Looking to catch an American Basketball Association (ABA) Central Region Blue Division game this weekend — Oct. 24-25? We’ve got you covered!
While last weekend was a busy one in the Blue Division, this weekend is a little more quiet with the reigning Blue Division champion Steel City Yellow Jackets and the Indiana Legends idle.
So who’s playing? Let’s check it out.
Indiana Lyons (1-0) at Nashville Aces (1-0)
The 2022-23 ABA champion Indiana Lyons travel down to Tennessee to battle the #4-ranked 2025-26 ABA Central Region champion Nashville Aces on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 6:30 p.m. CT / 7:30 p.m. ET.
The Lyons sit atop the Blue Division in a tie with the Naptown Pirates after thumping the Indiana Shuckers at home in the Lyons Den last weekend. Meanwhile, the Aces earned a tough road win last weekend against the Hoosier State Instigators to move into a tie with the Middletown Maulers for first place in the Red Division.
The Lyons are clearly led by Jordan Hidleburg with a returning supporting cast that includes Eric Messer rebounding from a season-ending injury last year and Phil Bessick who has spent his entire ABA career with the Lyons.
Former Instigators Dame Wilburn and Steven “Captain America” Rogers add to the veteran presence on the Lyons, while newcomers Neshawn Brooks, Demonte Ferguson, and Marcelle Kenner, among others, have given the Lyons a shot of youth in the arm.
We expect this game to be a great one!
Louisville Pros (0-1) at Indiana Shuckers (0-1)
The only other Blue Division game on Saturday, Oct. 24 involves the Indiana Shuckers hosting the Louisville Pros at 6:30 p.m. ET.
The Shuckers and the Pros each had a tough opening weekend on the road, falling to the Lyons and Maulers, respectively. Now each team is looking to bounce back and enter the win column in this contest to be held in Bedford, Indiana.
We have not seen the Shuckers lineup or watched them play in person (that will change on Oct. 31), but with the Pros returning multiple veterans including team owner and king of the triple- and quadruple-doubles, Dominique “Domo” Williams, and Shamar Overstreet, who posted a double-double last weekend on the road, this is going to be a difficult assignment for the Shuckers.
Who will prevail in The Cornfield?
Hoosier State Instigators (0-1) at Naptown Pirates (1-0)
The final ABA Central Region Blue Division game of the weekend features the 2025-26 Blue Division finalist Hoosier State Instigators making the short drive south from Fishers to Indianapolis to take on the expansion Naptown Pirates on Sunday, Oct. 25 at 5 p.m. ET.
Both teams were involved in the two closest Blue Division games last weekend, with the Instigators falling to the Aces at home, 111-100, and the Pirates defeating the Indiana Legends at home, 125-113, in their first-ever game in the ABA.
The Naptown Pirates are not your average expansion team to be used by others as cannon fodder every week. They are owned by former Indiana Lyons head coach Dewey Smith, coached by former Lyons player Coach Turtle, and feature several former Lyons players: Tee Williams, Lazarick Cheatams, Corey Wright, William Keno, and Erric Hickenbottom who has also played for the Indiana Legends. Erric’s former Legends teammate, Ali Alquraishy, is also a Pirate this season. ABA veteran Demetrius “Meech” Brown adds to the Pirates’ arsenal and serves as one of the team captains along with Williams and Cheatams.
We have not yet seen the Instigators roster or watched them play.
Can Hoosier State get into the win column on the road? Or will the expansion Naptown Pirates jump out to a 2-0 start in their inaugural season? Be there and find out!
