Things are not going well for Mike Woodson in Bloomington.
Woodson and Indiana found themselves on the wrong end of a 94-69 loss to No. 19 Illinois on Tuesday night. It marked their second consecutive loss by 25 points and was their second worst loss in program history. Only a 32-point loss to Wisconsin in 2010 was worse.
The Hoosiers just looked dull on the court Tuesday night. They made just four of their first 16 shots and quickly fell into a 30-point hole in the first half before the Illini took a 28-point lead into the locker room at halftime. was the biggest deficit at halftime Indiana has faced each other in the last 25 seasons.
It got so bad that, at one point early in the game, the crowd in Assembly Hall turned completely against Woodson.
“I understand. “We are embarrassed,” forward Luke Goode said. via Zach Browning of Rivals.com. “We have to wear this jersey with more pride as Indiana players. “This show is too historic and too great to be portrayed like this.”
Late in the game, frustrations clearly led to a brief incident under the basket. Goode, who used to play at Illinois, got into a fight with Tomislav Ivisic after a foul. Indiana’s Oumar Ballo pushed Ivisic and he was ejected.
Ballo finished with 16 points and a team-high 15 rebounds for Indiana. Goode added 13 points. Indiana was just 4 of 18 from 3-point range as a team, and they were outrebounded by 14.
Kylan Boswell led Illinois with 22 points and seven rebounds, and Kasparas Jakucionis added 21 points. The Illini’s 94 points are the most an opponent has scored in a regulation game in Assembly Hall history.
Is Mike Woodson’s job in trouble?
While there’s still plenty of time to turn things around (it’s only mid-January, after all), Woodson’s job is very much in doubt after this latest loss.
Woodson, who played at Indiana under legendary coach Bob Knight prior to his NBA career, was hired to replace Archie Miller in 2021. He has an overall record of 76-45 and reached the NCAA tournament in his first two seasons. , but they missed it last season. after finishing just 19-14. There was speculation that Indiana would cut him last season, but opted to bring him back for another opportunity.
While the program is still 13-5, they are just 1-5 in Quad 1 games this season and haven’t really beaten anyone. Iowa crushed them in a 25-point loss on Saturday, and they fell to Nebraska, Gonzaga and Louisville, all by double digits. On Indiana’s defense, leading scorer Malik Reneau has played in just one game this month while dealing with a knee injury. It is unclear when he will return.
“It’s tough,” Woodson said. “You know, I mean, when you prepare and work, because we work in practice, we do all the things you’re supposed to do before the game. The guys just didn’t step forward tonight and didn’t step forward in the Iowa game.”
Indiana travels to Ohio State and Northwestern next week, which are great opportunities to win to try to start turning things around. However, if that doesn’t go well, it looks like Indiana could fall apart quickly. The Hoosiers are on a stretch where they will face four consecutive ranked opponents, starting with No. 17 Purdue on Jan. 31.
“We can’t let this snowball,” Woodson said. “Like I said, we have a long way to go in this Big Ten. Do I think we are good enough to win? Yes, I do. I just have to make us believe that and keep pushing these guys in the right direction.”
If Woodson can’t keep Indiana in the mix for at least an NCAA tournament, his time in Bloomington may be limited.