Indiana

What Mike Woodson Said After Indiana’s 84-74 Win Over Rutgers

Published

12 months ago

January 3, 2025

What Mike Woodson Said After Indiana’s 84-74 Win Over Rutgers

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana resumed Big Ten play with a step in the right direction, defeating Rutgers 84-74 Thursday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Coach Mike Woodson found contributions all over his roster, led by Myles Rice with 21 points. Oumar Ballo returned to action and scored 17 points, followed by Mackenzie Mgbako with 16, Trey Galloway with 11 and Luke Goode with nine. The Hoosiers improved to 11-3 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play ahead of Sunday’s game against Penn State at the Palestra in Philadelphia, Penn.

Here’s the full transcript of Woodson’s postgame press conference.

On Oumar Ballo’s play…

Woodson: “I thought he played great. He’s a big part of our team winning tonight. He had 17 and three rebounds, a few blocked shots, plugged the hole up for us like he’s supposed to so I thought he played well.”

On his thoughts on Rutgers guard Ace Bailey, who scored 39 points…

Woodson: “He’s special. He’s a good player and he’s young. If he continues to work, he could be pretty special. I mean, we kind of threw a few things at him, but he made some tough shots tonight and that’s what great players do.”

On if Ballo coming off the bench was for disciplinary or injury-related reasons…

Woodson: “Let’s just talk about his 17 and 12. That’s what I like to focus in on. He came off the bench and he got 17 and 12 for us and two blocks, which is fantastic.”

On Malik Reneau leaving with an injury and how his team adapted…

Woodson: “Well, right now, we just got to evaluate him tomorrow. He couldn’t come back in the game and you know he’s a big piece to the puzzle. Going into this game, he was our leading scorer, so we’ll evaluate him tomorrow through our medical staff and see where he is and if he can’t play, it’s next man up. We just got to continue to go whoever is in uniform.”

On Indiana’s improved 3-point shooting…

Woodson: “Guys stepped up, they made ’em, which was kind of nice to see. That’s probably the most threes we’ve made this season so far and I just hope it continues to be a carryover because I thought in the Winthrop game we got some good looks, we just didn’t make them. Tonight, guys stepped up and they knocked them down which we’re going to need moving forward.”

On Indiana’s 34 second-chance points and 18 offensive rebounds…

Woodson: “Well, I think the fact that they played a lot of zones. It’s kind of hard to block out in zone situations. We were able to sneak guys in and get put-backs or kick it back out for threes. That’s just how it goes when you play zone. You gamble because you do have to rebound out of the zone in order to get down the floor and play offense and we were able to capitalize on it a little bit.”

On if Indiana did anything different in practice after making just one three in its last game…

Woodson: “No, like I told you guys, I mean, as a coach, every time they shoot it, I think it’s going in, especially if you got the right guy shooting it and we did in our last game. You had Gallo shooting some and Goode and Mac. They just didn’t knock them down and tonight they had some of those same looks and they put it in the hole which is kind of nice to see.”

On Anthony Leal’s defense against Ace Bailey and if he expected that matchup…

Woodson: “No, Anthony is one of our best defenders and when I got to go to someone off the bench to guard a key guy, because I thought in that one stretch right before the half, I think he only scored one point against Anthony. He had done all his damage early and… but again, he’s a hell of a player. He did a lot of good things for his ball club tonight.”

On if this game was Indiana’s best in terms of its depth top to bottom…

Woodson: “I think so but we got a long way to go. I got to help our bench more somehow. I just got to get them comfortable having fun and flying around and doing things on both ends of the floor that we’re supposed to do and we’re not there yet.”

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Indiana

Indiana ethics panel approves Jennifer-Ruth Green settlement; possible criminal charges pending

Published

6 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Indiana ethics panel approves Jennifer-Ruth Green settlement; possible criminal charges pending

The Indiana State Ethics Commission on Thursday approved a settlement requiring former Public Safety Secretary Jennifer-Ruth Green to pay a $10,000 civil fine, closing the ethics case against her — but potential criminal charges remain under review by the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office. The bipartisan, five-member commission voted unanimously to accept the agreement during its […]

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Bears consider move to Indiana with effort to secure public funding for stadium in Illinois stalled

Published

18 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Bears consider move to Indiana with effort to secure public funding for stadium in Illinois stalled

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears say they’re mulling a move to Northwest Indiana with their efforts to secure public funding they say they need to build an enclosed stadium in Illinois stalled.

Team president Kevin Warren insisted Wednesday in an open letter to fans that the team still prefers to build a new home on a tract of land it owns in suburban Arlington Heights, Illinois. He also said the Bears are not using the threat to cross state lines as leverage.

“This is not about leverage,” Warren said. “We spent years trying to build a new home in Cook County. We invested significant time and resources evaluating multiple sites and rationally decided on Arlington Heights. Our fans deserve a world-class stadium. Our players and coaches deserve a venue that matches the championship standard they strive for every day.”

Warren did not say where in Northwest Indiana the Bears would look to move.

The letter comes just days before Chicago hosts rival Green Bay in a game with heavy playoff implications. The Bears (10-4) hold a slim lead over the Packers (9-4-1) in the NFC North. In their first season under coach Ben Johnson, they are trying to secure their first postseason appearance since 2020.

“The Bears have called Chicago home for more than a century,” Warren said. “One certainty is that our commitment to this city will not change. We will continue to provide unwavering support to the community. We need to secure a world-class venue for our passionate fanbase and honor the energy you bring every week.”

The Bears’ focus for a new home has fluctuated between a tract of land they own in Arlington Heights to the Chicago lakefront, and then back to the suburb. They have said they plan to pay for the stadium construction on the site of a former racetrack about 30 miles northwest of their longtime home at Soldier Field, though they would need assistance to complete the project.

According to a team consultant report released in September, they are seeking $855 million in public funding for infrastructure in order to build a stadium in Arlington Heights that could host Final Fours and Super Bowls. The Bears were also hoping the Illinois legislature would pass a bill in October that would freeze property taxes for large-scale construction projects such as the stadium, allowing them to begin construction this year. But that didn’t happen.

“For a project of this scale, uncertainty has significant consequences,” Warren said. “Stable timelines are critical, as are predictable processes and elected leaders, who share a sense of urgency and appreciation for public partnership that projects with this level of impact require. We have not received that sense of urgency or appreciation to date. We have been told directly by State leadership, our project will not be a priority in 2026, despite the benefits it will bring to Illinois.”

In September 2022, the Bears unveiled a nearly $5 billion plan for Arlington Heights that also called for restaurants, retail and more, when they were finalizing the purchase of that site 30 miles from Soldier Field. Their focus moved toward building a new stadium next to Soldier Field after Warren was hired as president two years ago to replace the retiring Ted Phillips. The plan to transform Chicago’s Museum Campus got an enthusiastic endorsement from Mayor Brandon Johnson but a tepid reception from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and state legislators when it was announced in April 2024.

Last spring, the team announced it was turning its attention back to Arlington Heights, citing “significant progress” with local leaders.

Since moving to Chicago in 1921, the Bears have never owned their stadium, whether playing at Wrigley Field from 1921 to 1970 or Soldier Field since then.

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Slim chances for a white Christmas in Lafayette area and in Indiana

Published

1 day ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

Slim chances for a white Christmas in Lafayette area and in Indiana

Indiana is unlikely to have a white Christmas because of forecasted warmer-than-normal temperatures.
Temperatures on Christmas Day are expected to be in the 40s or 50s, possibly reaching the 60s.
The normal high temperature for the Lafayette area this time of year is 36 degrees.

LAFAYETTE, IN — Hopes for a white Christmas are fading quickly in Indiana.

“I know earlier in the month we were thinking we might have a higher chance of a white Christmas,” National Weather Service meteorologist Cody Moore said, “but unfortunately, I have some bad news for you. A lot of long-range guidance has been consistent showing a pattern on Christmas Day featuring much warmer than normal temperatures for the region and the chance for some rainfall.

“It does look like we’ll be above average, temperatures at least in the 40s, maybe 50s,” Moore said on Wednesday, just three days after subzero temperatures pummeled the area.

With still eight days until Christmas, the forecasts closer to Dec. 25 might bump the expected high temps up even into the 60s, Moore said.

Normal temperatures this time of year for Lafayette are 36 for a high and 22 for a low.

“It looks like you might be able to keep your heavy winter jackets in the closet for now,” Moore said.

How will a Christmas with temperatures in the 40s, 50s or even 60s compare to Christmases past?

In 1982, Lafayette’s record-warm Christmas was 64 degrees. Its record cold temperature was 12 below zero in 2000.

So now that the dreams of a white Christmas appear dashed, what about January or February?

The Climate Prediction Center published a three-month forecast in November, and an update is expected in the next couple of days.

But last month, center’s forecast for January, February and March was for Hoosiers to have an equal chance of above and/or below average temperatures.

“We’ll see how that translates with the storm track,” Moore said.

The Climate Prediction Center forecasts warmer than normal temperatures in the southern United States and below normal temperatures in the Northern Plains.

“That puts the storm track right through Indiana, which makes sense because the Climate Prediction Center has Indiana as a bullseye for a pattern favoring above-normal precipitation,” Moore said. Temperatures will decide whether that precipitation falls as rain or snow — or ice or freezing rain.

Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.

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