Another day, another double-digit conference loss for Mike Woodson’s Indiana Hoosiers (14-9, 5-7 Big Ten). The Hoosiers traveled to Madison, Wisconsin Tuesday night for a matchup with the #21 Wisconsin Badgers (18-5, 8-4 Big Ten) after a late collapse against arch-rival Purdue on January 31. After a lifeless final five minutes against the Boilermakers, Indiana failed to reignite a spark against the Badgers, falling 76-64.
The Hoosiers started off on a pitiful note, going 2/10 from the field alongside three turnovers in the game’s opening eight minutes, ultimately trailing 26-4 with 12:33 remaining in the first half. Indiana finished the game with 11 total turnovers and shot a paltry 40.4% from the field and 25.9% from three-point range during the loss. The Hoosiers now rank 276th nationally in three-point percentage and 251st in total turnovers.
The Wisconsin Badgers finished with four players scoring in double figures, led by guard John Tonje’s 15 points. Senior forward Carter Gilmore provided a spark off the bench, hitting all three of his three-point attempts en-route to a 10-point, 3-rebound performance in 19 minutes of game action.
Indiana Hoosiers Head Coach Mike Woodson On The Loss
Woodson addressed the media following the loss and did not mince words about his team’s effort:
“We’re just not a tough team right now. We’re not. Mentally, we’re not tough. You figure we had a game like we did at Purdue where we really competed for 40 minutes and then we come in here and we lay an egg… You spot teams on the road 20 and it’s going to be tough to get back in them.”
He continued to say that his team’s defense was terrible in the game’s first half:
“Their bigs got away. That was the difference. I thought Malik (Reneau) and (Oumar) Ballo did an awful job in terms of guarding the bigs. We were terrible in transition early, they got a few there.”
Ballo and Reneau both struggled on either end of the floor. They combined for only ten points on a combined 4/9 shooting from the floor.
When asked about his messaging to the team moving forward, Woodson put it bluntly:
“It’s not rocket science. Right now, our backs are against the wall. We’re not playing great basketball. We’re playing in spurts. I thought the last three games prior to tonight, we played pretty good ball and we came up short. If we won maybe one or two of those, you’re feeling good about yourself. I’ve got to figure a game where we can get these guys feeling good about themselves and see where it goes from there.”
He closed his media availability by stressing that his players need to help each other if they want to win in the Big Ten:
“You have to lean on them, but you’ve got to help them too. These guys, they’re kids playing big-time basketball. And the Big Ten ain’t no joke. We have to help each other. That’s kind of how I look at it.”
The loss Tuesday night extended Indiana’s losing streak to four games. The Hoosiers have lost six of their last seven games and are now in very real danger of missing not only the NCAA Tournament this season, but the Big Ten tournament as well. In this year’s expanded 18-team conference format, the bottom three teams in the conference will not make the trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten tournament. At 5-7 in conference play following Tuesday’s loss, Indiana is only one game ahead of 16th-place Minnesota. If their poor run of form continues, the Hoosiers may be watching the tournament from afar.
Another Big Ten Loss For Mike Woodson
The loss drops the Indiana Hoosiers to 5-7 in Big Ten play this season. It also continues a worrying trend for the five-time NCAA Tournament champions under Woodson: an inability to win games in the Big Ten. Under Woodson, the Hoosiers have gone 41-13 (0.759) against non-conference opponents but are 36-36 (.500) against the Big Ten.
The nature of the losses has also weighed upon the Hoosier faithful. Of the team’s 36 conference losses during Woodson’s tenure, 20 have come by ten or more points. Four of the Hoosiers’ seven conference losses this season have been by double-digits, including back-to-back losses by twenty-five points against Iowa and Illinois in January. Against the latter, the Hoosiers were crushed on their home floor, resulting in a chorus of “Fire Woodson” chants raining down on the court from the student section of Assembly Hall.
“Fire Woodson” chants at Assembly Hall tonight, as Indiana trails 60-32 at halftime.
IU coming off its largest regular season Big Ten loss under Mike Woodson over the weekend and tracking toward a new record tonight.
— Kyle Boone (@kboone.bsky.social) January 14, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Indiana’s conference woes under Woodson have extended into the postseason as well. Under his tutelage, the Hoosiers have failed to advance past the semi-finals of the Big Ten tournament. Indiana has never won the Big Ten tournament despite its storied history, and has failed to win a Big Ten regular season title since 2016.
The Hoosiers will return to action on February 8 when they host the #24 Michigan Wolverines (16-5, 8-2 Big Ten). The Wisconsin Badgers hit the road for a February 8 matchup against the Iowa Hawkeyes (13-9, 4-7 Big Ten).
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