Dusty May, once an I.U. basketball student manager in Bloomington, returned to town and showed why he should be the next Hoosier coach, or is it too late? Mike Woodson did not get the rebound he was hoping for and watched the rival Wolverines get to sixty-points first and ultimately win the game. Another ugly ending in Assembly Hall where home court should prevail.

I.U. was down by as much as 18-points with 1:07 remaining in the first half, 43-25 on a Tre Donaldson layup. The Hoosiers stalled the Michigan effort to surpass sixty, getting within one 53-52 at the nine-minute mark, then tying the score at 59 before the Wolverines took the lead for good, 61-59 on a Vladislav Goldin dunk with 3:05 remaining. It was a classic study in how important the sixty score can be in college basketball. It’s the mark of good defense and the magical standard for an I.U. victory for decades now. Get there first and win!

If the Hoosiers had somehow prevented the Goldin dunk, would the game have ended differently? Would “the magic of 60” have prevailed? Instead, Coach Mike Woodson once again hangs his head in defeat and the Hoosiers sadly find themselves in danger of not even making the cut for the BIG Ten tourney, let alone the Big Dance. Where was Mackenzie Mgbako in the first half, scoring all 15 of his points after the break? Oumar Ballo was on the bench for half the game and Anthony Leal should have shot more threes. He had a hot hand, including a last-second shot that meaninglessly went in from three-quarters court, unless you were betting the spread. 

I.U. now begins the difficult search for a new head coach. Had circumstances been different, it would have been Dusty May. Instead, we’ve gone through seven men in the 25-years since Bob Knight was fired: Mike Davis, Kelvin Sampson, Dan Dakich, Tom Crean, Archie Miller, and Mike Woodson. It now looks like the Woodson era that ends with “retirement” will not have a magical finish after being “Dusted” by the Wolverines.