Saturday afternoon’s Big Ten tilt between No. 24 Michigan and Indiana in Bloomington, Ind., might be a rare case where many of the home fans give a warmer reception to the opposing coach over their own coach.
There might not be a coach in the country under a hotter seat right now than Indiana’s Mike Woodson, who has been under a tremendous amount of scrutiny from Indiana faithful following a recent tailspin.
Indiana (14-9, 5-7 Big Ten) has lost four straight games and six of its last seven, falling completely out of the conference’s regular-season title picture and out of NCAA Tournament consideration.
“Right now, we’re not tough,” Woodson said. “We’re just not a tough team right now. We’re not. Mentally, we’re not tough.”
The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Hoosiers over the next four games, with contests against three ranked teams: Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue; The fourth team, UCLA, just knocked off Michigan State and likely will be ranked with a victory over Penn State on Saturday.
Given that, Saturday might have the feel of win or else for Woodson.
“We’ve got to get it fixed because we only have eight left and five of them are at home,” Woodson said. “We have to figure out all of our games at home and the three that’s on the road.”
The first one to figure out on Saturday will be against a team coached by a beloved native son who is making a triumphant return home.
Michigan coach Dusty May grew up in the Hoosier State, attended Indiana and was a student manager under legendary head coach Bob Knight.
When May coached Florida Atlantic to the Final Four in 2023, several Indiana fans hoped that Woodson would be replaced in favor of May.
Indiana stuck with Woodson, and after last season, May took the job at Michigan, where he has orchestrated a turnaround.
The Wolverines (17-5, 9-2) come in just behind Purdue for the top spot in the Big Ten standings. Barring a late-season collapse, Michigan is well-positioned for its first NCAA tourney appearance since 2022.
“I’m sure it will be cool to walk into Assembly Hall where you spent a lot of time,” May said. “I’m not thinking about anything. My mom lives in Bloomington. It is what it is. But I’m going there to try and win a freaking basketball game and that’s it.”
The game will feature three of the elite big men in the Big Ten.
Michigan is led by 7-footers Vladislav Goldin (15.6 points, 6.0 rebounds per game) and Danny Wolf (12.3 points, 10.0 rebounds), while Indiana is led in scoring and rebounding by 7-footer Oumar Ballo (14.0 points, 9.9 rebounds).
In addition, the matchup also features the two most turnover-prone teams in the conference. Michigan comes in leading the league in turnovers at 14.8 per game, while Indiana is averaging 12.5 turnovers a contest.
Indiana has enjoyed some recent success against Michigan. The Hoosiers have won four straight in the rivalry, including a 78-75 win last season at Michigan.
–Field Level Media
