Mike Woodson Looking For First Win Against Iowa After Several Painful Losses

Indiana went 0-4 against Iowa in coach Mike Woodson’s first two seasons with a blowout home loss, a buzzer beater in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals and two more painful defeats. What will it take for the Hoosiers to snap their losing streak against the Hawkeyes?

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Mike Woodson has two boxes to check before being able to say he’s beaten every Big Ten team as Indiana’s coach: Iowa and Northwestern.

The first opportunity comes Tuesday, when the Hawkeyes travel to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall for a 7 p.m. ET tipoff. Woodson went 0-4 against Iowa in his first two seasons, including some excruciating defeats. The Hoosiers failed to defeat Northwestern in three tries during Woodson’s first two seasons, and they’ll get another crack at the Wildcats on Feb. 18 at Assembly Hall.

Woodson is not just looking for his first coaching victory over Iowa Tuesday; he also needs to snap Indiana’s three-game losing streak before it’s too late. The Hoosiers have fallen into a four-way tie for seventh place in the Big Ten, and they’re ranked No. 97 in the NET with an 0-7 record against Quad 1 opponents entering their last January game.

Defeating Iowa, which brings an identical 12-8, 4-5 record to Bloomington, would be the first step in Indiana’s effort to get back on track before the second half of Big Ten play. It’s also a chance to wash away the bad taste left behind by previous losses to the Hawkeyes.

In Woodson’s first game coaching against Iowa, Indiana led by as much as 11 points in the first half and seven at halftime on Jan. 13, 2022, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa had first-team All-American Keegan Murray that year, but it was his brother, Kris, who killed the Hoosiers with 29 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. Indiana scored 42 points in the first half but just 18 points in the first 16 minutes of the second half. The Hoosiers committed 23 turnovers and shot 13-for-21 in the free throw line.

“We were awful in the second half,” Woodson said.

Though scheduled just once in the regular season, Indiana got a shot at revenge against Iowa in the 2022 Big Ten Tournament on March 12, 2022. After securing wins over Michigan and Illinois, which turned out to be just enough to earn an NCAA Tournament bid, Indiana’s second game against Iowa followed a similar script to the first.

Indiana jumped out to a 15-3 lead, but the game was tied about seven minutes later. The Hoosiers could taste a Big Ten Tournament championship game against Purdue when they took an eight-point lead with 4:23 left, but the Hawkeyes closed the game on a 19-8 run to claim an 80-77 win.

Iowa point guard Jordan Bohannon banked in a deep 3-pointer to stun the Hoosiers, negating impressive performances from Trayce Jackson-Davis, who scored 31 points and had 10 rebounds, and Xavier Johnson, who scored 20 points and dished out nine assists.

“This stings a little bit,” Woodson said. “Because we played well enough to win the game.”

The shot that sunk Indiana. Jordan Bohannon with a dagger to win it 80-77 for Iowa. #iubb pic.twitter.com/poLytCf2sc

— The Hoosier Network (@TheHoosierNet) March 12, 2022

Indiana’s first matchup against Iowa last season marked the resumption of Big Ten play on Jan. 5, 2023. The Hoosiers traveled to Carver-Hawkeye Arena about two weeks after they lost Johnson to a broken foot, which turned out to be a season-ending injury. Indiana blew a 21-point lead in this game, lost senior forward Race Thompson to a knee injury and crumbled in the final minutes of a 91-89 loss.

The game included a technical foul on Iowa coach Fran McCaffery, who walked all the way to Indiana’s huddle and engaged in a shouting match with Indiana assistant Yasir Rosemond. But in rare fashion, the technical foul called by Courtney Green was reversed.

Woodson was irate, perhaps more so than after any other loss during his Indiana tenure.

"I'm not even going to comment on that because that's bullshit,'' Woodson said. "That's what it is. And you can print that. Because when you allow coaches to come across half court into your space that's bullshit. It is.”

"He did call the tech and he pulled it back, which is bullshit. The guy should have been thrown out of the god damn game.”

Full clip: https://t.co/I5fLaImh0r pic.twitter.com/k9GElUOUez

— Keegan Nickoson (@Knickoson42) January 6, 2023

Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery reacts during a NCAA Big Ten Conference men's basketball game against Indiana, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa :: Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

Close losses always hurt, but Indiana’s most recent loss was the ugliest. Fresh off an eight-point win over No. 5 Purdue at Mackey Arena, the Hoosiers returned to the usually comfortable Assembly Hall to host Iowa on Feb. 28, the penultimate regular season game.

Indiana was 14-1 at Assembly Hall before this game, but the Hoosiers got run off their home court. An 11-point halftime lead ballooned to a 90-68 victory for Iowa, led by 26 points from Kris Murray, 23 points from Tony Perkins and 16 from both Payton Sandfort and Filip Rebraca. Altogether, the Hawkeyes shot 13-for-23 from 3-point range. Sandfort blew a kiss to the Assembly Hall crowd after a late 3-pointer, resulting in a technical foul.

Trayce Jackson-Davis put up 26 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and four steals. But not much else went right for the Hoosiers, who shot 2-for-11 from three and got outrebounded by 10.

“We left our game in West Lafayette, and it’s just unacceptable the way we played tonight,” Woodson said. “I apologize to our fans. I’m the coach, I’ve got to get them ready to play. And that was a bullshit performance tonight.”

“They came in here and kicked our ass. It was just that simple.”

Payton Sandfort blew a kiss to the Indiana crowd and got T'd up 😅 pic.twitter.com/f7fHTi523a

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 1, 2023

As Woodson looks to coach his first win against Iowa Tuesday, he’s preparing the Hoosiers to face another high-powered offense. Iowa has several familiar faces, like guards Tony Perkins and Payton Sandfort, but they no longer have the Murray brothers who hurt the Hoosiers in past losses. Valparaiso transfer Ben Krikke, a 6-foot-9 forward, leads Iowa at 15.7 points per game. Iowa ranks second in the Big Ten and 10th nationally at 85.3 points per game, plus 21st in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom.

Though Indiana is on a three-game losing streak, it’s coming off one of its better defensive performances of the season in a 70-62 loss at No. 10 Illinois on Saturday. The Hoosiers had chances to pull off the upset because of their defense, but poor free throw and 3-point shooting made that impossible.

Still, Indiana’s strong defensive effort – holding Illinois to its third-fewest points of the season and 12.1 points below its average – is something Woodson hopes his team can build on against Iowa.

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