Chants of “Fire Woodson” echoed inside the hallowed walls of Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana, on Tuesday night as Indiana coach Mike Woodson and his team effectively no-showed in a lifeless first half vs. No. 19 Illinois.
Ahead of what would be 60-32 halftime deficit, chants rained down with just under eight minutes remaining in the half as the two teams went to a media timeout and resumed when they came back from intermission.
Indiana trailed by as many as 32 points in the opening 20 minutes before cutting it to a 28-point deficit just before the break.
Illinois made eight 3s and Indiana’s defense looked like a unit without answers for star opposing freshman Kasparas Jakucionis, a projected top-five pick, who scored 19 points and had four assists in the first half. Fellow Illini freshman Tomislav Ivisic also got involved with 15 points and made three 3-pointers.
Indiana on the other hand went 0-for-6 from 3-point range in the first half and were led by Oumar Ballo’s 10 points.
The Hoosiers are 11-0 playing at home this season — all games they were favored to win in — but appear poised to lose their second consecutive Big Ten game after a sluggish start vs. the Illini. They lost 85-60 on the road Saturday to Iowa, marking their largest loss in regular-season Big Ten play under Woodson.
Woodson, who starred for the Hoosiers under coach Bob Knight from 1976 to 1980, is in his fourth season leading his alma mater. Woodson’s job status was in question after the Hoosiers missed the NCAA tournament last season, but Woodson revamped his roster via the transfer portal after being retained. Expectations were high entering the season, but IU’s play has been up-and-down — with Tuesday night’s effort being the latest example.
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