Indiana basketball’s summer trip to Peru ended the way the Hoosiers wanted it to: with gold.
Competing at the FISU America Games in Lima, IU rolled through the event with a remade roster and handled every opponent by a comfortable margin. That run finished Monday with a 99-57 win over the Virgin Islands in the final, a rematch that sent the Hoosiers home as champions.
IU coach Darian DeVries spoke after the victory, and Inside the Hall also posted highlights from the game, which was streamed on YouTube. Updated stats and five takeaways from the event were also available.
The Peru trip carried an extra twist once IU added Sam Alexis after its first game. Alexis, who was on last season’s IU team, joined the USA squad because Samet Yigitoglu was ineligible to play in Peru.
The move gave the coaching staff another frontcourt option for depth and production, but Alexis’ future now has a bigger layer to it. He was among the players affected by a court ruling tied to new NCAA eligibility rules set to begin next year.
Those rules would have allowed five seasons of play with no more appeals or redshirts, but a judge ruled the changes must apply retroactively, which opens the door for Alexis and others to play in 2026-2027. It is still unclear whether Alexis would return to Indiana or go elsewhere, though IU does have an open scholarship if he chooses Bloomington.
While basketball grabbed one spotlight in July, football had its turn in Chicago. Indiana took part in Big Ten media days alongside the rest of the conference’s 18 schools, with Curt Cignetti among the main figures on hand. The Hoosiers are coming off the fall of 2025 and, once again, the expectations in Bloomington are high.
That anticipation has also carried into the preseason position previews. Inside the Hall continued its breakdowns this week with looks at the running backs, wide receivers and quarterbacks, all part of the buildup to a season that begins next month.
Elsewhere, Podcast on the Brink returned with Brian Tonsoni joining to talk about IU basketball’s games in Peru. The Back Home Network also stayed busy with multiple shows airing during the week.
In the Hoosier Roundup, baseball filled out its coaching staff for next spring. Volleyball will be part of Big Ten media day next week, and the conference honored a couple of players while single-game tickets for home matches went on sale.
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