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The Indiana basketball team was embarrassed by rival Illinois on Tuesday, 94-69. The 25-point loss was the squad’s second blowout defeat in as many games.
Tensions boiled over on the court near the end of regulation given the Hoosiers‘ struggles. The result was a benches-clearing scuffle that ended with an ejection.
It seems forward Luke Goode was the root cause of the exchange, which was sparked with Indiana trailing by nearly 30 points. He appeared to get tangled up with an Illini player under the hoop while boxing out for a rebound.
Things are escalating quickly in Bloomington pic.twitter.com/Qe04nKDKaH
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 15, 2025
Players from both sides eventually met on the floor, including Indiana basketball star Oumar Ballo, who leapt up over a crowd to shove an Illinois team member. Several technical fouls were handed out. Ballo was ejected.
It seems the moment had been building. Earlier in the contest, Goode received a flagrant foul after elbowing an Illini player in the head.
Dirty box out from former #illini Luke Goode leads to a flagrant pic.twitter.com/HwoTGPcgcS
— 🆃ⓐ🅹🅷 ♕ (@Recru1t1ng_Guru) January 15, 2025
Luke Goode has an interesting history with Illinois. He spent three seasons with the program before transferring to Indiana. This game was personal for him!
Unfortunately, his scrappy play didn’t pay dividends for the Hoosiers. The blowout loss caused fans to leave at halftime after demanding head coach Mike Woodson be fired.
Despite the poor performance, Goode remains confident in his Indiana basketball team. He had a message for those who’ve given up hope.
“Don’t switch sides when we get this thing turned around.”
Luke Goode and the Hoosier will look to right the ship in their next game against Ohio State. We’ll soon learn if there are any repercussions for the on-court brawl in terms of possible suspensions.