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Arizona Beats Indiana Women’s Basketball in Elite 8
3 Seed Arizona is headed to its first final four appearance after beating 4 seed Indiana 66-53 in the Mercado Region Final in the NCAA Elite 8 in San Antonio Texas. Arizona was led by Aari McDonald with 33 Points and 11 Rebounds. Trinity Baptiste had 12 points and 10 Rebounds and Bendu Yeaney who started her career at IU had 3 points, 5 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal and 1 block. Indiana was led by Mackenzie Holmes 20 Points, Grace Berger had 15 and Ali Patberg 12 Points. Indiana was 0-9 from downtown while Arizona was 9-21 from beyond the arc. The Hoosiers got 3 points and 9 rebounds from Aleska Gulbe and 3 points for Nicole Cardano-Hillary. For the second time in the tournament the Hoosiers got zero points off their bench. Indiana ends the year 21-6 but 6 straight 20 win seasons and 7 in the last 8 years and a history making season has Head coach Teri Moren and her coaching staff looking forward to the future. Arizona is 20-5 and will Face Connecticut on Friday Night in the Final Four. The 1 seed Huskies beat 2 seed Baylor 69-67 in the Riverwalk Region Final.
Mike Woodson Officially Introduced as Indiana Men’s Basketball Coach
Mike Woodson was officially introduced as the 30th Indiana Men’s Basketball Head Coach at a Press Conference Monday Morning. Woodson who turned 63 on March 24th agreed to a 6-year contract Sunday after being an assistant for the New York Knicks for the 2nd time in his career. Woodson played for the Hoosiers under Coach Bob Knight from 1976-1980 and 2,062 Points with 5th all time in school history and was presented with his number 42 Jersey by athletic director Scott Dolson. Woodson said that “Indiana Basketball will always be Bob Knight”. Woodson was drafted 12th overall by the New York Knicks in the 1980 NBA Draft He went on to play for the Knicks, New Jersey Nets, Kansas City/Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers and scored 10,981 Points. He also pulled down 1,838 Rebounds and dished 1,822 Assists in his 11-year Career from 1980-1991. “Bob Knight who means so much to Indiana Basketball, and he took a chance on a kid out of Indianapolis many years ago to come here and play basketball”. Woodson played at Broad Ripple HS in Indianapolis and has been an assistant coach for 6 different teams in the NBA including Milwaukee 1996-99, Cleveland 1999-2001, Philadelphia 2001-2003, Detroit 2003-04 where he won an NBA Championship under Coach Larry Brown. He was with the Knicks twice 2011-12 and 2020-21 before leaving for IU. “It’s been a nice run in the NBA but being able to circle back and come back home to coach Indiana University Basketball means a great deal to me”. Woodson was an assistant the Los Angeles Clippers from 2014-18. Woodson was the Head Coach of the Atlanta Hawks 2004-10 with a 206-286 Record and 3 Playoff Appearances. Woodson was 109-79 in 3 years with the Knicks and 2 Playoff Appearances. Overall, in 9 seasons 315-365 overall with 5 Playoff Appearances 18-28 playoff record. Woodson talked about bridging the gap between the between the younger and older fans. He was meeting with each individual player as the Hoosiers currently have 6 players in the transfer portal. “We have a few players that have entered the portal that I think can help us win basketball games next season”.
Indiana Names Thad Matta Named Associate Athletic Director for Basketball Administration
Thad Matta has been named Associate Athletic Director for Basketball Administration for the Indiana Men’s Basketball Team. Matta has been a head coach at Butler, Xavier and Ohio State from 2004-2017 with 439-154 Record. He was an assistant Coach at Indiana State, Butler Twice, Miami Ohio Twice and Western Carolina from 1990-2000. Matta 53 years Old from Hoopeston Illinois played at Southern Illinois 1985-86 and Butler 1987-1990. Matta will help oversee the program with new coach Mike Woodson behind the scenes building the program the ground up and fills the gaps since Woodson has never coached college basketball and with years of experience will be a huge help. Indiana Athletic Director Scott Dolson called this a partnership between the two. Matta grew up a huge Indiana Fan and is no stranger to the Indiana Basketball Program coaching against them for years and now will be a part of the Indiana Basketball Family.