Jack’s Take: 85-71 Loss At Home To Penn State: Indiana’s Worst Loss Under Mike Woodson? You bet.

Indiana suffered its worst loss in three seasons under Mike Woodson when Penn State defeated the Hoosiers 85-71 without leading scorer Kanye Clary Saturday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, virtually eliminating Indiana from NCAA Tournament contention.

Jack Ankony | Feb 4, 2024

Jack’s Take: 85-71 Loss At Home To Penn State: Indiana’s Worst Loss Under Mike Woodson? You bet. /

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Indiana Hoosiers

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – As fans filed out of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in disgust during a timeout with 3:22 left, it hit me.

Given the way Indiana played, the location, opponent and season-long stakes, an 85-71 home loss to Penn State is Indiana’s worst loss in three seasons under coach Mike Woodson. And it’s not particularly close.

Indiana entered Saturday’s contest as 7-point favorites. The Hoosiers had a perfect 10-0 record as the favorite the season, and this represented the largest spread in Indiana’s favor against a Big Ten opponent all season.

Giving Indiana an even larger advantage, Penn State was without leading scorer Kanye Clary, who averages 18.4 points per game, the sixth-most in the Big Ten. He accounts for 23.6% of Penn State’s field goal attempts per game and is the team’s best 3-point shooter at 37.8%.

Without Clary, Penn State still had no problem shredding Indiana’s defense for 85 points, its third-highest scoring game of the season. The Nittany Lions tied their season-high with 12 made 3-pointers. The other two games they hit that came against Delaware State, ranked No. 312 in KenPom, and in overtime against Georgia Tech, which is 10-11. Penn State entered the game as one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the country, ranking 311th at 30.5%. They went 12-for-22, or 54.5%, on Saturday.

Even with Clary, a 14-point home loss to Penn State would have been unacceptable for Indiana. The Nittany Lions were one of two Big Ten teams with an overall record below .500. They have a first-year head coach, Mike Rhoades, who had to rebuild the entire roster with nine transfers and one freshman this offseason.

Indiana coach Mike Woodson questions a call during the second half of the Indiana versus Penn State men's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. — Indiana coach Mike Woodson questions a call during the second half of the Indiana versus Penn State men's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024 :: Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Woodson answered “not really” when asked if Penn State’s full-court press sped Indiana up and kept it out of an offensive rhythm. He referenced 13 turnovers, which is just above his goal of 12 or fewer per game. But clearly the press affected the Hoosiers, who spent a major chunk of the shot clock simply getting the ball past half court before running its offense, which had no apparent plan aside from dumping the ball inside and hoping Malik Reneau or Kel’el Ware would create their own shot and make a contested layup. Penn State’s 111th-ranked defense looked like a top-25 unit Saturday.

This kind of loss coming at home made it even worse. Sure, Indiana has suffered other big losses during Woodson’s first three seasons. But only four of its 19 double-digit losses in that time were inside Assembly Hall, where Indiana is 39-9 under Woodson with six wins against ranked teams. The Hoosiers typically play much better at home than on the road, but they let Penn State be the aggressor this time.

So, what other losses would top this?

Let’s narrow it down to Woodson’s home losses, which are inherently worse than road losses. Everyone loses on the road, especially in the Big Ten. Indiana’s NCAA Tournament losses to Miami and Saint Mary’s were brutal, too. Still, those aren’t worse than Saturday’s against Penn State, because Miami made the Final Four and Saint Mary’s is far better than Penn State.

Back to the home losses. Indiana lost by 21 to Purdue a few weeks ago, but the Boilermakers are a national title contender, so it’s not as bad as losing to Penn State. The other home loss this season was against Kansas, which fits the same criteria.

Last year’s 90-68 beatdown against Iowa is a strong contender. That game came on the heels of Indiana's win over Purdue at Mackey Arena, and the Hoosiers simply didn’t show up. Iowa’s 3-point barrage had a similar feeling to Penn State’s, too. But that loss didn't cost Indiana any of its season-long goals. Indiana’s only other home loss in 2022-23 was by one point against Northwestern, a tournament team. Again, not as bad.

A case could be made for a few of Indiana’s losses during Woodson’s first season. Illinois ran Indiana off the court, 74-57, that season, but again, that Illinois team was way more talented than Penn State and earned a No. 4 seed.

Along with the 22-point loss to Iowa last season, the next strongest case could be made for Indiana’s 80-62 loss to Michigan in Woodson’s first year. Similarly, Indiana was still riding the highs of an emotional win over Purdue, and that Michigan team made the Elite Eight.

So yeah, Indiana’s embarrassing performance Saturday against Penn State is the worst loss of the Woodson era by a good margin. Not only did the Hoosiers play poorly against a .500 team, but it virtually eliminated them from NCAA Tournament contention. Sure, Indiana could go 8-1 or 9-0 and earn an at-large bid or win the Big Ten Tournament. But both those paths appear extremely unlikely at this stage of the season.

Above all, the high stakes are what make this loss the worst. Whether Woodson can keep this team together and play with some pride the rest of the season is another question, but he’ll have to do so knowing that the team’s season-long goals have become unreachable and his players know it.

The fan base seems to have lost a significant amount of trust in Woodson this season. How Indiana bounces back from this kind of loss will say a lot about the players’ character, the team’s leadership and Woodson’s coaching ability.

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