Indiana, Purdue Alumni Teams Meet in The Basketball Tournament

Assembly Ball, Indiana’s alumni team, and the Men of Mackey, a Purdue-based team, will match up in the Round of 32 in The Basketball Tournament on Sunday at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Jack Ankony | Jul 21, 2024

Yogi Ferrell (left) and Troy Williams (right) celebrate Assembly Ball's win over The Cru in The Basketball Tournament. / The Basketball Tournament

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Indiana Hoosiers

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – One of college basketball’s most anticipated rivalries will be renewed on Sunday at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Well, sort of.

It won’t count toward the all-time series record, and there will be several players who attended other schools, but Sunday’s Round of 32 matchup in The Basketball Tournament will be as close as it gets to Indiana versus Purdue basketball in July.

No. 1 seed Assembly Ball – a roster with eight former Hoosiers and six from various other programs – matches up against No. 4 seed Men of Mackey, Purdue’s alumni team, on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

Assembly Ball handled a Valparaiso-based team, No. 8 seed The Cru, on Friday, winning 89-79 behind 27 points from Yogi Ferrell. A few hours before, Men of Mackey defeated No. 5 seed Fort Wayne Champs 75-63, led by Eric Hunter Jr. with 13 points.

Hunter is one of five former Boilermakers on the roster, and they’re accompanied by seven players from other schools, including two from Purdue Fort Wayne. Hunter played for Purdue coach Matt Painter from 2018-22, making the Big Ten All-Defensive team, and wrapped up his college career with one season at Butler. So it’s a homecoming of sorts for the Tindley Prep graduate.

In the backcourt, Hunter is joined by former Purdue guards Jon Octeus (2014-15), David Jenkins Jr. (2022-23), Kelsey Barlow (2009-12) and Sasha Stefanovic (2018-22). Jenkins and Barlow have Big Ten regular season titles on their resumes, in 2023 and 2010, respectively, while Stefanovic made an Elite Eight run with the 2018-19 Boilermakers.

So, does the rivalry aspect of Sunday’s matchup create a little more excitement?

"Probably for them," Assembly Ball forward Juwan Morgan, who put up 12 points and 10 rebounds on Friday, said. "To us, it's just another game. We're going to just keep trying to win. Like we said today, we just got to go 1-0 six times, and they're just in the way right now."

Morgan bridges the gap between eras of Indiana basketball on this Assembly Ball roster. As a freshman, he played on the 2015-16 Big Ten championship team with Yogi Ferrell and Troy Williams, and later he played with Devonte Green and Race Thompson.

It’s been a rapid process of building team chemistry and learning how the team wants to play, but Morgan said it immediately felt like he was back in college. Assembly Ball spent a few days prior to The Basketball Tournament training on Indiana’s campus in Bloomington, and Morgan enjoyed seeing how the Cook Hall practice facility and Assembly Hall have improved since his time. He likes the team’s chances at the $1 million prize, too.

“I feel great,” Morgan said Friday night. “As you can see, it’s a lot of our first time playing together. There’s some blending of generations … and then the other guys that have come in as well who have played in TBT before are just kind of integrating with us the way they play. But overall, I think we have as great a chance as anybody.”

Former Hoosiers Jordan Hulls, Miller Kopp, Troy Williams and Noah Vonleh are listed on Assembly Ball's roster, but they didn't play on Friday. Hulls attended the Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame induction on Friday, and Kopp had an NBA Summer League game with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Both Hulls and Kopp are active for Sunday's game.

Julian Gamble, who attended Miami from 2008-13 and has enjoyed a 10-year professional career overseas, played a key role in Assembly Ball’s Round of 64 win. The 6-foot-10 center scored 17 points on 8-for-9 shooting and grabbed six rebounds. He’s played in The Basketball Tournament seven times on various teams and was impressed by the fan turnout in support of Assembly Ball.

“Incredible," Julian Gamble said of the Indiana fans. "Showing up, I think we got here around six and it was all red in the gym. I almost forgot we were at Butler, but even to be an hour away and to have all these fans come out and support these guys and hearing the noise when you're coming out of the tunnel, it kind of does give you that college feel again.”

"Even as a non-IU guy, I'm happy for them. I can only imagine what that feeling is to play back in front of your fans and you kind of feel like you're back at home and see a lot of old, familiar faces. You know, what better place to do it than a tournament where you have a chance to win $1 million."

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