The Indiana Pacers struggled in the second half and fell to the Orlando Magic 119-103. The Blue and Gold led by one at halftime, but had ten turnovers in the third quarter and were outscored by 16. Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers with 23 points and seven assists, and Buddy Hield added 18 points. Jalen Smith had 14 points and eight rebounds for Indiana, but was ejected in the third quarter after receiving two technical fouls. The Pacers had 22 turnovers overall and dropped to 21-42, while Orlando improved to 15-47. In a schedule oddity, the Pacers will stay in Orlando and face off against the Magic again Wednesday night.
Purdue faces off with Wisconsin Tuesday night in Madison in a showdown with massive Big Ten title implications. If Purdue wins Tuesday night and beats Indiana Saturday, the Boilers would earn at least a share of the conference crown. A Wisconsin victory would eliminate the Boilers in the Big Ten regular season title hunt. The Badgers beat Purdue at Mackey Arena in January behind 37 points and 14 rebounds from Johnny Davis. Purdue enters play 24-5, with a 13-5 mark in the Big Ten, while Wisconsin is 23-5 overall and 14-4 in conference action. The Badgers and Boilermakers tip off at 9 p.m. Eastern from the Kohl Center.
The NFL Scouting Combine gets underway Tuesday in Indianapolis. The annual event for evaluating draft prospects has been in Indy since 1987, but this could be the last year in the Circle City for the near future. The NFL has opened up bidding to other cities for the next two combines, and Los Angeles and Dallas are expected to be in the running. The Indianapolis Colts do not have a first round pick in April’s draft as a result of last year’s trade for quarterback Carson Wentz. Colts general manager Chris Ballard and coach Frank Reich will meet with the media Tuesday, and will undoubtedly field questions about Wentz’s future.
Former Indianapolis 500 veteran Danny Ongais (On-guy-us) died Saturday at the age of 79 due to congestive heart complications, according to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ongais started the Indy 500 11 times between 1977 and 1996, and compiled four top-ten finishes. His best run came in 1979, when he finished fourth. The versatile driver won a series-best five USAC Indy car races in 1978, and also competed in drag racing, sports cars and Formula 1, among other series. Ongais was known as “The Flyin’ Hawaiian,” and is the only Hawaii native so far to have competed in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
