Indiana coach Mike Woodson may be the least popular person in Bloomington Wednesday afternoon. Tuesday night’s performance, which was thought to be forward Luke Goode’s hometown moment against his former Illinois team, was anything but.
Illinois bounced back in a big way after losing at home to USC last Saturday. With the return of guard Kasparas Jakučionis from a forearm injury, the Fighting Illini bullied, battered, and embarrassed the Hoosiers every which way possible from the opening tip, winning the game 94-69. Illinois improved to 5-2 in Big Ten play, while the Hoosiers have lost two straight and now sit at 4-3 in a crowded mid-to-bottom-half of the leag
The game got out of reach fairly quickly for Indiana, and eventually, the restless crowd at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall had enough. Some fans in Crimson decided to head out early, while others did the unthinkable.
“Fire Woodson,” the crowd jeered late in the first half with Illinois ahead by 23.
Woodson quickly addressed the chants after the loss, taking sole responsibility for it.
“I love our fans, and I respect our fans, but it’s up to me to get our players to play at a high level,” Woodson said. “That’s my job, and I’m going to continue to work in that area, and hope that our fans will hang in there with us.”
Goode, who transferred to Indiana for his senior season, voiced his frustration sitting beside guard Anthony Leal.
“I understand it,” Goode said regarding the vocal frustrations. “We got embarrassed. We have to wear this jersey with more pride as Indiana players. This program is too historical and too great to be represented like that.”
The Hoosiers didn’t help themselves any further when the game had a brief shoving spree that caused center Oumar Ballo to get ejected with under two-and-a-half minutes left as he retaliated Illinois’ Tomislav Ivišic and sent him crashing to the floor as a routine inbounds play was about to begin.
Illinois coach Brad Underwood kept his thoughts brief on the incident following the win.
“If I had to go to the Pizza Hut parking lot, it’s probably not going to be against Tomislav Ivisic,” Underwood said. “He’s got some of that [fight] in him. I’m glad he’s on my team.”
Illinois led by as much as 31, as Jakučionis and guard Kylan Boswell led all scorers with 21 and 22 points, respectively. Ballo finished with 16 points for the Hoosiers, as the team shot 22 percent from 3-point territory.
Illinois continues its brief road trip Sunday afternoon against No. 12 Michigan State. Meanwhile, Indiana will play Ohio State in Columbus on Friday night, attempting to earn its first win since last Wednesday.
