My Two Cents: Woodson's '10 Best Wins' List Loaded With Purdue Flavor

There haven't been a lot of highlights in the Mike Woodson era at Indiana, but his three wins over Purdue — all while the Boilermakers were ranked in the top-5 — are at the top of his ''10 Best Wins'' list. Here's my ranking on Woodson's biggest victories.

Indiana coach Mike Woodson talks to his players during a timeout at Purdue on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, at Mackey Arena. | Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The Mike Woodson era as head coach at Indiana, in its totality, has to be considered a failure, But there have been a few memorable moments, most especially his three wins over Purdue. That means a lot, especially since his predecessor, Archie Miller, lost to Purdue in all seven of his rivalry games.

Beating Purdue is a big deal, and it goes beyond being in-state rivals. The Boilermakers also have been the best team in the Big Ten during Woodson's time since being hired in 2021. Woodson's three wins in this era are the most by anyone against Purdue coach Matt Painter outside of Wisconsin's Greg Gard, who just got his fourth win against Painter two weeks ago.

So it got me thinking: What are Woodson's 10-best wins as the Indiana coach?

Three things jumped out to me. One, the three Purdue wins are all the best, but in which order? And two? Well, it was hard to find 10 epic wins.

Sad, isn't it? There isn't a single win from the rough 2023-24 season that even made the list.

So here's my top-10 list of Woodson's 78 wins as the head coach of his alma mater, at least through Saturday. There are five games to go — including Sunday's rematch with Purdue — so the list might change.

Let's go in the suspense-building reverse order.

10. Jan. 6, 2022: Indiana 67, No. 13 Ohio State 51

At Simon Skjdot Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Ind.

This was Woodson's first year at Indiana, with junior Trayce Jackson-Davis the star of the show. The Hoosiers were 11-3, but had only played one ranked team, and that was a loss at No. 22 Wisconsin in December.

This was Indiana's biggest test thus far, a home game against a very good No. 13 Ohio State that was 9-2 and unbeaten (3-0) in the Big Ten. But the Hoosiers played lock-down defense, holding the Buckeyes to just 16 field goals on 30.8 percent shooting in their lowest scoring output of the season.

Jackson-Davis led the way with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Race Thompson had 11, and Trey Galloway had eight points and four assists of the bench.

9. Jan. 17, 2025: Indiana 77, Ohio State 76, OT

At Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio

The train was really starting to run off the rails before the Hoosiers traveled to Columbus, suffering back-to-back 25-point losses at Iowa and at home against Illinois. This could have gotten ugly, but the Hoosiers played inspired ball and pulled out a road win in overtime.

They blew a five-point lead at the end of regulation, but Luke Goode hit a three-pointer with 1:08 to go in OT to give Indiana a 77-76 lead. Ohio State had three chances, but Anthony Leal blocked a shot to seal the win.

It was a breath of fresh air for the Hoosiers — until they lost their next five games and the school announced Woodson would not return for a fifth season.

8. Jan. 19, 2023: Indiana 80, Illinois 65

At State Farm Center, Champaign, Ill.

Winning conference road games hadn't been easy for the Hoosiers, but they hit on all cylinders in Woodson's second year, blowing out the Illini in Champaign. Illinois coach Brad Underwood chose to single-cover Trayce Jackson-Davis and he went off for 35 points. Indiana shot 61.8 percent from the field.

Jordan Geronimo, getting a rare start, had his best night as a Hoosier, scoring 13 points and grabbling eight rebounds. The Hoosiers, who were just 2-4 in the Big Ten at the time, won despite 17 turnovers.

llinois guard Terrence Shannon Jr. (0) gets his shot blocked by Indiana forward Jordan Geronimo (22) during a 2023 game in Champaign, Ill. | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

7. March 15, 2022: Indiana 66, Wyoming 58 in 2022 NCAA Tournament

UD Arena, Dayton, Ohio

Despite all their ups and down in Woodson's first season, Indiana made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years. That was a big deal, because the Hoosiers hadn't been dancing since Tom Crean's 2016 season.

Their postseason started with a play-in game for the No. 12 seed against Wyoming in Dayton, Ohio, and the Hoosiers won 66-58. Trayce Jackson-Davis had 29 points, carrying a Hoosiers team where the other four starters — Race Thompson, Miller Kopp, Xavier Johnson and Parker Stewart — all struggled. They were a combined 7-for-29 from the field.

Jordan Geronimo came to the rescue, with 15 points off the bench. It set up a matchup with No. 5 seed Saint Mary's in Portland, Ore., but the Hoosiers got crushed 82-53 to end Woodson's first season.

6. Nov. 30, 2022: Indiana 77, North Carolina 65

At Simon Skjdot Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Ind.

In the final ACC-Big Ten Challenge game, Indiana took on North Carolina in a battle of bluebloods at Assembly Hall. The Tar Heels were preseason No. 1, but the Hoosiers dominated from the start in a 77-64 win to go to 7-0 on the season,

Trayce Jackson-Davis led the way with 21 points despite dealing with a back injury, and Indiana's guards were great. Xavier Johnson had 20 points and freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino added 14 and it looked like the Hoosiers were set to have a great season.

But it was the last time they would play a full game together all season. Hood-Schifino missed three games with a back injury — including losses at Rutgers and in Las Vegas against Arizona. He would return for the game at Kansas, but Johnson broke his foot nine minutes into the game and would miss the rest of the season.

Indiana's Xavier Johnson (0) tries to get the crowd excited during the Indiana versus North Carolina men's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

5. Feb. 11, 2025: Indiana 71, No. 11 Michigan State 67

Breslin Center, East Lansing, Mich.

No one saw this coming. Indiana had lost five straight games and seven of eight, and the Woodson announcement had been made just prior to the loss at home to Michigan three days earlier. Next up was a trip to East Lansing, against the No. 11 Spartans, and the Hoosiers hadn't beaten a ranked team in nearly two years.

Michigan State, the best team in the Big Ten, couldn't get anything going offensively, making just 4-of-23 three-pointers. Malik Reneau had a big game off the bench for Indiana, scoring 19 points.

This win was so impressive because Indiana easily could have folded its tents by now, but they rallied on a night where Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was looking to pass Indiana legend Bob Knight for the most wins in Big Ten history. It's their only win in the past five weeks.

4. March 17, 2023: Indiana 71, Kent State 60 in 2023 NCAA Tournament

MVP Arena in Albany, N.Y.

Indiana entered the 2023 NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed, its highest ranking since 2013, and beat No. 13 seed Kent State 71-60 in the first round in Albany, N. Y.

Trayce Jackson-Davis had 24 points and Race Thompson added 20 in his highest scoring game of the year. Indiana's defense was great, too, holding Kent State to 31.9 percent shooting.

As it turned out, it was Woodson's only NCAA Tournament main-draw win because the Hoosiers were upset by No. 5 seed Miami 85-69 in the second round. Miami would go on to reach the Final Four.

Indiana forwards Trayce Jackson-Davis (23) and Race Thompson (25) in the second half against the Kent State Golden Flashes at MVP Arena. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

3. Jan. 20, 2022: Indiana 68, No. 4 Purdue 65

At Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Ind.

This was Mike Woodson's first game against Purdue as a head coach, and the Hoosiers came into the game riding a nine-game losing streak to the No. 4-ranked Boilers. Assembly Hall was electric that night, and when Rob Phinisee — a Lafayette native — hit a game-winning three pointer for the Hoosiers, IU fans stormed the court in a wild celebration not seen since the Christian Watford shot against No. 1 Kentucky in 2011.

It was a strange game because Indiana star Trayce Jackson-Davis was in foul trouble all night and only played 11 minutes, scoring just four points. Indiana 7-footer Michael Durr held his own against Purdue center Zach Edey, and Xavier Johnson scored 20 points for the Hoosiers.

Phinisee came off the bench for a struggling Parker Stewart and had the game of his life against his hometown team. He had 20 points, a career high, and made four threes in the thrilling victory. The loss wound up costing Purdue a share of the Big Ten title.

From a pure emotion standpoint, it was hard to not rank this game higher. It was that great of a night.

2. Feb. 4, 2023: No. 21 Indiana 79, No. 1 Purdue 74

At Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Ind.

Indiana had bounced back nicely from a rough start the Big Ten season, and beating No. 1 Purdue was part of a stretch where they won eight of nine league games. But any time you can beat a No. 1-ranked team, that's saying something.

This game was a showdown between All-American centers Trayce Jackson-Davis and Zach Edey. Jackson-Davis had 25 and Edey rolled up 33 points, but it was Indiana's guards who made the difference.

Jalen Hood-Schifino had 16 points and Trey Galloway added 11. Both only had one turnover each in a combined 65 minutes of playing time. They also shut down Purdue guards Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer. Smith was just 1-for-8 shooting and only scored four points.

Purdue would win the Big Ten that season, and Indiana finished tied for second with Northwestern. This was a great game in a very loud Assembly Hall. It was also only the second-best IU-Purdue game that year, because ...

1. Feb. 25, 2023: No. 17 Indiana 79, No. 5 Purdue 71

As I mentioned, it was really tough to differentiate between these three Purdue games, but this one wins out because of Jalen Hood-Schifino's amazing 35-point performance and the fact that it happened in Mackey Arena. Purdue just does not lose there, and with Indiana's 79-71 win, the Hoosiers got their first sweep vs. the Boilers in 10 years.

Purdue's drop coverage on Hood-Schifino didn't work and the Hoosiers kept running screen-rolls with him. He made 14-of-24 shots and his 35 points were also a career high. Trey Galloway and Miller Kopp each had 13 and Trayce Jackson-Davis added 10.

Zach Edey had another big game, scoring 26 points, but Braden Smith added struggled. He made only 2-of-11 shots and scored six points. Hood-Schifino completely dominated him.

Indiana guard Jalen Hood-Schifino (1) shoots over Purdue's Caleb Furst (1) during the Hoosiers' win in West Lafayette in 2023. | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images