It has been a tough go for Indiana, who was expected to challenge for the Big Ten conference championship based on the No. 2-ranked recruiting class the Hoosiers had brought in.

Home games are a mixture of a chorus of boos and chants to get rid of Woodson. Based on expectations, their 2-10 record in Quad 1 games is horrible.

Much of the preseason optimism was based on their recent recruiting: physical big men, speedy starting guards, and what was thought to be reliable bench pieces from the portal. Each player has had highs and lows but seemingly cannot put it together as a team.

Woodson said he wished he knew what the problem was.

"As the coach, your roster is changing every year, and that's no excuse," he said. "And you think you're putting the right pieces in place. And I think our guys have wonderful intentions, man, and they do want to win. But it hasn't worked the last three, four weeks for our ball club."

Woodson spent 22 seasons coaching in the National Basketball Association with 14 all-NBA selections and 17 NBA All-Stars. At Indiana, he has coached seven all-Big Ten selections and one All-American in Trayce Jackson-Davis. He has a winning record but has struggled in conference, which is not good at a school like Indiana.

2021-22

Indiana 21-14 (9-11)

Round of 64

2022-23

Indiana 23-12 (12-8)

Round of 32

2023-24

Indiana 19-14 (10-10)

2024-25

Indiana 14-10 (5-8)

Career Record: 77-50 (36-37)

Ballo is a 7'0", 265-pound senior transfer center from Arizona who also played at Gonzaga. He went through the NBA Academy in Latin America (from Mali) and was a two-time All-Pac 12 team member at Arizona.

Before he came to Indiana, he scored 1,273 points, had 867 rebounds, 109 assists, 76 steals, and 140 blocks, and was an All-Pac 12 First team player for Arizona. He was the top international player, leading Mali to its best-ever finish (2nd) at the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup.

Mgbako is a 6'9", 220-pound sophomore forward from New Jersey who was Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Year a year ago.

He was first among Big Ten freshmen in points per game (12.2) and made free throws (92), second in made 3-pointers (50), third in rebounds per game (4.1), and one of two freshmen in the NCAA to score over 400 points, make at least 50 3-pointers, converting on 90-plus free throws, and grabbing at least 125 rebounds. In 2023, he was a McDonald's All-American.

This year for Indiana, he is averaging 13.3 points (45.8 FG%) and 5.0 rebounds. He shoots 33.9% from 3-point land and 87.7% from the free-throw line.

Reneau is a 6'9", 235-pound junior forward from Miami, Florida. He played at Montverde Academy, where they won back-to-back National Championships. As a sophomore at Indiana, he was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention, where he posted career bests in points (15.4 per game), rebounds (6.0), assists (2.7), blocks (0.6).

This year for Indiana, he averages 12.3 points (54.4 FG%), 5.4 rebounds, has 39 assists to 29 turnovers ratio, and 19 steals for the year.

Rice is a 6'3" 185-pound sophomore guard who transferred from Washington State and is originally from Columbia, South Carolina. At WSU, he was a freshman All-American and All-Pac 12 first-team performer who averaged 14.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game.

This year for Indiana, he averages 11.1 points per game (43.5 FG%) and 3.0 rebounds, with 71 assists to 59 turnovers ratio, and has 26 steals. He shoots 88.6% from the free-throw line and 31% from three-point land.

Goode is a 6'7", 203-pound senior transfer forward from Illinois and originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana, who had 314 points, 200 rebounds, 41 assists, and 85 three-pointers made coming into this season. He was named a member of the Senior All-State Supreme 15 Team by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) and selected to the Indiana All-Stars team in high school.

This season for Indiana, he averages 8.7 points (42.2 FG%) and 2.8 rebounds. He shoots 41.1% from three-point land and 91.4% from the free-throw line.

Galloway is a 6'5", 200-pound senior guard from Culver, Indiana, and Indiana's team captain and won the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. A year ago, he was eighth in the Big Ten in assists (4.6) and 10th in assist/turnover ratio (2.17). He was rated the No.143 player by Rivals coming out of high school.

This year for Indiana, he averages 7.6 points (42.3 FG%) and 2.1 rebounds. He shoots 32.9% from three-point land and 61.8% from the free-throw line. He has 98 assists to 56 turnover ratio with 17 steals.

Tucker is a 6'7", 207-pound freshman forward and a 2024 McDonalds All-American, a five-star prospect, and was ranked No.17 by ESPN and No. 19 by Rivals. Tucker helped lead USA Basketball to a gold medal in the 2021 FIBA Americas Championship.

For Indiana this year, he is averaging 5.8 points (37.8 FG%) and 3.1 rebounds. He shoots 71.9% from the free throw line and has a 13 assists to 14 turnover ratio.

Carlyle is a 6'3", 182-pound sophomore guard from Atlanta, Georgia, and a transfer from Stanford, where he was an All-Pac 12 Freshman performer who averaged 11.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. In high school, he was a consensus four-star, top-60 recruit and was ranked No. 45 overall by ESPN.

This year for Indiana, he averages 4.6 points per game (29.2 FG%) and 1.8 rebounds. While he has a decent 28 assist to 15 turnover ratio, he only shoots 22.4% from three-point land and 33% from the free-throw line.

Leal is a 6'5", 200-pound senior guard from Bloomington, Indiana. He was Mr. Basketball in Indiana and was ranked No.127 by Rivals coming out of high school.

For Indiana this year, he averages 3.1 points (57.1 FG%) and 2.3 rebounds. He has a 26 assists to 12 turnover ratio and 11 steals. Leal is only a 59.3% free-throw shooter.

Hatton is a 6'10", 247-pound senior transfer from Bellarmine, where he started 31 games and averaged 10.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists. Before that, he played at William and Mary.

He produced 574 points, 378 rebounds, 63 assists, and 45 blocks in 94 career games at Bellarmine and William & Mary. This year for Indiana, he averages 2.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game in limited time and makes 76.2% off his free throws.​

NORTHWESTERN: Minus four three-pointers, and Indiana has six more turnovers.

MARYLAND: Minus five three-pointers

PURDUE: Minus 11 free throws, plus 20 Indiana turnovers.

MICHIGAN: Minus six free throws, minus six rebounds.

WISCONSIN: Minus five three-pointers, Indiana has five more turnovers.​

Indiana has some talent and good bigs, but the guards are weak. They allow 15.3 points off turnovers and 7.2 steals by the opposition per game, so they do not value the basketball. They have also had close losses recently to Maryland, Purdue, and Michigan. Indiana puts teams on the foul line and struggles to guard three-point land (minus Jase Richardson), which is usually an MSU weakness.

However, the Spartans are at home, and Izzo has a chance to break Bobby Knight's Big Ten win record against the Hoosiers, which would be special.

I think it will be a 5-12-point game in favor of the Spartans.

Let's call it: MSU 80 Indiana 72

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