Indiana coach Mike Woodson walked off the floor Saturday, following his team’s 70-67 loss to the Michigan Wolverines, with a look on his face that he has had many times so far this season.
It was a look of sadness and confusion.
A look of a coach whose team has dropped five straight and seven of their last eight.
A pondering look of a man who knows his stint as a head coach is coming to an end, and the extra padded seat at the end of the bench, the same seat he would run to greet coach Bob Knight’s demands as a player in the late 1970s, won’t be his for much longer.
The knowledge that his quest to bring Indiana its sixth national championship banner and to fill the shoes of the late coach Knight, might be a failure.
“We haven’t been the same team for awhile,” Woodson said postgame. He did not address him stepping down in his postgame press conference.
On Thursday, it was reported by ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Pete Thamel as well as The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman that Woodson is not expected to return next season amid a potential retirement. That report was confirmed by athletic director Scott Dolson on Friday.
“During a meeting with Coach Woodson on Wednesday, he informed me he wanted to step down as our program’s head coach at the end of the current season,” Dolson said in a statement. “He said it had been weighing on his mind for a while, and that it was an emotional and difficult decision.”
This is a result of Indiana being on the path to missing its second consecutive NCAA tournament. Indiana entered the season as the 17th-ranked team in the country and was believed to be in contention for one of the top NIL funds in the country.
Indiana started the year 4-0, but the tides began to sway in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, where the team was embarrassed by Louisville and Gonzaga en route to a seventh-place finish.
Upon the return from the Bahamas, hope started to creep back in for the Hoosiers as they won eight of nine contests including quality wins over Rutgers and Penn State. However, another crash began for Indiana, with losses to Iowa on the road and Illinois at home by a combined 50 points.
It was the start of Indiana’s seven losses in eight games.
“I think we were 13-4 and 4-2 in the Big Ten without our leading scorer.” Woodson said. “And then all hell broke loose, and we just haven't been the same.”
Saturday was no different as Indiana continued its trend of streaky successful play, and inversely, streaky disappointments. Woodson again struggled with having the correct lineup on the floor. Indiana started Malik Reneau and Oumar Ballo, and Michigan began the game with a 16-5 lead. Indiana then went with one big and answered with a 9-0 run of their own, to then allow a 10-1 stretch the next time they had both bigs in the game.
The Hoosiers trailed 43-27 at the half, allowed Michigan to shoot 52%, and outrebounded them 20-15. The 16-point lead was Michigan’s largest in Big Ten play in the past two seasons.
An 18-6 second-half run sparked a huge roar from the Hoosier faithful inside Assembly Hall. Indiana had chances at the end of the game, namely when Danny Wolf missed a mid-range jumpshot and Mackenzie Mgbako had an open 3 look in transition, but Woodson used a timeout right as the shot went up. A battle of free throws and an Anthony Leal ¾-court shot rounded out Saturday’s contest.
Ballo, who, at one point looked to be one of the top centers in the Big Ten, struggled significantly in this contest. His play was subpar to the level that he joined Woodson on the bench for over 12 minutes in the second half. He finished with six points and four rebounds.
Similarly, Myles Rice was a nonfactor once again for Indiana, scoring two points on 1-for-6 shooting. He did not play a minute in the second half.
The conversation for Indiana now becomes: “What’s next?”
A college basketball program with so much history — five banners, Assembly Hall, the cream and crimson and candy stripes, as well as a slew of historical coaches and players — now has to figure out their next captain.
The next man who will have the task of rebuilding one of the most notable programs in college basketball history, that has fallen into such deep a hole that Daniel in the lion’s den had more light shining upon his face.
Gallery: Indiana versus Michigan
