Indiana

Indiana’s Heightened Sense Of Urgency Translating To Wins At Right Time

Published

10 months ago

March 4, 2025

Indiana’s Heightened Sense Of Urgency Translating To Wins At Right Time

EUGENE, Ore. – Indiana’s margin for error narrowed when it lost seven of eight games in January and February. But with their backs against the wall, the Hoosiers have rattled off four wins in their last five games heading into a crucial matchup Tuesday at Oregon.

Indiana senior Luke Goode helped Illinois reach the Elite Eight last season, and that experience has helped him quickly become a leader for his home-state Hoosiers. He scored 18 points on 5-for-9 3-point shooting in Saturday’s 78-62 victory over Washington, a win that has Indiana gaining momentum in the season’s final stretch.

“It’s March now,” Goode said. “It means more for everybody playing around the country, especially teams that are battling to get into the tournament, and they need to win games. I think our urgency has definitely picked up big time. Our team is coming together at the right time and it shows out there. Everybody is playing for each other. We’re all rallying around coach and coming together for a greater purpose.”

Less than a month ago, Indiana announced coach Mike Woodson would step down at the end of the season. The Hoosiers were 14-10 overall and 5-8 in Big Ten play. NCAA Tournament hopes were slipping away, and the season reached a low point. Many fans were ready for a program reset, but the players and coaches didn’t give up on the season.

Since their home loss to Michigan on Feb. 8, the Hoosiers have won four of five games, including their two biggest wins of the season – at No. 11 Michigan State and by 15 points at home against No. 13 Purdue That’s put Indiana among the last four byes to the big dance, according to Joe Lunardi on Monday.

Goode agreed that the recent stretch of play is similar to what he envisioned this Indiana team could be when playing well.

“Yeah, every season has its ups and downs. Our down was a little longer than we would have liked throughout those five or six we lost in a row,” Goode said. “But we’re building momentum at the right time. We’re on the up-slope at the right time, and we just gotta keep going.”

On-court adjustments from Woodson like shortening the rotation with more minutes for Anthony Leal, staggering Malik Reneau and Oumar Ballo’s time even more, and putting Trey Galloway in a facilitating role have helped the Hoosiers make a significant turnaround.

So has the acknowledgement that it’s all over soon.

“I think urgency is the word I come back to,” Goode said after Indiana’s 78-62 win at Washington Saturday. “I think we sat back and realized this is it for most of these guys. The seniors, coach is leaving, so everybody’s future is in question. This is the last time that we can come together as a team, as brothers in the locker room who have trained together since June to play for a championship and to get into the tournament. I think we just have the urgency that we came out, and it’s time to win.”

Goode said Indiana had three goals going into the season – win the Big Ten championship; win the Big Ten Tournament; and win the national championship. The Hoosiers entered the season ranked No. 17 in the nation and picked second in the preseason Big Ten media poll. While they haven’t lived up to those expectations, Goode noted that two of their three goals are still in front of them.

There wasn’t a certain day or meeting when things shifted, according to Goode. But the team leaders reiterated every day in the locker room that what they set out to do is still possible. He and Woodson agreed the team is playing a more stress-free brand of basketball of late.

“You can call it that. I call it when you win, it eases the mind,” Woodson said. “You do things that you think you’re accustomed to doing. And when you lose, you’re looking over your shoulders. You’re worried about what people are saying. All the shit that really don’t matter. I mean, we need right now to support these players, man, because they are playing hard. They are trying to win basketball games.”

The Hoosiers have stayed out west ahead of Tuesday’s 9 p.m. ET game at Oregon. They’ve put themselves in much better standing for the NCAA Tournament with recent wins, but still need to finish the regular season strong against Oregon and Ohio State and perhaps pick up another win or two in the Big Ten Tournament.

Goode wasn’t fazed by the increased amount of travel before the Washington game, but he knows the Hoosiers have to stay locked in as they approach a more challenging opponent Tuesday.

“No, shoot, I felt good today,” Goode said Saturday. “So no [travel] challenges for me, but I think the guys are just a little tired. We came out and played hard and took care of business. It’s just maintaining that mentality and moving onto the next one.”

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Indiana

Freshmen from Indiana show potential in UConn-Butler game: ‘Heck of a player’

Published

9 hours ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

Freshmen from Indiana show potential in UConn-Butler game: ‘Heck of a player’

Former UConn forward, NBC Sports broadcaster Donny Marshall knows a thing or two about talented UConn guards.

The former Husky played for legendary coach Jim Calhoun and was teammates with the fifth pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, 10-time NBA All-Star Ray Allen. Watching UConn play against Butler on Tuesday night, Marshall said he sees a lot of Allen in reigning Indiana Mr. Basketball Braylon Mullins.

Mullins made the second start of his career against the Bulldogs. The former Greenfield-Central star missed UConn’s first six games of the regular season with an injury, but the 6-foot-6 guard is quickly coming into his own and showing why he’s a projected lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Against Butler, Mullins showed off his sweet jump shot, going 2 for 5 from 3-point range. He finished with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal.

“He’s a scorer,” Butler coach Thad Matta said of Mullins. “He’s got a scorer’s mentality. He gets his shot off quick. They move him around and create some angles for him. Obviously, he’s a heck of a player.”

Mullins did most of his damage in the first half, scoring eight of his 12 points before halftime. The former five-star recruit was the highest-ranked player in UConn’s 2025 class. Butler’s top-ranked recruit, Azavier “Stink” Robinson isn’t the NBA prospect Mullins is, but he held his own after a shaky start to the game.

Robinson has been thrust into the starting lineup with starter Jalen Jackson out for the season with an ankle injury. Robinson looked out of sorts at times in the first half, going scoreless with two assists and a turnover. In the second half, Matta moved him off the ball, giving him catch-and-shoot looks, and opportunities to drive to the basket without worrying about running the offense.

The former Lawrence North star responded with one of the better halves of his career, scoring 10 points on 3 for 6 shooting, including 2 for 5 from 3 to go along with two rebounds, one assist, one steal and one turnover.

Facing a veteran team like UConn, nothing comes easy. UConn’s guards harass ball handlers and getting into an offensive set is not easy. This time last year, Robinson was still in high school and, on most nights, the most athletic player on the court. Playing a UConn team where the goal is a national championship, Robinson was forced to grow, and he did not back down from the challenge in the second half.

“He’s coming along,” Matta said of Robinson. “That’s the first Big East road game of his career against maybe the best team in the country. It tells you how tough he is. He’s resilient. He keeps going.”

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Indiana

Indiana's Curt Cignetti becomes the first back-to-back winner of AP coach of the year

Published

21 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Indiana's Curt Cignetti becomes the first back-to-back winner of AP coach of the year

Curt Cignetti has been named The Associated Press coach of the year in college football for the second consecutive season. He is the first coach to win the award back-to-back since it was first presented in 1998. Cignetti has led Indiana to unprecedented success, with a 24-2 record over two seasons. The Hoosiers are 13-0 this year, Big Ten champions for the first time since 1967, and the top seed in the College Football Playoff. Cignetti received 47 first-place votes. Texas Tech’s Joey McGuire and Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea received two each, and Virginia’s Tony Elliott got one.

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Central Indiana schools announce closures, delays planned for Tuesday

Published

1 day ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Central Indiana schools announce closures, delays planned for Tuesday

INDIANAPOLIS — Some schools in central Indiana are planning to close or delay the start of their classes on Tuesday.

The closures and delays come in the wake of a difficult weekend of severe winter weather in the Hoosier State. On Saturday, a wintry system dumped more than six inches of snow in some portions of the state.

Points north of Indianapolis like Lafayette received between three and four inches of snow. Towns south of the Circle City like Seymour saw similar snowfall totals. As for Indianapolis itself, more than five inches of snow were recorded in some portions of the city.

After Saturday’s snow, frigid temperatures took hold in the area. A Cold Weather Advisory was issued for much of the state as wind chill values dipped well below zero.

The cold and snow triggered a bevy of school closings and delays for Monday. Schools began to announce delays and closures for Tuesday late Monday night as snow removal crews across the state continued to try to keep roadways clear.

Though some schools plan to close or delay the start of classes on Tuesday, temperature improvements are forecasted. High temperatures are anticipated to exceed the 32-degree freezing threshold and hit 36 degrees. The warming trend is expected to continue on both Wednesday and Thursday, with high temperatures forecasted to reach 40 and 50 degrees, respectively.

Precipitation is forecasted for Thursday, though temperatures are expected to remain warm enough for Indiana to get rain instead of snow.

FOX59/CBS4 is tracking the closures and delays schools plan to implement on Tuesday. Check out the latest available list of closings below:

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