It's reasonable to call this IU b-ball season a triumph, and the future questionable

 It's reasonable to call this IU b-ball season a triumph, and the future questionable

No, Indiana won't win a national title in 2023.

If that's the only way to measure the success of IU basketball, it's been 36 straight seasons of failure.

Of course, this is a ridiculous standard.

However, the expectations for this program were certainly high. And those high expectations were reasonable. On paper, Indiana was talented, deep, and enjoyed a level of roster continuity that few other teams could claim.

They were almost unanimously favorites to win the Big Ten, but instead finished third. They reached the semi-finals of the Big Ten Tournament, but fell short again.

Still, don't call this season a failure. Under sophomore head coach Mike Woodson, it was a season of progress that built on progress in his freshman season.

Hoosiers lived up to expectations early on. Xavier, now the Sweet 16 team, won the away game. It was a dominant win against a North Carolina team that certainly had talent, if not unity, and IU started with a 7-0 record, finishing in the top 10.

And trouble occurred.

Trace Jackson-Davies and Jalen Hood-Schifino lost time early in the season with hip problems. And the real blow came for Kansas when starting supervisor Xavier Johnson broke his leg at the end of the season.

On Sunday night in Albany, Trey Galloway said of Johnson, "At worst, I needed him.

He said Sunday night after the Miami loss that he had never played center like he had in the past two seasons before coaching Indiana.

If he wants to move to a highly skilled, perimeter-oriented team like the one in Miami who just finished the season, now's the time to try to put things back together to match his vision for the program. It's time.

A quick fix may also be provided on the portal.

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