INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana men’s basketball was swept by Purdue in the 2023-24 season, but the Hoosiers’ alumni team, Assembly Ball, defeated the Boilermakers’ Men of Mackey 68-55 on Sunday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
With the victory, Assembly Ball moves into the Butler regional final of The Basketball Tournament and will play Eberlein Drive at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Hinkle. Eberlein Drive is composed of players from a variety of different universities and is one of TBT’s longest-tenured teams.
Assembly Ball, which is participating in its first season, had six former Hoosiers take the floor Sunday, as guards Yogi Ferrell (2012-16), Devonte Green (2016-20) and Jordan Hulls (2009-13) were joined by forwards Miller Kopp (2021-23), Race Thompson (2018-23) and Juwan Morgan (2015-19).
Hulls and Kopp each made their first appearance of the tournament Sunday. Hulls was inducted into the Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame on Friday, while Kopp played for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the National Basketball Association Summer League.
Christian Watford, who starred at IU from 2009-13, is the team’s general manager, while Troy Williams (2013-16) is on the roster but hasn’t played in the first two games.
Several current and former Hoosier basketball standouts filled the gym, including forward Trayce Jackson-Davis (2019-23) and a pair of current players in guard Anthony Leal and forward Luke Goode. Indiana women’s basketball great Mackenzie Holmes and active guard Sydney Parrish were also in attendance.
Much like in its first win Friday night, Assembly Ball scored its first basket on a 3-pointer from guard Yogi Ferrell and carried the momentum to take a 13-3 lead, but Men of Mackey stormed back. Assembly Ball, led by forward Julian Gamble’s 6 points, held a much less commanding 15-11 advantage after the first quarter.
A sloppy start to the second quarter subsided late, and Assembly Ball closed the half on a 7-0 run over the final 83 seconds to lead 34-23 heading into the break. Assembly Ball led by as many as 17 points in the third quarter before a late Men of Mackey run trimmed the margin to 10 entering the final quarter.
Assembly Ball’s lead shrunk to 8 points, but a 7-0 run punctuated by a deep 3-pointer from Ferrell put the game out of reach. With four minutes to play, Assembly Ball held a 60-47 advantage. In TBT, once the clock reaches four minutes, 8 points are added to the leading team’s total, creating a target score for the two sides. Thus, whichever side reached 68 points first clinched a spot in the championship.
And Assembly Ball, after nearly 15 minutes of trying, hit 68 points on a free throw from Gamble, who also made the game-winner Friday.
Assembly Ball shot only 35.6% from the floor and 23.3% from distance, but it held Men of Mackey to just 30.1% and 25.7%, respectively. Former University of Oklahoma guard Kristian Doolittle led Assembly Ball with 14 points, while Ferrell followed closely behind with 13.
As for the rest of the former Hoosiers, Thompson and Kopp had 5 and 7 points, respectively, while Hulls, Green and Morgan were shut out.
While not the prettiest offensive performance, Assembly Ball’s defense proved stout, and head coach Adam Ross believes his team has the ingredients to win the regional Tuesday night.
“This team is as talented as any team we’ve coached in the TBT,” Ross said postgame. “There’s no reason why this team, if we continue to stack like that, there’s no reason why we can’t end up in Philadelphia playing in the Final Four.”
Should Assembly Ball make it that far, it presents Ferrell with an opportunity to gain redemption, as his college career ended eight years ago in Philadelphia — and getting $1 million isn’t a bad motivator, either.
But for now, Ferrell and Assembly Ball are focused on playing a cleaner, more efficient game against Eberlein Drive, with the Sweet 16 matchup set to take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Fox Sports 1.
“Got to get there,” Ferrell said about reaching the Final Four. “We’ll watch film, we’ll get better — we’ll be a lot better next game.”
Daniel Flick covers Indiana football and men’s basketball for the Indiana Daily Student. Follow him on X @ByDanielFlick, or reach him via email at DanFlick@iu.edu.
