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.