Battered for the second game in a row — losing by 25 or more points in consecutive matchups for the first time since 2008 — Indiana basketball was sinking.
A scuffle punctuated Indiana’s 94-69 loss to Illinois on Jan. 14, a night filled with palpable tension before the ball was tipped. The boos started during pregame introductions. But once the Hoosiers began to slip, boos escalated into full-blown contempt for the product on the floor at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Over midway through the first half, the chants started. The student section shouted “Fire Woodson” repeatedly, marking perhaps one of the louder statements against head coach Mike Woodson in his fourth season.
Had more fans been present in The Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis — when Indiana lost back-to-back games by 28 and 16 points, respectively — that could have sparked equal outrage.
“I’m not going to let us forget this game,” Woodson said after the loss to Louisville on Nov. 27. “This was embarrassing… we didn’t play Indiana basketball.”
But the Hoosiers were thoroughly embarrassed at home in a Big Ten matchup. It felt like a major inflection point for the season.
As time dwindled down on Indiana’s historic home defeat, frustrations boiling, there were signs of accountability. One came from Luke Goode, who transferred from Illinois last spring. After Oumar Ballo flew into the scuffle and was ejected, Goode grabbed him by the jersey to discuss the need for controlling emotions.
“Makes us look bad as a program, and that’s not the kids that we have in the locker room,” Goode said postgame. “That is just not how we need to represent the Indiana program.”
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Coming into the season, Goode had a defined responsibility within Indiana’s offense: shoot the ball.
The Fort Wayne native led the Illini in 3-point percentage last year (38.9 percent) and notched career-bests in points and rebounds. Goode’s skillset made for an easy fit for a Hoosier team that shot 32.4 percent from beyond the arc last season and only converted five triples per game.
Perhaps just as crucial as Goode’s ability on the court is what he provided off it. With a collection of portal acquisitions like Myles Rice, Kanaan Carlyle and Ballo, the main question through the offseason was how well the new pieces would gel.
Goode — the two-time Big…