Indiana coach Mike Woodson reacts to “Fire Woodson” chants after the Illinois loss

Mike Woodson was on the sidelines for more than 800 games in his coaching career. He’s had no shortage of success — like coaching the New York Knicks to a 54-28 record and breaking the NBA record for three-pointers made in a season — or slumps — like going 13-69 in his first season as a head coach with the Atlanta Hawks — but he does it’s fair to say that probably the weakest moment in Woodson’s career has come during Indiana’s Assembly Hall loss to the Illinois Fighting Illini on Tuesday night.

In front of the home fans in Bloomington, the Hoosiers stormed out of the gym to the tune of a 94-69 loss to their Big Ten rival on Tuesday night. It was the second biggest home defeat in history Indiana basketballand to make matters worse for fourth-year head coach Mike Woodson, he was serenaded with chants of ‘Fire Woodson’ from the Indiana student section. That’s a a sentiment that bounced around the Hoosier state for more than a year.

After the game, Woodson weighed in on the ugly loss and what has been a disappointing season so far the team that made a splash in the transfer portal ahead of the start of the 2024-25 campaign.

“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 and that’s my job and I’ll continue to work in that area and hopefully our fans stay in the game.” there and stay with us,” Woodson said after a lossaccording to Matt Ehalt of the New York Post.

Woodson is from Indianapolis and played for Bob Knight’s Hoosiers in the late 70’s. He scored over 2,000 points during his career at Indiana, and returned to a hero’s welcome in 2021 when he accepted the head coaching job. The Hoosiers are 76-45 under Woodson’s watch and have made the NCAA Tournament in his first two seasons. But all the excitement that came with the return of a local product has since faded, despite the fact that Woodson still has a better winning percentage than Tom Crean or Archie Miller.

Even with the loss to Illinois, thanks to a 13-5 record, Indiana is still tight on the bubblealthough their lack of wins on their resume certainly hurts their cause. Fortunately, the crowded Big Ten race gives the Hoosiers plenty of opportunities to bolster their resume over the next two months.