In the annals of college basketball history, Indiana University has its name etched in stone. With five national championships, along with a perfect season, there is no doubt that IU is one of the “blue bloods” of the sport. This makes it all the more confusing as to why, recently, the program has begun to skid, not making it past the second round of the tournament once, and missing it during the 23-24 season.
On paper, the talent is there, with seven-foot center Oumar Ballo in his first season in the cream and crimson, who transferred from Arizona for his senior year. Another impact transfer, former All-Pac 12 team member Myles Rice from Washington State, is settling into the offense nicely, averaging 12 points and three assists as a sophomore. The team also retained key players like senior Trey Galloway and sophomore Mackenzie Mbako, who came off a co-Big Ten ROTY season.

This has made some fans wonder why the team has not been performing to the standard this team—and IU basketball as a whole—is held to.
“It sure seems like we are rudderless and just playing pickup games out there. If our physicality/talent is clearly better than that of the other team, we will usually win. If not, look out,” said one fan in the comments of an article about the team.
On-court woes include turnovers, as the Hoosiers average 12.2 of them per game, and they ranked 153rd in D1 this year. This is a trend in the Mike Woodson era, as the highest ranking of turnovers per game (TOV) they have under his tenure is 140th in the 2023-24 season.
Another point of contention for the team is free throws. IU has lost out on 110 total free points this year just from missed free throws. Their struggles at the stripe have not been new this year. Starting from Woodson’s first year, their rankings in free throw percentage (FTP) have been 236th, 207th, 150th, and 150th (as of January 22). This has led to some ire for the coaching staff because “if they can’t be making free throws, they ought to be running laps the whole practice,” said Shari Smith, an IU alums and longtime fan.
This sentiment is not just among the alumni, the students are turning some displeasure onto the team and coaching staff as well.
“Among the more dedicated fans, the sentiment is generally more negative than possible. People are generally frustrated with the lack of success that is typically expected from a roster like the one we have this year…I think I feel the same way as a lot of students in so far as Woodson should be seeing more success than he is with the talent that is on our roster, and it reflects poorly on the coaching and the ability to foster a serious team culture,” said Drew Goforth, a freshman at IU. “Take the game versus Illinois for example. I was in the student section and experienced the dissatisfaction firsthand, and while in some ways it was directed at poor performances from players like Galloway, it was mainly aimed at Woodson.”

The Illinois game Goforth was referring to was played at Assembly Hall, where the Illini took down the Hoosiers 94-69, resulting in the team getting into a fight.
This season, Indiana came in ranked 14th in the nation, and they were unranked four weeks into the season. Last year, it took them 10 weeks to fall out of the top 25. Two years ago, the team was only ranked for five weeks total.
Woodson has talent on the roster, but fans are lamenting his supposed “inability” to use them. “I think when we have as many resources as we have, and as many talents as we have, decently good recruiting, and a storied program, you should be meeting certain expectations. Like we shouldn’t be relegated to the NIT several years in a row,” said Smith. The resources Smith is referring to are Indiana’s deep pockets in the NIL markets. IU ranks fifth in name, image, and likeness money available out of all schools in the NCAA (via. Sports Illustrated).
Smith has not been happy with the product Woodson has been putting out on the floor for several years now. “Shameful, they have a whole lot of talent, and they are playing like they don’t want to win. It doesn’t differ from other teams under the Mike Woodson era. Mike Woodson-era teams have been chaotic and disappointing, don’t live up to their potential, and they’re always very inconsistent within games and over a stand.”
Fan sentiment towards “Woody” was only hurt more when Indiana hired new football coach Curt Cignetti, and the team made the new 12-team playoff. Historically, IU football has been bad, racking up the most losses in D1 history, and most seasons were written off before they started. “This year’s football season was incredible and really showed what an Indiana team could do under the correct leadership. And for a school like Indiana, whose legacy is solely focused on our basketball program and its successes decades ago, it’s putting a lot of pressure on the team and, in particular, coach Woodson,” said Goforth.
Football is not the only team experiencing success more recently than the basketball team, as the women’s basketball team, the baseball team, men’s soccer, swimming and diving, and rowing teams have all made it into their respective national tournaments after Indiana basketball last did.
Fan support can change games, and affect player’s performance. “We play games without the fans? Nah, that’s impossible. I ain’t playing if I ain’t got the fans in the crowd. That’s who I play for. I play for my teammates, and I play for the fans. That’s what it’s all about. So if I show up to an arena and there ain’t no fans in there, I ain’t playing,” LeBron James said when asked about playing without fans during the Covid-19 pandemic. If fans start deserting Assembly Hall, the team could sink even further into a hole.

Ultimately, the team will always have fans who want success, but how much success they will see under Mike Woodson is being seriously doubted. “IU fans are pretty loyal, and I think they’re going to continue to watch and I think they don’t turn to other teams, but I think they’re very frustrated right now and they are going to be demanding a change,” said Smith.
Whether that change will be made is yet to be seen.