Todd’s Take: What Do Indiana Basketball Fans Want From The Rest Of The Season?

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – As I write this, it’s been nearly a week since the Indiana’s men’s basketball team had another close-but-no-cigar home loss. In the wake of that 72-68 defeat at the hands of UCLA, the Hoosiers have nine days off.

Quite honestly, it was a sorely needed break for everyone from the misery that has been Indiana’s existence since Jan. 11.

That was when Indiana went to Iowa and got spanked 85-60 by a Hawkeyes team that has won precisely two out of 10 games since. Of all of Indiana’s losses, this one is the most unforgivable.

(Northwestern has also tumbled down the standings, but that’s primarily because the Wildcats have lost Brooks Barnhizer and Jalen Leach for the season. Both played a big part in Indiana’s 79-70 loss in Evanston on Jan. 22 before they were parked for the year.)

There have been respites amid the gloom. An overtime win at Ohio State on Jan. 17 was one. The unexpected 71-67 victory at then-No. 11 Michigan State was another.

But mostly, it’s just been a series of soul-crushing disappointments. It’s one thing to lose at home by 25 to Illinois. The margin makes that misery self-explanatory.

Losing the next three home games by four points or less – as well as the near-miss at Purdue – is a different kind of kick in the gut. Those are the ones you can point to individual moments or two – whether by players, coaches or both – that could have altered the outcome.

After the 76-64 loss at Wisconsin on Feb. 4, a final score that greatly flattered how competitive Indiana actually was at Kohl Center, coach Mike Woodson decided to “retire.”

It was good to get that job ambiguity out of the way, but Woodson and Indiana are tied to the hip for another month. Indiana has at least five games and probably more. It would take a very unlikely set of circumstances for the Hoosiers to miss the Big Ten Tournament.

So what do you want for the Hoosiers for the rest of the season?

I’m sure the answer from many fans is to ignore it and focus on what comes next. Coaching searches engage any fanbase like few other things, but Indiana men’s basketball coach searches are a breed apart.

Speculation, for better or worse, sells. Fans flood the zone with their own choices, realistic or not. We in the media certainly aren’t shy about informing fans of some names they might not know about, some possibilities they might not have considered, or how realistic some possibilities may or may not be.

Forgive me the very mixed metaphors, but it’s a long runway until white smoke comes out of Scott Dolson’s office. There’s going to be a lot thrown at the wall in the meantime – by those in the know and those who aren’t.

All of that is understandable, but that ignores the present. If you’re more than just a casual fan, it’s kind of a disservice to ignore the current games, isn’t it?

The level of apathy I’ve sensed this season is alarming. After the failures at Battle 4 Atlantis, there has been a sort of “here we go again” vibe to the season. Some fans get angry, but many just don’t engage.

Among other places, I see it in some of the stories we write about NCAA Tournament or Big Ten Tournament scenarios, stories intended to inform fans of where the Hoosiers stand at that stage of the season. Stories that couldn’t be more innocuous in tone.

Internet comments are sometimes over-the-top hostile. “Who cares!” or “Why write about this crap!” It crosses the line from apathy to fatalism to near nihilism. I know better than to mistake internet comments for a plurality, but it is telling in its way.

So what would engage Indiana fans for the rest of the season? It has to be acknowledged that, somehow, Indiana is still able to contend for a NCAA Tournament berth – though they need a lot to go right that hasn’t gone right all season.

Do most fans want that? I would think so, but I don’t know so. Bitterness toward Woodson has set in so much among his most virulent detractors they may not want him to go out on a high note regardless of the cost to Indiana in prestige, etc.

Other fans – many are still in Woodson’s corner despite his impending exit – would undoubtedly relish having Woodson go out with a tournament berth. It would be very similar to the way the Mike Davis era ended in 2006.

Is a long-shot NCAA Tournament quest enough to get fans excited? I have the notion in my head that there was a time when fans would want to have a shot, no matter how long the odds, to salvage something of a season even if it fell short of preseason goals. Maybe I’m naïve in thinking that was ever true, but if a fan isn’t going to hope for the best, what’s the point of being a fan?

What about the players? Say what you want about his consistency, but Trey Galloway has given his all as a Hoosier. Do fans want Galloway and Anthony Leal to go out on a high note? I would hope so, but again, I don’t know so.

Oumar Ballo and Luke Goode have basically done what was expected of them as transfers. Wouldn’t it be nice for them to feel as if they contributed to something meaningful?

Or do you want it all just be over? For the Hoosiers to step on the gas toward the irrelevance that they seem headed toward anyway without a change in their pattern?

Maybe there’s a middle path? Beat Purdue on Sunday! Then not care about the rest of the season? I could see it – apart from the small detail that beating Purdue means it would set up Indiana for greater season goals.

I’m curious to know how fans feel. Go on a glory run or meekly slink away and let it be over?

Me? I’m inclined to be on the side of winning regardless of whether it takes you to a destination you want or merely just for the sake of winning. Make some memories. Have some fun. Try to make it matter even if the odds are stacked against you.

But that’s just me. What’s your choice?

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