No program has had a more turbulent week than the Indiana Hoosiers. Last week, head coach Mike Woodson was confirmed to be stepping down at the end of the season after a rough stretch where they lost six of seven games and the 2024-25 campaign fell apart.
So, on the road, Indiana was supposed to have no shot at beating Michigan State, who entered the night in first place in the Big Ten standings. It was also an emotional game for Coach Tom Izzo, who was attempting to pass Bobby Knight for the all-time Big Ten win record.
Indiana beats Michigan State on the road 71-67.
— Evan Miyakawa (@EvanMiya) February 12, 2025
The Hoosiers still have a shot at an at-large berth. Based on Resume Quality they will be "Just Out of the Field" tomorrow after getting the valuable win at MSU. They were 0-7 against top 30 opponents before tonight. pic.twitter.com/4H0D0tFdDY
Despite trailing by 10 points early on, the Hoosiers came back to take a halftime lead. And in one of the more surprising results of the season, the road underdogs pulled out the 71-67 upset win. Malik Reneau led all scorers with 19 points and 12 rebounds off the bench, while Oumar Ballo produced 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Indiana’s Mike Woodson steps down … and two games later, the Hoosiers take down Michigan State in East Lansing.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) February 12, 2025
Incredible.
This win improves Indiana’s record to 15-10 and 5-8 in league play. The most fascinating part is that this win may have pushed them onto the bubble. This is easily the best win of the season for Indiana and a Quad 1 victory over the Spartans. This improves their record to just 3-10 versus Quad 1 opponents, and the NET ranking moves up five spots from 61-56.
Indiana picks up a much-needed road W at MSU for its at-large candidacy. The Hoosiers have often been dismissed but are 11-10 in Q1+2+3 games with no bad losses. Likely top-50 resume metrics.
— Lukas Harkins (@hardwiredsports) February 12, 2025
The 3-10 Q1 record looks poor, but IU isn't alone among bubble peers: pic.twitter.com/U3WMKQ9Vnb
However, a very important point to make is that Indiana doesn’t have a single loss outside of the Quad 1 post. That’s what’s going to keep them on what’s viewed as a weak bubble overall.
The Hoosiers will be looking for a head coach this offseason, so it almost doesn’t matter what Coach Woodson does in the next month. But technically, their season isn’t dead yet, thanks to the upset victory over Michigan State. They now have a three-game homestand up next, including Purdue and UCLA. Those are must-win games to have any shot of contending for a postseason bid.