Highlights From Mike Woodson on 'Inside Indiana Basketball' Radio Show

Indiana coach Mike Woodson appeared on his weekly radio show 'Inside Indiana Basketball' on Monday night with play-by-play broadcaster Don Fischer. Woodson recapped Indiana's wins over Rutgers and Michigan, and looked ahead to Wednesday's game at Northwestern.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Mike Woodson joined "The Voice of the Hoosiers" Don Fischer on Monday night's edition of the "Inside Indiana Basketball" radio show from Southern Stone Restaurant.

Woodson discussed Indiana's recent wins over Rutgers and Michigan, and he previewed the Hoosiers' upcoming game at Northwestern. 

Here are the highlights. 

On Indiana's 62-61 win over Michigan...

• “I told our team before we left Bloomington that I’m always used to treating games like this like a playoff game because we're going to have to see them at the end of the year. So if we go in there and steal one, then the pressure's on them to come back to Bloomington to get it back."
• “The Michigan game was probably one of the best games for me from a coaching standpoint because I live my fantasies through these players, and I want to see who’s going to make plays when it's close. That's kind of my get-up right now. I want to see who's going to get the defensive stop or a key rebound or make a big shot or free throw. I can't say enough about the group."
• Woodson said he turned to Armond Hill late in the game and said, "'We need a break and a crack somewhere,' and we got em both, so it was a big win for our ball club."
• “Our defense has kind of been our staple, and it’s got to be that way."
• Indiana played a seven-man rotation against Michigan, which Woodson said was the first time in his career. He said it's not a knock on Kaleb Banks and CJ Gunn that they didn't play, but one slip up could have been costly. He pointed out that both players have done good things this season. Woodson joked that he would have been shot at if the played a seven-man rotation in the NBA.
• Woodson said he told the team in the huddle they were on pace to give up 80 points and had to lock down defensively.

On learning how to finish close games...

• “When I don’t win close games, I point the finger at myself because I always feel like there’s room for improvement to get over the hump.” Woodson said there were a lot of games last year where Indiana blew the lead late, and he takes responsibility for that.
• “They believe now. I think when you win enough close games ,it becomes a lot easier for you in those situations."
• Woodson senses the team is much more confident now. “I couldn’t say that 10 games ago when we hit the three-game skid because everybody was spinning in terms of where we were gonna go."

On Trayce Jackson-Davis...

• Jackson-Davis passed Indiana legends Steve Alford and Calbert Cheaney for most Big Ten Player of Week awards on Monday.
• “I’m happy as hell for him, but it’s only two things on my mind – winning the Big Ten title and national title."
• “If you sat him down and asked him what he’s trying to do, it can’t be nothing but winning the Big Ten title."
• Jackson-Davis recently passed Yogi Ferrell on Indiana's all-time scoring leaderboard, and Woodson is next on the list. “Records are meant to be broken, and he’s reminding me that he’s passing me."
• “He’s a long way away from his sophomore year to his junior year." 
• Woodson recalled his thoughts during the summer going into Jackson-Davis junior year: “I didn’t think he was ticking. I’m like, 'Man, who the hell is this guy?'"

On Indiana's injury status...

• Woodson said he doesn't know if Race Thompson will play Wednesday at Northwestern.
• Logan Duncomb will not play at Northwestern. He's steal dealing with a sinus infection.
• Xavier Johnson gave an update on his injury on the most recent episode of the "Hoosier Roundtable" podcast with HoosiersNow.com publisher Tom Brew. 
• “Cmon man, I mean that’s tough, but the fact that we’ve stayed together as a team and guys like Tamar, Gallo, Geronimo, Kaleb, CJ and Malik, they’ve all pitched in to help us win basketball games."
• Woodson said he wouldn't worry about foul trouble as much if Indiana was fully healthy, but that hasn't been the case this season. "Hell, I went into [the Michigan game] with three bigs.” 
• Woodson said he couldn't play Jordan Geronimo a lot because he’s still working back from his calf injury. 

On Jalen Hood-Schifino...

• Hood-Schifino was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Monday. 
• "We haven’t had a full deck since the Carolina game, and it’s giving Jalen – it’s putting him right on the hot seat." 
• “Yes, he’s made mistakes along the way, but as a freshman he’s done a lot of wonderful things."
• “I don’t know if I’ve ever made him mad yet. I’ve tried to challenge him just to see what the hell he’s gonna do."

On Wednesday's game at Northwestern...

• “I sat and watched the Purdue game yesterday, and they obviously watched our game when we beat Purdue and they put in some things offensively, I thought, some of the things that we did that were successful against Purdue."
• "Make no mistake about it, Northwestern is a great team."
• "They’re guard-driven with [Boo] Buie and Chase [Audige] ... They played extremely well here in Bloomington."

On the play he learned from the Indiana women's basketball team...

• “My assistant coaches were at the girls' game and they ran a play, and my coaches came back to the meeting room that morning along with one of the girls' coaches, and they said, 'Hey coach, we've got to put this play in.' Now most coaches would probably say, 'Shit, I'm not, man, please,' but I ain't that type of dude, so I said, 'Let me see the play,' and I had the coach from the girls' team draw it on the board. When he left that room, I said, 'Hey, we're going to run this the first play tomorrow night against Michigan.' How'd it work out? Trayce Jackson got a dunk. So you can't ever be too proud to borrow or steal something. It's all good in coaching."

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• CHRIS COLLINS PREVIEWS INDIANA: Northwestern coach Chris Collins appeared on the Big Ten Network on Monday following the Wildcats' 64-58 win over No. 1 Purdue on Sunday. Here's what Collins said regarding Wednesday's matchup against No. 14 Indiana. CLICK HERE
• BIG TEN WEEKLY AWARDS: Indiana star forward Trayce Jackson-Davis earned his fourth consecutive Big Ten Player of the Week award on Monday, and point guard Jalen Hood-Schifino was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week. CLICK HERE
• NATIONAL MEDIA COMMENTS ON INDIANA: Indiana has won eight of its last nine games, drawing praise from college basketball analysts throughout the country. Here's where the Hoosiers stack up in various power rankings released on Monday, as well as comments from the national media on Indiana. CLICK HERE
• AP TOP 25: Indiana basketball climbed four spots in this week's Associated Press Top-25 poll, coming in at No. 14. Purdue dropped to No. 3 after Sunday's loss at Northwestern, and Alabama claimed its first No. 1 ranking of the season. Indiana and Purdue are the only Big Ten team's in this week's rankings. CLICK HERE
• BIG TEN TITLE RACE ALIVE: No. 1-ranked Purdue got beat again on Sunday, losing at Northwestern, and suddenly Indiana is just two games out of first in the Big Ten race. Can winning a title really be a real thing? CLICK HERE
• GAME STORY: Indiana didn't allow a point in the final 5:12 and stole a huge road win at Michigan on Saturday night, winning 62-61 with a great defensive effort and 28 points from Trayce Jackson-Davis and 21 from Jalen Hood-Schifino. CLICK HERE