Mike Woodson is staying in Bloomington for a fourth season.
Indiana will retain Woodson as its head coach for 2024-25, according to multiple reports.
Woodson has been rumored to be on the hot seat as the Hoosiers are having their worst year with him at the helm. Entering Sunday’s regular-season finale against Michigan State, Indiana is 17-13 (9-10) and has not beaten a ranked opponent.
Indiana has played a little bit better recently, winning its past three games, including a 70-58 victory over Minnesota on Wednesday. However, it might be too little, too late for the Hoosiers’ hopes of making the NCAA Tournament. That’s because the recent winning streak follows a 10-game stretch during which they went 2-8 against conference foes. As of Thursday, FOX sports bracket forecaster Mike DeCourcy doesn’t have Indiana in the tournament or as one of his first teams out.
Prior to this season, the 65-year-old Woodson appeared to be steering his alma mater in the right direction. Indiana made the NCAA Tournament in its first two seasons with Woodson, going 21-14 in the 2021-22 season and 23-12 last season. Before Woodson’s first year, the Hoosiers hadn’t made it to the NCAA Tournament since 2016.
Indiana entered this season with hopes of taking the next step after two first-weekend eliminations in the NCAA Tournament. While the Hoosiers lost their two leading scorers from last season (Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jalen Hood-Schifino), Woodson landed one of the best transfer portal classes (16th) and recruiting classes (18th), per 247 sports.
If Indiana had fired Woodson, who is 61-39 in three seasons, he would have been owed a $12.6 million buyout, sports/college/indiana/2024/03/06/indiana-basketball-mike-woodson-will-return-to-coach-iu-hoosiers-next-season-2024-25/72872341007/” target=”_blank”>according to the Indianapolis Star. Before accepting the Indiana job in 2021, Woodson had spent the entirety of his coaching career in the NBA, including stints as head coach of the New York Knicks and the Atlanta Hawks.
Indiana currently holds the No. 9 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
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