Indiana Hoosier fans just can't win. For years, they have had to endure tough football seasons and just wait patiently for basketball season to roll around. While basketball has never been perfect in Bloomington, it has always been something that gave Indiana fans hope when football couldn't give them any.
This year, though, Indiana found a lot of success in their football season with their best finish in program history and a trip to the College Football Playoff. Fans thought they would have the best of both worlds when the preseason basketball rankings came out, and Indiana was in the thick of the best teams in the country.
However, it has been downhill since the start of the season as Indiana slowly dropped out of the rankings and is now on a four-game losing streak, losing six of their last seven games. It just seems like the football team and the basketball team can't pull it all together to give Hoosier fans back-to-back seasons of joy and success.
The last time both Indiana football and Indiana basketball made postseason appearances where the football team appeared in a bowl game and the basketball team made it to the NCAA Tournament was 2016 and 2015, and the time before that was 2007 and then 1993.
Granted, this can happen anywhere, but the state of Indiana is known for its love and elite basketball play, winning five National Championships in six appearances. The Hoosiers have not made it to the National Championship since 2002, which was also the last time Indiana made it past the Sweet Sixteen.
Indiana football is on the rise in Bloomington right now, while Indiana basketball is floundering and may be in the market for a new head coach next season, with Mike Woodson on a very hot seat right now. Hopefully, the football team can keep up their success long enough for the basketball team to pick up steam again and give fans joy that lasts all year long.