As Indiana men’s basketball erased a 17-point second half deficit in Saturday’s game against Michigan, the crowd inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall came to life.
There were no chants to fire head coach Mike Woodson, who announced Friday his intentions to retire at season’s end. There were boos, but rarely were they directed toward the team, which used the fans’ energy to forge a comeback.
But the damage had already been done.
Both crowd reactions already happened before, perhaps most notably during the Hoosiers’ 94-69 loss to Illinois on Jan. 17. Indiana trailed by 30 points in the first half just three days after a 25-point drubbing to Iowa on the road. Sixth-year senior center Oumar Ballo was ejected for a push-turned-flagrant foul late in the game.
The back-to-back 25-point defeats started a string of seven losses during an eight-game span, which culminated in the Hoosiers’ 70-67 loss to Michigan (18-5, 10-2 Big Ten) on Saturday afternoon.
After its blowout loss to the Fighting Illini, Indiana responded with a 77-76 overtime win at Ohio State — but the Hoosiers haven’t won since. Woodson considers the home beatdown to Illinois a tipping point that may have fractured his team.
“I thought at that time we were playing pretty good basketball. I think we were 13-4 and 4-2 in the Big Ten without our leading scorer,” Woodson said postgame Saturday. “And then all hell broke loose, and we just haven't been the same.”
Indiana (14-10, 5-8 Big Ten) hasn’t stopped its freefall — though it’s had opportunities. Woodson cited an 81-76 loss to Purdue on Jan. 31 and a 79-78 loss to Maryland on Jan. 26 as examples where the Hoosiers fought and competed but ultimately fell short.
For this reason, Woodson took back a statement made only a few minutes prior when he said he’s done a “terrible job” putting his players in the best position possible to win, dubbing it false.
In specifics to Saturday’s loss, Woodson said Indiana didn’t make enough shots in the first half — it went only 12 of 34 from the field and trailed Michigan by 16 points.
The script flipped in the second half. Indiana shot 50% from the field, buried four 3-pointers and recorded only four turnovers while holding Michigan to 10-for-27 shooting from the floor and 0 of 9 from distance.
There were flashes, Woodson said, of things he knows the Hoosiers have been capable of doing all season — and he’s unsure why his team hasn’t been able to translate it into consistency.
“I wish I knew,” Woodson said. “As the coach, your roster is changing every year — and that's no excuse — and you think you're putting the right pieces in play. I think our guys got wonderful intentions, man, and they do want to win. But it hasn't worked the last three, four weeks for our ball club.”
Apart from a 12-point loss to Wisconsin on Tuesday, Indiana’s other four defeats in its five-game slide came by single digits. The Hoosiers have struggled with late-game execution, succumbing to missed shots, missed free throws and questionable decision making from both players and coaches.
Player inconsistency is another factor.
Redshirt sophomore guard Myles Rice has scored 12 points in his last three games — and 10 came against Wisconsin. Rice scored 2 points against Michigan and didn’t play in the second half. Sixth-year senior center Oumar Ballo, who reached double figures in nine straight games from Jan. 2-31, has notched 4 and 6 points in the Hoosiers’ last two games, respectively.
Junior forward Malik Reneau, who was Indiana’s leading scorer before suffering a knee injury against Rutgers on Jan. 2, had 21 points combined in his first four games back. Reneau tallied a team-high 16 points, but his resurgent night saw several other teammates fall quiet.
Only two other Hoosiers — sophomore forward Mackenzie Mgbako and fifth-year senior guard Anthony Leal — scored in double figures Saturday. Mgbako totaled 15 points, all in the second half, while Leal added 12 points.
Amid the plethora of late-game collapses and individual stretches of hot-and-cold play, Woodson acknowledged after the Hoosiers’ loss to Wisconsin that Indiana’s losses were weighing on the players.
Toss in Woodson’s looming departure, and the Hoosiers’ environment is unfit for mental clarity.
“Emotionally, these kids have taken a beating a little bit,” Woodson said. “And it's my job to try to lift their spirits and keep 'em heading in the right direction because there's still a lot of basketball left.”
For the second consecutive game and third time this season, Indiana did not make any of its players available to speak after the game. Several, including Reneau, Mgbako and fifth-year senior forward Luke Goode, returned to the court postgame to sign autographs, take pictures with fans and speak with family members.
It was a feel-good moment. Indiana needs more on the court to salvage anything from its seemingly lost season.
“Seven games is a lot of games, and we're still trying to play to stay in the Big Ten Tournament and then see where that takes us,” Woodson said. “But we've got to start winning some games here soon to do that.”
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa) and columnist Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
