitioning for a medical redshirt, but who might join the squad beyond this remains unknown.
DePaul transfer Conor Enright has been linked to the Hoosiers as, has Xavier guard Ryan Conwell. Also, Kansas big man and one-time Indiana target Flory Bidunga just entered the portal and could be a target.
No matter what, Devries will have all new players, just as he did when taking over at West Virginia last year. Scouring the portal is a must now given the lack of personnel in Bloomington and Devries is hard at work doing so. This included offering a prospect for down the road in 2027.
Banner #2 – IU women’s basketball falls to South Carolina in NCAA tournament second round
On the other side of Assembly Hall, Teri Moren’s squad gave elite South Carolina all they could handle for the second NCAA tournament for a second straight season. However, once again, the Gamecocks were just a bit better and put an end to the Hoosiers’ season.
Indiana finishes 2024-2025 with its 10th straight 20-win season and a sixth consecutive appearance in March Madness. Assembly Call was one of the few IU media outlets that made the trip to Columbia for the game and had an article recapping the year.
Banner #3 – IU women’s basketball roster updates
While the women have had very little movement or transfer portal entries in the last few years, this spring has been different. Following the season-ending loss to South Carolina, Moren talked about needing to get bigger and more athletic.
Whether this was related to the current roster, the four rotational players off the bench have entered the portal in Lexus Bargesser, Jules LaMendola, Lily Meister and Henna Sandvik. Also, Sharnecce Currie-Jelks put her name in the portal after rarely appearing on the court during her IU career.
The only name linked to the Hoosiers so far to fill any of these vacancies is Penn State star center Gracie Merkle, who is reportedly visiting Bloomington this weekend. Whether Merkle joins the squad or not, how Indiana fills the open scholarships remains to be seen.
Banner #4 – A glance at the 2025 NCAA tournament
The Big Ten began the week with four teams in the Sweet Sixteen on the men’s side. However, that number is now down to only one, as Michigan State is the lone representative from the league still alive in the Elite Eight later today after defeating Ole Miss. They take on Auburn on CBS at 5:05 p.m. ET today, with a Final Four berth on the line.
Meanwhile, Maryland, Michigan, and Purdue all suffered defeats at the hands of Florida, Auburn, and Houston in the Sweet Sixteen. The other teams still alive are Florida and Duke, who are on next weekend, while the Cougars and Tennessee will play in the other matchup at 2:20 p.m. ET today on CBS for the final spot in San Antonio.
For the women, UCLA and USC are the only Big Ten teams that remain alive after defeating the Ole Miss and Kansas State respectively. They are joined in the final eight by Connecticut, Duke, LSU, South Carolina, Texas, and TCU.
The other squad to play from the league this week still was Maryland. Like IU, they were defeated by the Gamecocks.
Banner #5 – Podcast on the Brink and Back Home Network shows
Podcast on the Brink was recorded this week. The episode featured the Back Home Network’s Tony Adragna discussing the Devries hire.
BHN was on-air multiple times in the last few days. Assembly Call Radio, Crimson Cast, Doing The Work and Dribble Drive all had shows.
Banner #6 – Hoosier Roundup
• Men’s swimming and diving continue to be ever so close to their first national championship since 1974, finishing third nationally, just 31 points short of that elusive title.
• Football continued spring practice.
• Baseball had another inconsistent week beating, Bellarmine but losing a series to USC after a blown lead late. This came after dropping the final game at UCLA last Sunday to lose that weekend set. Also, a trio of Hoosiers are on opening day MLB rosters.
• Softball dropped a doubleheader to Ohio State.
• Wrestling finished top-25 at the NCAA championships. Also, they had 13 athletes earn All-Big Ten academic honors.
• Men’s tennis fell to Michigan but beat Wisconsin.
• Water polo fell to Cal.
• Women’s golf came in third at the Florida State match-up.
• Men’s golf finished 10th at the Schenkel Invitational.
• Track and field competed at the Battle on the Bayou.
Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.
Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.
Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor
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