One last chance for Mike Woodson
Indiana men’s basketball hosts Purdue after a nine-day layoff between games.
Neither team is entering with a ton of momentum, with Indiana having dropped its last home game to UCLA and Purdue in the midst of a three-game losing streak.
Still, this is a rivalry game and potentially Mike Woodson’s last chance to finish at .500 or better against the Boilermakers.
Here are three things to know about the matchup:
Mackenzie Mgbako
When Mike Woodson and his staff were able to pull off the season sweep of Purdue in the 2023-24 season, the game plan involved allowing Indiana’s more talented players to get a high volume of iso looks.
Freshman Jalen-Hood Schifino had some of his best games in that system, putting up a historic 35-points on the road at Mackey in Indiana’s win that year.
Indiana was almost able to replicate that plan earlier this season with Mackenzie Mgbako, who put up 25 points in Indiana’s five point loss in West Lafayette. He didn’t have his best 3-point shooting night, but the Boilermakers had no answer for anything he was doing on the offensive end.
Mgbako has struggled to produce consistently this year, but look for Woodson to get to him early and often tomorrow to see if this is a matchup he can exploit again.
The Stakes
Even after the loss to UCLA that really nullified the effects of Indiana’s win at Michigan State, Indiana is still appearing in some experts’ brackets, per Bracket Matrix.
However far this season has been from our expectations, the fact remains that this Indiana team still has a shot at the NCAA Tournament. A ranked win against Purdue will obviously help Indiana’s chances come selection Sunday.
That said, Purdue actually might have more on the line here. Over the last four seasons, the Boilermakers haven’t earned worse than a four seed in the NCAA Tournament. Matt Painter will need to end Purdue’s losing streak as soon as possible to keep that streak intact.
The Energy
Besides allowing Indiana to formally begin its coaching search, Mike Woodson’s retirement news was significant in that it was supposed to allow the team to compete in an environment that’s less concerned about their head coach’s future.
So far, the results have been mixed. Indiana’s win in East Lansing was by far its most impressive of the season, but the Hoosiers couldn’t build on it and lost a winnable game at home to UCLA.
The fans showed out for the UCLA and Michigan games, but were disappointed each time. The same goes for the players, who have been showing an admirable uptick in effort of late, but don’t have the wins to show for it.
The rivalry game should help amp things up a bit, but I have been in attendance for games in this series that fell flat. Even when Bob Knight made his return to Assembly Hall in February 2020 for the Purdue game, the crowd had little to cheer about outside of the General’s appearance. I don’t remember anyone rising to their feet for any plays that happened in that game, as Purdue continued its dominance over Indiana and Archie Miller.
At this point, it’s fair to ask how much enthusiasm there is for the remaining five games on the schedule from fans and players alike.