Lopsided losses for IU basketball have only grown worse since 2021-22 season

  • Jan 16, 2025 9:54 am in

Indiana basketball has compiled a 76-45 record since the start of the 2021-22 season, the first of Mike Woodson’s tenure in Bloomington.

The Hoosiers have reached the NCAA tournament twice and have a 35-32 record in regular-season Big Ten games. However, the margin by which Indiana basketball loses games has grown each season.

In the 2021-22 season, Indiana finished 21-14 and 9-11 in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers needed a run in the Big Ten tournament to reach the NCAA tournament. IU beat Michigan and Illinois at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to punch a ticket to March Madness. In the tournament, the Hoosiers beat Wyoming in a First Four game in Dayton before falling to Saint Mary’s in Portland, Oregon.

IU’s 14 losses in that season came by a combined 130 points or an average margin of 9.3. Indiana had the best defense in the Big Ten in conference play that season.

The 2022-23 season, the best overall record and postseason advancement for IU basketball since 2015-16, was worse regarding how badly the Hoosiers lost games. Indiana finished that season with a 23-12 record and a 12-8 mark in the Big Ten. But its 12 losses came by 143 points or an average of 11.9 per game.

Last season, Indiana missed the postseason altogether and finished 19-14 and 10-10 in the Big Ten. And the average margin of defeat for the Hoosiers grew larger. IU’s 14 losses last season came by a total point differential of 207 or 14.8 per game.

Indiana is off to a 13-5 start this season and is 4-3 in league play. But the Hoosiers are on pace to increase their average margin of defeat again.

Indiana’s five losses to date – Louisville, Gonzaga, Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois – have come by a total of 111 points or 22.2 points per game on average.

Blowout losses have also become more commonplace for Indiana each season, dating back to the 2021-22 campaign.

In the 2021-22 season, five of Indiana’s 12 losses were by double figures. The Hoosiers lost four games by 15 or more points and one by 20 or more. That loss by 20 or more came against St. Mary’s, 82-53, in the NCAA tournament.

The Hoosiers lost eight games by double figures in the 2022-23 campaign with All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis and first-round NBA draft pick Jalen Hood-Schifino. Of those eight double-figure losses, six came by 15 or more points and two were by 20 or more. The losses by at least 20 points that season included a 22-point loss at Kansas and a 22-point home loss to Iowa.

IU basketball suffered more lopsided losses in the 2023-24 season. The Hoosiers lost nine games by double figures, eight games by 15 or more points and five games by 20 or more points. The 20-point or more losses came against UConn, Auburn, Purdue twice and Nebraska.

All five of IU’s losses this season have been by at least 15 points. The Hoosiers have three losses by 20 or more points, including to Louisville, Iowa and Illinois.

Since the 2021-22 season, Indiana’s 45 losses have come by an average of 13.1 points. And its five postseason losses, which includes the Big Ten tournament, have come by an average of 15.8 points.

In total, dating back to the 2021-22 season, Indiana has 27 by 10 or more points, 23 losses by 15 or more points and 11 losses by 20 or more points.

Over that same period, Purdue has six losses by 10 or more points. All of those losses came by at least 15 points and one came by more than 20.

Michigan State, in that time frame, has 16 losses by 10 or more points, eight by 15 or more points and only two by 20 or more points.

Wisconsin, dating back to the 2021-22 campaign, has 11 losses by 10 or more points, five by 15 or more points and two by 20 or more points.

Illinois has 14 double-digit losses since the 2021-22 season. Eight of those losses were by 15 or more and two came by 20 or more.

Northwestern, which Indiana has not beaten since the 2020-21 season, has 12 losses by 10 or more points since the 2021-22 season. Eleven of the losses have come by 15 more points and four have been by 20 or more.

Former IU coach Archie Miller had 24 losses by 10 or more points in his four seasons in Bloomington. Miller had 17 losses by 15 or more points and nine losses by 20 or more points.

Indiana basketball double-figure losses since the 2021-22 season

2021-22 season

Michigan 80, Indiana 62 at Assembly Hall
Illinois 74, Indiana 57 at Assembly Hall
Michigan State 76, Indiana 61 at the Breslin Center
Ohio State 80, Indiana 69 at Value City Arena
Saint Mary’s 82, Indiana 53 at the Moda Center

2022-23 season

Rutgers 63, Indiana 48 at Jersey Mike’s Arena
Arizona 89, Indiana 75 at MGM Grand Garden Arena
Kansas 84, Indiana 62 at Phog Allen Fieldhouse
Penn State 85, Indiana 66 at the Bryce Jordan Center
Maryland 66, Indiana 55 at the Xfinity Center
Michigan State 80, Indiana 65 at the Breslin Center
Iowa 90, Indiana 68 at Assembly Hall
Miami FL 85, Indiana 69 at MVP Arena

2023-24 season

UConn 77, Indiana 57 at Madison Square Garden
Auburn 104, Indiana 76 at State Farm Arena
Nebraska 86, Indiana 70 at Pinnacle Bank Arena
Purdue 87, Indiana 66 at Assembly Hall
Wisconsin 91, Indiana 79 at the Kohl Center
Penn State 85, Indiana 71 at Assembly Hall
Purdue 79, Indiana 59 at Mackey Arena
Nebraska 85, Indiana 70 at Assembly Hall
Nebraska 93, Indiana 66 at Target Center

2024-25 season

Louisville 89, Indiana 61 at Imperial Arena at Atlantis Resort
Gonzaga 89, Indiana 73 at Imperial Arena at Atlantis Resort
Nebraska 85, Indiana 68 at Pinnacle Bank Arena
Iowa 85, Indiana 60 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena
Illinois 94, Indiana 69 at Assembly Hall

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