There was a lot of buzz around the hiring of Mike Woodson for the Indiana Hoosiers in 2021, and for good reason. Woodson is a school legend, he had 15 years of NBA coaching experience under his belt, and the program was desperate for a change following the Archie Miller era and a five year hiatus from the Big Dance.
While Woodson did deliver a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances in his first two years, year three has been a disaster – and after a deflating 14 point loss to lowly Penn State on Saturday, it is fair to wonder if the 65-year-old is already on the hot seat.
The Hoosiers were up as many as 11 in the first half, but the Nittany Lions outscored them by 18 in the second half and secured an easy victory, while Indiana fell to 5-6 in the Big Ten – having lost four of their last five.
Woodson inherited a roster with All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis, and in the first year following his graduation this team has struggled – despite bringing in talented big man Kel’el Ware via the transfer portal and star freshman Mackenzie Mgbako, who decommitted from Duke to come to Bloomington.
Woodson may get another year – after all he did go to two NCAA Tournaments and seems to be capable of recruiting high end talent – but this Indiana fanbase is beyond frustrated with the team’s falling stock as a college basketball powerhouse, and they won’t be patient for much longer.