Mike Woodson somberly looks back at Indiana's missed opportunities after UCLA loss
02/15/2025 01:03 AM
Indiana basketball seemed to be finding some momentum after picking up a massive road win against Michigan State on Tuesday night, but that all came crashing down on Friday. After a lifeless first half, Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers stormed back, but fell short in the end in a 72-68 loss to UCLA at home.
This is a critical loss for Indiana’s NCAA Tournament hopes, which are now hanging on by a thread following the Hoosiers’ 11th loss of the season. Indiana has had a lot of chances to win close games against good teams this season, but has consistently come up short. After this game, Woodson looked back at some of those missed opportunities via Michael Niziolek of The Herald-Times.
“All winnable games,” Woodson said of some of Indiana’s recent losses, per Niziolek. “Guys are searching and I’m searching as a coach to try and get them across the finish line.”
Indiana had its chances to win this game as well, but was not able to take advantage in the biggest moments. In the final 15 seconds, Myles Rice missed a short jumper from the right baseline before Mackenzie Mgbako missed an open layup that would have tied it at 70. Then, off the ensuing inbounds, Mgbako got an open 3-pointer for the lead but missed that as well and the Bruins were able to salt it away at the line.
How can Indiana make the NCAA Tournament?
Indiana may need to win out in order to get back on the right side of the bubble, and that will be no easy task with its remaining schedule. The Hoosiers are now 15-11 and are most likely on the wrong side of the bubble, so they need a lot of big wins down the stretch.
Mike Woodson and company get their bye week this week, so they will have some time off to rest, reflect and get ready for its biggest chance of the season. On Sunday, Feb. 23, Indiana will host No. 7-ranked Purdue in Bloomington with a chance to pick up a win against one of the best teams in the nation to bolster its resume. After that, Indiana closes its season with games against Penn State, Washington, Oregon and Ohio State.
All of those final four games are winnable for Indiana, and Oregon and Ohio State still give the Hoosiers a chance to beat likely tournament teams. However, if they can’t pull off the upset against Purdue, the rest of those games may not matter if Indiana starts to creep into the range with 12 or 13 losses.
Woodson’s club has shown that it has the ceiling to be an NCAA Tournament team, but a slow start and an inconsistent season as a whole have made this a frustrating year. Some of those low moments, like Indiana had on Friday, may cost it a chance at the postseason.
The post Mike Woodson somberly looks back at Indiana’s missed opportunities after UCLA loss appeared first on ClutchPoints.
